All warnings were given first chapter… please refer to it!
The Crow
(Second Arc: The witch from the Eastern lands)
(Part 15)
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The gaudy decorations were a clue.
'Oh no…'
The ridiculously large crystal ball was another.
'He didn't…'
The dark blue velvety cloth with gold trimmings around the bottom, over a dramatically cut table was a dead giveaway.
A reddish brown eyebrow twitched.
The owner of said eyebrow's breath hitched in irritation and a certain measure of disbelief – come on! She knew Clow had a mischief filled streak a mile wide, but to catch even her in its wake?
"I thought you said something along the lines of Magic shop…" Violet's voice was painfully unimpressed. Wang shifted on his feet, taking a step toward the boxes that kept all the surprise hidden.
At first, when the sorcerer first brought them to the fair's grounds, the witch was absolutely enchanted. All the colors and stalls, all the people mingling about, the noise, the energy. She had no idea where to look first and was loving every minute of it.
Until Clow caught her attention with a small laugh, filled with ill-concealed amusement and a sadistic glee hidden beneath that made a coil of dread clog up Violet's throat…
'Clow just didn't…'
He was standing next to the mysterious boxes he brought from Cambridge, leaning nonchalantly over them as he stared at his the green eyed companion.
'Is that velvet?' Violet noticed Wang opening the lid of one of the boxes, pulling out a strip of fabric with horrified fascination.
"Did I say that? I thought I said we would open a Magic stand… never said what kind though" His cheerful smile didn't diminish Violet's exasperated angry mood. She had the impression that she's just been inadvertently pranked. "Let's have you looking the part-"
And if the decorations weren't enough, the fact that Clow was now trying to push Violet into wearing a cliché fortune-teller robe – complete with sun and moon sprinkled all throughout the fabric, would have made his intentions way too obvious.
'The sneaky, conniving berk!' Though the way a chuckle spilled from his lips and danced through the air around her, Violet knew when she was defeated.
"Fine! Give me the robes!" The witch snapped, snatching the dangling fabric from the tittering sorcerer's hands. She didn't even need to remove her dress, the fortune-teller's outfit was light and airy, fitting over her clothes and falling gracefully around her body – mysterious hood and all. If only it wasn't a seriously illegal shade of purple… "Are those jewelry?"
"You need to look authentic, or you won't attract as many customers" The sorcerer explained breezily, the smile splitting his face, although discrete, had devious written all over it.
Violet's eyebrow twitched again.
"And what will you be doing in the mean time?" Asked the witch with only a measly measure of irritation… "I do want to explore some before you finish meeting your…" something twisted in her guts, making Violet stop and carefully think about what she was saying "…student"
"Wang and I will help you settle here" He told her. Clow looked oddly grateful and even proud when he looked at her. "Then I will sweep the grounds for the presence of other magicians and let my acquaintance know we are here"
"Fine… when will I have the chance to go out on my own?" Violet didn't whine, but her temper was flaring dangerously at the fact she was being, for all states and purposes, treated like a child.
'If he thinks he can walk all over me, he better be prepared to be disappointed' No one – and she means it, no one, would make her bow against her will again.
The sorcerer sensed her serious mood, for he was quick to touch her – a gentle hand on her head, sliding down her face so he could envelope a shoulder with a single palm. Violet glowered at Clow for a second, though when she met his eyes again it was to see this urgent need for understanding.
His mouth thinned, lips pulling down into a faint grimace.
"Not today" Clow let out a gust of air from his nose, pulling Violet closer to his side. She didn't resist very long… the warmth of his skin seeped through his sorcerer robes and were wonderfully comforting as a turbulent, ugly feeling swelled in her chest. "I just ask that you trust me on this, Violet… I have enemies, and although you are a capable witch in your own right, I am not willing to risk your safety over your freedom"
The first thought that crossed her mind was 'There is something he isn't telling me' Oh, his words rang of truth. His promise throbbed in their bond –
"…I won't ever utter a lie to you, Miss Potter; however the truth can be unpleasant no matter how one words it"
-But Violet had enough experience dealing with people who danced to the Greater Good tune to know when she was being told incomplete truths.
The second thing going through her mind was…
It all sounded distressingly familiar.
Violet closed her eyes, feeling the sharp sting of tears forming in the back of her eyes. 'Clow's words ring true and familiar, because they were what I told myself when I pushed everyone away'
Since learning of the big, fat target painted on her back by Voldemort, seeing the extent her friends would go for her and witnessing Sirius' death – Violet did her best to keep her friends at bay, to push them away, to isolate herself the best she could to fortify a heart that broke so very easily.
"Fine, I trust you" The witch mumbled against Clow' sleeves, absorbing his scent for a last time before pushing away from him. "But I… I don't like blindly following orders, nor do I like being treated like a child… I am not a child Clow, and you will explain whatever it is you aren't saying if you want me to keep trusting you"
Magic sealed her words. They echoed with promise, powerful, biding and bitter. If Clow has ever underestimated Violet and what she was made of, he'd be in for a shock.
