Damsel In Distress: Up and Away
Title: Up and Away (Damsel in Distress 3)
Genre: Drama/Angst
Pairing(s): USUK
Word Count: 1, 318
Rating/Warnings: Imprisonment and abuse (nothing explicit, just implied)
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. Done for the 'aviation' theme on the usxuk summer camp.
Part 1 here
Part 2 here
"The Lake of Fire," Arthur said flatly as the two men stopped abruptly. The cause for their sudden halt was a lake made of molten fire as far as the eye could see and as wide as it was long. There were flashes of fire that bounced across the surface and sometimes there were little bits of land that surfaced in the lake where blackened stumps of trees stood. The surface was smooth and reflections could be seen, even if they had a bright orange tinge to them. "How on Earth did you get across this in the first place?" Arthur turned to Alfred, one eyebrow raised in query. He had been rather on edge in the three days since Alfred had contracted hypothermia and had to be treated. Alfred thought it was him almost dying that had scared Arthur, so he had tried to be as calm and not-annoying as possible. Now the real Arthur seemed to be returning. Alfred bounced alone to the edge of the Lake of Fire before turning back to Arthur with a wide grin.
"We're going to fly," Alfred said, relishing Arthur's look of complete shock. He had obviously not been that expecting that but a moment later, his face became grumpier than ever as if he thought of something unpleasant.
"We can't fly," Arthur said, sounding much like he had his teeth gritted. Alfred felt his smile falter slightly before dying completely. Arthur noticed this, he wasn't stupid, and immediately looked repentant. "I'm sorry Alfred. How did you fly over it the first time?" Alfred smiled again, feeling better at hearing Arthur's calmer tone. It would have been awful for Arthur to be grumpy all the way through the trip.
"With this!" Alfred held up his great invention in his hand and Arthur examined it closely. He looked unimpressed.
"It's a cube. The size of your hand," Arthur pointed out and Alfred clucked his tongue. He slung an arm around Arthur's shoulder and brought him closer to his invention to examine it.
"It's not just a cube-shaped object. It is my brilliant, wonderful invention which I plan to show to all the big names in science and get my name put on!" Alfred got a little side tracked because of this vision but quickly remembered what he was doing. "This is my experiment in how compact an object can get. The object had to remain the same mass but the big objects still took up a lot of air space which wasn't really good for carrying around in your pocket. So I had to find a way to compress all air out of the object but make it easy enough to put the air back in so it could expand the object could be used," Alfred explained, hoping that he dumbed it down enough. Toris had not looked confused when he had given the same explanation before and so Alfred hoped it would make sense to someone that was not as interested in science and engineering as him.
"So what you're saying is that this little cube contains something that will fly us across the Lake of Fire without us going to a fiery grave," Arthur said, looking at the cube with renewed interest.
"Exactly! Feel." Then he dropped the cube in Arthur's hand and Arthur's hand quickly sank to the ground, followed by the rest of Arthur.
"Fuck! That's heavy, take it off!" Arthur said, trying to lift his hand up with the cube in. Alfred bent and picked up the cube easily, releasing Arthur's hand with a hiss of relief from Arthur. "What does it contain?" Arthur asked, giving a strange look at Alfred handling the cube. He rubbed the hand that had been trapped by the cube absently.
"Watch," Alfred told Arthur, putting the cube on the ground before nudging Arthur back slightly. Alfred gave a brief tug of two corners of the cube before stepping back hurriedly. Arthur watched in amazement as the cube expanded rapidly, upwards and outwards. It was like watching a tree grow in thirty seconds. "Ta da!" Alfred said when the cube stopped moving and Arthur was able to identify the wicker basket and the brightly coloured balloon that stretched high above their heads.
"It's a hot air balloon," Arthur said pointlessly, stepping up to the balloon and laying a hand on the basket. It felt like a normal wicker basket and Arthur marvelled at the fact that it had just popped out of a cube small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. It was not like baskets were easy to compact and store. "That's amazing." Alfred beamed with pride at Arthur's words and he fiddled around in his pack before drawing out a metal framework which he unfolded quickly and attached to the strings connected the balloon and the basket. Arthur watched this all in fascination.
