So. . . yeah. I couldn't decide which ending I liked better. I have no better explanation as to why this chapter exists. Enjoy!
Alternate Chapter 16
Dorrek used the towers to keep out of Noh's direct line of sight as he tried to get a clear shot at the prince. But this was Dorrek's home and he knew it better then Noh-var. He flew over to a rooftop that had a line of statues across it and landed in a crouch. Among the darkness he blended in enough that Noh seemed to not notice where he'd gone. He began to circle the tower, Dorrek remained perfectly still only his eyes following Noh's steps. The Kree spotted the row of statues and leapt off the ledge and landed on one knee on the flat pathway that trailed along the top of the roof. He lifted his gun and shot the head off one statue making it crumble into dust and bits of stone. Still Dorrek didn't move, waiting for his enemy to come to him. Noh turned to his left and shot the head off the next statue, then turned to the right and did the same. The pattern continued as he unknowingly got closer to the Skrull.
"Did Wiccan ever mention the Cube to you?" Noh called out trying the same tactic that worked before. "We used to have his brother there. But Wiccan is much stronger then the speedster." He chuckled darkly, "It's going to be fun to see what new tortures my boss has in store for him. He's quite clever that way. He keeps his subjects awake and paralyzed as he performs his procedures. Your beloved Billy is going to feel every second of it."
Dorrek repressed a snarl remembering Kl'rt's lessons of patience. Clearly it was something the Kree did not teach their warriors because in the next second Noh snapped.
"Come out and fight you coward!" he shouted turning in a full circle desperate for some action now. Dorrek spotted his chance. He shot his wings out from his body and knocked Noh down, sending him flying backwards along the thin walkway. Dorrek leapt and came down on top of him holding down his shoulders and smashing his head back on the roof. Noh slid something from his belt then grabbed Dorrek's arms. The next second a terrible shockwave went through him and he recoiled. Noh brought his legs bent to his chest then kicked Dorrek back causing him to now be at the same disadvantage Noh was in only moments ago. The Kree stepped one foot on his chest and drew a long blade that was strapped to his leg. The tip hovered in front of Dorrek's jugular and he looked up at his adversary meeting his deranged eyes. Dorrek showed no fear and planned to grab the Kree and roll off the roof once he struck. It would be unexpected and at the very least meant he'd take the killer down with him before he could harm Billy.
"No!" he heard a shout and both he and Noh turned and saw Wiccan perched on another ledge of the tower across from where they were.
"Billy?" Dorrek questioned in a stunned whisper.
"Noh don't!" he shouted, "I'm the one you want!"
Speed had filled him in on Noh's true purpose in town while they'd rushed through the forest. It was a desperate card, but one Billy wasn't above playing to save the prince's life.
Dorrek's blood went cold at the idea of Billy giving himself up simply so he could live. But the Kree seemed to ponder the offer as he kept his blade at Dorrek's throat and watched the mage carefully. When he didn't respond Wiccan's hands began to glow blue in a quiet threat.
"The Warden wants me!" he shouted, "So come and get me!"
Noh swung his blade but Dorrek turned fast enough and took the blow on his shoulder instead of his neck. Noh then jumped from the roof and landed on a balcony below; Wiccan stepped off his perch as well and hovered down. Once he landed streaks of blue and blasts of green began shooting across the darkness as Noh tried to claim his bounty and Wiccan tried to incapacitate the threat that repeatedly targeted the ones he cared about.
Dorrek leaned over the edge of the roof knowing Billy couldn't keep up his magic for long because of the curse. Ignoring his aching shoulder he flew down to help him but Noh saw him coming. Pulling out a second gun he began to shoot aimlessly into the sky forcing Dorrek to bob and weave to avoid getting hit.
Wiccan's energy blasts began to get weaker and glowed less vibrantly. Noh smiled immediately understanding what was happening and fired in rapid succession at the mage. Wiccan was able to throw up a force field his hand zig zagging side to side to catch each shot but one still made it through. It grazed his upper thigh and sent Billy's leg backward making the rest of him fall onto his face. Noh turned and aimed both guns at Dorrek and with double the fire being thrown at him it didn't take long before one shot hit his wing and he went spiraling through the air.
