Damsel In Distress: Foolishness and Bravery
Title: Foolishness and Bravery (Damsel In Distress 4)
Genre: Drama/Angst
Pairing(s): USUK
Word Count: 1,855
Rating/Warnings: Imprisonment and abuse (nothing explicit, just implied), life-threatening situations, 12/15
Summary: Alfred has dreamed of being a true hero and saving a damesl in distress from death or worse. When he gets a chance to leave his village on a rescue mission, he jumps eagerly at the chance. The damsel in distress may give him a few unexpected surprises. Part of the 'Damsel In Distress' AU. The First Moment, Running Away, Up and Away and Over the Hill and Far Away.
They could smell the dragons before they saw them. The smell of fire and sulphur on the air gave them early warning and allowed them to hide behind one of the overhanging rocks as they approached the top of the cliff.
"What do we do now?" Arthur asked quietly as he peeked around the edge of their hiding place. There were large green shapes that lumbered awkwardly around on the ground and then took to the sky with a startling quickness. Dragons had never terrified him or made him fear for his life, until now. He was magic-less and the only person who saw him as worth anything was about to join him in the death trip through Dragons' Nest. Maybe there was another way. "Alfred, have you ever thought about us going round the Dragons' Nest?" Arthur asked hopefully and Alfred laughed, quietly, and slapped Arthur on the back.
"Don't worry Arthur, I'll protect you!" Arthur tried not to worry about who would be protecting Alfred but failed as soon as the thought occurred to him. He had to make sure that Alfred was safe.
"What's the plan?" Arthur asked, hoping that it would involve staying out of sight, carefully making their way across the Nest and hopefully the dragons would not smell them.
"Um, be as fast as possible." Arthur had a split second to register Alfred's words before Alfred darted around the safety rock and started heading straight towards the middle of the nest. Arthur felt fear paralyse him for a second before he stumbled out after Alfred, his name being caught in his throat. The dragons immediately noticed Alfred, but he did not seem to register as big enough to be threat or meal and they watched him with curiosity as he dashed through the rocks and skeletons of past kills. Arthur noticed this and relaxed slightly, even as he continued to hurtle after Alfred.
However when the dragons saw him, they seemed to tense up and assume threatening positions. Whether it was the magic inside him, dragons were magical creatures and there were rumours that they could sense magic being done around them, or the fact that there were now two humans, but Arthur, and by extension Alfred, were now considered a threat.
Arthur's terror was back and he forced himself to a halt, even as Alfred ran out of sight. The dragons focused themselves on him and Arthur knew that it was magic that was causing this. It rose up and the itch at the back of his mind grew into a pain, but he forced it away. He would have to find his own way out of this. At least Alfred was safe.
One of the largest dragons, an ugly grey one with a large jaw and wings that looked like they had not seen the light of day for years, started to move towards Arthur, climbing down from the rock it had perched on, with his wings spread upwards. For the first time, Arthur identified that the terror he felt was at the risk to his own life than to Alfred's. It relieved him slightly that he had some sense of self-preservation but to discover it just before he was about to die was rather unfortunate.
The big grey one opened its mouth and Arthur knew what was coming. He scrambled behind a nearby rock as the black smoke and flames engulfed the place where he had just been standing. As if they had been waiting for the first blow, the other dragons started to move, some snapping at where Arthur was placed and others sending fire, smoke and even lightning at his hiding place.
Arthur was on the move constantly and soon enough, he was covered in sweat and his breath was coming in painful pants. There were too many dragons and he was tiring too quickly, still not used to the spike of adrenaline and the hard exercise. The grey one seemed to sense this and increased its attacks, almost playing with Arthur as it watched him run from spot to spot.
"Stupid, ugly thing," Arthur hissed quietly. He longed to shoot off his own fireball at the dragons but he remembered his promise to Alfred.
"Arthur!" Someone yelled and to his horror, Arthur saw Alfred step out from behind one of the rocks. Two of the dragons moved their attention to Alfred but most of them remained fixated on Arthur.
"Alfred!" Arthur yelled back. "Go back, it's not safe!"
"You idiot! I know that!" The answer was not exactly what Arthur hoped and he desperately looked around for a way out even as he dodged a red dragon's snap of its jaws. "Arthur, watch out!" If Arthur wasn't terrified for his life and more importantly, Alfred's, then he would have rolled his eyes at Alfred's shout. What did he think Arthur was going to do, stand there and let himself be swallowed up in one bite?
