( fellden-AU ) if you must drink of me, take of me what you please;

[unabatedly]

[ It's not even a battle, really. For all that she is an accomplished warrior, her swordplay is outmatched by Gilgamesh's abilities. It's the golden light behind him, the Gates, that finally get her, though, by the end of it. One buries itself in calf; another in her side. It brings her to a stumbling finish, her blade easily parried and her shield broken, and Gilgamesh's glittering gauntlet closes around throat and lifts her up. The haze of pain keeps her from hearing most of what he has to say even as he dangles her over the cliff face.

For a terrible moment, she thinks he will throw her from the ledge. But his eyes burn a blood red, focused on her own, and the gauntlet squeezes tight enough to cut off her air flow. She kicks, she struggles, fingers clawing at the gauntlet. Her magic forms one last blade in the air, aiming true to his head--

Neria awakens with a startled gasp in a dim cell, all memory after that moment hazy and muddled, nothing connecting.

It takes far too long for her to understand her surroundings. The dungeon the Moon Temple, clearly, with her ankles and wrists shackled to the floor. A cot and a toilet are the only kindnesses she's been afforded, as well as what must have been some decent medical care as she only wears bandages now. Her throat aches but she has no way of knowing if there are bruises still from the fight.

Food is brought to her, which she stubbornly refuses. The guard tells her politely of her situation, that she has been granted clemency rather than a swift death, and that it is likely that the Priestess will come to mete out some kind of judgment in the coming days. She will remain there until then, and likely after, as there is no hope of a prison break or of a hostage negotiation.

It'd be kinder just to cut my head from my shoulders, she thinks and does not say. So she remains in that cell for a few days, waiting, barely eating or drinking. On the fourth day, there is activity outside of her cell, and the door is flung open to allow Gilgamesh inside.

Neria's scowl is immediate. ]

Come to gloat? Or are you here to kill me?

Comments

SUPER SHAMELESS SELF-INDULGENT PSL TIME

[gilgamess]

[ Gilgamesh tilts his head and smiles; outside of battle, and preferring fancy robes to golden armor, his hair down, he no doubt cuts a very different figure from their previous encounters. less the warrior and more the King. not that his title means anything in this world, not in a way that these fools properly acknowledge, yet his power immanates from deep within, his aura of presence so strong that it seems to glint from each ruby and each rich hue of that robe. had he told her, during their previous encounter in the Gods Wood, that he himself was born of a god? there is a reason after all that this blood beats so hotly in those ancient veins, or the ghostly mana remnants thereof. but then, probably he had not yet mentioned this detail; she still has much to learn about him, after all. ]

Is that what you assume? Aha, now, do not be foolish. I know you are a woman who should know better. [ his eyes roam up and down her form, imprisoned as it is; she is still bandaged, and he had heard word of the fact that she was refusing to eat.

no doubt this claim of his was in a great deal of discomfort. fortunate for her that she has such a wonderfully gracious liege. ] I am taking you from this place and to somewhere where you will receive bliss.

After all -- [ he reaches out, stroking a finger beneath her chin. ] -- you must be trained for this new faction, so that we might be victorious together, and I must enjoy the spoils of my victory.