Murder || Liesel
In case you missed it, this chapter is literally called MURDER.
And, it's in Liesel's POV.
So, just for this chapter, I'd rate this (T). Or, if you read warrior cats and thought the scene with Tigerstar losing his lives was fine, you'll probably be fine.
Character death warning, violence warning. I think it should be fine, but if you're really sensitive, I will explain what happened at the end. Just stop reading when you get to the line "You're just like Hans," she said. "You're just stronger than he is. But that doesn't matter now, I know what you're doing and I can fight it."
Selia snuggled into Liesel as she read. Liesel had always liked storybooks as a child, but she'd never read them out loud to someone before. She'd never shared anything like these moments. Something about Selia's surprise at every turn in the story, eagerness to point out pieces of the drawings, and yes, the way Liesel's arm fell asleep as she read, something about it all brought warmth to her in a way she'd never experienced. When Selia finally fell asleep, Liesel almost wished she hadn't.
Geric wasn't nearly so comforting. He listened to the story with his sister, but he didn't cuddle. Liesel would have found it strange if he had, but the amount of coldness Geric still held towards her was disconcerting.
"Can I stay up a while longer?" he asked when the story was over.
Liesel nodded. "Not too late, though. I'll be back to check in on you." If she remembered to. She had others she needed to check up on. Her brother, for instance.
The scrying pool in her room was all she needed to find him. That, a bit of her own blood, and intense focus to make sure she didn't end up seeing one of her other siblings.
Hans showed up in the water in seconds. It was daytime outside of Arendelle, and he rode behind one of the Camelot knights on a trail. They weren't speaking.
She usually tried to check in when they stopped for the night or woke in the morning: that was when they had interesting conversations. It was more difficult to guess when they'd stop during the day. She had to keep track of time under the dome she'd created separately from time elsewhere. That was the whole point of taking control.
She knew she could slow time for herself, make herself appear younger for longer. In theory, maybe she could live forever if she did that. But if she did that, she'd be alone. She'd be powerless. If she slowed Arendelle's time instead of her own, she could live longer. She could experience the outside world as it grew and changed, but always return to a city trapped in her own time.
She watched Hans and the rest of the group from Camelot for a while. She wasn't worried. Nothing they knew could stop her. Not even Emrys could compete with power over time.
The last thing she had to do for the night was check on Morgause. She searched her room for the potion to turn her into someone else. It was almost empty: She'd need more if she intended to stay out of her own body for more than a few minutes. She kept her only other bottles in the study just next to Morgause's cell.
Liesel considered and decided she didn't have much of a choice. She downed the potion in one gulp, her new body occupying the extra-large clothes she'd put on just for the occasion. She had just enough time to get what she needed. If she didn't, she'd have to let go of her hold on Arendelle so she could control time for herself again. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that. She'd take Salu with her, just in case.
When Liesel arrived at her study, Morgause wasn't in her cell. Liesel's heart skipped a beat as she swung around, searching for her prisoner. She only had a few minutes to find Morgause and take her own potion, or her secret would be out. Examining the cell, she tried to remember if she'd missed any of her usual procedures. Had she missed a lock or a chain? Had she forgotten to make Morgause swallow her usual potion that week?
Morgause stepped out from behind the curtain to Liesel's potion storage, perfectly poised to attack. "You might be smart, Hero, but you can't outsmart me. I've been watching you these past weeks."
Liesel exhaled, her heart returning to its usual lazy pace. She'd made an error: Morgause hadn't been as weak as she'd thought. Digging her hands into Salu's fur, she confidently placed the order. "Get back in the cell." She searched for Morgause's usual hints of fear, grasping at feelings to amplify them, but there was nothing there.
"I'm not afraid of you, Hero," Morgause hissed. "But you're afraid of me."
Liesel took a step back. It was another mistake. Morgause saw it and smirked.
"Looking for this, aren't you?" She held up a vial, one labeled with blue paint, and stopped with a cork.
Liese held out a hand. "Give that here, Morgause. You have no idea how that could hurt you if any gets out." A lie. One that Morgause believed for a split second when Liesel planted the doubt in her mind. She held the vial out and Liesel took a step to take it from her when Morgause yanked it back.
"You're just like Hans," she said. "You're just stronger than he is. But that doesn't matter now, I know what you're doing and I can fight it."
Liesel shivered and then gasped when she realized why. What little draft entered the room had turned into a true breeze, slowly speeding up with Morgause's direction. Liesel grabbed at the hilt of the knife at her waist and slammed into Morgause without hesitation.