Arthur wanted to swear, wanted to tell Alfred to go back and leave Arthur to escape on his own but he could not force the words out past his panting breaths. There wasn't enough air and Arthur's vision was going black at the edges. If he collapsed that was the end of it. He would be killed and Alfred, stupid, noble Alfred, would be killed as well.
The magic rose up in him like a scream but this time, Arthur let it rise up and out of him. He swung around, aiming his magic upwards so it would catch the dragons but miss Alfred completely and he heard the dragons' roars as they took to the sky to avoid the burst of magic. They may be magical creatures but actual magic scared them.
Dimly, Arthur was aware of Alfred standing frozen on the other side of the nest and Arthur started to move quickly towards him. He needed to get out of the Nest, when he and Alfred were out, they were safe. The dragons watched as Arthur, with single-minded determination, forced his legs to move until he was outside the Dragons' Nest and he could feel Alfred next to him.
"Sorry, Al'red," Arthur mumbled before he allowed the blackness at the edges of his vision completely swamp him.
For a moment, Alfred just stared at Arthur, unwilling to touch him or even approach him. The magic that Arthur had just used, it was powerful and dangerous, far more than Matthew's had ever been. It reminded Alfred exactly why he hated magic in the first place because nothing he could invent could fight against something that came out of thin air and scared off dragons.
But it was Arthur. The same Arthur who had been locked in a room for what must have been for years on end and who wanted to come back to Alfred's home village because he did not want to go back to his home and who kept on following Alfred even though Alfred knew that he had blisters and his muscles screamed in pain at the end of the day.
Alfred hated magic. He liked Arthur. Arthur and magic could not go together - it made Alfred's head hurt. After Arthur had used the first piece of magic, the same problem had arisen then but Arthur had said he would not use magic and Alfred had managed to ignore the problem. But now it surfaced again with a vengeance.
He sat down far away from Arthur, but close enough that he could still see him through the trees and put his head in his hands. There was no right way to deal with this, trusting Arthur was what Alfred had been doing for the past several days but trusting Arthur-with-magic was something completely different.
When he was young, Alfred had learned that magic was an advantage that some people had and that the ones who did not have this advantage could never get it. Those with magic could do anything like kill you in your sleep or alter your thoughts or even force you to take the blame for something you didn't do. His aunt and his brother had taught him that. And in Arthur's case, he could shoot fire out of his fingertips. All it would take was for Alfred to say one thing that Arthur disagreed with it and Arthur could burn him in a fireball or even change Alfred's mind and Alfred would not even be aware that he had done it.
"This would be so much easier if you didn't have magic," Alfred snapped at the unconscious Arthur, even though he knew how futile the gesture was. "Magic is a power no one should have." Even though Arthur couldn't hear him, it helped Alfred to speak his thoughts out loud. "Those with magic can't help but use it for their own personal gain." Even as he said this, a part of Alfred's brain told him that wasn't true. Arthur had used magic to save his and Alfred's lives from the dragons after Alfred had stupidly gone right through the nest and not paid any attention to what was happening with Arthur.
"It's all so stupid," Alfred said bitterly. He finally moved, only to set up a fire and cover Arthur with his cloak before settling down himself. His body was exhausted but his mind kept speeding along, unable to settle on one issue. He would have to talk to Arthur when he regained consciousness, then Alfred could find out about Arthur's magic and maybe Alfred should explain to Arthur exactly why he was so scared of magic.
Finally, Alfred came to a decision and so he was able to drift off into sleep, uneasy though it was.
It was many hours later, when the fire had dampened down to embers, that Alfred awoke. The first thing he noticed was the heavy cloak around his shoulders keeping him warm and how cold the forest felt on his cheeks.
"What the - ?" Alfred muttered to himself as he moved and felt the strange crackle of paper that was tucked underneath the cloak next to his chest. He rolled over and held the paper towards the fire so he could read the words written on it: I'm sorry Alfred.
"Oh no," Alfred said, horror and realisation rising in him in equal measures. He looked across the fire to see the place where Arthur had been empty of both Arthur and his bag. "Please no." Alfred prayed that it didn't mean what he thought it meant as he scrambled to his feet. He moved to where Arthur had been and felt the grass where Arthur's body had been. It was cold. The ground left no sign that Arthur had been there, it was like he had never had been.
At least Alfred now had the answer to his question. Arthur-with-magic was better than no Arthur at all, but the answer had come to him too late.
"ARTHUR!" Alfred yelled to the surrounding forest, hoping that Arthur could hear him and would know that Alfred was not giving up. He would find Arthur.
