Stealing gems and young princes' hearts? [Rawrg]

Winter nights we sang in tune

• • • • 
        Cold late nights so long ago, Brianna had scaled these walls to visit the man she loved. That was, of course, before she had been caught and banished from the kingdom. She had narrowly escaped death. If it hadn't been her love's pleas, they would have put her to death for treason to the crown. Treason... The word left a bitter taste in her mouth. The king hated her kind. Fae, Faerie Folk, Gentry. There were plenty of names for them, although humans rarely knew that there were different species within the Fae. To humans... they were all alike. But her people were peaceful folk, only wanting to live in harmony with the humans. Of course, the king didn't care about that. He only cared about his young son playing with a fae child. They were both so innocent back then. Seven years had passed since she had been banished. She thought she had waited long enough. She had heard whispers that her prince was getting married to a distance princess. The thought made her heart weep.
        
        She rested a moment on a windowsill, her dark clothing melding in with the darkness. The palace guards were pathetic. They hadn't even sensed her approach, nor when she slipped by, right under their noses. It was enough to make her blood boil. What if she were an assassin, determined to slay the kingdom's next heir? If she didn't know that they would arrest her on sight, she would have given them a good scolding. She couldn't think of that, right now. She had to climb up several more stories to reach the prince's chambers.
        
        She just had to know...
        
        She brushed her long brown tresses out of her eyes and leaped up onto the nearest balcony. It was as though this tower had been made for her climbing them. It was almost too easy. Almost. She had to keep one eye on the guards, lest the turn to see her leaping from windowsill to windowsill.
        
        After several more balconies and windows, she finally reached the prince's chambers. Or... they had been his seven years ago. She made a silent prayer to the Great Mother Goddess and opened the window slowly, wincing at the creaking the ancient hinges made. Brianna slipped inside, her feet making no noise as they hit the cold tiled floor. She glanced around. Nothing stirred within the room. Everything seemed silent as the grave. For a moment she was afraid she had indeed gotten the wrong room.
        [/list:u][/list:u]
    • • [/list:u][/list:u]
        
        
        Played inside the months of Moon​

Andrew sat in his room in a large armchair, his body bathed in the flickering light of a candle. In his lap sat an open book, the sort of book that his father would not appreciate. It was about the creatures that were scorned and hated throughout the kingdom; fae and faeries alike. The book was from a time before all this argument, before Andrew's own father had cast the magical beings out without hesitation, when humans and fae got along to a degree and worked in each other's best interest. Within its pages were accurate descriptions of certain beings, illustrations to match the words. His eyes were dully focused on one type in particular, who very closely mirrored a human appearance, but whose inner workings were marvelously different.

Andrew was not a sociable prince, nor was he charming around girls he did not care for, women he didn't wish to speak to. It was true that he had "been with" women before, under order of his father, in hopes that it would raise his capacity for producing an heir, but he had only ever really cared for one person he could remember: a childhood playmate. He had been only eleven at the time that she was taken from him, but at that tender age he had had many an adventure with a wonderful little girl who was smart and funny and very fun to play with. When his father had found out about the delightful little creature, she had been taken away from Andrew, and he had never seen her again.

While he was a prince, Andrew did not act like it. As previously stated, he was not charming on command, nor had he ever expressed an interest in getting married. He was athletic to a point, but preferred to read, and had collected an extensive library over the years. He was quite kind and had never been close to his father, preferring to stay away, hide somewhere or travel to another place for sanctuary. Which was why, when his father had announced an unexpected engagement to the entire family, Andrew had locked himself away entirely, hiding in his books and his memories and not speaking to anyone save a few servants who were somewhat close to him.

As Andrew sat in his study, adjacent to his bedroom, he suddenly heard the loud creek of the unoiled hinge of his bathroom window. "Blasted wind..." He muttered to himself, standing in his long robe and cotton sleeping pants. He left the book behind him on his chair as he walked into the bathroom, expecting it to be empty. And indeed, he was surprised to find a cloaked figure standing by his window sill. For a moment he stood stock still, looking for any distinctive feature on the other figure--he found it was fruitless, as the wind caused the fabric to billow, making it impossible for him to see the shape of the figure underneath.

