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secret-kkh-fics · 2 years ago

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Wash Away the Rain - C1: Shades of Gray

Soulmate AU Challenge - Colours: You see in black and white until you look into your soulmate's eyes. Then you start seeing in colour.

“…Oh shit!” she gasped. “What, did you forget your ‘magic’ muffins in the oven?” Kit scoffed. They both ignored her. “Oh shit,” he echoed the girl. No, not ‘the girl’. His soulmate.

When Graydon Hastur is sent out on a journey he did not want to go on, the last thing he expected to discover was his soulmate. Let alone that his soulmate was Elora Danan! The party discover a girl following behind them, and when he looks into her eyes, his world bursts into colour. There's just a few problems... He is engaged to Princess Kit. And she is in love with Prince Arik. It wasn't complicated at all...

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Crown Prince Graydon Hastur’s heart bet frantically in his chest, practically trying to break out of his ribcage as he pressed up against a tree, trying to stay as invisible as possible. It was beating so loudly he was certain that whoever was following could hear it from where they were. He could hear the muted thumps of their horse’s hooves on the soft grass of the clearing but couldn’t bring himself to even peek around the tree. Not even as Boorman launched himself from his hiding place at the incoming enemy, closing his eyes tight at the thuds and grunts and sounds of the ensuing scuffle.

“Hey! Put me down!!!” a distinctly female voice echoed through the clearing. His eyes snapped open.

It was a young woman by the sound of it. Certainly not the voice of the horrible Bone Reaver or one of the hellish Gales that Graydon had imagined was following them with the intention of eviscerating them and tearing them limb from limb.

Cautiously, he finally peeked around the tree to see that the others had already all jumped out to attack their stalker, only to stop short seeing a thin young woman with pale skin and light hair that he assumed was blonde. She was wrapped in a knitted shawl as dark as the trees around them… so, possibly green? - though he’d never been able to tell ‘colours’ apart very well when they were a similar shade of grey. She also wore a scowl as Princess Kit scoffed as they approached. Even then, he found that the girl was… pretty.

“Uh-uh. Absolutely not,” Kit scoffed. Clearly, she knew who this was.

“I want to help rescue the prince!” the girl argued.

“Tough. Go home.”

She scowled at the princess, and Graydon couldn’t help but smile, seeing someone who was clearly one of her subjects standing up to her like that. No one at home would dare treat him like that openly, even if he knew they did behind his back.

“You don’t understand!” she continued. “We’re in love.”

Oh.

So, she was in love with Prince Arik? …Of course, she was. The prince was handsome and charming, and any person could easily fall for him. He’d seen several women and men swooning over him while he flirted with them at dinner the night before.

...Not that it mattered that she loved Prince Arik anyway. It’s not like it mattered to him. He was engaged, after all.

“…I don’t know how to break it to you,” Jade said delicately, “but Arik’s been in love with quite a fe-”

“Not like this!” she cut her off passionately. “Not like us!” She was met by a lot of rolled eyes from some of the people who knew Arik well. She sighed in frustration. “You think I’m a fool. Fine, I don’t care! What we have comes around once, maybe – if you’re lucky. And there is nothing we wouldn’t do for each other!”

Graydon blinked in surprise hearing the girl’s impassioned speech. He could only imagine what it would be like to have someone love him that much. Someone who loved him so much that they braved unknown perils and most probable certain death to get him back. His chest burned sickly as he thought of Arik flirting with the courtiers last night. Did he even know what a treasure he had?

“Have you ever been in a fight?” Kit asked the girl, her frustration barely hidden.

“You mean, like… verbally?” He couldn’t help but smile at the response. It was funny and adorable. Though, the snickers from the others he knew were making fun of her.

“I mean, like, defending yourself against someone who wants to hurt you.”

“No,” she said. “Have you?” He couldn’t help letting out a low ‘Oooh!’ under his breath as he finally moved out from behind the tree, watching as the fair woman verbally sparred with the others below him. Everyone seemed stunned by the response. “I can do other stuff,” she continued, turning imploringly towards Jade, Boorman and General Kase. “Whatever you need - tend horses. Somebody’s gotta cook, right?”

“Are you any good?” Boorman asked, perking up at the mention of food.

“I’m phenomenal!”

This time he grinned. She certainly was confident. He wished he could be as confident and passionate as she was.

“She’s not coming with us, Boorman,” Kit groused.

“You heard the Princess,” Kase told the girl as he led his horse. “You’re going back to Tir Asleen at first light.”

Kit turned to look at him sharply. “What?!”

“What? It will be dark soon. She can go back in the morning.”

From the sheepish look on the General’s face, Graydon could tell he wanted to keep her around for the night so he could get a good meal. And if General Kase was willing to keep her around for her cooking after all the warnings he’d given them about safety, then she must be as good as she said. He could do with a nice meal himself, and he certainly wasn’t against her staying with them longer. She seemed nice.

Before Kit could argue any further – something he was quickly tiring of – he took a step forward to the top of the hill and finally drew attention to himself.

“So, what can you cook out here?” he asked the girl.

