Chapter 75

Something SHATTERED inside of Melyssa the moment that talisman was crushed beneath Ash's boot.

She couldn't explain it, but all the anger, animosity, and negative feelings she had since returning to their lives vanished into thin air. Her eyes slowly opened, staring up at Rean and Melyssa smiled genuinely for the first time in over two years. Despite her neck being cut by his Tachi and the duel they just had, Melyssa felt overwhelming happiness and relief flood her from head to toe. It was almost as if she was waking up from a very long, tumultuous dream that was full of twists and turns.

"Rean." Even her voice sounded different, just like his.

Was that really how deep the darkness had been embedded into them? How long was the darkness inside of her, was it the entire two-plus years? It wouldn't surprise her if that was the case and she placed a shaky hand over his while he continued applying pressure to her neck.

"I-I'm so, so sorry, Rean. I-I never meant for…any of this to happen, especially to you…" Not holding them back as she would have before, Melyssa felt the hot tears pour down her cheeks and reached up with her other hand to wipe his own away with her thumb.

Goddess, this was HIS fault! He had bought those talismans, from a merchant on the airship. Rean had thought giving her some extra protection at the time, when she hadn't been able to link up with Crow, on top of what they had been going to do in Jurai, was a brilliant idea. He had never expected this… not even in his most horrific nightmares.

"Ash," He gasped, turning his head towards the other man who was just staring at them with an unreadable look on his face. "Get help."

Reluctantly, Ash nodded and headed for the town, hoping whatever damage Rean had done could be healed with minor issues. He also hoped that the gaga eyes Rean and Melyssa were giving each other were gone by the time he got back. He had a dark and heavy feeling of his own building in his chest and it wasn't caused by any evil magic or demonic talismans. Melyssa didn't bother looking away from Rean, not caring about anything or anyone else except him at the moment. She knew he was worried, the concern etched in his soft fuchsia eyes.

The anger wasn't there. The animosity and hatred were gone. It did her heart good to see him back to normal and she felt as if a huge burden had been lifted from her own heart and shoulders.

"You're okay now, Rean…and so am I. We're both going to be all right."

The spell was broken and the darkness was gone, out of their systems. Crow was right when he said something was off about Rean and she suddenly realized all the cruel things she'd said to him. It all came flooding back to her and she began crying, burying her face in her hands. How could she be so cruel to so many people?! The things she said to Rean that day at the log cabin also filtered through her mind and she began hiccoughing, which in turn didn't help the cut on her neck.

Rean had barely missed her carotid artery.

"Stop, stop it!" He shushed, his tone soothing, a lot different than only moments ago when it had been cold and cruel, out to purposefully hurt her. "You have to calm down or you'll aggravate the wound further." He sincerely hoped Ash hurried up. He may have missed the carotid artery, but that didn't mean her getting worked up was going to help things, no…it'd make her blood pump faster and spill out faster. Rean settled himself on the ground properly, carefully pulling her up so she was elevated, the wound above her heart properly, with an arm braced beneath her upper back to keep her in this inclined position. He stared down at Melyssa, watching as she began breathing easier, her eyes locked with his, and smiled sadly, tenderly.

How many times was this woman going to save him?

"Rean…"

A flash of red erupted in front of them and both turned to look up at none other than Rosalie. "As touching as this is, Schwarzer, I really need to heal her before she bleeds to death." The elder witch declared, walking over with staff in hand and lowering to Melyssa's level, pulling the shirt away from the wound. "You were very lucky, girl. Hold still."

Melyssa obeyed, swallowing hard, and felt Rean clutch her hand to rest over her racing heart, a warming sensation spreading over her neck. She could hear Rosalie chanting softly under her breath, her hands glowing a bright blue and slowly, the wound began to close. Ash didn't go back to town because of the nature of Melyssa's injury, having a better idea. Instead, he made one phone call and hoped it went through. It wasn't a normal call on the ARCUS II either and when he returned, he saw Rosalie had indeed come to the rescue, again, with her magic to heal Melyssa.

"All right, that should do it." Rosalie looked from Melyssa to Rean, narrowing her crimson eyes at him. "Give me your palm." She ordered, smirking when Rean immediately obeyed and closed her eyes, checking to see if the darkness was indeed gone. "Yes, destroying the talisman worked. You both are free and completely yourselves again."

"Thank the Goddess…"

"Mmm, her too." Rosalie pursed her lips, turned to glance at Ash, and nodded at him. "For once, Carbide, smart call."

His response was to both thank her verbally and flip her off as he slowly made his way to the pair on the ground.

"You're welcome." She snorted, surveying the situation, and gave another nod. "I'll be on my way, I'll report back to Machias and let him know the mission was a success. And Crow." She added as an afterthought. Crow had been antsy ever since Melyssa and Ash had left.

A second later, she had disappeared as quickly as she had arrived.

"You okay, beautiful?" Ash asked, kneeling down beside them, his eyes searching over her intently before glancing at Rean.

Rean was obviously back to his normal self, he had tears in his eyes.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. I feel…different. I can't really explain it."

Slowly taking Ash's hand, Melyssa rose to her feet and felt him pull her into his arms. She didn't want Ash's arms around her, however, she wanted it to be Rean holding her. That was a terrible thought to have, especially after she JUST confessed her love for Ash. Not to mention, he had taken her virginity! Was that all the darkness? Could the darkness infuse those phony feelings into a person? She didn't know, but Melyssa felt obligated to be with Ash, no matter what her heart screamed at her.

"We should all head back, get some rest and something to eat. Rean, your parents are worried about you, so you should go see them as soon as possible."

