CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: Fame

I love this movie. And this song is perfect for Mimi, Schuyler, and Bliss all at once. Three-for-one! But it might be a little annoying for people who don't actually know the song. :S I'm sorry! But these are good songs. Okay, I'm going to let you get on with reading it; let me know what you think, xoxo.

Fame! I'm gonna to live forever; I'm gonna to learn how to fly! Hey! I feel it coming together; people will see me and cry. Fame! I'm gonna make it heaven, light up the sky like a flame. Fame! I'm gonna live forever; baby, remember my name!

And Schuyler spoke the words that would change their tenuous, knife edge relationship forever. They were balancing, flailing, and her words would push them into free-fall. One way or another. Tonight will go down in our history, she mused to herself. This was the only option, the one that is best for us both. All doubts will be erased. This is our moment.

*****

'I, Schuyler van Alen, Daughter of the Light; the Uncorrupted; and Dimidium Cognatus, pledge myself to you, Abbadon, World Destroyer; the Angel of Destruction.' Her voice didn't shake on a single word, she could recite them perfectly – yet she had never, ever seen a bonding. It was instinctive, natural, and perfect. A tiny diamond of a tear ran down her cheek, balanced on her chin, and splashed down on Jack's chest.

'I, Abbadon, the Angel of Destruction, do pledge myself and my loyalty to you, Schuyler of the Light.'

These were deceptively simple words, and with them they carried a seal of Heaven. They were undoable, unbreakable, and unmistakable. But they were also true. A bright, blinding flash of golden light burst inside their heads, knocking both of them senseless.

Schuyler drifted in the light, weightless. A voice was speaking to her. Asking if this was her choice, what she wanted. Did she know what this meant? Was she sure? She tried to reply. I am sure about Abbadon. He is my choice. I do this of my own true free will. She closed her eyes. Had it worked? Or were they both about to be condemned? Then so be it, the woman's voice replied. I pray that your choice will work out better for the two of you than it did for me. Be well, daughter. Be happy. The voice paled, and then faded, as did the heavenly light surrounding her. The last thing Schuyler saw before the darkness claimed her completely was her mother half-smiling.

*****

There was an unignorable pounding in Jack's head. The only thing he could think of to compare it to was a hangover. Back when he and his – his sister were both still completely human, Mimi had developed a strong taste for whisky; so for a few weeks it hadn't been that unusual a sight for the housekeeper to find the thirteen-year-old twins passed out downstairs in the morning.

This hammering was growing so loud that it almost felt as though the sound was coming from outside his skull. Briefly, he considered opening his eyes and waking up properly. That option wasn't looking very appealing, but his head was hurting from the noise. Maybe there was some Panadol or something next to his bed. It was unlikely – in this house, hangover medicine was basically obsolete. And he wouldn't put it past the maids to see any pills and take them straight to his father, claiming that Mr. Jack was on drugs. Anyway, yes, where was he? Ah, yes. Waking up.

It was about that second that three things happened in close sequence. The first thing was Jack realizing the hammering wasn't in his head, but someone getting very impatient outside his door, which was still locked. The second thing was that the good natured cleaning lady in Schuyler's room looked over and noticed that the massive Princess bed was empty, the sheets unslept in. And the third was Jack opening his eyes properly, about to get up and open the door, only to see Schuyler, half-naked, curled into his chest. This, in turn, brought the memories of what they had done the previous night rushing back. He had done it. He had finally broken his bond, forging a new one in the process. Shit.

*****

Mimi was about to break that door down herself. She had been knocking for a good couple of minutes, and it still wasn't opening. Not only had Jack locked his door – which wouldn't have been a problem for her to pick – he had bolted it as well. Why was he trying to keep her out?

She had woken up that morning in a state of panic. The connection she could feel to Jack was…different. Not gone, of course, but definitely altered. And that meant one of either three catastrophic options. He had severed the bond, was dead, or no longer loved her.

And she just couldn't shake the cloying feeling of her dreams last night. It had scared her, what she had been dreaming. Jack had been standing in the middle of a ring of candles. Their flickering glow had given him an inhuman, unfamiliar look, and it had taken her a few seconds to realize it was partly because he was wearing a silken masquerade mask, the black making a stark contrast on his golden skin. She had cried out to him, telling him to stop it, whatever it was he was doing. He didn't reply to her screaming, and that had chilled her almost as much as what happened next. Apart from the tea-lights, it was pitch black. From the shadows behind him, a figure appeared at his shoulder. It was clearly a woman, with long, dark hair. She was, it must be said, literally glowing. The light emanating out from her was growing brighter and brighter; but as it did, the little flames surrounding them dimmed and guttered in a non-existent breeze. Then they went completely dark and still. The only light in the cavernous space was now coming from Schuyler. Mimi squinted through the light. It was her, wasn't it? Yes, it was. Jack was invisible now, hidden in the shadows. He'd disappeared just like the smoke from the flames. And then Schuyler – or whatever it was that looked like Schuyler – turned so that he was illuminated as well. She moved her lips against Jack's, the two of them twined together in a way that made Mimi, terrified as she was, grind her teeth in frustration. Jack didn't kiss her like that anymore. The dream-Jack made a sighing sound, and the Schuyler-creature pulled away from him.

What had happened next was extremely disconcerting, even if it was a dream. The girl had made to kiss dream-Jack (Mimi would not think of it as reality) again, pressing her white hands either side of his face. And then she breathed her light into him, until he was glowing too. The way they looked at that moment, two beacons of heat and light in a world of black, was almost too much for Mimi. They couldn't even see her, as though she was invisible, or… dead. As if she was a ghost. The second she had thought that, the pair of them turned their heads to look at her, as if she had spoken aloud. Maybe she had. And then she woke up, feeling as though her ties to Jack were slowly unraveling.

*****