She turned sharply to look at him, surprised having forgotten there was another in their party, and his breath caught in this chest. He had thought that her voice was lovely, and her delicate features were beautiful… but that was nothing compared to her luminous eyes. Her brilliant eyes locked with his, and after a second they blew wide. He found himself doing the same, his mouth falling open as he was suddenly overwhelmed by an assault to his senses, the world around him bursting into intense vibrancy. The shades of grey he’d known his entire life being chased away by what he could only assume was colour. It was so much all at once, almost giving him a headache, and he looked about wildly to take it all in. He saw the colour of the sky above them, something he’d always been told was blue, and the green of the trees – indeed the colour of the girl’s shawl. He didn’t yet have a name for the shocking colour of Jade’s hair, unlike anything else around them.

Amongst all the new mess of colours, the girl stood out like a bright, fair beacon, looking about as frantically as he was before their eyes locked once more. Their stunning blue colour, the first he’d ever seen…

“…Oh shit!” she gasped.

“What, did you forget your ‘magic’ muffins in the oven?” Kit scoffed.

They both ignored her. “Oh shit,” he echoed the girl.

No, not ‘the girl’.

His soulmate.

“Ah… what’s going on? You two having a staring contest?” Boorman asked looking between them before getting a look of realisation. “Ohh… I see, you have a thing for princes, don’t you girlie? We got a bit of a… ex-lovers reunion going on, don’t we?”

“Wh-what? No!” she protested. Graydon wanted to protest as well, but he was too stunned to talk. “He- I- It- …I’m going to forage some ingredients!”

“Hey! You’re not staying!” Kit shouted as his soulmate fled into the treeline in the other direction to him. “Ugh. She’s going to get killed out there.”

“Shut up and kill me a possum, Princess!” she shouted back. Kit scowled, muttering something under her breath and Jade was attempting to hide a smile.

Graydon looked about at the others, the bright colours of their clothing and the overwhelming green of the forest making him dizzy. This was why he wore dark clothing. You didn’t have to deal with colours when everything was dark. Not that he’d ever had to deal with colours until just now.

“I… I’ll get some firewood,” he stuttered. “You need fire to cook, right? Yeah. Firewood. Cooking. Firewood… Cooking…”

Muttering as his mind swirled with chaos, he turned and wandered aimlessly into the trees behind him.

“Well, that was weird,” he heard Boorman say.

It was ten minutes later that Graydon realised he hadn’t even looked at the ground, let alone picked up a twig for kindling… And he might be a little lost.

…Which way was the clearing?

And hour later, Graydon lazed on the grass, close to a crackling fire, sheltered by a makeshift ‘tent’ he’d made with two large sticks and his coat. His soulmate sat not far off, working over a cast iron pot at the edge of the fire. The stew she was preparing smelled amazing already, but… She hadn’t said anything to him since she’d gotten back, and he’d been too nervous to do the same. She had barely even looked at him.

Overwhelmed by the colours he wasn’t used to seeing and incredibly anxious about the entire idea that his soulmate – his soulmate! – sat mere feet from him, he had pulled out his flute in an attempt to ease his mind. The high, reedy notes drifted peacefully through the air for a few wonderful moments. Until…

“Seriously? You brought a flute?” Kit scoffed.

“Yeah, was that not a good idea?” he asked, annoyance and anxiety mixing together. “My nan believed that music was a balm for the soul. So...” He wasn’t entirely sure why he was always explaining why he did the things he did, why he felt the need to justify every action he took. But he always had. This was something important to him. He was sort of moments away from a panic attack to be honest, and he needed the calming sound of his music. He needed the distraction of focusing on the notes he was playing. How could something as innocuous as music annoy the princess? Gods, was there anything she enjoyed? He could understand that she was stressed about her brother’s kidnap, but it felt like she had been in a perpetual state of irritation since they’d met.

“This is not some jaunt or your chance to see the world,” she snapped. “It's dangerous. And those things that took Airk, they're not just gonna give him back!” There was silence for a moment, and she looked over to Boorman for help. “Hey, tell him.” She pointed towards him.

Boorman turned his head to the side and spat out the stick of blackroot he’d been chewing on. “Well, you're all so naive, it's- it’s adorable,” he told her. Kit turned away, offended by the accusation. “What? You've never known pain, fear, hunger…” Graydon’s stomach twisted. He did know those feelings… all too well. Not that he would ever admit it to anyone. Despite the fact he was a prince… No, not despite – because he was a prince of Galladoorn, he knew just what it was like to live in pain and fear, and yes, even hunger. But not how Boorman was thinking of it. “Out there, it won't matter who your parents are, or what you think you deserve. ‘Cause the world is bigger than you could possibly imagine... It doesn't give a damn about any of you.”

“Possum stew?” his soulmate said sweetly, cutting off anything else Boorman had been about to say. He leaned forward eagerly, not just to watch Boorman’s reaction, but to observe his soulmate more. Living at court, he knew well the art of distraction, so he could recognise she was preventing him from upsetting them with his words. It was very diplomatic, and incredibly sweet of her. He could tell she was a very compassionate woman, and despite only being a kitchen maid, it seemed she had picked up a few tricks living in the castle.

