(I have decided that since I haven’t really seen any Taven fics I am going to change that! I am going off of a prompt list and my goal is to be able to finish all of them using Taven! This is pretty lengthy, so I hope you enjoy if you read! )
You finished digging the last hole to plant the flowers that lady Delia asked you too for the upcoming visitors. Jade and Kitana sat on the stone wall, watching you as your worked. You had been wrapped up in your work for the past few weeks, so busy that you barely had time to see them, or Taven for that matter.
Grabbing the purple blossom with blue streaks you began planting them in the order you were asked, a pink and yellow soon followed starting the repeat of a pattern. You wiped the sweat from your brow before sitting back on your heels, looking at your work.
"Did you ask Taven to take you to the arena?" Jade asked, her left leg crossed over her right. You raised your brows in an exasperated manner.
"I've tried, and every time it's been the same two letter answer." You responded before standing up and dusting your hands off on the skirt that you wore. You walked over to where Kitana and Jade sat. Kitana looked like she was lost in thought for a moment.
"Why not come with us?" Kitana asked. She knew she and Jade were more then capable to be able to protect you. You furrowed your brow. You've always heard the guards talk about the late night matches, and have heard talks about the people of Edenia when you would walk through the market to purchase what you needed. To say it peaked your interest would be an understatement.
"But Taven.." You began, before Jade raised a brow in amusement slinking off of the walk and making her way towards you. She rested her left wrist on your shoulder before speaking.
"You know, he doesn't have to know everything." She started. You could feel the guilt creep up at entertaining the thought.
"Taven won't find out. Plus we are going to be there to protect you." Kitana added before sliding off of the wall herself and walking over to where you and Jade stood. You took a deep breath and bit the inside of your cheek. You knew what you were about to do was reckless, dangerous even, but you knew that Kitana and Jade were fearsome in their own rights. You started to open your mouth to give a reply, when a fourth voice startled you.
"What won't I find out?" Jumping you three looked over to see the Edenian prince leaning against a tree, his arms crossed over his chest and brow raised in amusement.
"Ta- My lord." you caught yourself before bowing to him. You paused for a moment, thinking of a lie before continuing to speak.
"Kitana and Jade had offered to take me to see the moon flowers since we haven't been able to spend time together. We wanted to catch up. I was going to ask you, but I knew that you were busy, so I didn't want to bother you." You could feel your mouth go dry after the lies that fell from your mouth. Taven leaned forward, pushing himself off of the tree before uncrossing his arms and walking towards you. He pushed a strand of hair away from your face.
"Are you sure?" He asked, his chocolate eyes searching yours. You gave him a small smile before nodding your head, your heart panged with guilt.
"My lord -Jade began to speak drawing his attention- We haven't been able to spend anytime with y/n and wanted to take this opportunity to catch up." Her charming smile adorned her face as she spoke to him.
"Very well.. Please keep her safe." Taven spoke. Kitana and Jade both agreeing before taking their leave, promising you that they would arrive back in a few hours. You turned your attention back to Taven, taking his hand and quickly placing a kiss to the palm of it.
"Everything will be okay." You reassured him, or were you trying to reassure yourself? Taven smiled before pulling you closer to him. His lips brushed against your forehead.
"Promise you will be careful, there are people out there that would stop at nothing to get to me." The thought alone made his grip on you tighten.
"I promise my love." You told him before placing a hand on his cheek. He smiled and stepped back, watching as you gathered the gardening equipment and made your way to the storage room. Taven watched until you were out of sight, his smile dropping, and an authoritative tone replacing the gentler one he used with you. He watched as a few guards were doing their patrols and stopped one.
"You." He called out, catching his attention. The guard quickly made his way over to were the Prince stood. "You."
"Yes my lord." He stood straight waiting to hear what Taven had to say.
"Y/n is leaving the palace tonight. I have duty else where with my Father and Brother. I want you to follow them and keep and eye, if anything is out of place, you report to me immediately. Do you understand?" He turned his attention to the guard who bowed. Taven knew you weren't telling him the full truth.
"Understood my lord."
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The glow of the full moon shone into your open window. Reaching up, you grabbed the cloak that was hanging on a hook, quickly putting it on before fastening it into place. You took another breath to calm yourself down before you walked down the halls to the main entrance where Kitana and Jade were waiting.
You stopped in the hall when you saw the wing that Taven resided in, his room was dark. He, his father, and Daegon had to go survey an opening that had appeared to make sure nothing nefarious came from it. You took a deep breath, before facing forward again and continuing on to the exit of the hall. You were going and coming back, nothing bad would happen, you had to keep reminding yourself. When you stepped out into the night air you could see Kitana and Jade waiting on you, with quick steps you made your way over to where they waited.
"Are you ready for some excitement?" Jade asked in a playful tone causing you to chuckle and nod your head.
