AU to Last Breath…and a very late Bonfire Night fic
I don't own anything
Merci to Dannie for the reminder of the song
& dedicated to those in RoseScorpius Fans - all of you!
...
Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
should ever be forgot…
…
I walk through the streets of my town having abandoned the preparation of the departure of my people, wishing merely to observe the town on this fine night. For centuries, it has been a day to recall the threats upon the citizens of England in regards to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, a chance for the royalty to show how much control they had over the people.
And yet now I am about to take on the same stance in regards to my town, to show them that I control the events which occur here, control the fate of the town. And it is too dangerous now for Morganville to continue to exist, with Magnus and the various constraints there are upon my people.
The vampires are already leaving – I can hear the engine of the first coach beginning to jerk into motion, whilst the humans continue their plans for this great evening. It has always been the one night in Morganville where vampires and humans have been able to spend time together marvelling over the beauty of fireworks. The bright sparks spreading through the sky captivate so many of us; make us believe in the possibility of brightness in the world, even for a moment, and allow us to have hope. They illuminate the sky on a yearly occasion, allow us to burn the feelings of regret from the past year with the 'guy' on the bonfire and simply allow a fresh start.
This year's fireworks are continuing to go ahead this year, an almost last 'gift' for the residents of Morganville who have given so much of their lives. This is the only thing I am able to do for them with the current situation, the last comfort I can allow them before the end. Magnus is too strong; there is no way to continue here if he has adapted to be within the desert of Texas. This is the end of my rope; I am unable to continue further, unable to comprehend any other course of action other than this.
Under my breath, I begin to hum as I roam through the streets at an ambling pace, not gaining any attention from the humans all moving towards Founder's Square for the firework display to be set off there once the vampire coaches have left. With my current appearance, with merely one bag containing everything I should hope to require during the coming days, I slip in easily to the town's population, the 'Founder Amelie' appearance gone for ease in this modern world.
The streets are empty as I reach the end of the longest road in Morganville, narrow and winding as it weaves its way up towards the graveyard for the fallen in Morganville. Some have died from old age, yet a great many have fallen prematurely due to the influence of the vampires here, the vampires who have destroyed many lives. I am sorry for this; I naively believed that we could all live in an entire harmony, yet this has proved to be impossible.
I turn back to hear the short lyrics sung yearly upon bonfire night being called throughout the air. There is no other noise to obscure the words flying through the night, the words to the tune I realise I have been humming.
"Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
should ever be forgot…"
The voice is unanimous as the unmistakable sound of the bonfire being lit alerts me – the fireworks are shortly going to begin, beginning the events that shall unfold within Morganville.
I know not where Myrnin is, or the Glass House residents, something which saddens me in the most melancholy of ways; if they do not emerge, I have not one friend within the world, for Oliver has been captured by Magnus, I am most definite of this. Myrnin would be greatly missed, as even would Claire for the almost humorous edge she has brought to many moments of the past year.
Yet these are not my focus now: there is a man whom I shall be forced to leave behind here as I flee, a man whom died for this town just for it now to be ended, leaving him here alone. I cannot stay here with him, for it is too dangerous, and therefore the old saying of the fallen remaining where they lay shall have to run true.
As I move through the trees towards his grave, the different feeling of jeans upon my skin startling me almost – gone are the silks and the linen; modern clothing of a so called 'casual blouse' and jeans clothe me now – as I relive the walk I have taken hundred of times over the past seven or so months since Samuel's passing. The saint remains here, just as he always will, and I realise that this is the first year that he hasn't the chance to see the fireworks.
Reaching his grave, I kneel in the dirt that continues to lay barren, just as the sound of fireworks being lit hit my ears. I turn to see the shooting of blue sparks into the air, dispersing into the night as they blend with the stars before disappearing. Light after light is shot into the sky, a multitude of colours mingling with one another as the frequency of the fireworks increases to a point where you cannot distinguish one from another.
"Look, Samuel, fireworks," I murmur to the gravestone as one hand rests lightly on it, my brain trying desperately to avoid the knowledge that the end of the fireworks shall result in something so heinous it shall scar me forevermore. "Do you see the potential in them, the beauty? Whilst it may be for such a short period of time, they have the vibrancy to be seen by the entire population of an area, able to be marvelled and adored…until there is another replacement, as the former fades into oblivion. That is me, or rather, Morganville. There is no need for me to remain here other than for you, yet you know that I shall not remain with you if I stay.
