Disclaimer: I don't own the recognizable characters or places mentioned in this obvious work of fiction.
Struggling but not forgotten! Only 5 chapters to go (of thereabouts) and the last chapter and the next chapter have already been written.
I'm trying to show Drachen's decent into madness as clearly as I can. I'd appreciate some feedback on how successful I've been.
Reviews, as always, are very much appreciated. They also point out to me what you guys like and don't like.
Drachen found herself standing at the window of the mansion with no idea how she had gotten there. Looking out at the frosted grounds, overgrown with weeds and briars she was… confused. Logan had brought her here… wherever here was. He had held her in his arms and whispered in her ear… something. She couldn't remember. There was a wall of ice between her body and the world, and between her thoughts and her mind. It was getting harder and harder to think as the cold spread through her body… the setting moon through silvered shadows over the overgrown shrubbery painting what was dirty by day to something magical by moonlight. So pretty…
Drachen tried vainly to reign in her wandering attention. Logan. Logan was here. She could feel him – until she couldn't. He was in her mind, that foul broken thing in her chest tried to pump when she thought him near, but just when she thought she could touch him, when the warmth was within reach, he guttered like a windblown candle flame, and he was gone. And she was alone…
It would snow soon. Logan had told her during a warm night that seemed a lifetime ago. He had promised to take her to Canada – to see real snow. It had been warm where she lived, and Christmas was celebrated with tinsel and palm trees. This was going to be her first white Christmas, their first Christmas together. It would snow soon, but something wasn't right. She was alone. All alone in this mansion of falling stone. She had been in another mansion once and she had been happy there. They had been happy their, she remembered that. Where ever there was. A misty picture rose before her eyes, warm stone, manicured laws, warmth and laughter. Love. A pebbled drive and grey stone gates… grey… Greymalkin Lane? Was that where it was? Or was she just dreaming again? With a sign Drachen moved away from the window and made her way over to her bed, little more then mildewed mattress and a headboard pushed up against the far wall of the room. Logan had called her a princess, his princess. He had brought her to this tower to keep her safe he said. Safe while he hunted for those who would hurt her… at least that's what he said. Letting her nightgown slip from her shoulders Drachen stepped out of it and slid between the ancient sheets.
Turning back towards the window Drachen shivered under the thin fabric. As she watched the moon sink towards the windowsill Drachen, for all her foggy thoughts, couldn't shake the idea that she'd forgotten something, lost something, something was missing… something… she couldn't quite remember, but she remembered that it had made her feel warm. Every time she thought she had it, the memory slipped away… like smoke… like fog. Drachen shivered as the sheets she clasped to her chest began to crisp and brown, her eyes locked on the open widow. God she was cold. So, so cold…
….
Logan launched himself from the floor with a roar, coming up just short of the bars of his prison. Harsh laughter was the only response from his captor, who stood in the shadows outside the cage.
"Tisk, tisk, tisk. You can tug all you like but you won't break free of those chains."
"What mutation is this!" Logan demanded, incensed
"No mutation, just science – the chains are adamantium, the bars, the floor... there is no escape." Logan's eyes took in the shadowed room, the tiny window, the stained walls and floor. It looked like a basement, and not one that had originally held a cage. His prison was a more recent addition.
"Who are you!" Logan growled
"Why do you want me to be?" Jean whispered, stepping into the light "I can be whoever you need," Marie whispered
"Mystique," Logan spat, bile rising in his throat
"I love the way you say my name," the blue skinned shape-shifter smirked, her hand caressing the three parallel scars marring her torso, "You were the only man to ever mark me…"
"Let me free and I'll do more then mark you."
"Promises, promises," Mystique whispered, stepping back into the darkness. Logan let out a roar as her footsteps echoed into the night. Pulling against the chains that bound him was useless, but that didn't stop Logan twisting and tugging until his wrists were slick with blood. Exhausted he dropped to his knees. Logan's eyes were drawn to the tiny window in the far wall of the room, he watched in despair as the moon dropped towards the far trees, signaling another dawn in captivity.
…..
"Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there. I do not sleep."
Drachen looked up at the sound of the whisper soft voice. In her doorway stood a small girl, pale eyed and pale haired she looked like a child ghost. Her form wavered in the waves of cold radiating form Drachen's skin
"Are you real?" Drachen asked in a tiny voice, wondering if finally she had lost her mind. The child ignored her
"I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain. "
"Who are you?" Drachen demanded, louder then before.
Please let her be real… please… I feel like I'm loosing my mind…
"When you awake in the morning's hush
I am the soft uplifting rush of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft star that shines at night. "
Shakily Drachen stood, clutching her dressing gown to her chest and taking a step forward, and then another, suddenly angry at the apparition for taunting her with lies
"He's dead. I know it. I feel it in my heart, no matter what tricks my mind plays."
"He comes for you now. Trip, trip, up the stairs," whispered the ghost child
"Lies. Logan is dead. That is not Logan," Drachen whispered, tears running down her cheeks.
That is not Logan.
Drachen turned over the words in her mind. That is not Logan.They sounded right. What's more they sounded true. Drachen let out a strangled sob and sank to her knees as the ghostly child stepped closer to her
"Do not stand at my grave and cry
I am not there. I did not die."
Suddenly the doorway was filled. "Drachen? Princess, why are you on the floor?" Drachen looked up at Logan, but he wasn't the real Logan, she knew that now. He was just a shade…
"Did you see her?" Drachen asked desperately.
Please let it have seen her…
"See who?" The Shade asked.
"The girl. In the doorway." Drachen watched as the Shade made a show of looking around before it turned back to her
"There's nothing there Princess."
"No. I guess not. Maybe I dreamed it." Rising Drachen held out her hand as the Shade helped her to her feet. Drachen shivered in pleasure. So warm. The Shade was so warm. Leaning forward Drachen took a deep breath and tried to absorb the heat of the creature into her skin, ignoring it's flinching. It was so warm… and she was still so cold.
...
"You know she's been very useful to us…" Mystique taunted from the shadows of the basement
"Shut up." Logan growled
"But she has. She's provided us with names, dates, lists…"
"The Mutant Registration Act," Logan whispered, the reason for his capture and Drachen's subversion solidifying in his mind
"Yes. So fortunate that she remembered where the backup copy was stored… with prompting."
"I will kill you. And it will not be quick," Logan promised, face twisted in rage and muscle bunching as they strained against his bonds. Mystique smiled and Logan found himself looking into his own eyes.
"Right bub. You just worry about getting out of that cage."