The Sewers|

Rhianwen sat up, inhaling deeply. The air tasted rich on her tongue, moist and alive and almost overpowering. After her dream Nuada's hideaway seemed even more drab. Yet she found herself loving that undecided grayish green patch of moss growing on a stone opposite from her. There wasn't a speck of gray dust in sight. Loud voices erupted in joy the moment she opened her eyes and she found herself accosted from all sides by fluttering wings and rejoicing voices.
She raised her hands to gently hold them up in the air, letting the pixies know that she was okay. A heavy weight was attached to her left hand. In surprise she looked, realizing her fingers were tightly entwined with big, chalky white fingers. Those fingers were attached to a very familiar elf who groaned.

Rhianwen stared in shock as Nuada blinked slowly, once. Then his eyes locked on their entwined fingers. His features were smooth, almost unreadable except for the way the corners of his mouth naturally curled downward. Around them the pixies were chattering excitedly, Wink adding his own howls of relief to the noise. Between the human and the elf prince a silence passed, cutting through bone and marrow to the heart of what they were doing. Nuada relaxed his fingers, and Rhianwen realized how tightly he had been gripping her hand. She grabbed his hand tighter, afraid of slipping back in the dream if she let go of him.
"You came for me?"

He sat up and looked at their hands instead of meeting her eyes. But the muscles in his hand spasmed when she asked the question. "I did." The palm of his hand was warm and callused. The reality of it was dawning on her. His hand was so big, so real. It made her heart race. Grumpy elf prince Nuada had come to save her.

"You didn't have to," she said slowly as Lenore pressed a cold kiss on her cheek. Pip crowed jubilant cheers to the air, many of his subjects following the example. Rhianwen smiled in response to this, but didn't take her scrutinizing gaze away from the prince. "You hate me. You're the last person I expected to help me." The pixies, yes. They would go through fire for her. Even Wink would come to her aid if he could do so without Nuada ordering against it. But not the man himself. Her vision grew blurry and she blinked against the tears.

Nuada swallowed, at war with himself. He tried to pull his hand away without turning it into a violent yank or being too gentle. His attempt was so obvious Rhianwen had to choke back a sob while she held on tighter. She was so relieved he was alive. He opened his mouth in a snarl, before changing his mind. "It wasn't right what they were doing to you. Even in my quest for the crown, I would never-" his eyes met hers and he startled. "Are you crying again? Stop that at once!"

"I can't!" She objected, the first tear dropping down her cheek. "It's because I'm happy. I didn't think you cared enough about me to save me."

"I demand you stop crying this instant. I don't care about you. I only hate you marginally less than I do other humans. Now have a sense of dignity," Nuada looked as if he wanted to sink in the ground.

Cheered on by all the present pixies, Rhianwen let go of Nuada's hand. In the same movement she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pressing her face against his neck. "Thank you, Nuada," The elf prince froze under her touch, throwing his arms to the side as far as possible to avoid touching her more.

"What are you- stop this. Wink, get her off me! Rhianwen, pull yourself together, this instant."

|Nuada|

He emerged from the bath, having scrubbed his skin so hard it looked red. The cold water had done little to counterweight his glowing temper. She had dared to touch him. Hug him. She had cried on him. And all of the pixies had been cheering it on as if it was a happy reunion. He ran a hand through his wet hair, locating his brush easily. With a grunt he ignored the dark red hair twined through it.
"I saved the chit, so all should be well again," he muttered to no one. Outside of the door sounds of partying were audible. Placing his hands on the stone counter, he took a few deep breaths. He'd gotten a lot of new information, and it needed processing. Was she really immortal, or had it been a trick Phantasos had been playing on him? With more force than necessary he tore the brush through his hair, working through the snags. And her way of thanking him had been unrefined. "Would I rather she did not thank me at all?" he asked himself out loud. No, not really. Her genuine thanks had been just, if delivered incorrectly. And, however much he disliked admitting it, it had felt nice to be thanked. A refreshing change from crying and shouting.

For a moment he eyed the bar of soap and considered his speech in the dream world. Deciding he had suffered enough for now, he grabbed a fresh tunic and located some linen pants. Stepping outside of the small sanctuary his bathroom had provided, he was hit by a blast of music and heat. The pixies had pulled out all the stops, bringing drums and flutes. Candles cast their light in soft orbs, every shadow at least partly illuminated.
Finding Rhianwen was easy. She moved in a vacuum of her own, talking to the pixies with a smile that somehow didn't seem to be all there. If they noticed, they probably blamed her days-long nap. Nuada found himself the center of attention fairly quickly. Every pixie wanted to thank him personally for coming through, or to introduce themselves as part of the search team. He promised the latter ones all the information he had available. There was no doubt they would honor the word of their prince.

