AN: Series of short pieces written for the Chambers of Merlin's 20th Anniversary Challenge proposed by Himiko. Here's my small contribution.
Thanks to C. H. Honoria for letting me know of this challenge and for being such a talented and enthusiastic Merlin fan, especially when it comes to the Morgan/Frik pairing!
Title is taken from Solution.45's song.
January Prompt: FAMILY
oOo
She knew it the first time she awoke to the crackling of magic pervading the air. She came from the silence of death. She came from the darkness of oblivion. And she wasn't alone.
When she came into the mortal world, her sister was standing by her side. Crowned by the desperate cries of men, they walked among them as goddesses, shadows in the mist. And while her heart ached for the tortured souls they encountered on their way, her companion seemed to find that very same sight rather enthralling. Head slightly tilted to the side, cold eyes glistening with eagerness, burgundy lips curved in a dangerous grin, and the taste of human suffering bursting inside of her mouth. These fragile mortals... she didn't like their pain for its own sake, she understood it could feed her powers for a long time to come. As long as they were at each other's throats she would be needed, she would be worshipped.
But evanescence was going to be their only fate, in the end; the silver-haired sister knew it all along. A throaty laugh erupted from her raven-haired twin's mouth when she heard the truth being spoken. She ran away.
And so they went their separate ways.
The lady with silver locks tumbling down her pale shoulders went to live to the bottom of the lake, her hair now floating around her head like a glowing halo. Its calm waters became her kingdom, their darkness a cherished reminder of her sister lost. Very few creatures came to call for her help from the shore, preferring to turn to Queen Mab, the lady of the night.
But the day came when Mab started to weaken, her great powers slowly flowing out of her body as her followers considered kneeling before a new God. The day came when time actually meant something to her. She was getting close to the brink of oblivion with each passing hour and she knew it. Every mountain, every tree, every little rock on her path seemed to whisper the same threat: "Soon you'll be forgotten." And she couldn't stand it.
She grew restless, afraid, desperate even. And she remembered her sister.
The Lady of the Lake felt her every step across the mainland, each one sent ripples through the blood inside her veins. When there were no more steps to take, Mab stood silently on the shore, watching the unmoving waters. No need to speak, a pair of sapphire eyes had already emerged to study her. With one swift, graceful jump, the celestial creature whom they belonged to was completely out of the water, floating above it. When she started to speak her small voice came in soft echoes as if it had remained on the bottom of the lake.
"Sister, it's been so long."
Mab only raised an eyebrow at the veil of sadness in her twin's eyes. "Not long enough, these mortal fools haven't spent nearly enough time following the old ways." Her raspy voice stated coldly. "And now they think they can just forget us! But I won't let them."
"Oh Mab, they are so fickle these mortals... they know no constancy, no stillness. They don't know time can be of no importance, they have so little of it and so they think they have to rush everything, enjoy the many choices life provides before it's too late. You cannot change their nature."
"They need us!"
"They need something to believe in and that's what we gave them, for a while. There are other Gods already being shaped inside of their minds, almost ready to take our place. We need men to exist, they don't necessarily need us."
"Then you won't help me bring them back to us?" Mab seethed.
"I'm sorry, sister. All things change, we must accept that; we must accept our fate."
"I won't be drained of my powers, I won't be forgotten!"
"Then this shall be your fight, Mab, not mine."
The Lady of the Lake watched her sister walk away with such rage in her grey eyes and clenched fists she knew she was ready to topple empires to get what she wanted.
Years went by until the day a man came to her shores, pleading for help. He wasn't any man. He was Mab's creation, a man who had no mortal father. She showed herself to him not to defy her sister, but because she was saddened by the way the lady of the night was playing with his life and the lives of others.
He took her advice and left, more than once, and then he came no more.
She was fading faster now, not really bothered by the idea of going down into the abyss never to come up again. But she knew her sister was afraid and she only prayed she would come in time.
The mist rose and Mab returned with blood on her hands, the blood of many but only one among them truly mattered. She had grown to despise her firstborn after he had turned against her, she had wanted nothing but to tear Merlin apart. But Mordred... Mordred was her rightful son, he had made her so proud. His innate viciousness had made the task of raising him so much easier. And now he was dead, all hope lost for good.
In her mind she was still on that battlefield, clutching his body, cradling him in her arms, the tears streaming down her face mingling with the warm blood pouring out of his mortal wound. A man had succeeded in getting under her skin, he had made her mourn his death. Never again.
A ghostly-pale outstretched hand came to the surface, its long fingers beckoning, and the Lady of the Lake's echoed words filled the air.
"You went into battle wearing the crown men put above your head, rage and fierceness at your sides. You fought, you lost. Our time's up. Let us face oblivion together, let us go back home. Sweet sister of mine... come to die."
Mab's bare feet moved of their own accord towards the lake, finding the calmness of its waters undeniably alluring now. The hem of her black dress brushed against the dry land for the last time before she surrendered into her sister's embrace.