Palace, Found (Titania, Nairore)

[Nairore]

x x

On one side of her face she was a Gerudo. On the other she was a Hylian, or at least she was manufactured to look like one. It didn't help that after a month her hair had grown enough that there was a significant amount of red in the roots of her hair, putting fiery streaks across her head. She stared at herself in the mirror, stared at her eyes. It didn't seem natural, but she found herself wondering which way it was supposed to be. She had always been blue, but the gold was the real color.

She turned around and looked at Merik, feeling a calm she hadn't in several days. Having the problem outlined to her so clearly as that really helped her come to deal with it, and the fog in her mind now seemed to clear up, though the fracture it had left, the identity crisis, as Titania had called it, was certainly still there. There was a fire in her eyes as she stared at Merik, at his own disguised eyes. She decided gold really was his color and that he should switch back, though she didn't voice this.

Instead she took a step toward him and hesitated for just a moment. "If that's really the cause of this then at least I know what I have to do. Teach me how to be a Gerudo, and then I'll be able to decide which feels right," she said with a fiery determination in her multi-colored eyes. She had come to realize at this point that she wasn't simply going to be able to dismiss everything and return to her old life.

She had to adapt. She had to survive. And now, instead of tearing herself apart, she had her path. Training was not the answer, though it was what she wanted. She also needed to fulfill the desires of this new side of her that was battling to come out. She needed to appease her Gerudo heritage and at least learn what it was about. Only then would it accept her decision to shun it, if so she decided, though honestly that shadow of doubt was still in the corners of her mind. Maybe that was why her Gerudo side insisted so much upon being developed.

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[titania]

Titania knew this was going to be a tough time for Nairore. She was, as her eyes indicated, at a crossroads. These decisions to be made were hers and hers alone. It was, however, nice to see Merik so supportive.

"Well, I'm not going to take up any more of your time. If you need me, I'll be in my chambers." With a nod, she quickly exited the room and headed back to her chambers to relax some more. This little visit just got a lot more interesting. So much for a social call.

EXIT?[/i][/u]

[Merik Dragmire]

"Thank you again Titania." Merik said as he gave the Queen a warm smile.

Once she was out of the room he quickly shut and locked the door before crossing to the window and closing the curtains. After a final check to make sure he hadn't left a gap that a passing Fairy might see him through, he dropped his illusion and resumed his true form. Walking back to Nairore's side he resumed his effort to steer her back to the bed.

"If that is your wish then we'll make for the desert after I'm done here. But before you get to resume your training or start living as a Gerudo you need to lay back down and get some rest." He said before giving her a slight smirk and adding in a joking tone. "Besides your combat techniques are bad enough, they don't need any extra help with you being exhausted all the time."

[Nairore]

x x

Nairore watched as Titania left. She really didn't have any words for the Fairy Queen. She was thankful for the room, but Titania was doing that primarily because Merik had asked for it. She knew her very presence there was making the queen unsteady; it was making her uncomfortable being there. She didn't trust Titania, not as much as she should. If word got back to her father . . . then . . . well there was no then. She had no idea if she cared anymore. Or was that her Gerudo side talking.

Once Titania had left and Merik had closed the curtains and dropped his disguise, Nairore blessed him with a truly rare smile then, finding herself genuinely moved by the amount of caring he seemed to possess for her request. She was beginning to decide for herself that Merik could not be the evil scumbag her father had made him out to be. It was an opinion she had formed on her own, and it actually felt solid; the doubt that crept through her thoughts couldn't seem to affect it.

"I'd like to stop by Castle Town to see my sister if such a route can be arranged," she said, though she wasn't certain if that was the absolute truth. She felt the need to talk to her father, but she didn't know why. She did know it wouldn't go well, especially if the enchantment on her eyes was being resisted. He would know something's up. But then maybe that was why she wanted to talk to him, to fix the lying she had done. He deserved to know the truth.

Then, as out of character as the smile was, she topped it by closing the gap between them and wrapping her arms around him in an embrace. It was ginger, unfamiliar, but it was a hug and she held it, her head resting against his chest almost lazily. "Thank you for everything, Merik," she said and for, perhaps the first time since they started, his name didn't feel wrong coming from her mouth nor did it leave a foul taste.

