Ask Until Death Do Us Part

[Viola Enwynn]

Viola woke up just as dawn was breaking. The sunlight was weak as it filtered through the mouth of the cave. A shadow was cast on the floor and Viola followed it up to see Ravus, just outside the cave, looking up. The sight of him brought unwelcome memories of the night before. She blinked too long and saw him pulling his shirt over his head. She opened her eyes wide, doing her best not to blink as she sat up, his jacket sliding down into her lap. She had not slept well on the rough stone floor but she would never tell him that the warmth from his jacket had helped a little.

She turned her head, her neck sore from her sleeping position. Mavyn was still in their alcove where they had hid when the acklay attacked, and Viola pushed herself up to her feet and stumbled over to Mavyn, her feet numb, dropping Ravus' jacket over Mavyn's still sleeping body. Mavyn twitched but did not wake up. Viola leaned against the cave wall as pins and needles flooded her legs and feet.

As feeling re-entered her limbs, her gaze found Ravus again, and her eyes burned figurative holes in his back. She could suddenly see his bare back and she jerked her head away so fast her neck popped.

@AdventCore

 

[Ravus Sephyre]

The crown prince of Alvaeria was little more than a dark silhouette against the morning light. His blackish brown hair briefly billowed in the wind while he searched the skies with naked eyes.

"I see them." Ravus had his left fingers up to his ear as he spoke to Krug over his comlink. At the edge of the horizon was a small dot, surrounded by a handful of smaller specks. "Yeah." He paused, then shifted his head slightly to the side at the commotion from the captive princess. "I understand. I'll find it."

The prince dropped his hand to his side, bit back on his jaws, and eeriely turned enough to glare at Viola. The slightest hint of a snarl scrunched up as the half-blood nearly growled at her. Then he took one hefty step after the other into the den. His bulky body quickly crossed into the threshold of the dim glow from the smoldering coals. The bandages he had the night before were gone. The wounds he'd suffered from the Skynaran acklay already seemed to be mostly healed, or at the very least sealed into pale silver scars.

"Where is it." Ravus demanded, his sharp blues piercing down into Viola as he approached her until his broad chest was barely an inch from her face. The half-Sephi prince would tower over her, continuing to keep their distance uncomfortably close even if she tried to back away. Any chance she'd take to step around him he'd simply take one big step to his side to block her.

Completely expecting the crown princess of Ebania to be defiant, Ravus then began to coil the dark side around his right hand as he narrowed his gaze directly down into hers with a calm and serious expression. He didn't tell her what, but he was pretty sure she'd know exactly what he was looking for.

@Reylo4evr

 

[Viola Enwynn]

Viola glanced up from Mavyn when she heard Ravus muttering something, likely over a hidden commlink. She had just managed to turn around with her back to the rock when in a few great strides Ravus stood in front of her, her nose inches from his sternum. She didn't have much room to tilt her head back to look up at him, but she still managed to meet his gaze with as much fire as he glared down on her.

"I don't know what you mean," she said calmly, but her voice was like iron. Despite her lie, she knew exactly what he was talking about and the tracker behind her ear ticked against her skin as if on cue, signalling to her that her father's men were close. She squashed down the flare of hope that rose in her chest and kept her gaze hard. She could feel him gathering the dark side of the Force around him and prepared herself for an attack.

@AdventCore

 

[Ravus Sephyre]

Ravus bared his fangs at Viola, threw his right hand out toward the princess's companion, and coiled the dark side around the Ebanian's neck. Then he'd slowly begin lifting the little Annfyn into the air, no doubt waking her the moment he'd begun to Choke her.

"You know exactly what I mean, Viola." The curled fingers of his hand tensed and squeezed further as he snapped back at the princess with a deep gutteral growl in his tone. For each second that would then begin to pass, the prince would tighten his grip more and more, making it increasingly difficult for the captive companion to breathe. "Don't make me repeat myself."

