@Lish
Glumisun had woken up the next morning, the top half of her body completely covered by one of Revan’s wings, staring up at a canopy of dark feathers. She had closed her eyes and smiled at the thought of last night, looked at Revan’s sleeping form, then wiggled out of the wing’s roof and got up, stretching.
Last night had been… Glumisun trailed off in her mind as she thought about the previous night. Of course, she had done that before, but she had never felt the way she did. It was - it was like Revan said. It was real.
So now she stood with the cup of coffee that had miraculously been set on the kitchen counter - she suspected that Revan’s servants knew more than they let on - clothed only by the shirt that she was wearing - one that hung past her hips, and the smile that graced her face, just watching Revan sleep.
It amazed her - the way that his eyes had the power to send a lightning bolt through hers and straight down to the ground, leaving electric tingles all the way down. The same feeling she had when she kissed him.
It amused her, too - the vulnerability of his position right now. The Revan she had known yesterday - the immortal, godlike Revan, was just a facade. An illusion. She had always known it was, somewhere deep inside, but she knew more now. This wasn’t just the tantalizing cracks in the mask, or when you could only see their eyes, this was a full rip it off and stare into the sun moment. She was the only one he felt comfortable enough to share it with, and that made her feel special.
She smiled at this restless warrior, in such a vulnerable position. Glumisun grinned mischievously and pointed a finger gun at him, pretending to shoot him. Bang! She shot an imaginary bullet at him and smiled, satisfied that her prey would’ve died.
Revan’s eyes flew open.
“...you done?” He said, smiling.
“Uh… yes?” Glumisun said. How long had he been awake?
Revan chuckled, then rose from the bed, smiling and putting his wings away. Glumisun wondered, and then asked - without really thinking, “How does that work? They… come off?”
“What, my wings?”
“ - yeah.”
Revan pointed to his back, his wings bursting out again with a shimmer on his shoulder blades.
“Do your arms come off?” he said, looking at her, and then putting the wings back again, standing up. “No, it’s just a natural glamour mixed with a pocket dimension, or was it pocket reality…? I don’t know,” Revan said, filling her in.
Glumisun moved from where she was leaning on the wall and felt his back, running her fingers over where his wing joints were, feeling bone sockets where his shoulder blades were, and the sparse feathers that were there, too.
“Pocket reality or pocket dimension? They’re different things,” Glumisun said, removing her hands when Revan shivered.
Revan shrugged. “They both do the same thing, right?”
Glumisun sighed. “I guess…”
They stood in silence for a while before Revan went to go make breakfast. Glumisun leaned against the wall again, afraid to mention the glaring fact waiting for them this evening.
“The... trial’s today,” Glumisun sighed, cautiously.
Revan stopped, rested his hands on the counter, and sighed. “... I know.”
Glumisun walked over and put her hand over his, knowing he was feeling anxious. She rested her head on his shoulder.
“It’s going to be alright,” Glumisun said, wanting to comfort him.
“I know, it’s just -” Revan sighed, trying to collect his thoughts. “It’s a big change. I’m so used to being in charge of everybody, being responsible for everyone, I just… it’s weird to not be.” He looked at her and smiled. “It’s… strangely freeing.”
They stood like that for a while, just enjoying each other’s company, before Glumisun said she had to leave to get ready for the trial. Revan nodded, but before she left, Revan spoke up.
“I, uh, have something for you,” Revan said, before moving out of her sight and returning with the Black Rose. He returned to Glumisun, who slipped something into her pocket before looking at it. Her eyes lit up.
She knew the story. Her father had actually told her, on one of the days that he had spent with her when he didn’t have anything he needed to do.
Glumisun smiled and accepted it, smelling it’s sickly sweet aroma before giving Revan one more peck on the lips before leaving.
-----
Revan turned up at the Trial already kind of knowing what was going to happen.
The other leaders, and their seconds, started to come in after him. People regularly joked that the leaders were only good for arguing and it was the seconds who did all the work, which was more true than he wanted to give them credit for, but he did do a lot of things to make sure his territory was always safe, and always just.
Ironic that he would be the person to most endanger it.
But, anyway, Kasdeya filed in, followed by her second, Functner, the one who had aimed a gun at him. He should be on trial next, he thought. Next, Avaddon made his dramatic entrance with his second, probably hoping that the other leaders had already come, as he was fashionably late.
But Glumisun hadn’t arrived yet, and Revan had a suspicion that it was something to do with the mysterious and mischievous smile that had graced her face while she left his room with the Black Rose.
When Glumisun finally made her entrance, followed by Nelvyvia and a very disgruntled-looking Yew, the other leaders had queer looks in their eyes, and it wasn’t very hard to see why. Revan smiled and almost laughed at the looks on their faces, smiling at the shrewdness of her move.
Glumisun was wearing the Black Rose, braided into her hair. And - if that hadn’t been provocative or statement - inducing enough, one of his feathers,
his feather, which Revan assumed she got from his room, was braided into her hair on the other side. They all knew, or at least, most of them, knew the story of the Black Rose concerning the Ravinca clan, and the feather she wore proudly, which was definitely too big to be from a regular raven, or Huginn or Muninn, sealed the statement.
In short, Revan hadn’t expected this.
Glumisun looked at him first, looked at
him first, didn’t greet all of the other leaders first, but looked at him and gave him that mischievous smile again. She knew what she had done. This was definitely on purpose.
“Well,” Avaddon said, coughing into his fist. “It seems we are all … here.”
Avaddon glanced back again at Glumisun, and then at Kasdeya, who was grinning, but still keeping her poise, and then starting with the trial. “Revan, we have called you here today because you are charged with…”
--------------------
After the trial, Glumisun met up with Revan outside of the coliseum, who she could tell was grinning, despite the fact that he was no longer the leader. Maybe the week’s notice had helped? Anyway, she could tell he was smiling.
“How did I look?” she asked casually, smiling at him.
He laughed.
“Very pretty,” he said, his posture conveying definite amusement. “
That stunt… I don’t think anyone is going to underestimate you anytime soon.”
“Good,” Glumisun said, satisfaction playing out across her face. Kasdeya exited the Coliseum, barely holding in a laugh. Glumisun held her satisfied poise for a second longer before it came crumbling down. She just couldn’t hold it.
“God, Revan, did you see their faces?” She squealed, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Revan laughed, and nodded.
“
Yes, I did. That was very clever of you,” Revan said, more than happy to let her have her fun reminiscing about this.
Avaddon stalked past, stealing a glance at them. He had been uncomfortable and was trying to compensate, but Glumisun just waved at him happily, like she always did, prompting another laugh from Revan.
They stood there, Glumisun looking up at Revan at the sun slowly lowered itself toward the horizon. Revan would be leaving soon, and Glumisun had almost made up her mind - she knew what she was going to do. She had told herself that there was no way that she could leave everything she knew, including her position as leader, behind for the promise of adventure, but she knew she could.
Why?
She was inexorably, inevitably, wholly and unconditionally in love with Revan of Ravinca.
So, they met up again later, when the sun was already dipping towards the horizon, when she had packed the few things she wanted to take with her, and Revan held out his hand.
“
You ready?”
Glumisun sighed pushing air through her teeth, looking back at everything, and then looking at the misty barrier, preparing herself.
She looked back at Revan, who had taken off his hood, baring his green eyes, with that little splash of gold in there that captivated her so much, and she nodded, taking his hand.
“I’m ready.”