I dont own any of the Tamora Pierce characters
The fire consumed his whole body. Gavin screamed in pain. Somewhere in the distance Matthew heard the door opening, felt some kind of magic encase him, felt his hands being prised away from Gavin. He tried to fight it. What were they doing? Gavin deserved to die! Surely they knew that! He fought to release himself from the strong grips that held him, to break down the magical barrier keeping his fire inside him. He roared in protest, then saw everything go black. Numair had knocked him out.
Ivy woke up alone. She sat up and looked around. She was in her room, not Garricks... that in itself was odd. Someone had bandaged her wounds up neatly, and someone who knew her well had put a rose next to her bed. She smiled. She didn't know that Garrick knew her favourite flowers were roses... she carefully got out of the bed, wincing as she put pressure on her injured leg. She looked in the corner of the room and fell back down on the bed. Matthew's sword was leaning against the wall. Suddenly Ivy's memory returned. The visions shown to her in the Ordeal of Garrick becoming Gavin, the cuts on her body, inflicted by Gavin. And walking out of the Chamber to be crushed by Matthew's familiar -albeit bleeding- arms wrapped around her back. She felt sick. He wasn't dead... he'd promised he'd be back and she hadn't believed it. She'd gone to bed with another man... another man that was Gavin. She should of known. She'd recognized his scar from somewhere, but she hadn't known where... she'd been sleeping with her rapist for one and a half years! She retched suddenly anduncontrollably. After several minutes,there was nothing left to bring up. She sat there for a few more minutes, her body shaking.She looked at Matthews sword in the corner. If he wasn't dead, where was he? It wasn't like him to wander off... she stood up and gingerly pulled on a shirt and breeches.She walked towards the door, then stopped and picked the sword up. Matthew would be with Gavin. He'd know... somehow, he'd know Garrick was Gavin.
Raoul, Buri, Dom, Kel, Gareth, Alanna, Numair, Daine, Jonathan and Thayet were all stood outside Garricks rooms. George was knelt with his ear to the keyhole, hand on his lips, indicating for the others to remain quiet.
"Someone's being slammed against the wall... I think its Gavin but..." he stopped as his eyes fell on Ivy.
"Where's Matthew?" She said quietly, gripping Matthews sword in both hands - it was too heavy to hold in one hand when she was this weak.
Raoul was instantly by her side, an arm around her shoulder. "Never mind. You should be in bed resting, you can see him in the morning. Come on, back to bed..."
"Raoul," Jonathan interrupted, "No. Ivy... Matthew's talking to Garrick... in there..."
Ivy moved towards the door, but Raoul held her back. Alanna spoke up.
"Ivy, there's something you should know... Garrick... he isn't who you think he is... he's..."
"He's Gavin." Ivy finished, and nodded. "I know."
"But... how... what... why did you court him if you knew?"
Ivy shook her head. "I didn't know then... I do now..."
Jonathan looked at her carefully. "The Chamber...?"
Ivy nodded.
"Extraordinary..."
Raoul shrugged. "Jonathan, we'll talk to Ivy in the morning... she needs rest!"
Jonathan looked at Raoul with sadness in his blue eyes. He shook his head slowly. "Ivy needs to face this now Raoul, not tomorrow..."
"No. She needs rest!" Raoul argued. "She's had her Ordeal for tonight! Leave her be Jonathan!"
"Raoul..." Jonathan said firmly. "Ivy needs to face this... dragging it out will not solve anything!"
"It will solve her being dead on her feet! Look at her Jonathan! She's had so many cuts she can hardly walk! There is no way on earth I am letting her face that rapist while she's in this state!"
Jonathanmet Raouls eyes firmly. "Raoul, she needs to face him now!"
"No Jonathan!" Raoul roared. "I'm her father, I know what is best for her, and I say that's rest!"
"I'm her Uncle and your King! Do not make me use it against you Raoul of Goldenlake!"
Raoul glared at Jonathan for several seconds, his fists clenched. Buri put her hand on his arm, and he calmed down. Jonathan cast a last look at Raoul, before looking over at Ivy.
"Ivy, Gavin and Matthew are both in there... you should go in... if you need us, you only need to shout." He put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her forehead, before standing aside. Ivy smiled weakly at him and opened the door.