Speaking of the devil, Pip was flying around spewing orders for his subjects to carry out. Nuada managed to slip away from his current conversation and found Pip busy trying to organize a few inpromptu party games. Deciding to ignore the utter havoc being wreaked in his living space, the elven prince casually motioned his pixie counterpart he would very much appreciate a private conversation. Pip readily acquiesced his request, following Nuada to one of the corners of the room, beneath the grand mural that formed one of the few decorations.

"What you want, big guy?" Pip asked, a grin nearly splitting his face in two. "Isn't the party grand? No sleep tonight, eh? You pulled through and we are going to thank you, you have no idea what you did for us."

Nuada managed to interject before Pip started to explain everything the pixies wanted to do for Nuada. "I need to ask you something, Pip. It's very important. It's about Rhianwen."

The pixie stopped grinning, instead conjuring a sly smile. "Oh, getting interested in my lil' Red aren't you? Well, who wouldn't be, she is pretty amazing. Not that it could have turned out any different because I practically raised her up myself from the time she was a baby. And they say I'm terrible with children, pfah!"

"And how long ago exactly was she a baby?" Nuada asked in a low voice, checking if any of the other pixies were around. He didn't know how many of them knew, but some discretion was probably best.

Pip's voice immediately shot up to the sound of an agitated mosquito. "Wha- who told you - let's see, that was around twenty-five-ish years ago I'm guessing."

"Unless you're working with triple digits, I'm guessing it should be rather easy to remember how old a human is," Nuada noted, seeing how Pip at once shot into overdrive attempting to deny everything. Like any pixie he was easily excited and now his wings fluttered so fast they produced a steady jet of dust.

"I-you-she-I-we- I mean the royal we- everyone - there's a perfectly reasonable… how did you figure it out?" Pip finally finished. "And am I going to have to dust you to get Rhianwen out of here?"

Nuada scoffed at the question. "Hardly. Even with longevity, she is a mere mortal. I found out while I was in the dream, Pip. And I believe I may have seen her true parents there."

The pixie swallowed, looking as if he very much did want to dust Nuada. "Well, yeah, okay, it's true. I'm not proud of it. I didn't plan on it either. 'S just that… I like the kid. It's nice knowing she'll be around forever. Just very annoying because now you know about the magic energy she produces, and that she lives forever. My grandmother said that anyone with half a brain would be able to siphon her magic powers. It's like having your own, self-charging, never-breaking battery around."

"How does she feel about it?" Nuada asked, nodding slightly to where Rhianwen was discussing something with a group of pixies.

Pip let out an incredulous wheeze. "She doesn't know, so she doesn't spiral in a never-ending depression. We tried telling her, once. It wasn't pretty. This is miss 'I want to live a normal, non-magical life' we are talking about here. I think it's easier just slightly adjusting her memories every seven to ten years. It keeps everybody happy."

Nuada somehow doubted that. He had no questions about Rhianwen's slight mental instability - he had met banshees less mercurial, and mermaids less soggy than her - but she really should have the chance to come to terms with her condition. Especially since it was a permanent one. The idea of an immortal Rhianwen sent a shiver up and down his spine when he imagined having to babysit her for the rest of time as he knew it. No, once this was over and done with, he would be rid of her.

"What are you boys talking about?" a familiar voice asked from behind him.

"Discussing how we are going to keep you out of trouble," Nuada answered before Pip could start blathering and mention that he had - indirectly - asked after her wellbeing. "It will probably be more pleasant than getting you out of it."

"Ahaha, very funny. One of these days we're going to diagnose you with a sense of humor, my lord," Rhianwen quipped back with a grin. At least she was in a good humour.

"Prince Nuada and I were discussing all the things we have to do in the future," Pip managed to say with a minimum of facetwitching. "There's a whole world out there, waiting for us to comb it out in search of a tiny piece of metal."

Rhianwen's grin changed to a smile, looking back between Nuada and Pip before she held out a hand to the latter. Pip landed on the offered spot. Rhianwen gently brought him closer to her, pressing a light kiss on his head. His unruly mop of hair waved in the motion, feet slightly looking for foothold as the kiss threatened to knock him over. "Thank you, Pip."

"Anything for you, kid," he answered, before turning around to Nuada. He winked, exaggerated and clearly not meant to be hidden, before turning back to his charge. Nuada resisted the urge to gag loudly. "I'll leave you to thank Nuada properly. If you're gonna kiss him too, not too much saliva. I think he prefers it a bit drier."

"Yuck, thanks Pip." Rhianwen at once looked thoroughly disgusted. "Not all of us go in for the open mouth kisses with tsunami effects."

