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Family
by Mina
Standard disclaimers for Majutsushi Orphen and Majutsushi Orphen: Revenge apply. As a work of fan fiction, this is intended only for entertainment purposes—well, and to provide a distraction for the author from those dreaded things in reality that want her soul. ^_^
Warnings: This takes place right after the Room of Knowledge episode (can't remember the number right now -_-;). Mostly angst and introspection, and some shounen ai/yaoi hints. This story actually focuses more on Cleao, for once, and how sometimes she sees things that others might miss.
A/N: To D-chan, whom I know is struggling with writing a Cleao/Orphen fic. I don't think this'll help much, but I'm rooting for you! ^_^
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Cleao Everlasting knew that she wasn't always calm and logical, and knew that some people considered her loud, brash, and more than a minor annoyance. But Cleao wasn't dumb—she knew that people thought those things, and to be honest, she didn't really care.
She'd seen Majic, late at night, huddled beneath his cloak as close to the dying fire as he could get, head bent forward, lips moving in silent frustration as he tried to puzzle through a series of slightly-worn volumes. She'd never told him that she'd seen him…just as she'd never told Orphen that she knew why he was so tired in the mornings, why the bags underneath his eyes were getting worse the closer they drew to their destination of returning to the Ruins of Baltanders.
It was a puzzle for her, really. Why would Majic put himself through so much hell, studying the sorcerous runes without Orphen's knowledge or consent, if he didn't expect anything in return? It was obvious that Orphen didn't know what his apprentice got up to in the early hours before dawn.
And Cleao had decided that she would respect Majic's silence.
Now, though…after the trouble Majic had gone through to procure the Crystal of Baltanders at the potential cost of his life… How ridiculous! How stupid! Didn't the boy realise he could have died? What would they have done then, if Majic had died? Orphen would have been without an apprentice, and she…
She would have been without a brother.
Sliding down the wall with a sigh, she let her head loll to the left, where she could see Stephanie and Majic with their heads bent together, trying to put together the missing parts of the runes that had been revealed when Orphen had spread the Water of Knowledge across the sky in a runic rainbow. Stephanie seemed fond of Majic, which made her smile. Maybe Majic's self-taught lessons would be furthered under her tutelage.
But Orphen…his reaction had puzzled Cleao. His anger at Majic disobeying him, and then his fervent belief that Majic could pull off such a difficult spell as cryo-magic when all of his earlier attempts had failed… His belief that Majic could do it simply because he was Orphen's apprentice—well, that she had simply passed off as arrogance. But then he had talked Majic through the spell—and instead of simply freezing the Crystal of Baltanders, Majic had frozen the entire Room of Knowledge.
Cleao had been in shock. Oh, sure, she'd heard Orphen say that Majic had potential, but she'd never seen it until that moment. And Majic's joy hadn't been in the fact that he'd accomplished such a difficult spell so spectacularly, his joy had been in the fact that he hadn't let his master down.
She played through the scenes that had occurred afterwards in her head once again, a frown of concentration creasing her brow. Afterwards, when they'd fled the room into the dawning light outside of the ruins, she'd seen the dejection that had filled Majic's face when he realised that, despite all his hard work, they couldn't read the crystal. But then Orphen had smiled, and pulled a typical, arrogant Orphen stunt, and shown that there was still a way to get the knowledge from the crystal. The smile that had blossomed on Majic's face at that moment, the look that Orphen had given him in return as he ruffled that wheat blonde hair before Stephanie and Majic hurried to write the runes down… She'd never seen such an expression on Orphen's face before, never seen such open emotion.
Months earlier, she would have found such an act of kindness on Orphen's part unusual—even disturbing. He was supposed to be cruel, callous, heartless—a complete and utter bastard, like the bad guys in Mariabella's romance books.
But he wasn't.
Oh, sure, he seemed that way, but after travelling with him for nearly six months, she knew differently. And in some ways, it seemed that Majic had always known different. Sometimes she felt like a third wheel when they were all together. Not in the romantic sense, no, but they'd spent several months together before she had returned to Totokanta from her boarding school—almost twice as long as they'd been travelling, at least. But Majic never seemed uncomfortable in Orphen's presence, never seemed frightened by Orphen as she had been on several occasions.
"Oshou-sama!"
Majic's sweet cry rang through the room, startling her from her reverie. She smiled as she watched the boy try and tug his journal away from Orphen, saying that they weren't quite done yet, and it was pointless to read an unfinished script. But they were both smiling, even as Orphen called him an ungrateful apprentice, and Majic called him impatient and rude. Perhaps…
Shaking her head, Cleao rose to her feet again, running fingers through the tangles of her long hair. Perhaps they were both like brothers to her after all. Perhaps the other feelings she'd though she had for Orphen weren't "other" feelings after all.
A smile crossed her lips as Majic gave in but jumped at Orphen's back one last time in an effort to retrieve the volume. Orphen was laughing, dragging the blonde boy with him over his shoulders as he ran for the opening in the ruins again.
And, perhaps, master and apprentice wasn't the only relationship that Orphen and Majic shared.
*****
She watched as Majic smiled in relief at their return, the simple tears that slid like traitorous drops down his golden cheeks in an open display of his emotions, and she hated Orphen in that instant—hated him for lying to Majic, for making her carry the burden of Rox Row's words on her own.
How could he? Didn't he see what Majic felt for him? If Orphen were to die using the completed Sword of Baltanders, didn't he realise what he would be leaving behind?
