Yuanfen
By 7th Librarian and Mei1105
Night 1: Hurts and Hopes
Lyrius had a thousand memories of the Palace of Shadows. After over a thousand years, he didn't even recall them all. They had condensed into a soup of thoughts, feelings and emotions that spread out to form his home in his mind. For nearly five years, it was all he had had to rely on, and that visualisation had been forever tainted by grief at Iris's death.
Now, as he stood before the Thousand Year Door, he felt that grief stab deeply once again.
The door itself was simple and unassailable in presentation and function. Double metal door, ten feet tall and eight wide and three feet thick. In the last five years, it had been magically sealed, as well as physically barricaded - the Shadow Spawn had been thorough in their mission to keep everyone away. Lyrius wondered if those doors were destined to remain locked in one form or another for all eternity. Once upon a time, they had been opened and closed almost hourly, with soldiers, merchants and all manner of people crossing the threshold. Castles needed people to function after all, even ones ruled by evil sorceresses.
Lyrius's eyes traced the grooves and dents in the door, hundreds of years old, and remembered Lyrissa, barely toddling, using the door to hold herself upright as she knocked on it, tried to push it, and traced all of the markings with her tiny soft fingers. A lump twisted in his throat.
Enough. He thought to himself. You have a job to do. This door is still secure. Move on.
He had walked the rest of the group to one of the secret passages out of the Palace, and instructed Dracula to take everyone to a certain clearing in the woods. The episode with the Adder Man had left him deeply unnerved and he wanted everyone else out of harm's way while he went about his tasks. Resonae had protested, insisting that she stay with him, but Lyrius had mollified her by reminding her that everyone was still suffering the after effects of poison, and he would trust their care to nobody but her. He got the feeling that she hadn't been completely convinced - she had eyed him beadily until everyone had disappeared down the tunnel to the outside world, leaving Lyrius to complete his self-appointed tasks.
His current task was checking the other ways in and out to see who else had been defying the Shadow Spawn and sneaking around. If the Adder Man can get in, what other fools have been trying their luck in hopes of treasure…?
His secret passage had been mercifully untouched, and he could now confirm that the Thousand Year Door was still sealed. Another exit, which had previously been used for Palace staff, and which had been sealed upon Iris's imprisonment, was also locked tightly, and showed no signs of being tampered with. There was of course, the massive hole in the side of the Palace which had been left by Exor in the final battle with Stan and Francesca, but Lyrius was reasonably confident that nobody could get in that way - you'd need climbing equipment, and an insane amount of luck not to be noticed scaling the mountain. And I'm pretty sure the Shadow Spawn would notice anything flying into it…
He turned away and headed for the nearest corridor. He had instructed Dracula to come and find him if he had not joined them in an hour. And there were some tasks that he definitely wanted to do alone.
The second staff entrance was a shambles. It had clearly been sealed since the Tournament, but whatever enchantments had been placed over it had been crudely ripped away, and the solid rock that had replaced the door had been blasted through with some kind of magical agent. Rubbing a finger along some of the sooty residue, Lyrius sniffed it and frowned - it was old and decaying, which meant that someone had broken in quite some time ago, and nobody had been by to seal it up again.
The Shadow Spawn have not been back here for a long time. Possibly since they sealed it up. Not even to check that their security is untampered with. The idea made him deeply frustrated. What are they thinking? Have they become complacent? Or are they simply too afraid to go near this place again? He couldn't believe that they would have left this entrance open intentionally - not after the fury with which they'd originally come down on anything related to Iris.
Uneasy, he pulled out a knife and pricked the end of his finger, squeezing at the flesh until a bubble of blood appeared on the end. Pressing it into the frame of the entrance he whispered the chant until the door began to hum with a soft purple aura. A blood seal wasn't perfect, but it was the best he could do for the moment. I will make other arrangements later…
Task one was complete. Tasks two and three would be infinitely harder, and he shrank away from them. Not because they were physically challenging, but because of the emotional toll he knew that they - particularly the next one - would extract from him.
Gently, he reached out and tried to push the Palace into moving the necessary rooms closer. The building resisted, groaning and creaking like an old man rudely awoken from slumber. He felt the giant, sleeping beast roll over and brush him aside, going back to sleep with a deep, angry snore.
He frowned. He had moved the door to the Adder Man's room around with only minimal resistance, but ordering the whole building to rearrange itself was infinitely more taxing. He could reattune himself to the Palace, but it could take weeks. Serenity had already waited two months. Fine. A million stairs it is…
Not for the first time, he wished Iris could have put elevators in. But at least walking allowed him to see the state of the building. And what he saw was worrying. The Palace was magically enchanted to stand strong, and yet, as he walked, he could see signs of subsidence, cracks in the walls, and other structural damage. Is the magic weakening without Iris? Or is something else drawing it away?
The more he explored, the more concerned he became. There was definite evidence of looters. Dusty footprints scuffed the edges of the steps. In one corner, a discarded food wrapper had been kicked. As he got higher, he kept expecting to come across skeletons of those foolish enough to run afoul of the magics that inhabited the castle. But there were none. Whoever had snuck in, had clearly known what they were doing. Professional treasure hunters? Looking for relics to sell? Priceless objects from one of the most isolated kingdoms in the world...the idea of someone profiting from his home like that made anger bubble inside him, and his jaw burned with sudden sickness.
The Royal Quarters had been looted. He could tell the moment he got off the staircase. Doors had been left open, and the dust inside had been disturbed. The first six - belonging to the Shadow Spawn - were empty save for large furniture. Unsurprising - Lyrius knew they had taken all their possessions with them when they had left - but still thieves had come through here, looking for anything they might have left behind. Chairs had been moved. Bedspreads had been flipped up so that the thieves could check under the bed, before they'd moved on.
The next rooms appeared untouched, but Lyrius knew them like the back of his hand and knew differently. Trinkets had been taken, leaving rings of dust - nothing dangerous. Just pretty. In one room, the blankets had been stripped. Lyrius shook his head - people found value in the strangest of things.
He paused outside the next room. His room. Before he'd become a ghost.
He didn't need it, and he fully intended to just walk on, but he saw the telltale scrape marks that the door had left in the dust, and found himself pushing in anyway.
