AN: AH someone stop me from going plot-crazy with this one! XD
Chapter Two- Stuck,Struck, Blind and Bound
Charles stands warily before the heavy wooden doors before him. The entire manor is something from a child's cartoon, it seems; all hard stone, gargoyles and tinted glass from medieval times, black iron bars and darkness with a sort of eeriness found in abandoned mansions in the middle of nowhere. Much to his chagrin, Charles found himself swallowing the lump in his throat.
This place didn't give him the courage he needed to get his sister back.
In fact, he couldn't really remember leaving the car at all.
Charles groans and walks forward, shoulders stiff, jaw set and demeanor determined. He raises a fist to knock on the door and, instead, finds nothing but air in the door's stead. He fumbles a bit, having been to mentally-preoccupied with trying to stand his ground and looking tough. The heavy wood merely creaked open slowly, the rusted metal hinges louder than the howling wind outside.
"Hello?" He asks, willing his voice to sound stronger than it should. Silence welcomes him into the empty room. Charles braces himself mentally as he takes a careful step forward, followed by another and another until a loud female voice forces him to stop dead on his fifth step.
"Eeeeeerrrrriiiiiiiik!"
"Raven?" Charles shouts, and a loud squeal echoes through the building. There's the faint resounding of rushed footsteps before the clanking of heels becomes more audible. "Raven!" Charles shouts and runs across the expanse of the living room and embraces his dearest sister, heart thumping and grinning. "What happened to you! I got your letter and I came as soon as I could you had me soworriedRavenareyouokay-"
"Charles!" Raven shouts and Charles stops, breathing hard and looks over his sister warily, eying her for any kind of wound or bruise but finds none at all. "Okay, it's Much easier to understand you when you breathe, now start from the beginning. What letter?"
"I got a letter from you a few days ago!" Charles starts, startled.
"I didn't send you anything, though. Next question."
"What in the-what the fuck happened to you?" Charles breaths. Raven grins widely, her blue eyes twinkling.
"Well, I was caught in the highly unfortunate act of walking down the street and some stupid thugs tried to jump me." Charles' startled, terrified expression forced a sigh out of her lips. "You know I'm an excellent fighter." Raven's grin widens and she places her palms against her hips. "They didn't stand a chance, but one of 'em was a little sour about being beat senseless by a girl and he cursed in some random language and managed to get me pretty bad..." Raven trails off and shrugs, lifting up the bottom of her black leggings.
Her ankle is badly bandaged, the white linen marred with dried blood. Charles swallows thickly, his arm coming around Raven's shoulders in a half-embrace.
"So, then what happened?" Charles asks, his voice a low whisper.
"I collapsed, and damn, Charles, that shit huuuuurt!" Raven whines and laughs. "The bone was, like-well point is I couldn't walk. Hell, I couldn't even look at my ankle for that matter." There's a pause, a slight hesitancy, and Raven continues. "He helped me. Erik, he had heard me scream I guess-I don't care but he helped me, he brought me here and has been helping me ever since." Raven tilts her head to look straight into Charles' eyes, a soft smile gracing her lips. "It's been a week already, and I am eternally grateful to him."
Charles knew there was much more to Raven, something she wanted to say but couldn't.
"Now, what friggen letter did you get?"
A note taped to the end of the stairwell:
Dear Raven and Charles:
It seems that business has kept me away from home for the day, but feel free to stay for as long as you like. Raven should have a grip on the manor by now-and I daresay to ask that neither of you venture through the first-floor bedrooms.
Enjoy your stay-
Erik Lehnsherr
Charles and Raven stared at each other for a few seconds, the note fluttering on the curling end of the handrail.
"I'm not going to lie to you, Raven my dear, I'm a little scared." Charles confides, a smile ghosting over his lips. Raven laughs and tilts her head back, hand reaching for Charles' elbow.
"Yes, well-"Raven cuts off at the sound of clattering down the hallway, followed by echoing laughter. Raven visibly tensed before smiling and leading Charles up the grand stairwell. "I'll show you what room is available and then I'll meet you in there in a few, 'kay?"
Charles was still looking at the hallway as he nods absentmindedly.
Diary of Raven Darkholme
May 5.
I am so so so so so SO Happy that Charles is here!
Ahh, god knows why I didn't tell him the truth About Erik...
Still, knowing he's here with me is satisfying beyond belief. I wonder how long he'll stay.
What the hell was that letter about?
It was in my writing, and no one (I repeat NO ONE) can forge my crappy little signature...but it was there, and it was me that must have written. Still, that explains how pale Charles looked, and tired.
I'm glad he's here.
I'm just...nervous.
I won't be the one to tell him about Erik-
Charles Xavier's Journal
May 5th.
Raven showed me up the stairs, gave me a tour of one corridor then the next (and Holy-this place is huge!). I was a little distracted by a soft voice in my head-like a young man was whispering in my ear:
"Don't stay with her, come, come here with us"
"Yeah, we'll show you a fun time!"
