Something Different: A PoP 2008 FanFic

The prince paced back and forth in his small flat, it was a few hours before the "date" and he had nothing to wear. He cursed his closet full of desert gear, and underwear. He had two options:
Going into the bazaar and buying something.
Or, going to the dinner in desert gear.
He honestly preferred the desert gear option because he knew that Elika would be checking out the open chested garment, but he also knew that she would be dissatisfied at seeing him not dressed nicely. He splashed his face with water from his wash basin, and he walked into town.

---

Elika stood at the front of her closet, and she found the perfect thing to wear. She found it in a small booth in the middle of the bazaar. It stood out to her, like a blue sapphire in a bowl of diamonds. The merchant reluctantly parted with it for half a silver piece and a flash of cleavage. It was a form of a tribal balouchi dress. It was a soft yellow, with golden trim. She put it on, and realized it was a tad too short in length. Oh well, she thought to herself. She didn't think he would mind at all. She slipped an anklet around her right foot, and  put on her sandals that she rarely wore. Then, she attempted to run a brush through her tangled, rippling hair. It had gotten fairly long, almost past her shoulder blades. A particularly stubborn knot rested at the very bottom. Finally giving up, elika reached into her bottom drawer and took out her knife. She hacked the knot out of her hair, and she looked in the mirror. "Shit." she cursed out loud as she noticed the unevenness of her hair. 

---

The prince was in a small tailor shop on the outskirts of the bazaar. An old woman sauntered up to the prince, "What can I help you with?" Her voice sounding like a donkey's bray, "I have a place to be in less than two hours, so I need some readily made clothes." "You're lucky," the old woman brayed. "A man about your size cancelled his order a few hours ago. Here, come to the back room, and we'll try them on." The prince walked into the back room, and the two piece outfit impressed him after he tried it on. "It's a tad modern..." He said. "I prefer the term 'new age'," the woman said. The prince looked over the outfit again. It was a simple, white button down shirt, with bronze buttons. The pants were a dark colored material, and came all the way down to his ankles. "How much?" the prince asked, already reaching into his overstuffed coin purse. "A silver piece." The old woman croaked. The prince handed over the money, cringing. He walked back home, his coin purse feeling a bit lighter than before.

---

Elika stared at herself for a full minute in the mirror before she ran a brush through her short haircut. It wasn't as short as before, but it now barley touched her shoulders, and the uneven cut made her cheekbones round.  But, she had an hour till he came and knocked on her door, so she tried the best she could to fluff it up, making the length less noticeable. As she sat in front of her mirror, a sudden knock on her door shattered her inner peace. Shit, she said to herself, he's an hour early. As she opened the door to her small flat, her mouth completely dried up. He stood at her door, looking even more gorgeous than he did the day they first met.

 She started at his face and worked her way down. He wasn't wearing the dirty old scarf, instead he had his hair down, but it was held out of his face by a red piece of fabric. His chin was free of his normal amount of dirt and stubble, and elika noticed how shiny his skin looked after a nice bath. His chest and shoulders looked even broader than before, and his clean white shirt was unbuttoned at the top. His muscular calves were covered with the lace up boots that he bought on his and elika's journey to their ocean village. 

----

When she opened the door, The Prince had the air knocked out of him. She looked amazing. Her eyes were framed by a black liner that accentuated her long eyelashes, and dress showed enough leg to make his mother blush. "You look...wow." The Prince said, his eyes meeting elika's for the first time in a week. "You look very nice," She said. He smiled at her,  "Can I come in?" He asked, Elika opened her door, "Make yourself at home." The prince walked inside, and sat down on a cushy chair in the center of her living room. "You have a very nice house." the prince said, taking in every wall. "Thanks," Elika said, leaning against a far wall, "Cost me a pretty penny too." The prince laughed, "And what have you been doing lately to be making this kind of coin?" Elika looked at him, biting her lip. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." The silence in the room shattered the prince's thoughts. "Well, I can't believe I haven't been here before," The prince finally said. "How long have we known each other?" Elika looked up at the high ceilings and pondered. "Almost two and a half years." She answered, thinking about all of the things she had done and learned in that short time frame. "I can't believe it's been that long." The prince replied, "Well, let's get out of here. We have a lot to do tonight." The Prince got up, and held the door open for elika, and they made their way into the night. 

