Myra found herself enamoured with Alexis's sketches. She flipped through the Shade's sketch book from where they were seated on Myra's bed with Myra sitting up against the headboard, and Alexis laying on her side facing her. The Shade watched Myra's expressions as she looked over all the drawings in the sketchbook.
I'm surprised you don't just hang them up somewhere. Emerald teased Myra in their shared mind.
That would be weird if I just started hanging up all Alexis's drawings in my room Emma. Myra retorted.
"It's so weird watching you speak to Emerald in your head." Alexis noted.
"What? How do you know?" Myra asked, setting the sketchbook on her lap as she looked over at the Shade who looked like she could fall asleep any second.
"You make expressions as if you're having a conversation, but your mouth doesn't move. You knitted your eyebrows together, so I assume she's annoying you somehow." Alexis offered.
Myra chuckled. "I guess you're pretty observant."
"I have an eye for detail."
Myra held the sketchbook up and gave it a small shake. "I never would have guessed." She turned her head back to the drawing on the page. "You're a really good artist."
"Thank you."
"Seriously though. You're really, really good. Have you ever thought of doing a bigger piece?"
"I'm not exactly a well known artist of any kind. No one would buy one of my canvasses." She shrugged.
"Now, that's not true at all. I would certainly buy one. Hell, I know Emma was teasing me about putting up your sketches, but I kind of want to." Myra chuckled. "They're that good."
Alexis scoffed. "Yeah right."
"I'm serious!" Myra assured her. "Have you painted before?"
Alexis shrugged. "I usually just draw in pencil or charcoal sketches. I suppose I could try painting something."
"I could have Kat bring you an easel for your room."
"You don't have to do that." Alexis shook her head.
"Of course I don't have to. But that's not the point."
"Myra, seriously it's fine."
Myra chuckled. "If you don't want me to I won't. But it's not like it's any trouble."
"I can go out and get one once it's safer to leave the castle." Alexis told her. "You don't have to get me things you know."
"I know I don't have to."
"But you want to anyway?"
"I do." Myra laughed again getting Alexis to push her playfully before the hybrid flipped the page in the sketchbook to look at the next set of drawings. Of course this one got Myra's attention, as it was a perfect sketch of Myra and Kira dueling out in the fields behind the castle. But the detail was perfect, down to the cuts across their faces and bodies, and the small splatters of blood across their clothing. Even the shadows that flowed across their bodies from their shades was visible in this sketch.
Myra was in mid swing with her sword raised, and it appeared that Kira was somewhere between a dodge and a dash. It looked as though she had just stepped back and was now in the process of adjusting her weight forward with her daggers drawn. It was in such beautiful detail that Myra could almost see the action her mother was making. She could see the concentration on both her own face and her mother's while they were in the middle of that duel.
"How close were you when you drew this? It looked like you had to be right next to us to see all the details." Myra turned the sketchbook to Alexis who blinked a few times as if reliving the moment.
"I was next to Alison." Alexis clarified.
"You were invisible." Myra noted.
"I don't usually like being seen. It doesn't help that since I became a Shade I just turn invisible the moment I get nervous." Alexis shrugged. "Yet it feels second nature to me to move up next to people, knowing they can't see me."
"Can you see through other people's invisibility?" Myra asked, getting Alexis to nod. "Dumb question. You already said you saw that wolf person following Minerva."
Alexis shrugged with a small smile. "It's just weird how people who have good senses still don't seem to be able to notice me. I would have thought Kira and Alison would have been able to sense my presence."
"Maybe they chose to ignore you?" Myra asked. "Maybe they knew you didn't want to be seen, or they were waiting to see if you'd stab them in the back."
"I stayed about ten feet away from Alison the whole time. I wasn't standing right next to her."
"I don't know." Myra shrugged as she flipped the sketchbook back to herself and flipped another page. "I'm surprised you don't mind me looking through your drawings."
"You seem to like them."
"They're really good. I honestly kinda want to display them." Myra chuckled. "You could probably make a lot of money drawing portaits for people."
"People don't want a stray peasant to draw their pictures." Alexis chuckled. "Now, if you were the one drawing, they would pay an arm and a leg for that."
"That's not true.... well... the part about me probably is because the people in the village basically treat us like gods. But people would certainly buy your drawings."
"What, you think I should set up a cart or something?" Alexis chuckled as she rolled her eyes.
"Not really. I kinda want all of them to-." Myra paused as she flipped to the next page, finding a drawing of herself sitting on the grass of what appeared to be the garden. She was smiling into the painting like she was looking directly at the Alexis as she drew it and realized this was one of the moments when they were speaking in the garden.
