I dont own any of the Tamora Pierce Characters
Ivy didnt have the strength to feel horror as the man she had believed to be dead picked her up and carried her out of the crowded chapel, apparently unaware of the blood gushing from his wounds. She didn't even have the strength to listen to the whispers of the people in the chapel, as they stared in amazement at the young man and girl who were covered in identical cuts. All she could do was close her eyes knowing that it didn't matter if she was safe or not... she was alive. She'd survived the Ordeal. She wouldn't die a failure.
He looked at her as she lay asleep on her bed. He hadn't seen her face for almost two years. Matthew reached out to stroke Ivy's cheek. He'd arrived back a few hours ago, while Ivy had been sitting vigil in the chapel, much to the shock of the Buri, Thayet, Jonathan, and every other person at the palace. He had to admire how thorough Gavin had been. He had covered all possible angles of discovery, sending letters to Ivy, Buri and Jonathan under the pretence that he was Raoul, intercepting Raouls letters to thoroughly check there was no way to say that he was not dead, only missing. He'd even used his Gift to send Ivy an image of Matthews 'death'. And then he'd used an illusion charm on himself, got the job of blacksmith in the palace, and wooed a mourning Ivy into bed with him. Matthew had been stabbed in the back by bandits, but he hadn't been killed. That hadn't been the plan. Gavin had spent his time explaining that. It was more punishing for Ivy to think he was dead, but more punishing for Matthew to have to watch Gavin win her over. And that was exactly what he had done. Kept prisoner in a cave for two years, tied with magic that would not allow him to use his Pyrotic powers, he had been forced by Gavins ally, Rageo, to watch while the woman he love was won over by the man who had raped her.
Ivy stirred in her sleep and Matthew drew his hand away. She slept lightly now. He'd seen that as well. He'd been tempted to run and throttle Gavin as soon as he had got to the Palace, seeing him across the courtyard picking at a flower, disguised as 'Garrick', but he hadn't. He had been in too much of a rush to get to the Chapel of the Ordeal, just in time to see the stone doors closing behind Ivy. No doubt Gavin had gone now, the look on his face when he saw Matthew had told him that he didn't want to be around now. Looking at Ivy's sleeping face, Matthew kissed her forehead and stood up.
"Night Angel," he murmured, and walked out.
Raoul, Buri, Jonathan, Thayet, Numair, Daine, Kel, Dom, George, Alanna and Gareth were all waiting outside the room for him.
"How is she?" Raoul asked quietly, his face white.
"Sleeping." Matthew said. Looking at Jonathan and Thayet, he asked, "Where's Garrick?"
Raoul lifted his head. "Who?"
Matthew ignored him and looked at Jonathan for the answer. He looked surprised, but didn't withold the information.
"Probably in the workshop, or his Chambers... why?"
"Because I need to see him." Matthew said calmly, the only thing that betrayed his state of calm the clenched fists at his sides.
"Who's Garrick?" Raoul asked venemously.
Matthew looked at him, then at the others. "Gavin." he said plainly. "Garrick is Gavin."
Gavin heard the door open just as he slung his pack over his shoulder. Swearing quietly, he headed over to the wall and lifted up the rug he had hung from the ceiling to reveal the door that lead out of the room and down to the city. He didn't bother with his illusion spell now, he was leaving Tortall for good. He was heading quickly down the tunnel when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned slightly to have a fist connect with his chin. Within a second he had been slammed against the wall of the tunnel.
"Nice try, Stone Mountain!" Matthew hissed. "But you won't get away that easily!"
Gavin looked over Matthews shoulder. There was no way he would be able to escape, ten of the Kings Own were standing behind Alanna, Raoul, Buri, Thayet, Jonathan, Daine, Numair, George and Gareth. There was no way he would be able to get by.
"Matthew. Let go." Jonathan said quietly.
Matthew looked at him. "What?"
"Let him go." Jonathan said firmly.
"After what he's done? No way... he's not getting away with it."
"Matthew." Jonathan said. "We don't know what Gavin has done. Let him go." Jonathan nodded to two of the men of the Own. They walked forward and took one of Gavin's arms each.
"Other than rape Ivy?" Matthew hissed. "He shouldn't even be here, he should be dead, along with his good for nothing Uncle Joren!"
"Matthew!" Jonathan commanded. "Let go, now! And calm down!" Matthew let go reluctantly, glaring venemously at Gavin as the two men led him back into his rooms and sat him on one of the chairs.
"Gavin of Stone Mountain." Jonathan said quietly, more to himself than anyone else. "You really are a nasty piece of work."
Gavin smiled coldly. "I do try. Run's in the family I've heard. Uncles seem to pass these things onto their nephews, you want to watch out for Tirragen."
Jonathan stood patiently. "You raped Ivy of Goldenlake, and it would appear that you have been behind Matthew's apparent 'death'. What do you have to say for yourself?"
