I really tried to ship Vanessa with Ethan. I do like them. But I don't get all those feels like I receive watching Caliban and Vanessa. I already wanted them to interact when I watched the first season. Needless to say, their meeting in the second season was a like a dream coming true.
The title is a reference to Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven".
English is not my mother tongue. I'm sorry for any mistakes I might have overseen.
She was even more beautiful in the daylight. Even though he barely saw her then.
Caliban only watched her when she was in the underground – the place for the sick and poor ones. Despite her kindness to those, it really wasn't a place for her. Although a part deep inside her seemed to hunger for the darkness, secretly craving the night's tender embrace.
And yet, her smile could light up the whole world. Those eyes of hers shined like jewels. And mixed up with her caring nature, she was a true temptress to all lost and mistreated souls.
She visited him, telling him delightful stories about the town. Another evening, she whispered the world's cruelty to him – the way he experienced this place as well. But sometimes she just arrives, tears in her eyes, asking him if she could stay for a little while.
Those times had nothing to do with any kind of romantically encounters. Vanessa needed a friend, nothing more. And he was content that there was someone who saw the human underneath the ugly monster. Nevertheless, he caught himself wishing to be more than this.
Caliban remembered his anger when he first saw her protector, her dog, her lover. Ethan Chandler. And, oh, how much he suited her! Of course, Ethan knew much about the world, was a brilliant fighter and looked like someone made by the angels! How could any woman resist him when she dealt as much with him as Vanessa?
Frankenstein's monster soon swallowed his pride. Because he understood what Ethan had done for Vanessa. That American had been there for her. They stood side by side, fighting against her demons while he struggled with his own as well.
It would be so much easier for Caliban to hate Ethan if he wasn't as kind to him as Vanessa…
Yes, a woman like her deserved the best. The creature only hoped that it could be himself. But what kind of live could he offer her? Surely, she wouldn't be thankful becoming his eternal bride. Not if the devil tried to push her into the garden of evil for all time she spent on this earth…
And still… she had her wicked ways. Whenever she stole herself out of the mansion to seek him, he felt like she truly cared. There was a time she disguised him to guide her to the theatre. "You have to see a show from the audience's eyes at least once!" she told him after he said that he worked behind the stage a while ago. However, the evening itself had been a joy to be treasured. When they left, she also drank with him one of the most expensive wines from London… Which she had stolen from Sir Malcom's secret store.
And everytime she left, the loneliness came back to him – a thousand times stronger than it was before.
Vanessa, in her overwhelming kindness, once offered him to live in the mansion. But he had to refuse. To avoid any trouble with Victor and because he simply didn't trust himself. He only stayed one time – because of Vanessa. Some demons had kidnapped Ethan and she cried herself to sleep. He was there, holding her trembling hand and watched out for those ghosts who dared to haunt her.
When she awoke the next morning, all that remained had been the feel of his warmth and a book filled with her favorite lyrics.
It was all that was allowed to be. A thin line between friendship and… something more. The kiss she gave him in the past – a gesture born out of pity, not love – had been dangerous enough.
The waiting killed him. And yet, as soon as he saw her smile when she was about to tell him all her crazy ideas for the day, he knew that it was worth it.
It was worth to wait for her. Even if it meant forever.