Afternoon Naps (Bel)

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Adrain had finished the portals; her island was fully functional and the completion of the palace had just finished. The workers set sail back to their homes that morning. Aria stood watching the ships sail from the railing of the gazebo which sat high on the peak of the north end of the island. The warm tropical breeze blowing her hair back and away from her face. It was only mid-morning; which gave her time to prepare for tonight. Aria’s eye drifted over to a small black spec that darted around the island; Noky her young drake was exploring his new home. It would keep him busy at least for a while. Aria turned and made her way down the steps and onto the path that would take her into the jungle.



She hoped to gather some fresh fruit for a picnic she was planning for Garrett; it would take some work. But the island was bountiful. Upon arriving early that morning to go over the final inspection; Aria had shed her warmer clothes for something significantly lighter. The warm air of the island was drastically different then the cool spring air of Nova’s city. At the moment she was just wearing her old clothes, a loose white shirt, and brown pants that were folded up to her knees. She would have to purchase some nicer clothes for the warmer weather, and have her belongings shipped over. But for now this was fine. A small smile spread across her face as her toes wiggled in the dirt; because it was her island….TO HELL WITH SHOES!



She wandered off the path; going deeper into the jungle. It wasn’t long when she came across a mango tree with large soft orange fruit hanging from its branches. Seeing how she didn’t have anything to carry it in, Aria took off her shirt leaving her just in her breast band; and then used the shirt as a way to carry the fruit that she picked. Because once again her island! At the moment she was the only one here; to hell with lady like modesty! Aria spent most of the morning gathering, she made her way back to the palace sometime in the afternoon. By the time she was done her little adventure she was exhausted. Normally the young dova wouldn’t have a problem; but seeing how she was still recovering from her bout of sickness.



Her feet were dragging by the time she entered the entry way and made her way to the covered part which all main floor rooms branched off of. She placed her bounty of fruit on the nearest floor table, ornately carved as it was….it was missing something but the more personalized touches would come later when her and Garrett could pick out things together. For now it was serving its purpose…to hold her shit. She flopped down in one of the low resting chairs, which were wonderfully soft. She let out a content sigh; it would seem she had made it indoors at exactly the right moment. For the sound of rain hitting the tiles exposed to air could soon be heard; the island often had quick rain showers. But the sound was relaxing. Before she knew it she was drifting off into a light nap.

[severine]

As Aria drifted into unconsciousness the environment around her shifted as she began to dream. Her island twisted and grew dark, turning in shades of blue, like it was trapped underwater. At the water’s edge a shrine began to form out of marble and limestone, stretching into a towering statue of Saden and a familiar flowing fountain spitting up from the ocean. And at the edge of the shrine, dressed in a simple white robe and his feet in the water, sat Belenus.

He was reading- somehow he had acquired a book in this place, even though there was none around. His messy black hair was a shock against his pale skin, as was the red sash wrapped around his neck, each end dipping over his back and front. When Aria woke in his little dreaming world Belenus lifted his head, turning his dark eyes to her.

“What took you so long?” he calls over to her, a familiar lack of patience in his voice. “You’ve kept me waiting.”

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Things began to get weird the moment she closed her eyes; things began to become warped and her beautiful island became dark and twisted. She pushed herself into a sitting position rubbing her eyes; it had been a long time since she had a dream like this. This time the surroundings differed with everything but the well, the statue and the man beside it. Aria sat there with her legs crossed beneath her just staring at the monument. ”I must be pretty fucked up in the head to have a statue of my dad in here.” She sighed…she missed her father….not the one here. But her own messed up twisted one. She laid back down; her eyes sliding over to Bel. At this point really just accepting she was crazy and that this was all a dream. ”I don’t like sleeping” It was true usually by the time Aria passed out it was either via medicated help, or from exhaustion. Only peaceful sleep she got was when she was with Garrett. She looked at Bel for a little longer; curious as to why he was reading a book in such a place.

[severine]

“We all have to do things we don’t like.” Belenus withdrew his legs from the water- his feet were bare- as he tucked the heavy red book under his arm. He stood and walked over to Aria, feet padding from marble to grass. When he reached her he knelt in the grass beside her, placing the book in his lap before it has the chance to touch the ground. Despite the dreamscape, the circles under his eyes remained perpetually dark behind his glasses.

“You don’t look well.” Bel’s frown deepened in it’s usual way as he tilted his head, narrowing his eyes at her. “Have you fallen behind on your lessons again? Where are you sleeping? Not on the streets again, I hope. I thought we moved past that.” When Aria looks away from him again the scenery will have shifted, from the lonely little island to deep inside the library she once knew so well.

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Aria watched as Bel walked …barefoot…over to her. The fact the germophobic man was walking barefoot in the dirt brought a little smile to her face. More than convinced this was a dream…she didn’t think she really ever saw Bel go barefoot anywhere. She looked up into his face as he mentioned she didn’t look well ”Right back at ya” He didn’t look like he was sleeping either…but he was sorta…. Dreams hurt her head. She rolled over on her back with her arm over her face as he asked if she had fallen behind in her lessons again. ”I no longer receive lessons; I’m on my own and distributing my own brand of wisdom whether I’m ready for it or not.” It was not a lie….she had already sent several people on different paths to different forms of knowledge. She missed when she was just the student; seemed less of a burden. As the comfy ground of her island changed to that of hard wood she sat up. No longer finding laying down comfortable. She turned her body to fully face Bel, her legs once more tucked under her. ”I’m currently sleeping in my own home; I own an island south of Nova close to the border of Kanto….Only took me a year. Was on the streets last year at this time. So yes we have moved past that. After being taken from home I spent the winter season out in the forever forest, come spring I was arrested for being fated and having contact with a woman named Claire…Found out I have the lovely Noru curse which is active, Noku took me in and gave me to Palico….and now I’m Palico’s newest duchess….what of yourself? ” Might as well humor dream Bel.

