Touched by a Devil
"You belong to me,
My Snow White Queen.
There's nowhere to run,
So let's just get it over.
Soon I know you'll see,
You're just like me.
Don't scream anymore, my love
'Cause all I want is you."
-Evanescence, "Snow White Queen"
Why does Cloud Tower have a fully functioning dungeon?
This was a question Minerva Griffin had asked herself many times over the past two years. Other good questions might have been things like: Why is it so well stocked? How come it can fit the entire student body? Why is it I didn't start keeping the key on hand after the first time someone trapped me in here?
Not that a key would have done much good. Valtor had imprisoned her with spells no one remembered the counter curse to. This must be something new for him. Griffin knew all his old tricks. Not that it helped.
The headmistress sighed, leaning against the stone wall. She should've known he'd return one day. He'd promised he would, after all.
It was odd. Valtor may have been a purebred liar, but never once had he not kept his word to her. He'd promised her she'd never forget him, she'd never have love for another, and later, that he'd return. Return and make her life a living hell. She bit her lip, their encounter replaying before her closed eyes.
How could she do this? How could she be so weak, after seventeen years of doing nothing but prepare herself? How was it he still had power over her, still rendered her defenseless in every way possible?
How was it he still looked every bit as captivating as he did decades ago, while she grew lonely and bitter? She used to be his equal.
Minerva sighed, falling into herself. How was it he had the power to haunt her life, ever since that first fated evening? How had she fallen under his spell so easily?
Those witches were idiots.
They were doing it all wrong, throwing themselves on a man like that. Laughing at every single thing he said like it was all a joke. Their behavior made them look like everything witches hated: vapid, self-obsessed pixies who drooled over the Red Fountain boys. Codependent souls who never had a thought of their own. Minerva forced her eyes away.
An indignant squeal arose from their corner. Guess their precious male got bored. Why was she here again?
Oh... right. Ever since her roommate turned out to be a fairy, everyone thought Minerva was a pixie by association. How everyone (even the people who had passed out) had managed to find out what happened at freshman orientation within the hour, she'd never known. Linda Faragonda had fled the school as fast as her freshly spouted wings could carry her, avoiding the hexes and jeers thrown at her on the way out. Her stuff had to be transported over the next day.
For weeks, witches had insisted she was a spy, sent by the fairies to infiltrate the school. And because Minerva had once befriended this fairy, she must be a spy too. Never mind the dark magic she threw around in class, or the fact the headmistress had moved her to sophomore classes due to her advanced knowledge of witchcraft. And she had to form a coven with these bimbos? It wasn't until a few days ago they'd found something better to gossip about.
Some said he was a demon raised from Oblivion. Others insisted he was the Ancestress's son (don't ask how) who was sent to the Magic Dimension to carry out their will. Perhaps the strangest rumor was the one Celaena thought up, about how he was the Great Dragon fallen from grace. No one knew who he was, where he came from, or even why he'd come to Magix.
Not that they cared. He was tall dark, and handsome. What else mattered?
Angry, Minerva tried to read her history book, but her eyes couldn't focus on the words. She came to these parties to prove a point, but what was she proving, really? That loud music and dim lights did nothing for her mood? That the witches in her class had less brains than a common hunting troll? That the strange wizard everyone was obsessed with just another arrogant, flashy, freakshow who-
"The Last Thirteen Millennia in Thirteen Hundred Pages? I understand this party is lacking, but is it truly more torturous than that woman's recount of things she knew nothing of?"
"It makes for entertaining satire," Minerva replied sharply without looking up. "Her ignorance is laughable at best, soul-crushing at worst. But what can you expect from a pixie?"
"So it's the Magix Daily News of historical recounts. I would have enjoyed it much more, had I looked at it from your viewpoint."
That got her to look up. The wizard of student body legend was leaning over her from above, hair long enough to tickle her raised feet. "Since when do 'mere travelers' like you have time to read trash schools disguise as textbooks?"
"Since when do lovely witches such as yourself have the time to read such things, unless Cloud Tower has accepted it into their curriculum?"
Minerva barked out a laugh. "They haven't lowered their standards that far. And what else would I do when I'm trapped in a bad party for the next four hours?"
The wizard imitated her laugh, forcing hair out of his narrowed eyes. They were sharp and intelligent, practically burning with the tremendous power he supposedly had. She shifted under that gaze. "Hmm... What about leaving?"
"But then how would I ruin the mood of my tormentors? If I don't crash a party, how can they rush to stop me from pranking it?" She tilted her head, giving him the most mocking smile she could muster. "Besides, if I go back to Cloud Tower alone, I'll be caught for breaking curfew. If I go back when everyone else is, they get caught for me."
"Hmph. You lack imagination. Do you have any idea how many ways you can ruin a social gathering without being present? How to enter places without unwanted attention? Or have you tried, but just been too attractive to escape notice?"
Minerva scoffed, shoving her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. She closed the book in her hands, offering the wizard her full focus. "If that were all it took to get unwanted attention, you'd never have a second of privacy."
