batb part two: electric boogaloo

[fearlessly]

[ alisaie is not afraid of the woods.

truthfully, alisaie is not afraid of much at all - not the things that most are afraid of, at least. she does not fear the dark, or wolves, or bandits. she does not fear loud storms or knives in the dark of faerie tale monsters stalking haunted forests. what she fears is being along. grieving. losing those she loves.

and that is why she is here. alisaie has ridden tirelessly through the night, driving baptiste hard over the hard, wintry earth, her breath frozen in her lungs, the frigid wind stinging her cheeks and ears and eyes. alphinaud is her entire world. he is all that she has, all of her family that remains, and the thought of living her life without him, moving forward alone..

she would rather not move forward at all.

and so she will find him, regardless of he consequence, heedless of the potential danger, for without him, she has no life at all.

baptiste remembers the way, and though she can feel the tension and fear in the body of the horse beneath her, still they press on, hooves slamming hard into the earth, empty branches pulling at her hair, whipping over their heads. the forest seems to go on and on, deeper and deeper into darkness and mist, until at long, long last the space opens up, and a dark castle looms ahead, its twisted spires climbing into the gray sky, its gloomy edifice frowning down as she approaches the wrought iron gates choked with decayed vines.

alisaie is not afraid of much, yet still the sight of it sends a chill down her spine.

what is this place? she's heard of no such estate as this - a castle, so close to the village? how have there been no stories? no history? she has ridden less than a day to find her brother, not far from home at all, and yet.. there is nothing in their books about this great castle, no tall tales, nothing at all. it is a phantom. still, somehow it feels familiar to her.. like a memory of a dream's dream.

exhaling a shudder, alisaie slides from baptiste's back, leading him to an icy, overgrown brook for a drink, looping the reins over a strong, bare branch before at last she approaches the castle. it's silent, sinister, but she.. she has no choice. if this is where alphinaud is, then she must press forward. the rusted gates groan, splitting the silence, and alisaie approaches the great doors, the old rotten oak swinging beneath her weight as she slips carefully into the great, dark foyer. ]

Comments

[punshots]

[ She certainly seems taken with the library, and that's...good. It will keep her busy, and it might even bring her some sense of fulfillment. If nothing else, it might keep her out of his way, even if that means he avoids this place more. It isn't that her company is unpleasant, he's just so...unused to having any company at all, beyond the servants, and they had learned to give him a wide berth, falling into a lull of inactivity before she had arrived. Now they too engage him more often, and it's foreign. It's uncomfortable. Something he should stay away from, lest his heart rise out of the deep, dark place he has locked it away in.

And with her, any time he spends with her is only a reminder that she is only here because of him. He did this to her. He imprisoned her, but there's nothing else for it.

Sighing, he turns back towards the door. ]

I'll leave you to it, then.

[ He shouldn't overstay his time here with her. ]

[fearlessly]

[ she hardly knows where to begin. the bottom? the top? should she toss a hairpin somewhere in the middle and start with whatever it hits? there must be troves of knowledge hidden here, the town's - even the closest city's libraries are tiny in comparison to this, she can learn so much.

for the first time since her brother went missing, alisaie is smiling.

gliding down the shelf (it could certainly use a good dusting.. all of this could), her thoughts are interrupted by the cold steel of his voice again. her smile fades, and she turns. ]

All right.

[ a beat. ]

Thank you.

[punshots]

[ ...She's thanking him?

But...why? He hasn't shown her any kindness. All he did was show her where a room in the castle was, and that was only to keep her from stumbling into somewhere he didn't want her to see. She owes him no gratitude. Could she really mean that...?

From under his dark hood, he watches her for a moment in confusion, before shaking his head to himself and continuing on his way out of the library.

But before he disappears through the door, he mutters: ]

You are welcome.

[ And then he is gone. ]