He managed to claw into the side of a tower and began to climb. Meanwhile Wiccan stood recovering from his hit and quickly retreated launching himself off the balcony and fleeing with the last of his strength to a higher roof. He landed in a glassless window in one of the higher towers and caught his breath praying for his magic to restore itself quickly so he could defend himself.
Then he gagged as someone pulled him back by his cape and threw his back against the wall. A knife was put to his neck a second later and Noh glowered at him.
"I'll only offer this once!" he sneered, "Come willingly to the Cube now, and I'll let your lover live. Keep trying to fight, and you can watch him die!"
All the fight he had left drained out of him instantly and his eyes turned sad, "Alright."
Noh smirked, "Smart boy."
They heard a small rumble, the beginning of a growl and Noh pulled him away from the wall and put Wiccan's back to his chest. He held his knife across the mage's throat and when Dorrek appeared in the window he froze.
"Make one more step and I'll do it." Noh threated pressing the knife closer to Billy's skin, "Wiccan's already accepted his fate. There's no more use fighting. Because of his selflessness, we can all walk away from this still breathing."
"Billy –"
"It's okay."
Dorrek looked at him with sad eyes and shook his head, then the blue in his eyes hardened as he glared at Noh, "I will hunt you down for this. You might leave breathing tonight, but I swear I will track you down and kill you."
Noh smirked, "Well, I can't have that can I?"
Then he pulled the gun he'd been hiding behind Wiccan's back and shot Dorrek in the chest in the same spot as earlier. The second hit to the already damaged flesh made the prince bleed this time as he stumbled back and fell out the window.
"Dorrek!" Wiccan shouted and tried to step forward to help but Noh's knife at his throat held him back, "You said –"
"I lied." Noh spat, "Besides the world is better without a disgusting half breed like him."
Wiccan became enraged, blue circled his irises and the knife in Noh's hand melted turning instantly into water. Wiccan didn't even have to try, his emotions took full control of his powers as he spun around and threw a ball of energy so large it lit up the whole tower. Noh was thrown out the window opposite them, eyes wide in shock at Wiccan's abilities.
Once the Kree was gone the blue light faded away and Wiccan pivoted and looked out the window Dorrek had fallen from. He caught sight of him using his one good wing to flap his way to his balcony. He landed and wobbled on his feet as he stumbled inside to his room. Wiccan summoned all the magic he could and levitated himself to the balcony. He passed the table with the rose, now with only one very wilted and shriveled petal hanging on to its stem, and stood in the archway dividing the balcony from Dorrek's room.
The prince had one hand wrapped around a post of his bed and the other pressed against his chest as he took deep breaths.
"Dorrek?" Billy called hoping he was alright.
As Dorrek turned at the sound of Billy calling him he gave a weak smile that didn't reach his eyes. The concern on the mage's face grew. But then Dorrek saw something Billy didn't. From behind him Noh pulled himself over the railing and with a look of pure evil on his face approached Wiccan.
"Billy!" Dorrek shouted trying to warn him but it wasn't soon enough. The Kree grabbed the dark strands of Billy's hair and tugged his head back. With a new knife he quickly pulled the blade along the front of Wiccan's throat, making a clean slice.
"NO!" Dorrek shouted in horror as Wiccan gagged and red flowed down his neck and began to soak his shirt. Noh let go of the mage, whose fell as his hands immediately flew to his neck gripping it hard trying to slow the blood flow. Noh took a step back smirking down at the dying young man and appreciating his handiwork.
Dorrek was torn as he gripped his own bleeding wound and tried to think through the pain. Half of him wanted to take Wiccan in his arms while the other half wanted to choke the life out of the Kree. Thankfully, at that moment someone arrived and made the decision for him.
A streak of green and silver blasted through the room and into Noh-var. The Kree was sent flying backward with Speed's arms wrapped around his middle. The pair were moving so fast they fell right over the stone rail along the balcony and Dorrek heard their fight continue on a rooftop below.
Quickly, he rushed over to Wiccan who had fallen backwards onto the steps of the balcony. Red dripped from the corner of his mouth as the blood, unable to escape because of the mage's grip, was forced to flow the other way and flood his windpipe.
He was drowning in his own blood.
Dorrek crouched beside him, his body hovering over Wiccan's. He tried to think of something he could do to help the person he'd come to care so much about. He wracked his brain but his mind only spun in the same useless circles. It already knew the situation was hopeless – no matter how much Dorrek wanted to deny that fact. There was no way to get Wiccan help before he bled out or suffocated to death.
