Love is Thicker Than Water
Part 1
"Why arrows?" Lydia asked as she carefully adjusted her hair, looking at her reflection in Allison's mirror.
"What?" Allison asked, slightly confused lifting her head off Lydia's lap where it had been resting for a good few hours.
"Well most of the hunters you work with have huge machine guns. Even Papa Argent has those really cool sliver guns." Lydia elaborated, her last sentence causing Allison to sit bolt upright.
"Did you just call my dad 'Papa Argent'?" Allison asked incredulously, her eyes wide.
"Yeah! It's got a nice ring to it, don't you think?" Lydia beamed, gently kissing the tip of Allison's nose causing her to giggle quietly.
"Just call him… well you can pretty much call him anything other than Papa Argent." Allison laughed, pushing Lydia on to her back. In typical Banshee fashion she screamed in mock terror and grabbed Allison's arms, pulling her on top. They both remained in that position, laughing for what could have been an eternity. The laughter eventually subsided and Lydia adopted a serious tone.
"Seriously though, why a bow and arrow?" Lydia asked with one of her perfectly sculpted eyebrows raised quizzically.
"Well…" Allison began, but that was all she managed to say before Lydia interrupted.
"Don't get me wrong, I like the bow and arrow. The whole 'Hawkeye' look is incredibly sexy on you." Lydia clarified quickly, because the very last thing she'd want to do was upset her wonderful girlfriend.
"Hawkeye? Wow, it's so obvious that you've been spending a lot of time with Stiles, if you can just pull references like that out of thin air. Anyway, the reason I favour a bow and arrow is because my star sign is Sagittarius. It's almost as if 'The Powers That Be' decided that I should be an archer before I was even born and that thought excites me so much!" Allison explained, her eyes lighting up as she revealed her thoughts on destiny. Lydia looked at Allison in wonder, aside from those adorable dimples there was something else about her that Lydia found enchanting. It was Allison's childlike wonder about the endless magical and supernatural phenomena that filled their lives each and every day.
"That actually makes sense." Lydia said with a smile as she wrapped her arms around Allison's waist.
"Were you expecting something that didn't make sense?" Allison asked, looking deep into Lydia's light brown eyes.
"Well, considering that when Jackson got bitten by a Werewolf her turned into a Kanima, I was expecting something a little more weird, something a bit more Beacon Hillsy. Having a strong belief in the possibility that your future is mapped out in advance by the stars is a lot more… pedestrian." Lydia said with a cheeky smile before giving Allison a quick kiss on the lips.
"Lydia you should know by now that there is nothing pedestrian about me." Allison said, pulling Lydia closer so they could lie back together and hold each other in a tight embrace. One which they both wished could last for an eternity.
The next day Allison was sitting alone in the library working on a Geometry essay that must have been forged in the furnaces of Hell. There was no other explanation for the obscene level of difficulty that Allison was faced with, if she had to choose between this essay and drinking a pint of Kanima venom hten she would happily go with the latter.
She buried her face in the centre of one of her many textbooks with a groan. She was pretty certain that she had fallen asleep, because when she lifted her head up the textbook was lifted too. When she detached the book from her face she was surprised to see Lydia sitting opposite, looking at her with adoration.
"You look so pretty when you're asleep." Lydia said with a smile.
"Thank you." Allison said, pulling strands of raven black hair out of her mouth. Lydia leaned forward with a gleam in her eyes, which could mean only one thing, Lydia Martin had a plan.
"Are you doing anything this evening?"
"Well, I have this Geometry essay to write." Allison said glumly, gesturing at the mountains of work that lay before her. Lydia did not look impressed.
Well that's a resounding 'no' if ever I've heard one. You need to come to the woods with me, because there's a special lake we need to find." Lydia continued, the excitement in her voice rising like the morning sun.
"A lake?" Allison asked, thoroughly confused.
"Yes! It's magical apparently. Its waters are enchanted when the Moon's rays shine upon it." Lydia explained, beaming from ear to ear.
"And what exactly do these waters do?" Allison asked as she packed away her Geometry books.
"It's fantastic. Two people who are in love walk into the lake and the enchanted water bonds the two people together. Like a wedding, but wet."
"Wet? So it's more like a honeymoon then?" Allison asked, trying valiantly to keep a straight face before both girls burst out laughing.
"So, are you in?" Lydia asked, looking at Allison, her big brown eyes filled with hope.
"Yeah, it sounds like the perfect evening out. Can I bring my bow and arrows?"
"It's hardly going to be romantic if you turn up heavily armed." Lydia grumbled, pouting moodily.
"Fine. I'll just bring my crossbow then." Allison responded with a wink. Lydia would have preferred for their date to be entirely weapons free, but considering that Beacons Hills had been inhabited by werewolves, druids and a Kanima, it was probably a good idea for Allison to bring protection.
"Are you sure you don't want me to come along with you?" Chris Argent asked, slamming fresh clips into his silver guns. Allison groaned and Lydia rolled her eyes.
"Dad, I can protect myself. I am very proficient with my crossbow, besides it wouldn't be very romantic with you lurking around." Allison said forcefully. Chris holstered his guns and smiled at his daughter, who had transformed from clueless teenager into experienced warrior.