Matthew had slammed Gavin against the wall - and it was Gavin, not Garrick. Matthews body was covered in flames. For a second, Ivy wanted to let him kill Gavin, make him pay for everything... but she couldn't. She needed an explanation. "Numair!" She called out of the door. "Numair!"
Almost instantly, Numair was by her side. His eyes took in the scene and suddenly Matthew was covered in black fire. The flames around his body died. Instinctively, Ivy ran forwards and caught him as he fell to the floor, unconscious.
It felt strange, having him in her arms after so long apart... she held him with shaking hands, forgetting the man who was gasping for breath against the wall... she looked at Matthew. He was sweating. His cuts, identical to hers, hadn't been tended to... the one on his cheek was bleeding. The blood was slowly mingling with the sweat on his head, going slightly more watery. Absently she wiped his face with her sleeve, ignoring the adults who had just entered the room, ignoring the fact that her father, George and Gareth were all grabbing hold of Gavin to make sure he didn't try to get away. Matthew stirred in her arms and she froze. What if he didn't want her anymore? What if he couldn't bear to look at her knowing that she'd been with Gavin. He wouldn't be the only one, she thought, I can hardly bear to think about it! Matthew opened his eyes.
His vision was blurred. Someone was stood above him, but the light was blocked and all he could see was a shadow above him, and feel hair tickling his neck. He blinked several times, then smiled weakly.
"Ivy..." he murmured. "You look great..."
Ivy laughed slightly, then bit her lip. "You look a mess... you need a healer..."
"I missed you too sweetie..." Matthew chuckled.
Ivy bit harder, trying to stop tears welling up in her eyes. She failed. Tears trickled down her cheeks. "I missed you too."
Matthew smiled and reached up to stroke her face. "So what's changed?" he asked quietly.
"What do you mean?" Ivy whispered.
"Feelings... how've they changed?"
"They haven't..." Ivy said quietly.
Matthew tried to smile. "They must have. You're with... Gavin..."
Ivy shook her head. "I was with Garrick, not Gavin. I could never be with Gavin, you know that!"
Matthew sighed. "I don't know if I do... I was gone six months and you were in his arms... I don't know how you feel any more..."
"Matthew... don't say that! I love you... I've always loved you! I've never stopped! Never... I couldn't stop even if I wanted to, you know that! I just want..."
Matthews hand covered her mouth and he sat up. "Shh... don't say anything... just show me..." He tilted his face slightly to the side, then pulled her face gently towards him. Ivy hesitated, then pressed his lips with hers. Instantly, she knew he was the only one she could ever love. It was their first kiss in two years... it felt better than any they had ever shared before... he pulled her into his arms, wrapping her in his strong hold, pulling her close to his chest. Nothing would ever make him leave her again. Nobody would ever be allowed close enough to hurt her. Reluctantly, they pulled apart, hearing Gavin being lead from the room as he swore to bring both of them down. Ivy's family left the room, leaving she and Matthew alone.They stared at each other for several seconds, then Matthew stood and pulled her to her feet. When she was standing, he wrapped his arms round her again and hugged her fiercely.
"I'm sorry..." he murmured, nipping her ear affectionately. "I didn't mean to get so carried away... I just needed to know that this was still real."
Ivy smiled. "Of course it is..."
Matthew looked at her with calm, blue eyes. "You have no idea how much I've missed you." he said eventually.
Ivy nodded. "I think I have a pretty good idea."
He leant down, cupping her face in his hands, and kissed her sweetly. When he let go, she was shivering, and scarcely able to stand up.
"Come on..." he said quietly. "I want to see Gavin."
Ivy shook her head. "Can't we just stay here?" she asked.
Matthew kissed her forehead. "He has some serious explaining to do."
"But I haven't seen you in two years! Why can't we just forget about him and be together... just for now?"
Matthew looked at her steadily. "Later." He promised. "I want this sorted out." he kissed her again. "Come on. The quicker we go, the quicker we can be alone again." He offered her his hand and led her out of the room.
Gavin, along with Ivy's family, were all in the King and Queens quarters. Matthew and Ivy entered to recieve the dirtiest look either could remember having seen before, from Gavin. Matthew resisted the urge to blast him into flames, and led Ivy to the other side of the room, putting protective arms around her waist and leaning against the wall.
