Howdy! So...I was babysitting all day today. This kind of came out because I was thinking of songs by Red (namely, Hymn for the Missing, Pieces, and Hold Me Now). And thus this little story was born. I really miss Hagar. :'(
Please enjoy, and leave a review! Though this was just for fun, a lot of effort (seriously! It must be because this happens before Cole kidnaps Kai!) and research went into this. Like, what in the Overlord's name. This was way harder than I thought it would be.
If you guys really like this, then maybe I'll start doing requests and adding more to it! :D
So...warnings. Pretty self-explanatory, if you read the synopsis. Plus, I'm Astrid, plus, this is TG we're talking about. You all know how T-rated my work is. I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable. But I promise it's T.
We'll Start Here
A True Grit One-shot
Cole crossed the deck of the Black Bounty, only half-aware of the speed of his ship as it flew over the Dark Island. He held in one hand a rope and in the other an apple.
The torches along the stairs guided his descent, and he continued down the hall, now below deck. He could hear the shouts of his stone warriors as they prepared to land and disembark the Black Bounty at the Overlord's compound, which was less than five minutes away. Which meant Cole only had that much time to get this job done.
He stopped before a door. Tediously balancing both the apple and the rope in one hand, he reached into his pocket, searching for his ring of keys. He found it, selected the key he wanted, and inserted it into the lock, wiggling it until it pressed the catch, then slid the whole contraption up until it clicked. Lock disengaged, he lifted the latch and opened the door.
The room was dark despite the large window on the far wall. It was warm, too, and smelled of human waste. Cole hated that smell, though it was hardly avoidable. He had a prisoner who had not left this room once being kidnaped nigh on a week ago.
Cole cleared his throat. "We're almost there," he said.
His prisoner sat with her back to him, slouched on the floor. Her black hair was shiny with grease. She wore a blue dress, stained with blood. Blood not from any injury, but from her menstruation.
Poor woman. He had offered her plenty of rags, pain-numbing ointment, and every other comfort he could think of. Each lay untouched beside her. She had hardly even moved since he'd first locked her up.
Cole took an empty glass from the floor beside her and filled it from a pitcher on a table against the wall to his left. He knelt beside the woman and lifted the glass to her lips. "Take it," he said, unable to look into her lifeless brown eyes for more than a few seconds. "Please. You'll be glad you did later. It's hot out there."
He coaxed a sip past her cracked lips, and then she took the cup and drank it in a few long pulls. She handed it back.
"Thank you," Cole said. He then held out the apple. "Will you eat?"
She shook her head. Cole had expected nothing less than this, of course. She had accepted no food on this journey and very little drink.
Cole sighed and pocketed the fruit. He hadn't been this kind to the other prisoners, already on the deck; they gave him enough hate and resistance that it was easy to hate them back. But this girl...she did not hate him, she was grieving. And it shook his heart until he was certain he'd go numb.
He scooted a little closer, trying to ignore he fact that his knees were dragging through a puddle of her blood. This was wrong. A man was never meant to see a woman go through this. It was shameful, for both her and him. But there was nothing that could be done about it unless she finally decided to stand up and take care of herself. And he certainly wasn't about to do this for her, so they were stuck at an impasse.
"You understand," Cole said, grabbing the rope from the floor beside him, "I need to tie your hands when we depart. It's the Overlord's rules."
Her eyes flitted to his, full of sorrow. But not fear. She had given up being afraid of him after the second day; he had been nothing but gentle to her.
"You're okay with that?" Cole asked. He cleared his throat. "Ahem. Liana?"
The woman Liana nodded and offered him her hands.
"Thank you," Cole said. He began winding the ropes around her frail wrists. "I'll be as gentle as possible, okay? They won't chafe you."
Liana blinked once slowly, eyes on her hands. "Why?" she whispered. "Why me?"
Two words. Those two simple words seemed to entail so much. Why her? Why had her mother been brutally murdered by a stone warrior, against his explicit orders? Why had Liana been chosen by the Overlord? Why had her father been left all alone, the family he had cultivated for over twenty years toppled suddenly by a wicked enemy overseas?
