AN: Enjoy this chapter! Happy Reading! :)
Chapter 25
Rasul's POV
"Amelia, thank the gods," I sigh out in relief once I'm ushering Sookie's best friend inside, seeing a slight smirk form over her face.
"I don't think any of you have ever been quite so happy to see me," she teases, glancing around at the hopeful faces surrounding the room. "Uh, so, I brought this," she remarks, holding up an ancient tome. "Sook told me we'd be fighting against some Dark Magics, so I've been studying up a bit."
"May I?" Mímir questions, holding an expectant hand out towards the young witch. Amelia's eyes go momentarily wide, I think on account of this being one of the very first times our brownie has ever spoken directly to her, before she hands him the heavy book.
The seven of us are left looking on anxiously as the diminutive Fae begins thumbing through the visibly aged pages, his dark eyes scanning carefully over the text. I find myself glancing warily between our house brownie and slumbering princess still held within Godric's arms, hoping against all odds that we can find a way to bring her back to herself once more.
"Master Godric, please lay our princess out over the table," Mímir directs, his face still buried in the ancient tome. "Amelia, I don't suppose you brought candles with you?" he questions solemnly before a bright grin stretches over the witch's face.
"Don't leave home without 'em," Amelia answers, promptly pulling a bundle of candles from her purse before placing them in Mímir's clawed hand.
"You know how to break the spell?" I can't help but question, anxiety lacing my words as I watch the solemn house brownie carefully placing candles around Sookie's prone, slumbering form.
"I do believe so, though I'll require all of your help," Mimir explains, placing the last candle by Sookie's head before snapping his fingers. The candles magically alight as the house brownie beckons us closer. "Amelia, can you read this text?" he questions as the witch steps closer, her face pinched in concentration as she browses the inked words.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Amelia answers, earning a firm nod from Mimir before the brownie outstretches his short arms.
"Gentlemen, if we could join hands," Mímir directs. We don't waste a moment in following his request, the seven of us taking hold of one another's hands as Amelia stands close, the ancient tome held within her grasp. "Alright, Amelia, you may begin," the brownie insists before all our eyes fall expectantly upon the visibly determined witch.
Amelia begins her chant and I tilt my head, the dialect sounding somehow familiar, yet not. Curious. My attention is soon caught by the glowing candles, their flames suddenly growing brighter than before to illuminate the room in an ethereal glow. Eric, Godric and I instinctually lean a touch back from the lethal flames as Amelia proceeds with her chant, her words growing ever louder, ever resolute as her chestnut eyes gleam on account of the magics I can feel beginning to swirl through the air around us all.
At this point, Mímir lets go of Alcide and Calvin's hands and joins Amelia in her chanting whilst slipping the black and white photograph from his pocket. He holds the image up above his head, his voice still chanting melodiously with Amelia's and I could swear I feel my undead heart momentarily spasm as the candle flames abruptly burst impossibly high.
"Deireadh!" Mímir cries out as he violently shears the black and white image in two before abruptly throwing the two halves into the nearest, roaring flame. Instant darkness settles over the room that now feels unnaturally silent, the sound of our still-breathing comrades being the only sign of life.
"D-did it work?" Amelia questions softly, sending wary eyes towards our brownie to earn a solemn nod.
"I do believe so. The rest is up to our princess now," he claims, earning quizzical looks all around. "Even now, our young monarch is fighting the Dark Magics that seek to consume her, but fear not, Princess Brigant is much more powerful than our enemies ever could have accounted for," he states to leave the seven of us nodding numbly in response, our collective eyes now settled upon our still slumbering princess.
Please, Sookie, just come back to us…please.
Sookie's POV
"Sookie…," a soft voice calls as I slowly float to consciousness once more. My eyelids flutter slowly open and I'm suddenly left squinting under bright, harsh light that's soothing glow is wrapping me in a comforting warmth. A somehow familiar, female face hovers just before my own then, a soft smile formed over her ethereally features and automatically, I find myself smiling back.
"You…I know you," I whisper, lifting a hand towards that hauntingly familiar face that's surrounded by flowing, golden hair.
"Yes, My Child, 'tis I, Mab, your great-grandmother," she asserts, making my heart leap into my throat as I instantly pull my hand away from her face whilst harshly shaking my head. It's not until then that I finally take a moment to glance around, seeing the two of us are alone together, sitting in a vast field of blooming, blood-red roses.
"No, I-, where are we? How did I get here?" I question, scooting myself backwards just as a soft chuckle falls from my Fae grandmother's lips.
"This is your homeland, Young One. Welcome to Faerie, a world full of wonderful magics beyond even your wildest fantasies," she practically purrs, her dark eyes shining with a visible menace that manages to leave my breath hitching in my throat.
"No. I can't be here," I whisper, mostly to myself whilst raising a hand towards one of the nearby rose bushes. "Oh!" I exclaim in surprise as I brush a finger along a nearby, crimson petal that, upon my touch, is suddenly coated in a thin layer of ice. What on earth?