"Okay, but if you should find yourself in too much trouble then call me and I'll be there." Chris said before leaving the room. He may have been 'retired', but as a hunter: old habits die hard.
"Phew, that was a lucky escape." Lydia said with a slight chuckle. Chris reappeared in the doorway.
"Allison, one more thing." He said.
"Yes dad?"
"I do not lurk!" he said in a pseudo-grumpy voice before walking off into his office where he was busy mapping out every paranormal hotspot in Beacon Hills.
Lydia and Allison had been walking through the woods for a good forty minutes before Allison looked Lydia dead in the eyes.
"Lydia, did you bring a map?" Allison asked haughtily.
"Erm… no." Lydia responded sheepishly.
"Right, so then I assume you know exactly where this lake is." Allison said, even more haughtily.
"I have a very vague idea where this lake is." Lydia said with a wince. Allison closed her eyes and massaged the bridge of her nose in frustration.
"Do I need to call Scott?" Allison asked with a sigh. Lydia looked slightly hurt by the question.
"Why would you need to call Scott?" Lydia asked, trying valiantly to hide the annoyance and sadness in her voice.
"Because he can sniff out where we are, then sniff out the location of the lake and he can then tell us how to get there. He's like a Sat-Nav… but a Sat-Nav that barks." Allison said, her last comment turning Lydia's grumpy expression into laughter.
"It's beautiful." The two girls breathed in unison as they gazed at the apparently 'magical' lake. Allison had called Scott and he had dutifully acted the part of a Sat-Nav. After a further thirteen minutes of walking and getting lost an additional four times, they had made it to the lake. The moon crept out from behind the night time clouds and cast its humble light upon the lake. In the moonlight it glittered and shone like silver, regardless of its magical properties it was enchanting just to look at. The two girls sat at the edge of the lake, mere inches from where earth met water.
"What do you think we should do?" Allison asked, unsure of how the lake's magic worked.
"Erm… I think we're supposed to walk to the centre. Then it will decide whether or not to bind us." Lydia answered, hoping that her guess would be proved accurate. They got to their feet and began to walk hand in hand towards the centre of the lake. The shimmering silver slowly clambered its way up their legs as they progressed forwards even more. By the time they reached the centre of the lake the water was resting around their waists. They had both expected the water to be ice cold, but the reality was far from their expectations. The water was warm like a summer's day, the warmth travelling from the water into Allison and Lydia's very bones. The two girls faced each other, their hands intertwined and Allison leaned forward and planted a kiss on Lydia's lips, a kiss that Lydia reciprocated making the flower of their mutual love blossom. Their eyes were closed as they kissed meaning they were completely unaware of the transformation that was happening around them. The lake shone, casting a deep blue glow on the surroundings.
No longer was the lake a pool of silver, but now it was a pool of sapphires charged with magic. As their love flowed through one another and into the lake, the water glowed brighter and forms slowly began to emerge from the rippling surface. Sprites, Nymphs, Water Sprites, their exact species was uncertain, but their interest in Allison and Lydia was clearly apparent. The creatures moved closer and formed a circle around the two kissing girls and began speaking in a long dead non-earthly language. Allison noticed the tingling first, it felt like her very bones were buzzing, the sensation bringing her out of the world of bliss that she had forged with Lydia. Her eyes opened and as soon as she noticed the chanting creatures surrounding them her Argent instincts flared up. She pulled herself away from Lydia and reached into her backpack and withdrew the crossbow. She fitted a bolt, aimed and fired. The bolt surged forwards and hit one of the Water Nymphs in the chest, piercing the heart and turning the creature back into water. The other creatures shrieked in terror and anger, and one by one they sank beneath the surface of the water. Allison put her crossbow back in her bag and turned to face Lydia who was looking absolutely appalled.
"What?" Allison asked, shocked by Lydia's expression.
"You just killed a spirit of the lake!" Lydia shouted, annoyed at her girlfriend's trigger happy quality. Allison looked down, anything to avoid meeting Lydia's disapproving glare.
"I thought that they were trying to hurt us." Allison said softly, an apologetic tone to her voice. Seeing how her anger had upset Allison, Lydia decided to quickly change her emotion from angry to understanding.
"No, the Spirits of The Lake are the ones who bind the two lovers together. What you did was the equivalent of… erm… shooting a vicar." Lydia said, her last statement causing all the colour to drain from Allison's face.
"I shot a vicar?!" Allison squeaked in horror.
"I could have phrased that a lot better." Lydia murmured.
"Will there be any consequences?" Allison asked tentatively.
"When it comes to killing magical creatures there is usually some sort of consequence. If you still have a copy of The Bestiary then we could find out." Lydia suggested.
"Oh, I am always going to have a copy of The Bestiary, it has proved way too useful to get rid of. And considering the amount of trouble we went through to get a hold of it, I am not going to give it up without a fight." Allison responded. The two girls walked off through the trees back to Allison's house in order to conduct their research. Their backs were turned towards the lake and as a result they did not see several heads rise above the water. The Water Sprites bore an intense hatred towards the murderous Argent girl, but they knew the love between Allison and Lydia was incredibly powerful and deserved to be eternal. They knew what they must do and for the first time in countless centuries the Spirits of The Lake left their home in pursuit of love.