@Reylo4evr

 

[Viola Enwynn]

Viola tensed but instead of attacking her, Ravus, flung out an arm. She whipped her head around and saw Mavyn floating in the air, clutching her neck with terror in her eyes. Viola gave a strangled cry of surprise and then jerked back around when Mavyn's face started to turn purple. "Stop!" she exclaimed. "Stop, it's behind my ear, I'll rip it out, just don't kill her!" she said, her voice edging towards panic. She hated that he knew how to get her to do what he wanted but she couldn't let Mavyn die just to help her pride.

Viola reached up behind her right ear and peeled the tracker off with such Force that it felt as if she was ripping off a scab- and the spot behind her ear started bleeding. She held out the skin-colored tracker in front of her, praying Ravus would release Mavyn.

@AdventCore

 

[Ravus Sephyre]

"Good girl." Ravus crudely mocked the princess as he released his ethereal grip from Viola's companion, dropping the girl back to the stoney floor. His sharp blues didn't leave hers as he reached down and nearly covered her little hand with his larger one to take the tracker from her.

Then he turned and threw it out of the den, causing the device to quickly vanish as it disappeared over the side of the cliff and dropped to the forest below. Ravus then scattered the smoldering coals of their firepit with his boot, and collected the rest of the loose items around their little shelter before he finally grabbed his black shirt and turned back to the Ebanians.

"We're moving out." With that he then pulled the torn shirt back down over his ripped torso, and extended a hand towards the girls to summon his jacket. Once it reached him he'd then catch it with his left hand, whip it up around the left side of his shoulders, and pushed both arms through their sleeves as the rest of the long black coat billowed out and down to the backs of his legs.

His vibrosword snapped back into place at the back of his hips as he clasped it's scabbard back into the strap at the back of his uniform, letting part of the tail end of his coat hang over it. Then he sealed the bag and threw it over his shoulder, letting it hang down by the back left side of his hips and thigh, resting it slightly on the scabbard without interfering with his ability to draw and sheathe the blade.

"Come." The Alvaerian prince command his Ebanian captives as he beckoned them with the curl of an index finger and the piercing glare of his sharp blues. He'd then step out of the den, approaching the severed head of the Skynaran acklay from the night before. With a simple push of the foot against its face he sent it rolling and falling down the long steep edge of the jagged cliff. A clear sign to the girls they wouldn't survive the terrain if they tried to escape that way.

The half-Sephi prince would give them only a moment to see the distant airships that were little more than distant dots on the golden horizon, before turning to them and pointing along the mountain trail to indicate to the captives which direction he wanted them to begin walking in.

"Move." Ravus would keep a close eye on them while remaining close behind them as he'd begin to escort the Annfyns around the crest of the mountain and to its opposite side, where the vibrant and colorful edge of Ebania's territory would gradually break away into the charcoal forests and dark skies of Alvaeria's desolate domain. A dead massive volcano loomed at the far edge of the eerie viewscape.

It would only be a little longer before the mountainside would begin to twist and turn into deadly terrain of sharp loose shale and stone, becoming nearly impossible to pass for those who lacked special equipment or the Force. A little further away a dark and narrow crevice could be seen, which led into the vast labyrinthine tunnels under the planet's surface. Without taking much of his attention off the girls, Ravus stepped up next to them and the edge of the path before it broke away.

"Alright. I'm going to have to get you both across one by one. I'll let you two decide which of you I'll take first."

@Reylo4evr

 

[Viola Enwynn]

Viola snatched her hand away after Ravus took the tracker then she sidled away from him and knelt at Mavyn's side. The maid was gasping for breath on her side in a fetal position. Viola looked back up at him and glared daggers at Ravus. She looked away as he put his shirt and jacket back on, helping Mavyn to her feet. She ignored him as he ordered them out of the cave. She caught a glimpse of her father's ships and a pang of dispair hit her as Ravus forced them ahead.

She kept her jaws glued shut, walking with Mavyn. She helped her as the ground became more rocky and uneven, even as she began to feel a little weak-kneed.

