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. ]

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[fearlessly]

[ all at once the atmosphere is broken - the magic and the heat, the longing that has been building not only this night, but over several long weeks - it all dissolves in an instant when that charcoal snaps in his palm.

alisaie's throat tightens, and she suddenly feels very.. silly, and exposed. giving herself to him like this, she has offered everything, everything she has to give, her heart and her body and her companionship, and still he is pushing it away. he led her here. he asked her to this dinner, he asked her to dance, and now he is backing out? he is telling her no when it took so very much for her to bear her heart to him? he is turning her down when he was the one who brought them here?

a shiver runs down her spine, and alisaie swallows thickly, her arms moving instinctively over her breasts to hide herself, her gaze flickering away. ]

That is not for you to decide.

[ she says gently, but firmly, and there is no hiding the disappointment in her voice. ]

That is for me to -

[ something catches her eye. a flicker, a bright light beyond the terrace, an unnatural glow on the horizon that fills her with a quiet but immediate dread. ]

What is that..?

[ quickly, alisaie is sitting up, snatching her dressing gown from the floor and wrapping it around her body while she hurries toward the terrace, and in the distance she sees it, her fears culminated. it is far off, but the blaze on the horizon can be only one thing - a fire in the town, large and strong enough to be quite visible from even this distance, lighting up the night sky in ferocious orange and red. ]

[punshots]

[ The argument withers and dies in his throat as she rebukes him, but not because she has convinced him so easily. As far as he is concerned, there just isn't...anything to argue about. How could she possibly believe that? He kept her here against her will. He made her a prisoner. He is a broken man — no, not even a man, but a machine, twisted and made to live in this body for years far longer than he should have. He had all but turned to rust before she arrived, and there's no doubt that she has changed him, that she has healed him — but love? How could she love him, with how worthless he is? How could she give herself to him like this, when he has kept her from living her life?

In the end, she'll realize the truth. She'll come to this same conclusion. He's just...trying to point out the obvious.

But before either of them can say anything else, Alisaie draws attention to the town beyond the forest, her town, where a large, foreboding column of smoke rises up, the telltale signs of flames set upon the horizon.

Oh. Oh no.

He speaks without thinking, even as his head dips down, knowing in an instant what this means, but she must do, and what he must to in return. ]

...Go. Th-they'll need the help of a powerful mage.

[ And she will need to make sure her brother is safe. She...she should go. She should have gone long ago. ]

[fearlessly]

[ for all that she might have been angry and disappointed a few moments ago, it is all overwhelmed by a cold wash of fear as she watches the town burn. it isn't a small fire, but a large enough one to be seen from the castle, large enough that many lives could be in danger - her brother could be in danger.

what could she possibly do from here? how can she help him?

and then prompto says what, in retrospect, she will see as inevitable, but in the moment is as shocking as a tub of icewater upended down her back. ]

.. go?

[ what is he saying? he cannot be freeing her, not when so much hinges on her presence here. she knows by now how much he worries for the castle and all who live there, how much of her imprisonment is not necessarily a punishment for her, but what he sees as protection for them. that he would allow her to go and help..

.. surely that is all he means. he must expect her to come back, yes? he isn't giving her her freedom, only leave to attend to the fire. that must be all that he means. turning from the window, alisaie clutches at the front of her robe, her eyes fixed on his face, hesitant and uncertain. ]

What are you saying?

[punshots]

[ It takes no small amount of willpower and courage, but at last he looks back up into her face, his expression plainly pained and grieved, no matter how limited his automaton features might be. This is exactly the moment he's feared so much, but one he knew was always inevitable all the same. He could never keep her here forever, whether she wound up running away or he set her free. his moment was always due to come. But that knowledge makes it no easier to face the prospect that she will leave and likely never return. Why would she come back? After all the time he has taken from her, why would she willingly place herself in his company once again?

No, he is destined to be alone. He has always been destined to be alone. That's what makes this curse so cruel — it is unbreakable, all by the chains around his own heart.

He may not be human, but it still not easy to find his voice, to encourage it to be more than a croak against the wave of turmoil he only just holds at bay. He will break down inevitably, but he must wait to do it until she is gone. ]

...What I should have said long ago. You...you're free, Alisaie. Go.

[ He can trust her to keep this castle's secrets now, and that's the last thing he will ask of her, should she leave now and never return again. ]

[fearlessly]

[ you're free.

for all that she is panicked with fear and all but chomping at the bit to rush to her home, to her brother, those simple words still take her aback. he has softened toward her, grown warmer, kinder, but still she had never expected that he would release her in any real, official capacity, that he would trust her to keep the secrets of this place.

but she will keep them. not only for him, but for the others as well, for the many who live here, the good people who were caught in this unfortunate curse. the world would not understand this place.. it would not understand them, and she could not abide anything terrible happening to any of them, not when they have been so good and kind to her. she will be back. she must come back. she cannot leave things like this.

but for now.. for now her brother needs her.

snapping from her disbelieving trance, alisaie moves forward at last, and folds the cover over the drawing he has made for her, pressing it into his hands. it is for him to keep. she had not expected him to need a token to remember her by for many long years, but still.. he should have it now. with her free hand, alisaie takes his jaw in her palm, leaning her brow to his and pressing a warm, lingering kiss to the crest of his cheek, the metal cool and smooth beneath her lips. this is not how she had hoped this night would end. ]

.. thank you.

[ and then she is gone. ]