Hello everyone!
With the stresses of end of school I've been a liiiiiiittle bit low on inspiration, but with things finally coming to close my muse is back at coming up with the wacky and random^^ This is a really random idea that was inspired by a prompt idea on Tumblr of the hero showing up badly attacked as their normal identity on the doorstep of the comical villains house, saying he didn't know where else to go before passing out. I put a definite twist on that for this story so I hope you enjoy! Huge thanks to Berry and Gheldarian Vampiress for listening to my rambling and letting me bounce ideas off them, you guys are the best3 Here's some of that fluffy ending I promised you Berry!
This is an AUish oneshot of an alternate ending-thing for Heirs of Darkness, otherwise known as I'm making a disaster of my plots and bending canon personality to suit my midnight inspiration will XD This is not story headcanon accurate for Gyendal's personality in that point of the story, but I have left an easter egg for a HUGE plot piece that will be coming in HoD! Enjoy:D
Home is You
MEL - 19
The enchantment in the air was almost heavy, filling their lungs with every breath as tiny glittering creatures fluttered through the air. Mel's hand rested carefully on her dagger hilt as they moved from the entrance of the caves in towards deeper branch-offs within the Mirror Caves.
"Look at all these mirrors and crystals within the walls, no wonder this cave system is so treasured by the fairies." Lydia said, admiring the glittering walls.
"You're probably in heaven surrounded by so many copies of yourself." Mel quipped, only partially invested in the barb.
Lydia rolled her eyes, glancing Mel over pointedly.
"Meanwhile it's clear that you aren't exactly familiar with the concept of using a mirror, you might want to pick up a few tips while we're in here." Came the mocking retort, one that earned a slight snicker from Edward.
Mel snorted, looking away from Lydia to scan the caves around them. Everything in here glowed with a kind of magic that set Mel's nerves on edge. It was nothing like the magic that anyone in their group used, even Lydia's enchantment books weren't so powerful. These enchantments carried soft songs, and a yearning for a world that they had never known.
"Take nothing from the walls of these caves, doing so could result in any manner of curse or magical tie to this place." Te'ijal ordered, her voice tense.
The others nodded, the humour amongst their group fading as they travelled through into another large cavern. As they began to cross through the room, Mel's brows furrowed. It was almost as if with each step they were taking the exit was getting further away, drifting from their reach.
"...what in the-" By Edward's puzzled comment it was clear she wasn't alone noticing, and instantly she stopped.
"Everyone stop walking." She snapped out, unsheathing her dagger as she slowly turned.
Scanning around them returned nothing at first, but on her second turn her eyes caught unblinking yellow ones against the far wall.
"There!" She shouted, weapons being drawn as they faced an unknown threat.
Slowly, the eyes pulled away from the wall, and camouflage skin began to turn into a poisonous green. They came almost up to the knees, a terrifying mutation of the frogs inside the fairy castle. Their eyes glowed and from their throat, a forboding vibration began to start, it was abundantly clear that they were not leaving the room without a fight. Instantly Edward lunged, sword raised with a yell, only to abruptly stop mere feet away from the frogs. He began to tremble, slowly backing away.
"Edward what are you doing?!" Lydia shrieked, Mel for once in agreement with the green haired mage.
There was no answer, and with little more than an exchanged glance their group descended upon the frogs. Magic was summoned, and weapons slashed as one by one frogs began to melt from the wall and attack back. Their tongues carried barbs that ripped into skin, shouts of pain and battle echoing through. As they battled a new pressure began to settle over Mel's mind, unfamiliar and inhuman as it fought to burrow through her defences. In the distance she heard Stella let out a sob, begging some unknown force to stop chasing her, to leave her alone. She snarled, throwing everything she had up to protect herself as she struggled against a new unknown force so she could rejoin the fight. Yet this was like nothing she had ever fought before, whatever was coming against her was not a magic that any humanoid could wield and despite herself Mel began to feel her mental walls crumble.
She let out a cry, hands coming up to grip her head as she stumbled back. With one last push she blasted out at the force with magic. Her guards fell back with her own attack, but all at once the hostile force seemed to vanish too. Mel fell back against a wall, struggling to catch her breath as she tried to gather her thoughts and walls. Everything felt as though it was floating, even the pain of all the barbed cuts felt dulled. Slowly she pushed herself upright, moving to look up and find her friends.
What stood before her in their place, however, erased all logical thought and plan. Somehow in the few minute span the cavern had been near completely covered by outstretched black wings, as a man began to advance on her.
"You cannot escape fate you cannot escape us." Came the gutteral chant, pointed teeth bared in a malicious smile. "You will come, your line always comes. There is no resisting the pull."
His wings fluttered, and in the far doorway the shadowed outline of a woman began to darken and approach. Something in the far back of her mind shouted that this wasn't possible, what she was seeing before her, but terror had taken over rational thought. She could almost feel phantom hands reach out to touch her shoulder and with a strangled shout she turned and bolted for the exit. Faded voices called after her, but she did not respond. She could feel a gust of air at her back as wings flapped, a muffled hiss of pain slipping past her lips as she strained against the burning of her wounds to run faster.