Oh, gods. His father would never allow him to marry a kitchen maid! …But screw it! She was his soulmate. Surely his father would understand that. And if he couldn’t… well… Well, he’d just have to stay with her. Leave Galladoorn and forsake his crown. Certainly, his father would prefer he marry a servant over losing his last and only heir… Maybe it would overcome his insistence to use him to gain an heir to Tir Asleen…

He shook his head. That didn’t matter away. He was set to be married to Kit, and his soulmate was already in love… He wasn’t about to stand in the way of her happiness. They’d only just met…

“Wow!” Boorman exclaimed after taking his first mouthful of the stew. It was clear he was impressed.

“Phenomenal,” she whispered at him smugly, nodding to him. She knew she was good, and proud to have proved it to him. His heart fluttered in his chest, his gut twisting in a way that was more pleasant than what he was used to.

She went back to the pot, filling up a bunch of bowls and handing them out to everyone in turn. When she handed him one, he was all too aware that their fingers gazed as she handed him the bowl – the first time they’d ever touched, and he thanked her with a gentle voice, earning a nervous smile in response. Once everyone had their bowls and was happily slurping away, she grabbed a bowl for herself and settled down across the fire from him. Sure, it was near where she had been cooking, but he couldn’t help but notice it was as far away from him as she could get… but it was also directly in sight of him.

As soon as conversation started up, Kit stood and went and sat on a log not too far away, leaving her bowl of stew behind. Boorman immediately went to reach for it, only to be swatted away by Jade.

As he ate, he watched his soulmate look over at Kit, unable to read the emotions there. It was clear they had some kind of history, considering she was in a relationship with the princess’s twin. And from the way Kit treated her and reacted to her, and the annoyed yet melancholy way his soulmate gazed at her, he didn’t think it was a good one. Eventually, his soulmate’s gaze moved past his… fiancée, further out to the shimmering haze of magic on the horizon.

“I know this is a silly question…” she said eventually, “but what is the Barrier, actually?”

“It's a force field,” Jade informed her before he could even open his mouth to explain. “Forged by Raziel and Cherlindrea to protect the realm. It was a refuge for those who wanted a life that was more than just survival.” She hesitated a moment, looking as if she was going to say something else. She leaned back, sniffing and clearing her throat to get rid of the tears he hadn’t noticed had welled in her eyes. “My, um, family was headed to the Mothers' Gate when we were attacked. I was the only one who survived.”

“That's... depressing,” Boorman said, “but not why they built the Barrier.”

Graydon’s attention was drawn by movement, and he noticed Kit coming back over to the group, placing a comforting hand on her protector’s shoulder and sitting beside her. It was clear the woman was more than just her guard. They were friends.

“He's right,” Kase told them. “It wasn't built to protect the realm, it was built for Elora Danan.”

“What happened to her?” his soulmate asked.

Graydon looked down, for once not wanting to eagerly share his knowledge. He had a few theories. His father certainly had one to, similar to what he believed to be true, but very different in conclusion. They both believed that Queen Sorcha and her husband had taken Elora Danan back to Tir Asleen, disguised her, given her a new name, and raised her there under their protection, unknown to the rest of the world. But while he believed the Queen had kept her close in the castle, but not too close as to put her in a position someone could suspect who she truly was, his father believed they had raised her as one of their own. After all, it’s only natural to protect one’s child (or so he’d been told, even though he hadn’t experienced much of that), and what better way to prepare the empress for her duties without causing problems in the matter of succession. His father believed they had disguised Elora Danan as their own daughter… Kit. It was why he was forcing him to marry her. Kit and Arik could be asked to stand down at any point when Elora Danan returned. But if Kit was Elora, being her husband would make him consort to the empress, exactly what his father wanted…

But he didn’t think his father was right. Kit wasn’t Elora. He knew she wasn’t. He didn’t know how he did, but he was certain of it.

“People say she's dead,” Jade said, a wide smile growing as if telling her favourite bedtime story. “But the prophecy says that one day she'll return and unite the world against forces of darkness.” She gave a small chuckle before her smile fell and she threw away the balled-up bit of grass she’d been fidgeting with. “Truth is, no one actually knows.”

“My mother knows,” Kit said with certainty, staring into the fire blankly. He looked over at her, wondering if she had any idea… Hoping his father hadn’t been right, despite the certainty he felt that he was wrong. “Pretty sure my father knew too. I think he snuck her out of the castle one night and took her somewhere far away where nobody would find her. And then… stayed with her.” She let out a breath, the subject clearly something that upset her. He couldn’t imagine what it would have been like for your father to just leave one day and never come back…

…He imagined he would have found it a relief…

“That what you really think or what you wanna believe?” Boorman asked her.

“Why would I want to believe that he chose her instead of us?”

“I don't know,” Boorman said with his usual almost sarcastic tone, reaching over for his blade and hugging it to his chest. “Maybe 'cause, you know, sometimes it's easier to hate them.”

With the blade cuddled into him, he grunted as he lay back, shifting about to get comfortable. And at the sound of a soft snore, they realised Kase had already drifted off. The rest of them all silently agreed to follow suit, getting comfortable to rest for the night, Jade quietly saying she’d take first watch and wake Boorman up later. His soulmate had giggled and said he wouldn’t like that, earning a drowsy ‘I’ll kill you if you do’ from the man in question. And his assurances that they were safe within the barrier allowed the bright-haired woman to lay down beside the princess and drift off too.

