Eustace wasn't sure just what had driven him to become so very defensive about Lea. It weighed heavily on his mind as they went over her first reading lesson, and he was pleased to see his hunch was right, she was picking things up quite quickly. She spoke the language well enough, and no matter what she had been told, he knew Lea was highly intelligent, it was just a matter of memorizing what letter made what sounds. By the time she grew too tired to carry on, her head drooping onto his shoulder, she had read a full three sentences entirely on her own, only needing assistance twice.
Eustace smiled slightly, carefully shutting the book and setting it aside before he gently shook Lea's shoulder. "Hey... hey. Lea, come on, let's get you to bed," he said softly.
She woke slowly (it was strange, even now, to see her so at ease, she had been so jumpy, those first few weeks), and Eustace only barely suppressed a smile when he saw Lea's cheeks going faintly red when she was properly awake.
"I... oh. I'm sorry Eustace, I... I hadn't realized I was so tired," she mumbled, glancing away and getting to her feet.
"No worries," he said with a laugh, getting to his feet as well. "They were bedtime stories, they were just doing their jobs. I just wanted to make sure you actually got to bed, sleeping on the floor is quite uncomfortable."
Eustace's smile faded when he saw how solemn she grew at the comment, only giving a nod in response. Had she often been forced to sleep on the ground, he wondered. It was entirely possible, if they saw her as nothing but a slave. A creature. He pushed the thought out of his mind as he wished her a good night and pleasant dreams, only allowing it to return once he was up in the tower for his nighttime duties.
A creature! An animal! She was perfectly... so what if she wasn't human? She was intelligent, she had feelings, she'd had a home! Eustace shook his head, staring out the glass walls and out to the sea, just trying to clear his mind. She was safe now. That was what he cared about at the moment... but still, it all refused to leave him. Not just her personal troubles, but what she'd said it would mean for her entire people. He hadn't told her such yet, but... well, he could sympathize, more than he guessed she would believe. Here on the southern shore, the last civilized land before the great deserts, was the last stronghold of his people; those who refused to submit to the invading Empire and would fight them to the last man.
Eustace went to work on keeping the light, pausing only to shove the useless gears of the fog bell to the side, trying to calm his mind. Even before Lea had come, the war had weighed heavily on him. He thanked whatever gods there were that he was so isolated, no Imperial troops had ever made it out here- well, not quite true. They hadn't been quite as active of late, but he had still seen their ships out in the distance, patrolling the waters, and more than once he'd thought of shutting off the light during a storm, but he never could. He was fairly sure it was only his importance to the lighthouse that kept him safe from the troops- while it could be taught fairly well, running the lighthouse was still a difficult job, mainly in how long it took to memorize the schedule, just how keep the light going, how to clean the windows... and he doubted a soldier would ever have the patience or care required to properly do the job.
So his thoughts continued, spinning between his fears of the war and just what his place in the world now was. He had been content to keep the lighthouse, even if it was a lonely existence. He liked it, liked the quiet nights and the stormy ones, the long stretches between visitors... and now, the quiet company Lea offered.
"Always back to her, huh?" he said to himself as he rubbed his forehead, barely noticing the sudden scent and feel of oil that he had neglected to wipe off of his hands. Lea, his mind always seemed to go back to her lately. He'd had it in his head after the first week that he would make no push for her to leave the lighthouse- at first, simply because it was so cold, and she would likely be found out by those she ran away from. Now? Now, if she mentioned leaving... he could imagine himself pleading for her to stay. He had liked the quiet that came with being alone on the shore, but that was because he knew so little of what it was to have a friend. Without her, who would he talk to? Who could he tell his stories to, share his memories of childhood before he was apprenticed to the lighthouse? Who would share memories with him, remind him that there was a world far beyond the seaside? Books were one thing, but hearing it from someone who'd lived it... it was so different.
