Chapter 1: Introduction
The night was cold, and the wind, a biting whisper, stinging Diana's ears as she stood on the balcony leading to the living room of the Croft estate. Her mien was passive, that of a steadfast warrior well-accustomed to icy gusts from the heavens or the sea's frothing tide. She peered around, taking in the resplendent magnetism of Croft Manor looming over the lush green hills of Surrey. She found herself wanting to linger, as if embracing a dream and not wanting to wake.
Taking in the Gothic architecture which reminded her of a colleague overseas, she wouldn't have realized how she melded effortlessly into the ambiance of the manor at that moment. Her heart thrummed a steady beat, her body charged with energy, hungry for something she couldn't name. The night lay shrouded before her, cloaked in an ink-black tapestry, teasing a longing she was keeping beneath the surface.
She turned at the sound of a soft cough and met the green eyes of Lara Croft, a mortal woman who'd somehow proved more than capable of handling the type of dangers Diana was used to facing.
Lara's merlot-brown colored hair was loose around her shoulders, contrasting strikingly with the snowy winter landscape. Lara leaned playfully against the doorway, one corner of her lips tugging upwards, and a teasing glimmer in her eyes.
"Looking for something?" Lara's voice cut through the crisp night air. "Or someone?" she added, her head canting.
The last statement was meant to tease but instead sparked an invisible bolt of tension to arc between them. It create a palpable air, an unseen force that swirled around and bid them to draw nearer.
For the briefest of moment, they stared deeply into each other's souls, the smolder of something unspoken undeniable. Lara's crooked smirk vanished and the intensity caused her to cast her eyes away sheepishly.
The night air crackled around them, the moon playing hide and seek behind cloud cover, briefly bathing the pair in a soft, sensual glow as if to lend a highlight to the moment.
Diana shook her head and murmured quietly, "Just enjoying the view."
"It's not often I get to enjoy a quiet moment. Preparing myself for when I head back." she continued.
Lara nodded, stepping out onto the balcony to join her. She leaned against the railing, allowing the crisp winter breeze to caress her face.
She glanced sideways at Diana, her mind flashing back to a moment when they were by the fireplace several days ago when they first agreed to collaborate, as they prepared for bed. They had ended up sitting very close to each other, with arms and knees grazing slightly as they talked and drank their wine.
Lara had joked in a different instance about how Diana referring to her as "Lady Croft" caused to question herself but stating it out loud was a way of deflecting attention to the very real feelings simmering in her.
She couldn't help but wonder if that brief moment by the fireplace earlier had been a figment of her imagination. Nonetheless, it ignited a spark within her without warning, and despite her attempts to shake it off, it remained.
It remained when Diana lifted the stone slab serving as the entrance to the template with one hand while playfully ushering her in with the other.
It remained through when they were fighting off the giant lizard, Diana keeping its jaws from dismembering them while Lara rattled off gunfire to scare it off or kill it.
It remained when she was dressing Diana's wound that was caused by the Lance of Longinus which they had thankfully now secured from evil doers.
It remained when they were playfully comparing battle wounds like co-workers and when she proudly showed off the scars the Velociraptor left on her back. She distinctly recalled the shiver she felt when Diana caressed those scars with the gentlest of hands.
How could someone so powerful who could almost match the might of the Man of Steel exude such femininity and tenderness. The words that Diana spoke would forever be linked to that touch.
"Lady Lara Croft, last of your line... nobody left to mourn for you when your luck finally runs out."
"You told me that the day I came to you. Is that why you do this to yourself?"
"Why you throw yourself at the spinning wheel of the Fates, tempting the scissors of Atropos?"
Lara snapped back to the here and now as Diana spoke again, "I do want to thank you again, Lady Croft, for agreeing to guide me. You ended proving your mettle and while it was unfair of me to allow you to risk your life, I was fortunate to have you as an ally."
The manner in which the Princess addressed her stirred something inside Lara - a feeling of excitement, as though she herself was the hero in a grand epic, worthy of reverence.
Lara pressed herself onto the railing and turned her head to face the Amazonian princess.
"I wouldn't have had it any other way, Wonder Woman." Her chest puffed ever so slightly, with Diana's kind words. And it wasn't just to fill her lungs with cold air, but rather, it was from a genuine feeling of satisfaction over her contribution to Diana's quest.
"To be honest, I couldn't help but jump at the chance. And seeing you in action was a once in a lifetime opportunity I couldn't pass up." Lara admitted, before looking down at her hands. She felt a tinge of embarrassment and wasn't quite sure why.
Maybe it was because she couldn't quite put her finger on why she was so drawn to this Amazonian princess, this goddess amongst mortals.
With a wave of her hand, Diana dismissed Lara's compliments and thankfulness as if those were hardly worth mentioning. But the shadow of a smile that played on her lips told a different story.
"If it wasn't for you and your knowledge of your world, I'd be unable to accomplish what I set out to do.