Genre: Drama/Angst
Pairing(s): USUK
Word Count: 1,855
Rating/Warnings: Imprisonment and abuse (nothing explicit, just implied), life-threatening situations, 12/15
Summary: Alfred has dreamed of being a true hero and saving a damesl in distress from death or worse. When he gets a chance to leave his village on a rescue mission, he jumps eagerly at the chance. The damsel in distress may give him a few unexpected surprises. Part of the 'Damsel In Distress' AU. The First Moment, Running Away, Up and Away and Over the Hill and Far Away.
They could smell the dragons before they saw them. The smell of fire and sulphur on the air gave them early warning and allowed them to hide behind one of the overhanging rocks as they approached the top of the cliff.
"What do we do now?" Arthur asked quietly as he peeked around the edge of their hiding place. There were large green shapes that lumbered awkwardly around on the ground and then took to the sky with a startling quickness. Dragons had never terrified him or made him fear for his life, until now. He was magic-less and the only person who saw him as worth anything was about to join him in the death trip through Dragons' Nest. Maybe there was another way. "Alfred, have you ever thought about us going round the Dragons' Nest?" Arthur asked hopefully and Alfred laughed, quietly, and slapped Arthur on the back.
"Don't worry Arthur, I'll protect you!" Arthur tried not to worry about who would be protecting Alfred but failed as soon as the thought occurred to him. He had to make sure that Alfred was safe.
"What's the plan?" Arthur asked, hoping that it would involve staying out of sight, carefully making their way across the Nest and hopefully the dragons would not smell them.
"Um, be as fast as possible." Arthur had a split second to register Alfred's words before Alfred darted around the safety rock and started heading straight towards the middle of the nest. Arthur felt fear paralyse him for a second before he stumbled out after Alfred, his name being caught in his throat. The dragons immediately noticed Alfred, but he did not seem to register as big enough to be threat or meal and they watched him with curiosity as he dashed through the rocks and skeletons of past kills. Arthur noticed this and relaxed slightly, even as he continued to hurtle after Alfred.
However when the dragons saw him, they seemed to tense up and assume threatening positions. Whether it was the magic inside him, dragons were magical creatures and there were rumours that they could sense magic being done around them, or the fact that there were now two humans, but Arthur, and by extension Alfred, were now considered a threat.
Arthur's terror was back and he forced himself to a halt, even as Alfred ran out of sight. The dragons focused themselves on him and Arthur knew that it was magic that was causing this. It rose up and the itch at the back of his mind grew into a pain, but he forced it away. He would have to find his own way out of this. At least Alfred was safe.
One of the largest dragons, an ugly grey one with a large jaw and wings that looked like they had not seen the light of day for years, started to move towards Arthur, climbing down from the rock it had perched on, with his wings spread upwards. For the first time, Arthur identified that the terror he felt was at the risk to his own life than to Alfred's. It relieved him slightly that he had some sense of self-preservation but to discover it just before he was about to die was rather unfortunate.
The big grey one opened its mouth and Arthur knew what was coming. He scrambled behind a nearby rock as the black smoke and flames engulfed the place where he had just been standing. As if they had been waiting for the first blow, the other dragons started to move, some snapping at where Arthur was placed and others sending fire, smoke and even lightning at his hiding place.
Arthur was on the move constantly and soon enough, he was covered in sweat and his breath was coming in painful pants. There were too many dragons and he was tiring too quickly, still not used to the spike of adrenaline and the hard exercise. The grey one seemed to sense this and increased its attacks, almost playing with Arthur as it watched him run from spot to spot.
"Stupid, ugly thing," Arthur hissed quietly. He longed to shoot off his own fireball at the dragons but he remembered his promise to Alfred.
"Arthur!" Someone yelled and to his horror, Arthur saw Alfred step out from behind one of the rocks. Two of the dragons moved their attention to Alfred but most of them remained fixated on Arthur.
"Alfred!" Arthur yelled back. "Go back, it's not safe!"
"You idiot! I know that!" The answer was not exactly what Arthur hoped and he desperately looked around for a way out even as he dodged a red dragon's snap of its jaws. "Arthur, watch out!" If Arthur wasn't terrified for his life and more importantly, Alfred's, then he would have rolled his eyes at Alfred's shout. What did he think Arthur was going to do, stand there and let himself be swallowed up in one bite?
