Title: Dawn and Darkness.
Summary: Au in which the plan to save Elyon as a baby failed. A hopeless rebellion is about to be crushed, and Phobos' power is almost at its peak, when the guardian's finally awaken. WxC, other pairings undecided.
Notes: Thanks for reading this far! I love WITCH AUs, and wanted to try my hand at one.
Chapter One
Just make it past the Gorge.
This was the mantra Caleb repeated to himself as he sprinted across Meridian Plains, a whole squadron of Lurdens and other knights of Phobos behind him. He had been caught on his way back from what was meant to be a basic recon mission, which was hardly unusual these days, but with food supplies dwindling, he didn't have a whole lot of strength. Still, if he made it to the Gorge, he could get away safely. Probably.
He heard a roar behind him and dared to glance over his shoulder.
Crap.
Cedric had joined the hunting party. Cedric had always been terrifying, but as Phobos' power grew, so did Cedric's, making him larger, faster, and and stronger. Caleb had outsmarted and outran him once or twice before, but everyday the rebels got weaker, and they got stronger.
Just get to the Gorge. You'll be fine if you get to the Gorge.
His father was gonna kill him- He'd told Caleb not to go on this mission, both as a father, and as the leader of the rebel army. But Caleb was never one to give up, and he knew that more exact information on Phobos' armory would be useful. But now he was starting to understand why his dad was so reluctant. He knew the armory would be heavily guarded, but this was beyond what he'd thought.
Still, he couldn't worry about getting lectures as he ran for his life.
He could see the gorge up ahead, only a few more minutes and…
And arrow whizzed by his ear, followed by another.
Dammit, I have to move faster or-
He screamed as one pierced his ankle, and he fell.
He saw Cedric's shadow in the moments before a clawed, scaly hand pulled him up.
"So, what have we here?"
"Let go of me!" He tried to kick at the beast, but it got him nowhere.
"Looks like dinner…"
Caleb closed his eyes as the snake raised him above his head, and opened his mouth. He had a row of sharp, yellow fangs.
"Wait, MiLord!"
Both Caleb and Cedric looked down to where a palace guard was standing.
"What is so important that you must interrupt my meal? Speak carefully, or you will be desert."
"I recognize that boy. He's no ordinary rebel, he's the leader's son!"
Cedric looked at Caleb, and Caleb began to curse himself. I wish he'd just eaten me!
"Well, that certainly is interesting. Come, let's bring our findings to Prince Phobos."
Will sighed and parked her car in the school lot, dreading the day ahead of her.
Starting at a new school was never fun, bus it was especially unfun when it was midway through high school. Gone were familiar hallways and friendly teachers, instead, Will was going to have to contend with an unfamiliar social scene and god-knows how much schoolwork.
She checked her phone; seven fifteen. Well, she couldn't delay things much longer. Reluctantly, she grabbed her bag and stepped out of her car.
So, This is Sheffield Prep.
In front of her, a large brick wall rose up ten feet, and was peaker with wrought iron spikes, A gate was made from the same metal, and swung open, revealing a well-manicured, if littered, lawn, and a large, colonial style building stretching out in front of her. As she approached the school, she noticed that a newer wing had been added onto the left, made entirely of glass. Through it she could see a few kids hanging around round cafeteria tables. Great, I can't just hide in the bathroom to eat my lunch.
She had dressed safely enough- she figured that this school couldn't be too different from her old one, so she'd tossed on blue jeans and a yellow tee, with converse. But of course, private school kids were different, all dressed to the nines in glamorous outfits of varying styles and looks. She, in her converse and Kohl's-bought clothing, stuck out like a sore thumb.
Her mother had been so thrilled to get her into this school she hadn't even thought about the repercussions. Sure, the new job meant more money, but it didn't suddenly make them fit in with the snooty rich kids whose parents probably thought of tuition money here as petty cash.
"Hey, new girl!"