---

Elika watched the candlelight dance across his face as he paid the server. The dinner was amazing, and so was their conversation. They talked about the prince's new job (A plan maker for a thief guild in the town) , and Elika's (A cartographer for the local caravan company), and they talked about anything under the brand new sun. They walked out of the little bakery with their hands brushing against each others, making Elika's face slowly redden. "I just don't understand," He said, "How could you draw maps of a world you've barely explored?" Elika responded, "In the last two and a half years, we've traveled to a lot more places than you would think, and I dream of things..." The prince stopped dead in his tracks, and grabbed elika's arm gently. "Dreaming?" He asked her, "Yes, but only of places. But, it's as if I can see their shape, to the point where I can map them flawlessly." "That's quite something," The prince mused. "But let's change the subject," He began walking again. "We're going to my place." He said, "Why?" Elika asked, "Because I want you to see it, and I live on my own little private stretch of beach." The Prince whispered into her ear. Elika pretended not to be surprised, but it was a lost cause. "How can you make that much coin? I thought I was making money." "Oh," The prince gloated, "I have my ways." They came to stop at a beaten path, and the prince stepped in front of elika and knelt down. "I am not getting on your back." Elika said. "I don't want you to ruin you sandals. Get on." The prince said. Elika sighed and climbed on his back. The prince laughed and took off, running full speed. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and held tight. She could feel his heartbeat through his shirt, and it reminded her of terrible things. 
--
  Sleeping by day, and fighting by night. 
The dark clouds that covered the sun. Blotting it out for what felt like eternity. 
Sleeping between rocks in the desert. Them curling around each other, trying to preserve some warmth in the bitter cold winds of Ahriman. 
The corruption that elika had never seen before. Seeing it swallow a whole town. Having to fight corrupted children.
 Seeing the Prince finally breaking, watching him crouch down as sobs wracked his whole body. Putting her arm around him, and sobbing with him. 
Then, seeing the sun rise for the first time in a year.  Feeling the sun make her whole body warm, like it had never been before. 
Them trying to pick up the pieces, traveling from town to town, until they came to stop at a quiet seaside town. 
They decided to separate, to try to not dwell in the memories of the past year. 
Remembering running into each other at the bazaar. His smile and the memories attached to it making it hard to breathe. 
Him asking her to dinner, wanting to catch up. Her accepting the offer, hoping for some type of closure that she hadn't felt since they decided to separate. 
--
He crouched down, and Elika snapped out of her reverie. She got off of his back slowly, feeling dizzy. "Are you okay?" He asked her, catching her around the waist as she almost tumbled to the ground. "Let's get you inside." He said, scooping her up with a grunt. 

He gently set her down on a pillow that almost threatened to swallow Elika if she made any sudden movements. "What happened back there?" He asked, crouching next to her. "I remembered." She replied, covering her face with her hands. He gently peeled her hands away from her face, and lifted her chin to make eye contact with him. "I remember sometimes too. It's okay." He smiled sadly at her, and slowly he got up. "Let's go talk on the beach. It makes it easier." She watched him grab a blanket out of a ridiculously large closet, and she felt his hand grab hers. "Come on, let's get out of here." 

They walked in silence down towards the shoreline, the roar of the waves interrupting Elika's thoughts. When they finally came to a good spot, he laid the blanket down, and sat down on it. "Sit." He patted the area right next to him. Elika sat, and they both remained silent, just listening to the waves. "I used to come down here everyday when we first got here. This was my father's house. He asked my mother to marry him on this beach." As he was talking, he was tracing Elika's fingers gently. "So you grew up here?" Elika asked, "No, but before he died, my father told me about this place. Told me it was a good place to 'heal' if need be." The prince leaned back and unbuttoned his shirt. "So you thought of this place." Elika said, leaning back too. "I thought that separating would be the best thing for us," He said slowly. "But I just felt empty. I can't tell you how hard it was the first couple of weeks, not having anyone to keep warm." Elika nodded, knowing that she felt the same way. He grabbed her hands, and Elika put one hand on his heart. "I missed hearing it." She whispered. "Elika, you're the only girl whos ever seen me at my worst, and at my best. You've seen me break, and you've seen me in every way possible." He rolled over on his side, and faced her. "And, tell me if I'm wrong...but I think we need each other to heal." He placed one hand on her face, and she 
curled her hand against his. She finally spoke, "These things that we have witnessed, they left wounds on us that are still open. We need each other to face these memories and stitch these wounds closed." He scooted closer to her, their eyelashes brushing against one anothers. He slowly stood up, pulling elika with him. "Let's walk."

They made their way back to his house, and Elika sat on his balcony watching the waves reflect the bright moon as if it was the sun. She heard him come up behind her, and she turned in her seat. "It's beautiful isn't it?" He asked. "It is. It's been a long while since I've been out here." She answered. "it's time for me to leave." Elika said. he smiled at her, and her heart skipped a beat. "I'll walk you home."

They arrived at her house after a ten minute walk, and he leaned against her doorframe with one arm. "Have a great night." He whispered, extending one arm to her. Elika wrapped her arms around him in a hug that would have crushed a tree if he squeezed any harder. She stood on her tippy toes, and kissed him on the cheek. "Good Night." She said, squeezing his hand a final time. As she turned for the door, he snatched her hand and turned her around. "You're going to have to do better than that." He grinned at her before he took her face with his hands and kissed her. She stood there, completely shocked after he released her. He smiled at her one last time before he turned on his heel and walked back to his house. 

Elika went inside her house and leaned against the wall and sank down to the floor. It was quite a night. She took off her dress and crawled into her bed, letting her dreams of far off places and blue eyed Persians take over her.