Fic: The Lost Heart
Aug. 1st, 2010 04:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
barkinmadTitle: The Lost Heart
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
barkinmad
Pairing: Arthur/Cobb
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Nolan's universe > my universe.
Notes: If you really have to ask where I got this prompt from, it's sad.
There was a second where I was afraid that I was veering into Greek myth, and another point where I was worried it would become like a Tolkien adventure, so I hope I stayed enough on track. Also, you can take or leave the epilogue, I just thought there wouldn't be harm in including it!
I also apologize for the schmoopiest title ever.
THE LOST HEART
There was once a handsome man gifted with a curse. It was a gift, because he knew what it was to be in love. And it was a curse, because it was taken away from him.
And as it is with many people, his mistook his real curse for another one. He believed he would never be able to fall in love again, for fear that every romance would end in tragedy. He feared this, and spent many hours alone, punishing himself for the wonder he had taken from the world.
He began living in a world that was not his own. In a world where he could travel to places that didn't exist, invent anything he wanted into existence. He believed in this world, and it began believing in him. The handsome man's name was Dominic.
Dominic was a brilliant creator. He could raise elaborate archways in a minute, shower the sunset with gold in a heartbeat and almost never repeated the same image twice. But there was no one to share this with. In his world, he was completely alone, and the beauty was for himself only. And he knew all too well that he didn't deserve it.
There was another young man, a prince named Arthur. No, not that Prince Arthur. This Arthur was a Prince of Precision. He loved reason, and riddles, and facts and figures. He had brown hair and browner eyes, and no imagination.
He was an unusual case, but he was able to join Dominic. The ways Dominic traveled to other worlds now had room for two. They would walk along side each other while Dominic created new cities, and Arthur populated them. Eventually it became obvious that they were in love.
"If only I didn't have this dreadful curse," Dominic said, running his hands over the railing of a bridge. "We could be happy."
Arthur looked at the man for a long time before he said anything. "What do I do?"
They came back to our world, and consulted a potions master named Yusuf. His underground room was filled with purple smoke and drowsy red curtains. He had them both swallow little vials filled with clear liquid, and place their hands, palms down, on the wooden table. He started arranging faceless cards.
"This is very strange," he said, in a thick European accent. His fingers skimmed over the top row, landing on the blank card to his farthest right and picking it up.
He turned to the young man Arthur, "It says you must travel down into the netherworld, and bring back the heart of his lost love."
Dominic looked anxious. "And what must I do?"
A pause. "You must wait."
Dominic would have likes to prepare provisions for Arthur's journey - some loafs of bread, a bottle of wine, perhaps a rind of cheese - but there's was no point. Arthur would never be in need of anything in the netherworld, that was the most dangerous thing about it.
There were parting words, too perfect to be written down, and Dominic watched as Arthur slowly slipped under.
- - - - -
Arthur washed up on a broad golden shore. He sat up and looked around him. There was nothing. Nothing but sand, and in the distance, a faint glimmer of silver buildings against the sun.
He waited. He didn't know what for, but he didn't know what else to do.
After a couple of hours, or perhaps it was merely seconds, the prince saw a figure walking toward him. She was slight, but sure. Her hair was almost the same color as Arthur's, but grew longer, down to the shoulders.
"Who are you?" he asked, when she had finally reached him.
"I am Ariadne," she said. "I'm here to guide you."
- - - - -
It had taken almost all day to cross the beach to get to the silver city.
"This used to all be buildings," Ariadne explained, "until Mal came."
"Mal...is that her name?" It sounded strange on his tongue.
"Yes. She built the buildings, and then tore them down out of grief."
It hadn't occurred to Arthur before that Mal without Dominic might have been as sad as Dominic without Mal.
Ariadne showed Arthur the beauty of the city that was left, fixing little things with her mind along the way. She left splashes of color in her wake, dotted the sidewalks with streetlamps, created new roads before her feet. Arthur was envious, he couldn't do any of this.
After a while, Ariadne grew tired. She had to sit down on a green bench that hadn't been there a few seconds before. She was breathing heavily, and looked up to Arthur desperately.
"What's wrong?" the prince asked.
"I need song to keep me alive."
"What?"
"I need you to sing to me, Arthur."
