the golden age

[deepest_magic]

When the party has died down, Isabella, for one, is well and truly exhausted. She explores the palace until she finds a room with a bed in it, and into this bed she flops, still in her clothes and holding her staff and carrying the cordial in her pocket. She sleeps late, because the party kept her up so late and she hadn't really slept the night before; but around noon, she stirs, and gets up, and goes looking for James and wherever her backpack may have got to. The backpack she finds in the great hall where the principal mass of the party was; some enterprising creature took both bags from the battlefield at Beruna up to the castle for them, and she only wishes she knew who it was. She takes her bag to her room and carries James's with her and continues looking for her friend.

Comments

[jackfrostbite]

"Come in by the gold gates or not at all," he recites, "take of my fruit for others or forbear; for those who steal or those who climb my wall shall find their heart's desire and—find—despair." He half-growls, half-sobs the last word, and it sounds like he also punches a cave wall.

[deepest_magic]

[jackfrostbite]

"My queen commanded that I journey to the garden and eat of its fruit, that I might live forever in her service." Pace. "I did not refuse." Pace. "I read the verse, and went in by the gate, and ate three apples." Pace pace. "And I was happy, for a time, and did not think much on the words I read at the gate." Pace pace pace. "I have found despair now, you may be sure."

[deepest_magic]

"I had noticed."

[jackfrostbite]

He laughs bitterly.

[deepest_magic]

"If you quoted it right," she says, "it doesn't say it's permanent."

[jackfrostbite]

"It also claimed I would find my heart's desire, and I have not. But I do not care to wait for it any longer."

[deepest_magic]

"Do you know what it would be?"

[jackfrostbite]

"Not this. Not any of this. Not anything I have ever done or had or felt in my life, most especially not since I came to Narnia. Though my mortal life was no bright summer's day either."

[deepest_magic]

"I bet James could figure it out."

[jackfrostbite]

"And when she tells me my heart's desire is to be dead, which I assure you it currently is, what then?"

[deepest_magic]

"Then we get some dwarves to bring us some magnets and we try the electric chair."

[jackfrostbite]

Snort.

[deepest_magic]

[jackfrostbite]

Pace. Pace. Pace.

[deepest_magic]

"Can I have my cordial?" dares Isabella.

[jackfrostbite]

"To what end?"

[deepest_magic]

"I got knocked around and bled on after the last time I had some. I can't do anything with it except heal, and you're not freezing the lake anymore so I can't even inconvenience you that way."

[jackfrostbite]

He thinks about it for a few seconds, and then says very abruptly and emphatically—almost as though afraid— "No."

[deepest_magic]

"Why?"

[jackfrostbite]

Silence.

[deepest_magic]

Well, then she'll just sit here while he works through his issues or whatever it is he's doing. Or decides to kill her. She has no magic items besides her armor cloak in its perfect passivity, and can't see, and doesn't know where they are.

And her ring. Which might actually lead her out of here but only if Winter didn't stab her for trying.

Hugs, Jamie.

[neverbeatme]

After a moment, her hugs are returned.

[deepest_magic]

Okay, so James knows she's alive. The hugs are not very high bandwidth but they are nice. It's cold in here.

[jackfrostbite]

"I - I can't - I don't know if I can bear to kill you but I know I can't bear to live," he whispers. "It hurts too much."