"Are you going to explain yourself?" Jonathan asked Gavin quietly. "Or will you lose all dignity and wait for us to give you truth drops?"
"Oh, I'll tell you everything, as soon as I've killed that bastard, I'll tell you all you want to know!"
"You'll tell us now." Jonathan said firmly. "Or you will be given truth drops."
Gavin glared at the King, then shrugged. "Fine. What do you want to know?"
"Why you have such a hatred of Matthew would be a good place to start. Then you could tell us why Ivy had to suffer so much."
Gavin smiled. "Why I hate Tirragen? You want to know that? Fine. His Great- Uncle Alex of Tirragen... he was one of the few decent men this Realm has ever had. He knew what was worth fighting for. Riches. Power. He knew how to treat people, how to fool them... just like my Uncle. When we started here, as Pages, I offered Tirragen an olive branch; we could carry on our families work, show people that our families were powerful and commanded respect. But no, Tirragen had his heart set on being the good guy, fighting for his King, protecting the Crown and the Heirs. So we ended up as enemies. He was always there in the stable yard if any of my friends started hurting the other Pages, he was always the one they looked up to, the one that would save them if things got hard. Then when I was in my fourth year as a Page, he caught me beating a commoner. He didn't tell anyone. He demanded a combat. Instead of turning me in, he'd use it as a trial; if the Gods wanted me to stop beating people, he would win. He did. And I stopped beating people. I became the Kings squire. I continued terrorizing Pages of course, on my days off. I'd send my friends down to the stables to pick on them, make sure they cleaned my horse. And Tirragen didn't find out. He thought that because he'd won that stupid 'trial by combat' that I'd never beat another person again. So I had to show him he was wrong. I wouldn't beat him, I wasn't stupid enough to try, but I watched him for years, trying to find his weakness, someone who meant something to him... someone he'd die for... in other words, someone who, by hurting them, I hurt him. And then I found out about his wench. At first I thought it was him and his games with women again, but no. I saw them together, in the Royal forest, in the grounds of the Palace, holding hands, kissing. It was obvious then that Tirragen had found someone he cared for. So when I was appointed General, I forbade him to bring Ivy to the camp, knowing that by doing so, I was ensuring she came. He hated the idea of me being in control of him and his decisions. And I was right, within weeks, Ivy was at the camp, and I could carry out my plan..." Gavin grinned to himself, then went on. "It didn't work quite as well as I'd hoped. I'd thought if I fought her, I could cut off a limb, lop it off then give it to Tirragen as she lay there dying... but I didn't win. She cut my face open and beat me. And then I realized that I didn't need to kill her. I could hurt Tirragen much more through raping her, and then, after that, making her fall in love with me... making her fall into bed with me... So thats what happened. I planned it carefully. I raped Ivy, then left the camp to join Rageo. Then I watched Tirragen as he took Ivy home, as they got closer again. Then, as he left the Palace, I set out to meet him on the journey back, with three thieves who wanted three gold nobles for knifing him. I gave it to them, and after stabbing him, I took him back to the cave where Rageo and I had been. For six months I showed him Ivy mourning his apparent death, then I disappeared and went to join her. And then everything fell into place. I acted the sympathetic blacksmith who was worried about her, and within months she was sharing my bed. And Matthew saw it all, I made sure of that. I'd get letters from Rageo every so often, telling me about the war, telling me how Matthew was falling even more apart with each day. And then it happened. I got Ivy saying she loved me, and then he was really broken. More broken than he had ever been. It was fantastic! I don't need to say it, but his trial-by-combat failed. I beat him. I beat Ivy. I destroyed him."
"But it didnt work." Matthew said. "I'm still here, Ivy's mine again" He smirked," So what went wrong?" he challenged.
Gavin glared at him, "Rageo messed up. He wasn't used to containing the Gift I leant to him. Every night when you were sleeping he let the magic down so he could replenish it. But after one and a half years, he found it harder to keep the magic up all day. It weakened more every day. He thought you wouldn't notice as long as he kept some magic on the ropes, but obviously you did." Gavin smiled, "I can't say I regret him letting you get here. In a way, it just makes my plan more perfect. I hurt you through Ivy, and now I hurt Ivy through you. Let's just say it adds to the excitement..."