The thieveries immediately jumped out. A ceremonial dagger. Some of his books. Dread rose as he crossed the room and pushed into the small space that had been his art studio. The paints and canvass were still locked up, probably brittle with age by now. But a handful of his paintings were gone, the space on the walls empty and naked without Iris staring down from them.
For the first time since their arrival, he felt weak. Violated.
Lyrissa's room was concealed behind his closet - hidden from Iris to avoid questions after she'd wiped her memory - but even that hadn't escaped. Several pieces of her jewellery were gone, along with a few trinket boxes. Even after so many centuries it still smelt like her and he felt his breath catch painfully each time.
I shouldn't have come in here. This was a mistake…
He was overwhelmed. Panicked in a way he hadn't felt since he'd been on the boat to Duelist Kingdom with Serenity. Someone had been into his home and picked through his life like it was a yard sale.
Move on. This isn't helping Serenity at all...It was hard though and his hand shook as he closed the door behind him, especially as his eyes landed on the end of the corridor and the largest most imposing room of all. The Queen's Chamber.
Steeling himself, he pushed the door open. He didn't feel completely present any longer - as though he was watching himself from very far away with only a very loose control.
The room had been picked almost clean. Paintings had been taken down. Iris's crowns, jewellery and other adornments were missing, along with the jewellry box itself that he'd commissioned for her. The wardrobe was torn open, and the clothing that hadn't been taken had been shredded. The looters had tried to take the heavy ornate golden mirror down from the wall, but they had dropped it, and it now lay in pieces on the floor.
It wasn't the only thing that had shattered. Lyrius felt a cry of despair escape him as he saw the familiar shimmer of magically treated glass - Iris's crystal ball that she had used for centuries to observe the activities of her citizens, and then used to stalk the three heroes during the tournament. In his mind's eye, he could see the looters taking the mirror off the wall, staggering under the weight, one corner coming out to flick the delicate ball off the table and send it shattering on the hardwood floors, before the mirror finally slid from weak hands and joined it in a storm of glass that now crunched under his feet.
Rage seemed to burn through him. He had been counting on that crystal ball to help locate and save Serenity. And now, because of a few opportunistic treasure hunters, he had lost the most effective means of tracking her.
He looked around the room. He'd watched Iris dress at that table. He'd made love to her in that bed. He'd argued with her on their last day together, and she had blasted him into that wall. And now those memories had been stripped by people who didn't know or care for their true value.
I will kill the men who defiled our home like this...I swear…
He felt a sudden and intense urge to destroy something, and he turned abruptly and left the room. He could destroy things later. He could destroy Castiel. Weevil. Fushioh. Chance. And anyone else who dared threaten what was dear to him.
But he still had one more task to complete. Maybe if he could do this, losing the crystal ball wouldn't be so detrimental.
He descended back down the castle, fury still simmering in his blood. He took the stairs two at a time, and on one occasion stepped over the edge and let himself drop down to the landing below instead of walking the last flight. The jolt that ran through his body at the impact barely registered. He still felt disconnected, like the world wasn't moving fast enough around him. Just find the room, and then you can leave. Find it, find Serenity…
Something was wrong. He knew it as he took a back passage that led deep into the heart of the mountain. The subsidence was worse here - it was like something had been pushing at the rooms, trying to move them around by force. Cracks shot across stone floors and up the walls like lichtenberg figures and rubble began appearing in chunks around his feet.
Anxiety prickled at the back of his neck as he turned off into the long staircase that he wanted. Stone dust had settled everywhere, and rubble dotted the steps, corresponding with cracks in the walls. Lyrius knew that this corridor should have been sound - he had warded it himself. Picking his way over the rubble, he jogged the last few steps to the bottom. If the protection spells have failed...
The door at the bottom of the staircase had come off its hinges. He didn't remember stepping over the debris. He only remembered standing in a sea of destruction and feeling his heart break. No…
The room was dominated by seven stone plinths set in the middle, five of them topped by a statue. Cracks ran up all of them, some splitting the stone across joints, some crumbling bits of them entirely. Limbs, ears and fingers were scattered across the floor. Two of them had been smashed completely by falling debris, leaving only legs, and feet where once had been a person.
A real person.
Grief choked him. He felt the world lurch as his legs gave out. Memories assaulted him. Smiles. Jokes. Assignments. The source of so much information, wisdom and care. His private network of spies and assassins. His friends.
Rubble and dust. Sleeping for hundreds of years waiting for him to call on them again, now shattered and buried by the crumbling remains of his home. Unable to move or save themselves.
Wake up...please...I came back...don't be gone from me too...
No one answered.
He could not breathe. This could not be happening. Tears clawed down his cheeks as he pressed fists into his eyes, futilely trying to hold them back.
Footsteps approached quietly, and he whirled, the mad desperate hope welling inside him only to come crashing down as he realised it was Dracula. She scanned the room, red eyes narrowed as she tried to discern the source of his anguish. He saw her gaze pick the pieces up across the floor and then widen into realisation.
"Oh, my Songbird," she took a step closer and he turned away, not wanting to see...not wanting to hear...because if she said it, he would know it was true.
"I am so sorry."
He knew she meant it. She was trying to be compassionate, to feel his pain with him. But as her hand came down on his shoulder, he realised he didn't want to be touched. Not by her. Not by anyone.
Nobody else could understand...this wasn't the kind of pain you could share.
"Don't!" He pulled himself away from her grasp, and flinched as his voice bounced off the empty walls. He knew she was surprised, taking a half step back at the sheer amount of emotion in his voice. Breathing hurt. "Leave...please Dracula."
For a moment he thought she might disobey. Then her footsteps vanished back the way they had come, leaving him alone in the heart of his home with only death and memories to see him cry.
TTTTTTTT
"Dragon Master - your title implies mastery over all things draconic, but please do not think you have to show off how well you can imitate dragon table manners." Lyrissa's nose wrinkled as she frowned, stepping back to avoid a wave of crumbs as Andy shoved his empty plate onto the table and grabbed another handful of cookies.
"Sorry - I'm just really hungry all of all of a sudden. And these cookies are really good." Andy said as he devoured one in two bites, offering her the plate. "Want one?"
