A/N: just continuing with these two lovebirds.
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Lux had been sleeping since Tenebrae took her to his lair on Earth: The Fortress. It was a very secure place on Earth, imbued with his own energy, which, needless to say, was almost on par with his father's, if not more powerful than him. Tenebrae knew that whoever was after Lux and Life, would not be able to find Life's daughter, at least, not as long as she was with him. That didn't take away his concerns about the whole situation. Life was very powerful, he trusted she would not die. If she did, then it would be the beginning of the end. All living things would die, Earth would wither, too many souls would fill the End realm and who knew what else could happen? A balance was achieved by the presence of life and death, destroying life would just about bring the apocalypse and nobody wanted it, at least, not in Tenebrae's mind.
He found his beloved, but her not being able to remember him was bothering the prince more than he cared to admit. It hurt him to look into her eyes and not see the love that once was there. It hurt him to look at her and think that someone tried to kill her and apparently, succeeded in doing so and he wasn't there to protect her. He wasn't there. He resented his father even more since Death held him back and prevented him from visiting Lux. Why would he -and Live by extension- refuse that the two lovebirds saw each other? Tenebrae did notice the sparkles when he touched Lux. It only added to the pleasure he had by being by her side and she saw it as the physical manifestation of their love but he knew that there was more to it than just sparkles. The keeper of secrets had the answer to that, but like any magical creature of such a magnitude, to benefit from his knowledge came with a price. He could only ask one question. Tenebrae intended to ask how to defeat Death itself but if he did, then he would never be able to know why Lux and he couldn't be together like their parents suggested. Yet, what if that question was trivial and not meaningful, why would he waste an opportunity to become king?
His jet black eyes stared at the sleeping form in his arms. Lux refused to be left alone, now that she had found someone familiar with extraordinary powers like hers and who knew who she was, she refused to leave his side. Exhausted mentally from her centuries-long wandering, she simply fell asleep for days. Tenebrae didn't flinch a muscle for he didn't want to wake her up but he did command his minions to give him information about his father's whereabouts. He discovered that Death had visited Life in the realm of all beginnings and was trying to understand what happened to her and who attacked her. Tenebrae sighed in relief that his father didn't search for him but several weeks after he locked himself in his lair, one of his minions came and through him, Death spoke.
« My son. » Tenebrae narrowed his gaze, his jaw was clenched and he protectively held Lux against his chest. « I see that you found Lux. »
« She is staying with me, father. There is no way I would return her to a compromised place. » He declared, his black pools staring at the avatar of his father.
« I am not asking you to take her back to the Realm of all beginnings. Like you said, it's compromised. »
« Then, why are you using my minions as avatars? » He snapped at him, stroking the long black locks of his sleeping beloved.
« I understand that you are angry. »
« Angry doesn't begin to cover how I feel about you, /father/. » Tenebrae said. « We could have helped them if you didn't decide to lock me in the End Realm. We could have saved them if you and Life didn't have your stupid separation rul-- »
«Enough! I am not here to argue with you. I'd rather have you listen to me, Tenebrae. » His voice boomed, making the walls tremble and shake and Tenebrae, despite showing some bravado in his attitude shook as well. He felt fear sink into him and into the cracks of his bones and it humbled the prince who nodded quietly in submission. « You're finally reasonable. »
« What do you want to say, Father. »
« I wanted to warn you. I am investigating on who would try to attack Life and why. I have an idea but I need to confirm it. Until I have confirmation of the identity of who's behind the attack, you have to be very careful. They would come after Lux in order to destroy her... »
« I will protect her until she's fully recovered and can defend herself. » Tenebrae said, narrowing his eyes, a hint of warning in his voice as he believed his father would ask him to stay away from the deity.
« I was about to say you have to protect her. I do not know where you get the belief I do not care about you or do not love you, but I do. I love you, son. »
Tenebrae chose not to reply to his father and instead looked at Lux who kept on sleeping. He sighed and leaned into his chair. Deities like him, Lux, Death or Life didn't need to sustain themselves to survive. Unlike humans who needed to eat, drink and sleep in order to remain functional. However, when they were critically wounded and needed to recover, sleep became necessary. Like Odin who would enter Odin's sleep, deities needed to regenerate. Lux was reborn, hence why she needed her sleep to fully recover and regain the level of power she had prior to her death and until she achieved it, Tenebrae would keep an eye on her and keep her safe. However, he needed to do something, staying in his lair wasn't helping either of them. It wasn't even helping him find answers to questions he kept asking himself. His father was vague, as usual when talking to him, which annoyed the prince more than anything else.
« We will see each other soon. » Death said as left the minion. Tenebrae shrugged his shoulders and looked back at the sleeping Lux in his arms. He lost his powder snow fingers into her black locks and furrowed his brows.
Could he keep her safe? Could he make sure nothing will happen to her? There would be a moment both would leave the safety of his Fortress and would venture into the vast world. He hoped she would remember him and recover fully by the time they found the Keeper of Secrets. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard her groan and shift on top of him. She was waking up, which would inform him in her state of mind and her current condition. Maybe she would wake up with her memories restored and he wouldn't have to worry the way he was. Maybe she wouldn't and he would need to assume the rôle of the protector until she was back to being herself again. She opened her eyes, slowly getting used to the darkness of the place before her hand, warm and soft, cupped his alabaster cheek and stroked it. For a while, they didn't say anything but she whispered.
« Thank you for allowing me to sleep. »
Her eyes still lacked the love they had in them before the attack, which informed the prince that she still didn't remember him. He furrowed his brows, his face becoming even paler than it used to and his black pools slowly turning back into black orbs that stared at her silver ones. He leaned into her touch and nodded quietly.
« It was the least I could do. I know this is a lot for you to digest...and you might still not remember who you are but we don't have the luxury of time and we would need to leave soon. »
« To get answers? » She asked, her voice still heavy from the sleep she'd just emerged from. He nodded. « Fine. I have a feeling I will remember soon. »
« It would be for the best if you did. I am looking forward to seeing it happen.. » He said, trying to sound reassuring but failing to do so. She could feel how worried he was, and instinctively stroked his cheek some more.
« I will remember. You wouldn't need to worry like you do now, Tenebrae. » Her voice was reassuring and without her realizing it, a soft glow came from her hands and soothed his worries.
« I will always worry, Lux... Always... » He gave her a tight smile and then watched as she shifted on him and sat on his lap, her hands on his thighs. « Always... »
-TBC-
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