They stopped when the path dropped off into a dark pit. Viola's stomach did a flip and she turned her glare to Ravus with as much fire and dignity as she could manage. "Take me first," she said. She did not trust him not to hurt Mavyn, or her for that matter.

@AdventCore

 

[Ravus Sephyre]

Ravus grunted in acknowledgement. Then he braced Viola's back with his left hand, brushed his right hand down behind her thighs, and swept her off her feet. She was lighter than he'd expected, and was easily able to hold her up against his torso. He made sure she was squeezed tight between his arms and chest, not too tight, but well enough that he wouldn't accidently drop her.

"Ready?" Without giving her more than a couple seconds to respond, Ravus would suddenly leap forward with an enhanced jump. His body arched forward then down a dozen meters to a small ledge, which began to collapse just as the prince's foot hit it.

"Fuck!" He growled before pushing off with a less powerful jump. Chunks of shale dislodged and slid from the ledge, with half of it breaking away in the process. Ravus pulled Viola tighter, tensing his muscles to protect her and keep her from falling as he landed against another ledge and bounced off from it to clear the rest of the gap down to the other edge of the broken mountain path.

He landed with a restrained grunt, and gradually set the Ebanian down back on her feet. His sharp blues glanced her up and down, making sure she was unharmed. Satisfied with her condition, the Alvaerian then turned back to check on the ledge and the companion. A faint hint of a grimace formed across his lips, showing the tips of pointy fangs. He wasn't going to be able to jump back up and get her like he'd been planning.

"Viola." The prince slightly turned his head back towards the princess while reaching his right grip out in the direction of the companion who was still several dozen meters away. "What's your friend's name?"

@Reylo4evr

 

[Viola Enwynn]

Viola had barely agreed to go first before Ravus was suddenly holding her against him, touching her in places that made her hate him even more. She didn't even get to prepare herself before he was leaping off the edge. He landed on a ledge that broke under their combined weight. Ravus cursed loudly and Viola couldn't help but grip onto him tighter (as best she could with cuffed hands) as he pushed off to another ledge, gripping her tighter as well. They landed rather roughly, and Viola stumbled away from him.

When he spoke to her, she glanced up at him, than back over at her maid. "Mavyn," she said. "How are you going to get her across now?" she said, raising an eyebrow at him, as if she hadn't just nearly died in his grip.

@AdventCore

 

[Ravus Sephyre]

"I'm going to catch her." Ravus simply replied to Viola without looking back at her. Then he jutted his chin up at the princess's companion, and shouted up the couple dozen meters at her so she could hear him across the expanse.

"Mayvn!" Ravus steadied and readied himself at the edge of the broken path. "You're gonna have to jump! Otherwise you'll be stuck on that side with all those monsters and I won't be able to help you! Don't worry, I'll catch you with the Force!" Truth was he could detour to another dangerous path to go get her, but that would take quite a bit of time, and he was eager to get away from the distant Ebanian airships that were still gradually making their way to the other side of the mountain.

"Take your time, jump when you're ready!" Without pressuring Mayvn too much he turned his chin slightly to address Viola without taking his eyes off her companion.

"Viola, she might need your encouragement." He stated plainly as he waited, holding his hand out in preparation to catch her with the Force and Pull her into his arms once she jumped about as far from her side of the path as she could.

@Reylo4evr

 

[Viola Enwynn]

"Catch-" Viola started to say, but she was interrupted when Ravus shouted over to Mavyn. Viola's lady's maid was standing on the other side of the crevice, trembling. When Ravus turned to Viola and told her to help, the more prideful part Viola wanted to tell him to figure it out himself but she cared more about Mavyn then she did her pride or Ravus so she grit her teeth and took a step closer to the edge.

"Mavyn, come on, he's right," she said, the words tasting foul on her tongue. "Look at me, I'm safe," she said. "Jump,"

Mavyn still looked terrified but she took a couple steps back, preparing to leap. She made eye contact with Viola, who nodded, and then took a running start and leapt off the edge, towards Ravus.