"Hmph. At least I know how to disguise myself to prying eyes. Why do think your classmates have stopped pursuing me?"
"They found an even more mysterious wizard they can hang off of?"
"I doubt it was mystery they were after. Excitement, perhaps, but not mystery. They don't see any reason to explore the unknown."
Minerva squinted, trying to discern how serious he was. "Why are you talking to me, again?"
The wizard laughed. "Honestly? I envied your peace. I ruin what I can't have."
"Ah. Poor little wizard. Comes to a party full of witches and is surprised when they won't leave him alone."
"I'm not being bothered at the moment."
"I'm bothering you."
"I suppose," the man before her smirked, sending ripples through Minerva's body. She put her legs down, allowing him to sit. "At least this time, I'm choosing to be pestered."
"Well, I didn't choose this. What do you want?"
Some witches nearby looked at her with confusion. She sent the girls a glare, and they walked off laughing. The wizard watched her with sparks in his eyes.
"You know, I can teach you how to conceal yourself."
"I already know the trick to Invisibilty. We learned it last week."
"Yes, but that makes you invisible to everyone. And can be detected by the most basic of reveal charms. This spell is a variation of the one you learned."
"You can change spells like that?" Minerva asked, instantly regretting it. "I mean, I know it's possible, but how does it work?"
Lucky for her, he didn't think she was stupid. As he began to explain the structure of a spell, how it was similar to a sentence or paragraph, and one could add or take out pieces of magic to change the intent of the spell. It was fascinating. She'd never met anyone so passionate about magic.
"Just be careful. Runic has grammar laws, much like any other language. Write it out first, make sure your spell doesn't have unintended consequences. Until you get the hang of it, that is."
"Wow. I'm not supposed to learn this until third year. Where did you learn it?"
"I... Had a private teacher."
"How much money do you have?!"
"I didn't pay for it. They found me, thought I had talent, and decided to recruit me. Now I serve them, at least until my debt has been repaid." he seemed sad as he spoke. She thought about comforting him, but decided against it. She hardly knew the guy.
"And do you? Have talent, I mean?"
He leaned forward, grasping her hand in his. Before she could react, a jolt of hot energy surged through her being, filling her with heat and... Thoughts. Desires she'd never had, memories that didn't belong to her. But most of all, she felt power. She could feel the world spinning underneath her, and with just a flick and a wave, she could change its direction. Spin it out of orbit, reverse its rotation. Stop the whole thing.
She'd never felt so high in her life.
He let go of her, and it stopped. She shivered, feeling the cold seep back into her veins. Was he always that warm?
"So?" He leaned forward again, carefully not touching her. "What do you think?"
Minerva nodded, panting. "Where did you get all that?"
"I told you. A private teacher."
"Where can I find them?"
He smiled, "I'll take you to them, but not any time soon. For now... Would I be enough?"
"You would do that for me? How would I pay you?"
His grin got bigger at that. "Of course. I can't ignore potential. And don't worry about payment. We'll think of something when the time comes."
Everything comes with a price. Minerva thought. Now where did that come from?
"How will we meet?" she asked.
"I'll call upon you. You live inside Cloud Tower, correct?"
"Yes," she replied without thinking. "Wait! What should I call you?"
He rose to leave. Once standing, he took her hand again, raising it to his lips. "Call me Valtor. That is how everyone else knows me."
He kissed her hand, sending waves of fire through her body once more. She couldn't tell if it was magic or... something else. "Goodbye, Minerva."
It would be years before she realized she'd never given her name. It would he months before she realized what the heat she felt at his touch truly was. Weeks before she told anyone of what occurred, and days before it occurred again.
But it would only take a few hours before his power had enthralled her completely. And she'd never be any the wiser.
A/Ns: Hello world! It's been too long.
After a true disaster known as Camp NaNoWriMo passed in April, I've been avoiding writing as much as possible. I keep telling myself I need to focus on school, I need to study for exams, I need to get better at swimming. All of which are/were true, none of which gave me an excuse not to write. I missed it. More than I thought I would.
So this was done for the Spring Competition on WCFC, run by Firehawk. The prompt was "New Love". While I'm not entirely sure I can call this pairing love, Griffin certainly thought it was, so I think it should count. Even if it was more temptation, lust, and control than any true romance. Is it bad that I love this ship so much?
Seriously, ever since I saw Season 3, Episode 10 I have been thinking "ohmygosh, that happened?!" And then I started expanding of Griffin's character, and Valtor's, and developed this weird theory where those two are the Trix's parents (stuff for another fic), and wow. I never thought I would ship Valtor with somebody. Now I can't ship him with anybody else. It's so wrong, and yet... So perfect. Ugh...
So yeah. Big thanks to Firehawk for getting me back into writing. If the June 10th deadline didn't exist, it would've taken me a lot longer to get back into writing. Please check out CrystalHauntress and Marcelinefan's entries, as they participated in the competition as well. I think Crystal's is already up, anyway. And thank you to everyone who is reading this right now. I hope you leave a review, because I cannot say how much I have missed hearing from all of you.
Thanks for dropping in, hope you enjoy my work, and see you on the far side!