It was hard to get to sleep. Partly because he was used to soft feather beds, not hard damp grounds. He’d tried to avoid joining his father’s hunting parties as often as he could, but even when he couldn’t, they had at least brought tents and sleeping pallets. But he was also far too aware of the woman sleeping across from him. His soulmate so close, yet so far away, staring off into the night at the shimmering barrier… probably thinking of her prince. The prince that wasn’t him.

He knew that he should talk to her. Everyone else being asleep would mean that they would have some privacy. He didn’t want his soulmate to think he was avoiding her. But the idea she was thinking about someone else right now kept him where he was, mouth shut, laying on the hard ground and looking up at the bright pricks of starlight.

He started searching the sky, finding every constellation he could, just like he and his mother had when he was young and couldn’t sleep because of the nightmares. And soon, his eyes grew heavier, the stars becoming harder to find, and thoughts slowing to a stop as he drifted to sleep.

He woke the next morning to the incessant sound of chirping birds who were awake far too early and the quiet whispers of voices around him.

“The kitchen maid?” Jade was asking someone in a hushed voice.

The kitchen maid? …his soulmate?

“She's gone,” Boorman responded quietly. “When I woke up. Yeah, one night of sleeping on the hard ground will cure anyone of their romantic fantasies.”

His sleep-hazed mind played the interaction around on repeat, trying to make sense of the words, an ache growing deep in his chest. As he became fully alert, that ache paralysed him so all he could do was lay there.

She was gone?

She wasn’t here anymore?

She had left while they were asleep?

“Maybe she kept going?” Jade suggested.

“Nah, unless she found the gate. She won't get across that gorge,” Boorman said.

Graydon’s breath caught in his chest.

His soulmate had packed up and left in the middle of the night. And from what little he knew of her, he knew she had not gone back to Tir Asleen. If she was going to head back home, surely she would have stuck around and made breakfast so she could try to convince the others to let her come along. But the fact that she had gathered all her things and quietly snuck off while they were all asleep meant she didn’t want them to stop her. Which meant she was pressing on… Alone. Into dangerous territory with Bone Reavers and Gales and bandits and marauders who could kill her and worse. And that was if she could get across the gorge… which she seemed stubborn enough to try.

What if something happened to her? Fuck, and he would know if something did. What if on the way to the Mother’s Gate his new colours suddenly dimmed? What if she died out there and he didn’t even have the chance to ask his soulmate her name before he lost her?

Oh no.

Fuck.

…He was going to be sick.

“Ah… Graydon, you okay there?” Jade asked, her voice quiet but concerned. He opened his eyes and looked over to see her leaning over and peering at him in worry. “You’re kind of… hyperventilating…”

“What? Oh, yeah. No, um… I-I get nightmares,” he told her, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. It wasn’t exactly a lie, since he did still suffer from terrible nightmares most nights that made him wake up already having a panic attack, or with anxiety ticks like hyperventilating or trembling hands. But that wasn’t what had him panicking right now.

And he couldn’t exactly tell her the real reason why. It didn’t feel right…

He groaned to try and clear away the remains of sleep and the panic attack that Jade had unknowingly halted when his focus shifted to pretending to be normal and okay for those around him. It was rare that worked, so he was glad it did this time, his need to pretend outweighing the anxiety. The kind guard was nodding in understanding, sitting back to give him some space. And he found his eyes drifting over and settling on the empty patch of ground his soulmate had chosen to settle down on last night.

Whether she had gone back or pressed on… she had not even spoken to him before she left. He hadn’t even managed to ask her name… And that made the still lingering ache in his chest grow stronger.

He should have taken his chance and spoken to her last night…

“She left in the night,” Jade told him, unaware he’d heard them before. “We think she’s gone back to the castle.”

He looked over at her. “With the way she spoke about Arik yesterday, you really think she snuck away in the dead of night to go home?”

After a moment, Jade shook her head. “No… She’s stubborn and dedicated when her mind is set. She’s gone after Arik by herself… I’m just hoping she gives up and goes home if she can’t find the Mother’s Gate.”

“If she does find it, I bet you she’s charming the guards with food,” he joked in an attempt to lighten his mood. He could practically picture it already. His soulmate cooking up some lovely meal and serving it to the guards while sweetly and passionately pleading her case.

There was a groan from the ground beside them. “Whose got food?” Kit mumbled, groggily dragging herself up.

“No one, Kit.”

“Mmm…” Kit smacked her lips, blinking hard a few times to wake up properly and looked about. “Speaking of food, where’s muffin girl?”

“Already gone,” Boorman told her.

“Oh, good. Kind of. Would have been nice for some breakfast before she left.” She paused when she realised what she said. “…Don’t tell her I said that.”

“Your secrets safe with me, Princess,” Jade said in amusement.

“Not with me,” Boorman countered, his delivery flat and serious, but his eyes shining with mirth.

“What have you got against her anyway?” Graydon said, the words leaving his mouth before he’d even processed them. Kit looked at him in surprise.

“Nothing… I don’t…”

He scoffed, shaking his head. “You could have fooled me. I know you’ve got your own… thing going on right now. You’re worried and stressed, and you have every right to be, but you didn’t need to take it out on her. She was just trying to help.”

“I didn’t take it out on her,” she protested. “She just didn’t need to be here. She’d just get in the way.”

“Sure,” he said, unconvincingly.