Dreading any encounter starting with those words, Will looked up to see a group of boys clustered around the statue of a portly old man. The one who had spoken had spiked red hair, and more acne than manners.
"What?"
He and his friends did that stupid boy thing, where they all exchanged looks and smirks, before turning to her with a mean expression.
"That's all you gotta say? Don't they teach manners wherever you're from?"
Will sighed. So it was gonna be that kind of day.
"Yeah, I've gotta go."
"Aw, come on, don't you have some time to spare for us?"
"Nope."
She began to walk away, hoping the rest of the student body at the very least smelled better, but she felt his clammy hand on her elbow, jerking her back.
"I wasn't asking-"
"Hey, get off me-"
"Uriah, already harassing the new girl?"
Immediately, he dropped his hand. Will turned to where the cold voice had come from, expecting to see a teacher, only to see a girl about her age.
"What's it to you, Cornelia? Jealous?"
"Please, the only thing around here I'm jealous of are the flies killed by your stench. They at least get to escape your company."
The boy snarled, but his two friends were backing away.
"Come on, Uriah, it's not worth it."
Frowning, Uriah slinked away, but he was shooting the girl a dirty look that guaranteed it wasn't over.
"Sorry about them. I promise not all of us at Sheffield are so disturbing."
"Oh, uh, thanks."
Will looked the girl up and down. She was a knock-out, tall and blonde and with big blue eyes. She was dressed well, in a in a scoop-neck cream shirt and floaty, pale pink shorts with a bow at the waist. Her hair, despite being longer than anything will had ever seen and left down, was still perfect.
"No problem. Can't let new kids get the wrong impression."
"They seemed… the seemed really scared of you."
The girl laughed.
"Yeah, well, I can have that effect on people. Especially those people."
Will understood it. For all that she was pretty, and seemed nice enough, there was something about this girl. A sort of cross me and you'll wake up with a horse's head in your bed vibe. Will made a mental note to avoid her bad side- it was always the well-manicured girls you had to look out for.
"Hey, I'm Will, by the way."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Corni-"
The bell interrupted their conversation.
"Oh, crap, I have to go." She took off running towards the building, but turned back to yell, "Nice to meet you, Jill!"
"It's Will…" she muttered, before realizing she was alone in the yard. Well, can't be late on my first day. And with that, she headed in to meet the principal.
Hay-Lin, for her part, was about to be late for the millionth time. Her bike had blown a gear and she needed a ride from her grandma, who defied the old woman stereotype by driving like an absolute lunatic through crowded traffic.
She glanced out the window, where three cars were screaming and honking, almost driven into each other by her grandma's antics.
"So rude," Yan Lin muttered, taking a sharp turn blindly. "Who raised them, wolves?"
"Uh, gran, you are driving kinda…"
"You're late, I'm getting you to school. Quit complaining."
Hay-Lin sighed. She had been excited to arrive early, hoping to show her art teacher the cool shirt she'd made. It was yellow, with bell-sleeves and cut-outs down the shoulders. She'd paired it with a denim mini-skirt and bright blue tie-dye leggings, and her doc martins, and she knew her teacher would appreciate the outfit. Everyone at Sheffield had their own unique style, but her's was the most out-there, and only she seemed to really get it.
"You should invite some friends over to lunch. I'll whip up my special dumplings." Yan Lin said, out of the blue.
"Really?"
"Yes, of course. I want my grand-daughter to be happy. Get Taranee and Irma and Cornelia to come."
"That's won't be hard, if you deliver on the dumplings."
"Oh, and invite someone new."
"What? Why?"
"I want you to expand your friend group."
"I have great friends, grandma."
"Yes, but you can never have too many. No new friend, no dumplings."
"Ugh, fine, fine. But you know, most people don't like being invited to have lunch with strangers."
"Trust me, I have a feeling it will work out."
Hay-Lin was about to complain, but her gran had one of those mysterious smiles that meant she really cared about this. And so, reluctantly, Hay-lin agreed.