He coughed and gurgled struggling to breathe and Dorrek felt tears sting his eyes. He brought his hand to cover Wiccan's applying some pressure but still being careful to not hurt him more. Wiccan mustered a small smile as his blood coated fingers laced together with Dorrek's larger ones.
"You shouldn't have come back." Dorrek whispered with a quiet anger seeping into his words, "You should have stayed away."
Wiccan took a couple breaths coughing up some blood that stained his lips before running down his chin, "Couldn't."
Dorrek felt the first tears escape his eyes and drip down his face, "This is supposed to be me. They were coming for me."
Wiccan looked apologetic but not regretful. He gave another small smile as Dorrek choked back a sob that half escaped from between his clenched teeth. He tried to blink away the tears, not wanting them to blur Wiccan's image. The mage's breaths were becoming shallower as his lungs filled with liquid and had less and less room for oxygen. Dorrek's free had moved to the side of Wiccan's head and he ran his clawed fingers gently through his hair.
"You're going to be okay." He said going into denial, "You have to be okay. . . I love you."
From behind him a figure in the shadows watched and at Dorrek's words her eyes went wide.
Meanwhile Wiccan's eyes never left his as he muttered, "I love you too."
Wiccan's smile grew ever so slightly and he coughed again.
Dorrek had wished to hear someone tell him that since he'd been cursed. But oddly enough he didn't turn to the rose now, didn't look to see if Wiccan had said those words in time.
Because it didn't matter.
Nothing about that rose or the curse mattered to Dorrek, and somewhere in him he felt it had been that way for a while. Somewhere along the way Wiccan had become the most important thing to him. More important than even the rose.
But now Wiccan was dying and he wasn't going to waste a second tearing his gaze from him. His full devoted attention was on the young man he'd fallen for. The one who had wormed his way into Dorrek's miserable heart and showed him compassion, loyalty and devotion on a level he'd never felt before.
And he was losing that.
He didn't want to be free of the curse if Wiccan couldn't be there in his life, he didn't care about any of that now. All his priorities had shifted.
Wiccan took another ragged breath and Dorrek saw fear enter his eyes.
"Billy, Billy." He pleaded cupping his face, "Stay with me, try to stay with me, please."
But Wiccan's eyes became far off as trying to catch a single breath became all he could focus on. His lips parted and shut as Dorrek felt himself start to tremble and shake his head involuntarily. Billy gasped, once, twice, a third time before a gurgle echoed from his throat and his head fell back against the stone of the top step. Dorrek felt their laced fingers slip apart as Wiccan went limp.
"No. No, no, no, no, no, come back." He begged running his fingers through Wiccan's hair again trying to stir him, "You can't go, come back."
From behind him in the shadows of his bedroom stood Agatha. She watched with saddened eyes before her gaze fell upon the dead flower on the balcony, only the stem floating under the glass, dead petals surrounding it's base.
Dorrek seemed to sense her presence and looked over his shoulder at her. Their eyes locked and there was a tenseness in the air around them. Then Dorrek's eyes softened and he sat up straighter still on his knees.
"Let it be me instead." He begged.
Agatha tilted her head in surprise.
"Let me die instead of him." He sniffled as the tears ran down his face, "Please, do whatever you have to, just let it be me."
Still, the sorceress only looked at him quizzically.
Dorrek looked from Billy to Agatha knowing the mage didn't have much time.
"He's good, I'm not. He deserves to live."
Agatha slowly shook her head, "No."
Dorrek's fist came plunging down breaking the stone step under him and leaving a significant crack. "You wanted to punish me! You wanted me to suffer! So let me suffer, let me die. Whatever magic, or energy or whatever it is that makes a sack of flesh and bone a person take it from me and give it to him!"
"You love him that much? You really love him."
Dorrek looked back down at Billy whose pale face was turning paler still under the moonlight. "More than anything."
Agatha's mouth opened slightly, even she could not have predicted this.
"He's good." Dorrek repeated more to himself now then to her, "He's so, so good. And kind. Pure hearted."
"I will not kill you to save him Dorrek."
He bowed his head not looking at her. Of course she'd choose this punishment instead. Let him fall in love, then live – not only cursed – but knowing he couldn't save the man he loved. Knowing for the rest of his life Billy's blood was on his hands. That it was his fault. That was a punishment much worse than death. And part of him knew he deserved it. Wiccan was much too good for the likes of him.
