A/N: Looking back on the last chapter, I found a lot of mistakes (and not of the spelling and grammar kind, although I'm sure there are lots of those, too). If my mom found this, she would probably lecture me on how there's no such thing as black magic (evil magic, dark magic, call it what you like, I'll be using it later) and so and so forth. On another subject, no, RianneHime, Matthew and Guy are not bad! They'll be in this chapter. I love them to much to make them all evil!
Disclaimer: There are people out there that deny that Matthew and Guy are madly in love. Based on that fact alone, I can tell you that I don't own FE.
WARNINGS!: Shonen ai, swearing, minor violence to come.
-------------------------
Something Wicked
Chapter 2
By Amethyst Bubble
------------------------
The next morning was even sunnier the day before it, and Wil marveled at the expanse of green grass surrounding the mansion. A gentle breeze blew through the open windows, and the sound of chirping birds filled the area. It was a peaceful day…
"SAIN!"
"I didn't mean it, Kent! It was an accident!"
"Accident? Accident? How can you accidentally use your magic to flip up girls' skirts?!"
Rath steered Wil down the hallway and away from the two, "Just ignore them."
"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean it!"
"You are going to personally apologize to each of those girls!"
A bright smile lit up Sain's face, "Really?"
"…On second thought, you're going to write them each a sincere letter of apology, all of which I will read before you mail them."
Sain's face fell, "Aww…you spoil all my fun!"
Rath sighed, "We'll try to find a quiet room."
"There's such a thing?" Wil joked, smiling up at Rath.
Rath smirked, "There might not be."
They walked through hall after hall. Wil had long since lost track of how many rooms they'd passed. He briefly entertained the idea that the house itself might be magic. It could be under some spell that made the number of rooms inside infinite. But, that would make it kind of hard to navigate, wouldn't it? Rath seemed to have a pretty good idea of where he was going.
Nino appeared from around a corner. She sported quite a fearsome frown and she muttering something to herself. Rath attempted to drag Wil into a room before she spotted them, but he was too late. Her sky blue eyes landed on them, and she marched up to them.
"Rath!" She cried, stopping in front of them, her hands on her hips. "Where is Legault? Didn't he get back last night?"
Rath shook his head, "…I don't know, Nino. Go ask… Ninian."
"I'll do that," She replied, spinning on her heel and stomping back down the hallway.
Wil watched the retreating figure, "Who's Legault, anyway?"
Rath ushered him into a room, "He's another witch here. He's sort of her uncle."
"How can you be sort of someone's uncle?" Wil questioned. You were either someone's uncle or you were not. It was that simple…right?
"They arrived together. Nino couldn't have been older then seven at the time. She's always called him her uncle… although they aren't actually related. He acts like her uncle…spoils her rotten." Rath kneeled on the floor, pulling out a couple of small, velvet bags out of his pockets. He upended the bags, the contents tumbling onto the contents on the floor. Various herbs, crystals and other objects spilled out, scattering over the floorboards.
"Do you need help?" Wil offered, watching intently as Rath spread the items out in a seemingly random order.
"No," the green haired man answered, continuing with his arrangement.
Wil took a moment to look at the room. It was huge, lined with bookshelves that went from floor to ceiling. Blue drapes fluttered in the wind, the windows had been left open. On a table in a far corner sat a crystal ball, glimmering in the morning sun. Finally, Wil's eyes landed on the small, oriental style fish pond in the middle of the room, seemingly built into the floor. Okay, it was official: this house was nuts. What was a fish pond doing in the middle of a room? Shouldn't something like that be outside?
Wil was just about to ask about the pond when Rath motioned for him to sit down. Wil stepped into the circle Rath had constructed out of crystals and herbs, careful not to disturb the arrangement of items.
"Sit cross-legged…like I am."
Wil did as Rath said, mimicking the others position. Rath passed his hand over the five or so candles he'd inside the circle, their wicks bursting into flame. Wil gasped in awe. "How do you do that?"
"You'll be able to do similar things with time," Rath said, reaching over and adjusting the position of Wil's left leg. The brown-eyed boy yelped.
"That hurts!" He exclaimed, wincing slightly.
"…You'll get used to it."
Wil whimpered. He certainly hoped so, this position hurt.
"Don't think about it…" Rath said, placing a hand on Wil's knee. The gesture definitely took Wil's mind off the fact that his leg was twisted into a position he didn't think possible. All he could think of now was Rath's hand on his knee, how close Rath was. Wil noticed that Rath had really nice eyes, especially when they were half closed, gazing at him with a sort of lazy look. He was sure his cheeks rivaled the color of Raven's hair right now.
