"Beautiful Sights" - a Caster Chronicles one-shot fanfic
by OkeeDokee
Ethan loved waking up and Lena being the first thing his eyes saw. Turned toward him, eyes shut, her body rising softly with every breath, her delicate skin faintly glowing in the early morning light like fresh dew on a fresh blade of green grass. She was an object of beauty with her silky, long black hair creating a frame around her gorgeous face, her lips slightly parted. Everyday, her was reminded of how fortunate and lucky he was whenever he looked at Lena. She was more than he ever deserved, and he knew it. That was why he loved and cherished her.
Lena stirred and the white velvet blankets shifted around her. Her eyelids fluttered open, making Ethan think of when a butterfly first emerges from its chrysalis and spreads its new found wings for the first time in its life. Her two-colored divergent eyes always sent a feeling down his spine. One Dark gold and the other a Light Caster-green. They were unlike any pair of eyes her had ever seen, so special and different, no one in the world had eyes like Lena did. Her eyes stood for what she had done, something nobody had ever done: claim themselves. Not to mention choosing both sides, the Light and the Dark. She had split the Caster moon in half by doing so.
Ethan reached a hand to her face, stroking the smooth skin of her cheek. "Good morning."
An angelic smile crept up on her face. "Hey."
"Sleep well?" asked Ethan.
Lena took Ethan's hand off her face and laced her fingers with his, tying a knot of affection with their hands. "With you next to me, I always get the best sleep."
Ethan couldn't help but return her contagious smile. "Just glad to be of service."
Lena was so happy that he was back in this world. So happy that he was alive, not trapped in the deadly Otherworld any longer. Seeing Ethan throw himself off of the Summerville water tower had almost killed her just the same. She wanted to jump after him, to feel the air rushing around her as the ground came closer to her every second, to join Ethan in death. Without him in her life, it just felt like she had no meaning, like there was nothing left that was worth living for anymore. But now that he was back, everything that she wrecked since the Seventeenth Moon, when she broke the old Order of Things, felt like it was fixed, put back in its place. Now that Ethan had returned again, the Order of Things had been repaired again, allowing them to finally be together, actually be together. It was everything she could ever ask for.
"I missed you so much." Tears sprung up in Lena's eyes whenever she thought of Ethan leaving her. He knew that she was speaking of: his trip to the Otherworld. She wanted him to know just how much she loved him.
Ethan's eyes were wanting and he chuckled. "You don't even know how I felt."
"I think I have an idea," she replied.
He sighed a desiring sigh and pressed his mouth against hers. Their lips met gently in a kiss, both of them feeling the smile on each other's lips. They savored the moment, their lips each trying to gain dominance in their little battle. Ethan surrendered first, allowing Lena to win their small war and her smile turned into a smirk that he couldn't resist. Lena playfully shoved him backward, breaking the kiss.
"I think I missed you more," said Lena.
Ethan rolled his eyes. "I'll just let you think that."
"Okay, then," she responded as she threw the white blanket off of her and reluctantly rolled out of bed.
Ethan followed her out of bed and they both walked over to the dresser. He had made spending the night at Ravenwood Manor such a habit, that he had his own drawer with his clothes in Lena's bedroom. Lena didn't complain, she was just elated that she got to be in Ethan's company. She would never again take him for granted, or anyone else. Losing the person she loved the most in the world had given her a new perspective on her life and the people there. She couldn't stand it if she lost anybody close to her again.
After getting dressed, they walked out of her room and outside to the rest of Ravenwood Manor. The ever-changing mansion was a reflection of Lena's current emotional state, and now, the inside of the house was like a unusually large cabin found somewhere in the forest. The walls of the place were made up of wood logs stacked on one another. There was fire in a hearth, heat spreading throughout, creating a cozy and quaint atmosphere.
They walked to the dining room for breakfast, where Lena's uncle, Macon Ravenwood, was already seated at the massive dining table and reading the newspaper. It appeared that Kitchen, the mysterious cook of Ravenwood Manor, had waited for Ethan and Lena to arrive before serving breakfast. They both took a seat at the table.
Macon looked up from his newspaper. "Good morning," he greeted. "Sleep well?"
Lena shot me a glance that conveyed a secret message of understanding and spoke. "I slept great. What about you, Uncle M?"
He waved a hand. "Sleep?" he joked.
Lena gave him a serious look. "Remember? You're human again. You require good, quality sleep."
Macon copied Lena's expression, strikingly looking like her in that moment. "Remember? Things require attention."
Lena opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it, knowing that there was no point in arguing with her uncle.
"How are you, Ethan?" he inquired. When Ethan had first met Lena's uncle Macon, he reacted like any other boy in Gatlin would've: with a sense of fear. Macon was known as a misanthropic recluse around the small town, but that was only because he was previously an Incubus, not allowing him to come out in sunlight without burning up. But now he had gone through a different transformation, becoming a Light Caster, and he was getting outside of the house more often, and earning a new reputation. But now after all that Ethan had endured with Lena and her strange Caster family, Macon finally accepted that Lena was not going anywhere without Ethan by her side, and Ethan no longer feared Macon the way he used to. Now he had a sort of respect for him, being the only father figure that Lena ever had.
"I'm doing well, Mr. Ravenwood," replied Ethan.
