I'm so glad I got this finished this weekend, too. Hopefully, this means my new posted schedule will be Sat/Sun. Also, did you honestly think I could kill Stein?
It wasn't blond hair when Stein awoke but pink, his eyes focusing with that strict concern. "Who are you?"
"Lord Stein, oh, I'm so glad," Kim gushed.
He let his eyes linger down to his middle, watching Kim's hands hovering over the side wound with an eerie glow. "Huh." He let out an amused chuckle, ignoring the pain that spiked in his gut for a moment. "A witch… that can heal. Interesting."
Kim was leaning closer to him, her eyes wide, "Look, I'm Kim, Maka's girl that was supposed to be watching Medusa. I'm trying my best to heal you but I need your help-"
"He's awake?" Came a sharp voice from outside of the campfire light and Stein watched it tighten every last one of Kim's muscles.
It took him a moment, but as Stein pushed achingly onto his elbows he knew before he even laid eyes on her. "Yaara, always a disappointment to run into you."
"Shouldn't you be thanking me for saving you from a pathetic death in the middle of the road?" Yaara offered calmly as she stepped into the light and sat across the fire from him. Stein wondered if she had even aged a day, the same girlish face and wavy blond hair he remembered from Spirit's wedding.
"I think I should be thanking Kim," Stein let fall flatly. "And she doesn't seem fond of you. Can't say I blame her."
Yaara's lips curled into a sneer. "She's a witch, most witches are not fond of witch hunters."
"A witch who has been actively serving your daughter and just saved my life." Stein let his eyes flick to Kim, watching at least a modicum of relief come over her.
Yaara was unphased by this and simply eased forward, letting the light play brightly against her cheeks. "Or poisoning my daughter. She was working with Medusa."
"As your daughter instructed her to do." Stein tried to sit up, happy for Kim's instant grasp on him to keep him steady. As he crouched forward slightly he realized the only dull sting to his stomach now and felt a renewed pleasant warmth as Kim's hands went to the wounds on his back. "Which her very smart, calculating husband did so that we could know what Medusa was making before it even made it to their plates."
"I see you're informed of all the clever little plans," Yaara replied sourly.
He tried to fend off the anger but the exhaustion left him without much of his sense to remain calm. "Well, it helps to spend time with Maka to know what's going on with her."
Yaara rolled her eyes with a bitter laugh, "Oh, and what a loving replacement for a father you are."
Stein shook his head slowly and mirrored her laugh before he pulled his legs to his chest in order to keep himself up. "I have been what I can be for Maka. You, on the other hand, only show up when it suits you, hiding in the shadows for your own purposes the rest of the time."
Her eyes burned brighter than the fire as her fists tightened at her side. "I did not save you just to have you call into question-"
"I wonder why you saved me at all," Stein gritted back through his teeth, "because we both know the only feeling I've ever had for you is a healthy amount of spite."
"Spite!" Yaara laughed heartily. "The feeling is mutual, Stein. Just tell me where you sent my daughter. Make my life a little easier and I'll get out of your hair."
Stein sucked his teeth before letting out a harsh sigh, "You'll leave Kim with me."
"I'd rather kill the girl." The flatness of it sent a chill up Kim's spine but Stein was quick to put a hand on her shoulder and surprisingly quell it.
"You want to know where Maka is going, I require Kim to accompany me so I can actually make it back to Soul in one piece," Stein offered succinctly. "That's the deal. Take it or leave it."
"Or you'll do what?" Yaara shot back with sick amusement.
He rested his cheek against his knees in exhaustion before he sighed. "Do or don't, Yaara."
"Fine," she huffed quickly and Stein was convinced there wasn't a chance of a struggle in the first place.
This brought at least a spark of joy to him, a smile easing over his features even as he still tucked his face close to his knees. "She's going to Spirit's. It's where she'll be safe."
"And where is that?" Yaara shot back instantly.
"Oh, you don't know?" He reveled in the coy lilt to his voice.
"Of course I don't know," she spat venomously.
"Technically, I don't either." Stein had to focus on the pain that was slowly dissipating from his back to check the playfulness in that reply. "He's gone into hiding and only Maka knows his exact location."
Yaara huffed, "Then you were useless and I should kill both of you anyway."
"It'll be due north on the high road," Stein slipped in glumly. "I know on the outskirts of Marie's is a westward turn. You'll have to track her from there."
"Barely helpful," she muttered.
"Just as you are," he chimed back. "Is it too much to hope that you're after her to give her some comfort as she becomes a mother herself?"