"Close your eyes," Rath instructed. Wil obeyed rather reluctantly, closing his eyes meant he couldn't stare at Rath any longer.
Rath studied his new student for a moment. He couldn't help but think that he was very cute. He looked so peaceful with his eyes closed, his long black lashes contrasting with his pale skin. Shaking his head, Rath reminded himself to concentrate on the task ahead, and not his new student's appearance.
"Take a couple of deep breaths," Rath let his own eyes drift shut. If he couldn't see Wil, he couldn't be distracted by him. "Listen to the beating of your own heart. Concentrate on the rhythm."
Rath opened his eyes, watching Wil intently, "Stop fidgeting." He massaged Wil's knee lightly. Wil stiffened, then relaxed. It was hard for him to be so still, since he liked to almost constantly be in movement. Footsteps were like heartbeats, he noticed. He concentrated on a single memory, himself running down the New York sidewalk, the rain soaking through his clothes. He was laughing. The feeling of running with the rain hitting your face and drenching you was wonderful, just… wonderful.
"That's better," Rath commented, watching as Wil became more relaxed, his breathing evening out. "Now, stop thinking. Don't think about anything except yourself. Just yourself in the darkness," He paused, giving Wil a moment to envision this scenario. "…What do you feel?"
"I feel…" Wil paused. How did he feel? He could see the darkness surrounding him, that was easy enough. But what did he feel? He felt something, maybe more then one thing…but he couldn't identify them yet.
"…Just darkness?" Rath guessed, trying to help his student out.
"No…there's something more then darkness. I feel…I feel like there's wind wrapping around me."
Rath breathed a sigh of relief; this exercise was used to determine a person's element. If Wil felt wind, then his element was wind. Wind was a reasonably easy element to teach.
"…There's more," Wil said, his brow furrowing in a frown. Rath froze, more? How could Wil feel more then one thing? He'd never heard of anything like this before.
"I feel something solid beneath me feet…clay, it feels like clay," Wil's eyes snapped open. "That was weird," he breathed. Then he noticed the shocked expression Rath wore. "Did I do something wrong?" His soft brown eyes widened. He wanted to please Rath, and messing up on the first day was not the way to make a good impression.
"Stay here," Rath ordered, getting to his feet. "You may look at whatever you like but don't leave the room." He crossed the room swiftly, banging the door shut behind him.
Wil blinked at the spot where his teacher had been moments before. He slowly stood up, wincing. "Oww…" His legs had cramped from sitting in that position so long.
He decided to explore the room a little bit. He walked, or rather limped seeing as his leg still hurt, over to the bookshelves, scanning them. Wil blinked, he didn't know that so many books had been written on magic. The only book he'd ever seen about magic was a children's book about how to pull a rabbit out a hat.
A soft blue light filled the room, and Wil turned around. The blue light seemed to be coming from the fish pond. Wil took a couple of tentative steps towards the pond, hoping that some giant sea-monster didn't appear. Well, if witches existed, why not sea monsters?
The blue light slowly materialized into a figure, slightly smaller then Wil himself. When the strange light faded away, Wil found himself staring at a teenage boy with a dark green braid. He wore a navy blue Chinese style shirt, black pants and small golden earrings. He floated a few inches above the surface of the water.
Wil took a few more steps forward, a few doubts about sea monsters still lingering. The other looked normal enough, but then Wil remembered exactly where he was. In a house full of witches. Normal wasn't something that existed around here.
The green haired boy's eyes slowly opened, though his expression was a bit glazed. After a few moments, he blinked a couple times, looking from side to side. "This…is not where I wanted to go," he commented. He let out a yelp, swaying a from side to side. Whatever he'd been doing to suspend himself in thin air, it was failing him now.
Wil ran up, steadying him, "Easy now," He soothed, helping the other back onto solid ground.
The boy smiled at Wil. "Thanks," He said. "…I don't think I've met you. I'm Guy." He stuck his hand out.
Wil shook it, grinning. "I'm kind of new here," He scratched the back of his head. "I'm Wil, by the way. Nice to meet you."
"Oh yeah," Guy said, pushing his dark-green bangs out of his eyes. Wil noticed that his hair color was similar to Rath, and wondered if they were related. "I heard about you. You're Rath's student, aren't you?"
Wil nodded, "Do you know Rath?" He asked, curious.
"We're distant cousins," Guy replied. Wil mentally cheered, he knew he had been right about Rath and Guy had been related. The green-haired teen opened his mouth as if to say more, but something distracted him. "Matthew, I know you're there. You as well come out," he called, dark eyes darting over to a dark corner of the room.
