Both of the monsters shrieked in frustration. They reached for Blaine, their claws swiping at the air close to him. Their faces contorted, and their blood-stained fangs gnashed at him as their anger became evident.
"You cannot touch him," Kurt told them firmly. "You will never harm him. You will never have him."
Kurt took a deep breath and walked to the edge of the circle he had created. He slowly broke it, pushing a portion away with his boot to create an opening.
"But you may have me," Kurt said quietly as he stepped back farther into the circle.
"Kurt, no!" Blaine cried out as the fae creatures cackled happily and turned their attention back toward their intended target.
As they swiftly neared the circle, Kurt fell to his knees with tears in his eyes. He looked to the bard one last time.
"Courage, Blaine," he whispered.
Kurt closed his eyes, both hands wrapped around the silver shears, and took a breath.
He was ready to await his fate.
Blaine always knew there was more to the world than what his own eyes had him see. During his apprenticeship as a bard, he learned many a song and tale of fantastical creatures – of lands ensconced in magic and mystery - of spirits that linger after Death - of true love at a glance and soulmates being drawn to one another.
Most of which he had never seen himself. His head told him they were only stories, just fantastical daydreams, bits of entertainment. But his heart - his heart always told him something else. That somewhere under the melodies and harmonies and magical tales, there must be some source of truth.
And everything his heart felt was confirmed the minute he stepped into the Dark Forest.
And now – the stories and songs were coming to life, right before him, in a gruesome, frightening reality.
Blaine watched, horrified, as the mad, wild creatures made their way toward Kurt. Like bastardized versions of beautiful young maidens – they terrified the young bard. Their once bewitching countenances were distorted into something ugly and hideous. Their crazed eyes darted about and glinted with a hunger that he felt only one thing could appease - Death. Blaine was now witness to the harbingers of Death, and he could not look away. He wanted to cry out again, to run to Kurt, but he could not. It was as if he was rooted to the spot, a prisoner to watch the handsome young man get ripped to pieces before his very eyes.
Kurt knelt with blood still running down his arms and kept his eyes closed. He knew the moment the creatures had breached his magic circle. There was a palpable shift in the magic around him. It was as if a great weight began pushing on his lungs. A feeling of darkness and heaviness overcame him. He opened his eyes and looked at the creatures approaching him.
"I know who you are," he whispered to them.
Blaine's heart raced as he watched the creatures stalk Kurt – inch by agonizing inch, they approached him, their claws and fangs bared. In frustration, he struggled to move again to rush to Kurt's aid. But he felt as if something had tied him to this spot.
"You will not be able to help him," a soft voice whispered in his ears.
Blaine whipped his head around to see an ethereal figure standing beside him. The woman had chestnut locks that tumbled about her shoulders, delicate, elfin features and a very familiar pair of blue-green eyes. She wore a gown of dark blue that swirled about her body like mist. Her skin was pale but yet so luminous it seemed to glow in the low light. The scent of lavender suddenly filled the air. Blaine watched as the flowers slowly began to grow at her feet as she walked around him.
"Release me!" he demanded, sensing magic surrounding the strange woman.
"It is not my doing," she told him. She scrutinized the bard closely. Then she looked to Kurt kneeling in the circle before them.
"You are free," Blaine pleaded to the woman. "Help him!"
"I cannot," she said sadly, shaking her head. Her beautiful features were then marred by another familiar expression of sadness. She moved forward as if to touch Blaine's shoulder, and his breath hitched as she saw his hand pass through his body like smoke.
"I was unable to help his father," the woman continued. "Like you, I could only watch as my love was taken from this world as I was."
The ethereal maiden wiped a ghostly tear from her cheek. "I was cursed then – and I am cursed now. To watch my son encounter these creatures as my own love did."
"And as I did as well . . " she confessed quietly.
Kurt shivered as he watched the creatures slowly circle him – like an animal playing with its food.
The ebony-haired creature hissed at the young man, low and menacing. She leaned forward and inhaled, smiling at the young man.
"Do you?" she asked him. "And I know who you are as well," she licked her lips hungrily.
Her beloved circled Kurt in the opposite direction. "We have waited a long time for you," she murmured. The pale-haired creature grinned as well. "Wanted to see you," she took one of her claws and ran it through the pool of blood that had gathered beneath Kurt. She brought the claw to her mouth and sucked it clean, moaning. "To taste you." She said.
Kurt did his best not to flinch when the creature neared him. He gripped the silver shears even tighter, knowing they were his last means of protection against the monsters.
"Come now," the dark creature purred. "Are you not tired? Are those shears not heavy?" Both creatures began to cackle as they watched Kurt struggle, his strength waning with every drop of blood spilling from him.
"So heavy," her beloved parroted back. "Arms so tired. So tired," the pale creature moaned.
The young man could only sigh and nod in agreement. Kurt was exhausted. It would be so easy to give in and let the shears slip from his hands.
"Down, down, down . . ." the pale creature sang. "Down, down, place them down," she danced around Kurt, absolutely giddy with his distress.
Kurt closed his eyes and softly sang:
I would swim over the deepest ocean
The deepest ocean for my love to find
But the sea is wide and I cannot swim over
Neither have I wings to fly
If I could find me a handsome boatsman
To ferry me over to my love and die
"Can we do nothing for him," Blaine pleaded to Kurt's mother as he listened to the mournful song. "I cannot let him do this alone."
The woman smiled sadly. "You love him," she said.
Blaine paused – could it be – could this pull he felt towards Kurt - could it be love? He took one look at Kurt: pale, trembling, and yet so strong and brave – and he knew. He knew that truth in his heart.
