Her senses fail her. There is nothing here that she can taste, no odour to smell, sensation to feel, sound to hear, or sight to see. All she can feel is darkness. She doesn't know if she is the darkness, or if she is simply immersed in it. Which was it? Was there a difference?
And yet, she opens her eyes. Slowly, ever slowly, her senses begin to return to her.
It's still dark, but the endless black sky sparkles with countless stars like nothing she has ever seen before. A waning moon, silver and glorious, illuminates the water. Water! She reaches out to touch it, and it's frigid and heavy and alive and everything that water should be, so real that the sensation startles her. Could this be real? The sounds of the forest at dusk ring in her ears, crickets croaking and a light, warm breeze shaking the greenery and raising goosebumps on her arms. The smell of the trees is mesmerising. She feels a wooden bench beneath her; she is in a boat, bobbing softly on the water.
She looks up to meet his gaze, and he is smiling widely. He is beautiful, and she loves him, and when she presses her lips to his she knows him better than he knows himself, knows that he lives on Meridian, knows that his mother is Nerissa and that he is faithful to Phobos, knows that he knows she's the Guardian of earth, knows that he drives her crazy in more ways than one, knows he's the liar with the rebel heart, knows that he loves her too.
And then she wakes up, and all Cornelia can recall is a beautiful boy named Caleb and the way that she loved him.
Up until this point, Caleb has lived a simple life. Though his father dies in his infancy, Caleb is raised by his mother, Meridian's ancient Mage, close to the castle grounds. Tutored by a kindly governess, he is loyal to Prince Phobos. He works as a guard in the castle from time to time. When whispers of a small resistance grow louder, Caleb is unruffled. All his life, he remains ignorant of the plight of the peasants and the work of the rebellion to undermine Phobos' rule. As one of Meridian's few elites, he never could have guessed that his duty to his sovereign would lead him to this.
Caleb has to admit that the palace is quite lavish. Pillars and arches draped in heavy fabric provide an ostentatious feel to the prince's grand dining hall. All the money in Meridian and our sovereign couldn't come up with a brighter colour scheme, muses Caleb. He lets his thoughts drown out the sounds of dinnertime conversation. Even when entertaining informal company, Phobos insists on having the palace guards, armed and standing to attention, by the doors. Paranoid, much? wonders Caleb, discreetly rolling his eyes.
Prince Phobos peers down the table at the Mage over an ornamental fruit bowl. It contains only the finest delicacies and exotic fruits from their world, and the figure on the other side holds the prince's gaze with a measured level of reverence. Phobos' chair is the most ornate of all, situated far from the Mage and her son, with Cedric faithfully seated at his right hand. "And what do you foresee with regards to the...rebellion, Ancient One?" he asks, acid entering his tone when he speaks of those who resist his rule.
Caleb's mother drinks her soup with an almost celestial grace."I foresee that the rebels will continue to rise up," she says. "The Meridianites are disillusioned with your rule, my prince. It appears that the resistance is growing in size. Soon, their numbers will be so great that they may be able to overthrow you, forcing you to renege your right to the throne."
Caleb peers down at his bowl, swirling his spoon around the cold soup in absent-minded boredom. Either the cooking staff really loathed him, or remained blissfully unaware of what the prince's wrath would entail if he realised the soup wasn't to his exact liking. Caleb's imaginings of the prince's temper tantrum amuses him almost enough to make this wretched dinner bearable. But what did Caleb know of the lives of the palace staff? He silently scolds himself. The prince's reaction to the Mage snaps him out of his reverie.
"The rebellion must be crushed!" Phobos exclaims, banging his fist on the table. "The more success the rebels have, the more it emboldens the peasants to rise up. It is imperative that my sister is in Meridian soon."
"My prince, I can assure you that we will retrieve your sister from Earth before the rebel problem gets out of hand," Cedric says.
"Caleb." It is seldom that the prince speaks to him, so it surprises Caleb when he regards him with a steely sense of resolve. "It will be your duty to travel to Earth, find my sister's whereabouts, gain her confidence and bring her to Meridian. I will not have the rebels destroy all that I have built here."