She had brought something that he'd been missing for a long time- a connection to the rest of the world. It was easy to forget there were others out there, when his existence was limited to the lighthouse and its immediate area. Even with his worries of war, he always told himself that they'd never bother with the lighthouse. Lea reminded him that they could. That anyone could find this place, that while it felt very much like a sanctuary, it was as dangerous as anywhere else... and he liked that. It brought fear back into his life, fear that brought joy with every peaceful day, where they could be happy even when all odds said they should have been terrified. She'd reminded him that he could feel outraged, angry, protective, that he could just feel! By the gods, he'd reminded her of where he came from and just why the war had grown so intense against the inhabitants of Utopia and why they'd left the Empire in the first place.
And perhaps... she brought something more. That warmth that could flare into a white-hot passion, one that only came when one cared deeply for another. Eustace felt his face grow warm at the thought- he wasn't comfortable calling it anything yet, but he knew it was there, it was strong, and it was all because of and for her.
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Pride. How had he forgotten just how proud of her he was?
It was barely two weeks since that first lesson (and that first little account of his feelings, which Eustace went over almost every day now), and Lea was reading entirely on her own, and had even attempted writing- which she was working on now, though it was likely she wouldn't keep with it too much longer.
"Stupid... words," Lea hissed, finally throwing her pen down and crossing her arms.
"You're not doing too bad," Eustace said, looking over the sheet of paper she'd been writing on. The letters were... fairly legible, if not rather large and shaky. "Hey, you've been doing great with your reading, that's the important thing," he added, giving her a reassuring smile.
Lea grunted, wadding the paper up and tossing it into the fire. "Why is it so much more difficult?" she muttered, leaning against her chair.
"I guess it's harder to actually write out the words than read them," he said with a shrug. "Really though, you're picking it up well," Eustace said softly. "Just... keep practicing, you'll get the motions down."
"If you say so."
Eustace frowned slightly, concerned by the tone of her voice, something between disappointment and complete defeat. "Is something else wrong?" he asked.
"It... it's something stupid," she said, looking away.
"Try me," Eustace said, smiling reassuringly when she looked back to him.
"I wanted to write what I know," she finally said, closing her eyes and bowing her head. "What... what I remember of our history, of life on the islands, of growing up there. So... so there is some record, you know?" she murmured.
"I know," Eustace said. He should have guessed, no wonder she'd thrown herself so completely into becoming properly literate. "Well... tell me," he added, getting up and grabbing an old, half-empty journal and the pen Lea had abandoned. "Tell me, and I'll write it down, every word."
"You will?" Lea said, jerking her head up and looking at him with wide eyes. Eustace nodded, smiling once again.
"Yeah. It would be an honor to help record the history of the sylphs, Lea."
Eustace was certain he would always remember the look she gave him, hearing those words. Her gray-blue eyes were wet with tears, but the thanks he could see in her frail smile said more than she was able to at the time. And before he'd had a chance to react, Lea got up and wrapped her arms around him, holding tightly for several moments.
What else could he do but return her embrace?
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Every spare moment they had after that was spent together. Lea recounted her memories again, every single one she had, and Eustace dutifully recorded them on every scrap of paper he had- journals, loose sheets of parchment, sometimes he even resorted to scribbling in the blank parts of books to ensure her words would not be forgotten.
Sometimes, they went on like that for hours. Other times would last only a matter of minutes- the painful memories, when she spoke of her family and friends, of her life at the hands of the Empire. Those times, he would set the papers aside until she could continue, or simply held her when it was clear she could not carry on. Sometimes, those sessions turned into something entirely different, when certain topics came up- by now, they'd had discussions about the average diet of a Utopian and a sylph (they had both been amused that the answer for both was 'mostly fish', and there had been a lively debate over what the best kind was), holidays, and religion.
Tonight though, the subject was music; and Eustace had spent the last several minutes trying to coax a song out of her, after she'd mentioned she knew a few.
"I can't... I'm not great at singing," Lea said, and Eustace would bet every bit of money he had that Lea was blushing as she spoke, though he couldn't see her face, she was crouched by the fog bell gears, looking over a book on their mechanics.