“What, you think she should come with us?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe. She’d probably be more useful than I’ll be. And at least she wants to come and help, we all know I’m only here because my father forced me to. I’m not good at this sort of stuff. As far as I could tell, she was.”

“Shows what you know,” Kit muttered quietly, but Boorman’s snicker was louder.

“You sound like you admire her.”

“She seemed nice,” he said simply, turning to start packing his belongings in hopes of stopping the conversation there.

“Did she now?” he went on, his voice heavy with suggestion and amusement.

He turned back, roughly jamming a tunic back into his bag. “Oh, for the gods s- We only met yesterday, Boorman!”

“Oh yeah, sure. Because staring at each other in shock, then fleeing in opposite directions into the woods and ignoring but glancing surreptitiously at each other all night is totally normal first meeting behaviour.”

“Look, would you just drop it? I never met her before yesterday, and that’s the truth. I don’t even know her name… When would I have had the chance to meet her? I’ve never even left Galladoorn until we came to Tir Asleen!”

“Mmm, he’s right,” Kit agreed, surprising him. “She’s never left Tir Asleen. She’s been at Prunella’s heels as long as I can remember. Until she decided to cling to my brother like a baby possum to its mother.”

Boorman paused and looked at her oddly. “Are you jealous that she’s spending time with your brother?”

“What? No!” she scoffed, looking about in a familiar way he knew meant she was looking for a distraction. Her eyes landed on Kase, who had wrapped himself in his twilight-sky cloak and rolled over so many times he was practically swaddled in it. “How has he slept through all of this? He looks like he’s in a giant blue cocoon.” Oh, so it was blue. It must just be a darker shade. Wait… As she went over and shook him awake, Graydon’s brow furrowed as he realised she had just said the colour of the cloak. …Kit could see colours? He looked over at the others to see Boorman wearing a similar expression of surprise as him, but Jade hadn’t even blinked. “Kase,” Kit said as she jostled the older man. “Hey, Kase. Wake up, we’re getting ready to go.”

“What? Oh… yes…” He blinked blearily at them, then rolled back over. “Five more minutes…” he mumbled. The four of them looked from the drowsy general, then at each other in varying degrees of annoyance, bafflement and amusement.

…This quest was out to a great start.

Graydon sighed heavily as he walked, tilting his head back and enjoying the warmth of the sun on his face as it slowly dried his uncomfortable, wet clothing. He was trying to decide if the day had been more chaotic than the day before.

Yesterday, Prince Arik had been kidnapped by the Gales, he’d been forced to go on a quest to save the prince, and he had met the prince’s girlfriend only to discover she was his soulmate.

Today he had woken to find his soulmate had left in the night, discovered the Mother’s Gate was deserted and a warning in Pnakotic written on the wall in what he was refusing to admit was probably the blood of the missing guards, an earthquake had struck as he’d read the warning – which somehow felt connected – an odd sensation making his skin prickle, they had found his soulmate again walking across the planes, and Kase had been killed by Bone Reavers who had then pursued them right off the edge of a cliff!

Thankfully there had been a lake bellow the cliff with a deep, sharp drop-off right where they had landed. Also thankfully, the drop-off wasn’t too large. They had landed in the safest spot and been able to quickly get to shallower waters. Because he was admittedly not the strongest swimmer, and his coat had weighed him down too much to keep swimming long. Honestly… he might not have made it if he wasn’t still clinging to his horse’s reins. The wet clothing was uncomfortable, but it was preferable to dying, so maybe he wasn’t as cursed as he’d always thought. Also, as luck would have it, the lake they had come out of was fed by the River Freen. So, it was just a matter of following the river to the Nelwyn village so they could meet with the great sorcerer, Willow.

He was a bit nervous about meeting Willow. He’d heard so many stories of him growing up and had studied as much of the battle of Nockmaar as he could. As a child he had been fascinated by the idea of magic, though he knew there were no more sorcerers left in the world. He had still wanted to learn anyway, but it had been his possession that had truly driven him to studying magic. Mostly Pnakotic, in an attempt to understand what had happened to him and prevent it from ever happening again. A part of him hoped that he could ask Willow to teach him. He knew the theory of magic… at least of dark magic, as he’d found quite a few resources hidden away in the Galladoorn royal library. But he didn’t yet know how to channel it and make it work… He’d been too scared to even try. Especially since he knew better than to trust the magic in the books he studied. But Willow was one of the two great sorcerers who had defeated Bavmorda. He would be able to teach him better magic, kinder magic… If he accepted him as an apprentice… If he even had the aptitude for it.

The other reason he’d never tried to do magic, other than the fear of doing something terrible with dark magic, was that he didn’t want to give it a go and discover he was unable. He had spent his childhood playing at being a sorcerer, pretending to cast spells and fight battles against Bavmorda and her forces. But he’d always been told to stop being silly, that he was no sorcerer, and to put the fantasies aside. Even his older brother, whom he adored and looked up to, who was always kind to him and encouraged him in everything he did, told him that he ‘just couldn’t do magic’. And the thought that they were right was worse than the thought of never knowing.

…But he was going to try anyway. He had been focusing on how he could ask Willow to train him, practicing what he was going to say. Because it was better than focusing on the girl that kept slipping into his thoughts when he let his mind wander. As they began walking, she had fallen in step with Jade ahead of him. He had tried to move up and join her, but the so-called ‘knowing look’ Boorman had given him made him fall back again.

