Dim as an ember {rescuers!} « Thread Started on Aug 23, 2009, 2:57am »
The dark, cold, and dusty room that once belonged to a young Anastasia had no more life or warmth left. Cobwebs were hanging in the corners, planks boarded up the single window, not allowing any daylight in, the only source of light coming from the dimly glowing embers in a large ornate fireplace set against the far wall.
Children's toys litter the floor, along with ornate gowns, strewn across the dusty room, a layer of dirt covering them as well. A large dollhouse sets to side, as lonely and uninviting as the room in which it resides. Just past the doll house, in the center of the room is a bed. Tall wooden posts reaching for the ceiling at each corner, and a tattered,and moth eaten sheer veil draped over the tops of them.
On the bed, dressed in an ornate ball gown, of golds, and blues is the princess herself; Anastasia. She lay atop the covers, her body lifeless, and cool. Plunged into a deep sleep, unaware of her location, or situation. Unable to wake herself, she waits for the one to bring her back, and awaken her once more.
Joined: Sept 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 1,535 Karma: 24
Re: Dim as an ember {rescuers!} « Reply #1 on Sept 1, 2009, 8:59pm »
When he stepped into the room, Dimitri paused a moment to look around. With his unkempt hair, tattered and sodden clothing and his left arm hanging useless at his side he looked very bedraggled, but it was his eyes that truly gave him away. There was the obvious pain within them, but it was rivaled by fear and uncertainty.
He was here. He had made it, and as his eyes moved past the abandoned toys and cobweb filled corners to Anya’s sleeping form, half obscured by torn and dirty curtains, he felt suddenly at a loss. He knew how the story was supposed to go. This was the part where the Prince, after defeating fire breathing dragons and insane Queens, walked triumphantly into the room and delivered true love’s kiss, waking the sleeping Princess. Unfortunately, if anything was for certain it was that Dimitri was no Prince. There were no fairytales about the thief or the conman; and if they were involved in one they were always painted the villain. What if this wasn’t how this was supposed to end? What if he wasn’t the one? Hell, what if he was? He was at a loss of how to handle either situation.
Either way, he couldn’t just stand here and do nothing. Approaching the bed, he slowly moved the remains of the curtain aside and knelt beside it. She looked beautiful; stunning... regal. Every bit the princess that she was.
“I don’t believe in fairytales,” Dimitri whispered, and before he could talk himself out of it he leaned forward and kissed her gently. Pulling back, he watched her face in anticipation, certain that even his own heart had stopped beating, or maybe time itself had stopped around him.
Re: Dim as an ember {rescuers!} « Reply #2 on Sept 2, 2009, 5:11am »
Anya had been completely unaware of anything up to this point. Slumbering peacefully, without dream or nightmare for what felt like the first time in a very long time. That was until her serenity was sharply interrupted by the sudden sensation of someone trying to wake her up. Moaning contemptibly as she felt herself begin to wake, she shot out an arm to try and swat away the offender. Feeling her chances at remaining asleep slipping away, Anya slowly opened her eyes with a begrudging moan, in order to glare at whoever was trying to rob her of the rest.
The first thing she noticed was that the room was very dark, and unfavorably cold, the second thing was just how closely the slumber wrecker was. It only took her eyes a few moments to adjust to the darkness, and even fewer to recognize the person. Her eyes widened at the sight of his all too familiar face, all her sleepiness fading away in an instant. Bolting up in the bed, Anya quickly scuttled herself back a few inches, trying to get some distance between them.
"Where am I?" she demanded with a quick glance around the entirely unfamiliar room, finding they were the only words she seemed to be able to get to sound right in her head right now. Although she was not exactly sure why she was in an unfamiliar, dark, cold room, on a bed, and in a ball gown, with Dimitri hovering over her; she had a feeling he would know more than she did. He'd better.
Joined: Sept 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 1,535 Karma: 24
Re: Dim as an ember {rescuers!} « Reply #3 on Sept 2, 2009, 12:40pm »
Was that... had her eyes moved just then beneath heavy lids? Could have been a trick of the dim lighting. Certainly she had made a noise, though? He could have been hearing things. This was torture, this waiting; far worse than any trial he had faced to get her, worse than the stinging pain in his shoulder, worse than...