"I shall die, Samuel, yet in a manner oh so much more painful than your own heart-wrenching death. I cannot remain, yet neither can I allow Morganville to remain; I have to rid Texas of the town, destroy all that lies here – including those who have remained behind of our people – and hope that this too destroys Magnus. Our people need it, Samuel; they need a chance to live again without the constraints I have placed upon them. And that I need you to understand."
Squeezing my eyes shut, I allow the tears to build as the noise of the fireworks fades to merely one or two, the finale.
Yet it is not the finale – there is something oh so much more dangerous to come, so much more destructive than could ever be imagined by the people. As they light their 'guy', burning the things they no longer desire, trying to rid some of the bad luck from their lives this past year has brought, they know not what I have set in motion for them…for them, for Myrnin, for all of my people who have deigned to remain in Morganville for the remainder of their lives.
The remainder shall not be much.
There is a deathly silence as I stand by Samuel's grave, one hand resting lightly upon it whilst my attention is directed towards Morganville, towards the lights beginning to fade out as people make to head home.
And then it happens.
They are small explosions at first, the mines being old from when they were planted in the foundations of the buildings. I close my ears to the sounds of screaming humans, bawling children, cries of agony as my eyes observe the destruction of the town I fought so hard to build, to ensure that it existed beyond all odds.
Buildings fall, crumble to dust and mortar, as the colour seems to change from dark and obscure to luminous, captivating in the strangest of senses. The assortment of colours through the spectrum, from the darker red through to the near blinding white colours scattered throughout the town, I focus upon the greater picture.
Morganville is burning. Morganville is being destroyed from within by the one person who fought to keep it for so many years. Morganville is dying.
And I caused it.
The slight irony of this occurring on Bonfire Night hits me as I stand with Samuel and a variance upon the traditional song hits me.
"Remember remember the fifth of November
violence, destruction, my plot
I see no reason why violence, destruction
should ever be forgot…"
I have done this, have destroyed the town. I shall never forget it.
And, once again, then there is silence.
My eyes roam the ground, searching desperately for the appearance of Myrnin, of Claire, of any of those residents of my favourite house in the town. I care not for who it is, simply for the chance to see that I have not destroyed all that is bright in the town, all that made Morganville what it is…what it was, for it exists no longer.
I stand by Samuel for one minute, two, and three, all the way up to an hour as the dust begins to settle and the fire begins to dim down, having consumed all it can. There is nobody coming; I have lost my dearest friends of all time simply for the chance to live once again.
Yet I believe I have succeeded in what the others of my race have not by destroying Magnus; there be not one droplet of water within the dry walls of my town now, the fire having evaporated every drop. He cannot move without water, cannot escape the situation I have engineered.
This day was always going to come, I grant myself that fact as I stand here. I knew that I would one day have to destroy everything I love simply to escape – even though I have already lost more than I could ever have imagined to, with the taking of Samuel from me, one thing remains that I have a care for: my life.
I find myself begging for Myrnin to emerge from the ashes with the brazen and, frankly, self-confident smile he has when he has succeeded where others have not. Yet he does not emerge, even as the dawn begins to break upon the sky, remove the sheet of darkness and hide the stars once again.
Everything I love remains within Morganville: Samuel, Oliver, Myrnin…Claire…everything remains.
Everything but me.
"I shall love you always, Samuel," I whisper beneath my breath as I turn my attention back to Samuel's gravestone. "Never forget that you shall never leave my heart. You were my saint, the brightest star within my sky, and you shall be remembered always through me."
My lips press to the front of his gravestone, the temperature cool even to my skin, and a chill runs through my body. He is here, I can feel it…
…yet I shall walk away.
And so, with a heavy heart of sorrow, I turn my back upon the smoking remains of Morganville, the charred streets piled with debris the remnants of the town I loved with such a passion.
I turn my back on all of those enclosed within the walls who have perished for me to destroy the draug, hoping that this can be enough.
I know it will never be enough.
...
Remember remember the fifth of November
violence, destruction, my plot
I see no reason why violence, destruction
should ever be forgot…
...
*sniff*
I killed Myrnin.
Anyway, please review, thanks!
Vicky xx