Will's first class was chemistry, which she stumbled into laden down with papers and folders and guidebooks.
The teacher, an old man with an elaborate mustache, simply looked at her and pointed to an empty seat, before continuing his writing, but the other students all stared at her rather brazenly… except for her lab partner, who was diligently taking notes.
Will tried to ignore the prying eyes as she arranged her papers into her backpack.
The principal, Miss Knickerbocker, seemed strict and had closely scrutinized Will, as if her very existence broke some rule or guidebook. She had given her a no nonsense will be tolerated talk, and then handed her a schedule, reading list, and a million other papers.
"So, with your lab partner, go over the reading and come up with some questions."
Will turned to the girl next to her. She was in a dark red midi-skirt, and a one-shoulder top which tied at the waist. She had paired the outfit with brown boots, despite to heat. As eclectic as her clothing was, it all worked, giving her a funky vibe. Even her glasses had a vintagey feel to them.
"Uh, so, are you my lab partner?"
With a start, the girl glanced up from her notes.
"Oh, um, yeah. Hi. I'm Taranee."
"I'm Will."
"The new girl, right?"
"That's me."
Taranee smiled.
"Don't worry, I was the new girl too a few years back. You'll get used to it here."
Glad to finally meet a friendly face, Will grinned back at the girl.
"Thanks. I hope you're right."
"Don't worry. If I can make friends, you can, too."
They chatted pleasantly for the rest of class, as the teacher seemed to be taking a nap in his chair. So much for being the best school in the county, she thought. Taranee caught her up on the classwork, asked friendly questions, and, much to Will's surprise, completed the assignment for the both of them. Will hadn't even noticed she was doing it.
"It's a rigorous curriculum, I can help you with catch up."
"Thanks. You must really like chemistry."
"What can I say, I love to learn. And Mr. Carpenter isn't always so…" She glanced in the direction of the sleeping professor and shrugged. "He's actually very smart. He's just getting old."
"You can say that again."
Will was sorry to leave when the bell rang, but Taranee walked her to her next class and waved goodbye to her. Maybe she'd survive her first day mostly unscathed.
Irma plopped down into her regular seat in the cafeteria, with a tray full of barely-edible food.
"Seriously," She mused to her friends, "With the tuition we pay here, you'd think they could afford actual meat."
"You could always bring your own lunch," Cornelia pointed out, pulling tupperware from her bag.
"But then what would I complain about?"
"How about the fact that my grandma is ransoming off our lunch." Taranee, Irma, and Cornelia all looked up to Hay Lin, who had dramatically slammed her tray down.
"Sorry, but- huh?"
Sitting down, Hay Lin explained the situation.
"So, no new friend, no food. How is that fair? Doesn't she realize that if there were any more bearable people, we already would be friends with them?"
"How about the new girl?" Taranee suggested. "She seemed a bit lost, and she's really nice."
"You mean Jill?"
"Her name is Will, Cornelia."
"Oh, right. Whatever. Yeah, why not her?"
Hay-Lin frown a bit.
"I say we go for it," Irma said. "Worse comes to worse, we get free dumplings."
"Okay, fine," Hay-Lin conceded.
"Hey, the last new girl worked out okay for you guys," Taranee reminded them. "Look, there she is. I can go get her-"
"WILL! HEY, WILL!"
"Irma! Way to embarrass her!" Taranee hissed, yanking at her shirt.
"What? it got her attention."
Sure enough, a red-faced Will was making her way over to the table. She had wondered how the brunette had known her, until she saw Taranee at the same table, smiling sheepishly.
"Hey, Will, right?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Hi, I'm Irma."
Irma was a short, curvy girl. She was wearing white Capris and a floral, sleeveless button-down. All in all, her voice spoke louder than her appearance did. But boy, was it a loud voice.
"Sorry about her, she hasn't been house trained."
Will turned to see the blonde girl from that morning.
"Hey. It's Corny, right?"
The other girls at the table burst into sniggers, but a glare from Corny shut them up. Did I say something wrong.
