I honestly can't even excuse myself for this. I'm sure some will be disappointed, but it was either this or nothing, and for that I'm sorry. My heart just isn't in the story anymore, but I will finish it as promised. Again I apologize.
Chains of Love
Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Hardest Farewell
As Quinn stepped out of the house her eyes lazily looking up towards the cloudless sky, the day's weather did nothing to ease her pain. If anything she wished the gods would let it rain, just so the day matched her inner turmoil.
Noah was behind her, his face stern and unmoving as he tried to keep his upset from showing on his face. He couldn't imagine the Fabray house without Rachel causing some kind of trouble inside of it. And he honestly didn't want to, he liked having the little brunette around, she brought life back into the slowly dying house.
Steadily he made his way down the steps of the house, past Quinn and headed towards Rachel who was busy trying to memorise every detail of the house and the people who resided there, people that had quickly become her family.
He looked down at the small case that he held in his hand, his knuckles whitening as his grip tightened on the handle. It was then that a small tan hand rested upon his own, relaxing his grip gently.
"I'm going to miss you Noah." Rachel whispered sadly, giving the large work worn hand beneath hers a squeeze.
The young guard sighed heavily before he impulsively pulled Rachel up into his strong arms after dropping the case he carried and held her close while silent tears tore down rough tan cheeks.
"You remind me so much of my sister." Noah whispered, letting the small girl in his arms back down on the ground.
"You have a sister?" Rachel asked curiously, this was the first she was hearing about a sister of Noah Puckerman, but thinking on it the Captain never really spoke of his life before the Fabray's.
"I had a sister, had being the word. I lost her and I had promised that I would never lose another, but today is proving me a failure yet again." Noah whimpered, his usual dirty green eyes were turning to mud right before Rachel's.
Throwing her arms around the tall man's body Rachel held tight, her brown eyes watering at her friend's pain.
"You haven't failed anyone Noah. And I need you to stay strong and look after Quinn, she might not show it, but if she's feeling even half of what I am inside, she'll break." Rachel asked whilst pulling back to look at Noah's tear stricken face. "Promise me Noah."
"I promise I'll take care of her Rachel." Noah replied, leaning down and placed a parting kiss upon his honorary sister's forehead. "Take care of yourself kid." And with that Noah picked up the case he had dropped and continued on to the carriage where the man he was so tempted to knock on his ass, stood waiting with the red head, who Noah knew to be Rachel's old friend; Portia.
Turning back from watching Noah, Rachel looked back towards the house. She could see the sadness and defeat in Quinn, even from her distance. She also saw that the blonde was having a difficult time approaching her, so she made the effort instead of forcing Quinn to join her.
From where the regal blonde stood on the house steps, she revelled in how her heart beat and stomach fluttered from just watching Rachel come towards her. Her vision blurred as salty tears filled her hazel orbs and her strong arms tightened as she held herself.
Having reached the bottom of the stairs Rachel stopped, this was as far as she was willing to go. She wanted to see if Quinn was capable of following her heart over her pride. With a stuttering heart and baited breathe Rachel waited to see if her love was going to meet her.
Her eyes closed and a relieved sigh escaped her lips as she watched Quinn slowly descend the stairs, if Rachel thought the blonde looked sad from a distance it was nothing to how she looked close up. The devastation was clear on her face and had seemingly already begun to take its toll on the young woman's posture.
"Hey, I'm almost ready." Rachel greeted, sending a puppy eyed look at Quinn, who was busy looking at her feet and fidgeting with her hand.
"I'm sorry Rachel. I was ignorant to how lucky I was to have you in my life and I've wasted so much time due to my ignorance that I'm losing then chance to ever truly experience what you had to offer." Quinn whispered sullenly. She only wished that she had been strong enough to change how this day was now going to end, but it was too late for that.
Freeing Rachel was all she had to give.
"You don't need to be sorry Quinn. I know you love me, I mean of course I wished that you had shown it more often, but I knew just by looking into your eyes that you loved just as I loved you. I still love you Quinn, I believe that I'll always love you." Rachel said and continued with a watery smile and shaky words. "You're not ready for me Quinn. I know this, but I also know that there will be a day when you are ready, and I'll be waiting for that day, but until then we need to say goodbye okay."