"And I told you, I don't care, I want to hear something!" Eustace said, grinning and standing over her. "Look, how about we compromise? You sing, and... well, trust me. It's a surprise, but it'll be worth it."
Lea sighed, closing the book and turning to face him. "It had better be," she said muttered. After several moments of silence, only broken by her clearing her throat, Lea began to sing.
While she had been right, she wasn't exactly a singer, he paid little mind to that. Eustace had never heard anything like the language she sang in, something that he doubted he could even attempt repeating. It was lively and flowed beautifully, despite the tricky sounds of the actual words, and he soon found himself tapping a foot along to the rhythm. Lea herself seemed to be bouncing slightly to it, and despite her earlier protests, she was grinning brightly.
"Alright. There. You had your song, it's your turn to entertain me," she said once the song was done, her accent more pronounced than ever.
Eustace nodded, grinning back at Lea. "Just wait a moment," he said. He quickly made his way back down to the living area, and returned shortly later with a worn leather case in his hands.
"What, are you a fiddler?" Lea asked, peering over his shoulder to get a look at the case. She shook her head a moment later, it was clear she could tell that it wasn't a violin case.
"Ah, close," Eustace said with a slight smile. "Okay. No, nothing like a fiddler, I play the banjo. You want a fiddler, go talk to my master, I'm still amazed he didn't set the damn thing on fire the way he played sometimes," he said, taking out the old instrument and beginning to tune it. It had been a long time since he'd played... five months now? He was certain the last time he'd played had been long before Lea showed up, but he had faith that he'd be decent.
Once the banjo was tuned, Eustace began playing the first thing he could remember, a part of a lively jig that had more or less burned itself into his mind since the first time he'd heard it, way back when he had first come to the lighthouse. Lea didn't even seem to try and remain still this time, she was smiling and clapping along to the tune, looking happier than he'd ever seen her before.
"We had music like that at home," she said in a nearly breathless voice, once he was done. "The song, the one I sang, it was for dances... we had instruments similar to that, fiddlers..."
"Think you could sing it again?" Eustace asked. "Come on, let's see if I can't pick it up!"
The writing was completely abandoned after that. They paused only to check the light, otherwise, there was no rest from Lea's singing and Eustace's play, occasionally even trying to dance as best as they could. Neither cared that they were clearly unskilled, the sounds and movements were pleasing enough and there was no one else to hear or see them. Yet as fun as it was, Eustace couldn't help but notice Lea pausing now and then, a flash of what appeared to be pain crossing her scarred face whenever they took a rest. As the sun rose, Eustace's worry only grew, until he stopped playing entirely in the middle of a song.
"What'd you stop for?" Lea exclaimed, turning to face him, crossing her arms across her chest and assuming a rather disappointed expression.
"You keep looking like something's hurting you," Eustace said, setting the banjo aside. "I... I just want to make sure you're okay. So what's wrong?"
Lea gave a dismissive shake of her head and lightly rubbed her neck. "Just the collar. It's been a while since I've sang or... anything like this, it's digging into my skin a bit. Nothing new," she said, glancing out at the lightening sky outside. "Guess we were due to wrap up anyway, though," she added.
"Come here," Eustace said softly. The chores could wait for a few moments, he had to at least see if there was some possibility of it working.
"Eustace..." Lea said in a slightly warning tone, but she came towards him anyway. "Look, if you..." she trailed off as Eustace stood behind her and moved her hair aside so he could examine the metal collar around her neck.
"Look, we've tried. No one's ever been able to get these off," she said.
"Did any of them have a set of actual lockpicks?" Eustace replied, running a finger over the latch. It was slightly raised, with a fairly standard size cylinder that held the actual lock- a good sign, his tools would at least be able to fit.
"No, but-"
"Will you let me give it a shot?" he asked, a faintly pleading tone in his voice. "This thing... it hurts you, it takes away part of what you are. I'd feel bad if we couldn't at least try."
