One touch is all it takes. [Closed.]

[everbloom]

A sheer red liquid stood still in its porcelain encasement.

Beside the cup of cranberry tea was a plate of thin browned squares that smelled like warm sugar and honey. Dusa didn’t eat, despite the pangs of hunger she had been experiencing. The Prince stood behind her. It didn’t make logical sense to her through, the man with his hands resting on the back of her chair was the one who had brought her here. Why feed her now when he had taken such little care of her hunger when he sent for her? You think that for being such a well respected Prince he could afford small necessities. She sat defiant, her eyes trailed so far down that they denied him there unique colors.

She had a great gift, a grace as it was called, and it was one that had never heard of before but promised so much use. Stories told her to be able to see inside someone’s very soul by a brush of skin. Graces were different from just gifts or talents, graces were weaved into your very body and their eyes were always two different colors. Some say the graced were unnatural, and that is why one eye stayed as it had been since birth, and the other changed. It was said it was because the human part fought whatever was taking over, there were all kinds of stories. This didn’t stop the royalty from starting their own secret collections though..

She had arrived the night before, bound up in wool that her family must have sent her off with in hopes the winter weather would not cause her harm. The ride had taken days, and pinkened her skin where she couldn't hide. Dusa almost looked like an old woman if it hadn’t been for her youthful skin and large eyes. Everything about her seemed washed out of color like an old robe, her hair was a sleek sliver-gray that had been braided into a bun that sat at the nape of her neck. From what wool didn’t hide, soft white skin could be seen.

Dusa didn't meet the Prince right away, but she worried of the stories her parents had told of her to get her here. She had heard them talking of her as being an angel with golden hair and skin the color of snow. It changed though, hopefully she wouldn't be thrown out before she could prove it. Only a few graced lived in her village, and they had all been brought here with hopes of being the personal possestions of the Royal Family. Most came back though, there graces deemed useless. Those ones where though, there was not much use for a small boy graced with swimming or jumping. The Royal family wanted fighters and mind-readers.

 

[Prince_Truhan]

Prince Hektor, looked down to see the white haired girl he had seated in front of him, she wasn't eating or drinking, his eyebrow raised at this, he seriously doubted she had been well fed on her trip to his castle, it could have been some sort of self-imposed fasting, usually he wouldn't have cares, wouldn't have come down to see a graced by himself, having someone inspect her and report of her skills to him.

This one was different, the rumor was that she could see sould, all through a mere touch, while that grace had been theorized this was the first person to have it, the uses of someone that could inspect a person very soul were endless, and Hektor wanted that only for himself.

He had to test her though, he had feared a deceitful attempt, but her silver hair, and the eye he had merely caught a sight off when he entered the room had been proof that convinced him. Still he wondered if it was as useful as it was supposed to.

"Do you know why you are here Dusa?" He asked simply, he wanted to hear it from her, her thoughts and her defiance, he was to mine it and turn her into a faithful servant, and the first part was getting to know her "issues" with him.

 

[everbloom]

"Do you know why you are here Dusa?"

Dusa considered using silence, but her life wasn’t the only one that this arrangement affected. Her mother, the night before she left, told her to be polite and that this arrangement would make life for her family better than ever. It meant a lot to her; especially considering the frost ruined almost all of the plums her father had grown. There village was known for plums, and to have them all wiped out, somehow they had managed to keep everyone in their family alive.

“You have an interest in my gift, you highness.” She whispered softly as if talking to the porcelain cup she was much entranced by. “I am here to serve any purpose.” It was a common phrase people used when offering services to Royalty, but a small whisper flowed through her mind. She forced herself to look at him, her right eye had an eerily white cast that seemed to glow as if possessed.

 

[Prince_Truhan]

"That is pleasing Dusa" he said while grabbing her shoulder, and looking into her eye, it was through her clothes, he wondered if her gift would be activated by that or if a touch on bare skin was needed.

"But I expect more of you, I have to understand your gift, and you have to understand how it can be useful to me."

"You are here to serve." he said "However my good servants are rewarded, and so are their families." he added with a smile "I am a fair ruler, so traitors are punished dearly" on this last line he gripped her shoulder very tight only to soften it afterwards.

"I know you won't come to that, I also expect you to know, that not serving to your whole potential is also a treason."

Then he released her shoulder. "Please drink your tea, even if you are not hungry it's warmth will do you well."

 

[everbloom]

“This is pleasing Dusa.”