Cole shook his head. "I don't know," he said. He finished the knot and slid his fingers under the ropes to ensure they weren't too tight. Satisfied, he stood, then helped Liana to her feet.
The ship rocked unsteadily, losing speed. They were preparing to land.
"Come on," Cole said. He placed a hand on her arm and led her slowly from the room, pretending not to notice the trail of blood she was leaving on the floorboards. "Let's go meet the Overlord."
Cole left the Overlord's fortress, doing his best to ignore the dark storm clouds gathering in his heart. The sky overhead was clear and bright, filled with chirping birds. All around him, the smallest children crawled around in the grass, sheltered by the tall and bushy fruit trees. Every two children were accompanied by one caretaker: typically the young girls and infertile women.
Each caretaker pulled their charges well out of his way when he walked the path through the trees. It hurt him to see the fear in their eyes, but he knew he deserved it. Because in the eyes of those around him, he was the Dark Knight, the third-in-command of this hellish compound.
Third-in-command. Ha. What a joke. Might as well just say it like it was: that he was at the bottom of the pecking order.
Cole finally saw them, standing where they typically waited in the avocado grove. Hagar and Varasach, with four little children playing at their feet.
His eyes met Hagar's, and they broke into a sprint for each other. They collided in the middle, embracing with enough strength to shoot stars through Cole's vision. He shut his eyes against the tears and just held her, head on her shoulder.
"I am so glad you are back," Hagar whispered.
"Me too," Cole said. I'd be gladder if I didn't have to bring back all these prisoners each time. But he refrained from saying so out loud. He just held her tight, soaking in her scent, trying to convince himself that he was really here with her. "I love you," he said.
"Mmm. I love you too." She pulled away an inch and sniffed his mouth.
"You know I wouldn't," Cole said. "I know the rules. No wine for twenty-four hours before coming home." It was Hagar's rule, of course. She hated the way his mouth tasted when he drank any kind of alcohol.
Satisfied, she kissed him. He kissed back, ignoring that little voice in his head that said he shouldn't. That he did not deserve her, and that she was off-limits. Too much of an angel to ever be one with him, the demon.
Cole pulled away first, stroking her dirt-brown hair. "It looks shinier than usual today," he said.
"Mmm," she said, selecting a handful of the long locks and examining them doubtfully. "I...washed it with extra lemon oil. It is good?"
"Beautiful," Cole said. He kissed her cheek. "It's extra soft, too. Hey, Vara, why are you still over there?" He waved her forward.
Varasach set down the child she was holding and walked to him, smiling tentatively. "Keydra," she said, stepping into his open arms.
"Keydra," Cole replied, kissing her forehead. "Hi, Vara. How are you?"
"Weh," she said. Then she hesitated. "Um...good."
"Good. I'm glad." He ran a hand through her hair too, which was tangled and unwashed. The poor girl was always so busy, she never had time to take care of herself. Which made him feel guilty about saying this next part.
"I have good news, Sage," he said.
"Hmm?" Hagar said, preoccupied with the whining child that had crawled over to her.
"Overlord said I could have the next twelve days to do whatever I want," Cole said. "And he said I could have you with me."
This caught her attention. Her silver eyes searched his. "No children?" she asked. "Just us two?"
Cole nodded. "I asked for Vara, too, but he said no."
"What about these two?" she asked, looking down at what had become two whining children clinging to her dress.
"He'll have one of his two girls take care of them," Cole answered.
Hagar's face darkened. "That means they would be near Overlord," she said.
"No, no," Cole said. "He's going to let Hrymerv stay here on the surface."
Hagar's eyebrows shot up. "He must be in a very good mood," she said.
"Yeah. Something about the prisoners I brought today made him pretty giddy." Thinking of Liana made the storm clouds in his heart all the thicker and darker. Guilt.
Hagar did not seem to catch on to his secret feelings. She was too excited. She laughed, kissing his mouth and cheeks and nose. "I can not wait," she said. "Thank you."