A man with sandy-brown hair faded out of the shadows. Wil 'eep'ed; did people always appear out of nowhere?
"Your water sprites led me down here," The sandy-haired man gestured to three small bluish shapes floating around his head. "I assume your water-teleportation technique isn't quite perfected?"
The three bluish shapes floated over to Guy, giggling. Wil leaned over, inspecting them. They looked just the fairies in picture books. They were the size of his palm, and even had little wings.
Guy blushed, fidgeting, "W-well…not exactly," he admitted, toying with the end of his braid. He cleared his throat, quickly changing the subject, "Matthew…You aren't going out with…Leila," he spat out the name, "tonight, are you?"
Matthew sighed, "I don't know why you hate her so much," he said, crossing his arms across his chest.
"She hates me back," Guy muttered.
Matthew rolled his eyes, "If you'd just try-"
Guy cut Matthew off with a shop glare, "Just answer my question." He said sharply, placing his hands on his hips.
"Yes, yes I am."
Guy frowned, "Why? I don't know how you can stand to be around her!"
"I love her, Guy!" Matthew exclaimed, raking a hand through his hair.
Maybe it was Wil's imagination, but he thought he saw deep hurt flash across Guy's face. The green-haired teen quickly covered it up, putting on a mask of anger again. He glared at Matthew, "She's just not right for you!" He cried.
"Yeah, so who exactly is?" Matthew snapped, grabbing Guy by the shoulders and shaking him.
Guy's eyes screamed "I am!" but he said nothing, looking at the ground. He reached up, tentatively placing a hand on Matthew's arm.
Matthew looked at him in surprise, wondering what brought over this sudden change in emotions. "Guy…?"
"Take one of my water sprites with you," Guy whispered, looking up and locking his eyes with Matthew. "If you have to go out with her, at least take one of my sprites." The sprites gathered around, peering at Matthew with the same pleading expression that their master had.
Matthew sighed, "Fine, I'll take one of your sprites. Happy now?"
Guy nodded. He blushed, unable to tear his eyes away from Matthew's. Wil smiled, watching the situation, his brown eyes sparkling.
"I'll see you later, okay?" Matthew said, giving Guy's braid a swift yank, before vanishing into the shadows again. Wil frowned; how did he do that?!
"Matthew!" Guy shrieked at the shadows, "How many times have I told you! Leave my hair alone!" He blinked, turning around and looking at Wil, "Oh…sorry about that. I guess I forgot you were here," he mumbled apologetically.
"You love him, don't you?" Wil asked, gazing intently at Guy.
Guy turned crimson, stuttering. "W-who? Y-you mean M-Matthew? I don't…I don't…Okay, maybe I do." He looked away, avoiding Wil's eyes. "Is it that obvious?"
Wil nodded, grinning widely. "Uh-huh! You'd be so cute together!" He chirped, bouncing on his heels. Then, something hit him, and he stopped bouncing. A serious look spread over his normally smiling face, "But…he has a girlfriend, right? Lila or something like that, wasn't it?"
"Leila," Guy corrected, scowling. "I hate her! Every time I even try to talk to Matthew, she interrupts! She has his love already, d-does she want to take away m-my few moments of happiness?" Guy started stuttering, his voice filled to the brim with emotion as the words tumbled from his lips. He sunk to his knees, staring blankly at the fluttering blue curtains.
Wil kneeled down next to him, not really knowing what to say. "Hey, cheer up! He really likes you too! I can just feel it!"
"He might like me, but he sure as hell doesn't love me," Guy breathed. "Love hurts. I should be used to that fact by now, shouldn't I?" He laughed a bit. A bitter, jealousy filled laugh.
"Rath, calm down!" Ninian watched the green-haired man pace around the room. "Now, you say he felt two elements?" Her eyebrows furrowed. Two elements was almost unheard of. Almost. She couldn't help but wonder…no, it couldn't be.
"Wind…and earth," Rath said slowly. He looked over at Ninian, locking his eyes with her ruby ones.
"That's…interesting, to say the least," She fiddled with one of the ribbons in her hair. "It was Raven who went to get him, was it not? Maybe…maybe his magic mixed with Wil's, somehow?"
Rath shook his head, "Raven has fire magic."
Ninian frowned, "I can't think of any other explanation…except that…" She bit her lip, thinking.
"…What?" Rath asked after Ninian had been quiet for a few moments.
"He could be one of the keys, couldn't he? The ones the scrolls talk about."
"Scrolls?" Rath raised an eyebrow. "There are…dozens of scrolls. Which scrolls do you mean?"