"Stop, now," she said, putting all of her available magic into the words and just enough pressure into her blade to draw a line of blood from Morgause's throat. She only laughed. "Stop now, and I won't hurt you. You can be at my side, be powerful again." Liesel said, adding a reason. Her voice wavered at the second part. Hero didn't bargain. Hero didn't need to bargain, because no one dared go against her.
Morgause snickered again, looking down at her.
That was when Liesel realized she'd changed. The sleeves of her blouse reached past her fingertips and the hem of the skirt fell around her feet. She'd shrunk. She was back in her own body. The look of triumph in Morgause's eyes hit like an ocean wave, and all Liesel could feel was panic. "Stop now, or else."
"Be beaten by a child? I think not." Morgause teased. She was overconfident now, toying with her now that she knew all Liesel had was the blade in her hand. The air writhed around them, but didn't do more than sting her skin.
That was her mistake.
Hero drew the knife across Morgause's neck. The blood sprayed her clothes, unaffected by the wind that immediately dispersed as Morgause fell to her knees.
The older woman didn't say a word as the blood spilled from her mouth, but she met Liesel's eyes, and there was nothing there but pure hate.
Hero grabbed onto Morgause's arm one last time, letting Arendelle free and stopping time for only the two of them. "I'm twenty-two," she whispered. "That's hardly a child. But know that I could've killed you when I was ten, just as easily."
Then she let go, returning her attention to Arendelle. She stabbed the knife through Morgause's chest, just to be sure, and stood. Her clothes were too big and covered in blood. The scrolls in her lab had flown around the room with the storm, and some soaked in the blood that pooled in the floor. In places the blood mixed with liquids from smashed bottles and bowls, creating unknown potions that bubbled and steamed and destroyed. Luckily, her latest version of the metamorph potion still sat in a vial on the counter, pinned in place by a few well-placed books.
Liesel cursed. It was sickening. She felt a wet nose nuzzle her arm and looked down to see Salu. The dog whimpered and pushed his head into her hands.
"I'm okay," she assured him. "We're both fine." She stroked his fur, breathing deeply and allowing herself and Arendelle to live life at a normal speed for once. "We're fine," she repeated. It wasn't enough. She only had just enough time to drag herself to a basin before she threw up.
She told herself she'd clean everything later and stumbled out of the room, facing Geric on the other side.
He stared at her, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Liesel realized that not only was she still covered in blood, but Geric could see the chaos and Morgause's body behind her.
"Everything is fine," she said to him.
He backed up slowly. "I don't think —"
"Everything. Is. Fine. Go to your room."
If she'd been calmer, she might have used magic to ease his emotions. But she was not calm. She was anything but calm, and she needed to find another bin before more vomit arrived. Liesel cursed, not caring if Geric could still hear her.
Back in her room, she collapsed on the bed, Salu nestling in next to her, whimpering softly. The dog was afraid. That was bad. His fear was her fear, and her fear was his. Had she miscalculated, or was she just having a bad day? It had to be a bad day. She wasn't immune to having them. No one was. Everything was fine. Nevermind that she'd never actually killed anyone before. Liesel had caused death, been the indirect executioner, the voice behind the order. She'd never held onto a person and watched the blood spill out of them until their life disappeared. She'd known the exact moment of loss. When Morgause's emotions blinked out of existence, she felt the control fade.
She closed her eyes. Breathe. In. Out. Her heart thumped in her chest at a normal rhythm, signaling the passage of time that she allowed to happen. Why hadn't she just let go of Arendelle's time and frozen time for herself? Then Morgause could've been alive. She would have seen just what kind of power she was messing with.
Calmer now, she stripped off all of her bloody clothes, slipping into a nightgown for the evening. She tossed the sheets, too, searching the closet for material to replace them. She was just about to get back into bed and leave everything until tomorrow, when Salu nudged her away.
"I'll clean up tomorrow," she whispered. "I just need sleep."
Salu whimpered, his dark eyes staring into her's. Then she could feel what he felt — the fear of a small boy trying to sneak quietly past the door.
Liesel opened it before he could leave.
"Geric."
The boy stopped in his tracks. He looked back at Liesel, defensiveness coming off of him in deep waves.
"You're scared. I know. I scared you. I'm sorry." She didn't know what else to say. She relied on manipulating emotions too much, she knew that, but she didn't have the energy to care enough to do even that. What could he really do to hurt her if she didn't?
"I promise, nothing will hurt you here. Just go back to bed, and I'll talk to you in the morning. Okay?" She waited for a response.
Geric took a few hesitant steps back toward the room he shared with his sister. Then a few more, until he was running. Liesel waited for the door to shut behind him before allowing herself to shut herself in as well.
If you didn't read the end, note that Liesel killed Morgause and then had a negative response to her first official kill. Geric sees the body, and Liesel tries to console him but is terrible at it.