“Ow!” Dimitri suddenly cried out when Anya finally did move, her arm shooting out and striking him in the nose. Falling back on his ass on the floor as she scurried away from him, he cursed as the pain shot through his arm when he tried to grab his throbbing nose with both hands. “I thought I was through with the dangerous stuff!”
Glaring up at Anya from the floor, although the pain remained her confusion and fright acted to cool him down. Then his brain kicked in. She was awake. She had woken up. He had kissed her and she had woken up. What was that supposed to mean? Did it mean they were meant to be together, despite everything? Of course Arthur’s voice chose that moment to repeat itself in his head, advising him to tell her everything. Explain what he had done, how he felt about her; tell her that he loved her, ask if there was a chance. Yes, he could do all that. He could very eloquently end all their fueding in one perfect speech.
Yet when he opened his mouth, all that came out was: “You were asleep here. In the palace. You’re awake now. I woke you up. Gotta go.” The words were muffled somewhat by the hand that still held his nose, but he quickly dropped it and attempted to get to his feet, intent on making a run for the door.
Re: Dim as an ember {rescuers!} « Reply #4 on Sept 2, 2009, 8:06pm »
Anya rolled her eyes watching Dimitri fall to the floor holding his nose, obviously being a baby about it. It wasn't even that hard of a hit. Of course he had to say something, for a guy he was really intolerant to pain. "What you mean you've been waking up more happily sleeping people?" she replied snidely, to his comment about pain being over.
Taking a moment to glance around the room, her frown deepened. This place seemed strangely familiar, but she had no memory of it...maybe a sketchy vision, as if from a dream. It was a strange feeling, not at all helped by her being so cold. When did she get this dress anyways? She didn't remember owning it. Wrapping her arms around herself to try and keep warm, she let her gaze fall back on Dimitri, at which point it turned back into a glare.
"The palace?" She questioned, looking around, well that would explain that. "How did I get here-- wait. Why was I asleep? and Why did you wake me up? I don't even remember coming here...I was at Avalon...I..." None of this made sense, and Dimitri didn't seem to keen on being helpful either. Crawling across the bed, fumbling as the dress tangled around her legs, Anya finally managed to get to the edge, and set her feet on the ground. "Dimitri?" she asked again this time accusatory with her tone, raising both eyebrows at him with a pointed glare.
Joined: Sept 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 1,535 Karma: 24
Re: Dim as an ember {rescuers!} « Reply #5 on Sept 3, 2009, 7:00am »
Dimitri didn’t get very far toward the door before Anya’s voice stopped him. First she sounded snide, with which he could have kept going, but the confusion that followed slowed his pace. He couldn’t rightly just leave her here with no explanation. Some of her memories of her childhood had obviously returned but maybe they all hadn’t. Since she had convinced the Dowager Empress of her identity, he had just assumed... but she seemed so confused...
Turning back around to face her, he was about to open his mouth and explain when her whole tone changed. Ah, there was the accusation he had grown so used to. Of course this was his fault. Everything that ever happened to her when he was even nearby seemed to be, so why would this be any different? Of course there was the fact that she’d woken up in a strange place from a strange sleep she didn’t remember being in, wearing a strange dress and he was the only other person in the room... but that was besides the point!
Grasping onto the familiar territory, Dimitri gritted his teeth to hide the wince as he carefully crossed his arms. As he looked back at Anya his expression hardened.
“Some wackjob decided it would be a right laugh riot to take a bunch of students, put them under a sleeping spell and hide them somewhere in their homeland, then send others off to find them,” he explained, obviously annoyed. “So welcome home, Your Majesty. This is where you grew up.”
Re: Dim as an ember {rescuers!} « Reply #6 on Sept 3, 2009, 8:19am »
(and now a flashback lesson in why Megs should not be allowed post Anya [to you] when she is tired XD. Sorry for the longness (PS: I actually cut out 200 words with my anal!Megs editing XD))
Anya could only frown at him as he explained the situation, acting like he was annoyed with her or something. Where did he get off acting that way? She was the one who had no clue where she was or how she'd gotten there, and like he said someone had put her under a spell and - - "wait." Anya growled as she fumbled to get herself completely to her feet in the over sized gown, holding fistfuls of the skirt up so she could actually walk towards where he stood. He didn't seem very happy to be here in the first place, but she wasn't letting him leave until he explained this all a little better.