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[Merik Dragmire]

Merik was a little stunned by Nairore's unexpected smile but found no trouble immediately returning it. Her request wasn't unexpected but he knew that they'd have to be very careful while they were in the area.

"We can easily pass through Castle Town, though you'll have to be careful to avoid Zenethil if you hope to keep your current condition a secret...or I might be able to give you my own illusion to make you look as you did a few hours ago..." he said trailing off at the implications for himself; he could easily lend her his tunic but he'd be left uncloaked in Castle Town...that could be troublesome.

If her smile had caught him off guard, he was practically floored when she turned and hugged him. Acting automatically his arms wrapped around her much smaller form to lightly hold her against him.

"It's no problem Nairore...though you might want to watch about the hugging, people might get the wrong idea and think you don't hate me afterall." he said with a smirk before realizing he was still holding her.

[Nairore]

x x

Something about being in his arms felt safe. Nairore didn't quite know why, but it seemed it appealed to her Gerudo half. She knew she shouldn't. She wasn't a Gerudo, not yet. She was going to learn to become one, but she wasn't one yet. It seemed as if she were giving herself over almost completely to the Gerudo side. She had spent so much time living life as a Hylian, a lie, that perhaps it was time she lived as a Gerudo. It was only fair, right?

She held Merik for a moment longer, grinning at his comment. "Good thing you closed the curtains," she murmured as she finally broke the embrace. She still remained close. After he had helped clear up the chaos of her mind and separate the fog into the two halves of her identity and make sense of it his presence had become remarkably more comforting. She eyed the bed and her fatigue became more present, the entirety of it becoming clear to her.

Yet there was still enough energy from the adrenaline rush that she could realize that. Then a fear crept into her mind that once she fell to back into that weariness she might not be able to maintain the separation, that the chaos would ensue and that she would be right back where she had started. Frankly she wasn't certain if she could handle it anymore. With this in mind she unstrapped Naurlambe and some of her other gear, laying it to the side.

"Would I be overstepping myself if I asked you to . . . stay? At least until I'm asleep. I'm just . . . well I'm afraid of what might happen," she said, bashfully. Either way she settled down on the bed and her muscles seemed to breath a sigh of relief. Her multicolored eyes stared down at the floor beside the bed, her lids not feeling heavy enough to close just yet. She could almost feel the gold, her own eye feeling foreign in her head.

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[Merik Dragmire]

Merik chuckled as Nairore finally sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at the floor.

Well at least she's ON the bed, now lets just see if I can get her to sleep...[/i] he thought as he sat down on the opposite side of the bed and began pulling off his boots.

Once he had his boots off he laid back on top of the blankets, leaning against the wall behind the bed as he patted the spot next to him.

"With the way you've been sleeping lately, I fully intended to make sure you were asleep this time." he said as he yawned and stretched towards the ceiling.

And once I'm sure she's asleep I can take care of my work area in the library and maybe catch a little rest myself... he thought lazily before his eyes took in Nairore's form. Assuming I don't fall into my usual traps...teacher and student, teacher and student, teacher and student...

[Nairore]

x x

Nairore watched intently as Merik removed his boots and settled down in bed, so compliantly. Was he doing this out of kindness, duty, or perhaps some malicious intent. The two of them were alone in a private bedroom, after all, such was the setting for all sorts of tomfoolery. So she imagined anyway, as Nairore's father had been quite strict about keeping her in check, perhaps not wishing for her to have much reason to work a Gerudo's natural feminine wiles.

Not that she had ever wanted to. She had never had the desire to do much else but sleep in a bed, and even then it was out of necessity. It seemed like a waste of time to her, yet now she would be lying to say there weren't certain thoughts being entertained somewhere in that confused and weary mind of hers. And she had to wonder where they were coming from, whether they were her thoughts truly or merely products of some delirium she was settling into.