Not caring that she was being watched, Quinn threw herself at her lover and held her tightly as they both let their tears stained their pink tinted cheeks.
"Please don't forget about me Rachel. I do love you and you're right I should have told you every day." Quinn whimpered, burying her neck into the silky lavender scented hair of her former slave.
"I may be free from my metaphorical chains Quinn, but I'll always be bound to you. Our love is stronger than any metal my love and it can't be broken, not now, not ever. We'll see each other again Quinn I promise." Rachel whispered her eyes were glowing with the pure love she felt for the silently weeping blonde in her arms.
Pulling back both girls let their eyes fly over each other's face, trying their best to memorise everything about the other.
"I'll sooner forget myself than forget you my love. And all I ask of you Quinn is that you'll follow whatever path will make you the happiest. That is all I've wanted for you. Be happy Quinn." Rachel whispered her final words before placing a gentle kiss upon her blonde's cheek, then she turned away and with a deep breathe she made her way back towards the carriage that was no doubt going to take her far away from where her heart would remain.
Having watched the pair from the top of the stairs, Lady Judy was prepared to move quickly to her daughter's aid, which she did the second the first quiver shook through Quinn's unstable body. The speed she descended with made it look as though she floated down.
Upon reaching the young blonde, Lady Judy gathered Quinn into her arms just in time to catch her when Quinn's body collapsed on itself. Judy supported her sobbing heir against her chest as she watched Rachel look back brokenly one last time before she got into the carriage and disappeared through the Fabray gates.
"It's okay my darling. The world will right itself eventually." Judy assured gently, as she soothed her daughter's soft golden locks.
Silently she prayed to which ever gods were listening that her daughter wouldn't give up on love. If her years had taught her anything it was that world has many wrongs, but love was always right, no matter who or where it came from.
The carriage had started moving almost immediately, she just had time to take a seat before the sudden lurch knocked her backwards. Clearly her father didn't want to stick around for too much longer.
Sitting back, Rachel tilted her head slightly so that she was able to watch the scene play outside of her window, just as quickly she was bombarded with memories of Quinn and herself following this very path. As soon as she felt the ache in her heart intensify she pulled the curtain across and closed her eyes trying to take her mind away from her pain and the pain that her departure was causing her love.
No words were spoken between the trios that sat inside of the carriage. Lord Corcoran was already nodding off as he allowed the rocking of the carriage to lead him into a peaceful slumber. Portia on the other hand had no chance of sleeping, as her guilt and doubt began to take over. After seeing the pain the separation was causing both girls, she wasn't so sure that she was 'saving' her old friend from anything other than happiness.
Cautiously Portia reached out her left hand and gentle lay it upon the young brunette's tightly clasped fists. At first Rachel tensed at the foreign touch, but quickly relaxed as she used to back when they shared a bed in the Slave House.
"It'll get easier, I promise." Portia whispered comfortingly. There wasn't anything she could really say to make this situation better, but she knew from experience that the gods' awful pain of separation gradually dulled in an ache, it never leaves, but it doesn't feel like death anymore.
Rachel took little comfort from the red heads words of assurance. She didn't want to the pain to leave her, she knew the minute that the pain lessened to an ache the easier it would be to forget her love, and she had promised to never forget Quinn.
Before long Rachel fell into a restless sleep, whilst the carriage continued its long journey towards the City of Rome. Here Rachel would be able to start anew…hopefully without having to run into the young Caesar.
A few weeks had passed since her departure from the Fabray house, but to Rachel the hurt was still fresh like it had happened that very morning.
Today she had woken up in a luxury sized bed with many pillows that reminded her of the mountain Quinn had given her to sleep on when they had first become paired together. The only difference between then and now was that the luxury bed belonged to the brunette while the few pillows on the floor belong to her new kitten; Beiste. She was her father's idea of a welcome home present, and as much as she tried not to, Rachel still fell in love with white fluff ball.
Most of her time was spent wondering around the city, now with her own personal guard, which she preferred to the army that followed Quinn around the market place back in Lima. One her first visit to Rome she hadn't really spent a lot of time in the venturing around.