"Still haven't found a way of getting this stuff to fit in the cube but at least it can be collapsed and folded up and put in a bag," Alfred explained as he set everything up. He poured some of the fuel, clear liquid that Alfred was carefully not to splash on himself, into a container and attached to the balloon so it could power the fire. Alfred hesitated about explaining this to Arthur but decided that if he wanted to know, he would ask. Soon after Alfred had finished and he stepped back to eye the balloon with pride.
"Done?" Arthur asked, stepping a little closer to examine the balloon a bit more. He craned his head to see inside the balloon without stepping inside the basket. Alfred noticed this and held out a hand to Arthur.
"Into the basket, my lady," Arthur gave Alfred a glare which made Alfred smile, but took Alfred's hand anyway and somewhat clumsily climbed into the basket. Alfred jumped in himself and got ready to start the fire. A moment later, Arthur grabbed onto Alfred as they took off. Alfred grinned at the other man, pleased that Arthur leant on him instead of the edges of the basket, as they grew high enough that they could make sure that they would not get hit by any fountains of fire from the Lake. Arthur let go of Alfred after a minute and carefully made his way to the edge of the basket. He could see the classy surface of the lake beneath him, when it was not blocking their way it was quite beautiful, and he could see where they had just walked. The whole Forest of Nightmares could be seen. The view of the valley where it resided took Arthur's breath away.
"It's beautiful," he whispered and Alfred smiled, happy that he could have done this for Arthur. The man's skin still had the unhealthy white colour but now it was tinged with pink, from the sun and from the excitement of flying over the Lake of Fire. He knew that Arthur was happy and enjoying the balloon ride but the hug completely knocked him off guard. Arthur did not initiate physical contact, he barely tolerated it from Alfred, and so the hug had nearly caused Alfred to drop the rope steering the balloon. As Arthur buried his face in Alfred's neck, Alfred slowly lifted his free hand and laid it around Arthur's shoulders.
What Alfred did not understand was how he managed to give Arthur back an experience that he had thought lost. With magic Arthur would have been able to fly over the Lake and so he cursed (not for the first time) his vow not to use magic. Alfred had pulled through though and Arthur found new resolve to keep his vow. If Alfred could give him new, brilliant experiences all the time, then Arthur could stop his magic.
Ignoring the itch in his mind as he thought this, Arthur hugged Alfred tighter.
Thanks for your comments and I will reply to them as soon as I get a free moment!
Genre: Drama/Angst
Pairing(s): USUK
Word Count: 1, 318
Rating/Warnings: Imprisonment and abuse (nothing explicit, just implied)
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. Done for the 'aviation' theme on the usxuk summer camp.
Part 1 here
Part 2 here
"The Lake of Fire," Arthur said flatly as the two men stopped abruptly. The cause for their sudden halt was a lake made of molten fire as far as the eye could see and as wide as it was long. There were flashes of fire that bounced across the surface and sometimes there were little bits of land that surfaced in the lake where blackened stumps of trees stood. The surface was smooth and reflections could be seen, even if they had a bright orange tinge to them. "How on Earth did you get across this in the first place?" Arthur turned to Alfred, one eyebrow raised in query. He had been rather on edge in the three days since Alfred had contracted hypothermia and had to be treated. Alfred thought it was him almost dying that had scared Arthur, so he had tried to be as calm and not-annoying as possible. Now the real Arthur seemed to be returning. Alfred bounced alone to the edge of the Lake of Fire before turning back to Arthur with a wide grin.
"We're going to fly," Alfred said, relishing Arthur's look of complete shock. He had obviously not been that expecting that but a moment later, his face became grumpier than ever as if he thought of something unpleasant.
"We can't fly," Arthur said, sounding much like he had his teeth gritted. Alfred felt his smile falter slightly before dying completely. Arthur noticed this, he wasn't stupid, and immediately looked repentant. "I'm sorry Alfred. How did you fly over it the first time?" Alfred smiled again, feeling better at hearing Arthur's calmer tone. It would have been awful for Arthur to be grumpy all the way through the trip.
"With this!" Alfred held up his great invention in his hand and Arthur examined it closely. He looked unimpressed.
"It's a cube. The size of your hand," Arthur pointed out and Alfred clucked his tongue. He slung an arm around Arthur's shoulder and brought him closer to his invention to examine it.