From there the conversation spiraled in a conversation Nuada would have expected teenagers to have. Insults were exchanged with a broad grin up until the point he felt almost forgotten. He coughed once to regain their attention. If he had to undergo another bout of thanks, he might as well get it over with sooner rather than later.

|Rhianwen|

Rhianwen snapped back to reality when Nuada coughed once, letting Pip return to the party. Turning so she faced him, she awkwardly stretched out a hand towards the prince, figuring he'd be more acceptive of a handshake rather than another hug. "Sorry for earlier. I was just really relieved to be out of there."
He glanced down at her hand, slowly extending his. She'd expected a quick, weak handshake, over and done with as soon as he could. Instead the handshake was firm, his hand enveloping hers completely. His palms were callused and rough against hers, but he didn't completely crush her hand. "I don't suppose you could tell me more about what happened in there?"

"You don't remember?" he asked, taking back his hand. With a quick flash of surprise she noted he didn't run for the nearest disinfectant he could find.

When his question registered she shuddered. "I remember more than I'd like, actually. It's just, the only thing I remember is the first dream. Not that I'm very excited about the second one mind, it just feels strange I'd only forget one dream. Was it worse than the first one? I remember sticking around in the first dream for a reason, it's just…" She let the sentence trail away. She remembered vivid colors in the second dream, and a sense of belonging. But it just didn't make any sense when she combined it with the first dream.

Nuada frowned briefly, before schooling his features back in a more neutral expression. "In a way, it was more cruel to you. The first dream would have horrified anyone, but the second one… it takes a dedicated mind to come up with that scenario." He seemed to skirt around the essence of her question, almost wanting to say more. Instead he stared over her shoulder, at the party.

She followed his stare, wincing lightly. "Sorry about this. They're just so excitable, and I can't remember the last time I was present for one of their parties. Usually I try to steer away from the whole business." Her attempts at a normal life seemed like they were ages ago. She wanted the whole ordeal to be over, but she just didn't see a way out of it.
"I was thinking about visiting that one tengu guy we met a while ago. Maybe he can tell me if there's something I can do to get away from Fortuna."

"A wise course of action. And I shall accompany you. It wouldn't do to have you walk into another trap quite so soon." Nuada's offer was kind, and considering their usual interactions the height of sweetness.

Rhianwen smiled at him, lopsided and thoroughly amused. "Don't tell me you're getting a weak spot for me, big guy. If we start being friends now the world might just implode."

He sniffed. "Don't be ridiculous. Making sure you aren't assaulted again is merely a way of protecting my own honor. And don't call me 'big guy'."

"It's not an insult, prince not-quite-so-charmless. At the risk of being impaled on your stick, dare I say I am growing quite fond of you? I think I've even forgiven you for killing me for saying 'hello' when we first met." Riling him up wasn't smart, but it was so much fun. At this point of the adventure she could use a little bit of fun.

He went so far as to raise an eyebrow at her. "You finally realized I have my charms then?"

She rolled her eyes at him, delighted he was in the mood to actually play along for a while without biting her nose off. "A few. I had to look really hard to find them. But, you know, the ones I found really are gems."

At this he actually chuckled. "You are one of a kind."

Rhianwen placed a hand against her chest in mock surprise. "Wait, was that a compliment? Did the great and mighty elven prince, the almighty Silverlance, just compliment humble me?"

"Enjoy it, it's the only one I'm giving you," he warned her casually. "Oh, and don't call my lance a stick again. It's a lethal weapon."

So was his glare, when he was in a foul mood. Instead Rhianwen clasped her hands behind her back, bouncing on the heels of her feet. "Now that I've found you in this wonderful mood, consider playing a little game of chance with me and the others? I promise I'll go easy on you." And perhaps playing a game would take her mind off of the predicament she was still in. She needed to take her mind off the dreams, both the forgotten and remembered ones. She'd look into a proper way to thank Nuada at a later point in time. There wasn't much she could do stuck in here.

At first he looked as if he wanted to dismiss the notion, until he heard her 'promise'. "I do not need you to take it easy on me. The day I am beaten by a human has yet to occur." The look on his face in the following seconds showed he realized he'd fallen for the bait. "On second thought-"

"No no! You said you'd play!"

"I thought you were here to thank me for rescuing you."

Rhianwen took a few steps back towards the party, followed by a frowning elf prince. "I'll thank you by letting you win a few times."

"Don't insult me. I am your senior by countless years, I don't need an impudent whelp to let me win." He actually seemed affronted by her statement. She quickly toned down on the teasing.

"Fine, I'll go all out. And the loser has to buy the winner a drink. And they have to obey one request, within reason." Her smile turned a tad more wicked. "I think I'll have you do the dishes tonight. Or, more likely, tomorrow morning."

"I fail to see how this constitutes your gratitude," he said thinly, though he seemed to be more eager to play along. As the reached one of the groups playing games, he sat down cross-legged, gesturing for her to do the same. "We shall see if your attitude improves after I show you your proper place."

She tossed him an apple, taking one for herself. For once he didn't seem so stuck-up. If he'd been like this the entire time she'd been down here, they might have actually had some fun. Picking up a bottle of something that smelled incredibly strong she winked at him. "You know, I think I'm actually starting to like you, princey."