And I Shall Burn
Chapter 4
A/N: Thanks for being patient everyone. I told you I'd be back. Haha. I decided to not add in much about Clockwork Princess into this fanfiction, some bits might be thrown in. But not a lot will connect.
Lacey tried to wiggle away from Seraph and then stronger Angel sighed and pushed her towards Lasiel, who held her firmly in place. "Child, you will go through more transformations in the next few days...but they shouldn't interrupt your life...you will have the ability to call weapons as we do...so be careful with your emotions- otherwise you may call one at a most...inappropriate time..." She laughed softly, as did Lasiel, which was strange because Lasiel NEVER laughed, or even smiled. The inside joke was lost on the rest of them however. "We will be in touch very little, but be careful. Should you need us...truly need us we will know and we will come to aid you..."
Lasiel pushed Lacey away from her and then both her and Seraph disappeared.
"Why must they always hold me so forcefully..." Lacey grumbled as she rubbed her arms. Her wings disappeared in a bright light and she was happy to feel that her dress wasn't destroyed because of them. "Well..." she looked around at everyone staring at her and sighed, shaking her head and crossing her arms, "I told you you had guests..." Will just laughed.
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Dinner passed slowly, mostly because everyone had questions about Lacey's nightmare, which she wasn't that eager to relive through words. Eventually she did give in and they all listened intently, making mental notes to watch out for certain signs that the same things were going to happen. After she was finished she excused herself from the table and headed back up to her room, nodding to the house cat, Church, on her way by, "Hey Church…" she murmured. The cat made a grumbling noise before slinking away. Lacey sighed and continued up the stairs and halls to her room, which seemed pretty welcoming at the moment.
She opened the door and her mood lightened to see a fire roaring in the fireplace and her night clothes laid out for her. She assumed Sophie had taken notice of her weary state in the dining hall and prepared everything for her. Lacey didn't bother calling for assistance, she merely stripped out of her clothes and as she laid them on a chest across the room she took a moment to look in the mirror. The markings, which had been black, were now a warm golden hue, and slightly warmer than the rest of her skin. "Well this is odd…" she muttered under her breath as she moved to the bed to grab her nightgown. Seraphine had told her she would go through more changes, so she assumed this was what she was talking about. What other changes would she experience? Lacey shivered just thinking about it.
The young woman slipped her nightgown over her head and then slipped beneath the covers of her bed, her mind drifting to one of the better parts of her nightmare. Charles. They had shared a rather close relationship in her nightmare, one that made her skin flush and her heart beat a little faster. "Charles…" she whispered softly. Part of her was afraid of something blooming between them, but another part of her hoped it would, that at least that part of her nightmare would come true. With a sigh she laid her head down on the pillow and closed her eyes, letting the sound of the fire roaring lull her into a peaceful sleep, until almost morning.
"Miss Greenwood…" spoke a dark voice. "Why do you continue to fight our connection…Open yourself up to me and the world will be yours…" Lacey looked around the dark void she seemed to appear in and fought the pounding in her chest. "Open yourself…open the connection and let me in…" Heat seemed to tickle at Lacey's feet and she looked down to see flames flickering around her….
Lacey woke with a yelp, looking around the room for anyone, but thankfully found the room empty. A knock immediately came from the door and she cleared her throat before calling out, "Yes?"
"Are you okay? I heard-." It was Charles.
"I'm fine Charles…It is quite alright…" Lacey assured him.
"May I come in?" he asked, a nervous edge in his voice. Lacey felt her jaw drop and she looked down at herself.
"Charles…I..I'm in my bed clothes…" she said with a blush.
"Oh…I'll just leave…" he said in a very defeated tone. It was so depressing in sound that Lacey quickly changed her answer.
"Oh come in Charles…What was it you needed!" she called out. The door opened slowly and Charles peeked in, his face turning slightly bashful when he saw her lying in bed. He walked slowly over to her and crossed his arms over his chest nervously.