Once again it was done in perfect detail, down to the shading from the glowing plants in the garden. There even appeared to be dampness on her clothing from the small pond, though not a lot. That same wisp of smoke from Emerald could be seen floating around her shoulders and Myra realized that Alexis could always see that Emerald was in her body. But the soft smile on Myra's face was done perfectly, detailing her soft features and kind expression flawlessly.
"What?" Alexis asked. "Is it bad?"
"Alexis... this is... this is how you see me?" Myra questioned, carefully touching her fingers to the paper while being careful not to smudge any of the lines.
"Well, you were looking at me like you genuinely cared. I wanted to draw it." Alexis shrugged.
"This is amazing..."
You should ask to keep it. Emerald called.
"Can I... Can I keep this?" Myra asked.
"Sure? The next one is Emerald." Alexis offered as Myra had already began carefully tearing the page free from the sketchbook. The moment the page had been torn out she found herself looking at an equally perfect version of Emerald. She didn't know when Alexis had seen Emerald pose like this, or perhaps Emerald had simply done it on purpose. But the green eyed shade was wearing her usual black and white clothing and was tilting her fedora in a way to block one eye from view. She was smiling playfully, almost like a flirtatious grin while her other hand held onto her vest like a true gentleman.
"These are so good!" Myra noted.
Take that one too! I want it!
"You can have that one as well." Alexis shrugged. "It's just a drawing."
Myra carefully tore the picture of her shade free with a smile finding the next page was blank like these were the last two of Alexis's drawings. She set Alexis's sketchbook down on her nightstand before looking over the drawings of herself and Emerald in awe. "These are amazing Alexis. I'm definitely displaying them on the walls of my room."
"Don't embarrass me..." Alexis warned.
"I'm serious! These are so good Alexis! I want people to see them!" Myra chuckled. "You're really good at this."
"I do my best." Alexis answered.
"I'm sure if you offer them to the people you drew that they would want them as well. I know my mother would definitely take the one of me and her fighting."
"Maybe I'll offer it to her then." Alexis answered, though she made no attempt at getting up or moving. Instead she remained on her side as she continued to watch as Myra examined the two drawings.
"Are you getting tired?" Myra questioned.
"A little." Alexis confessed.
"Do you want to head back to your room? It won't hurt my feelings if you want to go to bed." Myra told her with a gentle smile.
Alexis returned the soft smile. "No. If you don't mind, I'd like to stay here. This is the first time I've felt relaxed since I got here."
"I relax you?" Myra raised a playful eyebrow down at the shade.
"You do, but I haven't decided if that's a good thing yet."
"Well, if you're willing to sleep in my bed, I'm going to assume it's a good thing." Myra teased.
Shades tend to be more at peace inside someone's soul. Or at the very least, around other souls. She might just want to eat you.
She's not the same type of Shade as you are Emma. She doesn't want to eat me.
"It really is bizarre watching you speak in your own head." Alexis noted.
"It really is weird that you know when I'm talking to her." Myra answered. "It's a little disconcerting that you're so observant."
"I'm insulted that you're surprised. You just finished telling me that you knew my keen eye was good for my drawings, now you want to backtrack already?" She scoffed.
Myra set the pages on the nightstand along with the book before adjusting herself so she was laying beside Alexis where she turned to face her. "I just like teasing you. You can't fault me for that, can you?"
"We'll see." Alexis smiled softly.
"Are you... are you happy here? In the castle?" Myra asked.
"Why do you ask?"
"At first you really seemed like you hated it, but you seem to be a lot more opened with people." Myra noted. "I just wanted to make sure you were happy."
Alexis's eyes lowered a bit as she thought about the question. It certainly seemed like she was trying to decide whether or not to actually answer the question. "I mean, I still feel like a prisoner sometimes. But it's strange. No one is mean to me, at all. Everyone is very soft spoken and kind. I have servants who tend to me now and I'm always given a hot meal-"
"Can you taste normal food?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Do you have an abnormal craving for sugar?"
"No more than I normally do." Alexis's eyes narrowed. "Why?"
"I was wondering if Shades crave sugar, but I guess it's just an Emma and Zoe thing." Myra shrugged. "I'm glad it's not too bad. Once everything blows over you'll be able to go out, and I'm sure they'll even let you leave if you wanted to."
Alexis shrugged. "I don't really want to leave."
"You don't anymore?"