He wanted to talk to her… But not with these three listening to him so intently.

Instead, he had fallen to the back of the group alongside his fiancée where they had walked in silence for a few hours, both consumed by their own thoughts.

“I wanted to say, um…” Kit suddenly spoke, drawing his attention. “I'm sorry... About the way I behaved.” He blinked, surprised by the sincere apology, and looked down to hide his reaction. His expressions didn’t always match what he was feeling, and it always made his father angry. He didn’t want to make Kit angry, especially not since she was being nice and apologising to him… and especially because it took him a moment to realise that she was apologising about the way she’d acted at their engagement dinner. “It was... I was very childish. And...”

“No, it's okay, he told her quickly, showing her mercy so she didn’t have to force out the painfully awkward apology. “I- I can understand not wanting to marry someone that you barely know. I wasn't happy about it either.”

“You weren't?”

“I mean, you're...” He couldn’t help the nervous chuckle that escaped him. “You're a very pretty person, but, uh... I just think you should be in love with someone before you commit to spending the rest of your life with them, right? Or- or, you know… better yet, find your soulmate. You- you do have a soulmate, right?” he asked. “I heard you mention colours very accurately this morning.”

Kit looked down to try and hide a small smile, very unsuccessfully. “Yeah. Um… We met when we were kids. What about you? If you could tell that I was mentioning colours ‘very accurately’, then you must be able to see them too.”

“Yeah,” he said sheepishly. “Yeah, it’s… fairly new. I haven’t even had a chance to talk to her about it yet. It’s like… our eyes met, we awkwardly danced around each other… and then things got really hectic.”

That was an understatement. The last day had been one thing after another, and he was leaning towards it being the more chaotic of the two. He really should have taken his chance to talk to her at the fire last night. Come up with some excuse to pull her away from the group so no one could hear and have a talk. He still didn’t actually know her name, for crying out loud! But the biggest issue that had made him so hesitant, it seemed, was still a factor. They wouldn’t have found her still travelling out past the barrier if it wasn’t.

His soulmate was in love with his betrothed’s twin brother.

Kit sighed in amusement, rolling her eyes. “So, we both have soulmates we’d rather be with, but are stuck with each other… We could marry for appearances. You know, say the words and all, but be with the one we love in secret.”

He shook his head, trying to push down bitter memories. “No… No, I couldn’t… Sorry, I just… can’t do that. I’ve seen what my father has put my mother through with his mistresses. Even if it was something we agreed to, I don’t think I could do that to you. And rumours always spread. If word got out, it could put you in danger if you got pregnant and the parentage was called into question.”

She scoffed. “Trust me, that won’t be a problem.”

“Besides, like I said, I think you should be in love with someone before you marry them.” He wasn’t in love with his soulmate… Not yet. But he could easily see how he could. He even thought he might be on the way there already. Even before he knew she was his soulmate, before their eyes had locked and their worlds burst into colour, he had admired her. He had felt a surge of jealousy towards Prince Arik for having her love. He had always tried to ignore emotions like jealousy, scared it would feed the entity that had once (and possibly still did) possessed him, and make it surface once more. But he couldn’t deny what he’d felt in that moment. Just as he couldn’t deny he thought his soulmate was beautiful and sweet and funny. She was adorable, and he wanted to spend all his time around her… But she still refused to look at him. Too aware of what they were, and likely conflicted over being in love with someone else. He understood… but it still stung.

But his feelings aside, he knew in his heart he could never go through with an arranged marriage. It was only the threats from his father that had made him go to Tir Asleen at all. His mother and father had been in an arranged marriage, his mother once a princess of Chashmere. He knew that they weren’t soulmates because his father still only saw the world in shades of grey, while he’d come to realise that his mother could see in colour. And while his mother had assured him that they grew to love one another, the things he’d seen and heard his entire life told another story. His father’s blatant affairs, his mother’s secret letters to her soulmate… He did not want to end up like his parents.

“And what about our responsibility to unite the realm?” Kit asked, drawing him back to their conversation.

He thought about that one a moment before hesitantly voicing an idea he’d been too afraid to tell anyone for years. “One day you and I are gonna be in charge. And when that day comes, we don't have to do things the way our parents did.”

He looked over at her with a reassuring smile, happy to see that she was smiling at him in return. She must like the idea. And who knew, maybe they could come up with a plan and stall the engagement when they got back. Even if it was just long enough for one of them to be put in charge.

…Okay, that was horrible, he was considering their parent’s demise. Those were bad thoughts, and he knew they were his own. Nothing had put the idea in his head or played on his negative emotions to cultivate it. Gods, what kind of person was he? Maybe he really was as evil as his father said…

But he knew he could never hurt his mother or Queen Sorcha… He wasn’t entirely sure how he would react to his father’s death, but he knew he could never bare to be the cause of it. He had already killed one family member. He couldn’t kill another.

He shook his head, willing his thoughts to move away from the morbid subject. They had time to figure this out… if they made it back alive.

Once more, he looked up ahead, his eyes instantly drawn to the bright, fair hair of his soulmate. She looked luminous in the sunlight, even more so as she smiled and laughed as she talked to Jade. Seeing her so happy made his heart flutter in his chest, and he quickly looked over at the princess’s protector instead to stop that train of thought in its tracks. She was happily chatting away too, glowing in the sun in that rich colour he didn’t have a name for yet.

