Ok before you all start throwing rotten food at me for posting something else that wasn't House of Ellada I should let you know my next chapter is with my Beta right now. I think she'll have it back to me by tonight. So with that out of the way here is what I have to say about the story. I came up with this after the finale obviously. Victor seemed like an actual human for just a moment at the very end. So, I decided to see where I could go with that. This is the outcome. I really hope you all enjoy this-I worked hard on it. And a huge thank you to .87 (aka Bubbles) for being my temporary Beta while my actual Beta was going over my House of Ellada chapter. You rock Bubbles and this story is dedicated to you! all righty-so I don't own House of Anubis or any related characters, blah blah blah, I make no money off of writing these fics, yada yada yada, on with the story. Please enjoy and leave lots of nice comments! Peace out.
~WolfieHouse of no more
(Victor's POV)
"I remembered our fake elixir, I borrowed the spare cellar key from Victor's office, threw away the real elixir and replaced it with the fake one," Fabian explained. Did he really just say that? I straightened up from where I was on the floor, staring in bewilderment at the boy.
"You threw it away?" I choked out, my voice barely above a whisper. This could not be happening; my life's work could not be gone in the blink of an eye. The children continued their conversation but I had completely blocked them out.
Slowly I shuffled out of the cellar. Every step seemed like a mile long and I was able to move at the speed of a turtle. As I made my way up the cellar steps I clutched my golden Society robe firmly in my hand. Right now it felt like the only real thing in my world.
Years and years of work and dedication were gone just like that. I could practically taste victory, quite literally. As I thought about this I had reached the top of the cellar stairs and was now standing in the foyer. My eyes darted around the room, taking it all in. Memories came flooding back to me like a great wave. They crushed me, threatened to drown me.
Victor! Come on Victor, let's go play!
How are you today Victor?
Good morning Victor.
You useless piece of vermin. How could you mess up something so simple?
All of the voices spun around in my head; voices of my past. They just wouldn't leave me alone.
Somehow I regained control of my feet and began dragging myself up the stairs to my office. Each step I took made the old wood creak.
Creak. Creak. Creak.
Each new creak was like a reminder of the age of the house. And of my own age. I was around when this house was in its prime. The jewel of the area. Everyone coveted this house and then it became mine. I loved this house, more than anything. If my plan had worked, it could have been mine forever.
After the long trek up to my corner office, I set my robe down on the table and eased myself into my chair. Below me I could hear the voices of those children, happily discussing how they had 'foiled my plans'. They knew nothing. Those kids didn't know what I had to go through to get to where I am. The years of torture and suffering. The years of feeling completely alone. Watching all of the people I cared for slip away from me.
Time.
It was because of time that the people we care about the most get taken away from us. If I had more time, there were so many things that I could have done. Running a hand over my face I tried to shake the memories from my mind. Flashes of my mum ran through my head. She had so much potential, but she was taken from me before her time.
In my mind I saw her smile, and remembered how it would light the darkest of hearts. When she died it was like all of the light in my family was snuffed out. My father because cold and harsh towards everyone. Even me. I reminded him of my mum and he couldn't handle it. So he did the only thing he could, pushed me away. After Mum died, he became so obsessed with eternal life. He would spend days in his dark little room working on his elixir.
Then he met the Frobisher-Smythe family. At first I was terrified of going somewhere new but they were so open and welcoming. As time went on, I became friends with Sarah. Sweet little Sarah. She always wore her hair in pigtails and tied them with little bows. Her parents treated me like the son they never had. It took a while, but soon I found myself realizing I loved them.
Then, they left. For the Valley of the Kings. Father had been so happy about them leaving. It meant that he could get away with all sorts of things. I think Sarah hated my father as much as I did.
Each time they came back from an Egypt trip, Sarah and I were so happy. The four of us had been like a family. That all changed in 1922. Sarah's parents came back from Egypt, but this time something was different. They were always whispering to each other, always looking over their shoulders as if they thought someone was watching them. Father knew what was going on. It had something to do with a treasure. He wanted me to get the information out of Sarah.
You useless piece of nothing!
I flinched at my father's harsh words. He truly hated me. Even though I had never done anything to make him do so. But, as long as I did what he told me to and never let him down, then I would live another day. I had to live. For my mother. So I did what I had to do, I pushed Sarah away. I began acting like my father. I think I ended up breaking Sarah's heart. And in doing so, I had hardened mine.
I had become my father.
Violently I shook my head. The last thing I needed was to sit here for the rest of the night and dwell on the past. There was nothing that I could do about it now, so I might as well try to move on. But moving on was going to be difficult. How could I give up something that had been in motion for ninety-five years?
With a gentle hand I reached forward and stroked Corbierre. He had belonged to my father and I never had it in me to get rid of him. My father had always said he was important, but I never had figured out why. He was the last thing I had of my father, (so I held onto him, and all of this other projects. When I was a child, the animals had terrified me but as I grew older they became less intimidating.