Kitchen must have then decided it was time for everyone's morning meal, because food suddenly appeared on the dining table. The scent of fluffy pancakes invaded Ethan's nose, and his mouth began watering. His glass was also filled up with smooth chocolate milk. He drenched his pancakes with sticky sweet maple syrup and shoveled them into his mouth. Macon and Lena gave him a few weird stares, but Ethan counterattacked with a few of his own strange looks.
After breakfast, Lena and Ethan decided to take a walk outside, to enjoy the icy winter morning. They stepped out of Ravenwood Manor and into the biting weather and snow on the ground like a pure white carpet, both of them immediately walking close to each other to share their body warmth. On the trees, there were glistening icicles hanging, and whenever a freezing breeze swept through, they threatened to detach from their branch and fall, piercing the snow like crystal spears.
Once, they were walking too close to each other, and Lena tripped on Ethan's leg, but he reached his arm out and caught her right before she plummeted into the cold snow.
Lena let out a shaky chuckle. "Thanks."
"Anytime, L," Ethan replied and they continued walking, though cautious not to stumble on each other again.
The cold weather was refreshing in a way, the way the brisk wind blew like wispy fingers of the air. Ethan found a small healthy, green plant peeking out from all of the snow that coated the earth around them, persevering in the midst of death. It gave him a sense of reassurance, telling him that he would make it through just as the little seedling did, just focusing on the need to live and survive. The way the tiny leaves collected water droplets that it would use to continue on its life and some day, it would grow to its potential of whatever plant kind it was. It was a beautiful sight.
They arrived at the small lemon tree garden on the Greenbrier plantation. This was one of Lena and Ethan's favorite places. It was where Ethan had comforted Lena when she was crying, where he had discovered Genevieve's locket and spun his life into utter chaos and danger, where they had dug up Genevieve's grave and also where he was buried when everyone believed that he had truly died whenever he had took the tragic leap off of the Summerville water tower. Right next to Genevieve, the one who started everything that happened to him, who gave him The Book of Moons.
The place smelled like Lena, like lemons and rosemary, a consoling and familiar scent. Ethan sighed, his breath fogging in the air, then dissolving. They sat down on the stones of the place because there was little snow there. Lena snuggled up close to Ethan, not exactly because she was cold, but just because she wanted to be near him. She pressed her face into his jacket and Ethan slid his arm around her.
I love you, Kelted Ethan. He chose to Kelt with her because he wanted to show that Lena was special to him, that they belonged to one another. Kelting was an ability only two people could share.
I know, replied Lena. Why else would you have gone through everything you have?
I just don't want you to ever forget.
It's pretty difficult for me to do that, trust me.
Ethan chuckled at her sarcastic comment and responded, I know how that feels.
Ugh, why would you ever try to forget me?
I'm kidding, L.
I know.
Ethan rolled his eyes. Well, do you know that you're really attractive?
What was that again?
Do you know?
Lena pretended to think about it. Um, maybe.
Well, now you know that you are very attractive.
Okay. Thank you, Ethan.
Ethan looked over at the gravestone that belonged to him. Macon had wanted to take it out, now that he was back, but Lena had wanted to keep it as a memorial to Ethan's treacherous journey in the Otherworld, that it was a symbol of strength and sadness. She wanted to keep it there, next to Genevieve, as a reminder to all who saw it and knew the story behind it.
Every time he saw his very own grave, it felt like he was back there, back in the Otherworld, and he remembered how much her desperately missed Lena and his family. He didn't want to ever leave them again. He turned his head and kissed Lena, telling him that he was back and here to stay for sure. Their lips collided with the frigid air between them, and tried to expel the wintry coldness by Ethan gathering Lena's shivering body up in his arms and pulling her to him, with no intent of letting go of her for a while, allowing their warmth to flow between them, their muscles tense from the cold, slowly easing.
This is really nice, said Lena.
Yes, it is.
The sun, which was hidden by several gray clouds that floated away, shone down on them. The flaky, thin layer of snow on the bricks of their Greenbrier grave site shone slightly in the warm sunlight, and melted away into small streams of clear water that ran in between the cracks of the stones. The leaves of the lemon trees, which had captured their own droplets, twinkled, the light refracted off of them, making it appear like liquid stars hovered around them.
Ethan broke the delicious kiss and smiled at her, his eyes full of raw and intense love. It was something that Lena was getting used to, after all, most of her life she spent always being the outcast of society, and now that she was finally accepted for who she was, it was taking her some getting used to. Being loved, being cared for, being welcomed, it was now what she lived for. They stared each other for some time, their foreheads touching, their breaths coming out as little clouds of fog.
Thank you for everything, Ethan.
You're absolutely welcome. Anytime.
Then be expecting me.
I'll be waiting, L.
The End
Author's Note: Thanks for reading my story, I worked hard on it. The Caster Chronicles is easily one of my most favorite book series I've read yet, and it just didn't feel right not to write a fanfic dedicated to Ethena (Ethan / Lena), the main ship, as well as one of the cutest, of the whole series. So, I decided to write this for them, and I really hope that you liked this just as much as I enjoyed typing this. Remember, if you have any suggestions for the story or constructive criticism, just comment or review, and I will consider whatever you say. Please follow and favorite. Thank you for reading!