"Show yourself..." Came the cautionary command, his deep, post-pubescent voice echoing through the cold bathroom. The prince was not one to jump to violence, preferring to let the other person take the first move. As he stood there, still trying to examine the other being, some of his pale hair floated in front of his eyes, cold blue eyes glinting in the moonlight.

As soon as the cowl was removed from her face, Andrew's features softened. He knew this woman. He knew her, and his knotted stomach told him that he had really cared for her at one point in his life. It pained him to think that he couldn't match a name to the face... at least not at first. His blue eyes, now pools of warmth and care, searched her features; those smooth, delicate features; curved brow, plump lower lip, stunning deep brown eyes... The young prince found himself stepping forward once, twice, thrice; until he stood before the young maiden, her form not a foot from his.

"I know you.." He murmured, looking down into her eyes. Those eyes. Her eyes! His own blue orbs widened as he continued to look at her. He remembered now; this was the girl he longed for, the girl he had never forgotten. How the years had changed her! She was taller, and more... he couldn't really put a finger on how she was different. All he could think of at that moment was that his best friend, his very best friend and the girl he loved more than anything had returned to him.

A gentle hand moved to her cheek, warm fingers brushing against the bone. The young prince continued to look into her eyes, his own pooling with small tears that hung at the corners of his eyes. The fingers at her face seemed to be testing to make sure she was real, not a mirage or a figment of his imagination, perhaps even a dream come into the real world.

"...Brianna..." The word escaped his lips as barely more than a whisper. His throat felt suddenly dry, his body hot. He was so excited, and he didn't know how to show it. But then, after a moment or two, an almost bashful smile cracked across his lips and her pulled her into a warm, tight embrace. "Brianna... I missed you..." He murmured, closing his eyes, taking in every sensation. He never wanted to forget this moment.

Andrew felt himself lift her in their embrace, as he was holding her up against him. Perhaps her toes would touch the ground as he held her against his chest, his face hidden in her hair. When she pulled back a little, he let her go, noting the nervous chuckling. "You've grown quite a bit yourself." He informed her softly, reaching up to touch the long braid, the soft hair... His fingers trailed over the edge of her face, starting at her forehead and moving slowly over the leftmost edge of her face until they were under her jaw.

A whole new smile cracked Andrew's lips. He looked so happy, and felt like a child on Christmas again--the same way he hadn't for many, many years. "You're even more beautiful than I remembered..." He murmured, his hand returning to her cheek, stroking it gently with his thumb. "Oh, how I've missed you." He smiled at her almost shyly and kissed her forehead, wanting to remember the sensation. As young children, they had one day decided that they should kiss so that, when they got married, they would know how to do it. Back then, they had assumed that they would get married, because they got along so well.

Now Andrew was positive it was just him who wanted to marry this beautiful creature in his arms.

"H-how are you?" He asked, suddenly, breaking the silence. "Are you hungry? Thirsty? I can get something from the kitchen for you..." He suggested almost nervously. Obviously, he cared about this girl, because he would never otherwise want to take care of her every need like he did. "Come, come, sit..." He murmured, pulling her gently from the bathroom and leading her into his study, towards an armchair. He then scurried about lighting more candles so that the room would be better lit.

Andrew's quick fingers lit roughly fifteen candles before he heard her speak again. His body seemed to freeze mid-step, as he'd been leaning forward to light another candle at the time. The match he had been holding finally burned down and the embers pressed against his fingers, which were promptly singed. He gave a yelp--almost a yelp, somewhere between a gasp and a groan--and waved his hand, trying to cool it off quickly. It was obvious that any mention of his impending marriage would lead to further unfortunate accidents. After a moment of waving and trying to remove the burning flesh, he looked up at his childhood playmate, his eyes looking almost hurt and sad.

"I don't want to marry her," He informed her softly, looking away at his bare feet, "My father arranged it for me... I've met her and she's about as useful as a three-legged stool," He seemed quite upset now as he spoke about his engagement and his future bride-to-be, "You know father..." This time when he spoke, he was sad again, almost gloomy, sitting heavily on a smaller armchair on the other side of the barren fire place, "He never wanted me to be with the people I really liked... never wanted me to be with you..." He let out a heavy sigh and looked over at her again, through the strands of hair that had fallen into his eyes again.