"It's not just a cube-shaped object. It is my brilliant, wonderful invention which I plan to show to all the big names in science and get my name put on!" Alfred got a little side tracked because of this vision but quickly remembered what he was doing. "This is my experiment in how compact an object can get. The object had to remain the same mass but the big objects still took up a lot of air space which wasn't really good for carrying around in your pocket. So I had to find a way to compress all air out of the object but make it easy enough to put the air back in so it could expand the object could be used," Alfred explained, hoping that he dumbed it down enough. Toris had not looked confused when he had given the same explanation before and so Alfred hoped it would make sense to someone that was not as interested in science and engineering as him.
"So what you're saying is that this little cube contains something that will fly us across the Lake of Fire without us going to a fiery grave," Arthur said, looking at the cube with renewed interest.
"Exactly! Feel." Then he dropped the cube in Arthur's hand and Arthur's hand quickly sank to the ground, followed by the rest of Arthur.
"Fuck! That's heavy, take it off!" Arthur said, trying to lift his hand up with the cube in. Alfred bent and picked up the cube easily, releasing Arthur's hand with a hiss of relief from Arthur. "What does it contain?" Arthur asked, giving a strange look at Alfred handling the cube. He rubbed the hand that had been trapped by the cube absently.
"Watch," Alfred told Arthur, putting the cube on the ground before nudging Arthur back slightly. Alfred gave a brief tug of two corners of the cube before stepping back hurriedly. Arthur watched in amazement as the cube expanded rapidly, upwards and outwards. It was like watching a tree grow in thirty seconds. "Ta da!" Alfred said when the cube stopped moving and Arthur was able to identify the wicker basket and the brightly coloured balloon that stretched high above their heads.
"It's a hot air balloon," Arthur said pointlessly, stepping up to the balloon and laying a hand on the basket. It felt like a normal wicker basket and Arthur marvelled at the fact that it had just popped out of a cube small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. It was not like baskets were easy to compact and store. "That's amazing." Alfred beamed with pride at Arthur's words and he fiddled around in his pack before drawing out a metal framework which he unfolded quickly and attached to the strings connected the balloon and the basket. Arthur watched this all in fascination.
"Still haven't found a way of getting this stuff to fit in the cube but at least it can be collapsed and folded up and put in a bag," Alfred explained as he set everything up. He poured some of the fuel, clear liquid that Alfred was carefully not to splash on himself, into a container and attached to the balloon so it could power the fire. Alfred hesitated about explaining this to Arthur but decided that if he wanted to know, he would ask. Soon after Alfred had finished and he stepped back to eye the balloon with pride.
"Done?" Arthur asked, stepping a little closer to examine the balloon a bit more. He craned his head to see inside the balloon without stepping inside the basket. Alfred noticed this and held out a hand to Arthur.
"Into the basket, my lady," Arthur gave Alfred a glare which made Alfred smile, but took Alfred's hand anyway and somewhat clumsily climbed into the basket. Alfred jumped in himself and got ready to start the fire. A moment later, Arthur grabbed onto Alfred as they took off. Alfred grinned at the other man, pleased that Arthur leant on him instead of the edges of the basket, as they grew high enough that they could make sure that they would not get hit by any fountains of fire from the Lake. Arthur let go of Alfred after a minute and carefully made his way to the edge of the basket. He could see the classy surface of the lake beneath him, when it was not blocking their way it was quite beautiful, and he could see where they had just walked. The whole Forest of Nightmares could be seen. The view of the valley where it resided took Arthur's breath away.
"It's beautiful," he whispered and Alfred smiled, happy that he could have done this for Arthur. The man's skin still had the unhealthy white colour but now it was tinged with pink, from the sun and from the excitement of flying over the Lake of Fire. He knew that Arthur was happy and enjoying the balloon ride but the hug completely knocked him off guard. Arthur did not initiate physical contact, he barely tolerated it from Alfred, and so the hug had nearly caused Alfred to drop the rope steering the balloon. As Arthur buried his face in Alfred's neck, Alfred slowly lifted his free hand and laid it around Arthur's shoulders.
What Alfred did not understand was how he managed to give Arthur back an experience that he had thought lost. With magic Arthur would have been able to fly over the Lake and so he cursed (not for the first time) his vow not to use magic. Alfred had pulled through though and Arthur found new resolve to keep his vow. If Alfred could give him new, brilliant experiences all the time, then Arthur could stop his magic.
Ignoring the itch in his mind as he thought this, Arthur hugged Alfred tighter.
Thanks for your comments and I will reply to them as soon as I get a free moment!