This one shot is part of the Seeking Souls series of stories. In terms of the time sequence of the story, it takes place between the fourth and fifth chapters of Lines of War. However, to avoid spoilers, it ought to be read after Lines of War.
After being held captive by the humans, Swaying Petals is saved by Hawkmoth's people. One Shot.
Swaying Petals
***
Pain. Thirst. The ground rock hard beneath. The darkness everywhere else, all around, as thick as earth. The air weighed down by the weight of rock on top of it. Like she had been buried already. It was not so far from the truth, except that that she was buried in darkness rather than earth or rock.
It had been her world for so long. When would they release her? But to release her they would have to come to her. And that thought was terrifying in itself. Alone, at least she could control her pain. If she was not alone… she had learned that people meant pain, of one kind or another. Food and water too, but always they wanted more.
She was alive. She concentrated on that. Alive. That meant something. She repeated it to herself every day. She was beginning to forget why it meant something though. She forced the thought from her head.
The vibration of footsteps came to her as she lay on the chiseled rock floor. Someone coming. She froze, taut with hunger and fear. She hoped against hope it was Kelly. If it had to be someone, pray let it be Kelly.
A light shone on her, too bright, a new kind of pain. It had been so long since her eyes had had to deal with that much light. Slowly, slowly they adjusted. It was a man. Of course. Human, naturally. She'd given up hope of ever seeing her own kind here. But his face was different from the others. A new one. And he just looked at her and swore, his eyes sickened. The light glinted off his gun, a wicked looking modern thing, not the antiques the others carried around. Someone new then. Was he here to kill her?
Then she heard him holster his gun, and knew he would be the same as the others. She waited, tensed and trembling, for his touch. But when it came, it wasn't hurting, it didn't make her skin crawl. It was gentle, parting her hair a little so she could drink from the bottle he held to her lips.
She didn't move for a moment, his actions being so unaccustomed, so strange in this environment, but the sweet smell of the water was too much, and so she drank greedily, taking the opportunity while it presented itself.
"What's your name?" he asked softly, swapping the bottle in his hand for a knife and sawing at her ropes. She thought long and hard, perplexed. Her name? What did her name matter? No one cared what her name was. They made new ones for her, whatever they liked. No one liked Soul names here.
"My name's Hawkmoth," he went on, holding the bottle to her lips again and then searching for his container of No Pain. Soul medicines? The little touch of home brought tears to her eyes, and she accepted the wafer gratefully.
"Sh," he breathed, seeing her tears, "You're safe now. No one's going to hurt you anymore."
Then, as she had expected, as she had always known would happen, his arms reached around her body, and she tensed automatically. But he only lifted her gently into his arms and carried her down the shaft as if her weight was nothing, calling back to the others.
She hadn't left her tunnel for months, and barely recognized where it joined the main shaft. The men, though, she recognized, and turned her head away, pressing it into the shirt beside her, pressing the sight from her mind.
They were on their knees before two other armed men. Well, most of them were. Carson was sprawled on the ground, blood leaking from his face.
"Blackheath, what happened to him?" she heard the man – Hawkmoth – holding her ask, his deep voice reverberating through his chest as her ear pressed into him. One of the guards shrugged.
"You told me to keep them quiet. He wouldn't shut up. I shut him up."
The man sighed, but said nothing. He was turning to go, when she recognized Kelly's voice, desperate, afraid. "Is she ok? What are you doing with her?"
She turned to look at him, just from the corner of her eye, and saw the guard raise his hand to silence him saying "You don't learn quick, do you?"
But Hawkmoth had felt her tense and said "Enough." His voice was as hard as steel and he was obeyed instantly.
"She'll be fine, now," he said, "No thanks to you."
Fine. Fine was a word that was hard to get her mind around. What did it mean to be fine? Not to be hungry? Thirsty? Hurting? Fearing? It was too much to comprehend, and without the accustomed pain of her body or the ravages of thirst to keep her awake, she let herself fall into a blissful unconsciousness.
***
She woke when the No Pain was wearing off, her stomach twisting about its emptiness unhappily. But there was not the familiar bite of rock on her hips. It was soft, warm… above and below. There was light, dim, soft, but enough to show her she was in a rock room. But this one was no room cut by men; the walls were rounded by untold eons of water wearing away at them. People had left their mark inside though; there were narrow beds, blankets, lights… hospital gurneys, she recognized suddenly, and a boy – a young man really – sat atop the one opposite hers and watched her.
She watched him back, trying to place the emotions in his face. Sadness? Hope? Pain? Yearning? Human emotions were always so difficult. And she wasn't used to young faces. But this one drew forth something in her. She knew it wouldn't hurt her, it was so young… so lonely…
"Are you hurt?" she asked eventually, startling him, "Is that why you are here, too?"
"You're awake!" he replied, surprised, jumping off the gurney automatically, then pausing. "I'm supposed to tell Doc and A-, and Hawkmoth when you're awake, but… Are you hungry? You're so thin…"
Her stomach growled at the mention of food, and the boy laughed. She smiled softly, instinctively, to hear it; a laugh free from cruelty, from deception. She felt a need growing within her to talk to him, to crush the loneliness in his eyes just as he was filing in the emptiness in her heart.