Gavin grinned. "His wench is good for something other than fighting, I'll tell you that much."
Matthew, who had been standing relatively calmly a few metres away, launched forwards and grabbed Gavin's shirt, lifting him off the floor. "You ever speak about Ivy like that and I'll..."
"Matthew!" Jonathan said. "Let go and stand back."
Matthew looked at Gavin, then shoved him roughly backwards. "Bastard." he muttered. Alanna and George both put a hand on his shoulder and they led him outside.
"So where have you been?" Alanna said when they were in the fresh air. It was midwinter, but was reasonably warm.
"In a cave." Matthew said bluntly.
George raised an eyebrow. "You expect us to settle for that? Surely you don't believe we think that you would spend two years on your own in a cave?"
Matthew shrugged. "I never said I was alone."
Alanna nodded. "So what happened then? Start from the beginning, don't leave anything out..."
Matthew looked at her, then sighed. "Alright." he said. "But it's a long story. Can we sit somewhere?"
Alanna nodded, and she and George led Matthew to a seat in the courtyard. He sat down and took in a deep breath.
"Everything?" He asked.
Alanna nodded.
"Alright. I left here about a week after you did. I rode all day and was going through some woods - I forget which ones - when some bandits turned up on the rode and knifed me. I hadn't noticed them so couldn't protect myself, and I ended up with a knife stuck in my back. I passed out and woke up apparently a few days later in a cave. Gavin was there, so was Rageo. They'd tied me up with some kind of magic rope or something, I couldn't use my Gift or become a Pyro when I was tied with it. They kept it on me all the time. When they let me relieve myself, they'd attach a rope of it around me and hold the other end while I went behind a bush. I slept with it on, I ate with it. After a few weeks Gavin told me Ivy thought I was dead and showed me her crying in her room using his Gift. About a month later, he left, claiming Rageo would explain everything later on. It took him six months, but eventually Rageo showed me Ivy again. She was with Gavin... Garrick. Gavin had put an illusion spell on himself. It hid pretty much everything about him, except the scar on his cheek. I thought Ivy might recognise it, but she didn't. Rageo showed me them every night. They were always in one of their rooms, on one of their beds, talking. I didn't think she was going to do anything, then one night Rageo showed me the two of them and they were kissing and everything else... from then on it was the same thing all the time, watching them every night getting closer and closer, until one day he got her saying she loved him... up till then I'd been trying to get away, trying to get out of the ropes so I could go and get her back... I gave up after that... I thought she'd forgotten me... he was the only important thing to her now... then a few months ago the magic of the ropes started to fail... I could feel it weakening with every day... I hadn't used my Gift in almost two years, and I didn't plan to... at least not until Rageo showed me Ivy again... she was fiddling with the necklace I'd given her, saying that she was scared and she wanted me there... that was when I started using my Gift to weaken the rops... bit by bit I managed to weaken the ropes, till they were just normal again... Rageo didn't know I was using my Gift, or that the magic was weakening... Gavin wasn't there to tell him any differently either, all he noticed was that I was getting more tired than I had been before. About a month ago, Rageo left me for a while to get some wood for the fire, then I transformed into a Pyro and got rid of the ropes. Rageo got back and found me with my sword in my hand, and knew something had gone wrong. He tried to fight me, thinking I'd have forgotten how to use it after two years without one, but you never forget something like that, and I knew his technique now. He practised in front of me every night for two years, I knew which slices he preferred, which ones he was weakest at... all I had to do was get him to use them, and I could beat him... I did... and he's gone..." Matthew paused and looked at Alanna and George. Both of them were watching him intently. They said nothing, and he went on. "I passed out after that. I must have been out for a week or two, I'm not exactly sure, but when I woke up, all I knew was that I had to get back to Corus and see Ivy. I found out from commoners where I was. It wasn't much of a surprise - Gavin had taken me to Stone Mountain, and hid me in a cave. After that, I stole some food for the journey and headed back here on foot. It would have been too obvious to track me if I stole a horse, and much easier for Gavin's men to find me, and besides that, Rageos men would find out I wasn't there soon, and that Rageo was dead. He sent them letters every week, giving them orders. The deal was that if he didn't write every week, they had to come and see if he was still there. I got out of Stone Mountain as fast as possible and headed back to Corus. About a week ago I reached Tirragen - I figured I should let my parents know I was still alive. They both swore not to tell anyone that they'd seen me, and made the commoners swear too. I stayed there for a day, then took Magic from the stables. - he'd run there when I'd been stabbed. He wasn't as fast as he had been, but he got me here in time... now I want to get Gavin back. I'm going to make him pay. I'm going to get Ivy back, no matter what it takes."
Alanna and George looked at him carefully. "Rageo's dead?" Alanna said eventually.
Matthew nodded. "There's no way he's coming back."
Alanna nodded. "Jon will be pleased... I suppose it wouldn't have hurt to hear what Rageo had to say, but you did what you had to..."