But Dorrek didn't realize how wrong he was about Agatha.
Behind him she lifted her hand and each petal glimmered with gold specks and lavender wisps as the flower repaired itself and bloomed once more. The gold and purple glowed brightly, the light becoming strong enough to brighten the whole room.
But still Dorrek did not move. He stayed hovering over his dead companion. He noticed the light in his peripheral vision but paid it no attention. Whether the curse was breaking or solidifying he didn't care. He only looked down at Wiccan with red trails of blood coming from the bottom of his mouth, running down his neck and staining his lips. As the light grew stronger and began to consume everything around him he broke down. Screwing his eyes shut he let the tears flow freely as he curled into himself, his body covering Wiccan's, his forehead falling to the leaner man's cape covered shoulder and he let the sobs take him for as long as they wished to.
Agatha was touched by the prince. All selfishness had been erased from him, something she had once assumed was nearly impossible. Not a single tear was shed for himself, he hadn't even looked over his shoulder at her rose. The one object he'd protected with his life, the one thing he'd sat in front of for hours contemplating. It meant nothing now. Only the boy in front of him mattered. The boy who had come back when he'd worried for Dorrek's life, the boy who had been a prisoner but willingly came back because of love.
Agatha smiled to herself as the light consumed the table the rose sat on and poured off the stone top like a river of honey. It moved across the floor and flooded over the balcony and off the edges dripping down onto other parts of the castle. Dorrek's room flooded with it and soon the two men were covered by it like a golden blanket. A small smile graced Agatha's lips. The pair glowed brighter like a ball of pure sunlight. Once the magic running over them had done its job it ran off them like water as it continued to drip from between the slits in the balcony rail. The balcony and room grew darker again but it didn't seem as pitch black as it had been earlier due to the light radiating from her magic that had gone outside to repair the castle.
Dorrek hadn't moved, he still laid with his head on Wiccan's shoulder as he cried. But then Billy's body moved under him as the mage took a breath and his head rolled to the side seeing nothing but Dorrek's blonde hair. He still hadn't noticed.
"Dorrek?" Billy groaned sounding groggy like he'd just woken up after a long night's sleep. Immediately, the royal looked up and was amazed by what he was seeing. He rose from Wiccan's shoulder as Billy carefully pushed himself up on his elbows.
"You're alive." Dorrek whispered in awe as Wiccan stared at him, "You're okay."
His eyes scrutinized the mage's neck but saw no trace of the cut Noh had inflicted. He looked over his shoulder to Agatha in shock and relief as she smiled and nodded to him. Then he felt a hand run through his hair and he turned back to Billy as his hand moved to cup Dorrek's face. He smiled a wide grin expecting the expression to break his jaw it was such a big smile. But it faltered when he noticed Billy was still looking at him in disbelief.
"Are you okay?" Dorrek asked just to be sure.
Billy nodded and just as Dorrek was about to ask what was wrong Billy spoke, "You're human."
The breath froze in Dorrek's lungs. He hadn't even been thinking of that, he'd just been so glad Billy was alive. He looked down and raised his hand. A pale ivory skinned hand greeted him, no claws, no shades of green, no scales, nothing. Tears stung his eyes again but now they were tears of joy. He turned his hand over and back again just to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Then a gloved hand entered and took his hand in theirs. Dorrek looked back up and saw Wiccan also looking at their joined hands. Then he looked up and their gazes met.
"How did you break it?" he asked.
Dorrek only smiled, "I didn't. You did."
Billy looked confused and Dorrek gave a chuckle. Then, oddly enough, he felt embarrassed. "You meant it then? The I love you."
Billy's confusion vanished and he nodded, then a grin broke out across his face, "Yeah. . . I, I love you Dorrek."
The royal smiled and brought his hand to cup Billy's face, then he pulled him in and kissed him deeply with every ounce of energy he had. Billy responded in full as their mouths moved back and forth with passion. Dorrek's tongue just grazed his bottom lip when -
"Oh ew." They broke apart and saw Speed leaning on the balcony's rail, "You couldn't wait twenty or thirty minutes to finish sorting this out before you started sucking each other's faces off?"
They both chuckled before looking at the ground embarrassed.
Let me know which version of the ending you liked better! Final chapter coming next week! :)