"... tonight, then. I'd like to get some sleep first," she finally said.
(... 2676 words this time, wow. Also, here's the reason why I chose the musical arts dog for Eustace xD)
Eustace smiled slightly, carefully shutting the book and setting it aside before he gently shook Lea's shoulder. "Hey... hey. Lea, come on, let's get you to bed," he said softly.
She woke slowly (it was strange, even now, to see her so at ease, she had been so jumpy, those first few weeks), and Eustace only barely suppressed a smile when he saw Lea's cheeks going faintly red when she was properly awake.
"I... oh. I'm sorry Eustace, I... I hadn't realized I was so tired," she mumbled, glancing away and getting to her feet.
"No worries," he said with a laugh, getting to his feet as well. "They were bedtime stories, they were just doing their jobs. I just wanted to make sure you actually got to bed, sleeping on the floor is quite uncomfortable."
Eustace's smile faded when he saw how solemn she grew at the comment, only giving a nod in response. Had she often been forced to sleep on the ground, he wondered. It was entirely possible, if they saw her as nothing but a slave. A creature. He pushed the thought out of his mind as he wished her a good night and pleasant dreams, only allowing it to return once he was up in the tower for his nighttime duties.
A creature! An animal! She was perfectly... so what if she wasn't human? She was intelligent, she had feelings, she'd had a home! Eustace shook his head, staring out the glass walls and out to the sea, just trying to clear his mind. She was safe now. That was what he cared about at the moment... but still, it all refused to leave him. Not just her personal troubles, but what she'd said it would mean for her entire people. He hadn't told her such yet, but... well, he could sympathize, more than he guessed she would believe. Here on the southern shore, the last civilized land before the great deserts, was the last stronghold of his people; those who refused to submit to the invading Empire and would fight them to the last man.
Eustace went to work on keeping the light, pausing only to shove the useless gears of the fog bell to the side, trying to calm his mind. Even before Lea had come, the war had weighed heavily on him. He thanked whatever gods there were that he was so isolated, no Imperial troops had ever made it out here- well, not quite true. They hadn't been quite as active of late, but he had still seen their ships out in the distance, patrolling the waters, and more than once he'd thought of shutting off the light during a storm, but he never could. He was fairly sure it was only his importance to the lighthouse that kept him safe from the troops- while it could be taught fairly well, running the lighthouse was still a difficult job, mainly in how long it took to memorize the schedule, just how keep the light going, how to clean the windows... and he doubted a soldier would ever have the patience or care required to properly do the job.
So his thoughts continued, spinning between his fears of the war and just what his place in the world now was. He had been content to keep the lighthouse, even if it was a lonely existence. He liked it, liked the quiet nights and the stormy ones, the long stretches between visitors... and now, the quiet company Lea offered.
"Always back to her, huh?" he said to himself as he rubbed his forehead, barely noticing the sudden scent and feel of oil that he had neglected to wipe off of his hands. Lea, his mind always seemed to go back to her lately. He'd had it in his head after the first week that he would make no push for her to leave the lighthouse- at first, simply because it was so cold, and she would likely be found out by those she ran away from. Now? Now, if she mentioned leaving... he could imagine himself pleading for her to stay. He had liked the quiet that came with being alone on the shore, but that was because he knew so little of what it was to have a friend. Without her, who would he talk to? Who could he tell his stories to, share his memories of childhood before he was apprenticed to the lighthouse? Who would share memories with him, remind him that there was a world far beyond the seaside? Books were one thing, but hearing it from someone who'd lived it... it was so different.
She had brought something that he'd been missing for a long time- a connection to the rest of the world. It was easy to forget there were others out there, when his existence was limited to the lighthouse and its immediate area. Even with his worries of war, he always told himself that they'd never bother with the lighthouse. Lea reminded him that they could. That anyone could find this place, that while it felt very much like a sanctuary, it was as dangerous as anywhere else... and he liked that. It brought fear back into his life, fear that brought joy with every peaceful day, where they could be happy even when all odds said they should have been terrified. She'd reminded him that he could feel outraged, angry, protective, that he could just feel! By the gods, he'd reminded her of where he came from and just why the war had grown so intense against the inhabitants of Utopia and why they'd left the Empire in the first place.
