Hello all!
And now here is the second Oneshot! I hope you all enjoyed that last one and liked the AU twist I came up with:) This one is not full AU the way the last one was, this one instead is based off of a dark ending story for Darkthrop Prophecy I did a while ago called Shattered Truths. This particular Oneshot takes place between chapter five after the battle and before chapter six wher Uma and Nox come into the picture, sort of the after the fact bridge between the slight change in the dynamic between them that took place from chapter five to chapter six.
This CAN be read without having priorly read Shattered Truths and it should still make sense, but you will miss some minor background additions that rely on knowledge from the story.
This story was written to Black Sea by Natasha Blume.
Enjoy!
Black Sea
During the day Acropolis was a bustling a bright place, magical caves and a sparkling ocean that glittered with hidden mystery. Anyone that could find it through the Ashra Tombs visited as much as they could since the place just exuded calm.
But at night a change would come over the place, those magical mysteries revealing themselves through glowing wisps and the haunting songs of the mermaids. The usually sparkling waters of baby blue became black as night, sparkling in the light of the full moon.
On a low cliff that jutted out over a deep lagoon stood a single figure, form fitting coat clinging to the figures curves as they sighed and ran a finger through short black hair.
"Mel? What are you doing?"
The figure never turned, instead she watched out over the water as a man, or rather the vampire, picked his way over to stand at her side on the cliff.
"Have you ever heard the legend of this place Gyendal?" She asked quietly, her quiet voice still feeling too loud in the peace of the night.
"Legend? No, and since when have you cared for such things?" The vampire Mage asked sounding mildly amused by her unusual topic of conversation.
"The legend of the Black Sea. It's said that if you jump in at midnight it'll show you the truth of your heart. Truths you may be trying to hide from yourself will be revealed in the waters, and they always target the most important part of your life."
Gyendal raised a brow, studying her with scarlet red eyes.
"Is that so? And what pray tell has you so interested in this myth?"
Mel studied the water below, seeing a blue glow deep under the dark waves.
"Call it a flight of fancy if you will, but with the war over and everything falling into a normal pattern I have an unsettled feeling. Things aren't fully right, there's something off inside and for the life of me I can't understand what's changed."
"You believe jumping into the sea will reveal that to you?"
"I'm hoping."
She waited for him to scoff at her words but Gyendal said nothing, the vampire lord simply studying her in unreadable silence. She checked the watch she kept in her coat only to see that she had but a few minutes left before midnight and carefully she undid the coat, sliding it off to reveal swimmingwear as she let the silky black coat slide off her bare arms to land in a heap behind her.
Next to her she heard a shift of clothes and glanced over startled to see Gyendal placing aside his own red cloak, a tunic following soon after along with boots and socks. Soon he was in nothing but his trousers and with a small half smirk he stepped up to her side, white skin gleaming in the moonlight.
"We'll both do this then. Get the answers we desire."
Mel nodded slowly, reaching out a hand that her consort took without a word. Fingers wove together and they took a deep breath, watching the moon as the minutes ticked past until, suddenly everything glowed brighter. There was a complete silence that fell over Acropolis and in that moment Mel and Gyendal jumped.
The air washed over their body before they were plunged into the cold water of the Black Sea.
Mel's eyes flew open, her whole body jerking as the magic inside the water surrounded her and all of a sudden everything around her was in full and vibrant colour. There was the darklings whirling by, bringing with them snapshots of all the places in Aia she had seen in her travels. A haze of voices could be heard all around before a deep laugh broke through the noise, the sound startling Mel as she glanced over sharply at Gyendal only to see that his mouth was closed and he was staring blankly at his own vision.
That laugher... it was like them on a good day, inside jokes through the long audience sessions and laughter over quiet dinners together.
Soft voices and teasing comments, phantom fingers being dragged up her arm in passing and the soothing motion of her hair being combed through all washing over Mel, her head drifting back instinctively with the tugging as invisible fingers combed through her black hair.
Suddenly a shimmering face appeared in front of Mel and she just managed to keep herself from gasping at the image, finding herself face to face with a smirking form of Gyendal as hands came up to cradle her head and he grew closer. Her eyes began to drift shut but the vision suddenly flickered when her hand was squeezed tightly and given a tug up towards the surface.
Mel jerked in surprise, the movement partially yanking her out of her vision to realize that her lungs were burning and instantly she gave a strong kick towards the surface with the Real Gyendal following suit as they rushed to the surface and broke through with twin gasps.
She gulped down air, chest heaving with each heavy breath as she stared above her at the starry sky. Her focus was still on what had taken place below the water in the vision of the Black Sea.
"Damn."
Mel looked sharply over at Gyendal who had a look of such severe irritation that Mel nearly laughed.
"I take it that your realization was as welcomes as mine was."
He snorted.
"Understatement."
Mel laughed softly before shaking her head to throw the wet hair out of her face, slowing her head when she realized that one of the strands was too stubbornly stuck to her face. Out of the corner of her eye Mel saw fingers and she abruptly stilled as Gyendal reached over to push the hair back, Mel finding herself leaning into his touch as knuckles brushed across her cheekbone.
He stopped his movement at her action, watching as Mel quickly recovered herself to straighten her head with a hint of a blush which was rather unusual for how long he had been her consort.
"You saw me, in your vision." Gyendal realized, sudden understanding lighting in his eyes.
Mel met his gaze steadily, seeing what he was trying to hide as his face smoothed into a mask.
"And you saw me."
Gyendal's jaw clenched slightly and Mel waited, knowing that she was right by his reaction. Finally he sighed, shaking his head with a mirthless chuckle.
"You know, I knew this would come eventually. We were playing with fire, dancing on that edge. Love and hate are far to similar not to run the risk of getting ourselves in too deep to get out again." His hand drifted away, thumb brushing across her bottom lip very deliberately as he pulled his hand back. "I knew that if we played this it wouldn't end the way we thought. So it became a game of chance, between the two of us who's the first to burn."
"You knew, and yet you still played." Mel said bluntly, tightening her grip on their still joined hands.
"I did. Perhaps it was a fool thing to do, but I was never one to turn down a challenge. We were trapped together no matter what we did, and this was hardly the worse option to spend my eternity in." Gyendal said, his tone casual but his gaze searching.
The tension in the air could be cut with a knife, this was territory neither of them had touched. Anger was real, want was real, peace was real. They could act on their feelings, but they were never to discuss them.
Not unless they wanted to fall off the ledge of this careful balancing act they had been doing since that explosive day in the throne room.
"This game, have we both lost then?" Mel murmured, raising her chin challengingly as she met his gaze head on.
He shot her a dark smile, a hand settling onto her waist and pulling her to him as her hands settled on his bare shoulders. His eyes glittered with amusement and he tilted his head mockingly in response to her question.
"If this is loss then I don't believe I particularly care to win. We've failed the game and our little balancing act, so..." He paused there and leaned down, face inches away.
The last statement came as a whisper, cool breath fanning across Mel's face as she closed her eyes.
"Let's make it worth the fall."
So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.