This fell between the three of them and amplified a tight silence, Yaara staring at the flames instead of him. Kim's hands were still moving slowly but Stein was catching her worried glances out of the corner of his eyes. "You saw the soul."
"Souls," Stein corrected.
A harsh sigh followed from Yaara as she put her head in her hands, "There something wrong with it, them."
"Maybe it looks that way," Stein murmured. "It's something the witch created, a curse of sorts that their father carries. It looks the same on him as it does on them."
"Then why would you let her carry them?" Yaara shot the hard accusation at him as she stood. "All of that paternal love becomes a falsehood as you let her carry monsters."
Stein stared, unphased. "Soul is no monster, so his children will not be either. And don't tell me that this stupidity is your motivation for going after her now."
"My daughter needs me," Yaara professed.
"And has for years," Stein added quickly, "but you haven't shown your face until this. You stay away from those babies, Yaara, or I promise now that I will kill you."
She sucked her teeth in reply. "I'd like to see you try."
He let the calm, coolness settle into his voice, "It wouldn't be trying."
There was silence and glaring enough to fill a lifetime before Yaara turned from him. "You'll never see my daughter again if I can help it."
Stein refused to give an answer, letting the temper wave off of Yaara's shoulders until she stomped away into the darkness. When the woods were quiet again, Kim suddenly threw her arms around him. "I'm sorry, Lord Stein, I'm so sorry but, please…"
"It's alright, Kim," he patted her gently. "Did she hurt you?"
"I swore she would," Kim whispered. "I… I know I wasn't told to but when Medusa started to move I pledged myself as well. I was supposed to be watching the carriage after Eruka got underneath and was supposed to be on call if Free needed medical attention but as soon as Maka left to go after Soul, that woman grabbed me and took me with her. She's been following Maka until we found you."
"Heaven forbid she helped with Medusa," Stein laughed sourly. He allowed for a few more moments of Kim's embrace, smoothing her hair as he would Maka's before pulling the smaller girl away. "You've been very smart, Kim, and done very well. When we get to Soul's, let's make sure you get the rest you deserve."
Kilik and Ox had been assigned as rotating detail for Free and while no particularly troubling happens had occurred, it was obvious that the collar was more to damper magic, leaving Free mostly still overly physically capable. Soul wasn't entirely sure how he felt about this, but he couldn't deny the amusement of watching Free lift the six men as they sat on a bench with ease in the fighting ring. Free was posing and laughing happily as the seated men's anxiety was slowly dissipating.
"He seems… pretty easy going." Kilik offered this as more of a question than comment as he turned his eyes to Soul.
"Yeah, no problems so far," Ox added. "Then again, I mostly get the exciting role of watching him sleep."
"Luck of the draw," Kilik grinned.
Soul looked between the two grinning faces before sending his eyes back to Free. "I can't say I don't like him."
"Yeah…" Kilik and Ox echoed.
They let that admission linger as they watched Free lift the bench over and over without tiring. "But… is he technically a witch?" Kilik eyebrows furrowed.
"His eye," Soul sighed. "That's where the witch's power is but he says he's just an immortal, whatever that means."
"Means we can't kill him," Ox sounded almost dejected even in the face of the growing friendship.
"Which just means we need him on our side," Kilik corrected quickly as he hopefully looked to Soul. "Right?"
Soul let that sit. If his thoughts weren't about Maka or Black Star, that was it. Just what will it take to make sure Free stays, well, free but harmless. A well-practiced sigh followed that only cut by Free quickly dropping the men and rushing over to the three of them.
"Hey, prince!" He suddenly seemed surprised and for someone who was usually so loud, the way he leaned towards the men furtively startled all of them.
"What is it, Free?" Soul was instantly on pins and needles.
"I smell one of us," he whispered with a grin.
Kilik and Ox were up, weapons drawn as Soul leaned in closer. "Can you tell which one?"
"It's faint." Free turned from them, faced the wind, and took a long inhale through his nose. "Coming from the bridge."
I hope it's not part two. Soul barely kept it from leaving his lips before he urged the three of them along with him across the yard. He unsheathed his sword and drove the group forward through the bustling courtyard, definitely parting the crowds with tense looks. The castle had adopted a certain atmosphere since the kidnapping, a new hum of anxiety in every last corner. Soul knew he should be pleased with the change, the idea that the head in the sand royals were finally accepting that there was still a war at hand exactly as Maka had hoped, but he didn't like it at the price of having his wife with him.
As the stones of the bridge came into view, Soul abandoned the strain in his heart as his eyes set on Kim and Stein in the saddle. He was just about to break into a run when Free grabbed his arm and whispered low and cautioning in Soul's ear, "The pink-haired girl. That's Medusa's girl."