…
Something in her chest pulsed, a light spilled directly from her very core spiraled completely unbound and joined with the ribbon that came from him. He felt strangely elated, as if her standing up to him was a personal victory.
…
Instead of showing displeasure though, the sorcerer only smiled. A serene, gentle smile that tugged at Violet's heartstrings. She held her ground though, meeting his now silvery eyes and holding his magic filled gaze.
'Why does he seem satisfied? I just… defied him, questioned him, and yet here he is…' The witch perceived with a sudden startle. The silence that fell between them became suffocating and heavy.
"Very well" Clow finally allowed "The closer you hold on to a secret, the more poisonous it gets... Wang, do kindly stop eavesdropping and go scout the rest of the fair grounds" The sorcerer stopped talking to turn a stern façade to the teetering pile of boxes.
The servant jumped from behind them, bowing his head with so much hurry Violet had no time to gauge his expression – though a thin sliver of amusement filled her for a moment.
"Right away master" Wang took a glance at Clow's expression, then dared to look at Violet – his face muted, torso bowing again before he hightailed out of their stand.
"As I was saying…" Violet's companion started again. "I feel like I have much to apologize for, and no amount of excuses will make up for it… Your arrival here was not silent. I felt you coming for months… your arrival tore through the fabrics of this world and sent waves that were felt by a lot of people, not all of them have good intentions"
'Hell…' A shiver of dread ran down Violet's back at the sorcerer's revelations. She was torn between feeling grateful that he hasn't told her sooner, and angry that he only told her when she cornered him.
'He was trying to protect me from feeling this helplessness…' It was a sharp reminder of Dumbledore's withholding information, in a vain, useless attempt to have her enjoy a carefree childhood.
"I don't appreciate you not telling me this right away" Her voice trembled. "Why?"
"You're an unknown. They don't know what it is that came through; they just know it's powerful… If… when… others find out about you, there will be trouble" Clow continued carefully, voice in a comfortingly low cadence. The witch swallowed the implications of his speach, not having to be told how serious the situation was. She leaned into his arms again, seeking comfort that he also gave in words "Violet… I will not let any harm come to you"
"I asked for this, didn't I?" She choked into the silk of his outer robe. "But thank you for telling me… I will be careful"
"Thank you for understanding, my dear" His right hand rested on her back while the left was brought up to cup her cheeks, lifting her head at the same time as he curved his neck, bringing their faces together so close his warm breath fanned at her cheeks. "One last thing… The last thing I see you as, is a child… I've been looking at you as an adult ever since I've laid eyes on you"
Before Violet could comprehend the wave of love that enveloped her and respond to it… Before she could fully understand that all she had to do to be kissed was lean into him a little more… the sorcerer was straightening again, steadying a suddenly weak kneed witch with a fond, if exasperated smile.
'All I had to do was ask the right questions…' She understood this now. Violet was used to prying what she wanted from people with metaphorical crowbars… How much power had she over Clow? The fear and dismay she's felt at his answer before all but melted into a puddle of frustrated female goo.
On another hand… 'He has successfully distracted me!'
"Why don't we start setting things up?" The sorcerer asked after a minute, letting Violet recompose herself. The green eyed woman shot a look at the smiling Clow, then looked at the jewelry she was supposed to wear so she could 'look the part' and crossed her arms stubbornly.
"I'm not wearing those" She said vehemently. There's no way she's walking around willingly looking like a gaudier version of Trelawney! "Wang can wear the fortune-teller outfit, I will play the assistant" the witch announced, pulling the glittery monstrosity that Clow called costume over her head, breathing in relief at being out of it.
The mental image of Wang dressed in the hideous clothes brought twin, perfectly jocular grins to both their lips.
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Clow left Violet and Wang after pulling up their stand, still grinning in unrepentant glee at the sight of his mother's bound spirit dressed so ridiculously – though he would have loved even more if Violet was the one to wear it.
'Ah, my dear… will I be seeing more of your fire?' How he longed to get burned… Just the glimpse he saw from anger was magnificent. There was this dark, deep satisfaction that his other half was learning she's his equal in all ways that counted. He might have experience and knowledge, but his precious gift had so much more.
The sorcerer looked over his shoulder as he walked away from the stand, leaving it defenseless like this chaffed on his nerves, but if he or Violet erected any form of barrier, it could be felt by other practitioners of magic – who would come to investigate.
'No choice then' Clow's eyes sharpened. The time for playfulness has expired. 'Where are you Su Yung…'
He's been feeling an ill portent from the east for days now. It started as an itching in the back of his senses – his powers' ways of manifesting – so he focused on his prescience and what he saw had Clow wish he hasn't even bothered.