"Yeah." Cole picked up one child- a boy- and held him out at arms length. "Are you ready?" he said, throwing the toddler into the air and catching him. "I've heard that Hrymerv is very nice. She's had a few little ones of her own and knows just how to make them happy."
The little boy giggled and batted Cole's cheek with his palm. He smiled a gummy, two-toothed smile.
"Not as happy as when he is with you," Hagar said, picking up the girl. "He enjoys playing with you most of all. Sweet little Steph."
"Oh, is that so?" Cole said, grimacing as Steph beat his face with both hands. "I can really feel the love."
Varasach giggled, scooping her two toddlers expertly into her arms. They immediately calmed down, nuzzling into her chest. "Go," she said. "Mvamph."
"Yeah, goodbye," Cole said, depositing Steph into Hagar's free arm. He pulled Varasach, children and all, into a hug. "I'm sorry, I'll try to convince him to let you go another day."
"Mmm." She smiled. "Yes. Bye."
Cole stepped back and cupped her cheek in his hand. "Stay out of trouble." He winked. Of course, staying out of trouble here just meant following the three simple rules of the compound: stay on the western side of the river, don't get in the path of a stone warrior, and keep the children alive.
Varasach nodded.
"Good." Cole took Steph back and nodded to the path. "Let's get going, Hagar. We want to get to my home before sundown."
Hagar's eyes lit up. She'd never been to his cave, which was on the eastern side of the river. "Yes," she said, now more eager than ever. "We will go."
Cole awoke early one morning, blinking at the rays of sunlight that streaked through the cave's entrance. To his left he could hear water trickling into the pool.
And then there was Hagar, who slept with her head in the crook of his arm, hand on his bare chest. Her bosom rose and fell with each deep pull of her breath. She looked as innocent as a dove. Her skin was smooth as cream, and brown like tea.
He took in her scent- citrusy, fresh like the sky after rain- through his nostrils, unable to help the smile that crept onto his lips. She was so perfect. Unlike her name, which meant forsaken one, he knew he would never leave her. She was worth too much.
The light continue to creep along the floor, traveling from left to right, until the sun finally moved to the other side of the hill, leaving the cave in shadows.
Cole didn't want to be in the dark. So he slid out of bed, careful not to wake Hagar, and found his trousers on the floor. He shuddered at the mess they had made the night before. His shirt, her dress, and each of their undergarments, all crumpled on the floor where they had been discarded.
What had come over him? Such a mess.
He slipped on his pants and left Hagar's clothes in a stack beside his shirt, then went to a crate and pulled the lid free. He found his journal between two other books at the box's bottom. Replacing the lid quietly- he didn't want to wake Hagar- he went to the cave's entrance and climbed out.
The air was fresh and warm, and a breeze blew through the trees surrounding the hill. His hill. This was his domain, the one thing in this world that even the Overlord had no knowledge of. No one could touch it without his permission.
Still smiling, he settled into a cleft between two rocks and flipped open the journal, pulled the pencil from its pocket, and began writing in his swirling, airy script. Father called it feminine; Mother said it was refined.
Tenth morning of Tera's moon, year six-hundred and thirty-four.
Sage and I have been here for three days now. Nine days left. Not enough time.
He lifted the pencil with a sigh, eyes drifting to the west.
I wonder what Vara is doing now. And I know I said it two days ago, but I really hope she isn't upset that she couldn't come with us. Still, it's nice to have some time alone with Sage. Just the two of us.
We finally did it last night, Sage and I. We've been talking about it jokingly for months now, but when we'd been given this time off, the thought became serious.
I know in a different entry, I'd said that I was confused about my feelings. But this week, while I was on the boat, I realized that she creeps into every thought. For hours each day I'd pace the deck, just wishing that the Dark Island would appear so that I could see her, hold her, kiss her. I was even able to justify my cruelty to those prisoners, just because I knew that I would never see Hagar again if I disobeyed the Overlord.