"I am more then ready." You answered before falling into step with the two Edenians. You three chatted about anything and everything, catching up on the lives of each other. The streets of the market were still, silent. You had never seen them in the dead of night, always with the hustle and bustle of the day. As you approached the colosseum you furrowed your brow.
You knew Taven would be very upset if he knew that you were here. Kitana looked over and noticed the furrow in your brow. She placed a hand on your shoulder gently.
"We can take you back if you want." She reassured you, giving you the choice. Taking a deep breath you pursed your lips to the side and shook your head. You came this far, and if this was the only chance you got to be here, you were going to take advantage of it.
"It's okay. Taven won't know, and I know you two will be able to keep me safe if something happens." You gave her a soft smile which she returned before nodding her head and nudging her head in the direction of the entrance. The guard that was tasked in watching you quickly dipped back into the shadows shaking his head and he turned back to head to where Taven would be.
You made your way down a narrow hallway that was lit by the light amber glow of lanterns, you kicked up dust as you walked, making it a little hard to breath. You saw a light, and the roar of cheers that grew louder and louder the closer you ventured, the smell of blood, sweat, and booze filled your senses, and you finally saw the crowd. Everything was loud, between the sounds of flesh striking flesh, and the crowd growing more excited with each strike, it was hard to not feel disoriented.
You looked around the room, and your couldn't help but feel a little anxious. Jade grabbed your hand and began to navigate with your through the crowd to find the perfect seat close to the action. All different races filled the stadium, some you've heard about in passing but never seen. Between that and the action your heart began to race in excitement when you calmed down enough to enjoy this.
You weaved your way through people until you came to a stop. An Edenian man and a Tarkantan were in the ring. Blood was splattered all over the ground, and you could easily tell who had the upper hand in this fight. The fighters circled each other, a deep chuckle leaving the Tarkantans sharp grin. The Edenian man stumbled a little, blood dripping down his face and blurring his vision, he straightened himself out, taking a deep breath to try and keep himself alert and aware. The Tarkantan stepped forward faking the man out, before charging forward and grabbing the man, quickly throwing him down to the floor and kneeling on him, striking him in the face. The crunch of bones made you recoil and feel queasy. You watched the man get back up to his feet before the Tarkantan to shove him back down, his hand grasped his shoulder. He peered into the crowd, listening to the roar, and the chants of 'Finish him' The Tarkantan laid eyes on you, narrowing his eyes a realization struck him.
Drawing his right arm back, you watched as a blade made of bone protruded from his arm. Without hesitation he brought it forward, and stabbed it in the center of the mans forehead. You watched as he fell to the ground in a heap, his legs twitching. Jade looked over to you and noticed to uneasy look on your face.
"Are you alright?" She asked placing a hand on your shoulder and searching your face, waiting for your answer. You shock your head.
"I need to go outside and get air." You told her before pushing your way through the crowd back to the direction of the entrance. Unbeknownst to you, the Tarkantan in the ring found his two comrades. and looked in your direction. They nodded in understanding and began to make their way after you, he would join when he could. Stepping out of the ring he made his way to the stairs that lead up to the stands. Meeting his two comrades.
“Looks like the princes whore is out without him. I think it is time to send him an important message." The other two chuckled darkly before all three of them began to stalk you out of the coliseum. When you finally emerged you found and tree and leaned against it letting the night air hit your face. You took deep breaths and steadied yourself pushing down the nausea that creeped up on you.
"Well, well. Does the prince know you are out here?" You turned you head in the direction of the voice. You watched as the Tarkantan emerged from the shadows, flanked on both sides by the other two that chuckled, ready for the hunt. You straightened up before running your hands over the rush bark, trying to find leverage for yourself.
"He does, he is with me tonight." You hoped your voice didn't waver when you spoke. The main Tarkantan raised an eyebrow, easily seeing through your lie. He laughed darkly before shaking his head, arms crossed over his chest.
"You're here with the two Edenian women, that arrogant prick nowhere to be seen." He started to approach you, and you took a step back, wishing you had asked Jade or Kitana to come out with you. His laugh grew louder.
"Don't worry yourself.. we just want to make sure you are returned to the prince.. in pieces if need be." Panic coursed its way through your veins, pushing yourself completely from the tree, you had to force yourself to flee, frozen in fear. 'MOVE' You internally screamed to yourself, your legs carrying you back towards the way to the palace. The winds stung your eyes causing them to tear up. You pushed yourself harder when you heard there foot steps not far behind you. You wanted to scream, but you knew no one would hear you.
You wanted Taven to be here. Your throat burned from your labored breathing and when you finally made your way back to the market place you stopped, bending over to catch our breath as your chest and stomach cramped up. You sat up when you noticed the quietness. No foot steps, nothing besides your harsh breathing. You forced yourself to take deep breaths to calm down walking carefully and keeping an eye on your surrounding.