His hand locked over her shoulder, and small hum could be felt; Nothing readable or a connection, but something slightly more present than simply feeling his weight on her shoulder.

“But I expect more of you, I have to understand your gift, and you have to understand how it can be useful to me."

Beyond his hand, in her own soul, she felt a pang of annoyance. She hated when she was merely a tool than person. She held her tongue so to speak, listening as her eyes stayed on the center of his face but unfocused.

“You are here to serve.”

Didn't I just say that? She felt redundancy start to dance with her annoyance.

"However my good servants are rewarded, and so are their families."

She perked up a bit when he spoke of directly spoiling her family. Her mother always loved silks and spices; with this arrangement her mother and family would have enough money to cover their whole home in silks. He smiles when she did, seeming as though he had made her smile, not the thought of her mother in silk and her father with plums for acres.

"I am a fair ruler, so traitors are punished dearly"

He squeezed her shoulder and the connection deepened, her sliver like hair turned darker into an off shade of dark brown. It was still just a humming, but a lot deeper. When he released his grip her hair faded back to its slivery state.

"I know you won't come to that, I also expect you to know, that not serving to your whole potential is also treason."

So basically if she didn’t do everything and anything she was possible all the time, it was off to the gallows with her. That made her frown, the image of her mother frolicking in fine silks turned sour and her father’s large plum farm froze over again in her mind. She blew out her breath, closing her eyes to keep the warmth that had rushed up to them down.

"Please drink your tea, even if you are not hungry it's warmth will do you well."

She refused the cup, feeling like her story might end up as Persephone’s once had after Hades took her into the underworld. She had only eaten four pomegranate seeds, and ended up having to give up that many months to him every year for eternity.

“I understand.” Despite your annoying redundancy. “I am what they say a soul seer, if you wish. I cannot read minds.” That about summed it up, honestly. “I don’t have much experience with the gift, and it sometimes overwhelms me but only so long as the connection is intact.”

 

[Prince_Truhan]

He frowned slightly at her rejection of the tea, but it was alright if she chose to be hungry and cold it was her choice.

"I understand your inexperience, and I won't hold that against you, I suppose that your previous life didn't allow many opportunities to train your grace, and perhaps you weren't even that interested in honing it yet."

He paused for a moment to study her, she was indeed beautiful, while her silver hair and her clear eye, gave her an eerie look, her youthful skin and overall appearance would allow her to fit in court. She would have to get rid of that rebellious streak however. If she was busy challenging him, she wouldn't be serving him and he wouldn't have that, still he was bright enough, or at least so he thought, to know that if she was challenging at least it meant that she had a brain in her head, which was very good news to him.

Then he moved his hands, and rather than touching her shoulders through her clothes, he touched her arms directly, holding her, and pressing against her, not hard but not loosely. He wanted to see what sort of abilities she had, and what a best way to test her than making her see his own soul.

 

[everbloom]

"I understand your inexperience, and I won't hold that against you, I suppose that your previous life didn't allow many opportunities to train your grace, and perhaps you weren't even that interested in honing it yet."

Dusa couldn’t understand where he kept assuming all these things about her life. It angered her so deeply she could feel the change spreading across her body. Her hair darkened again, but this time it was her own soul that was changing. Before she had a response ready, his fingers grazed the skin of her forearm, and a connection was made. Her clear eye darkened completely until it was completely black, not soon after her silver hair grew to the same inky color.

What she felt chilled her glowing skin. The connection wasn’t very strong, but it was enough to see deep down he wasn’t a moral person. He looked after himself, and that was most important. Perhaps that is why he collected graced men and women, nothing but the best of the best.

“Why?” she choked out, trying not to let the sense overwhelm her into unconsciousness but it was close. It felt almost as if his soul was creeping out of his chest and trying to take over hers, covering the light inside of her until only slivers of light shown through.

“Let go…I can’t…” but it was to late, she was starting to feel the hammering beat of his heart in herself.

 

[Prince_Truhan]

“Let go…I can’t…” she managed to said, still the Prince didn't let go, he found the process fascinating, the way her eye and her hair turned inky black. She had said that sometimes the connection was too much, this was probably the case, what stopped him was that perhaps was made it so powerful was the strenght of his personality, or soul, if that was the case then she needed to be able to learn to manage it.

He waited... maybe too long considering her pleads but he did let her go eventually.

"What did you see Dusa?" He knew that he wasn't a particularly kind or good soul... still he wondered how she would phrase that.