The last thing Caleb wants to do is travel to another world to steal some...girl. But there is no other response to his demands than, "Yes, Prince Phobos. When shall I depart?"
"The strength of the Veil has weakened considerably in recent years," Cedric responds. "However, it is impossible for us to know when a new portal shall open. You must pack your belongings and be ready at a moment's notice."
"I am prepared to undertake this mission," Caleb says, "but I must ask, is there anything in particular about the girl that I should be prepared for?" He tries to phrase his concerns delicately, but Caleb knows nothing about this Earth girl. He is reluctant to rock up to a foreign planet, whose inhabitants remain unaware of alternate dimensions, asking every passerby about an alien princess!
"To the best of my knowledge, the princess resides in a small town named Heatherfield," says Phobos, placing his spoon next to a seemingly infinite amount of cutlery on the table. Royals, thinks Caleb. "You will use the Star of Threbe to find her. You must gain her confidence by any means necessary and, when the time is right, inform her of her birthright and bring her to Meridian. Do you understand?"
"Yes, my prince." Caleb glances at his mother. Her usual stoic demeanour is interrupted by a furrow in her brow. Something is wrong.
"Ah, there is the matter of the Guardians," says Cedric tentatively.
"The Guardians are old women, Cedric. How could they possibly pose a threat?"
"It appears that, with the weakening of the Veil, new Guardians will be appointed. Perhaps they will thwart the process of finding the princess," the Mage foretells.
"So the crystal will pass to a new generation," ponders the prince aloud. "Finding her is essential if I am to maintain my power over Meridian. Caleb, be prepared to face the guardians lest they complicate your search."
How was Caleb even supposed to recognise these Guardians? Sure, he was skilled in basic combat, but rumours claim that the Guardians have control over earth, fire, water, and air. Sure, Phobos, he grumbles to himself. I'll just go to another planet, battle some winged superhumans with powers over the elements, take your kid sister from her home, and return unharmed! No problem. Still, he responds affirmatively.
Phobos informs Caleb of a place in the town where birth records, telling him his sister's birthdate to ease his search for her. "A smuggler under my domain has travelled to Earth, and enlightened me about some of their customs," he says with acrimony in his tone. It is no surprise to Caleb that the prince thought less of any other culture than what he had established in Meridian.
He nods at his instructions. The ticking of a clock sounds in his mind, a countdown of how much time he has left in this world.
When the time comes for Caleb to leave his home, the moon is at its highest point in the sky, bathing Meridian's heartland in serene, white light. His mother gives him a parting grimace, a silent warning to fulfill their sovereign's wishes. He holds his few possessions in a satchel over his shoulder and, with a breath to steady himself, gazes into the portal. Caleb crosses the Veil for the first time to an unknown world to find an alien princess.
a/n: hello! welcome to the first of many very rambly author's notes. i'm so so glad to be sharing this story with you guys. it's an absolute ball to write and I'm ridiculously happy with how things are going.
a few things you need to know about this series:
i'm definitely a beginner at writing, making it up as I go along, so this won't be a literary masterpiece by any means.
it will get pretty gay in places. if that's not your bag, leave now
an oc of mine will play a (relatively) small role
i went to great, great lengths to stick as close to the show's canon as possible, and i'm going to assume yall have watched the series and know a decent amount re: plot. if anything is unclear tho, let me know! i'm basically going to be excluding any parts of the plot that aren't fully relevant to this story, so you can just assume that certain things are happening even if i don't write them. this'll make more sense in future chapters, promise
also with regards to the above, w.i.t.c.h is a messy, messy series with many gaping plot holes, so i've had to correct a few bits and bobs here and there and insert my own headcanons so that x leads to y, etc. again if anything is unclear hmu and i'll sort it out!
Caleb may seem a little ooc. im gonna try to be as faithtul to his character as possible while also being mindful of how different his upbringing was
this will get extremely fluffy in places. there's all sorts going on in this Mess but my main motivation for writing this is my love of Caleb and Cornelia's relationship, so we'll be getting a lot of that
if you've read to this far I honestly adore you. you've no idea how much reviews, or indeed any feedback means to me! if you've any Qs you'd rather not ask in review form, feel free to pm me also :)
a ridiculous amount of love,
A xxxx