Immediately her tone took on a hostile and skeptical edge: "It was a spell? Well How did they even manage to do that?...To get me here? Because I certainly don't remember any of this. The last thing I remember was...." Anya stopped herself abruptly, quickly deciding it would be better to not tell the guy who was glaring at her that the last thing she remembered was looking through her old things, begrudgingly finding out that everything was making her think about him. Not that it was anything new for her. Noting his stance, Anya took one of her own, only hers was half being defensive, the other half trying to warm herself up again.
"So what, did they force you to come here or something? Because you don't exactly seem happy to see me, Dimitri." Anya pointed out, shaking her head as she glanced around the room, thinking to herself that maybe he shouldn't have bothered with waking her up at all. He had made it sound like it had been a chore to him, which made her wonder why he was even here to begin with. But then again, this was Dimitri; the most irritating, and confusing person she'd ever met, why would she really expect any less?
Although one thing did still bother her, how exactly was this a spell? She didn't feel any different, as far as she knew she didn't look any different, so where was the enchantment? Weren't spells supposed to have some kind of catch to them? She really should have paid more attention in her Fairy Tale class last year, but as curious as she was, she was not about to ask Dimitri. So,with a deep breath and an long sigh, Anya looked at him expectantly, both eyebrows raised, and her arms still tightly crossed over her chest. "So is this the part where I thank you for rescuing me?" Anya asked of him with lack of sincerity, "If you can even call it that..." she tacked on in a quick mutter.
Joined: Sept 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 1,535 Karma: 24
Re: Dim as an ember {rescuers!} « Reply #7 on Sept 3, 2009, 12:26pm »
Under other circumstances, watching Anya struggle with her ballgown wold have been quite amusing, but when she stopped to stand before him he just felt... strange. This was the part where he was supposed to bow and keep his eyes downcast unless Her Majesty asked otherwise. Instead he kept his eyes level with her, his expression challenging, a feat that would have been quite difficult if not for her hostile tone.
She really did look absolutely stunning.
“I don’t know how they managed it, I don’t know anything about casting spells, now do I?” he shot back. If she was asleep she would hardly remember, now would she? She sort of had a point about him not seeming happy to see her; if Arthur was here right now there would be much threatening with his mace for how badly Dimitri was screwing this up. Obviously the prince had never talked to her when she got into one of her moods. Still, he could at least try... right?
“Nobody forced me to do anything. And a thank you would be nice. A little recognition for saving you again,” he replied, straightening up slightly. Alright, so maybe he wasn’t trying quite hard enough, but damn her, she just made it so difficult!
Re: Dim as an ember {rescuers!} « Reply #8 on Sept 3, 2009, 7:45pm »
Anya didn't have a reply for him with that. Sure, he was irritating, as was this whole situation, but maybe he really didn't know anything. She never really took him for the type to be interested in magic anyways, not that she cared about his interests or anything..
"If nobody forced you, then why are you even here? It's not like I asked you save me Dimitri." Anya shot back, irritated with his attitude. Why did he keep doing this to her? Did he just get his jollies from playing her hero and then wanting nothing more to do with her? She didn't need that, and she didn't need him. She could save herself just fine without his help. She could have figured her way out of Hyde's grip at the carnival, and she could have gotten herself out of that closet on the ship.... She probably would have eventually woken up today too, seeing as how it didn't seem like it took much effort for him to do even that. Where did he get off being so smug about it anyways?
Glaring over at him even more hatefully now that she was working herself up all the more, she said: "Oh I'm sorry, I should have realized you're only in it for the recognition, seeing as how there is no reward money to be had anymore. Maybe I should have the newspaper publish a story about you and your selfless heroism. Would that be enough recognition for you? Or do I need to have a statue of you erected too?"
Joined: Sept 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 1,535 Karma: 24
Re: Dim as an ember {rescuers!} « Reply #9 on Sept 3, 2009, 9:31pm »
This was just like the carnival all over again. Of course she’d think that, given time, she could have made it out of the situation on her own, alive. She would never admit that that monster would have fed her to the bear if he hadn’t shown up, just like she would never admit that she had needed waking now.
