Sadly I do not own any characters.
This is my first Ghanith fic so forgive me for any mistakes.
I'll try to update as often as I can.
Please please review, it really makes my day.
(China is really angry because she was counting on getting that book. Most things she wants she gets, and not getting them would be a personal insult. The fact that he does not find her faintly attractive would just rub salt on the wound. Just to clarify.)
"My dear Ghastly, thank you so much for having me."
"What do you want, China?" Ghastly spoke wearily, grunting out the words with a barely concealed sigh. He was working on a case with a sorcerer who seemed to think he could just stroll into mortal's houses and take what he wants. He was planning to go home at around lunch today, he had worked enough extra hours to deserve a day or two off. He had been planning to take Tanith to London, spend a romantic long weekend there. They didn't spend enough time together, what with their jobs taking up most of their time. Tanith had got a job at the Irish sanctuary, throwing herself into danger every day to apprehend mages who had done crimes, mostly murder or attempted murder. Ghastly had enough confidence in her abilities to not let the anxieties eat him alive, but there was a constant, niggling worry at the furthest corner of his mind that whispered to him that she might never come home. Most days he managed to ignore it.
And there was his job on the Council of Elders. It seemed ironic that he took the job purely to find her, but once they had, the same job was tearing them apart. He was constantly being called out during the night, leaving before sunrise most mornings and often arriving home after dark. Often when he get home on time she would be taking the nightshift, and they wouldn't even pass each other in the hallway. Even when they overcame these difficulties and managed to sit down together, the fact that he was her 'boss' turned into the proverbial elephant in the room. There relationship was taking a hit, and Ghastly couldn't lose her.
Hence this. Every month or so, they would take off, travel the world or stay at home. They would go shopping, go on cases, travel around Dublin on her motorbike. The motorbike made him feel vaguely sick, but it was worth it. Feeling her hair fly back onto his face, his body pressed against hers. There bodies got together so perfectly, like they were always meant to be. They were free to do whatever they wanted when they wanted to do it. And those occasional moments where they could sit back and bask in their glorious lone affair, made everything worth it.
She was so beautiful. Powerful and fiery and smart and funny. He loved her. He loved her with every single part of him, and he would never truly deserve her. But she held his heart in her hand so tenderly, and kissed him in a way that made him so sure that this was more than just another fling. It was the way she smile at him, her eyes apologising for whatever the stupid mage who thought he deserved her was trying to do. He was hers, and she was his. And it would always be that way. But that didn't mean he had to just sit back as Ravel pressed his body against hers. It wasn't his fault that the jug of iced water suddenly tipped over him, or that his coffee suddenly fell all over his clean white shirt. Or that his robes suddenly became a size too small right before an extremely important meeting.
But that date night obviously wasn't going to happen tonight. China Sorrows had strode into his office with his name on her lips and determination in her eyes. He had answered gruffly because Tanith would probably be waiting by now, and he did not want to spend his time trying to negotiate with China.
"Right then, a hello would have been nice, you know." She giggled, and Ghastly tried to paint on a smile that was the tiniest bit convincing. "But I'll take what I'm given." She slid a leather bound book onto the table with a smile. "You see, this marvellous copy of the Alared Chronicles has recently come has come into my possession. This particular artefact comes in two volumes…"
"And the sanctuary has the first one." Ghastly dragged his hands down his face, breathing deeply. He had hoped it wouldn't be about a book.
"Exactly!" China clapped her hands. "I was wondering if I could buy that copy? I'd be incredibly grateful." She said it hesitantly, her eyes widening and filling with hope. She bit her lip seductively, fluttering her long eyelashes. She leaned forward onto his desk, bracing her hands against the smooth wood. "Really, really grateful." She moved a little bit closer. She seemed to glow, beauty seeming to radiate off her and light up the entire room.
It really was quite a show. But Ghastly was tired, and he barely felt the attraction. She was using her powers to make him love her, but it wasn't working. He had given everything to Tanith, and there nothing left for China to manipulate. Even at her most wonderful, most bewitching moments, she wouldn't have half the beauty that Tanith when she had twigs in her hair and dirt and blood all over her body.
"I'm sorry Miss Sorrows, but we can't allow that." China looked crestfallen.
"Why ever not?" Ghastly searched through the pile of papers on his desk, looking for the right one. He found it, and read out the first line.
"It says here that the book was confiscated because: 'The volume contained information that could be used negatively against the Sanctuary'." Ghastly slid the sheet towards the dark haired lady sitting opposite him. She frowned down at the paper, her forehead creasing.
"Are you sure?" She bit her lip again, shifting in her seat.
"Certain."
She paused. "Do you not like me, Mr Bespoke?" The question made the elder glance up.
"I don't see how that is relevant."
"But you don't, do you?" China looked at him thoughtfully, like she was trying to figure out a complicated puzzle.
"What makes you think that?"
"Most people, I can… negotiate with. Whereas you seem totally unaffected."
"I have a girlfriend, who I love. I'm loyal to her."
"Yes, but that doesn't stop anyone else." She scowled, her once innocent face twisting. Ghastly shrugged. She leant forward, bending towards him. He leant back. "Every. One. Feels. Something." With every word she brought her fist down on the desk. "Why. Don't. You?" Her voice rose into a shout. He shuffled back in his chair. Her eyes flashed dangerously. Then her face broke out into a wide, toothy smile. She walked around, dragging her hand along his bicep.
"Miss Sorrows, that is not appropriate." Ghastly put as much authority into his voice as he could.
"I don't know what spell that Tanith Low put on you, but she has got you good hasn't she. She isn't that pretty, she isn't that clever. She is nothing." All the blood rose to Ghastly's face. He shoved the woman away from him, shaking his head. China pressed her left hand to her right elbow, and a wall of blue hit his face and made him shoot backwards. He lay in the floor, and the ebony haired lady stood over him. "You're disfigured. You're ugly, you should beg…" Her voice was cut off as she was pulled backwards. Ghastly sat up to see to women fighting on the floor, recognising Tanith instantly. China put her hand on the back of her neck and Tanith lifted up into the air before being thrown back down again. China held her down, her hands lowing red. Ghastly sprung into motion, lashing out with his foot onto her back. He punched her in the side of the head, following it up with a punch to the jaw and a chop in the throat that made her body slump forward.
Tanith stood up, dark red marks on her wrist where China's fingers had held her down. Ghastly held her close, breathing heavily. He whispered in her ear.
"I love you."
"I love you more." Then she pressed her lips to his, their kiss becoming more passionate with every second. Tanith Low wrapped her legs around his waist as Ghastly Bespoke stepped over the limp body of China Sorrows to press her up against the wall.