If Ash had any inkling of what Melyssa was thinking, he would have taken her head clean off, Rosalie be damned. When he had asked about her feelings being something motivated by the darkness, she had been vehement in her persistence that it was directly from her. Ash had always been the lewd, crude flirt, the playboy, worse than even Crow Armbrust, and yet this one single woman had managed to tame HIM, make him WANT to be a one-woman man. He had lost her once and the idea of losing her again, because she was a fool, would have destroyed him.

"Yeah…" He nodded his head, giving Rean a strained smile. "You should probably apologize to your parents, actually… do you remember anything from these past two years?"

"All of it." Rean croaked, wiping tears off his cheeks, and turned his head up towards the sky. He had been a horrible little beast, the things he had said, the things he had done, all to people he cared about. "I am so sorry for what I said to you, to both of you. Especially you, Melyssa. I didn't mean any of it."

Her heart shattered at the sight of him, wanting to go to him and hug him close, to give him some kind of comfort, but she stayed steadfast in Ash's arms. "I know you didn't, Rean. You weren't yourself because of the horrible spell. I said terrible things to you as well, and Crow…"

She sniffled, wiping tears away from her eyes. Her heart was breaking because Rean was who she truly wanted to be with. It'd always been him and now she was stuck with someone she used to consider her best friend.

"Everyone will understand, once they know what's going on and I do believe Machias has already contacted all of Class VII to inform them. Just take one step at a time, like I have to, and eventually, things will get back to normal for both of us." Melyssa hoped she could also transfer her feelings from Rean to Ash and knew it would take time to make it happen.

It had to, she couldn't bear the thought of hurting Ash.

"Yeah." Rean agreed though he didn't sound very hopeful, going to retrieve his Tachi.

He had almost used his extensive training to kill someone he cared very deeply about. Rean felt like he should burn this weapon and never pick up another one again because he was undeserving. Sheathing it, he fell behind them, letting Ash lead the way back into Ymir with his arm securely around Melyssa. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that those two were together, it was in the way Ash held her, cradled her gently against him, and that did not make him feel any better. Though, he also knew two years was a long time, and when he and Melyssa finally met again, he had not been very kind.

As long as she was happy.

Melyssa was happy now that the spell was broken and both she and Rean were back to their normal selves. She could finally be herself with Ash and there was no spell or darkness tainting what they had together. She did love him; how could she not? That didn't mean she couldn't love another man, however, and that love for Rean, as much as she wanted to act on it, had to be stuffed down.

Ash was her man now, the one she was with.

They all arrived back in Ymir and Rean immediately went to his parent's house, his home, while Ash lead Melyssa back to The Phoenix Wings. Having a near-death experience put a lot of things into perspective and apparently, rose Ash's libido considerably. The moment they were back in the room, he had her pinned to him with his mouth on hers and she could feel the desperation in his kiss and touch. He was scared of losing her and Melyssa surmised he was probably pretty angry at the risk she took.

So instead of pushing him away, she gave in to him, allowing him to divest her of her clothing, and she did the same to him, before letting him have her any way he wanted. She was his now; she made her bed and she would lie in it and be content with Ash Carbide, regardless of who her heart really longed for. Afterward, and he had been gentle with her after that semi-brutal kiss, Ash held her beside him, caressing and stroking everywhere he could touch. He had been mindful of her body, knowing today had been draining, and he had made slow, sweet, and tender love to her.

"I could have lost you again…" He murmured in her hair, feeling her shaking her head. "You have no idea… how hard those two years without you were. It felt today… like it was going to be like that again." Because Rean had nearly taken her head off and WOULD have if not for that talisman being broken and then catching himself just in the literal nick of time.

She slowly rolled to lay on her back to stare up at him, stroking his face tenderly with her hand. There was no darkness tainting her anymore; Melyssa had fully returned to who she used to be and it showed in her pure teal eyes. "Ash…" He loved her so much and she could see it in his eyes, leaning up to softly brush her lips against his. "You won't lose me again. I'm here, I'm right here with you and I'm all yours, just like I said." Melyssa slid her fingers through his hair, feeling his forehead rest against hers, and breathed him in. "I'm sorry for worrying you and being gone those two years. Being away from you for two years was terrible for me too, but I promise, as long as the Goddess and Aidios keep me alive and well, you'll never lose me." Another kiss, this time deeper and a little harder. "I love you, Carbide." She truly did. She meant every word that came out of her mouth and she felt the need to say it to him again, now that she wasn't under a spell.

Ash nodded, brushing his lips against the corner of her mouth, and groaned when his cock gave a half-twitch. "Don't… it's not ready yet." He muttered, hearing her giggle, and rolled Melyssa onto her back, staring down at her intently. "I love you, and it's all behind us… you're finally back to being you, here with me now, and we're going to get everyone together properly this time and send those worthless fucks back to the rocks they belong under." He didn't consider her to be Ouroboros, not really.

Maybe her loyalty to the organization had been because of that darkness.

"Yes, we will. I will never again call myself an Enforcer or be a puppet on a string for them again. I am a woman who wants to follow the way of the sword, not be someone's lapdog and errand girl." There was conviction in her voice, not animosity or anger like there had been before. "Ash, there is something we need to discuss, though, and you're not going to like it." His eyes became guarded and she softly brushed her lips against his. "Not about us – about Rean. I know you blame him for what happened in Jurai, and that's your right, but…if we really are getting everyone together to take out Ouroboros, you need to make amends with Rean. As much as I know you'll hate hearing this, we need him, lover." He went to protest and she pressed a finger to his lips, rubbing her nose against his. "Do it for me then, if you won't do it for yourself. Please?"