They were her hell on earth, she couldn't stop them. It was like nowhere in her world was safe, none of her friends were there to help her. A hand grabbed her arm and Mel slapped down at it with magic. There was a startled cry of pain and she broke free, desperation driving her as pure instinct took over. From her hand magic slammed into the far wall, stretching to form a portal that she launched herself through just as it began to close.
Instantly the sounds of the caves and the demonic winged being vanished, Mel barely managing to catch herself as she landed on carpeted floors. The silence was welcoming and familiar for Mel as she blindly staggered back to her feet. She could barely think through the pain and sudden magical exhaustion, her ripped clothing doing little to protect from the chill in the air.
There was barely a moment for Mel to gather her thoughts or fully register where she was before the closed door before her was yanked open, to reveal a tall form fully armed for battle. Mel stared up through blurry eyes into the wrathful face of the Lord of Twilight, watching as the harsh expression was wiped away by complete shock as he took in her state. Mel could count on one hand the amount of time she had seen Gyendal truly shocked, but none quite measured up to the look on his face in that moment.
She wavered on her feet, dragging in a ragged breath.
"They've found me, they're coming." She whispered, before letting out a cry of pain as her knees finally gave out from under her.
Dimly she felt herself fall, Gyendal catching her with a startled sound. Her head lolling as flickering visions danced before her eyes of winged men and burning homes. Mel flinched as a firm grip scooped her up off the floor, holding her close as a blessedly familiar presence slipped through the link. She felt her memories of the incident in Mirror Caves play through her mind once more, before with a blast of magic the crippling fog over her mind was removed altogether.
Slowly the fear began to fade, and Mel found herself unable to hang onto awareness any longer as the darkness came up to wrap her in blissful nothing.
The first thing Mel registered upon coming to was that for the first time in a very long time she was comfortable. She was resting in a soft bed, and deep within somehow didn't feel like it was being torn and stretched any longer.
She scrambled madly for memories of the day prior, pieces coming in one by one as the events of yesterday finally came rushing back. The image of the black winged being played before her mind, and with a strangled cry she bolted upright. That was the wrong move, as along her torso she felt yanks on tender wounds and her vision swam slightly. Cool hands quickly caught hold of her shoulders, gently lowering her back against the pillow.
"Be careful, or you're going to reopen those wounds before we can get elixir in you." Came the low response.
She turned with a startled sound to stare at Gyendal as the rest of last nights memories hit her, and she found herself drawing away from him in quick retreat. Any moment there would be rage, or he would simply bring the orb out right here and now. After everything that had happened, the chase that had lasted almost a year and her betrayal of his plans. Yet, the only expression he wore was neutral and guarded. He was sitting with his legs stretched out on the bed next to her, a book lying open on his lap. The vampire grabbed an elixir from the table next to him and uncorked it. He said nothing to her as he helped her steady the bottle, Mel downing the contents in confusion.
It took several minutes for it to begin to take effect, the vertigo beginning to fade.
"What happened?..." She muttered to herself, rubbing her temples with a grimace.
"Those frogs laid a heavy enchantment over you and the rest of your mortal companions." Gyendal answered, Mel glancing up sharply to look at him. "Only Galahad and Te'ijal remained unaffected due to lacking souls."
"The winged man was not coming for me?" She questioned, her tone carrying a tinge of desperation.
"He wasn't in that room. I do not know what you saw, it was only partially pulled from your mind, the rest is a magic I do not know. You were unable to fight it because it is not the work of a mage, or any force once can train to protect against its access."
His answer was void of feeling, merely a clinical sounding assessment leaving Mel feeling cold. The atmosphere in the room was tense, uncomfortable and Mel was bracing herself for him to change gears at any moment, after the chase over her cursed family orbs. The wait was almost unbearable, and with every second that ticked by stress and anger began to build inside before she could stay silent no longer.
"Why are we still playing this caring game Gyendal" Mel spat out, sitting up abruptly to face him. "You've fixed my injuries, when do the chains come out along with the orb? You put me on the run to this point, left me with little options. Clearly your priority is power over Aia, so when do I finally become the weapon."
Her words were bitter, built from the pain and anger that came anew each day of the quest. The air became thick with magic and emotion, crackling red to combine with black and blue. She was ready for a fight, fists clenched as magic wisped around her.
"You believe I'm going to imprison you for the sake of the orb, because you're a weapon I don't care about?" Gyendal questioned lowly, his tone deadly calm.
Instantly Mel stilled, the pent up energy and aggression pushed in one fell swoop. She had only heard that tone from him once before in her life, the twisted mix of rage and wounded, and to hear it now shook her. He shoved the book off his lap to the ground with a thump as he stood next to the bed, looming over her.