"Yes," he whispered. "Yes, I do love him." He turned, now even more desperate, to Kurt's mother. "What is to be done?"
"I cannot undo the magic anchoring you to this spot," she told him. "This is the protection spell that Kurt has done for you. Only he can break its hold."
The woman took a deep breath and decided. "But this I can do," she said.
The ethereal maiden leaned forward and placed a ghostly finger upon the center of Blaine's forehead. As it slowly grazed his skin, Blaine groaned. His head felt like it was about to burst – a kaleidoscope of colors exploded before his eyes, overtaking his vision for a moment. – blindingly beautiful colors, bright and piercing. Blaine dropped the brindle cat from his arms, and he fell to his knees, clutching his head in his hands.
The woman knelt by his side to whisper in Blaine's ear. "Let go," she murmured. "Open your mind so that you can truly see."
Blaine's body relaxed, slumped forward, and collapsed onto the grass.
With that, Kurt's mother glided quickly to the magic circle. The creatures hissed at the ghost's presence. They could feel her within the magical space but could not see her. Desperately, they clawed the air and shrieked as they found they could not get a hold of her.
"Kurt," his mother whispered. "Do not despair, my dearest. You are not alone."
Upon hearing his mother's voice, Kurt opened his eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Mama?" he asked, still amazed that he saw her before him. But there she was, as beautiful as he remembered her. He could even smell the light scent of lavender that always permeated her gowns. She was there. He could not believe it.
The ghostly visitor smiled warmly at him. "Be strong, my darling," she said, laying a feather-light kiss on his forehead. "We are with you always." The woman looked back over her shoulder. Kurt followed her gaze. His heart began to sink quickly as he saw the young bard lying on the ground.
"Blaine?" he whispered. Kurt tried so hard to keep him safe. Had he failed after all?
"Kurt?"
A voice quietly answered him. Almost a whisper, it was close, practically spoken directly into his ear. Kurt turned and saw Blaine beside him, transparent and ghost-like, as his mother was.
Suddenly the fae creatures screamed again, sensing another presence in the circle. They began to pace madly around Kurt, looking for the other magical entities they could feel but not see.
"Am I dead?" Blaine asked Kurt's mother, eyeing his prone body not far away.
"No, I have helped you soul walk, but this will not last long." The woman shook her head. "It is not yet your time," she told him.
"I am so tired," Kurt confessed to Blaine and his mother. "I can not. . .I can not go on." His eyelids were getting heavier and heavier, and the shears clutched in his hands slowly began to sink closer to the ground.
Blaine rushed to kneel in front of Kurt. "I am here, Kurt." He placed his hands upon the other young man's. Kurt knew it couldn't be possible, but he swore he could feel a cool, steady touch where Blaine's fingers rested on his. "Take my strength if you can," Blaine said. "Anything, take anything. Whatever you need." Blaine pleaded as he rested his forehead against Kurt's. "I'll give it to you. Anything. Everything."
He pulled back, and hazel eyes gazed into blue-green ones.
"I love you," Blaine said silently.
"I love you, too." Kurt returned with a sweet, sad smile.
The bard quietly sang:
Hear the fond tale
Of the sweet nightingale,
As she sings in those valleys below
So be not afraid
To walk in the shade,
Nor yet in those valleys below,
Nor yet in those valleys below.
Kurt took a deep breath and nodded. He had Blaine before him and felt his mother's presence behind him as if she stood there with her arms on his shoulders. He was surrounded by love.
The creatures had reached their limit, their impatience evident as they began snarling and growling even louder.
"It is time, pretty unicorn." the pale fae creature moaned.
"Time for all things to end." her lover countered.
"Time to die," the other whispered near one of Kurt's ears.
"Time to eat," the dark creature whispered near his other ear.
"You do not belong here," Kurt addressed the creatures circling him. "You are no longer welcome in this wood."
The creatures hissed in return, their anger growing.
Kurt raised his chin with a gleaming eye - strong, proud, defiant. "All who pass through here will forever remain safe," he declared.
He chanted:
I am the thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glints in snow
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle, autumn rain.
As you awake with morning's hush,
I am the swift, up-flinging rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight,
I am the day transcending night.
Kurt gazed at Blaine as he raised the silver shears above his head. Blood continued to stream down his arms, a stark contrast against his pale skin.
He continued:
Do not stand
By my grave, and cry—
I am not there,
I did not die.
And with a cry, Kurt plunged the silver shears into the ground before him.
The sky filled with a blinding white light. Blaine felt pulled abruptly back into his body as if a tether had been tugged at that very moment. The shrieks of the fae creatures echoed loudly off the trees. All the while, the scent of lavender lingered in the glade.
And then there was silence.
Stillness.
It was done.
TO BE CONTINUED . . .
More info on inspiration and the poetry/songs used can be found here on my Tumblr:
(Remove the _ from the URL s below to use as links)
https_:_/_/_at_._tumblr_._com_/_bitbybitwrites/inspiration-for-lavender-klaine-fan-fic/w7lmj9dsq4wf
But about the title of the piece:
Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
"Lavender is often used as a meditation aid as it quiets the chatter of the mind and, therefore, the ego. It is said that Lavender resonates with the sixth chakra, Ajna, located in the "third eye" area of the forehead, between the eyebrows. The Ajna chakra is considered the center of foresight, intuition, contemplation, and enlightenment and is associated with the eyes, brain, pineal gland, and nervous system.
Ancient knowledge considers Lavender to promote deeper spiritual understanding, psychic insight, and intuitive visions. In addition, Lavender will help to cast away any doubts about embracing our spiritual power. "
https_:_/_/_wisdom_._thealchemistskitchen_._com_/_5-herbs-to-open-your-third-eye