"Thank you." Lyrissa took one, nibbling it. "And they should be good. Arcadia has a long history of desserts and making them exceptional. My mother used to host a baking competition every year."
Andy's look soured a bit at the mention of the Shadow Queen and he bit into his next cookie savagely. "Did she execute the losers and have the winner bake them into pies as a warning or to feed demons?"
Lyrissa dropped the cookie into the trash, her face drawing tight in annoyance. "And thank you for ruining yet another treasured memory I have of my home with your pettiness, fool."
"Just calling it like I see it - you should have seen this place five years ago." Andy finished off his current handful and plucked a couple more free to much on. "They'd have never thrown a party like this, even if it is all stiffs. And never made cookies as good as this!"
Lyrissa watched him out of the corner of her eye, her gaze then flicking to the cookies. "They are not magical, Dragon Master. They are simple cookies."
"Yeah, then why can't I stop eating them?"
"It is because you are a child and indulging yourself like one as you have been since I met you." Lyrissa bit out, but then she grabbed his hand when he reached for another. "Dragon Master, you will make yourself sick. Surely you know that."
"I do, but…" Andy stared at the plate longingly. "Something keeps telling me I need to eat cookies so I do not pass out."
"Pass out?" Now she was alert. "Are you unwell?"
"Just a little woozy - it's been a long night," he shoved another cookie into his mouth, but Lyrissa was looking at him with a new laser-sharp focus.
She grabbed his chin, tilting his head sharply to the side as he squawked in protest. "I thought I smelt blood. The skin on your neck is red and you have a developing hickey."
"What? A hickey? No way!" Andy stepped back, one hand clapping onto his neck like it had betrayed him. "I've got a girlfriend! No way I'm letting anyone get that close!"
"And yet, the evidence suggests otherwise." Lyrissa stared at him a moment longer. "Andy - tell me the last thing you remember before coming to eat cookies."
"Uh...sure. I was talking to Pennington...and then this cute redhead smiled at me and.." He cocked his head. "I know I talked to her, helped her, but the details are fuzzy."
"You have not been drinking and you have only been here at this table for three minutes. I have been watching." Lyrissa frowned. "Where is Oblivion?"
"It's on my baacck…" Andy trailed off as he reached for the weapon and found only air. "Okay, it is kind of dangerous to walk around in public with it, so I probably just magicked it away…" He held out that hand and stared in concentration. Nothing appeared in his grip. "Lyrissa…"
"You have been magicked to forget your interaction with that 'cute redhead'. She took Oblivion."
"That's impossible - I'm the owner. The sword teleports to my hand when I want it to. And it judges the wielders - unworthy people get burned when they touch it." Andy was already glancing around the party with angry eyes. "So how she'd just run off with it?"
"She could have been using something like a grabbing claw to carry it. Oblivion cannot judge inanimate objects. But the fact you cannot summon it to your hand suggests she is not, because the sword judges her as worthy of it."
"She's a thief! And a jerk!" Andy scowled at the cookie crumbs on his shirt. "Who makes me eat cookies like a slob for no reason!?"
"There is one. A very simple one. You have a hickey. Food combats blood loss. That woman was a vampire." Lyrissa concluded grimly.
"Vampire - good lord! The revenant guy was bad enough! Now there's more undead?" Andy shook his head in frustration. "Okay, first things first. We find her and get the sword back. Then we question her and make sure she didn't bite anyone or has an army buried in a graveyard around here."
"Arcadia has no graveyards, we practice sea burial." Lyrissa said idly. She was making a grabbing gesture in the air, as if she was plucking something out of it and piling it in her open palm.
"What - what are you doing?" Andy asked after a moment, clearly unsure if she had gone mental or not.
"Gathering moonlight."
"There's nothing in your hand."
"Then it matches your head." Lyrissa grunted annoyance, then in satisfaction. She cupped her hands together and began to knead them together as if she were working a ball of clay between them. As Andy watched, soft dollops of white moonlight appeared there, stretching and flexing like a physical object. Lyrissa began to hum and then to sing softly under her breath.
Her fingers weaved together, kneading the moonlight like she was playing with string and then she clapped her palms together. When she unfolded them, there was a delicate, pristine moth made entirely of soft light sitting there. "Whoa…"
"Dark Lady, I am who lost beseech you to light my path. Guide us to what we seek." Lyrissa sang a few more words that Andy didn't recognize and then moth sprang to life. The antenna twitched this way and that, like it was tuning into some kind of signal and then with a single flap of its wings, it took off and circled her head. "There. The moth will lead us after the sword."
"That's amazing! You really do have skills! That vampire doesn't-" Andy broke off as Lyrissa sagged against the table, her face pale. "Hey! Are you alright?"
"I am still exhausted from the revenant and this moth has taken what strength I have left." She grabbed a sandwich from the table, then a drink. "But I can eat while we go. The more we wait, the further she gets from us."
Andy was going to protest that they weren't going to walk after this vampire and Lyrissa was clearly tired. But there was steel in her gaze that made him swallow those words and pick different ones. "Okay. That nightlight of yours have a range limit?"
"In my weakened state and lacking my Dark Lady's touch, it will not reach beyond Rogueport and it will not find her directly, only her general area."
"That'll do. Just leave the rest to me." Andy felt an easy grin slid on his face. "I'm a bounty hunter, remember? She won't be able to hide."
TTTTTT
It was dark in the forest.
Mai didn't like that.
Every shadow seemed to twist out of the leaves to slither along the ground, heedless of the firelight that illuminated their campsite. Distantly she could hear the rustle of animals, big and small, going about their business in the night. Somewhere miles away, someone was having a party - occasionally she caught strains of music or roars of enjoyment.
Lucky them. Because she was taking no enjoyment from their current situation.
After emerging from the Palace's hidden entrance, they had chosen a spot in the nearby forest instead of setting off for Keelhaul Key. Dracula had explained to a confused Fran that they would need to take stock, check supplies and decide on their next move before barging into town looking for Serenity. They'd set up camp, the unicorns wandering off to graze, Dracula patrolling the area, and Fran busying herself with making fire and unpacking food, pausing every so often to check her watch. After the allotted hour had come and gone, Dracula had excused herself to check on Lyrius, transforming into a flock of bats and disappearing back the way they had come.