"If Rageo had no Gift... how did he show you Ivy?" George asked.
"Borrowed." Alanna stated. "Gavin must have given him some of his Gift so that he could use it... I'm surprised he could spare it... I didn't even know he could use his Gift properly..."
Matthew shook his head. "He could have been a black robe. He didn't want to be. He thought it gave him more freedom if he wasn't, if he was a Knight he could use his Gift and fight... as a Mage he could only really be one..."
"Makes sense." George shrugged. "But even so, he must have some kind of black opal or something right? Nobody can keep up an illusion charm - no matter how powerful a mage they are - for two years straight without some kind of aid or replenisher."
Matthew nodded. "He's got a black opal hidden in the hilt of his sword, in the middle of his medallion, and in his knives. How he got enough money for them, I have no idea, I'll risk saying Rageo could have put him in touch with a supplier of them..."
"What I don't understand," Matthew went on, "Is why they wanted me there... it couldn't have been anything to Rageo if I was there or not, it wasn't making any difference to his war, and he didn't even know who I was..."
Alanna shook her head. "No. He knew who you are. You were famous in your first year of knighthood. You're probably Tortalls most talented fighter, as well as a Pyro. It was in Rageo's best interests to keep you away from the front line. And I suppose Gavin wanted his revenge on you... and Ivy..."
They were silent for a few moments, then Jonathan emerged from Gavins rooms with an angry expression on his face.
"Garrick... Gavin... whoever he is... he wants to see Matthew..."
Matthew, Alanna and George all stood up and moved to enter the rooms again, but Jonathan shook his head.
"He wants to see him alone. The others are just coming. Matthew, we'll be right outside, all you need to do is shout and we'll enter straight away, you understand?"
Matthew nodded. "Sure..."
He opened the door and walked in.
Gavin sat smirking on his chair. "Well, well, Tirragen, you made it... I can't say I'm surprised, though you did take your time about it... I was expecting you sooner."
Matthew stood there, watching Gavin as he stood and stretched, a grin on his face.
"I'll tell you something Tirragen, you trained Goldenlake's girl up pretty well... not at all the selfish cow in bed I was expecting... much more interesting when they let you experiment isn't it? Like when she lets you put your fingers..."
"Shut it..." Matthew growled, fists clenched.
"What? You're saying she never let you do that?" he shook his head. "That's shocking... then again... maybe you're the tight assed one, I wouldn't know." Before Gavin knew what hit him, he was slammed against the wall, Matthews much stronger hands holding him firmly there.
"I said shut it!" Matthew hissed. "And I meant it!"
Gavin chuckled. "Well, I mean it when I say I enjoyed it!"
Matthews fist connected with Gavins nose. He felt it splinter under his hand. Gavin gasped in pain.
"Now, shut up!" Matthew growled. "Unless you want a broken jaw to go with your broken nose!"
"You won't get away with it you know Tirragen... if you kill me... Ivy wouldn't forgive you... she doesn't know who I am... she thinks I'm Garrick... her lover Garrick..." he smirked, "Garrick, the man she loves..."
"Shut up!" Matthew said, roughly slamming him harder against the wall. "I said shut up!"
"Why? Don't you want to know the truth? You're 'fiancee' has been sleeping with me for the best part of one and a half years Tirragen... don't you think she's going to have some kind of feelings for me? I can tell you, even if she doesn't, she's welcome to keep feeling me... never enjoyed it quite so..."
Matthew slammed him into the wall once again, then felt his whole body beginning to burn up... no... this couldn't happen... not now... he could control this... he wasn't going to let Gavin win... he wasnt going to let his temper get the better of him...
"I have to say too... she is one hell of a kisser... you know when she whimpers and pretends to be innocent? Gods, that's a hell of a turn on!" Gavin grinned. "Come on Tirragen, lets share stories, experiences... everything else... she's been with both of us... lets give each other tips, then when she wakes up, she can pick who she wants, and he can have a leg over... sorry, I can have a leg over her, with your tips. Sound fair?"
"I'm telling you Stone Mountain, shut it if you know what's best for you!" Matthew was fighting with his anger, trying to get rid of the urge to burst into flame and kill him...
"That's the whole problem though isn't it? What's best for me, in my opinion, is getting one over on you. Getting your girl into bed with me... Gods, you'll never know how great that felt... fiesty little Goldenlake, fiancee of famous, womanizing Tirragen, in bed with Gavin of Stone Mountain... the same guy that raped her..."
"Shut up!"
"You know, I thought nothing could beat the feeling of her body protesting as I took her... but actually, knowing she's defying you... that made it a million times better than any rape..."
"Shut it!" Matthew roared. Fire consumed his whole body, he could feel the flames licking at his body, he could feel the need to kill Gavin, to shut him up... he'd hurt Ivy... he'd decieved her... he couldn't let anyone get away with that!
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