InkSkin

A Prince and His Companion

Alsuha headed for a secluded garden she had come across on her early endeavors to familiarize herself with LuSol's domain. She had stumbled across its overgrown wilderness by way of a false wall. She had quickly realized there were many hidden passages in the Prince's Tower, and she suspected there were many more throughout the entire castle.

She had returned several times, at first just to make sure no one else would come. Eventually, she had felt comfortable enough to make a few changes. She had cleared a space in what she figured was the center of the garden. She had not wanted to tame the unruly beauty it had become, but she did add some plants and flowers she had 'borrowed' from the more cultured gardens simply because she liked their colors, others because they reminded her of home. She removed others she knew would harm the rest of the garden. She was left with a charming escape and if she closed her eyes she almost had a sense of an open field and freedom; something she vaguely remembered from before her Collaring.

She let her fingers trail along the length of her arm, envisioning the smoky black wood of her bow. She felt the familiar tug as the Drawing symbols on her fingertips caught on the symbol she wanted, which tingled slightly, and Drew out her longbow. She stood there, her heart racing, her hands shaking, as she remembered the last time she'd held her bow.

It had been the day she had returned from her Visit. Her mother had beamed at her with pride, at her green and brown Ink, the same as the Ink which had swirled on her mother's dusky skin and had presented the bow to her only daughter. Her mother had not said a word, she hadn't needed to. Alsuha had already known the significance of the bow. It had been passed down from mother to daughter from before time was told.

Her mother had told her so many times the story of the Bow of Mist that she knew it by heart, and she had accepted it with all the reverence it was due. And as her Ink Drew it into her, etching a new symbol onto her Ink, she felt as though a missing piece had been returned to her. That night had been the first and last of many for her; it had been the first and last time her mother had spoken to her as an equal, the first and last time she had Drawn, it was the first and last time she had ever held her birthright. Until now.

She felt the smooth grooved wood against her fingers. She could feel it, but as she looked down all she saw was a dark gray mist whirling up and around her fist. It was a tall bow, almost twice her height. She felt tears prick the back of her eyes; in her hands she held the last link to a mother whose face she could no longer remember. But holding that bow she could have sworn she heard an almost recognizable voice whisper in her ear, instructing her, praising her.

She quietly let the bow melt back into her Ink. She watched, her heart filled with equal measures of sadness and joy, as the trail of inky smoke the bow left behind swirled around her before settling back into her Ink. She let her fingers trace along her Ink once more until she felt another set of symbols tingle beneath her fingertips and she Drew out a wooden staff. She laughed sadly to herself; she had once struggled to lift the heavy length of wood. She felt tears slide down her cheeks as half remembered images flashed through her mind's eye. She had labored under the heavy tutelage of her brothers, her father and her mother. She had been the only girl child to bless her family and had been spoiled rotten, disciplined severely and loved tremendously.

She swayed from side to side as the memories kept coming and she let them. Two thousand years was a long time to hide from memories that would have broken her in the Pitts. She embraced them and everything they revealed. How could I have forgotten my family?

"I'm sorry." Alsuha whirled, reflexively sliding into a defensive stance, the staff braced before her.

"Oh. It is just you." She exhaled slowly and let her shoulders relax.