But Mai wasn't fooled. Even now she could see that one of the bats had instead perched itself upside on a tree branch and was clearly watching her. The vampire had stated over and over the last two month while taking care of her, she was making an investment on her. To what end, Mai couldn't guess. But she'd spent enough time around beings like Dracula to know that they got some level of perverse enjoyment out of the mysterious shtick.
Mai curled her legs up under her and closed her eyes, trying not to think of the last time she had sat around a campfire with others in the middle of the forest. With people who weren't really her friends, but were trying so hard to be...she could feel the lump starting in her throat, and she swallowed hard.
She had never felt so lonely.
It's just the withdrawal...E does this to people when they come off it...She'd have sold her soul for a single pill. Or better yet, a handful of Glory straight into her veins. Then she could feel safe…
...didn't have to worry that every animal in these forests was a vampire or a demon…
...didn't have to think every shadow slinking across the ground was her Penalty Game about to pull her back into that hourglass…
...didn't have to feel tears trying to choke her as every faint cry of partying in the distance turned into them...her friends...him...sitting around a campfire so very long ago, sharing food and talking about Star Chips…
She felt a nose in her back. Her unicorn - a mare whose only words so far had been to inform Mai that her name was 'Running Wind Through Leaves' and could you please call her 'Leafy'- had just sidled up behind her and became a big, comfy lump. Again, the whys and hows of Leafy's motivations were beyond her. But it was the only comfort she was getting out here.
It wasn't enough.
"Thank God Mom gave me leftovers before I left - those MREs Vuyo gave us look a little sus." Fran was sternly watching the cooking pot over the fire, clearly ready to lay down the law if it even dared to burn her precious spare ribs. A mammoth box of potato salad had already been split between the four mess tins.
Mai wasn't sure what to make of the girl - only that she was definitely a girl. She talked big game, and tried to act tough and in control, but it was all for show. One push in the wrong place, and she would shatter into pieces. Mai hadn't seen much of Fran before the youth had gone home to America, and she had been too deep in her own withdrawal to make any effort to make friends during that time. A younger Mai might have cared enough to talk - to try and help in some way. But younger Mai had died long ago. She died with him…
"They've been gone a while...do you think they're okay?" Fran tore her eyes away from the ribs for a moment to check their surroundings for their companions. Mai got the impression she was talking just to fill the silence, and she just shrugged. She had no doubts that Dracula was fine - even with the stalking bat in the trees, she had listened long and hard to Chance for years, studying and scheming ways to take the mother of vampires down and she knew that it was basically impossible. Grave Kiss was his only real shot, and she sniffed that out on me the second we first met. She's too strong. He's too strong. They all just live to play their games and destroy the rest of us on a whim…
Leafy nosed her in the back again, and fixed Mai with a reproachful look when she rounded on her. Mai got the impression that she was judging her.
"What?" her back went straight up at this innocent-looking pony coaching her behaviour. "I don't know the answer - what do you want me to say!"
The unicorn tilted her head to one side, her eyes reaching deep into hers. Mai paused, now feeling as though she had got something wrong.
"...I don't think she's telling you to be a better conversationalist," Fran put in. Her voice was strangely thoughtful. "I think she's trying to chastise you for worrying so much."
Mai rolled her eyes. "What are you, the horse whisperer?" Still, her eyes could not help but snap back up to the tree, where the bat still lingered in the shadows. Coming back to her companions, she saw Leafy giving her an expression that seemed to scream 'case in point'.
"Don't give me that," she found herself hissing at the unicorn, her frustration bleeding into her words. "How am I supposed to not worry? Two of our party are missing, everything in this forest probably wants to kill us, and there are at least four people on this island who also want to kill us. I'd be stupid not to be anxious right now!"
She forced her mouth shut, not wanting to accidentally spill the truth - that their present situation didn't frighten her half as much as the horrible memories that crept through the leaves and tried to crawl in to feast on her brain.
Fran frowned, and Mai felt her hackles go up as she saw the other girl's eyes dart predictably to her arms, where beneath her jacket, the lines of needle marks were still faintly scabbed into her flesh. "Nobody knows we're here yet. Chance is either doing whatever it is he came here to, or if he's really fast, he'll have found out what you and Dracula did to his network in South Africa - whichever it is, he won't be looking this way."
Mai was mortified - bad enough that her horse was reading her like a book, but now this girl too? She tugged her jacket sleeves even though they already reached to her wrist, and did what she did best. Rolled her eyes, and hid her discomfort behind bluster. "You think busting a couple of small time dealers with your boyfriend means you know his type? Trust me, you don't know him. You have no idea what he's thinking right now…"
Fran looked as though she was about to argue, but her own unicorn Mistleaf, lifted his head from where he had been staring curiously at the sizzling ribs, and nudged her elbow from behind. As Fran rounded on him, he cocked his head at her, and she sighed. "Okay, you're right. I don't know him. But we've only been here two hours-" Mistleaf gave a small whicker and she gave him a grateful look. "Sorry, three hours, and that Adder Man guy is the only person we've seen."
She gave her a smile - calm, packed full of reassurance, and oh so trusting. "The unicorns are here. Dracula put spells down. As camps on Arcadia go, this is probably the safest we could be. Nobody will find us tonight."
Now she was trying to comfort her? Mai felt something deep in her soul recoil. She wasn't a child who needed soothing. She didn't want it. I don't deserve it…
So instead, she scowled. "Seriously, how are you doing that? Can you talk to animals?"
Fran shrugged. "No. I can just guess what they mean. I understand them." Mistleaf whickered, and Fran rolled her eyes. "Yes, you're far less complicated than my ex, but to be honest, that's not exactly difficult."
Her exasperation went someway to unruffling Mai's feathers a little, but they went right back up as the bushes rustled and parted to reveal a cloud of bats that reformed into the ruler of vampires.
"...you know, walking is an option too Dracula," Fran greeted, her voice laced with amusement. It faded quickly as Lyrius appeared behind her. Mai didn't blame her - their party leader's face was drawn, and he was struggling with emotion that seemed too big for his body. He didn't even look at them - instead he strode across the camp, seized one of the ration bars from the food packs, and disappeared again into the trees.
