For a very shot moment, they only stood there. His grey eyes boring into her dark blue ones, which returned the stare with determination. She could nearly see what went through his mind: memories, if not the exact same ones she was going through in matter of seconds.
She'd never forget such a strange confrontation. She had been an Alfea senior and he had been a thief with great, if not foolishly arrogant, plans. She had taken the wrong bus and run into Mortuus and his group, which had been much smaller back then.
"Well, well." A smirk grew on the young man's slim face as he turned to the fairy. "What's up, cutie?"
Faragonda frowned, starting to feel uncomfortable as he approached her. Her body was already preparing for a quick escape. "Who are you?"
He swung his short brown hair pompously. "Mortuus Montgomery. Remember that name, sweetheart, you will hear it again."
"Uh huh. Hopefully I won't. And now if you excuse me..."
Mortuus's hand closed around her upper arm before she could move an inch. "No need to hurry. You're lost, aren't you? You could come with us." He nudged his shoulder towards the rest of the group that was coming nearer to them. "We could help you."
Faragonda raised an eyebrow, throwing him a defiant glare. "Or maybe I could help you, or wasn't that what you thought?"
Mortuus let out a small laugh. "So, you saw through me."
"Certainly did. I'm afraid I know nothing about the museum's security, so what if I'll just leave?" She wrenched her arm off his grasp.
Of course, he wouldn't have let her leave so easily. She had had to blast him and few others to get enough time to escape. She had hoped it would end there. That the words "We'll meet again, fairy!" he yelled after her were just an empty threat. But Mortuus Montgomery always kept his promises.
She could have forgotten everything. The confrontation. The reprimand she got from being back too late. The article about 'Unknown robbers of Magix Museum' her friend had pointed out. But unfortunately, one of those 'unknown robbers' didn't want her to forget. He stood in the middle of an empty athenaeum of the library, turning when the book she'd held so tightly dropped on the floor.
Faragonda's shoulder rose. "What are you—? How did you—?"
"Hush, we're in a library, remember?" Mortuus smirked, measuring the room with his eyes as he approached her. "Did you miss me?"
Faragonda took a deep breath. She wouldn't show any hints of fear now. "How did you get here? They don't just let anyone wander around, especially if—"
"You talk too much, my darling. Doesn't your face get tired?" He reached his hand to her cheek, only to get his hand slapped away. "Fine, if you really need to know. I introduced myself as your boyfriend."
"You did WHAT?!"
"Calm down, Faragonda, it was only for getting inside." Mortuus laughed at her irritation, ignoring the look on her face that made clear she was mentally throwing daggers at him. "Unless you want it."
"Most certainly n—! Wait, how do you know my name?"
"I have my ways." Mortuus spun around. "To be honest, I have other girlfriends that tell me these things."
"I am not—!"
"Sure, whatever you say."
The following blast she had shot at him took Mortuus by surprise. For a moment it had looked like they would have settled it there, but he had told he wouldn't fight her, not yet. "Time for that will come," he had said and disappeared in black flames. If he had ever visited during the following peaceful two weeks, she didn't know.
She had received notes from him, though. Every time one had been laid on her table, she couldn't have helped but check on her windows and door. All locked. Everything had been fine. And yet some nights she couldn't sleep well because of the fear of him sneaking inside her room.
He had mostly bragged about the things magazines had said or when security cameras had caught a glimpse of him.
"Did you see that picture? I was a bit careless —MM", one note had said.
She could have let her roommate think he was just a secret admirer, a harmless guy. She could have ignored the notes and the articles of break-ins. Until she had got that one note, which ended up being the last.
"Guess where I'll be next Thursday?"
And suddenly she felt like banging her head on a wall for not realizing it earlier.
She had gone alone. He hadn't. He had expected her to come. He had just walked into Alfea's library with an anticipating smirk on his face, dodging her attack without a problem. It had turned into a massive battle in matter of minutes and changed to an intense one-on-one after Mortuus's companions had got either knocked out or too exhausted to keep up.
She had won, though barely. He had underestimated her and her wits, and that had become his doom. While he had been unconscious, some of the teachers—who couldn't have missed the noise their battling caused— had called the Light Haven monks.
They had decided to hold a trial, since Mortuus had been quite young and Faragonda had been a key witness.
"Arrogant guy he is. Careless. But he shouldn't be underestimated," she had told them. "You saw what a mess he caused. He is powerful, he is a threat."
After further thought, his discipline had been clear: he'd be sent to Light Haven, for the time being they'd consider necessary. With his constant raging and obviously bad behavior, it had ended up being 21 years. Twenty-one long years of birds, flowers and clear blue sky.
She'd always remember his last words in the end of the trial, just before he was dragged away.
"We'll meet again, fairy," he had snarled, staring at her as if trying to take in every single detail of her. So he would remember, so he could fulfill his promise.
"Ridiculous," she had thought. "This time there's no way of that happening."
And yet, even after 21 years of Light Haven and 4 years of hiding and gathering an army, Mortuus Montgomery had proved himself to be a man worth of his word.
Bloom gaped at the two at the top of the stairs. She was ready to dash there, to help her. Explanations could wait. Her ambitions were stopped short by an arm stretching in front of her.