"But-but I can't. I have no imagination."
"Just," she was wheezing a little now, "sing the first thing that comes to your mind."
Arthur thought for a moment, and then began:
There once was a girl named-
"I said sing, Arthur, not defame."
There was a long pause. The only sound was Ariadne's shortened breath growing fainter and fainter, her face was a frightening shade of pale.
Then, very softly and slowly, Arthur began to sing:
I'll sing a song of Ariadne
How she was kind and good to me
I'll sing a song of Ariadne
And how she led me from the sea.
So fair of heart was Ariadne
So soft of touch and sweet to me
So fair of heart was Ariadne
While she led me from the sea.
Ariadne looked up, her cheeks redder than Arthur had ever seen them.
"Yes, well," Ariadne said, standing up and brushing off her jeans, "good."
They walked a little further, and Arthur couldn't help but admire some of the buildings.
They were at the heart of the city. One large, glass tower stood in front of them, it looked like a high-rise condo or office building.
"She's in the basement," Ariadne said.
"All that room, and she's in the basement?"
"You'll see." Ariadne looked at the prince wistfully. "I can't go in with you."
"Why not?!? What am I supposed to do?" There was a light touch on his forearm, Ariadne's hand.
"Use your imagination. After all, you created me." Arthur was alone.
He entered the building with trepidation. The floors were smooth and washed. The ceiling was almost too high to see. The walls were mostly made of windows. There was an elevator with a grate to his left. He stepped inside and pressed 'B'.
- - - - -
The light was warm, almost aglow with yellow and orange. Arthur noticed the wallpaper and photographs as he walked down the hallway. It all seemed familiar, but eerie.
There was a dark wooden table, and a dark wooden floor, and the counter where Mal stood was made of dark wood also.
He stood in the room.
Mal spoke first.
"You have come for my heart."
"Yes," Arthur said.
"Sit down."
Mal walked over and pulled out a chair. Arthur seated himself. Mal sat down across from him, and looked intently at his face. Arthur glanced down at his hands.
"Did you ever consider," she said, "what would happen to me if you took my heart?"
"Well. No."
"I would cease to exist. Forever. This place would be gone, it's already disappearing, slowly." She paused for a deep breath. "A little more every day you're with him," she concluded.
"I don't think that's true," Arthur said, putting his hands on the table. "I don't think you'll ever leave."
"I can't give you my heart, Arthur," Mal sighed, "It's the last and only thing I have."
Arthur sat in silence as the sun filled the room with softly glowing rays of light. He looked outside. There was a backyard filled with grass and toys and things that an evil phantom hiding in her underground fortress shouldn't have in her backyard.
"How about just a piece of it?"
Mal smiled, and to Arthur's surprise, it was a very warm smile. She lifted her hands, and unclasped a golden chain necklace and placed it on the table between them. There was a heart-shaped pendant hanging from it.
"I was hoping you'd ask that," she explained. Arthur couldn't believe it would be this easy.
It wasn't.
"You have to promise me one thing before you take it, Arthur," Mal said, when Arthur's hand was already halfway across the table.
"Yes?"
"Dominic isn't allowed to know that this heart belongs to me."
Arthur's fingers hovered over the necklace for a second. "What am I supposed to tell him?"
Mal smiled again, but this time she was a bit more coy, "Use your imagination."
- - - - -
Arthur drew a big breath as he resurfaced from the netherworld. Dominic was right beside him. They didn't say anything, but Dominic's eyes were eagerly anticipating an answer, and all Arthur could give him was a sad smile.
Dominic was convinced that the relationship would never work now. He would be forever cursed and alone, but the prince knew better, and visited the handsome man every day. They started spending less and less time in other worlds, and more and more in ours until they were both convinced that the curse was simply a dream.
They were married by the king, a noble and stately man by the name of Saito, and were given a house near a university where Dominic could teach and Arthur could study.
So it was that the handsome man was cursed, and the prince had no imagination, and the moral of the story is that it didn't matter in the slightest.
EPILOGUE
Eames looked around the room. Arthur coughed very loudly and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Everyone else in the room was staring at the reader.
"What?" Eames said, "I had to do something while you lot were off filing papers or whatever."