"It's Cornelia," she said to Will with a smile. "Nobody calls me Corny."
"Except the entire student body," a pretty Asian girl in bright clothing added.
"Hey, Will," Taranee said, "Why don't you sit with us?"
"Um sure, okay."
She sat down between Taranee and Cornelia and pulled her lunch from her bag.
"I'm Hay-Lin, by the way." The Asian girl introduced herself.
"Nice to meet you."
"Hay-Lin's parents own the Silver Dragon, this great Asian place downtown," Taranee explained. "We were actually headed there for lunch."
"Hey, Will, why don't you join us? We can give you the grand tour of all the cool places in Heatherfield?" Irma turned to Will with an enthusiastic grin.
"Oh, well, I don't know..."
"Yeah, the Silver Dragon, the mall… and that's about it."
"Please, Corny-" Irma caught her friend's death glare, "-lia, Heatherfield is great. Come on, Will, what do you say?"
Will considered it. It was a sudden offer, but hey, they seemed like sweet girls. And it wasn't like anyone else was jumping to be her friend.
"Sure, why not?"
If only she knew what she'd just signed up for…
The guards were not gentel with Caleb when they tossed him into the pit. He landed on his wounded ankle, and couldn't stop himself from crying out in pain.
"Aw, poor rebel scum. Do you want a bandaid?" Cedric's voice taunted him from high above.
"If I'm gonna have to put up with your attempts at humor, do me a favor and kill me now."
"Ah, but then how would we get your father to bend at the knee to Phobos?"
"Your plan will fail! My father will never surrender the fight against evil!"
"Oh, we'll see about that. Until next time."
Caleb leaned himself against the wall of the cell. He had to find a way to escape. He would not be used against his father.
The princess' bedroom was one of the few places in the palace still full of light and life. Cedric hated it.
"Cedric!" The princess called with a smile. She was sketching at her desk.
"Elyon. What are you doing out of bed? You must preserve your strength"
"I feel fine, really," she insisted, "I wanted to draw."
"Come, Elyon, you must rest. I can see you're growing weaker by the moment."
He helped her to stand and walked her to her bed.
"You know how distressed your brother will be if your health keeps failing."
"I know, and I hate to worry him, it's just… I want to do things. Live a little before I die."
"Please, don't talk like that."
Elyon pouted.
"Cedric, please. I've been sick all my life. I'm not getting better."
"Prince Phobos has stated a new treatment. I'm certain it all be effective."
"I feel weaker after every dose."
"That simply means it's working, dear."
He kissed her brow.
"Now please, rest, preserve your strength."
She sighed and fell asleep quickly. Finally able to do what he came to do, Cedric went to her drawer and pulled from it a small pouch of herbs. Intend as medicine, Elyon took them each night, unaware of the Altos which Cedric made each afternoon. From his pocket, he pulled a dark powder, and mixed a small dose in.
The time in which Elyon would cease to be a problem was nearing. And for Cedric, it could not come quickly enough.
So, if you made it this far, thanks! I hope you leave a review- weather or not you enjoyed it, any feedback is helpful! I'll do my best to reply to each and every review!
A quick note on pairings; I've decided to go ahead with Will x Caleb, but as for the others, I'm still undecided. I have a two-part story called A Million Hearts Too Many with the potential pairings I'm considering. If you wanted to drop a review on that, I'd be super grateful, and it may help me resolve some indecision!
Some other notes:
-I've aged the girls up a bit, just for general story purposes.
-I reverted Cornelia back to her comic book characterization. Still the Corny we all know and love, just a bit less exaggerated than the cartoon, though this is pretty much cartoon verse otherwise.
-In this verse, Julian was never thought dead. As such, he, and not Caleb, is leading the rebellion. I always found Caleb's age a bit improbable, and also the fact that, despite being a leader, he was always going on super life endangering missions, so this works a bit better for me!
Once again, thanks for giving this a read, I'd love it if you dropped a review as well!