"Here, I kept you some lunch. And you're due for your No Pain, and here's some water… We've only got water, sorry, we ran out of juice and cordial ages ago."
Her smile grew to see his grimace.
"Where are you hurt?" she whispered.
"Hurt? Me? No. Alex would never let me get anywhere close to… I was just, just watching over you."
"Why?"
"You remind me of… its just…"
"Don't you hate Souls like the others?"
"No! Not, not all of them. Don't tell anyone though, they'll hate me. My mum… well, you're younger, but, my mum's, my mum's like you," he whispered, his eyes holding hers, close to panic. "You won't…?"
But a voice interrupted him.
"Bhaskar," it growled, "I told you to tell me when she woke up." Hawkmoth, she recognised.
"I didn't want to leave her," the boy replied, "Anyway, you're not supposed to call me that, remember?"
"Yeah, and you're supposed to call me Hawkmoth, but if I didn't step on your foot 20 times a day…"
They grinned at each other and Hawkmoth gave him a rough, one armed hug. Then he turned his attention to her, and his smile disappeared.
"Our doctor has seen to you," he said softly, "You're going to be ok. It's going to take a little while but… Can you tell me your name?"
"Swaying Petals," she said finally, her tongue unaccustomed to forming the syllables.
"Swaying Petals," he smiled a little sadly, "Nice to meet you."
"N-Nice to meet you too," she replied a little awkwardly, and the humans were amused at her attempts at politeness, despite everything.
"Bhask, go and get some dinner, bring us some back, ok? And tell Doc."
Her stomach shrank to be left alone with Hawkmoth. He was human, after all. Her eyes latched onto Bhask, and the humans exchanged a glance. They could see she was afraid. Hawkmoth nodded and left. He doesn't want to scare me, she thought, bewildered. Bhask sat on her gurney and took her hand in his, frowning to feel her flinch.
"You don't have to worry anymore," Bhaskar said softly, "We won't let anyone hurt you. Hawkmoth hasn't hurt a Soul since… well, since Mum I guess." He grinned ruefully. "But they get along great now. Well. They would, if she was here…" his face fell into sadness. She didn't like to see that sadness on his face. She reached out tentatively to stroke it away.
"You miss your Mum," she whispered, and he had to look away.
"I don't know where she is. We had to leave her behind. I don't know if… if she's…"
"Shh." She kept stroking his back til he could look at her again.
"So you don't have to worry about Alex," he said finally, half turning back towards her. "I know if it was Mum… he would do… anything. To keep her safe."
He glanced to see the understanding in her eyes, and nodded.
"You want some more water?" he asked, hopping off her bed and reaching for the bottle.
***
When she woke again, there was a man watching her in the soft cavernous light. Boots; ankle high and gleaming black, camouflage gear, gun holster bulging, shoulders wide and muscular, face strong and serious. She breathed in sharply, then remembered, and let it out again slowly, relaxing a little. Hawkmoth.
"Where's Bhaskar?" she whispered.
"Sleeping."
"You're taking it in turns?"
"Yes."
Guarding me, she thought. "Bhaskar is…"
"My son," he murmured.
She stopped. It was not what she was going to ask, and the answer shook her. But his mother was a Soul…
"Where is she? His mother?"
"I'm not sure," he said quietly, and she could see the pain it caused him to talk of her, "In the City, I think. Unless she's been moved." He was silent for a minute, and when he spoke again his voice was quite different. "Those men."
Her face closed and she looked away.
"We found 15. Was that all? All of them?"
She couldn't reply.
"I can't have people like that… I need to know we got all of them. I can't have some of them just… wandering around. Free."
"Fifteen," she breathed. And he stilled, listening.
"That's all of them," he asked again; and she nodded. He thought she had fallen asleep again, but her voice cut through the darkness.
"What will happen to them?"
He sank his head into his hands. "I don't know yet."
***
They kept her in the hospital cavern til she was strong enough to walk on her own, Bhaskar or Hawkmoth keeping her company always.
"Back your bags, Swaying Petals, it's time to go!" Bhask called one day, and Swaying Petals hugged her legs nervously.
"Where are we going? What are you going to do with me?"
Bhask grinned at her, pulling her to her feet "Send you back to the city."
"To the…?" she repeated in disbelief.
"Back home. To the Souls." He gave her a blindfold and she tied it obediently around her eyes, letting him lead her through the caves.
"Eat lots of cheese for me," he whispered as he took the blindfold off. They were standing by a van, the night sky heart-stoppingly large above them, the fifteen trussed up inside, Hawkmoth waiting by the open driver's door. He motioned for her to sit, and she obeyed, running her hands over the worn leather of the steering wheel. They were really going to do this. Let her go. She was going home.
Hawkmoth watched her closely, leaning on the doorframe, "You can't tell them about any of this. About me, especially."
She shifted her gaze to his face, and saw he was deadly serious.
"Promise me you won't tell them. I can not let you go back unless you promise me this."
"I promise," she replied, and he nodded, taking her at her word.
"Find Hungry Flame. Tell her we've voted on this lot, and they're too violent. She'll know what to do."