And perhaps... she brought something more. That warmth that could flare into a white-hot passion, one that only came when one cared deeply for another. Eustace felt his face grow warm at the thought- he wasn't comfortable calling it anything yet, but he knew it was there, it was strong, and it was all because of and for her.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Pride. How had he forgotten just how proud of her he was?
It was barely two weeks since that first lesson (and that first little account of his feelings, which Eustace went over almost every day now), and Lea was reading entirely on her own, and had even attempted writing- which she was working on now, though it was likely she wouldn't keep with it too much longer.
"Stupid... words," Lea hissed, finally throwing her pen down and crossing her arms.
"You're not doing too bad," Eustace said, looking over the sheet of paper she'd been writing on. The letters were... fairly legible, if not rather large and shaky. "Hey, you've been doing great with your reading, that's the important thing," he added, giving her a reassuring smile.
Lea grunted, wadding the paper up and tossing it into the fire. "Why is it so much more difficult?" she muttered, leaning against her chair.
"I guess it's harder to actually write out the words than read them," he said with a shrug. "Really though, you're picking it up well," Eustace said softly. "Just... keep practicing, you'll get the motions down."
"If you say so."
Eustace frowned slightly, concerned by the tone of her voice, something between disappointment and complete defeat. "Is something else wrong?" he asked.
"It... it's something stupid," she said, looking away.
"Try me," Eustace said, smiling reassuringly when she looked back to him.
"I wanted to write what I know," she finally said, closing her eyes and bowing her head. "What... what I remember of our history, of life on the islands, of growing up there. So... so there is some record, you know?" she murmured.
"I know," Eustace said. He should have guessed, no wonder she'd thrown herself so completely into becoming properly literate. "Well... tell me," he added, getting up and grabbing an old, half-empty journal and the pen Lea had abandoned. "Tell me, and I'll write it down, every word."
"You will?" Lea said, jerking her head up and looking at him with wide eyes. Eustace nodded, smiling once again.
"Yeah. It would be an honor to help record the history of the sylphs, Lea."
Eustace was certain he would always remember the look she gave him, hearing those words. Her gray-blue eyes were wet with tears, but the thanks he could see in her frail smile said more than she was able to at the time. And before he'd had a chance to react, Lea got up and wrapped her arms around him, holding tightly for several moments.
What else could he do but return her embrace?
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Every spare moment they had after that was spent together. Lea recounted her memories again, every single one she had, and Eustace dutifully recorded them on every scrap of paper he had- journals, loose sheets of parchment, sometimes he even resorted to scribbling in the blank parts of books to ensure her words would not be forgotten.
Sometimes, they went on like that for hours. Other times would last only a matter of minutes- the painful memories, when she spoke of her family and friends, of her life at the hands of the Empire. Those times, he would set the papers aside until she could continue, or simply held her when it was clear she could not carry on. Sometimes, those sessions turned into something entirely different, when certain topics came up- by now, they'd had discussions about the average diet of a Utopian and a sylph (they had both been amused that the answer for both was 'mostly fish', and there had been a lively debate over what the best kind was), holidays, and religion.
Tonight though, the subject was music; and Eustace had spent the last several minutes trying to coax a song out of her, after she'd mentioned she knew a few.
"I can't... I'm not great at singing," Lea said, and Eustace would bet every bit of money he had that Lea was blushing as she spoke, though he couldn't see her face, she was crouched by the fog bell gears, looking over a book on their mechanics.
"And I told you, I don't care, I want to hear something!" Eustace said, grinning and standing over her. "Look, how about we compromise? You sing, and... well, trust me. It's a surprise, but it'll be worth it."
Lea sighed, closing the book and turning to face him. "It had better be," she said muttered. After several moments of silence, only broken by her clearing her throat, Lea began to sing.