"You know I wanted to marry you, Brianna... I loved--I still love you more than anything," He looked down at the floor, sinking back into the armchair, looking as deflated as a child who had skinned his knee and couldn't go out to play again, "You would have made such a wonderful queen... beautiful and intelligent, kind, caring, loving..." He shook his head to snap out of the reverie, thinking he must be acting too emotional for her, "My apologies... this entire marriage affair has gotten me very distraught..." He released a heavy sigh, attempting to relax, but failing miserably.

When she blew onto his hand, he let out a soft sigh. It felt very good. He wondered where she'd moved the pain to--as young children, she used to take away his cuts and scrapes, and sometimes he would find them later on her instead. When she held his hand, he smiled lightly, enjoying the feeling. It was so nice to be with her again. When she spoke and kissed his forehead, his eyebrows knit together worriedly.

"I love you too..." Andrew knew that look, knew that tone... He could feel the fear bubbling in his gut again. The same fear he'd felt when his father had removed the girl from his room, from his life, but never from his heart. He suddenly grabbed her arm, his blue eyes fierce as he looked into hers.

"No." He said firmly, as he almost glared at her. He looked not angry, but almost sad, hurt all over again, and very upset. "Don't you do this..." Tears began seeping from his eyes as he looked into hers. "Don't... Don't leave me again..." He reached and grabbed her other arm, pulling her against his chest, into his lap, "I only just got you back..." He looked ever nearer to tears, searching her eyes for any sign she was going to stay with him.

[I looove the lullaby. So pretty. Crazy movie to go with it though.]

Andrew found himself reverting to a level of childishness that he hadn't reached since after she had been ripped from him the first time. He was sniffling, crying now, tears flooding from his crystal-blue eyes as she cradled him against her chest. Her words were soothing, yes, but that fearful feeling hadn't gone away... He knew she was going to leave again, one way or another, and it made him want to jump out a window. Weakly, he clutched at her garments, wanting her closer, his fingers gripping at the cloth almost shyly.

The lullaby brought back so many memories. Of father yelling, mother's death, all the things that had gone wrong in the several years he'd known her... It made him cry a little harder into her shoulder. Soon enough, though, the lullaby did its work and his sobs quieted, body quivering against hers as he calmed himself down. He hiccuped softly and looked up at her, tears still brimming at the corners of his eyes, face quite tear-stained. "I love you..." He managed, softly, and then hiccuped again, reaching up to wipe his eyes. "Please... don't leave me..."

Andrew sort of sighed through his nose as she wiped away the wetness on his cheeks. "Okay..." He murmured, as she promised not to go anywhere. The sick feeling in his gut wasn't going away, though, and he was sad, because he knew that she would have to leave him, most likely soon. After a good ten minutes of letting her sit in his lap and cuddle against him like that, his arm wrapped around her waist, hand stroking slowly up and down her side, he spoke again.

"I know you have to leave me soon..." He murmured, his body and voice calm again. "I know that... that you can't marry me, no matter how much I wish you could be my queen..." The hand at her side traveled up to the back of her head, petting her hair softly. "I know that we can't be together, that it would be foolish to try, but..." He swallowed hard and kissed the top of her head, squeezing just a few more tears out of his eyes as he closed them.

"Please spend just one more night with me... Before you leave... stay with me tonight..." He suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her upright against him, their lips meeting softly. The kiss was not lingering or lasting, and Andrew had soon pulled away, after only a moment or two. He searched her eyes again, his own looking almost pleading, as if this was what he needed more than anything else. "Please..."

Andrew returned her affections as her lips pressed against his. His finger tips touched her cheeks at first, resting on the delicate arches. As his lips delivered delicate kisses to hers, his hands began to shirt and stray. The palms pressed to her hot cheeks, then one wrapped around the back of her neck, and the other hand went to run through her hair, though it didn't get far--her hair was braided and it stopped his fingers.

As she began to suckle his lip, he pressed his body gently up into hers, his hands running slowly down her back, fingers playing gently along her spine. When he found the end of the braid, tied with a string of sorts, he pulled back slightly to look up into her eyes. "I want to see your hair down..." He murmured softly, looking into her deep brown eyes, as if asking for permission.. One hand stayed on the hair tie, the other reaching up to stroke her cheek. He leaned in for another soft kiss, his tongue gently touching her upper lip, hoping it wasn't too forward of him.