Once upon a time, he loved Su Yung. She was bright, intelligent and kind, the kind of woman who enchanted him effortlessly. He regretted the day they parted ways, knowing it wasn't under his wings that the sorceress could truly fly.
'But to be reunited under such dire circumstance is daunting' the sorcerer gave his student room so she could develop on her own. Apparently, he shouldn't have minded.
Anger and guilt warred for control, skittering and tiptoeing all over his feelings. Clow was hoping to solve things peacefully, if not, he had to be ready to do the worst.
…
Finding Su Yung was relatively easy.
He could feel her magic, watery and slippery, from far away. They still shared a bond, tattered as it was by years of separation and bitterness on her part – but still there.
Su Yung was inside a tall and rich looking tent, playing the fortune-teller as she knew where her talents lie. Only, there is a black tenor note to the air around it, as if heavy, promiscuous clouds hung around the area just courting darkness.
'Someone has been playing with things they shouldn't have'
Clow resisted the urge to laugh at the measly display, waving an almost lazy hand and dissipating the encroaching shadows, which were more than eager to obey him. Instantly, the air cleared as if taking a breath. He used the event to enter into the spider's nest.
Steel grey eyes were piercing and assessing, lips painted a nice, consistent plum color and she still wore her hair half pinned up in twin buns. Su Yung was holding court atop a silken cushion, hidden by draping silk curtains and a thin layer of incense – a basin full of water sat in front of her, her eyes snapped up to meet his immediately.
She was still as beautiful as the last time he saw her… only this time, there was no stirring of lust in his blood, and the love he felt for her was a muted echo – something he remembered fondly more than felt… Strange that all it took to disconnect Clow from reality was meeting his other half.
"Clow" Su Yung seemed naturally surprised to see him, no façade. She's never seen him coming…
'Interesting' the sorcerer mused, wondering if it had anything to do with his inability to see Violet, and if that invulnerability of hers went beyond him and affected other magicians. 'Yuuko… she's said it already, no one can see the 'event''
He came with Violet.
Sharing her magical invisibility.
A very suspicious smile lit up his face. Su Yung shifted slightly upon seeing his expression, and Clow fought down the chaotic joy he was feeling after coming to the epiphany… as long as he's with Violet, no one could see him as well. 'No use making Su Yung distrustful of my intentions' but he's just seeing another side to the Achilles heel that came along with his witch and couldn't help but grin.
"Su Yung… I trust you have been well?" He asked, making small talk. His ex-lover's eyes narrowed surreptitiously.
As soon as he said that, Clow was assaulted by visions… possible futures playing out beneath his eyelids. 'How unexpectedly interesting' the sorcerer thought, not even caring about the filaments of fate that connected both him and Su Yung shriveled until they were nothing more than husks.
There was a fairly large quantity of outcomes to his meeting with Su Yung. Two stood out the most to him.
In one of them… They would reconnect, the passion ignited once could be twice done, and they'd conquer the world and cover it in depravity. He'd fall completely into the darkness he once controlled while slowly suffocating them both in despair.
In another… He comes to meet with her after seeing her fall. He tries to convince her not to abuse her powers, not to against the higher order of life. She won't listen. She thinks she's right. So he seals her very soul into a book and hides it away… there is something else there, a tug of awareness that he follows through the ether, and at the end of it he sees it – her redemption at the hands of his chosen successor.
So Clow plots.
"Yes, of course. Though you could have warned me beforehand about this visit" Her voice dipped into a seducing drawl, her posture became more forward. "Had I known you were coming, I'd have prepared a more intimate welcome"
'She still loves me' The sorcerer saw the feeling wafting out of her astral presence and lingering closer to him. The place in his chest where he kept his other half rebelled viciously to the attempt – his witch was a territorial little beast, it seems.
Su Yung recoiled visibly, lips pressing together as she tried to look at him through her mage eyes.
"I assure you it would have been a wasted effort" Clow chided gently.
The madoushi's power pulsed humidly once, twice, three times. Branches of it plunging in his direction. The sorcerer's response was a raised eyebrow in calm reproach, letting the attack crash uselessly against him – he'd long been immune to the elements, hasn't she learnt that yet?
'No, she hasn't forgotten my lessons… Su Yung has become more confidant…' It wasn't quite enough to make him feel proud of her.
"Then what do you want? Did you come here to mock me?" The words came out as a hiss from her mouth.
'Where is this coming from?' This woman standing in front of him covered in frustrated animosity is not he young woman he once taught and loved.
"I am… disappointed" Clow told her instead of answering her baiting. For a second, the madoushi's face crumbled and her emotions opened like a book. "What have you done, Su Yung?"
…
An utter destructive despair, shame, determination and a burning, insidious hatred…
As if a curtain opened, he was able to see it.
What her eyes saw, what her ears heard and what her heart felt…
…
TBC~