“It’s kind of hard to ask someone to save you when you’re unconscious,” he said, snidely. Then she said it and he would have thrown his arms up in exasperation had he the ability. He should have known - he should have known - that it would all come back to that damn reward! It always did! Tell her the truth, Arthur’s voice repeated, but Dimitri felt his anger rising. Alright, so maybe he actually did more than he should to let her believe he had taken the money, but while part of the reason had been to push her away, he couldn’t deny that it had hurt how easily she had believed it, that she had believed him capable of using her to get rich. Part defense mechanism, though he refused to admit it.
“It’s all about that reward with you, isn’t it?” he shot back. “Forget about the reward! You’re obsessed with the reward! Can’t you for one moment believe that anyone could do something completely selfless? That anyone would rescue someone just because they wanted to?”
Oh, she probably did believe that... just not about him.
Re: Dim as an ember {rescuers!} « Reply #10 on Sept 4, 2009, 5:02am »
It made her all the angrier that he had a point, and that she couldn't think of a good comeback for it; but it still didn't matter. He couldn't just act like he could care less, and then demand thanks from her. It wasn't fair, and it wasn't right. It was bad enough that no matter what she tried she couldn't get over him, that she couldn't even move on with someone who she really liked without him plaguing her every thought, making her feel like she was betraying herself and her heart, but now she had to once again deal with him playing these games? If he thought he could win her over by just being her hero...after everything he'd done to her, and never once even acting sorry....
"Excuse me!?" Anya gasped, when he blew up at her, unable to do anything but stare at him in wide eyed shock. "Well I'm sorry Dimitri!" She yelled back as soon as he'd finished, "I'm sorry that I find it a little bit hard to get over the fact that someone I trusted, someone I thought cared about me, would rather take money and leave, than have me. I'm sorry that I can't just move on, from everything like you can, Dimitri!" Anya's voice was strained, her hands flying through the air in wild gestures as she fought back, "and do I believe someone could do something selfless? Sure, but I think you have to actually have the ability to care about others more than yourself to do that." She was getting more and more careless with her tone, hoping that every word would somehow penetrate his stupid hollow chest. "And since when did you WANT to rescue anyone? You certainly didn't sound like you wanted to be here just a few moments ago!" Shaking her head slowly, unable to even look at him anymore, Anya instead glared at the floor.
He had no idea what he'd done to her, and the worst part was she couldn't even bring herself to not care about him in return. It just wasn't fair.
Joined: Sept 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 1,535 Karma: 24
Re: Dim as an ember {rescuers!} « Reply #11 on Sept 4, 2009, 6:44am »
As Anya yelled back, the words definitely stung, but what hurt most was having to face, yet again, just how much he had hurt her.
If she had just let me explain back in Paris, Dimitri tried to make excuses in his head, but he knew that as much as he wanted a reason to blame her, although she had jumped to conclusions and had believed he had betrayed her like that, he had done nothing since but let her believe it.
Still, that didn’t mean he was about to back down either. If he didn’t hold on to that anger... well, he didn’t know what he would do. It was just safer staying in the familiar territory, no matter how loudly Arthur’s advice seemed to repeat itself, demanding to be heard and followed.
“I care more than you could ever know!” he shouted back. “Everything I’ve done has been because I-”
He quickly cut off his own words, his face going pale as he almost slipped up. Regaining his composure, he lowered his voice slightly, “You seem to be moving on just fine last I heard.”
Re: Dim as an ember {rescuers!} « Reply #12 on Sept 4, 2009, 7:45am »
Why was it that nothing seemed to bring relief? She ran from Dimitri, and her feelings and she was depressed. She yelled at him, and felt even worse for the wear, not she stood here going through the motions with him for the who really knew how many-th time, and all she felt was her chest drawing up so tight it almost hurt to breathe. She hated him. Hated that she couldn't hate him, and hated how he made her feel.