Author:
barkinmadPairing: Arthur/Cobb
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Nolan's universe > my universe.
Notes: If you really have to ask where I got this prompt from, it's sad.
There was a second where I was afraid that I was veering into Greek myth, and another point where I was worried it would become like a Tolkien adventure, so I hope I stayed enough on track. Also, you can take or leave the epilogue, I just thought there wouldn't be harm in including it!
I also apologize for the schmoopiest title ever.
THE LOST HEART
There was once a handsome man gifted with a curse. It was a gift, because he knew what it was to be in love. And it was a curse, because it was taken away from him.
And as it is with many people, his mistook his real curse for another one. He believed he would never be able to fall in love again, for fear that every romance would end in tragedy. He feared this, and spent many hours alone, punishing himself for the wonder he had taken from the world.
He began living in a world that was not his own. In a world where he could travel to places that didn't exist, invent anything he wanted into existence. He believed in this world, and it began believing in him. The handsome man's name was Dominic.
Dominic was a brilliant creator. He could raise elaborate archways in a minute, shower the sunset with gold in a heartbeat and almost never repeated the same image twice. But there was no one to share this with. In his world, he was completely alone, and the beauty was for himself only. And he knew all too well that he didn't deserve it.
There was another young man, a prince named Arthur. No, not that Prince Arthur. This Arthur was a Prince of Precision. He loved reason, and riddles, and facts and figures. He had brown hair and browner eyes, and no imagination.
He was an unusual case, but he was able to join Dominic. The ways Dominic traveled to other worlds now had room for two. They would walk along side each other while Dominic created new cities, and Arthur populated them. Eventually it became obvious that they were in love.
"If only I didn't have this dreadful curse," Dominic said, running his hands over the railing of a bridge. "We could be happy."
Arthur looked at the man for a long time before he said anything. "What do I do?"
They came back to our world, and consulted a potions master named Yusuf. His underground room was filled with purple smoke and drowsy red curtains. He had them both swallow little vials filled with clear liquid, and place their hands, palms down, on the wooden table. He started arranging faceless cards.
"This is very strange," he said, in a thick European accent. His fingers skimmed over the top row, landing on the blank card to his farthest right and picking it up.
He turned to the young man Arthur, "It says you must travel down into the netherworld, and bring back the heart of his lost love."
Dominic looked anxious. "And what must I do?"
A pause. "You must wait."
Dominic would have likes to prepare provisions for Arthur's journey - some loafs of bread, a bottle of wine, perhaps a rind of cheese - but there's was no point. Arthur would never be in need of anything in the netherworld, that was the most dangerous thing about it.
There were parting words, too perfect to be written down, and Dominic watched as Arthur slowly slipped under.
- - - - -
Arthur washed up on a broad golden shore. He sat up and looked around him. There was nothing. Nothing but sand, and in the distance, a faint glimmer of silver buildings against the sun.
He waited. He didn't know what for, but he didn't know what else to do.
After a couple of hours, or perhaps it was merely seconds, the prince saw a figure walking toward him. She was slight, but sure. Her hair was almost the same color as Arthur's, but grew longer, down to the shoulders.
"Who are you?" he asked, when she had finally reached him.
"I am Ariadne," she said. "I'm here to guide you."
- - - - -
It had taken almost all day to cross the beach to get to the silver city.
"This used to all be buildings," Ariadne explained, "until Mal came."
"Mal...is that her name?" It sounded strange on his tongue.
"Yes. She built the buildings, and then tore them down out of grief."
It hadn't occurred to Arthur before that Mal without Dominic might have been as sad as Dominic without Mal.
Ariadne showed Arthur the beauty of the city that was left, fixing little things with her mind along the way. She left splashes of color in her wake, dotted the sidewalks with streetlamps, created new roads before her feet. Arthur was envious, he couldn't do any of this.
After a while, Ariadne grew tired. She had to sit down on a green bench that hadn't been there a few seconds before. She was breathing heavily, and looked up to Arthur desperately.
"What's wrong?" the prince asked.
"I need song to keep me alive."
"What?"
"I need you to sing to me, Arthur."
"But-but I can't. I have no imagination."
"Just," she was wheezing a little now, "sing the first thing that comes to your mind."