Arthur wanted to swear, wanted to tell Alfred to go back and leave Arthur to escape on his own but he could not force the words out past his panting breaths. There wasn't enough air and Arthur's vision was going black at the edges. If he collapsed that was the end of it. He would be killed and Alfred, stupid, noble Alfred, would be killed as well.
The magic rose up in him like a scream but this time, Arthur let it rise up and out of him. He swung around, aiming his magic upwards so it would catch the dragons but miss Alfred completely and he heard the dragons' roars as they took to the sky to avoid the burst of magic. They may be magical creatures but actual magic scared them.
Dimly, Arthur was aware of Alfred standing frozen on the other side of the nest and Arthur started to move quickly towards him. He needed to get out of the Nest, when he and Alfred were out, they were safe. The dragons watched as Arthur, with single-minded determination, forced his legs to move until he was outside the Dragons' Nest and he could feel Alfred next to him.
"Sorry, Al'red," Arthur mumbled before he allowed the blackness at the edges of his vision completely swamp him.
For a moment, Alfred just stared at Arthur, unwilling to touch him or even approach him. The magic that Arthur had just used, it was powerful and dangerous, far more than Matthew's had ever been. It reminded Alfred exactly why he hated magic in the first place because nothing he could invent could fight against something that came out of thin air and scared off dragons.
But it was Arthur. The same Arthur who had been locked in a room for what must have been for years on end and who wanted to come back to Alfred's home village because he did not want to go back to his home and who kept on following Alfred even though Alfred knew that he had blisters and his muscles screamed in pain at the end of the day.
Alfred hated magic. He liked Arthur. Arthur and magic could not go together - it made Alfred's head hurt. After Arthur had used the first piece of magic, the same problem had arisen then but Arthur had said he would not use magic and Alfred had managed to ignore the problem. But now it surfaced again with a vengeance.
He sat down far away from Arthur, but close enough that he could still see him through the trees and put his head in his hands. There was no right way to deal with this, trusting Arthur was what Alfred had been doing for the past several days but trusting Arthur-with-magic was something completely different.
When he was young, Alfred had learned that magic was an advantage that some people had and that the ones who did not have this advantage could never get it. Those with magic could do anything like kill you in your sleep or alter your thoughts or even force you to take the blame for something you didn't do. His aunt and his brother had taught him that. And in Arthur's case, he could shoot fire out of his fingertips. All it would take was for Alfred to say one thing that Arthur disagreed with it and Arthur could burn him in a fireball or even change Alfred's mind and Alfred would not even be aware that he had done it.
"This would be so much easier if you didn't have magic," Alfred snapped at the unconscious Arthur, even though he knew how futile the gesture was. "Magic is a power no one should have." Even though Arthur couldn't hear him, it helped Alfred to speak his thoughts out loud. "Those with magic can't help but use it for their own personal gain." Even as he said this, a part of Alfred's brain told him that wasn't true. Arthur had used magic to save his and Alfred's lives from the dragons after Alfred had stupidly gone right through the nest and not paid any attention to what was happening with Arthur.
"It's all so stupid," Alfred said bitterly. He finally moved, only to set up a fire and cover Arthur with his cloak before settling down himself. His body was exhausted but his mind kept speeding along, unable to settle on one issue. He would have to talk to Arthur when he regained consciousness, then Alfred could find out about Arthur's magic and maybe Alfred should explain to Arthur exactly why he was so scared of magic.
Finally, Alfred came to a decision and so he was able to drift off into sleep, uneasy though it was.
It was many hours later, when the fire had dampened down to embers, that Alfred awoke. The first thing he noticed was the heavy cloak around his shoulders keeping him warm and how cold the forest felt on his cheeks.
"What the - ?" Alfred muttered to himself as he moved and felt the strange crackle of paper that was tucked underneath the cloak next to his chest. He rolled over and held the paper towards the fire so he could read the words written on it: I'm sorry Alfred.
"Oh no," Alfred said, horror and realisation rising in him in equal measures. He looked across the fire to see the place where Arthur had been empty of both Arthur and his bag. "Please no." Alfred prayed that it didn't mean what he thought it meant as he scrambled to his feet. He moved to where Arthur had been and felt the grass where Arthur's body had been. It was cold. The ground left no sign that Arthur had been there, it was like he had never had been.
At least Alfred now had the answer to his question. Arthur-with-magic was better than no Arthur at all, but the answer had come to him too late.
"ARTHUR!" Alfred yelled to the surrounding forest, hoping that Arthur could hear him and would know that Alfred was not giving up. He would find Arthur.