While she had been right, she wasn't exactly a singer, he paid little mind to that. Eustace had never heard anything like the language she sang in, something that he doubted he could even attempt repeating. It was lively and flowed beautifully, despite the tricky sounds of the actual words, and he soon found himself tapping a foot along to the rhythm. Lea herself seemed to be bouncing slightly to it, and despite her earlier protests, she was grinning brightly.
"Alright. There. You had your song, it's your turn to entertain me," she said once the song was done, her accent more pronounced than ever.
Eustace nodded, grinning back at Lea. "Just wait a moment," he said. He quickly made his way back down to the living area, and returned shortly later with a worn leather case in his hands.
"What, are you a fiddler?" Lea asked, peering over his shoulder to get a look at the case. She shook her head a moment later, it was clear she could tell that it wasn't a violin case.
"Ah, close," Eustace said with a slight smile. "Okay. No, nothing like a fiddler, I play the banjo. You want a fiddler, go talk to my master, I'm still amazed he didn't set the damn thing on fire the way he played sometimes," he said, taking out the old instrument and beginning to tune it. It had been a long time since he'd played... five months now? He was certain the last time he'd played had been long before Lea showed up, but he had faith that he'd be decent.
Once the banjo was tuned, Eustace began playing the first thing he could remember, a part of a lively jig that had more or less burned itself into his mind since the first time he'd heard it, way back when he had first come to the lighthouse. Lea didn't even seem to try and remain still this time, she was smiling and clapping along to the tune, looking happier than he'd ever seen her before.
"We had music like that at home," she said in a nearly breathless voice, once he was done. "The song, the one I sang, it was for dances... we had instruments similar to that, fiddlers..."
"Think you could sing it again?" Eustace asked. "Come on, let's see if I can't pick it up!"
The writing was completely abandoned after that. They paused only to check the light, otherwise, there was no rest from Lea's singing and Eustace's play, occasionally even trying to dance as best as they could. Neither cared that they were clearly unskilled, the sounds and movements were pleasing enough and there was no one else to hear or see them. Yet as fun as it was, Eustace couldn't help but notice Lea pausing now and then, a flash of what appeared to be pain crossing her scarred face whenever they took a rest. As the sun rose, Eustace's worry only grew, until he stopped playing entirely in the middle of a song.
"What'd you stop for?" Lea exclaimed, turning to face him, crossing her arms across her chest and assuming a rather disappointed expression.
"You keep looking like something's hurting you," Eustace said, setting the banjo aside. "I... I just want to make sure you're okay. So what's wrong?"
Lea gave a dismissive shake of her head and lightly rubbed her neck. "Just the collar. It's been a while since I've sang or... anything like this, it's digging into my skin a bit. Nothing new," she said, glancing out at the lightening sky outside. "Guess we were due to wrap up anyway, though," she added.
"Come here," Eustace said softly. The chores could wait for a few moments, he had to at least see if there was some possibility of it working.
"Eustace..." Lea said in a slightly warning tone, but she came towards him anyway. "Look, if you..." she trailed off as Eustace stood behind her and moved her hair aside so he could examine the metal collar around her neck.
"Look, we've tried. No one's ever been able to get these off," she said.
"Did any of them have a set of actual lockpicks?" Eustace replied, running a finger over the latch. It was slightly raised, with a fairly standard size cylinder that held the actual lock- a good sign, his tools would at least be able to fit.
"No, but-"
"Will you let me give it a shot?" he asked, a faintly pleading tone in his voice. "This thing... it hurts you, it takes away part of what you are. I'd feel bad if we couldn't at least try."
"... tonight, then. I'd like to get some sleep first," she finally said.
(... 2676 words this time, wow. Also, here's the reason why I chose the musical arts dog for Eustace xD)
). She visited the lake near the forest, it was early in the day and it was misty. The mist floating over the lake and around her paws, she sat down on a flat slab of rock, closed her eyes and whispered, "