Arthur thought for a moment, and then began:
There once was a girl named-
"I said sing, Arthur, not defame."
There was a long pause. The only sound was Ariadne's shortened breath growing fainter and fainter, her face was a frightening shade of pale.
Then, very softly and slowly, Arthur began to sing:
I'll sing a song of Ariadne
How she was kind and good to me
I'll sing a song of Ariadne
And how she led me from the sea.
So fair of heart was Ariadne
So soft of touch and sweet to me
So fair of heart was Ariadne
While she led me from the sea.
Ariadne looked up, her cheeks redder than Arthur had ever seen them.
"Yes, well," Ariadne said, standing up and brushing off her jeans, "good."
They walked a little further, and Arthur couldn't help but admire some of the buildings.
They were at the heart of the city. One large, glass tower stood in front of them, it looked like a high-rise condo or office building.
"She's in the basement," Ariadne said.
"All that room, and she's in the basement?"
"You'll see." Ariadne looked at the prince wistfully. "I can't go in with you."
"Why not?!? What am I supposed to do?" There was a light touch on his forearm, Ariadne's hand.
"Use your imagination. After all, you created me." Arthur was alone.
He entered the building with trepidation. The floors were smooth and washed. The ceiling was almost too high to see. The walls were mostly made of windows. There was an elevator with a grate to his left. He stepped inside and pressed 'B'.
- - - - -
The light was warm, almost aglow with yellow and orange. Arthur noticed the wallpaper and photographs as he walked down the hallway. It all seemed familiar, but eerie.
There was a dark wooden table, and a dark wooden floor, and the counter where Mal stood was made of dark wood also.
He stood in the room.
Mal spoke first.
"You have come for my heart."
"Yes," Arthur said.
"Sit down."
Mal walked over and pulled out a chair. Arthur seated himself. Mal sat down across from him, and looked intently at his face. Arthur glanced down at his hands.
"Did you ever consider," she said, "what would happen to me if you took my heart?"
"Well. No."
"I would cease to exist. Forever. This place would be gone, it's already disappearing, slowly." She paused for a deep breath. "A little more every day you're with him," she concluded.
"I don't think that's true," Arthur said, putting his hands on the table. "I don't think you'll ever leave."
"I can't give you my heart, Arthur," Mal sighed, "It's the last and only thing I have."
Arthur sat in silence as the sun filled the room with softly glowing rays of light. He looked outside. There was a backyard filled with grass and toys and things that an evil phantom hiding in her underground fortress shouldn't have in her backyard.
"How about just a piece of it?"
Mal smiled, and to Arthur's surprise, it was a very warm smile. She lifted her hands, and unclasped a golden chain necklace and placed it on the table between them. There was a heart-shaped pendant hanging from it.
"I was hoping you'd ask that," she explained. Arthur couldn't believe it would be this easy.
It wasn't.
"You have to promise me one thing before you take it, Arthur," Mal said, when Arthur's hand was already halfway across the table.
"Yes?"
"Dominic isn't allowed to know that this heart belongs to me."
Arthur's fingers hovered over the necklace for a second. "What am I supposed to tell him?"
Mal smiled again, but this time she was a bit more coy, "Use your imagination."
- - - - -
Arthur drew a big breath as he resurfaced from the netherworld. Dominic was right beside him. They didn't say anything, but Dominic's eyes were eagerly anticipating an answer, and all Arthur could give him was a sad smile.
Dominic was convinced that the relationship would never work now. He would be forever cursed and alone, but the prince knew better, and visited the handsome man every day. They started spending less and less time in other worlds, and more and more in ours until they were both convinced that the curse was simply a dream.
They were married by the king, a noble and stately man by the name of Saito, and were given a house near a university where Dominic could teach and Arthur could study.
So it was that the handsome man was cursed, and the prince had no imagination, and the moral of the story is that it didn't matter in the slightest.
EPILOGUE
Eames looked around the room. Arthur coughed very loudly and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Everyone else in the room was staring at the reader.
"What?" Eames said, "I had to do something while you lot were off filing papers or whatever."
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Date: 2010-08-01 07:31 pm (UTC)Love love love! <3
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Date: 2010-08-02 08:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-02 09:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-03 03:06 am (UTC)