She had been ready for him to yell back, but his choice of words only served to anger her more. Cared more than she could ever know? Rolling her eyes at him, Anya shook her head, with what was bordering on a belligerent smile. How did you treat someone the way he did, and then claim to care? It just didn't make any sense, it was - -
Anya couldn't be certain, but she thought maybe she'd never wanted, and at the same time not wanted, to hear the end of a sentence more. He had been finally about to give a reason, or maybe another excuse, but something about it, about his tone and the way he stopped abruptly, made her stomach knot up. She knew better than this, than to get her hopes up, because they only always got smashed, it probably wasn't even something to get worked up over anyways. For all she knew she had just been spared another ridiculous attempt of his dodging taking on responsibility.
It only seemed to last a moment for him, because within moments Dimitri was right back on the saddle, throwing out his words, bringing her anger right back. "I wasn't aware people talked about me." She remarked snidely, glaring at him menacingly. "And so what, just because I am not beating myself up over it every day makes it okay? You can skip out on the blame because I am 'moving on'. Is that it Dimitri?" shaking her head, Anya turned her back on him glaring at the far wall. Muttering quietly, not even caring if he heard or not she said: "I don't get you."
Joined: Sept 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 1,535 Karma: 24
Re: Dim as an ember {rescuers!} « Reply #13 on Sept 4, 2009, 12:06pm »
It was like a vicious circle; an endless dance. Love, hate... were they even separate emotions anymore? All they did was fight. All they did was hurt each other. Could that really be love? He knew what he felt; every time he hurt her it hurt him. Every time he saw her... it was love, he knew it. So why the hostility? He could end it all right here with a few well chose words. He could take Arthur’s advice, explain everything, tell her how he felt. He could end the war... so why didn’t he?
The answer was simple, though he hated to admit it: he was terrified. The fighting was familiar, but when it stopped, then what? He could rush into battle, throwing himself at monsters and facing down a firing squad if it meant protecting her, but to risk his heart scared him. He was scared of her reaction, but mostly he was scared of the future.
It was so much easier to keep fighting.
“It’s not that you’re moving on,” Dimitri replied, a half truth. “It’s who you are moving on with.” Maybe he and John had reached an understanding, but that didn’t change anything. Running a hand back through his hair, the conman dropped it in exasperation. “You’re a princess, Anya! You have a duty to put others, your people, above you! You are supposed to be with some prince!”
He didn’t even think about what he was saying at this point. It was the excuse he had told himself for so long that it rolled off his tongue easily. Never before, though, had he actually said it to her.
“I did not walk away so that you could dally around with some farmboy!”
Re: Dim as an ember {rescuers!} « Reply #14 on Sept 5, 2009, 3:52am »
Oh so that's what this was about? John? What right did he have to approve or disapprove of who she was with? He was the entire reason she was even trying things out with John! All she wanted was to get him out of her head, and out of her heart; whatever it took to get over him, because this was going to kill her.
"I didn't ASK to be a princess Dimitri! No one told me when I was taking the job that it meant I couldn't be with the person I loved, that I had all these rules that were suddenly going to be forced on me!" Anya could feel her throat growing more sore by the minute, her voice getting a slight raspyness to it from all the yelling, but she just couldn't stop. "Besides, my people seemed to be getting along just fine when I was just Anya the orphan, what difference is it really going to make now?" She could tell she was losing steam, he was wearing her down to the point of making her just want to run away. It made her wish that none of this had ever happened, that she had just been the nobody she always felt like, maybe then this entire situation wouldn't have been so hopeless. Sure she would still be hating Dimitri for using her, but she'd at least have the satisfaction of knowing he hadn't profited from her pain.
She was about to just walk right out, until his last words hit her like a tonne of bricks. Walk away? What did that even mean? Frowning, Anya looked at him expectantly, hoping there was more explanation to go with that. Did that mean he hadn't wanted to leave? But he had taken the money...and when she asked him back on the ship if it had all been a lie, all he had was some stupid non-answer. None of it ever made any sense. "I don't get why you care so much! If it's how I will rule that you're worried about...then don't. You're not in charge of making sure I am the perfect princess anymore...you did your job, and now it's done." Anya spat, her emotions betraying her more than ever, trying to hurt him just seemed like the easiest way to ignore her own pain. "And for the record, John is a good man; He cares about me, and he doesn't lie to me. I get that treating someone like that might be a bit of a hard concept for you to grasp, Dimitri, but maybe you should try."
HAPPILY EVER AFTER
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(PS: I actually cut out 200 words with my anal!Megs editing XD))