Fran was on her feet instantly, her gaze following the swaying branches he had left behind. "What happened?"
"Nothing that will be of concern to you," Dracula said, coming up to stand behind Mai. Mai resisted the urge to flee to the other side of the campfire. "Where is the Nightmare?"
The question was not addressed, but Mai knew it was really directed at her - it was Dracula's way of making sure that she was sober and alert. "Hunting." She shuddered to think what the hell pony was hunting in this forest.
"Hmm...I suppose I should do the same," Dracula flexed. "I cannot let her scare away all the prey."
"To hell with prey!" Fran snapped. "What the hell is wrong with Lyrius? He looks like he just watched Iris get murdered again! He's too exposed out there on his own. And I need to talk to him anyway-"
"You will do no such thing," Dracula was firm, and now Mai did start to slink away. She'd heard that sort of command before. "What he needs right now is time by himself."
"How does that help?" Fran demanded. "We're a team! We're supposed to support each other. We can't just leave him on his own!"
"We can and we will," there was a look in Dracula's eye now, that seemed to stop Fran dead. "Leave him in peace. He will deal with this on his own. If I find out you two have been bothering him, I will make sure it's the last thing you do."
Mai understood obsession - she'd seen so many people (including herself) driven to all sorts of extremes because of it. She also knew how deep vampire obsessions could run. Over the last two months she'd come to understand that Dracula was no different - that she craved Lyrius the same way she craved the drugs that subdued her mind. Before she had just found it sad - almost exasperating - how needy the ruler of vampires was. But now she had a glimpse of the depths of that need, and she realised that there was nothing that the vampire wouldn't do for him.
For some reason, that frightened her more than any of her worries about the island or any of the monsters in this forest.
Fran seemed like she wanted to fight back, but she must have realised that it wasn't a fight she was going to win, so she sat down again grinding her teeth. The smell of smoke caught her attention and she swore as she realised that her precious ribs were charring in the cooking pot. She might only be a girl, but at least she knows to pick her fights...Mai thought.
Apparently satisfied, Dracula transformed again into a small flock of bats that melted into the bushes once more, save for one, who returned to it's branch to survey them - to spy and make sure that Lyrius was not bothered.
Folding her arms, Mai gazed into the fire. Fran didn't trust Lyrius. She didn't trust Dracula. Dracula didn't trust either of them. Not an auspicious start if none of us can communicate…
She scoffed at herself. I would know. How many times did Joey and I just wind up sulking across the table at each other? She couldn't help but wonder what in her life might have been different if she'd just been more open...if she'd admitted she was hurting instead of turning to the Orichalcos...if she'd tried to communicate her feelings to Serenity instead of lashing out and abandoning her in a fit of anger...if she and Joey had just got the hell over themselves and admitted how they'd felt right from the start…
...fuck I need a pick me up...But that would never happen. Dracula was watching. Always watching.
Why am I even here…? Nobody needs me. Nobody wants me. I'm no use to this party…
The thoughts clawed away at her brain until she couldn't bear it any longer. She pressed her face back into her knees, feeling every ache in her old bones, and cried quietly for herself, and what had been.
OOO
Lyrius had spent the last thousand years hurting in so many ways.
When his daughter had been taken from right under his nose, her last words having been a desperate cry for him to help that still echoed inside him.
When he watched the 'virtuous' army of the Three Heroes devastate Arcadia in their victory and the resulting misery of his people as things like roads, health and money suffered.
When he saw the Unicorn Maiden, lined with age and scars, visit his grave and apologize for everything.
When he had to endure three centuries listening to Iris almost tear herself apart to free herself from her prison cell.
When he had watched his wife's imprisonment and endless, countless failures wear away more of the woman he loved and left only that miserable pastiche behind.
When he failed to convince her, the night before that last duel, that there still was another way to do things and they could finally be together, if she just admitted she was wrong?
And no matter how many hurts there, how many scars were layered upon his heart, he kept making the same mistake over and over and over.
Assuming it could not hurt any worse.
Now, here, back against this rock, surrounded in forest and night sky and feeling so small, so small and useless and insignificant that it would only take a single moment for the world to finally swallow him whole, Lyrius wept.
This was not the noble, 'manly' tears streaming down his stoic face that people insisted was how 'real men' cried and this wasn't the emotionally wailing that the media believed was how women did it. This was tears staining his cheeks and his face a mess of snot and wet and wracking sobs that made his throat sore and shook his shoulders. Of hands clutching so tight they were white and his forehead shoved into his knees and the resigned, twisted pain of knowing no matter how hard he grieved -
-they were still dead.
For a long time, when his head ached from the lack of any more tears to cry, there was nothing but the dark shroud of his hair framing his head and the feeling of failure.
And then, there was something.
He lifted his head slowly, to find Resonae curled up on the grass like a large cat, the position impossible for a normal horse. Her gold eyes regarded him without judgement or pity, her head so close he could have leaned forwards and touched her horn. He hadn't even felt her approach or presence and the mental curse at his sloppiness heaped itself atop his scars.
(I am of nature, Master.) As always, she had discerned his thoughts without much effort. (It would ruin my mystery if I was not capable of making myself undetectable when the need strikes.)
Lyrius gave her a little huff of...well, he wasn't sure it was annoyance or amusement. "Embarrassed to see your Master in such a miserable state, are we?"
(No.)
Her statement was so simple and sincere that he found himself unable to think of a comment or a response. He didn't know what to do, except feel. He reached for his chest and the tight deep pain that throbbed where his heart should be. "...it hurts Resonae."
(It hurts, Master, because you are alive. Because you care. Because you love them still.) The Nightmare didn't move, as still as a statue. (Your pain is proof of their existence. But your existence need not be only pain.)
Her mental presence was strong and reassuring, sliding into his mind more deeply than normal and he felt steadier, breathing came easier. (I am your mount, Master. It is my duty to carry all of your weight. And that 'all' encompasses pain, sadness and grief.)