"No! Stay away, listen to Er-"
"Come on, c'mere, Charles..."
"Don't do it! Stay away stay away, Just leave!"
It terrifies me. I guess Raven must have noticed that I was a little out of it, so she showed me to a room on the left corridor, the second door to the left (In case I forget, I'm writing it)
Who where the people talking to me?
Well, that's clearly impossible. I guess I really am going crazy!
Oh, Lord she's at my door. I'll tuck this into the pillow... I won't tell her about what I heard. I shouldn't worry her with trifle matters, and it was only this once anyway.
The dining room was empty, save for the dishes on the table and the two chairs before the platters. Charles gave Raven a cautious glance but she seemed unaware, or was accustomed to the meal time order. Charles breathed out a heavy sigh and followed his sister to the seats.
"Is it always like this?" Charles asks, looking pointedly at the dinner and glass of wine accompanying the meal. "I mean, just random notes, pre-prepared meals...?"
"Not at all." Raven replies, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. She lifts a forkful of pasta before continuing," In fact, he hardly missed a meal with me. It's a little weird, but it's alright" Raven shrugs and shoves the pasta into her mouth. Charles laughs at his sister's missed antics and rolls his eyes, enjoying the meal as well.
"Does...is he always this hospitable?" Charles asks as he takes a sip of the wine.
"He really is, actually" Raven smiles dreamily, and Charles feels something in him rise. He can't be sure, but it's a slight mix of discomfort and...
Jealousy? Huh.
"When he returns I need to have a serious chat" Charles starts up after a few moments of eating in silence. "Like, how he foundme for one, thank him for his kindness, and seriously, Raven, we should be going home-"
The glare from Raven stops his speech there.
"I'll see you tomorrow morning, Charles." Raven announces from her seat, her chair grinding against the marble floor. "G'night." She moves to press a kiss against his temple before leaving entirely.
Alone, confused, upset and tired, Charles finds no option than to follow her upstairs.
Charles Xavier's Journal
Sometime between the 5th and 6th of May.
I found myself unable to sleep tonight.
And I had a strange nightmare:
I was lying in this very room, with the wooden posted bed, the navy sheets; dark maple chifferobe, the large arched window with onyx bars and slate, gray-blue curtains billowing. There was a slight shift in the room and I actually felt the cold of the room in my bones; then there was another shift in the air; I got more comfortable, and I know I whispered someone's name because I heard them speak mine:
"Charles"
It was a man, with a low, husky voice and I actually shivered when he said my name, and then...he came out of the shadows, face marble in the moonlight and eyes glinting amber in the light.
He was beautiful.
It was like...he was claiming me with his simple gaze.
I repeated his name. He looked at me like he wanted to devour me.
And I...I wanted to let him.
I'm conscious enough to write just now, but I can feel slumber claiming it's most willing victim.
Goodnight.
His eyes closed almost as soon as the light went off, aware but unaware of the form on the windowsill. The man laid back against the arch, his long legs bent at the knee and up against the other side of the window's arch. His hands are shaking and he raises them, still quivering, to his own two cheeks.
"Shit." His voice is breathless with the mere word, and he sighs, groans and face-palms, trying to focus on anything-everything besides the man sleeping under the covers.
It's impossible.
Charles is everywhere.
Ever since he caught a whiff of the man's intoxicating scent on one of Raven's shirts, a man's t-shirt that she uses to sleep in, he's been tormented. The scent, masculine, raw, tinged with something he can't even fathom, rich and thick with unconscious want. His eyes close, the misty hazel shifting from an amber and back.
He has to get out
He has to leave
Stay far away, becuase his control is slipping
He doesn't want to hurt Charles.
Hell, he hasn't officially met him.
But when Erik's hand touches the knob, Charles' voice rings through the silence.
"Erik"
Shit.
He really, really needs to get out of there before-
A low growl of frustration rumbles in his throat as his hand clenches the doorknob. He makes no move to leave despite the urgency to get far away, fast. His so tightly reigned control slips and he's besides Charles' bed, kneeling before the sleeping man. His breath is ragged, in bursts of groans and Erik bites his lip, sharp canines pressing against his bottom lip.
"This isn't right." He whispers, hand brushing Charles' flushed cheek, moving up to card through the thick, wavy locks."I can't do this to you." Erik's body is tense as his eyes shift once more, fierce.
"Mate" He muzzles Charles' neck, pressing a kiss on the flesh peaking out from the undone buttons. The blood rushing through the veins is loud in Erik's ears, coursing again and again, sweeter with each torturous second and Erik can feel it, can taste it on his tongue without having actually bitten.
But the lust, the need to imprint, to claim Charles and all he is-
Good Lord he doesn't know who Charles is, can't even breach his mind but he wants him.
Erik moans and turns his head, lips just scant millimeters away from the jugular vein that pulses and dances beneath his lips.
Just a taste-