Disclaimer – I don't own Thir13en Ghosts, only Broadway. Cheers ;)
Summery: (Sequel to Save Tonight.) Broadway begins to wonder if being the second half of Hell's Gemini Lovers is worth it after waking up in the Spiritual Realm in more pain than she remembers dying in. Will she be able to bear some of Royce's burden?
~*~
Broadway's eyes shot open and she sat up abruptly, causing the chains that hung about her body to clink together and drawing the attention of the figure beside her.
"Was I dreaming?" She thought groggily, touching her face gingerly. The intense stinging that had driven her from her sleep only moments before suddenly seemed so far away, like it had happened years ago. A light touch on her shoulder made her jump slightly and she caught the eye of her love. "Bad dream." She offered lamely, alongside a weak smile
"You too?" Royce smiled a little around the ever present wince that had overtaken his features as of late. "They happen a lot here unfortunately." He paused. "Are you aright now?"
"Yeah..I'm fine." Broadway lied. In truth she was tired, sore and full of emotional pain. It had been years since her death and she had frequently stopped visiting her family, especially after her Matron's death. She knew it was her fault, even though the official report said it was a stroke, Broadway knew it was from a broken heart. She had lost one of her children, and the rest had lost her. After the funeral, Broadway made a note to check up on her family every week or so, not to be seen or heard, but felt as some kind of comfort; to let her siblings know that her spirit was still alive.
However it was that fact alone which unexpectedly grabbed Broadway one day and threw her into a spiral of despair from which she would never escape. She was, after all, a ghost. Confined to wander the realms of the dead for all eternity with the one she loved. But even that she began to doubt.
"Get some more rest, you look pretty tired." Royce's voice broke through her thoughts and she smiled again.
"Alright. Goodnight." Broadway adjusted her position in the hammock of chains she could now manipulate (after all, ghosts are forever bound to the things that take their lives) and attempted to fall back into what was considered sleep in the Spirit Realm. In reality, it was more like shutting your eyes and being very still as to allow for your energy to regenerate while your mind played back all kinds of memories; good and bad. She was relatively used to this now, though recently strange things have been playing on the backs of her eyelids. Flashes of memories she didn't recognize followed by brief yet horrible pains along her body. Unfamiliar pain. A pain that was not her own. After some sleepless nights full of deliberation she had decided that, when if life, after she had given a piece of her soul to Royce, she had somehow bonded herself to her Ghost in more ways than she imagined. She had begun to merge memories and feeling with Royce during fleeting periods of sleep when they were vulnerable to psychic attacks, even if they were from one another. But, if that were the case, wouldn't Royce be subjected to the same bizarre occurrences? Broadway frowned in her sleep and shifted again to take some weight off of her midsection where the pain from her multiple stabs was worst. It was going to be another long night. Come to think of it, it was going to be a long day after that. And then it was to be repeated. She and Royce spent their days wandering between the real and dead worlds, sometimes playing semi- benign pranks on people and partaking in severe poltergeist-like activity. They had even succeeded in getting themselves exorcised from a church in Romania. It was grand fun while it lasted. But there was only so much you can do without a physical form. There was only so much you can do when you're dead, and no one knew that better than Royce himself, considering he had spent more than half a century wandering the realm alone and lonely. Mind you, he had also spent a great portion of this killing time in a less than savory fashion.
But those days were over, much to Broadway's relief. Though lately, another disturbing thought entered her mind while sleeping. The thought of rage and her anger of her abrupt and completely unnecessary death. She began to think about how wonderful it would feel to make another person suffer the way she had, to stain her chains with blood other than her own. Many mornings would come when Broadway would awaken cold and shivering from the terrifying thoughts of losing it and killing another person. She would certainly be banished to the Tortured Realm then, yes? There was no doubt about that and she concentrated fiercely on pushing those thoughts as far away as possible.
Royce sighed softly beside her and Broadway untangled herself to investigate his seeping form. He looked so innocent in sleep, save for when his brow furrowed from dreams of his tragic end. She leaned on the edge of his car and brushed a loose strand of hair from his eyes, whispering sweet words of comfort in hopes of eradicating any evil thoughts for the night. It was a selfish gesture in a way; if she could prevent Royce from having a nightmare, she could possibly prevent her own suffering.