So as I saw her under that avocado tree waiting for me, I felt happiness. Imagine that! I ran into her arms, and I felt like maybe- just maybe- this is where I belong. Not over in Ninjago with my blood family- though I do wish them the best- but here, with the sister I hold dear, and with the woman I call my wife.
My parents can live without me. But these two need me. Who else would protect them from this horrible place?
But I got off track. I was talking about...
Cole scanned the page, trying to remember.
...Sage and I. What we did last night. Now, I know it's wishful thinking- because she's been infertile her whole life- but more than anything, I want to start a family with her. Wouldn't that be incredible?
I'm leaving this winter, when my contract is complete. I'm worried that if I did manage to get her pregnant, she might get taken to the brothels, and she wouldn't be allowed to leave with me. I wouldn't want that to happen. So...
He stopped again, pondering this. So...what? What would he do?
...I'll work extra hard. If I can pull off another difficult job that makes Overlord as happy as the one I did last week, he might let me keep her forever.
Forever. This word pleased Cole. He spent a little extra time and care making the word as neat and elegant as possible.
"What are you doing?"
Cole snapped the book shut and hid it from sight. "Nothing."
Hagar sat down on the rocks beside him, one hand at her chest to keep the untied folds of her dress in place. "Mmm. Yes. Very likely." She leaned over, trying to look at his hands hidden behind his back. "It was a book?"
"Yeah."
"So why are you hiding it?"
"It's private!"
"Says the man who did what with me last night?" She pounced, attempting to wrestle his arms into view.
"Oh, you're not really going to try that, are you?" Cole asked, not even flinching as she pummeled his biceps. "That's cute."
"I am trying that," she said, trying hard to keep her stern frown intact as she climbed onto his legs for better leverage.
"Yeah, like that's going to help you," Cole said, leaning in so they were nose-to-nose. "And tighten your dress straps. I can see your- Mmph!"
Hagar gave him a firm kiss, hands now gripping his lower arms.
A million years later, they pulled away. Cole was dazed, and Hagar had the book.
When Cole stopped seeing double, he saw what she had done and shook his head. "You sneak," he said, reaching for it.
But Hagar was already on her feet, laughing at her accomplishment. She flipped through the pages, squinting.
Cole's face flushed. He did not want her to see what he had written. If she knew what he felt about her, what-
"What does it say?" she asked.
Cole blinked. "You can't read?"
Hagar shook her head. "Not this language."
"But...you can speak it."
"That is not the same as reading."
Right. Duh.
Cole scratched the back of his neck. "Well, umm...let me go and get another book, and I can teach you-"
"No," she said, setting Cole's journal on his lap. "I want to read this one."
Cole almost cursed. He was about to say no, but the look in her eyes changed is mind.
"Fine," he grumbled. "Sit down. I'll teach you a few things."
He was safe. They only had nine more days. That was hardly enough time for her to learn enough to actually read his words...right?
Hagar snuggled beside him, her skin glowing like polished brass in the sunlight. She set her chin on his shoulder and put her hand over his on the journal.
Cole breathed in deeply, then blew it out through his lips. Why was he so hesitant? She knew everything else about him, so why not let her read this, all his thoughts and desires since arriving on the Dark Island?
"Okay," he said, flipping it to the first page. Eighteenth morning of Vori's moon, year six-hundred and thirty-two. "We'll start here..."
I've always wanted to do that. End a chapter with an ellipses, that is. :3 How did I do? (Apologies for any mistakes, too. I only read it through once after writing it.)
I was dubious about adding that date in the final paragraph. Did it ruin the moment or add to it?
Thanks for reading, even if you aren't into TG (yet. Mwahaha)! I hope it was enjoyable! Please leave some comments, and maybe follow/fav? Like I said, if this idea appeals to you, I might continue it with little snapshots of Cole's life, or maybe even do other TG pairings! (cannon with my story, of course! No Nya and Jay snogging on the beach (though that's a funny thought)! GreenCircuit? KaixBesai? More ColexHagar? Or should this story stay complete with no sequels?