Yellow fire gathered around his hands and errupted around his whole body. Matthew released Ivy and pushed her towards Raoul and Buri who were stood beside them. As soon as he was sure Ivy was out of the way, he errupted into flame.
He felt the flames consume him. He was one with the fire. He controlled it. If he wanted to burn this bastard to death, he would. Matthew gathered a ball of fire in each hand and threw them towards Gavins yellow form. There was a flicker of yellow as the fire hit Gavins arm and he growled in anger. Matthew jumped forward, smashing a flame-consumed arm into Gavin's face and sending him flying into the wall. Gavin spun and hit his spine on the stone of the wall. He roared in fury and jumped to his feet, the yellow glow surrounding him becoming brighter. Matthew hesitated, then concentrated on using his Gift. Blue flames errupted around him, licking his body in the same way that his orange fire did. He saw Gavin's hesitation, and flew forwards with amazing speed, throwing punches at Gavin with his firey fists. Within seconds, blistering red patches covered Gavins arms from where he had managed to block Matthew's hits, while they also covered his face where he had landed the punch. Gavin tried to power his Gift more, to burn Matthew enough to get him to back off, but that was impossible. Matthew could stand heat no other man could, there was no way Gavin could burn him enough to get him to leave him alone, especially not when he was this angry.
Matthew jumped into the air, kicking his foot into Gavins stomach and sending him spiralling into the wall. He fell forward and Matthew caught him in a headlock. He could feel Gavins neck blistering as he applied more and more pressure. Hefelt Ivy watching him and looked around. She was looking at himpleadingly. And Matthewunderstood instantly, even though it wrenched his gut to admit it. She didn't wantMatthew to kill him. Somewhere along the line,Gavin had madeher feel somethingfor him, something that wouldn't let her watch him die. Matthew looked at her, then noddedbut it wasonly when Gavin was gasping for breath and his Gift hadflickered outthat he let him drop to the floor.
"I don't think it'll be you killing me!" Matthew said quietly. His fire dropped and he kicked Gavin a final time before walking back over to Ivy. She stared at Gavin as he lay on the floor, but said nothing.
"You love him?" Matthew asked quietly, his voice hoarse.
Ivy shook her head. "No... I don't love him. I hate him... but..."
Matthew looked down. "But...?"
"I don't know..." Ivy whispered. "When you weren't here... he helped me through it... he cheered me up..." she looked at Matthew. "Nobody's all bad..."
Matthew took her hand and pulled it to his chest. "The man who cheered you up wasn't Gavin, it was Garrick."
Ivy shook her head. "Gavin was Garrick..." Matthew sighed.
"Fine. I won't hurt him... but what do I do with him? If he stays, you might fall for Gavin this time around, if he goes you'll miss him because there's apparently good in him."
Ivy didn't look at him. She didn't tell him what was on her mind. Gavin might have got her saying 'I love you' easily, but it was only the previous evening before Ivy left for her purifying bath that he had said he loved her back... she didn't want to think about Gavin loving her, but if he did, she wouldn't be able to let him die... she couldn't bear that guilt...
Jonathan had walked over and he was looking at Ivy andMatthew carefully. "He can't leave." He said plainly. "He's earnt a death on traitors hill." he looked at his niece. "Ivy, this is the man who raped you... he fooled you into thinking yourfiancee was dead... surely you don't want to let himtry and ruinother peoples lives like hetried to ruin yours and Matthews?"
Ivy shook her head. "Of course I don't... it's just..." she stoppedwhenMatthew dropped her hand.
"Just what?" Matthew roared. "Just the fact he's a lying bastard who told you nothing but lies? Or that he raped you? How can you want him to live after everything he's done to you? Everything he's done to us!"
"It's not like that! He's..."
"I don't want to hear it! He's lied to you and pretended to be someone he isn't... how canhe deserve anything except death?"
Ivy went to take Matthews hand, but he shook her off.
"Don't!" He snapped and left the room, slamming the door behind him. Nobody in the room noticed the smile on Gavins face, or that his eyes were filled with a tender look ashe watched Ivy lean against the wall.
I am soooo sorry for the hold up... my computer has been spazzing up and not working at all... hope it was ok... reviews?