“…Hey, can I ask you a question?” he said to Kit suddenly.

“Sure.”

“What, um… What colour is Jade’s hair?”

Kit looked at him incredulously, her mouth popping open in shock. “Ohhhh, it’s that new of a thing!”

He looked down uncomfortably, and she bumped into his shoulder with a comforting smile. The gesture gave him the courage to continue, a smile returning to his face. “Yeah… and I haven’t really told anyone… Except you, now. So far, I’m just kind of guessing colours based off what I’ve heard. You know, sky, grass, trees. I didn’t even know Kase’s cloak was blue until you said it because it wasn’t the colour of the sky.” He looked up at the sky above them, the usual bright blue he had immediately associated as the colour blue. “But I swear I’ve seen the sky be twenty different colours already.”

“Yeah, that stage is super confusing. You never know just how many shades there are until someone explains them to you. And to start with you don’t know if something is a different colour or just a different shade. And that’s without considering the in-between hues. Like, you know how trees are green, right?” He nodded, despite it being rhetorical. “Well, so is that.” She pointed to a rolled-up bundle of fabric on the back of Boorman’s horse. It was definitely not the colour of the trees.

He squinted at the blanket, not understanding what she meant. “Wait, what?”

She laughed. “Yeah, I know, right? It’s a shade of green that’s a little closer to blue. So, it’s like someone mixed the sky and the grass together. There’s heaps of in-between colours that you’ve probably heard the names of, but have zero concept of. Colours are confusing, like… So, you asked what Jade’s hair colour is, right?” He nodded in confirmation. “People call it ‘red’, but it’s not quite red. Not really.”

“So… her hair isn’t the colour of blood?”

“Dude, you haven’t seen blood yet?” she said, taken aback. Her brow furrowed. “How new is this for you?”

His eyes widened. They were both all too aware that he would have seen plenty of blood the night the Gales took Arik. Which had only been the other night.

“Ah… What colour is it, then?” he asked, his voice going up an octave.

Kit chuckled at his obvious deflection, the most genuine smile he’d seen from her so far. “No, her hair is not the colour of blood. Her shirt is closer to the colour of blood than her hair is. That is usually what people mean when they say red. But ‘red-head’ is a little closer to orange… like your blanket back there. But it’s not the colour of the fruit, the fruit is a brighter version. Her hair is a deeper shade. Some call it ‘ginger’… But that is not what colour ginger root is.”

His brows furrowed as he struggled to take that in. “Right… Sure. Not confusing at all.”

Kit laughed so loudly, their companions all turned back to look.

It wasn’t too long later that the woods began to grow up along their side of the river, and they began to see remnants of man-made structures. They were in some kind of village, or at least… what remained of one anyway…

Gods, he hoped it wasn’t the Newlyn village they were looking for.

“Where is everybody?” Jade asked, looking about as they tethered the horses. Everyone looked concerned, probably thinking the same as him. But just when he was about to start panicking that something bad had happened to the legendary Willow Ulfgood, he heard a new voice fill the clearing.

“Oh, Daikini,” he groaned. “Terrific. Just what I needed.”

They all whirled around to see a Nelwyn standing by one of the structures. It was a fusion of natural and man-made, skeletal branches trained around the worked wood of a dilapidated dwelling, covered in overgrowth as nature reclaimed it. Two moss-covered doors of crafted wood stood open, showing the dwelling no longer had a back, making it appear more like a gate.

Finally seeing another living being who wasn’t trying to kill them right away, the group moved towards the man.

“What happened here?” Jade asked him.

“Plenty,” he replied, taking a step towards them so they wouldn’t get too near the gate. “And if you're not careful, it will happen to you too.” Graydon was all too aware of the man’s hands resting on the hilt of two daggers at his side.

“We're looking for the sorcerer, Willow,” Kit told him, ignoring the warning.

“Congratulations. You found him.” He gestured to himself, his hands never leaving the dagger hilts.

“You're Willow?” Boorman asked, sounding somewhat disbelieving.

“Yep, that's me. Willooowww.” Graydon pulled a face, taken aback by the strange way he’d said the name. No one said their own name like that, especially not so mockingly. This man was not what he’d expect when meeting the great Willow Ulfgood. And if this was really Willow, why was he armed with daggers when he could easily do any number of things to them with magic without even getting close? “But I'm out of the sorcery business now. I've retired. So, jog on.” He finally let one dagger go to gesture them away. Yeah, Graydon didn’t believe a word of it. It was clear he was just trying to get rid of them.

“My name is Kit Tanthalos,” she said, stepping forward, trying to convince the Nelwyn to hear them out. “My mother is Sorsha. She sent me here to come find you. She told me that once long ago, you stood together against the forces of evil and defeated them. The world needs you again. It needs your magic.”

The Nelwyn stood there, silently measuring her words, until another voice spoke up from somewhere behind the structure.

“It's okay,” the voice said. “She is who she claims to be.”

“How do you know?” the Nelwyn asked back towards the voice.