As I smoothed Corbierre's ebony feathers I became aware that the air in the house was still and quiet. The kids must have gone back to that useless dance. At least it was silent now. I could be alone with my thoughts. I reclined in my chair and shut my eyes.
"Victor! Victor what has been going on around here tonight?" Trudy asked as she walked into my office. I sat up and folded my hands together as I glared at the woman. Clearly she had just woken up, because there were bags underneath her eyes and she seemed a bit dazed. She was such an aggravating, nosy woman. The only reason I kept her around was because the kids seemed to like her. That and there was no way on this earth I would waste my time actually feeding those little ingrates. I had far too much work to do.
"It was nothing Trudy. I had an emergency meeting with some of the teachers and a few students came back to the house to get some things," I lied smoothly. Lying was something I had skill in. After all, I had ninety-five years of practice. Trudy looked at me with a puzzled expression for a moment but then shrugged.
"Strange time for a meeting. Well, goodnight Victor. I'm going back to sleep." Trudy gave me a small smile and a wave and left the room. As she shut the door behind here I shook my head. I would never understand that woman. How could one person be filled with kindness towards everyone? Even the idiots of the world? Well it takes a simple person to understand simpletons so I guess it came naturally to her.
Now that I could sit in the silence, I began to let my mind wader some more. I didn't think of anything in particular—just things of the past. Most of my thoughts were on Sarah, her family and Rufus. How could such a close group of friends be ripped away so easily? Rufus' betrayal to the Society especially hurt me especially. We could have had everything but he wanted the power for himself.
In a burst of anger and frustration I slammed my fist down on the table. As soon as I did, a sharp burst of pain shot through my hand and I winced slightly, trying to shake it off. I turned my hand over to examine it and saw that there were several small splinters embedded in my hand. It would have to wait until morning.
Below me I heard the grandfather clock chime.
Ding Ding Ding Dong Ding Ding Ding Dong Ding.
One o'clock. Those irritating children would be home soon. There was no point in trying to hide my things in the cellar, they knew all about them. They always did. Was there ever a point to me hiding everything? A point to anything I did? Not really. Nothing I ever did seemed to matter that much.
Placing my elbows on my desk I began to gently rub the back of my neck. Where had things gone so wrong? Part of me wanted to blame that aggravating American, but on the other hand, she was the Chosen One, not Joy. If Nina Martin hadn't come here in the first place then the Cup would have never been restored. But it didn't matter anymore, Rufus Zeno destroyed the Cup. And with it, he sealed his own fate. Now he was as mortal as I was.
Whispering in the foyer brought me out of my thoughts. The dance was over. I was about to stand up and tell those vermin to go straight to bed and be quiet, but I knew there was no point to it. Nina Martin and her friends knew that I had been broken by the loss of the Cup. There was no point in anything anymore. I had lost. They had won. That's all there was to it.
Suddenly, there was a light tap at my door. I quickly waved them in. While I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, I knew I had to or else they would go to Eric. That was the last thing I needed. More trouble because of these kids.
"Victor?" Nina asked from my doorway. "I-I wanted to say I was sorry. About everything. Sorry that you lost the Cup, sorry that Rufus got away, and sorry that everything you worked for is gone." I could hear her shuffling awkwardly in my doorway. This girl was far too sweet for her own good.
I lifted my head up and glared at her. "That will be quite enough Miss Martin. Now, go to your room and leave me in peace," I growled at her. Quickly Nina backed out of the room and pulled the door behind her. I listened as it shut with a defiant click.
She was sorry? The very last thing I needed was sympathy from a group of hormone filled teenagers. I didn't need sympathy from anyone. Sympathy was for the weak and I was not a weak person. At least, I thought I wasn't. My entire life I had built myself up—my mind and my heart. I never let anyone in and it had kept me strong for many years.
But when that American came everything changed. She disrupted the boundaries I had set in myself and in the house. When she came everything I had made of my life had been turned upside down. Now I had nothing left. No elixir. No cup. No eternal life. I had let my father down. Again.
"I'm sorry Daddy," I whispered softly. My body began to shake as I thought about how I let my father down. My whole life all I had ever wanted to do was please him. And I let him down.
You useless piece of nothing.
Useless piece of nothing.
Useless.
"I'm sorry Daddy. I-I tried my hardest. I just wasn't good enough." Leaning forward I rested my head on my desk. I had nothing left now. I was nothing. Perhaps my father was right. I shut my eyes and allowed the feeling of nothing take over my body. There was no point to anything anymore. Perhaps it was time to let time run its course. I had my fair share of time in this world. My time was up.
"Victor. Victor, I forgive you," called out the voice of a little girl. That voice was so comforting to me. It was a voice I thought I would never hear again. With her voice in my head, the nothingness wasn't so scary.
As I slowly slipped into nothingness I saw her face. She was smiling at me just like she had when we were children. I found myself smiling back at her.
Everything will be all right Victor. You don't have to be alone anymore.