Lyrius didn't know what to do, what to say and so did nothing. And he still somehow missed how Resonae inched her way closer to him. At least until her head was in her lap and his face being swallowed by her flaming mane. Curiously, her flames were not warm at all, but a kind of silken coolness that suddenly made him aware of how flushed and hot his face was. "What are you doing?"
(We are minus our therapy animal, given how she turned out to be the blonde Librarian.) Resonae said simply. (As Herd Matron, it is my duty to take up all necessary roles that the herd needs.)
Lyrius just stared at her as some kind of odd, rumbling noise came from her throat. "Are...are you trying to purr?"
(Cats are small, cuddly and comfort with purrs. I can at least do one out of three.) The Nightmare informed with a comical level of seriousness and the noise continued, rising and falling in pitch.
It was so absurd that Lyrius could not help himself. He felt a smile spread on his face and then it became a chuckle that led to him wrapping his arms around her neck and burying his face in her mane. "What am I to do with you?"
(Talk to me.) She leaned her weight into him, forelegs over his lap so he could not escape. (What did you find in the Palace that has harmed you so?)
Lyrius stroked her neck for a long moment. "I found the remains of my Silk Knives." He saw the Nightmare tilt her head at the strange use of the word. "My...herd."
(Oh Master.) Compassion radiated from her. (What happened?)
"They were…" The words were weighty on his tongue, but he pushed them out. "To endure the centuries, to be with me when I was returned to life, they took Potions of Stone Sleep. They were in a protected chamber, but I found them destroyed."
She nuzzled his stomach. (Were there clues to who murdered them? Who shall we turn into a corpse?)
Lyrius sighed quietly. "Time and decay cannot be slain. They were waiting for me. So it is my fault."
(You know that is not the cause. You did not smash them.) Resonae said bluntly. (Do not insult their memories by taking the love behind their choices and feeding it to your misery.)
Lyrius grunted in a sort of amused frustration, but she gave him a look. (If one of them were here instead of me and you had found all the rest dead, would they not tell you the same?)
"They would." Lyrius said after a moment's thought. "They have done so before, when others have fallen."
(Then your herd was wise. And such wisdom only becomes greater after they are gone.) The Nightmare continued. (Share with me who they were? I wish to know what further wisdom I may glean from those who have shared your heart.)
The offer was tempting and just hearing it unleashed a barrage of thoughts, memories, feelings and so many things he had thought forgotten. They filled him up and he thought he might burst, but found himself unable to know where to start. He shook his head. "I do not think I can at the moment. There is just so much. And I would not want to burden you with such things…"
(Bah. I am your mount. It is my duty to carry your weight, Master. Whether it be your body or your heart, I assure you my strength is more than enough for the task.) Resonae informed him, tossing her head so for a moment, his face swam in her mane. (But I understand that it is still too fresh. Still, when the flow of pain has stauched, speak of your old herd to your new one.)
Lyrius gave her a frown, not liking that idea. "It would be a distraction from our mission to ask them to listen to unrelated things-" He yelped as Resonae clamped her mouth around his arm, fangs digging into him without breaking skin or cloth. "Resonae!"
(Our herd does not trust one another. Bad enough on its own, but you are our leader and they do not trust you as they should. That is because they do not know you. And without knowing you, they cannot believe. So tell them of those you loved and respected and they will know you can love and respect them.) Resonae released his arm, but her presence in his mind was still there. (And in telling them of your loss, you clean out the sadness and pain so it does not taint the good memories of them. And so your wound will heal clean.)
Lyrius was not one to sigh, but he felt the urge to do so at the look in her eye. "You are not going to move until I promise to tell them, are you?" Resonae did not so much as twitch. "Very well. I swear I shall tell them."
(Good.) She rose off him and stood to her full height. (Now it is time to hunt. I can smell prey nearby. Would you like to spend your grief-stricken fury upon something mildly dangerous, Master?)
Lyrius swung himself upon her back and felt the cold lump of his grief thaw at the familiar anticipation of the hunt and battle surged in his blood. "Lead the way, Resonae."
OOO
The moth was a quick little bugger - Andy had to move at a solid trot through half the time to keep up. And that was on top of leaping short walls, fences and other bits of parkour that left him wondering if the woman who had stolen his sword was actually a monkey and not a vampire. But I suppose super strength and speed means you don't have to think about staying to the sidewalk like everyone else.
Equally impressive was that Lyrissa had kept up. She had polished off her food on the go and was in a dress and still exhausted, but she had scarcely said a word or fallen behind. She'd even found a shortcut or two. She was breathing hard, face covered in sweat as they and the moth finally halted in front of an alleyway, but still looking determined.
Andy could hear noises down in the darkness of the alley and he grimaced. Alleys were terrible places to fight or engage. They usually only had one or two exits, plenty of places to hide and were a killbox for anyone with a ranged weapon. But he couldn't leave Oblivion in her hands. Even if the sword did judge her as worthy, he wasn't sure if the weapon could possess her or something. Not everyone had a hero's willpower.
He motioned Lyrissa to keep silent and crept towards the alley's sidewall, menatally taking stock of what he had on him. Capture rope, taser, smoke pellets. Plus Lyrissa. First things first, get information. Going in blind is bad.
As if sensing his thoughts, the moth floated forwards into the alleyway, glowing softly to illuminate it. It was a gentle, pale glow and Andy hoped it would be as calming as it looked. The noises at the end were violent, lound, heavy metallic clangings and an occasional choked noise. Is she just hitting things with it? No, the sword wouldn't make any noise when it hits - it just cuts through...unless she found something that can't be cut?
Lyrissa was moving with quiet, efficient grace, her dress hardly any hindrance and Andy had to stop himself from admiring it by telling himself that of course she could move like that, her dad was an assassin.
Then the moth brought the end of the alley into view and what he saw stopped all the thoughts and his motion. What-?
The red haired woman was curled up against the alley's far wall, her sobs quiet and blind and in obvious, painful frustration. More confusingly, a pitch-black version of her was straddling Oblivion, pummeling the flat of the blade with wild, angry blows. Like a temper tantrum.
