Let the fun begin! I don't own the WITCH crew!
Chap: saying hello….
Hay Lin stepped cautiously into the small chamber, nervously fiddling with her clothes. Will had transformed her back to her normal human form, as the mage had warned that too much magic near Cedric now could harm him. A few torches burned in the wall scones to give the room some light, casting shadows everywhere. Deep gouges marred the walls and part of the door from where the monster had tried to claw his way out. Cracked imprints marked where his massive tail had tried smashing the walls down. She swallowed hard at the memory of that animalistic strength and glanced around, searching for Cedric.
She almost fell over him.
A teenage boy lay sprawled on the floor amidst what looked like the tattered remains of green and gold robes. His body was bent at awkward angles, like he had been seizing. Hay Lin blushed to the roots of her hair, for the fact was that he was stark naked. She had to admit that he had a rather nice body. His short blonde hair was wet with sweat, eyes closed like he was dreaming. She could tell that he would be tall when he stood up, and he almost looked a little gangly. His skin was pale from lack of sunlight, but a red flush was on his face.
'Probably from getting the charm out, she thought. He began to stir, eyes opening a bit to show the purple irises that had always attracted her. Something struck her as she moved towards him about his eyes. They no longer had that slightly slitted appearance. She knelt down to his side, arms going around him to help him sit up. "Cedric?"
"Wha….what?" he murmured. He tried to open his eyes further, and found himself to be incredibly lethargic. Everything felt so heavy and stiff. It felt like he was trying to move through a field of molasses. With effort, he looked to find the one supporting him.
Purple orbs met eyes of jet black in an effort to understand. He blinked, trying to focus more. "Who…….pardon me, lady, but who are you?"
"You don't recognize me?"
"No," he answered, trying to focus on the girl. Her voice had sounded muffled, like his ears were stuffed with cotton. He shook his head slightly to clear it. "Have we met before?"
"Um, a few times, but its not important," she answered, shaking her head as she gave him a tiny smile.
A sudden image came to him, of three girls with tiny wings flying around him. He had tried to swat them with his tail—what? His tail?
The girl looked at him in concern. "How are you feeling?"
He tried to move and found that he needed her help once more as he sat up further. "I'm not at my best. To be truthful, I feel like I'm covered in glue and can't move anything." He coughed lightly. "What happened?"
"You don't remember?"
"I---I don't know." He blinked in consternation. "I keep getting these strange images of"---suddenly, it all came to him. The memories of the monster: of changing into the giant man-snake, of attacking his own people. He remembered the village where he'd grown up burning, of the news that his father had been killed—
He moaned, both hands going up to the sides of his head. He clenched his fingers in his hair, oblivious to the girl franticly asking him what was wrong. Tears began to streak down his face.
He remembered imprisoning so many people whose only crime had been to try and protect each other from a terrible evil. He remembered attacking innocents to send to the mines, to be slaves for Phobos
"Wh-what have I done? What have I done?" he wept. The girl pulled him into her arms, rocking back and forth trying to soothe him. He held onto her for dear life, trying to block everything out of his head. "I remember. I remember everything! What have I done?" He whispered brokenly. "May heaven forgive me, somehow."
She let him cry, feeling his tears soak into her sweater. Pulling back, she looked him directly in the eyes. "You didn't do any of those things," the girl said fiercely. "Phobos made you do them."
"But I remember thinking of how to do it!" he cried. "I remember plotting to attack thousands of innocent people and liking it"—
"Phobos forced a piece of himself inside you," the girl answered. "He used it to control you and your thoughts. You didn't do those terrible things."
He leaned back and managed to shift out of her arms, trying to look at her more clearly. His eyes widened as he recognized her. "You! You're the one who controlled the air! You're one of the Guardians!"
She looked down, smiling in slight embarrassment. "Yeah, that's me."
He frowned in confusion. "Why?"
"Why am I a Guardian? Well, its likely that because my grandma was one that it just got passed on, but she doesn't think so. It seems that this whole Destiny thing picked me for it, and it never consults you about these things and just has you go out and do it"—
"N-no, I mean---why are you here? With me, now?"
"What do you mean?"
"Are you here to execute me?"
She gaped at him in shock. "What?"
"For all that I've done. I helped burn villages, enslaved thousands of people. I attacked people ruthlessly, and I killed the ones who failed me. I"—he shuddered and grimaced in disgust as more tears escaped his eyes—"I remember eating them."
She leaned towards him, reaching out to cup his cheek in her palm as her other hand wiped away his tears. "Don't worry. That will never happen ever again."
He looked away, unable to meet her eyes. "How do you know for certain that I am no threat?"
"The Mage got rid of the magic that made you transform. You couldn't be the snake thing even if you wanted to."
"I can no longer transform? Ever again?"
"You got it."
He smiled, almost ruefully. "Thank the heavens for that. But," his face became somber once more, "how can you be sure that I won't act as the monster again? How do you know that my mind is truly my own?"
She leaned back to look at him better. "Do you want to do any of those things again?"
He shuddered in revulsion, "no."
"Are you happy that those things happened?"
"No!"
"Then I don't think you will ever let such terrible things happen again." She took his hand. "I'm not here to hurt you. In fact, I'm here to help you."
He frowned lightly in confusion. "Help me? You would help me after all that I've done?"
"Sure. Why not?"
He looked at her like the answer should be obvious.
She shook her head at him. "I'm here because it's the right thing to do. And because—well," she blushed and whispered something that he didn't catch.
"What? Your pardon, my lady, I couldn't hear you."
"I—I wanted to meet the real you."
"The real me? Why?
"You"—she blushed. "I just always thought that there was more to you than just the snake thing."
He blinked in surprise. "Truly?"
She nodded shyly. "Uh-hmm."
"Oh." Cedric found himself blushing. No girl had ever bothered to look twice at him before. Not when he was a bookkeeper, or when he had been—he mentally scowled, Phobos' servant. He looked to the side, unable to meet her eyes. "Are you disappointed with what you find?"
She looked up at him, surprised at his tone. "No, not at all. I think that---I could get to like you. Like this, I mean."
He found himself blushing again, looking down to hide his face a bit. "Thank you," he said softly.
"For what?"
He paused a moment. "For being so kind to me," he finished.
"Oh," she giggled. "That's nothing. Wait till you find out what I'm supposed to help you with."
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