Her father and Portia were usually off on out of town business leaving Rachel to do as she pleased, she was actually quite resentful of them both. After all they had taken her away from her lover to just abandon her later on in a city where she knew nobody and hadn't a clue where anything was. Hence why her time was spent walking around.
If it hadn't have been for her wandering she wouldn't have found the poster that was nailed up against of the nearby posts. On the poster was an advertisement of a new play that was currently looking for cast members, Rachel's eyes almost popped from her head in wonder of her own luck, this was just what she needed.
Ripping it from its place on the board, she stared at it with a excited grin before folding it up neatly and tucking it into her purse that lay on her hip. The poster said anyone was welcome to audition and seeing as her father was nowhere to be found for another few days there wasn't anyone around who could tell her no.
"Miss Rachel, I think it best we return to the house. The ruffians will be on the streets soon." Came a soft masculine voice from behind Rachel, it made her jump, but that didn't stop the smile from spreading across her face as she spun around to face the man.
"Oh David you gave me a fright. I'm okay to head back now, I have everything I need." Rachel said her grinning never fading, which gained a confused look from the guard towering above her.
This was the first full beam David had seen on his small charges face since she had been brought to the Corcoran house. He didn't show it, but he was relieved that the young brunette was showing some signs of happiness, even if he wasn't quite aware of what it was that was making her so cheerful.
"Excuse me Miss Rachel; I'm curious as to what has made you so excited?" David asked as he walked beside his fidgety mistress.
"Excited? I'm so much more than that David. My dream has just been dangled right in front of my face; it's so close I can almost touch it. This is the closest I've ever come to reaching it, apart from when Quinn took me to see my very first play. That was one of the best days of my life." Rachel replied wistfully.
"You speak so fondly of this Quinn, Miss Rachel. Were you close?" David asked, unable to hold back even though he was already over stepping his mark with his master's daughter.
"We will be one day David, one day." Rachel answered quietly, as she sent up yet another pray that Quinn would come back into her life.
"You're very optimistic Miss Rachel." David replied holding back his first instinct of pulling the small brunette into his arms for a comforting hug.
"It's all that I have left. It's the dream of seeing her again that keeps me going." Rachel sighed heavily, before physically shaking her depression off of her. When she next looked up at the towering guard she was smiling; both she and David knew it was for show.
"Well then I best take the greatest of care of you then eh Miss Rachel, we have to make sure there is something of you for this Quinn to come back to." David grinned, whilst putting a daring hand on the girls shoulder.
"That's Lady Quinn to you David." Rachel teased, much to her guards shock.
"The Fabray Heiress, from Lima?" David questioned completely taken by surprise.
"The one and only." Rachel confirmed with a nod. She really hoped the trust she had just put in her head guard wasn't misplaced.
"In that case you're never leaving my sight again; for Lady Quinn would surely have my head should anything happen to you." David said with a smile that had a under tone of seriousness. He knew he had gained some trust from his mistress in this moment and that was something all guards should cherish.
May the gods have mercy on anyone who tried to harm his mistress, because he himself wouldn't be showing any.
It was unknown to the blonde heiress how many days had passed since Rachel had left her; the days just seemed to blend into one long day of emptiness. She had stopped crying a few nights back, either she had no tears left to show or all her tears were leaking into the black hole in her heart; that grew bigger every candle mark.
Currently Quinn was sat on one of the many cushioned window seats that looked out on to the garden, the garden where she and Rachel spent many candle marks laughing and talking about their future together.
A future that grew darker with every sunrise that Quinn awoke to without Rachel by her side.
"Mistress you need to eat."
Quinn gritted her teeth as the annoyingly bossy voice of her new slave broke her memories of Rachel. Harmony was her father's idea of replacing Rachel. An idea that neither Quinn nor her mother approved of, but he insisted upon it, completely ignoring his daughters rage at the mere suggestion.
It only took one look for Quinn to know she wasn't going to like Harmony, nobody was ever going to fill Rachel's place in the Fabray house. And the loud brunette tried too hard to be the best. On more than one occasion Quinn had launched various objects at her slave, but the older girl just seemed to shrug it off and always came back for more.
The only peace Quinn ever really got from Harmony was when Santana visited so that Brittany could see the ducks. Today was one of those days, Harmony just wasn't aware of Santana's impending visit.