As she shifted her weight in the bed to lie down she felt his eyes upon her, even noticed it in her peripheral. It was a gaze she had felt hundreds of times in her life from the Knights, a gaze she had broken many noses for. A gaze that probably would have sent her packing just a few days earlier had Merik given it to her then. Yet now, well, it only seemed natural. In fact she found herself almost glad that he would even look at her that way, considering all that had happened, all that she was, and all that he stood for.

Nairore settled down in the spot beside Merik. The first time there had ever been a man in the bed with her for any reason. She felt his warmth, and it felt inviting, enough so that as she settled in she made a point of keeping the gap between them close, her mid back resting against his chest even. It was the closeness, it provided some sense of comfort as she lay with her back to him, something else she wouldn't have considered a few days earlier. Without even thinking her hand reached behind, found his arm, and pulled it over her like a blanket as she settled in and began to feel the drowse.

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[Merik Dragmire]

As Nairore was finally getting settled in a part of Merik, the typically unheeded part that usually argued against things that caused trouble, was urging for him to make good his escape before it was too late.

C'mon Dragmire, you know exactly how this is going to go if you stick around; you've finally gotten her to realize you aren't that bad and you're going to go and screw it up by...by...oh blazes...[/I] the tiny voice was saying before she eased up against him, sending his rational mind into a frenzy.

Okay it is definitely time to go. You definitely cannot be trusted to act rationally here so I'm taking charge and I say we are lea...DAMNATION![/I] his mind was again distracted as she reached to drape his arm over her.

Knowing it would most likely end up causing a lot more problems than it solved, but not quite being in a position to care, he turned as she pulled on his arm and easily wrapped his body around hers. His arm slid down along her curves until his fingers began to dance, ever so lightly, along her exposed stomach.

[Nairore]

x x

Nairore could feel Merik's intentions as his hand moved along her body, contorting to the curves of her figure. It came to rest on her naval and started to dance across her exposed skin. Her entire body tensed up as she felt his hand on her flesh, goosebumps raising behind his touch as if he were leaving a trail across her body. It was the first time she'd ever been touched so gently, so tenderly, by anyone. And, oddly enough, she found she was extremely sensitive, his touch causing her breath to hitch in her throat.

Her hand shot up to catch his where it was against her skin, stopping its motion for a split second out of sheer reflex. But instead of pulling it away she drew her hand away slowly and left his hand where it was. She wasn't necessarily encouraging him, nor was she discouraging him. She wasn't sure what she was doing, but she knew she wasn't going to object if he continued. So she pulled her hand away, aiming to leave him to her own devices.

Except something else happened instead. As her conscious, rational mind grew weary and tired instinct took the chance to take over. Either fortunately or unfortunately for Merik, Nairore's instinct was a honed and powerful force, and it was rarely indecisive. Such was the instinct of a warrior, influenced now by her budding Gerudo blood. Nairore shifted her weight and rolled over to face Merik, her multi-colored eyes looking right into his as her hand found his and wrapped it around her again, resting his palm against the skin of her lower back.

And then, for better or for worse, the gap between them closed, perhaps in character for this particularly out of character day for her. She didn't know what compelled her to do so, what sort of force drove her, nor did she think on it much. She was both too weary for proper reasoning and frankly completely unconcerned with the driving force. Her attention was more directed to where their lips touched, to where she put herself out there completely and hoped that he would catch her instead of simply letting her pass by.

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[Merik Dragmire]

When Nairore's breath caught and her hand stopped his, Merik thought for a second that she had come to her senses and he had overstepped his mark. When she released him though he knew she was just as uncertain about this as everything else going on in her life at the moment.

For the first time in their little dalliance he found that he wasn't shocked when she rolled over to face him. Once his hand found itself on her back he eagerly resumed his movements without a thought as his eyes locked with hers. As she began to lean in he met her halfway and gently pressed his lips against hers so as not to scare her away. After a few seconds he broke the kiss, resting his forehead against hers.

"If you're worried... we don't have to do anything you aren't ready for. But if this is what you want, I promise I'll take care of you." he whispered, the words meant for her and her alone in the silence of their room.

[And I think that's a good place to FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADE]

[Nightmare Darklight]

Rewards given. Thread locked and moved.