They were toying with you and you couldn't lose your cool at this time. You started to regret not telling Taven the truth as you walked past the empty stalls keeping an eye out for any movement. Hearing the sliding of rock, you whipped your head around to see one of the Tarkantans, blades drawn about to land on you, you let out a scream before falling to the side, you crawled backwards as you watched the stall give way, the sound of wood splintering. Letting out a sob you pushed yourself up and started to run again. Your legs felt like jelly, causing you to stumble. Your hands shook as you could hear gravel shift as the three Tarkantans began to close in on you.
Taking a deep breath you pushed up on your hands to be grabbed and thrown back into the gravel. It bit into your arms and leg, the breath being knocked from you by the force alone. Sitting up you let out a pained yelp when one of the Tarkantans grabbed your hair roughly and pulled you up so you were resting on your shins. You reached up to try and pry his hands from your hair, for him to yank harder. You watched as the other two began to stalk forward, blades slowly protruding before you opened your mouth to scream for Taven. The leader quickly clasped his hand over your mouth. Panicked, you bit down on his hand as hard as you could. When he pulled back you took the chance to yell for him.
"Taven!" Your throat seized up and your breathing stopped when you felt the contact of the Tarkantans fist with your face. The force knocking you back and the pain made you feel disoriented. He grabbed for you and pulled you up to your feet angrily. You knew he couldn't hear you, you didn't even know where he had gone exactly.
"The only way he will find you is in a pool of your own blood!" He spat, before pushing you down to your knees. You looked up when you saw the feet of the other two, their arms drawn back beside their heads before bringing them down. You closed your eyes and your breathing stopped as you waited for the pain of impact. Instead, you heard the scream of one, opening your eyes and looking up you saw as two hands were on either side of the Tarkantans head before a crack could be heard, watching as he feel to the ground. You wanted to cry with relief when you saw Taven.
Those feelings quickly being halted when you saw the look on his face. Letting out a yell the Tarkantan made a swipe at Taven. He ducked and weaved to the side before reaching down and ripping off the arm of the dead Tarkantan, using his arm blade to impale the other one. The leader snarled before standing you up and placing his blade to your throat.
"That will be the last mistake you ever make." Taven warned before stepping forward towards the both of you. You never broke eye contact with him. "If that means taking something precious away from you, so be it." He snarled. Taven leaped up before bringing his fist down to the ground, causing a tremor making you both become unstable, you fell to the side as the Tarkantan let go of you, extending both blades and letting out a yell he leaped forward towards Taven.
Rolling to the side he got to his feet, his fist connecting with the Tarkantans chin before he with drew his drake sword. Sparks flew when the blades crossed each other, moving further back you watched as Taven brought his foot down snapping the shin of his opponent. As soon as he feel to the ground Taven drew back his sword making quick work of cutting off his head. You heard his head hit the ground with a thud and watched it roll, before a much heavier thud followed.
You looked up to see Taven approach you, squatting down in front of you. His eyes were filled with anger, you have never seen him like this before. Not even during training. Reaching out a hand his finger tips ghosted the blue and purple bruise that began to bloom under your eye. Grabbing your forearm he helped you stand up.
"Taven- He silenced you holding up a hand before he started pacing, both of his hands finding purchase on his hips.
"You lied to me- He began- not only that you almost got yourself killed." You watched him, tears began to brim your eyes and your mouth dried at his words.
"I knew you wouldn't have let me come if I told you the truth." You replied, speaking past the lump in your throat. He stopped his pacing and turned his gaze to you, you watched as he approached you.
"YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN THERE!" Grabbing your chin he tilted you head back slightly to look at him. His breathing becoming raspy from anger. The look on your face caused his face to drop, and you listened as he took deep breaths to calm down. Tilting your chin to the side he got a better look at your face.
"Do you understand the kind of enemies I have? The kind that will stop at nothing to hurt me, no matter who it is. " His voice was calm, but you could hear the stern seriousness behind his words. You nodded your head, getting a first hand taste. He let out a sigh before straightening up your face, moving his hand to caress your cheek, the pad of his thumb carefully running across your bruised cheek.
"I can't protect you if you lie to me. Did you ever stop to think about that? I could never live with myself if something happened to you." He began before moving both his hands to your shoulders, pulling you into an embrace. Letting out a shaky breath you leaned your forehead against his collar bone as your hands found their way to his sides, balling up the tunic in your fists and you finally felt calm for the night, all the anxiety, the guilt, the fear, coming out as you could feel the tears finally spill over. You let out a silent sob, Taven moving his hands behind your back pulling you closer as he rested his chin on top of your head. Pushing your head back you looked up at him, Taven moved his hands to cup your cheeks, wiping away the tears.
"I'm so sorry Taven. I didn't think any of this would happen." Leaning down Taven placed a kiss on your forehead, your hands coming up to rest on his wrists before his lips connected with yours. You kissed him back, you grip tightening around his wrists. He pulled back, his eyes connecting with yours again.
"Do not lie to me again. I can't lose you." You nodded your head, before feeling his lips brush against your forehead, letting go of you, he reached down, lacing his fingers with yours as you both began to make you way back to the palace.