“I read her mind,” came the reply. And then he stepped out from the gate and towards his friend. A Nelwyn with a wide grin and a staff taller than he was. A magical one, Graydon guessed by the large blue-ish crystal encased in the top. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that this was the real Willow Ulfgood. Willow let out a good-natured chuckle. “Kidding! Had you though, didn't I? I didn't read your mind. It's just…” He looked fondly Kit. “You remind me of your mother.”

“My brother, Airk, was taken by-”

“The Gales,” he said, already knowing what Kit would say. Queen Sorcha had been right. He was expecting them.

“The what?” Jade asked.

Willow continued to address Kit as he filled them all in on the parts they didn’t know. Well, what most of them didn’t know. Graydon was ashamed to admit that he knew more than he let on, but admitting he could understand Pnakotic was not something he did easily. And there was no way he could tell them how he’d hid in his room that night when he heard the whispers commanding the Gales to ‘get the prince’. He hadn’t even thought about Arik, he’d thought they’d come for him. After all, he was the prince that had been touched by darkness so deeply it scarred more than just his skin. Nor could he tell them where he’d heard the Gales say to take Arik without giving away the shameful secret his father demanded he keep. The secret he’d stupidly given away by reading the warning on the wall.

“Your brother's alive,” Willow said. “A prisoner of The Withered Crone, who dwells in the Immemorial City that lies beyond the Shattered Sea. The four who came to Tir Asleen are her servants.”

“I'm sorry, did you say, ‘beyond the Shattered Sea’?” Boorman asked, a hint of worry in his tone. Willow nodded and Boorman immediately turned around to leave. “Okay.”

“What?” Kit asked him.

“Princess, I've travelled all across the world, met some real magical marvins, but I never met anyone who crossed the Shattered Sea. That's where all the maps end.”

Graydon already knew this setting out. He’d even tried to explain it to his father in hopes that he’d see just how perilous it was to send him on this quest. But, as usual, he’d been given no choice in the matter, sent on his way with the encouragement of a dozen terrible threats and a list of atrocities his father asked him to commit that he immediately decided he’d do none of. It had genuinely made him wonder if his father had sent him on this quest in hopes he wouldn’t return. It would certainly give him an excuse to start a war with Tir Asleen, if he could blame them for the death of his only heir… But surely even King Zivian Hastur wasn’t that cruel…

“And that's where we must go,” Willow told them. “Beyond the edge of our world, into the unknown. It's the only way to...” His eyes widened. “-to...”

He faded out, distracted by something he’d seen behind them, and they all turned to see what he was looking at. Willow was looking at his soulmate, who lingered at the back of the group. Also wondering what he was looking at, she turned to look behind her, and then back again when she realised there was nothing there and that they were all looking at her. A look of panic spread over her face, and Graydon felt his heart speed up. Why was Willow Ulfgood walking over to his soulmate? Did he know her? Had he seen something about her? Graydon knew from experience that there was something about her, something he could never hope to name, that drew him to her, even before their eyes met and revealed their connection. But he thought that was perhaps him sensing their connection before it was realised. Or just her natural beauty and passion captivating him…

Still confused as to why, he watched Willow go over to his soulmate and stare at her a moment before stepping closer and pulling down one of her arm warmers

“What... What are you...” Her question died on her lips as he reached up and placed a hand on the crook of her arm, muttering an incantation, his staff glowing brightly, looking almost green like Boorman’s blanket. As he did, Graydon felt the energy of the spell well around them all, making him shift uncomfortably. It had been a long time since he’d been around real magic, and he’d forgotten how it felt under his skin. Not bad, just… overwhelming. He’d felt it earlier in the day during that earthquake too. It made his heart pound, and he tried not to panic at the feeling or worry over what the sorcerer was doing to his soulmate. Willow was good. He wouldn’t hurt her.

When the incantation was complete, the Nelwyn pulled his hand away to reveal a mark on her arm that had not been there a moment before. A mark of an all too familiar rune that had Graydon’s heart stopping in his chest.

It couldn’t be…

But despite all logic, his every instinct screamed that of course, it was. How could it be anything else? How could she be anyone else?

“You shouldn't be here,” Willow told her seriously before a fond smile touched his lips, “but it's so good to see you, Elora.”

“Did he just say...” Kit couldn’t get the name out. Everyone was too shocked, their eyes wide as they looked at one another. But Graydon couldn’t take his eyes off his soulmate – off Elora.

“No, you've made a mistake,” she stuttered. “That's not... I'm not... I'm nobody!”

The insistence made something surge up in him, something protective that made him want to tell her it wasn’t true. That she was someone. Someone incredible, someone passionate, someone sweet and kind, someone talented… someone important – to the world. To him.

But Willow spoke before he could break out of his stupor.

“You are Elora Danan, Last Blood of Kymeria, future Empress, High Priestess, Semprum Sorceress of the Nine Realms, and the world's last, best hope against the evil coming to destroy us all.”

“What?” she said dumbly, too stunned to say much more.

And Graydon completely understood why. It was a shock to find out something like that. He could only imagine what it would be like for her. It was already bewildering enough to know that his soulmate was…

It sounded impossible… and yet, somehow, it felt so right. Something inside him told him that yes, of course, she was. There wasn’t a doubt in his heart that Willow spoke the truth. It’s who she was all along and who he had been waiting to meet his entire life.

His soulmate was Elora Danan.

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