"Do you expect me to know each and every one of those scrolls?" Ninian snapped. "It's in a scroll!"
"…What are these 'keys' exactly?" Rath asked, a little afraid to know the answer.
Ninian shook her head, "I'm not quite certain." She said, "I don't believe that scroll was completely translated. I know it mentioned something about five keys, each possessing something special. I should think that having two elements would be special, wouldn't it?"
Rath was silent as he absorbed this information.
"You should go get Wil," Ninian said slowly, tracing a pattern on her table with her finger.
"Why?" Rath looked up sharply.
"Well, don't you think he should know?" Ninian frowned. "I'm calling a meeting. Be back here as fast as you can." She ordered, giving him a nod.
Rath returned the nod, exiting the room, Ninian's words about Wil echoing in his mind.
"Hey, Guy? Guy? Guy, please snap out of it!" Wil begged, waving a hand in front of the other's face. Guy continued to stare blankly ahead. "You're really starting to scare me! Can you hear me? You aren't dying on me or something, are you?" Wil shook Guy by the shoulders, but Guy only continued to stare into space.
Guy's water sprite's gathered around their master, pulling and tugging lightly on his hair and swinging from his earrings. When they got no reaction, the chattered worriedly to themselves, casting glances at Guy.
One of them flew over to Wil, giving him the 'puppy-eyes' look. Wil shook his head, "I don't what to do either!" He was starting to get hysterical, "He just won't say anything, or move, or…or…I don't even know if he's still breathing! Okay, Wil, stay calm…stay calm. Don't panic. Oh, what are we going to do?" He cried.
When Rath opened the door to the library where he had left Wil, quite a sight met his eyes. Wil was on his knees, hysterically screaming about something. Guy was next to him, staring into space. Guy's water sprites all flew over to Rath, chattering at high speed. Rath rubbed his temples; well, this day was turning out to be one big headache. He quickly crossed the room, kneeling besides Wil and Guy.
"Rath!" Wil cried, tackling his teacher in a tight hug, "Guy's not saying anything and he's been like this for ten minutes and he's really scaring me and I'm not sure if he's still alive and and and…"
"Wil," Rath untangled Wil's arms from around his neck. "Calm down. Guy does this from time to time."
"So, this is normal?" Wil blinked.
"…I suppose." Rath raised an eyebrow at Wil's choice of words.
"How do we snap him out of it?" The brown-haired teen asked, casting a worried glance at Guy.
"I'm…not sure."
That was not what Wil wanted to hear, "What do you mean you're not sure? You said this wasn't the first time he's done this! How did you get him to snap out of it the first couple of times?!"
"First," Rath instructed, putting a finger to his student's lips. "You need to stop hyperventilating." He paused and Wil nodded, taking a few deep breaths. "Next…I can't snap him out of this state."
"Why can't you?" Wil shouted, getting hysterical again.
Rath shrugged, "The only one who can snap him out of it is Matthew…I don't think you've met him-"
Wil cut him off, "Actually, I have. He's the one with the one who fades out of shadows and tugs on Guy's braid all the time, right?"
Rath blinked, "…Alright, you've met him after all…" He beckoned to one of the sprites. "Go find Matthew," he instructed it.
The little sprite flew off, it's companions continued to tug at their master's clothes.
"Ummm…Rath? Where did you go before?" Wil asked, trying to break the silence.
"…I had to…tell Ninian something. You'll meet her very soon."
"Very soon?" Wil echoed, blinking.
"…A few minutes ago, actually. She's called a meeting, and…he," Rath pointed to Guy, "is going to make us late."
They said nothing for a few moments, before the silence was broken by the door banging open. Matthew crossed the room wearing a worried expression.
"He went into another trance, didn't he?" Matthew asked, kneeling before Guy.
Rath nodded silently, getting up and dragging Wil across the room. Wil looked up at him, giving him a questioning look, but Rath's only answer was a shake of his head.
"I don't see why you always have to snap him out of it," A female voice said.
Turning, Wil saw a graceful red-headed woman leaning against the door. Her bangs hid one of her eyes, giving her a mysterious look.
"Leila," Matthew sighed. "As long as it works and snaps him out of it, I don't mind once in a while."
Leila snorted, rolling her eyes. "Yes, but lately it seems he's been going into these more and more often."
Wil looked at the girl again. So this was Matthew's girlfriend, the one Guy seemed to hate so much. From what Wil could see Guy was right about her hating him back.
"He's just under a lot of stress," Matthew frowned, placing a hand on Guy's shoulder. "His water teleportation is taking a lot out of him."
"Yes, I'm sure it is," She sighed. "Just wake him up already."