"Amer," the redhead snarled. "If you think you can—"
"Listen to me, little girl." His tone was demanding and much more confident than ever before. He gave her a look that would ensure one thing: she would listen, she would obey. "Don't get involved in this. This is something between him and her."
Bloom wasn't sure why exactly she decided to do as he said. She backed away a step, raising her gaze back to the scene in front of them.
Faragonda held her chin up, hands on her hips. "Mortuus Montgomery. Long time, no see."
Mortuus's disbelieve wore off and a smirk took its place on his face. "Did you miss me?"
Faragonda didn't answer, merely eyeing him from head to toes. She snorted softly. "Years have treated you well, better than you deserve."
"Thank you, you don't look too bad either. Nothing like the girl I cursed every day at Light Haven."
"And did you enjoy your stay?"
"Honestly? No. You know, the funny thing about Light Haven is, that no one, absolutely no one, goes there and leaves sane." Mortuus laughed and swirled his finger at his head. "See, I finally admitted it. I might be a bit of a mess up here."
"Congrats on figuring that one out."
"Your turn. Answer me, truthfully. Did you miss me?" He leaned down to her eyelevel. "No, no, in the other hand, don't tell me. I see it in your eyes. You did. You like talking to me."
"You're impossible."
He rose, now looking down on her in amusement. "And you're still playing hard to approach, I see. I've always found it amusing. You haven't changed after all."
Faragonda pursed her lips. "People aren't as simple as you think."
"They've been until now," Mortuus dryly stated. "You always manage to surprise me."
"Oh, you have no idea."
His eyes gleamed with curiosity. "Sounds like you have something for me."
"Indeed."
"Then go ahead, I'll listen."
Just in time, Faragonda gripped the wrist of his hand that tried to swing a dagger to her side. "Nice try." She wrenched the dagger off his hand with almost no effort and threw it away.
"Worth of a try." Mortuus crossed his arms. "Just like Somnus-spell seemed to be. Very clever from you, I must admit."
"Why thank you."
"But I suppose you didn't come here just to die?" His hands shot to her throat, closing around it firmly. "...Again."
"Of course I didn't," Faragonda answered as calmly as she could with unstable breaths. A sphere of her magic crashed against his stomach, giving her time to free herself. She hastily touched her neck. "I've been busy these couple of days, believe me."
Mortuus growled in frustration. "Oh, please, just choke it out. Can't you see I'm dying of the antici—," he took a hold of her shoulders and brought her closer, "...pation."
Damn, that man had the worst mood swings Bloom had ever seen.
"Private space," Faragonda spat.
Mortuus let out a short laugh. "Haven't heard of such."
"That's obvious." She stood silent until he realized to loosen his grip. She backed away, trying to keep a safe distance between them. "Your army. What loyalty is based on with them?"
Mortuus's eyes widened, probably without him even noticing.
"Oh yes, on the very thing I see here." She swirled her finger at his face. "Fear." She drummed her finger on her chin as if in deep thought. "And what if one day, a poor scared soldier is offered a chance to choose other fate than dying?"
The realization was slowly sinking in Mortuus, his body tensing more in same pace.
"It might cause some disloyalty, now wouldn't it?" Faragonda let herself grin widely. She started pacing around him in a circle. "And at the moment... Over half of your oh-so-great-and-loyal army would be ready to come here and imprison you. If I just called them."
Silence followed, broken only by Mortuus's deep breaths.
Faragonda shrugged slightly, swirling her hand accompanied by few sparks. "So, I might as well do that now and—"
Mortuus gripped her wrist and pulled her close again, her arm above her head. "Oh, my dear, you have no idea what you've done." He laughed half-heartedly and nearly breathlessly. "You... You've ridiculed me! Made me look like a complete fool! Stained my name and its glory for the rest of eternity!" His other hand grasped her neck while she was still too shocked to react fast enough.
As she struggled to free herself, his eyes wandered on the badge resting on her chest. "And all that while living under my protection spells, wearing my badge!" He tore it off with a swift movement. His hand joined the other, gripping her neck.
Mortuus gritted his teeth. "You think you're so clever with this game of yours. Just like old times, ey? But you know what? You need two to play. And I will not lose to some pretty little fairy and her pixie dust!" His tightening grip had her choking. Dark purple magic rose from the ground, surrounding both of them. His eyes gleamed with rage as the flood of energy started to have effect on the woman.
"That's it," Bloom said coolly and without hesitation threw her hands in the air.
A sphere of fire hit Mortuus's hand. He cried out in pain and pulled his hands away, turning to see the redhead fairy transformed and ready for another attack. "You sneaky little bitch! Oh, you just wait and I'll rip your wings off by my own hands!"
"You try," Faragonda cut in, her voice hoarse and breathing still fidgety, "and you'll regret it for the rest of your miserable life!" She fixed him a warning stare.
Mortuus drew himself up and smirked. "Challenge accepted. I just love playing with you."
"You've already lost." Her magic blasted him to the nearest wall. She finally turned to look at the others, nodding and nudging her head to Mortuus.
Bloom nodded back hastily, fully understanding the look on Faragonda's face: 'No questions. Let's get rid off this guy.'