@AdventCore

 

[Ravus Sephyre]

Ravus reached out with the Force, coiling it around Mayvn and yanking her forward the rest of the distance. A moment later he steeled his muscles and snapped his arms around the girl once she slammed into his hardened chest and abs. A bit of a grunt growled out through his teeth. He held his ground nonetheless, barely budging from the Annfyn dropping into his arms.

"Nice jump." The prince sarcastically remarked while he took a couple steps back from the ledge, turned to face the rest of the path, and set Mayvn back on her feet. Then he gave her a little pat on the lower back that was really more like a little shove.

"Move." He turned his head to Viola, grabbed for her upper arm closest to him, then pulled and pushed her in front of him with just enough force that she wouldn't trip and fall.

"Both of you." His sharp glare would be on the Ebanians, keeping a watchful eye on them and the path as he led from the rear of their little party to their next destination a bit further away -- an eerie looking crack in the side of the shadowcast mountain.

@Reylo4evr

 

[Viola Enwynn]

Viola tensed as Mavyn flew through the air and didn't relax until Mavyn was standing on the same side of them, looking a little shaken but still ok. Viola didn't get a chance to walk up to her to see if she was alright before Ravus grabbed her upper arm and hauled her in front of him, forcing her to walk.

They continued on down the path, the way slowly getting darker as the headed towards a crack in the side of the mountain. She figured they would be going into the crack and was not excited about it. "Why are you going to so much effort to keep us both alive? Where are you taking us? Why are you such a grump?" she pestered him with questions.

@AdventCore

 

[Ravus Sephyre]

Ravus huffed and let out a low grumble as Viola pressed him with questions. Though his bestial instincts gave him the urge to pounce on the girl and silence her, the rest of him remained reserved and tried to hold back his grumpy expression.

"I am not grumpy." He shot back with a glare aimed right at Viola. "You are valuable. It's not both of you that need to stay alive." Ravus let out a sigh and spread the girls away from each other so he could step between them and approach the narrow entrance to the subterranean cave complex below the mountain.

The prince then went to turn back as he took a couple more steps into the dark dank cave. He kept his sharp gaze on both his captives, ready to forcefully Pull them into the cave if they tried to run away. "I'm taking you to my family's fortress. You'll be safe there while we unify our kingdoms."

@Reylo4evr

 

[Viola Enwynn]

Viola rolled her eyes as Ravus said he wasn't grumpy with an especially grumpy demeanor. It wasn't long before they reached the entrance to another cave, which was evidently supposed to take them to Ravus' fortress.

Viola raised an eyebrow as he talked about unifying the kingdoms. "And why would we want to do that?" she said snidely, following him in. A chill settled over her and she crossed her arms over chest. "We were doing fine before; you want to ruin that already unstable peace? You think there won't be a power struggle?"

@AdventCore

 

[Ravus Sephyre]

"It'll all make sense soon enough, princess." Ravus replied with a low volume, leading the girls deeper into the cave with his hand on the hilt of his Alvaerian vibroblade. A few small cracks in the side of the mountain kept the tunnel dim lit with a hazy grey hue.

"For now you'd best keep your voices down, and for your own good don't run off." His vigilant gaze swept the long wide tunnel as he quietly continued. In the distance each of the three individuals would be able to sense with their sensitive hearing the chittering and scuffling of something small in the shadows. "We've got a ways to go before we reach the first outpost on the path to the fortress. Then you'll see why Alvaeria is taking control."

@Reylo4evr

 

[Viola Enwynn]

Viola rolled her eyes at Ravus' mysterious air. She mocked him silently from where she walked ahead of him on the rocky path; he couldn't see her face. Almost immediately after, she tripped over her own feet and nearly face-planted on the rock in front of her. Thankfully, Mavyn reached out with her cuffed hands and caught her arm. While it saved her from breaking her nose, her arm was yanked painfully and she still landed painfully on her side; Mavyn nearly falling on top of her.

Her face bright red, Viola pushed herself to her feet and walked ahead of Mavyn and Ravus, trying to regather her sense of pride. Her legs were weaker than she'd like to admit- usually she was quite graceful.