"My pleasure," Matthew leaned closer to Guy, until his lips were against the others cheek. Leila frowned, looking away. Matthew's nimble fingers played with Guy's green hair as he whispered something to the other.
A soft sigh escaped Guy's lips. After a moment, he blinked, eyes darting to the grinning man next to him. Guy blinked again, before letting out a small 'eek!' and falling backwards, blushing furiously.
"M-M-Matthew?" He stuttered, pushing himself off the floor.
"You went into another trance," Matthew grinned.
"I did…?" Guy blinked. It was then that he noticed his hair was not in its usual braid, but flowing loose around his shoulders. "You undid my braid!"
"Aw, but Guy! It looks so nice loose!"
"Give me my hair tie back!" Guy attempted to snatch the object out of Matthew's hand, but the other was too quick. He stood, holding the hair tie out of Guy's reach. Guy got to his feet, leaping for the object Matthew kept hostage, "Dammit, Matthew!"
Matthew laughed, reaching over and playing with a few strands of silky green hair. Leila glared at Guy, and cleared her throat.
"Ninian called a meeting, remember?" She said coldly.
Guy leaped for the hair tie again, but missed. He cursed, folding his arms across his chest. "Stupid short genes…"
Rath sighed, "We'd better get going or Ninian will have our heads." He led Wil out of the room. Leila dragged Matthew after them, and Guy followed, still trying to get his hair tie back.
Ninian's room was large, covered in soft fabrics in shades of blue and silver. She sat at a small, wooden table with a mirror built into the center. Sofas lined the room, and people accompanied most of them, wearing confused looks on there faces. What had Ninian called them for? The blue-haired girl looked up as Rath and Wil (followed shortly by Leila, Matthew and Guy) entered.
"You're late," She said, raising an eyebrow. "Everyone else is already here…"
"Except for Uncle Legault!" Nino piped up, frowning. Oh, when he came back, she was going to give him a piece of her mind! How dare he run off like that, not even bothering to tell her where he was going.
"Legault warned me that his business might take a few days," Ninian sighed. That girl had a one track mind.
"What business? He told you something? What did he tell you?" Nino demanded, staring intently at Ninian.
"He didn't tell me what his business was, just that he had some," Ninian informed the young witch. "Now, if we could please begin…?" She paused, her crimson eyes wandering over the group. "Thank you. Wil, if you could please come here?" She gave him a kind smile, gesturing to the chair next to her. Wil sat down, wondering what this was all about. They weren't going to kick him out, were they? He panicked. Well, if worse came to worse, he could always move back in with Mrs. Waters, but…He felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up. Rath stood behind him, as if to act like a shield.
"Rath, you may sit down if you like. Your presence is not necessary." Ninian informed him. Rath shook his head, tightening his grip on Wil's shoulder. Wil felt relieved that his teacher refused to sit down. He still didn't know what this meeting was about, but Rath wouldn't let anything happen to him.
Ninian sighed, "Very well." She turned to Wil, "Rath informed that something…unusual…happened during your meditation lessons this morning?"
Wil blinked, so that's what this was about? "I don't know! Was it unusual? Maybe I didn't do it right! Or maybe I need more practice, or something! Please don't kick me out! I can learn, really I can!"
In a corner of the room, a bubble-gum pink haired girl frowned. So, there was someone more talkative then her, huh? Well, she'd just have to remedy that later. Yes, a private concert for the house would do the trick…a wide grin spread over her face as she contemplated what she should sing, and if she could sing high enough to break glass?
Ninian cut Wil off, "What did you feel during your meditation with Rath?"
Wil stopped his rant, "Huh? Oh, uhh, I felt…" He paused, trying to remember. "I felt wind wrapping around me, and clay…or dirt or something like that, beneath my feet. Is that really so strange?"
According to the shocked looks on the faces of the people who were currently staring at him, it was.
Chapter 2-End
…Darn, I'd meant to add a little more onto that, but…I guess that's a good place to stop. I still have to churn out another chapter of The Troubles of Matchmaking tonight. Going on (another) vacation tomorrow. Don't worry, I'm coming home on Tuesday, I think. So, I'll see you all then, my lovely readers!
Oh, by the way, Guy's trances aren't serious. It's simply something he does when he's upset. I've done it myself. You basically just stare at something until you don't notice anything around you. So…yeah. He's just fine.
In the next chapter of Something Wicked: More about the 'keys' is revealed. What exactly is their purpose, and where are the rest of them? Meanwhile, Legault's business is revealed… (Although you all pretty much guessed what it was, I still have a surprise or two up my sleeve!)