"Kim," Soul almost laughed it off except when he looked back at Free his eyes were actually filled with something close to concern. "Don't worry, she was working with Medusa for us."
"Isn't a witch a witch though, prince?" Free asked back inquisitively.
"A witch…?" Soul shot his eyes back to the pair on horseback as if he would suddenly see the difference in Kim, the secret she'd been hiding. "Kim's a witch?" the wondrous murmur barely left his lips.
Free didn't answer this, still waiting for his reply to his own question. He would be waiting for some time since Soul still burst forward, leaving the three of them to catch up.
"Stein!" Soul didn't have anything to accompany it especially as Stein's smile seemed to come back so weakly.
Kim slowed the horse and slipped out of the saddle first, her hands instantly coming up to steady Stein. "You'll have to help him down. He's still a little weak."
"I'd prefer that we not talk about that right now, out in the open," Stein reminded her not so gently.
"That's right, sorry, Lord Stein." Kim was quick to throw away the worry of it as she looked at Soul. "It's great that you're alright."
"Yeah…" Soul blinked at her for a moment. "I was worried something happened to you."
"Well, I may have taken on a mission of my own without asking," Kim winced apologetically. "But we'll talk about that-" Kim cut off as her eyes widened at Free. "What are you… How?"
Free let that wolfish grin come back, "Could ask you the same thing, couldn't I?"
For a second Kim took a frantic step backward but was stopped by Stein's firm hand. Soul had helped him down to the ground and now he was keeping Kim in place, adding a second hand to her other shoulder. "I have a feeling we'll talk about that inside as well."
Ox quickly took the horse, heading off for the stables as Kilik escorted the rest into the castle in complete silence. Soul was too busy with the millions of conversations in his own head to see the same running across Kim and Stein's face. Free was pleasantly watching the three, a particularly strange feeling of interest coming over him since usually he didn't exactly like humans, but this group was proving to be interesting and at the very least amusing.
Even if minds were working, feet were running faster and bringing them quickly to one of the council rooms. Most sat but Soul found his legs unable to listen to the command to bend and instead he was stiff behind the chair as his hands gripped into the wood grain. "Kilik, outside the door. Make sure no one comes in here or hears a thing."
"Got it," Kilik saluted quickly before exiting.
"What about me?" Free offered with great interest as he leaned towards Soul to look up at him expectantly.
Soul let his eyes fall to Stein, "Any objections?"
"Are we trusting him?" Stein replied swiftly.
"He knows about Maka, Medusa on his own," Soul shrugged. "If he was going to spill to the public I guess he would have already. Plus, it's not like we know where Maka is at this point anyway."
"True," Stein gave his own weak roll of his shoulders. "Then no objections."
Soul turned his attention back to Free, "Up to you then."
Free leaned back in his chair, his lips holding a thin line while his mind was settling into a strange kind of cheer.
"Kim," Stein turned to her. "Will you start us off?"
"Um," Kim let the vowel waver as she looked between the three. "I…"
"Go ahead, Kim," Soul charged softly.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," she mumbled before pausing for a sigh. "You have to know that I wanted to, but…" Kim leveled a frown at Soul, "It's an all or nothing, right? If you're a witch, you're evil and need to be destroyed so… of course, I had to keep from you that I am."
Soul nodded glumly, "Sure, I get it."
"So?" Free cut in, "Gonna answer me then? A witch is a witch, huh? Because you get that you're deciding something right now, right?"
"Kim's not like that," Soul tried to defend as his mind worked over the last bit of what felt like an accusation from Free.
"I still am what I am," Kim added with such dejected frankness that Soul's gut clenched.
Soul couldn't stop the begging look on his face as his words clutched to Stein. "The witches you've dealt with, Stein, have always been…?" There wasn't a way to finish that sentence especially as his eyes flicked to Kim and saw a growing disappointment.
"What we understand of witches," Stein started steadily, "is that they are all bad. They have some mischievous call to ruin lives and make people suffer. That being said…" He planted a soft hand on Kim's head. "I've been cured by one, so perhaps my understanding of them is not as absolute as I understood before."
Soul swallowed this as served these words towards Free. "But I'm not just going to make an exception for Kim because how many more of you are there who just keep to yourselves?"
"Ah," Free grinned, "That's gonna be a hard act to play out now that you have the world hunting for them because of the princess. How are you going to change all those minds again?"
"I don't know," Soul answered frankly. "It's going to take time and I'm sure it'd help if I had the two of you advising me." He pointed between Free and Kim as if this were an everyday conversation but both balked slightly, Kim blanching.