@AdventCore

 

[Ravus Sephyre]

Ravus had begun to reach out with his left hand to catch Viola with the Force, but stopped once he saw Mavyn get ahold of her. He released a hushed sigh of relief and subtly moved his hand back down to his side. Then he shook his head and continued close behind the captives.

At the end of the tunnel was a small yellow glow coming from a small light embedded in the side of the exit to the next chamber. Then, as they neared the edge of the tunnel, they would be able to see that it dropped off into a steep cavern wall, extending down to a few more set of bulky ledges that would take the group down to the bottom of the massive cavern. It sprawled outward like a world of its own, hidden beneath the crust of Skynara, illuminated by the blue and purple bioluminescence of translucent flora scattered all throughout the cavernous ceilings like distant stars.

From their point of view, about a quarter of the way up the wall from the vast underworld's ground, the group could see a couple faint clusters of more yellow lights, where the Alvaerians had set up outposts to monitor and divert the overwhelming monster populations away from the exits to the surface. A small camera near the light alerted the guards to the tunnel, and a moment later Ravus would press his finger against the commlink in his ear.

"Outpost 42, this is Prince Sephyre." He jutted his chin up at the camera, then looked back across the sprawling underworld of murky forests and winding rivers. "We're at the third checkpoint. Cover us while we head to your position." Then he used his other hand to point out in the distance to one of the clusters of yellow lights, letting the girls know where they'd be heading once they got down from the extremely high up tunnel exit. A set of climbing ropes had already been in place for use by the Alvaerians, but Ravus didn't plan on taking things the easy way. That would take too long, and he wanted to get further ahead of the Ebanian troops before they reached the fortress.

"Up." Ravus commanded his captives as he knelt between them and curled his arms to make seats for the girls to climb up and cling to him. It was a long way down, and while Viola might be able to survive with the assistance of the Force, the stun cuffs meant her and Mavyn likely wouldn't survive dropping from the underground cliff. At least these ledges were much larger than the ones from the last mountain path, and less likely to collapse under their combined weight.

@Reylo4evr

 

[Viola Enwynn]

Viola was briefly distracted from her wounded pride by the awe-inspiring glowing fauna clustered on the ceiling of the cavern they entered. Across the cavern, high up on the wall, was a cluster of more lights, which was an outpost based on what Ravus said over his commlink.

When Ravus knelt and extended his arms, Viola grumbled to herself but situated herself so she was secure in his grip. She eyed the high tunnel exit and really wished she didn't have her cuffs on; their chances of survival would be higher. It looked, however, that the ledges would be able to hold their combined weight. As Ravus prepared to take a Force-enhanced leap, Viola gripped him tighter and prayed he didn't drop either of them.

@AdventCore

 

[Ravus Sephyre]

Ravus ducked his head and shoulders enough to let the shorter Annfyns sling their arms around him. He took Viola and Mavyn onto each of his arms, braced them tight against either side of his torso, and did his best to keep their hair out of his face as he stood.

"Alright." He calmly began, showing no fear in the extreme height or daunting obstacle before them. "Prepare yourselves." Without finishing he hopped forward, dropping all three of them several dozen meters. Then his feet touched down on the first hunky chunk of rock with a landing reinforced by the Force.

Without hesitation the prince leapt from the ledge, moving down across the steep cliff several more dozen meters to another speeder-sized lump. And then another. A couple more. He bounced from one to another during the long descent totaling nearly a hundred meters. Less than half the height of the vast subterranean expanse.

The Alvaerian prince let out a short grunt and a heavy breath after landing in a slight crouch. He dipped down and leaned forward enough to give the Ebanians an easy step onto the ground. The terrain before them extended into a vast decaying forest, with a few bits of bioluminescence still remaining to light the way once they were ready to continue.

"I'll take the lead this time." The half-Sephi calmly spoke as he drew his broad vibrosword and began to lead the way. "Stay close."

@Reylo4evr