Andy felt lost. He could deal with thieves. He could handle hardened criminals with all manner of weapons. But a grown woman weeping in an alley was not his forte. His usual recourse when people were upset was to challenge them - either with words, or a duel to get their mind off it. But that felt utterly inadequate for this situation. I should arrest her - she stole from me, and helped herself to a mouthful of my blood...But just looking at her weeping so helplessly drained any righteous anger out of him.
He gave Lyrissa a helpless look. She was regarding the situation with an unreadable expression. "Excuse me. Could you stop beating on the sword? If it is not going to help you, we would very much like it back."
The redhead jolted like a startled rabbit, on her feet in the blink of an eye. The black version of her picked up the sword, clutching it to its chest like a toy and backed off as well, hissing protectively at them. "Stay back! Just leave me alone!"
"Give us the sword and we'll take our leave." Lyrissa said calmly.
"Wait- leave? She stole from me!" Andy protested. "And futzed with my head! We can't just leave her on the streets."
"We really do not have a choice. She is a vampire. She is also breathing still, which is a habit only fresh vampires have. Which means her sire has most likely ordered her to fight tooth and nail to prevent her capture or imprisonment. If we try to take her into custody, there may well be three bodies in this alley when we are done." Lyrissa informed him, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.
"Speak for yourself!" Andy snapped, but one look at the way the redhead was backing up, eyeing the walls of the alley for anything that could cover her escape made him reconsider. Jesus, she's terrified. What drives someone who is that frightened to start stealing?
"Can you tell me why you took the sword?" Lyrissa's tone was gentle, but firm. A doctor at a bedside. When the redhead shook her head, she just nodded. "If you cannot use the sword the way you want to, can you give it back to us? If your sire frightens you that much, I do not think your situation will improve if he has that weapon."
The red-haired stared back between them, then hung her head in defeat. Her familiar dropped Oblivion with a huff and kicked it away. "Please. Just take it and go away. I'm not going to hurt anyone else tonight."
Andy held out his hand and Oblivion winked off the ground, reappearing in his grip. Now armed again, his eyes narrowed in on her. "You'll have to forgive me if I don't believe you. Especially if you're not in control of yourself."
"No. I was told to eat three times tonight. And I did. You were the last person." She sounded so small and ashamed as she spoke.
"You're right - I am the last person." Andy said firmly and took a step towards her, but Lyrissa's hand slapped onto his chest. "Lyrissa-!"
"I told you, if we try to apprehend her, she'll fight back. And unless you're willing to take limbs with Oblivion, we are not in a position to succeed."
"Just magic her!"
Lyrissa gave him a ruthless look and Andy suddenly felt as small as the red-head did. She didn't elaborate, though and he belatedly realized it was because she wasn't going to reveal all in front of a potential enemy.
"Lyrissa?" The red-head was suddenly alert, getting up from her defeated slump and taking a step out of the shadows enough to see them both. Andy had to give her credit - only her eyes widened in recognition, but her familiar was less subtle, gasping and clasping its hands over its mouth. "...you look just like your father…"
"Her father-?" Andy gawked at her, recognition dawning. He'd heard her voice, months ago, on the phone. "You're Serenity!?" He blinked, then scowled. "You pranked me! AT&T Customer Support, my ass!"
Serenity seemed to choke on her own breath. "That was...you're Andy? Fran's boyfriend Andy?" She hiccuped a chuckle and for a moment, she looked about to smile. But it was fleeting and she just shook her head. "I should have figured..."
"Who is she?" Lyrissa demanded, her tone suddenly regal and her gaze zeroed in on Serenity. "And why is she wearing my mother's necklace?!" She took a step forwards, bristling and the familiar shoved itself between the two women, glaring daggers. "How do you know my father!?"
The tension thickened with the silence and then Lyrissa spoke again. Her words were quiet, but echoed with magical force behind them. "Answer! How do you know Lyrius Stormcloud!?"
"I'm his wife! He gave me the necklace to keep me safe!" Serenity blurted out, her familiar's hands clamping over her mouth as her eyes went wide.
Andy grabbed Lyrissa's arm. "Hey - what the heck was that? Did you just make her answer you? We just had a talk about why messing with someone's mind is bad!"
"It was a suggestion, not a command. She answered because she wanted to, not because I made her." Lyrissa gave him a look and Andy released her arm. Then the blonde looked back at Serenity, up and down and taking her in. "That ugly rock on my mother's necklace - can you tell me what it is?"
Serenity reached for it, as though she was still checking it was there. "It's Orichalcos. My sire-" her mouth seemed to clamp shut of its own accord.
"Orichalcos? Then your sire is that jackass Castiel from Vegas!" Andy threw up his hands. "Great! Just great! Not only do we have bloodsucking undead running around, one of them is armed with the do-all magic space rock!"
"That explains why she stole Oblivion." Lyrissa continued thoughtfully as though she could not hear Andy's frustration."You wanted to cut it off?"
Serenity nodded. She opened her mouth a few times like her words were getting away from her and her familiar huffed, folding its arms and stamping its feet. Eventually she managed to force out. "He told me...to make myself stronger…"
"I see. He commanded you not to attempt escape, so you interpreted his command to 'get stronger' to remove the stone - to stop it hampering your power - and used it as a pretext to take Oblivion without countering the first command," Andy could see something he'd never seen in Lyrissa's eyes - respect. "Clever. But you realised after stealing it that it will not act against its owner?"
Serenity nodded again - it seemed to be the only communication she was capable of.
"What are you talking about?" Andy was feeling frustrated - like these two were in on some big conspiracy and were deliberately leaving him out of the conversation. "How is she Oblivion's owner? Why was she even able to touch it?"
"My mother and father forged the sword together, quenched it in their blood and wove many spells into its crafting. The blade sees both of them as its owner. That necklace is something my mother has worn for centuries, taking in her essence and magicks. Wearing it convinces the sword Serenity is my mother." Lyrissa explained. "Therefore, it will not work against her - or against the necklace."
Andy paled. "This entire island is the Shadow Queen's! It has all her stuff! Are you telling me she can just go anywhere on the island and get through all the nasty shit she put on as protections!?" When Lyrissa nodded, he tightened his grip on Oblivion. "Then her sire can, too!"