"I just wanted to see if you were awake…and ready for breakfast…Charlotte wanted me to help you get used to things here today…" he said softly. Charles looked down at Lacey as she gazed up at him and a spark seemed to ignite between them. She felt her skin thrum in response to him, and she knew he felt the same by the strange look he had on his face. "Lacey…"
"Shh…" she whispered, lifting a hand to place it against a new mark that seemed to swirl around his wrist, "It is true…" Charles looked down when Lacey spoke and saw the mark, his eyes widening. "Something I left out to the others last night…Charles…you became my protector in my nightmare…my right hand…honor bound by the Angels to help me…and this mark was your contract…" She murmured. "We're connected…"
Charles smiled, but didn't say a word. Lacey looked up at him as he seemed to be leaning down. They were both gazing at each other with an intense spark in their eyes, their lips coming closer together with every passing second. When they finally touched, Lacey seemed to melt into Charles' embrace as he wrapped his arms around her. Her lips parted as Charles deepened their kiss and her stomach exploded into a frenzy of emotions, her heart beating quickly. It wasn't until they both needed air that they broke their kiss, and gasped. Lacey was bright red as she gazed at Charles. "I…I need to get dressed…" she said shakily. She pushed Charles a little to get him to move and he chuckled as she stumbled out of the sheets to stand. She wasn't very steady on her feet and quickly managed to trip over herself, but Charles caught her in his arms.
"I'm here…" he whispered," I won't let you fall…" he promised. Lacey looked at him and smiled.
"I know…But…" she looked away, fear gripping her stomach," I feel like we might burn together…." She whispered.
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Charles waited out in the hall while Lacey got herself dressed for the day, and then escorted her to breakfast where everyone else was waiting to eat. "Good Morning…" Charlotte cheered as she raised a cup to Lacey while she sat down.
"Good Morning Charlotte…I trust everyone slept well…" She greeted as Charles sat beside her with a glow of cheeriness radiating off of him.
"Haven't seen you this happy in a while, Charles…." Jem noted with a small smile. Will laughed and grinned.
"Did you finally take my advice and go downtown? Get you some-." Will started but was interrupted as Lacey suddenly seemed to turn red with anger and something bright seemed to appear above Will's head. He looked up and seemed confused until the light dissipated and a sword appeared to be hovering above his head. "THE HELL!" He quickly jumped from his seat and started to move away as it followed him. Charles looked at Lacey and put a hand to her arm.
"Lacey- Control your anger…or you'll likely cut him in half…" he murmured softly, trying to calm the young woman down. "Will I suggest you apologize…"
"W-What?!" he stammered as the sword took a swipe at his head. He ducked and then looked at Lacey, "I'm sorry!"
Lacey finally seemed to realize what was happening and the sword disappeared with a pop, Will falling onto his butt with relief. "Oh my goodness! I'm sorry, Will!" Lacey exclaimed as she stood up, her hand over her mouth as she looked at him catching his breath on the floor. He waved a hand at her to show he was fine and then slowly stood up and returned to his chair. "Sorry…" she murmured again, sitting down and looking at her hands in her lap.
"It's fine Lacey…Just…jeez…I know who not to piss off…." Will laughed, "And I think I can guess who made Charles so happy…" he said with a wink and a suggestive brow wiggle. Lacey turned bright red and bit her lip.
Charles sighed and held up his wrist to show the new mark to the rest of the household, "This mark is apparently from her nightmare as well- I was chosen to be her….the Angel's put it as, 'Her Knight'…I'm supposed to be connected to her in a way that will allow me to protect her…" he explained. Charlotte looked thrilled and Jem seemed interested, while Will looked like he had just seen the most unbelievable thing in London.
"You're a damn Angel Knight!" Will exclaimed, "Someone's moving up in the world…" he crossed his arms, "Nice job Charlie…"
Charles rolled his eyes and then Lacey frowned, "Someone…someone's here…" She murmured.
"What now? More ladies to pop out of the air with weapons at your neck, Lacey?" asked Will sarcastically.
"No…" She mumbled as she stood up, Charles right behind her, and left the dining room. She headed for the front door and opened it, stopping once she saw what was outside. It was strange, for a moment she thought she was seeing double, but she was remembering a clip from her nightmare, because it was right before her outside. Lord Mikal, the man who kidnapped her in her dream, after Will had chased her out of the house with a dagger.
Charles put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back, "He won't get you…" he growled. The others came into the foyer and glared outside.
"This the guy from your nightmare, Lacey?" snapped Will, reaching for his nephilim blade. Lacey nodded and Will stepped past her, along with Charles, and they both walked down the steps of the Institute towards Lord Mikal. The man was grinning devilishly in their direction.
"He's a warlock and a vampire…" she shouted to the boys, which received a surprised glance from Lord Mikal.
"Either way he's going to die…" bit Will as his blade roared to life. Lord Mikal held up a finger and shook it in Will's direction.
"No no no…little shadowhunter…she needs me…." Lord Mikal purred.
"I do not!" Lacey snapped.
"Without me Lacey…You'll go mad with power and rage and kill….everyone…."