Just like that, our environment suddenly changes, the brightly lit atmosphere being instantly swallowed down by heavy darkness as the once blooming and beautiful rose bushes surrounding us are now coated in thick, freezing ice; a dark, icy permafrost having settled over what was surely once a heavenly paradise. A shudder escapes me upon feeling a sudden, icy breeze brush along my skin before I glance back to see Mab sending me a deep frown.
"It would seem your magics are already much stronger than I would have guessed, Granddaughter. They must be if you can see past my glamour," she muses, her golden head tilting thoughtfully. "Though I suppose this is actually a good thing; in fact, this could prove to be very promising indeed," she adds lowly, those dark eyes of hers flashing with ominous intent.
"This isn't real," I insist then, struggling to recall how I got here in the first place. "Let me go, Mab. I need to get back home," I state, instinctually knowing this just isn't right, none of it.
"Is that so?" my dark grandmother questions whilst cocking a brow at me. "It was only mere minutes ago you were wishing for this very thing, to be left alone, to be given an escape from the lies that have been so cruelly shoved down your throat for so very long now," she insists to leave my brow furrowing as I'm left struggling to recall what happened before I woke in this strange place.
"I-," I start before a sharp gasp escapes me, finally recalling the events that led me here. "The photograph," I whisper, seeing a dark smile stretch across Mab's face. "You did this! You bewitched me somehow using that damn picture, didn't you?" I accuse, earning me mocking laughter that manages to raise goose bumps along my flesh.
"You didn't seem to think you were being influenced before," Mab reminds me with a knowing smile. "In fact, it took very little persuasion on my part to have you questioning almost everything you've held to be true for so very long," she goes on to explain, bringing an instant frown to my face as I recall just how betrayed I felt, holding that photograph as I stared back at the men I thought I'd loved through new eyes, through suddenly skeptical eyes.
Holding that damned photo, I truly did find myself questioning everything. Did my men really love me? Or were they only with me on account of the Wild Magics binding us to one another? And what about Niall and Alexandra; I couldn't help but feel as though the two of them were keeping things from me. Why did they never mention Mab before? Surely they must have known she'd be an adversary, a powerful one at that; just what else were they keeping from me?
These questions, along with countless others, were all swirling through my mind as I clutched onto that photograph for dear life, an insistent voice in the back of my mind claiming I was but a pawn in a much larger game; a game I didn't even know the rules to, a game I may very well lose. Would I really win? Could I win if I didn't even know all the players, not to mention what their true intentions were? In all, I felt helpless for the first time in a very long time; helpless and utterly defeated.
"I-, I was mistaken is all," I insist, having to clear my throat against the welling guilt I now feel crawling up from the pit of my stomach, hating that I let myself second guess any of my loves for even a second. "My men love me; Niall and Alexandra as well, and none of them would ever do anything to hurt me," I insist, feeling more confident in my words by the second as I rise to stand on my feet, straightening my spine before my grinning kin.
"Truly? This is what you think?" Mab questions as she slowly rises to her own feet whilst hitting me with a dark, penetrating stare.
"It's what I know," I insist, seeing Mab draw closer, her smile never faltering as her dark eyes scan me over thoughtfully.
"You insist Niall and Alexandra love you and yet, they never gave you a choice, did they, Granddaughter? Who's to say what your life, or even your guard's lives, could have been, should have been had the two of them not interfered, had they not forced those Weres and Vampires to bind themselves to you…to taint you, to weaken you," she croons softly whilst shaking her head sadly.
"They did what they had to in order to protect me," I insist, standing a bit taller still. "To keep me safe from the likes of you," I add lowly, seeing Mab's smile widen as she shakes her head once more.
"Is that what they told you? That I'm the enemy? And you actually believed them? What am I saying? Of course you'd believe them, you'd drink up their every last word as you've never once questioned a single thing my brother and sister have ever done or said. It's sad, really, seeing you waste all that potential by acting like a loyal sheep," she throws back to bring an instant frown to my face.
"I'm no fucking sheep," I insist as I can't help but be insulted by the very insinuation of such. "I make my own choices. I'm the one in charge of my own life," I add resolutely, even as there's a small voice in the back of my mind that can't help but question this very thing.
"That's right, Sookie," she leans closer to whisper against my ear. "You just keep telling yourself that," she adds, earning a low scoff from me as I go to take a step back. "No, you'll listen now," she continues, wrapping icy, slender fingers around my arm in order to keep me close.
"Let me go," I growl out, only serving to make Mab tighten her hold upon me to leave me having to bite back a pained hiss.
"I fear our visit won't last much longer, thanks to that meddlesome brownie and witch of yours," she scoffs, only managing to confuse me as I have no idea what on earth she's going on about. "But heed my words, Granddaughter, I urge you to see through the façade, search for the truth…you may just be surprised by what you find," she whispers, pulling away to hit me with a probing gaze just before she, right along with our icy surroundings, begin to waver, soon falling away to inky, endless black.
AN: I know...my updates have been much slower than normal...sigh...life has been just a touch crazy lately, but know that this story WILL be finished! I won't leave you guys hanging! :)