Disclaimer: For the sake of anyone who wishes to sue the unsuspecting fanfiction-user, I in no way, shape or form own the Companions Quartet; the credit all goes to Julia Golding for that one. (As if that wasn't already obvious.)
Chapter 1
Secrets
The restless waters stirred at the soft touch of the Universal, their shining depths reflecting her broken image into her troubled eyes.
As Connie watched her warped image whirl around the pool, she couldn't help but think of how the water not only mirrored her face, but also her disturbed mind.
Six months. Six whole months had passed and still she hadn't told anyone. This couldn't go on. She couldn't bear keeping secrets from the Society, from her family. From Col.
The Universal shape-shifter sighed. As much as she may want to tell him, how could she? A torturous likeness of Col's face filled her thoughts, etched on it a look of utter disgust and, far worse, pure terror. Connie's heart threatened to burst; she quickly shoved that picture to the back of her mind, unable to stand it any longer.
She leapt to her feet and ran. Ran from the mocking figures dancing in the pool, ran from her distressed thoughts, ran from her terrible gift.
"Connie?" a familiar voice called from behind her. "Connie!"
She longed to respond, to vent her problems on Col's patient, understanding presence. No, she told herself firmly, the memory of his imagined terrified face springing to the forefront of her head again. I can't do that to him. He deserves better.
Taking a deep breath, Connie vanquished the depressed mood that had sunk over her in the way her increasingly irrational feelings had taken to recently. As always, she was shocked by the strength of her emotions; too often she allowed them to overwhelm her like that.
Broodingly, she began to wander back to the clearing where she was supposed to be meeting Col. With her head no longer clouded by her unpredictable flash of despair, she could now push her problems away much more easily and enjoy the warm day in Mallins Wood and the irrepressible feeling of excitement that she always got when she saw Col.
Finally emerging into the clearing, her heart leapt as she saw her boyfriend pacing agitatedly before her.
"Col!" she called, moving automatically towards him, wanting to erase the anxiety she saw in his features. "What's wrong?"
He exhaled in relief when he noticed her appearance.
"Where have you been?" His words all came out in a rush, stumbling over each other. "Look, I know I said I would take you out, but the Trustees have urgently requested to see the Universal today, and, you know, what they say... kind of..." Col trailed off with a worried glance at Connie's expression, hoping that she didn't think this was all so he wouldn't have to spend time with her.
He couldn't help but feel a little pleased at the look of disappointment on Connie's face when she heard this. Self-disgust quickly replaced this, as he realised that he was taking pleasure from Connie's... well, pain. She really deserves better than me, he thought bitterly.
Connie, oblivious to these thoughts, was wondering why the Trustees, who had temporarily settled down in at the Masterson's farm, might need her at such short notice. The beginnings of panic flittered across her mind. Surely they hadn't discovered...
"Well," Connie began, with a ghost of a smile, "at least we can walk together to the Mastersons'. We can walk together, right?" She added cautiously on the end.
Col suddenly grinned. "We can do better than that!"
As he spoke, Skylark gracefully landed beside him.
"Why walk when you can fly?"
Glad that the pegasus's companion was content once again, Connie greeted Skylark and bounced lightly onto his back, laughing. But as the pegasus took off, she briefly turned back to darker matters as she watched Col caught in the thrill of the flight.
She couldn't tell him. She could never tell him.
A/N: I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on this story (though I know it isn't nearly as good as some of the amazing fics for Companions Quartet).