It made her want to scream, made her want to cry…made her want to do unmentionable things to Orphen involving a sharp pointy object and salt, because that's what it would feel like to Majic if he watched his master—the one he'd given his entire heart and soul to—die.
"Cleao?"
Majic was smiling at her with that joyful innocence she'd only ever seen in him, his aqua eyes bright as they reflected his happiness at their return. "Hmmm?"
His hand touched her arm, and the joy fled in the wake of concern. "Are you all right, Cleao?"
She could feel her expression faltering, and she struggled to maintain her smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be? Just because I ended up traipsing around in the past with a dead guy because of stupid Orphen—"
"Eh?" Majic's eyes widened. "A dead person?"
"Yeah, we saw Rox Row here, in the ruins, when we ended up in the past."
"In the past? Hey, Cleao—tell me, tell me!"
Her smile was able to return now that she'd successfully managed to distract him. She led him away from Orphen and Stephanie, telling him with a hushed voice all about their adventure in the past. As they neared the crack in the ruins, Orphen's voice pulled her up short.
"Cleao."
She turned, still keeping a hold of Majic's arm, praying that he wouldn't turn as well. "Yes?"
He was giving her that narrow-eyed, searching look that she so hated, the one that made the sienna of his irises turn nearly black. His lips were quirked in what was supposed to be a smile, but she recognised what it meant: Don't tell him—never tell him.
Lips trembling, she closed her eyes and nodded before turning and dragging Majic with her back into the safety of the ruins.
"He's asleep."
Cleao jumped as Stephanie settled beside her on the cold and lonely chuck of pillar, her feet slipping, knees leaving their safe haven under her chin. "Eh? Who's asleep, Stephanie-san?"
Stephanie smiled, pulling her glasses from her face and rubbing at her eyes. "Both of them, troublesome boys that they are. Hopefully Majic will actually sleep tonight instead of waking up to study in the wee hours."
Cleao laughed, rubbing at her nose. "So you noticed that too, huh?"
"How could I not?" The glasses dangled from her long fingers, drawing Cleao's attention. "Never before have I seen an apprentice so devoted to their master as Majic is devoted to Orphen. I envy him, I really do."
She thought on Stephanie's words. "Why? Why do you envy them, exactly?"
Stephanie turned her head, gifting Cleao with a brilliant smile. "I even envy you, Cleao. You're a family, the three of you together. Majic is occasionally blinded by his devotion to Orphen, but you never are; you aren't afraid to tell him the truth.
"But the main reason that I envy Orphen is because of Majic himself. I know potential when I see it, Cleao. And Majic shows a kind of potential that I've never seen before. I didn't attend the Tower of Fangs; I studied under Cyle Clef, a student of Rox Row's. But I was also Orphen's partner for over two years, so I know what the Tower looks for in their students. Majic could surpass Orphen if he ever manages to get over that block he has on his talent. He probably has the strongest latent Dragon blood I've ever seen."
"Orphen knows that. That's why he picked Majic, so he could have the best apprentice."
"Now, Cleao, that's not fair," chided Stephanie. "It's true that Orphen is attracted to beauty and to power, but that's not the only reason he chose Majic—it's not the main reason, either."
"Then what is the reason?" There were tears leaking down her face, but she didn't care. Stifling a sniffle, Cleao turned to Stephanie with wide eyes. "Why did he pick Majic before I even had a chance?"
Stephanie smiled and gathered Cleao into her arm, holding the girl while she gave in to her tears. "Some things are hard to explain clearly, Cleao. Some people balance each other so perfectly, so completely, that to be without the other is to cause disaster. Majic, when he's fully grown, will be the perfect partner for Orphen, in every way."
"But then I won't be needed." Cleao's sniffles subsided, though her hands were still fisted in Stephanie's shirt. "When that happens, they'll forget about me."
"Oh, honey." Stephanie's hand slid through her hair, drawing her chin up so their blue eyes met. "There will never be a time when they won't need you. Family always needs each other; don't ever forget that."
In that instant, Stephanie reminded Cleao of Mariabella, and she gave into her instincts and her tears once again, and let the older man-turned-woman hold her until she fell asleep.
*****
She was finishing the packing when Orphen pulled her aside.
"You promise not to tell?"
She didn't look up. "I already told you that I wouldn't. I think you're making a big mistake, though."
His grip on her arm relaxed, and she hazarded a look up then. To her surprise, his expression was anything but ecstatic; eyes narrowed, lips tight and drawn, he looked like a man who had seen his own death and knew it. "Orphen…"
"I've decided, Cleao. This is what I set out to do six years ago, and I won't change my mind now."
"I know." She clutched her hands together, watching the way the blood fled from her knuckles. "But you should tell Majic, at least. If you…if it doesn't work…it'll destroy him."
She watched in fascination as Orphen's hands tightened as well, matching her own. "He's stronger then that. And Hartia will apprentice him should the worst happen."
Cleao shook her head. "But he doesn't want or need Hartia—he needs you."
"I've made up my mind."
Sorrow filled her, as did resignation. She pressed her hand to his chest, where his heart beat strong and firm beneath her fingers, and said, "But he made up your heart."
And, with that, she turned, gathered up the pack, and left to join Majic and Stephanie. Maybe, after they returned to Alenhatan, she would try one last time to change his mind, but she was certain that it wouldn't work. Fate would decide the outcome in the end; she had done all she could for her family.