"You can't be serious," Kim spat out. "I mean, I'm sorry, Soul, but me? Free? On some kind of counsel? You think any of the other advisors are going to let that go? You think your father will?"
"I agree," Free said but that powerful grin was still on his face.
"We'll work towards it," Soul let out slowly with a sigh. "I know it won't be easy, but… I'll try. I can at least give you my word on that."
Free shrugged, that grin never leaving his lips but Kim just let out a drawn out breath. "Maybe after all this with Maka. Honestly, I'd like to just take a long bath and have a nap more than be promised I'm going to advise you on witches."
Soul managed a laugh, "You're free to do any of that, Kim, but at least visit the girls first. They've been just as worried as me." Kim slipped away from Stein's touch as she stood from the chair. She paused a second at Soul's side and with only a momentary hesitation he pressed a hand to her shoulder. "Back to normal, or as normal as we can be, got it?"
"Witch or no?" she murmured.
"'Course. Can't live without you ganging up with Liz and putting me in my place," he chuckled lightly.
"Well," Kim smiled softly. "Long live the King, then." That produced another amused snort from Soul as Kim brushed off his hand and made her way out of the room.
When the door closed behind her, Stein started again. "I fought Medusa."
"And?" Soul was quick to jump on it, all his hopes crowding his thoughts.
"I killed her," Stein answered with a roll of his shoulders, "and almost myself in the process."
"But she's gone?" He had to actively suppress the way the air wanted to squeal from his lungs. Stein could go get her, bring her back now and there wouldn't have to be all this waiting, worrying.
"Her body was when I awoke." All of the air along with the possibilities left Soul, instantly reading that hard look on Stein's face. "I don't trust the fact that there was nothing to burn after."
"Free," Soul quickly turned his gaze to him. "Do you know what that means? Her body being gone?"
Free rubbed at the stubble on his chin before offering up a sigh, "Well, her spirit could last for a while. If one of her little snakes caught someone nearby, she could be using them as a vessel. Or she just turned into some drippy stuff and sucked into the ground. A lot of possibilities with her. She was strong."
"Shit," Soul hissed.
"Again, I don't trust it exactly," Stein gave a placating smile, "but it means that as things are right now, I'll leave word with Marie to send Maka straight home. Unless Medusa shows herself again, there's no reason to assume she's not actually dead, but we should play it safe. Leave Maka on her ten-week vacation."
As he leaned his elbows onto the back of the chair, Soul let his head fall in his hands. They drifted into his hair and tugged at the roots as he let out a long, desperate breath. "But when you saw her, she was fine?"
Stein echoed him with a sigh at half the strength. "She was rightfully sad." He hesitated but at Soul brought his deep, wine-colored eyes to him, Stein couldn't help but waver. How pathetic I am in the face of the children. "She gave me something to give to you."
The hope on his face blossomed just for a moment before he held it in check. "Is it… alright that I have it?"
"Probably not," Stein said with another resigned exhale but still reached into his pocket, taking out the folded note. "But I know if you keep it, you'll hide it. She swears she didn't sign her name, so…" He held it out to Soul, feeling another pang in his heart as the boy snatched it from his grasp. "Would you like us to go?"
Soul's fingers felt at the paper as he looked between the two of them. "I'll, uh… be right behind you."
"Of course." Stein stood slowly, walking with even less of a rush so that he could plant a drifting hand across Soul's shoulder. At that moment, he wished he had Marie's touch, that placater of souls so that the pain that was about to hit Soul might be soothed away. Instead, he could only offer a commiserative smile as he motioned Free out in front of him. "She'll come home to you soon. Remember that."
Soul just looked desperately at him before Stein let his hand fall away and left the room behind Free. Again, he touched the paper and passed it between his hands as he sunk into the chair. As he finally opened it the tears came to his eyes without even reading a word. Fuck, how pathetic am I that just seeing her damn handwriting is enough to make me blubber like a damn baby. Thinking of the word baby didn't help, sending him on a spiral that he only just kept from dragging him to the bottom. Instead, he slapped a hand to his thigh, clenching at the flesh as he started the first line.
We made a mistake picking names. We only thought of a boy or girl, not a boy and a girl. Or a girl and a girl. Or a boy and a boy. You need to think of more because there's two. I wish I could be there, maybe help you see them the way I do. Them. I know I shouldn't, it's selfish, but I needed to tell you. Even more important: they're perfect. Two perfect little souls. I love you.
He gritted his teeth and moved the paper out of the way so the tears splattered into the fabric of his pants while the word 'them' resounded in his head.