"He doesn't know what it can do!" Serenity said urgently. "He hasn't asked...and I don't know either. I hadn't had it long enough to learn all it's powers before he shoved this thing-" she shook the green stone angrily. "-in it."
Lyrissa smiled thinly. "My mother's protections are not so easily circumvented, Dragon Master. Just because she could get through them, doesn't mean anyone with her would be allowed. Being the Shadow Queen is a position of privilege, after all." Her smile faded as she stared at the green stone. "The necklace should keep outside influences at bay, but that stone is very unnatural. I do not know how he was able to get it on, let alone how to remove it."
Serenity's face fell, but Lyrissa continued. "That said, it may simply be because you are not quite enough of the Shadow Queen, if that makes sense. If you were to increase your power further, then you would be able to tap into its powers further and remove the stone."
"How can I do that?" Serenity asked, her tone suddenly so hungry that Andy thought for a minute she was going to try and snare a bite off Lyrissa.
"I am not going to tell you. I have no idea what your sire will ask you when you see them again and how much you can keep a secret. At least, not until I have a way of ensuring they do not find out." Lyrissa said with a polite shrug. "Terribly sorry."
"You aren't seriously trying to help her?" Andy was trying not to gape - it was rude after all - but he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "She's got the Shadow Queen's necklace! Probably some if not all of her powers! And she's a freaking vampire for god's sake!" his hand came up to feel at his own neck as he said it. "How do we know she wasn't told to tell us all this? To bait us in?"
"Very true. So we are at a standstill. We cannot take her into custody without a serious, dangerous fight. But we cannot just let her roam around of her will." Lyrissa's eyes flicked back and forth, as if she was reading off the situation from a report and then they flicked up to her moth still circling above them. "Ah, perfect."
The moth came down as she extended her finger and she took it into her cupped hands again. There was a glow from in between her fingers as she began to hum to herself, swaying a bit to the music. When she pulled them apart, a simple butterfly-style barrette was in her hands. "Excellent. Here-" She tossed it to Serenity. "Wear this at all times."
Serenity stared at it in confusion, her familiar leaning in and scratching its head. "What is it?"
"It will let us track you as you move around the island. I am sure your sire's home is warded, but the island is not. So we can take it from there once we get help from the...Shadow Spawn…" Lyrissa huffed at the name, then looked at Andy. "Is this acceptable, Dragon Master? We can save her from her enslavement and save other people from her. Heroic enough for you?"
Andy could feel his teeth grinding together. She's married to Lyrius…that fact alone eclipsed anything else in his mind. But Lyrissa was being infuriatingly trusting in a way that was making him feel bad for being so suspicious. Still...at least if we report it to the Shadow Spawn they'll want to do something about it. Surely she and her sire won't be running around unchecked for much longer…
He sighed. "Fine." He folded his arms feeling very wrong footed.
Lyrissa seemed satisfied, and Andy couldn't help but feel like he'd just been played. But Lyrissa was distracted as Serenity flung herself into her arms and squeezed her like she'd known her for years. For the first time since he'd known her, Lyrissa looked thrown. "Umm…"
"I can't believe you're still alive," Serenity was mumbling into the other woman's shoulder. "Your father is going to be so happy…"
Lyrissa looked tentative as she returned the embrace, but Serenity's words drew a nervous smile. It took Andy a second to realise that there were tears in her eyes. "I know...it's been so long. I miss him so much…"
"Me too. I miss everything about him. I miss his smile. I miss his far too literal sense of humour. I even miss his wardrobe and the way he eats everything with a knife and fork." Serenity seemed to choke on a smile.
"Manners are important." Lyrissa informed her.
Andy could still feel his teeth grinding, but his gut was telling him Serenity was a victim in all this. And she hadn't asked for any of this. Not Lyrius or the necklace or the Shadow Queen and definitely not the vampirism. Just like he hadn't five years ago. He pulled in a breath, counted to ten and then let it out along with all his frustrations and angers. A hero had to be bigger than himself and his own problems.
"Serenity." He waited until she looked up at him. "Look, until we..um...help your condition, if your sire orders you go hunting again, come find me. I'll give you blood if I can. That way you don't have to take it from people like you did tonight."
Serenity stared at him, swallowing suddenly against a fresh round of wetness in her eyes. "Are you sure? I did bite you tonight and trick you…"
"I'm sure. I'm here to help everyone on Arcadia and that includes you, alright? And 'sides, a guy like me doesn't mind a pretty lady necking him every now and again." Andy said, putting a sheepish smile and was relieved to see her giggle a bit. He looked at Lyrissa. "That moth works both ways?"
"Yes. She simply has to hold it in her hands and ask it to find me."
"Good. So keep that in mind. It's not much, it's a big island, but it's something. And it'll help us...how to say this so you don't attack me...do our thing? Yeah - that." Andy nodded in confirmation and held out his hand. "We got your back."
He squealed as the familiar hugged him - it was like being hugged by a cool silk blanket. Serenity smiled faintly and then the familiar vanished into ether. "Thank you, Andy. I...I have to go. I need to get back before he starts looking for me."
Then she sprinted for the end of the alley, leaping up ten feet in a single bound and then clambering up the building with ease and vanishing over the rooftop's edge.
OOO
A/N: ...so we're trying to keep to that regular update thing? Trying really hard? But life got in the way?
In my defense, it was Mei's birthday last week and making her Espeon cake was exhausting. Delicious, but exhausting.
And don't worry, all the feels and stuff are in this chapter - next time is more card games. With the Unicorn Maiden. And Serenity gets to make a friend.
Don't dis the feels husband - the feels are important. If your characters don't have feels you might as well be writing robots.
I didn't dis the feels. In fact, every chapter has some feels in it. I'm pretty sure this story's emotional word count is over a hundred thousand.
And its all the better for it...after all, who wants to read a story that's ninety percent duels anyway? Bunch of drama queens brandishing their expensive wristwear about, like Apple salesmen without the smug little faces…
Hey, Mei, which anime franchise is this story based on? Hint: It was ALL card games...and the occasional dice game.
Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfic is about one percent duels, six percent post-canon and legacy fics, and ninety three percent porn. Come at me.
Right, then. Whilst I arm myself with a couple of pillows with which to wage war on my co-author, please leave a review!