[severine]

Bel made a face at the news that Aria was no longer receiving lessons. “You always need lessons, Aria. Everyone does. Otherwise you’ll forget important things.” When Aria starts to speak he falls silent, the sound of the sea still surrounding them despite water no longer being in sight.

Bel’s brows pinched as the names rolled by him, something in his expression shifting strangely. There was vague familiarity in his face at the names and his eyes… changed. From their usual dark, dark brown to a familiar muddy gray- Claire’s eyes- before they changed again, lightening to gold- Noku’s eyes. Both bloodlines existed in him, after all. But then he blinked and his eyes were back to their near-black brown.

“You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t believe you’re a duchess.” Bel reached out, fingertips tapping against her forehead. “The girl I know won’t settle for shoes or dresses or cleanliness.” he pulled his hand back to open the book in his lap. “Much less the rules of court. You have a lot to learn if that’s the case. Now when you say Noku, do you mean the late King Noku Noru, of the Nova Before The Fall?”

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”I know, unfortunately I have the muddle through what those are on my own now” Her eyes studied his as they changed to fairly familiar colors. However the change was short lived….but still weird. She blinked as he changed topics; chuckling slightly. She was far from the girl he use to know; but some things did remain the same. ”Shoes, dresses, semi proper behavior….and I do say semi. It’s why I got my own island…Silas the King of Palico made me a duchess under the condition that I could not own land in Palico, so I found a loophole…I miss not wearing shoes. This whole uptightness is wearing me out. Though I’m a dragon trainer for Palico…so there’s that bit of relief.” Aria scratched the back of her neck. ”As for being clean, I do like that for the most part…but I also miss the option of running through the mud every now and again.”

Aria shifted again, resting her elbow on her knee and her chin in her palm. Bel was already planning more lessons…. Once a nagging quality but now it brought a sense of familiarity that was a comfort. ”You can believe it or not, but the majority opinion is I’m actually not doing a bad job for the most part. But I do not deny there is still a lot for me to learn…like where the hell I’m supposed to sit during important events and such. Nokus been a good sport about it though….and yes I am talking about the big bad scary one from our time. He’s the reason why I’m playing duchess in the first place…Though he’s not the same. None of the people in this timeline are. Not even Daddy.” Aria sighed. ”I was brought over with a few others, to a different timeline. Apparently Core in this era was still born, and Noku actually has a sense of humor. He’s courting a commoner friend of mine named Lilith….I really don’t want to see what happened in our timeline to happen here. It was obvious things for this timeline were supposed to turn out different….”

[severine]

“You sound like you’ve stepped into a storybook, Aria.” Belenus turns the pages in the book, eyes still on the blurred words on the pages. “Girl from the streets becomes royalty. Sounds like something you would have dreamed about before-” his voice catches, hand pausing on the pages. The hand lifts, pressing over his chest as he lets out a quiet sigh. “But you don’t look happy.”

Belenus studies her with dark eyes, hands paused on the book. “Do you think you were brought here for that reason? To change the past? Without certain players our lives would be entirely different.” There’s a withered smile on his face and his eyes suddenly lighten to a clear and crystallized ice blue. They don’t waver as he blinks, but they look haunting on his face. “Maybe you were brought here for that reason. But- I do think you should dwell on that. Discover why you are here. Do not grow complacent with this place. There are no accidents with our families, Aria. My destiny was written into my blood centuries before I was born.” he pauses, his brows softening. “You- I never told you then and I regretted it. We may not be blood, but you are my family too, Aria.”

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”I’m Sadens daughter, my whole life’s a book” That was not a lie; from before she was even conceived she was sure he was writing in his book. Sometimes she liked to think she was one big plot twist after the next with him; one that got away from his script every now and again. Her eyebrows raising when Bel assumed this was the sort of thing she dreamed about when she was younger. Her face turned to that of concern as he seemed in pain. Even in a dream she was still concerned. ”My dreams back then had nothing and still have nothing to do with wealth, fame, or royalty…All I wanted was a family who was safe; one filled with love...” She had it for a bit….and almost had it here. ”I hated nobles when I was younger; it’s ironic I’m one now.”

”I wouldn’t say I’m completely unhappy, I have things I’m still grateful for.” As the topic changed Aria shrugged. ”This timeline I do not believe is supposed to turn out exactly like ours, it’s not the past from the world we came from. Just …greatly similar. I’m afraid someone is trying to make it like ours. I already have a good idea of why I am here; I just do not agree with the reasons….You know I have issues doing things that people try to force me to do” Aria’s facial expressions only continue to somber as Bel admitted even though they weren’t related by blood they were still family. She was hesitant at first but moved to give him a hug. ”Well…we’re related by blood now. Sort of…or at least connected by it. I am sorry I wasn’t a very good sibling….but I have to ask. When you …when you went to my father. That night. Did it hurt for long?”

[severine]

Belenus was there for a moment as Aria held him, unmoving in her arms, until the question was asked. Then he was gone, the white robes all that remained in her grasp. With the sound of a bell he was on the other side of the room, dressed fully in his formal white robes as his role in worshipping Saden, shoes back on his feet. The red was back as well, in the form of a pendant draped around his neck, gold with a large gleaming red stone. The room had grown darker in places, patches of watery light coming through the punctured and rotting holes in the ceiling of the library.

“Tell me why you think you’ve been brought to this place.” he sits at the edge of the fountain, gloved hands gripping the marble edge. It was like Aria never asked the question.