"You showed up in front of my office yesterday covered in blood and terrified to a level I haven't seen since you discovered your power. When you collapsed into my arms you were on the cusp of death, and I spent most of the night applying as much of the healing salve and potions that I could find to you." Was the snarled response, fangs bared in anger. "That enchantment was burrowed so deep into your brain that it took all the magical expertise I have to remove it, and all the while I knew if I errored even the slightest amount I could irreversibly damage you mentally."
The dark mage gaped at Gyendal, taken aback at the unusual show of genuine emotion. She moved to respond but was overridden by the vampire before her.
"If all I wanted was a weapon you'd be in a coma and I'd have plunged the world into darkness already, I don't need you to be awake to use the damn orb, and if all that mattered to me was power I'd have enslaved your mind years ago so you could serve only me. What you care about my plan matters nothing, but never infer that about me again." He hissed.
His eyes burned with anger as he looked up at the canopy of her bed, as if to gather his control back.
"Yet, here we are. I became the hunted, fleeing across Aia the past you chased me with." She whispered, her words falling heavily between them.
They sat in silence for a long moment before Mel turned, her legs swinging over the side of the bed as she faced the wall. Her shoulders were hunched and she struggled to gather her thoughts. From the moment she had started the quest her only goal was to destroy the orbs, she didn't think outside of that...she couldn't think outside of that. Or she would have given up altogether. But here she sat, next to the person who had driven her to the quest in the first place and she was at a loss of where one could possibly go next.
"Then why did you come here?"
The question jolted her from her thoughts and she tensed for a moment, the memories of last night playing over in her head.
"... I didn't know where else to go." She finally said, her voice cracking as she slumped forward.
Her hands fell to her lap, pausing as instead of finding blanket they found familiar red fabric. Her chest tightened as she realized that despite everything, Gyendal had wrapped her in his cloak under the blankets to keep her warm. As her hands gripped the cloak she realized that she did know why she came here. In the midst of the fear, the pain and the exhaustion she hadn't gone looking for the friends she had made through the course of the quest. She had gone back to the vampire that had started this, following a pull that ran deeper than even the bond. She had gone to what had been the mark of safety up until the quest. To her, the Ravenfoot manor was home.
Gyendal was home.
No quicker had that thought crossed her mind, she felt shock that was not her own jolt through her. Instantly her head snapped up, realizing too late that the bond between them had fallen open and she hadn't restored the walls. Panic washed over her as she scrambled to throw up guards as high as she could across the bond but she knew it was too late.
One could have cut the increased tension in the room with a blade, and after a moment Mel abruptly stood. Her eyes found her coat draped across the back of her chair by the window and she strode over to grab it so she could leave. Everything was just too much, their footing with one another had changed and she wasn't ready to face the loss of his turning away from her all too human emotion. However before she could do more than grasp black fabric, there was a stirring of movement behind her and a hand caught hold of her wrist. It wasn't tight, nor restraining. Simply pausing her movements.
"Don't."
One word.
He never gave a reason, but one would was all it really took.
Her fingers loosened, the coat slipping from her grasp as her hand came to rest against the chair back. Gyendal's grip loosened until his hand was just resting against the skin, though he did not pull away from her arm.
She stared out at the familiar grounds beyond her window. The reflection in the glass was empty aside from her, and Mel closed her eyes to block out the sight of her standing seemingly alone. The lightest tap could be felt at the guard thrown up around the bond, the hastily constructed block dissolving away like sand.
The moment she felt his presence touch against her mind the fight within her to leave went quiet, pushed aside by the overwhelming relief of no longer being alone with the emptiness inside that corner of her mind.
A near sigh escaped her, and Mel turned to face Gyendal fully. They watched each other silently, before Mel gestured at the window to outside with her head.
"They'll come for me, Te'ijal will figure out where I went during my hallucination." She stated, "And they'll fight to get me out of the manor."
His hand that had remained on her arm moved, fingers lightly trailing up her arm and along her shoulder until it came to a stop under her chin. His red gaze was unwavering, glittering with something she couldn't quite name. She felt her pulse skip and pick up speed, unable to bring herself to look away. There was a change between them, as if something had finalized the shift that had started in the couple months before the quest. She had stood as his equal for a bit now, her place in the world was not changing in that way, but rather on a different level entirely.
"Let them come." He breathed, leaning in.
He brushed his lips over hers, a touch so featherlight it almost wasn't there.
"They will not take you away from me."
His kiss was the final piece, and she knew, at her very core, that he was right. They wouldn't be able to take her away, because this time she would not go willingly.
Mel had known from the start that each day away was the next moment in a countdown, the ticking time of how long she could fight the bond. It was a game of who would break first, and the frogs hallucination had made that person her. She was quitting that fight, there was nothing that could measure up to the pain of walking away the second time.
"No, they won't."
He held out a hand towards the bed, fabric shifting a moment before his cloak flew through the air to his hand. Carefully he opened it, before flipping it out around Mel to rest on her shoulders. The fabric was thick and luxurious as he did the clasp up, the smallest dark smile flickering across his lips.
"My lady of twilight." He murmured, "Welcome home."