Shadowfall

Awakening

 ~* How like a winter hath my absence been ...*

                   -Shakespeare

*******~~*******~~~~*******~~~~*******************

She wondered if he felt like she did. If he had felt the earth-shattering tremors and seen the glow they emitted, in the split second when their eyes had locked and she had whispered his name.

“That’s Prince Caleth to you,” he snapped, seemingly shaking out of a reverie, “and who exactly are you?” Evidently, he hadn’t. Still, Leia couldn’t shake the feeling, and she ignored his outburst.

“What are you doing in here?” She breathed. He stared at her.

“I needed to clear my head before I talked to the Illyria, and this looked like a good place. I didn’t realize it was a deathtrap. Now, are you going to tell me who you are, and how I might get out of here? Do you work here? Do you live nearby? I’m sure they told you I was coming? Sorry about your basket,” he added, gesturing to the spilled goods for Elsabeth.

Suddenly Leia realized that he thought she was a servant, probably because of the simple shawl she had on over her hair, and the fact that she wasn’t waiting with the rest of the family to receive him. With a jolt she remembered that he was exactly the person she was trying to avoid, and so far he hadn’t recognized her. She pulled the shawl tighter over her head and hurriedly scooped up her spilled basket, turning away from him.

“I’m on my way to see a friend. The way out is fairly simple, just follow only the crescent moons in the hedges.” She attempted to continue, but he reached out and grabbed her as she moved away from him.

“Don't turn your back on me! Where do you think you’re going, I want you to show me the way out! That is an order.” he said with authority. Leia turned back towards him, feeling desperate and a little annoyed, but the movement jarred the shawl that Caleth’s hand gripped, and it slid off her head and pooled around her shoulders. Caleth let out a rush of air as her silvery hair fell forward and her violet tinged grey eyes met his.

“My god, Leia?”

She was caught. His hand on her arm tightened, and he pulled her towards him, his eyes roving her intently. She felt a tingling in the air around her, but she frowned as she realized it was not the same as before, but one much more familiar, and her whirling mind struggled to return to reality and remember. Simultaneously, Caleth’s eyes strayed over her shoulder and suddenly widened with what looked unmistakeably like fear. Confused, Leia whirled to see what it was, but was instead pushed backwards as a large, powerful white figure leapt between her and Caleth. The prince stumbled back against the hedge behind him as the figure snarled at him.

Eos! Leia screamed in her head desperately. Caleth struggled to remove himself from the clutches of the hedge, but seemed to be pressed by an invisible force as the enormous cat took a step towards him.

“Leia!” yelled Caleth, “what the devil is that!” A rustling on the other side of him made him to snap his head over, only to see a midnight black panther advancing on him, silently, and more slowly than the other and he began to yell again. “Leia!”

Not knowing quite what to do, as her cats had never attacked anyone before, she called out their names desperately. “Nyx! Eos!” They halted, but stayed focussed on Caleth. Leia closed her eyes and worked instinctively, mustering up the strongest feeling of calm she could, channelling it and pushing it out as an entity towards the cats and Caleth. She felt Eos relax a little in front of her, and when she opened her eyes, Caleth was looking less panicked. She felt a little surprised that it had worked, but she pushed on.