Summery: (Sequel to Save Tonight.) Broadway begins to wonder if being the second half of Hell's Gemini Lovers is worth it after waking up in the Spiritual Realm in more pain than she remembers dying in. Will she be able to bear some of Royce's burden?
~*~
Broadway's eyes shot open and she sat up abruptly, causing the chains that hung about her body to clink together and drawing the attention of the figure beside her.
"Was I dreaming?" She thought groggily, touching her face gingerly. The intense stinging that had driven her from her sleep only moments before suddenly seemed so far away, like it had happened years ago. A light touch on her shoulder made her jump slightly and she caught the eye of her love. "Bad dream." She offered lamely, alongside a weak smile
"You too?" Royce smiled a little around the ever present wince that had overtaken his features as of late. "They happen a lot here unfortunately." He paused. "Are you aright now?"
"Yeah..I'm fine." Broadway lied. In truth she was tired, sore and full of emotional pain. It had been years since her death and she had frequently stopped visiting her family, especially after her Matron's death. She knew it was her fault, even though the official report said it was a stroke, Broadway knew it was from a broken heart. She had lost one of her children, and the rest had lost her. After the funeral, Broadway made a note to check up on her family every week or so, not to be seen or heard, but felt as some kind of comfort; to let her siblings know that her spirit was still alive.
However it was that fact alone which unexpectedly grabbed Broadway one day and threw her into a spiral of despair from which she would never escape. She was, after all, a ghost. Confined to wander the realms of the dead for all eternity with the one she loved. But even that she began to doubt.
"Get some more rest, you look pretty tired." Royce's voice broke through her thoughts and she smiled again.
"Alright. Goodnight." Broadway adjusted her position in the hammock of chains she could now manipulate (after all, ghosts are forever bound to the things that take their lives) and attempted to fall back into what was considered sleep in the Spirit Realm. In reality, it was more like shutting your eyes and being very still as to allow for your energy to regenerate while your mind played back all kinds of memories; good and bad. She was relatively used to this now, though recently strange things have been playing on the backs of her eyelids. Flashes of memories she didn't recognize followed by brief yet horrible pains along her body. Unfamiliar pain. A pain that was not her own. After some sleepless nights full of deliberation she had decided that, when if life, after she had given a piece of her soul to Royce, she had somehow bonded herself to her Ghost in more ways than she imagined. She had begun to merge memories and feeling with Royce during fleeting periods of sleep when they were vulnerable to psychic attacks, even if they were from one another. But, if that were the case, wouldn't Royce be subjected to the same bizarre occurrences? Broadway frowned in her sleep and shifted again to take some weight off of her midsection where the pain from her multiple stabs was worst. It was going to be another long night. Come to think of it, it was going to be a long day after that. And then it was to be repeated. She and Royce spent their days wandering between the real and dead worlds, sometimes playing semi- benign pranks on people and partaking in severe poltergeist-like activity. They had even succeeded in getting themselves exorcised from a church in Romania. It was grand fun while it lasted. But there was only so much you can do without a physical form. There was only so much you can do when you're dead, and no one knew that better than Royce himself, considering he had spent more than half a century wandering the realm alone and lonely. Mind you, he had also spent a great portion of this killing time in a less than savory fashion.
But those days were over, much to Broadway's relief. Though lately, another disturbing thought entered her mind while sleeping. The thought of rage and her anger of her abrupt and completely unnecessary death. She began to think about how wonderful it would feel to make another person suffer the way she had, to stain her chains with blood other than her own. Many mornings would come when Broadway would awaken cold and shivering from the terrifying thoughts of losing it and killing another person. She would certainly be banished to the Tortured Realm then, yes? There was no doubt about that and she concentrated fiercely on pushing those thoughts as far away as possible.
Royce sighed softly beside her and Broadway untangled herself to investigate his seeping form. He looked so innocent in sleep, save for when his brow furrowed from dreams of his tragic end. She leaned on the edge of his car and brushed a loose strand of hair from his eyes, whispering sweet words of comfort in hopes of eradicating any evil thoughts for the night. It was a selfish gesture in a way; if she could prevent Royce from having a nightmare, she could possibly prevent her own suffering.