"I'm not hungry. Go away." Quinn snapped, not even bothering to turn and look at the probably grinning idiot behind her.
"I insist Mistress." Harmony continued persistently, moving closer to her stubborn mistress. She had had a few difficult masters before but Lady Quinn was certainly ranking near the top of her list. She always managed to get her way in the end though, it just took time.
"Boo."
Harmony squealed loudly and spun around only to come face to face with the only person she was actively avoided. She quickly bolted from the area without further noise to anyone, which brought a grin to Quinn's face.
"Hello Santana." Quinn greeted quietly from her perch, she didn't need to turn around to confirm her guest. There was only one person who could gain such a reaction from Harmony and the laugh that followed stopped any doubt Quinn may have had.
"Still hiding inside eh Princess." Santana stated as she took a seat opposite her friend who appeared paler than usual, which of no surprise as Quinn had refused to step foot outside of the house since Rachel had left for Rome with her father.
She was worried for her friend, of course she was, but there wasn't much she could do about it, short of dragging the blonde outside kicking and screaming. Santana felt bad for Quinn she really did, she was after all the one who said for the blonde to let Rachel go. She stuck by her advice, but she hated how it destroyed her friend to follow it.
"Where's Brittany?" Quinn asked ignoring her friends teasing. There was no way she could go outside without completely breaking down. It was hard enough to sit on the window seat and watch as her mind projected her memories of Rachel in the garden.
"Her father wanted some time with her." Santana answered carefully after a moment had passed.
Quinn said nothing, but Santana watched as her jaw clenched and the blonde's eye closed tightly against the tears that she could no longer shed.
Her shoulders sagged sadly as a tan hand landed gently on her fisted hand, stroking in a silent apology. Quinn was thankful that her friend didn't apologise, since that would surely be a sign that the world was coming to an end.
"This Spring is lasting forever." Quinn stated absentmindedly as she watched the bird fly in and out of her once beloved blossom tree.
"By the gods Quinn, spring has been and gone. Hades even the summer is almost over." Santana answered with shock. She knew Quinn had been withdraw but to have missed almost the entire summer season was something that the Lopez heiress couldn't comprehend.
"Oh." Quinn whispered before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and her body collapsed. Santana dived towards her friend before her head could hit the hard marble floor.
"Quinn!" Santana screamed terrified. Her screams brought all of the nearby staff to their location.
It didn't take long for Noah to appear at the scene, he immediately swooped down and scooped the unconscious blonde into his arms and hurried to the house physicians quarters, with Santana right on his heels chattering in a language he was unable to understand in the slightly, but he got the general idea of not dropping the Princess.
"This is it David. My dreams are coming true on this night, just beyond that curtain. Well one of them at least." Rachel whispered in awe, her voice tinged with a little sadness at the end as she thought of her old mistress, who she had imagined would be waiting for her.
"You never know Miss Rachel, Lady Quinn may have come to her senses." David replied with a hopeful smile. The last thing he wanted for his charges big stage debut to be dampened by heart ache.
"It's been over two summers David, without any word from Lima. Maybe this is just how things are supposed to be; maybe the gods can only grant me one of my dreams." Rachel answered with a thankful smile; David had been very good to her over the couple of years they had known each other. He was always looking on the bright side of thing, even when Rachel was ready to give up.
She sighed and looked back up at the deep stain curtain that hung from the roof; it was the only thing standing between her and those noisily taking their seats.
It felt like only days ago that Rachel was auditioning in some run down theatre. It was a leap of faith that she had been selected by the director for a new production. It was largely musically based, which of course suited Rachel just fine.
Tonight would be the decider as to whether she had a future on the stage, or not. The build-up to this day had been tiring and emotional, she had a few blows with the play-write, but in the end they managed to pull it together and now the product of their joined efforts were ready to be seen by the public.
"Act One." The loud announcement startled Rachel, making her once again focus on the red curtain that was now steadily rising off of the floor, revealing her to the crowd.
"Shine bright Estella." David added quickly before he darted away and out of view from the audience.
Her dream was just starting, but it wasn't complete, and Rachel knew that without Quinn, it never would be.