"I mean, I really did at first. I hated the idea of staying because I really felt like you just wanted me here to make sure I didn't go back to Agora and stab you all in the back. But... I mean, I wouldn't say I'm needed, but I certainly feel more wanted here than I did before. I help Kat and Bells around with some things when I can, and you're always keeping me company. I've snuck into Aviri's study trying to read her books only to end up helping her and Peredite with one of her experiments- willingly I might add. I ended up helping her find ingredients to finish some potions. It's really weird how even when I'm invisible Peredite is always looking directly at me."
"I was told Peredite's race sees through a hundred lenses at once. I wouldn't be surprised if they could see through invisibility like it was second nature." Myra offered. "Though it is kinda weird that you help them with potion making. Cool, but weird. Usually she hates it when people get into her study."
"That's what I was told. But she doesn't seem to mind. I'll be watching her then she's asking me to grab something for her and I just grab it without even thinking. Next thing you know she has me holding bottles over a burner or mixing things together like I was always her assistant. Which is weird because she already has Veronica who seems more than happy to do everything Aviri tells her to."
"Veronica is apparently the only person that Aviri is willing to turn into an apprentice. Most people don't last the first day, yet Veronica has been with her for hundreds of years. So much so that I think she gave her immortality but I don't really know. She looks like she aged a bit, but I feel like she completely stopped aging altogether after a while."
"Not surprising." Alexis chuckled. "Like I said, sometimes this place feels like a prison. But for the most part I enjoy my time here. I don't think I would leave, even if I could. Between the library and the garden, and even Aviri's study I have everything I'd ever want right here."
"Would you want to find a companion?" Emma called, her voice once again resonating from Myra's body itself.
"I don't know. Myra's really the only person I trust here, and even then, giving myself to someone body and soul doesn't sound like something I'm even remotely interested in."
"Understandable. Though I don't think me being here would have too much of an effect on your ability to partner with her. If anything, your Light traits compliment my Dark ones very well."
"Yes, but having two shades possessing you doesn't sound like it would be a good idea." Alexis narrowed her eyes.
"Under normal circumstances maybe. But like I said, you're a Light Shade, so you don't consume or drain a soul as much as a Dark Shade would. So where as when I siphon off part of her soul she doesn't notice, you being there would probably not even effect her at all. She might get a little tired once in a while, but that's what those crystals are for." Emerald explained. "I'm just saying, if you wanted a companion and were worried you couldn't have Myra that won't be an issue. Of course, it's obviously still up to her."
"I mean... I don't really see a problem with it. Being able to turn invisible without wanting to vomit sounds like a good thing." Myra offered.
"Why does me being your companion negate the feeling of being possessed?"
"Because as a Shade you are technically a soul without an actual body. Your body is made of magic which you create using the power of your soul. When you become my companion you basically use my soul to create your body. Siphoning off a piece of it to replace with your own body. This means even when you're outside of me, your still technically here." Myra placed a hand over her collarbone. "Even when Emma is outside of my body, most of her is still right here with me, allowing her to teleport back to me at will and allowing us to communicate in thought."
"So if I became your companion then I would be able to join your mental conversations?" Alexis asked.
"Yep. If it's something you want to do then by all means we can do it. But for the most part it's a permanent thing."
"For the most part?"
"Well, you literally become a piece of my soul. If anything happens to you I would feel it like someone ripped out a piece of my soul." Myra explained. "I can say from experience, it's not pleasant."
"So if I died -again- what would that do to you?"
"Either hurt incredibly badly, or just kill me. I'm not entirely sure. It's usually why when we fight Emma stays inside me. So that she can't be directly targeted."
"I guess that makes sense."
"Are you really thinking about it?"
"Joining you?"
"Yeah."
"Well... I don't really believe that this is my fight. That being said, Agora killed my sister and I would certainly love to get even with him. I want to give him a piece of my mind, without a doubt. If this gives me a fighting chance then yes, I'm very much considering it."
"Well, give it some thought for now. Nothing has to happen right away. You can think on it for as long as you need to and we can go from there." Myra smiled softly.
As Myra smiled, Alexis reached up and gently touched her knuckles to Myra's cheek getting her to pause as they looked at each other. "Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I just... I never had someone care before. I'm so used to being told to do things that being given a choice is a little..."
"Nice?"
"It's great. Thank you. I'll think on it."
"For now, get some rest. We have time."
"For now." Alexis noted, but she closed her eyes regardless. The two of them eventually drifted off to sleep. Myra didn't notice it at the time, but Alexis had moved her hand so her knuckles were resting just over Myra's collarbone, as if trying to sense or touch her soul.