CHAPTER 41: MISERY & JOY
Noah sat there, Lucius in his arms, holding him tightly with a hand buried in his hair as he held his head to his chest, his other arm wrapped around his body, completely cocooning Lucius to himself as he silently rocked back and forth, tears falling down his face as they looked upon nothing in particular, trying to wrap his mind around his reality, the reality that didn't make sense to him.
"Noah, son, you have to let him go now." Lazarus said quietly, kneeling beside Noah, but when he didn't get a response, he moved into his line of sight, repeating himself, "Son, this isn't good for you." He said, reaching over to touch his son's hand, only then getting a reaction as Noah held onto Lucius tighter, pulling him closer to his chest and away from Lazarus who wanted to take him from him as he shook his head. He couldn't, not yet, he couldn't let go. "Son, listen to me."
"I-I'm not ready..." Noah whimpered, closing his eyes as he buried his face against Lucius's hair, "N-No..."
"Noah, he is gone." Lazarus said firmly, but Noah refused to listen, shaking his head.
Tobias knelt down next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder as he said, "Noah, we must let him rest now. Give him a burial he deserves." He said gently, "Let us mourn him as he rests until the next time we have him with us."
Noah gulped before his eyes fell on the body he held. He was unable to speak anymore, but also unable to see the blood-soaked body of his beloved. He knew Tobias was right. Lucius deserved to be respected, to be buried. His heart clenched in his chest as he cupped Lucius's cheek after caressing his hair from his face, pressing his lips to Lucius's head before he picked him up, placing him on the couch. He took a shaken breath that he let out in a stutter before both his hands braced against the side of the couch as he pushed himself to his shaky feet. He stumbled in his step before feeling a hand on his shoulder looking up to meet Lazarus's sorrowful eyes as he said to him, "Can I walk with you?"
Noah didn't reply as he walked to the staircase, Lazarus walking beside him, a grip on his elbow until they reached the room. Noah's eyes roamed the empty room, Lucius's clothes from the day before tossed at the foot of the bed. Shadow stood up the moment he heard the door before his head tilted, his nose sniffing the air, then he totted to Noah, nuzzling his hand and sniffling the blood soaking it before he whined, but got no response from Noah. The wolf walked past them out of the room as Lazarus said, "How about you get cleaned up?" Noah looked down at his clothes before nodding, heading to the bathroom as Lazarus said, "I will prepare you some clothes."
Lorena went to Noah's room to find her father sitting on the window ledge, telling him as she walked in, "Liam took him to the infirmary. Shadow wouldn't leave his side. He keeps howling." Lorena said, shoving her sleeves up higher, "Blayth and Leon are being treated now."
"Good." Lazarus breathed.
"Where's Noah?" She asked after a moment.
"Showering." Lazarus said, then frowned, "Taking too long." He stood up, going to the bathroom where a faint sound of water was heard. He opened the door, stepped in, glancing around for Noah, not finding him standing in the shower but seeing the blood flow towards the drain. He entered, gulping at what his eyes witnessed of his son, sitting against the wall opposite the showerhead, water splattering his still clothed body, still as a stone where he sat, tears streaming down his face.
Lazarus sighed, taking off the sweater he was wearing, tossing it aside before he walked up to his son, kneeling beside him, not minding the water as it soaked him as well while he reached for Noah's shirt, unbuttoning it before he rid him of it, tossing it aside, he then started doing the same with his trousers which proved to be a more difficult task with Noah seated. He coaxed his son to his feet, where Noah gripped the shower handle to steady himself as Lazarus helped him out of the rest of his clothes.
"He wouldn't want you to be falling apart, Noah. You have heard him so many times. He hated seeing you so broken. You get to grieve, my boy, but remember he will be back here soon. And when he does all of this heartache you are feeling now will be as if it had never been there." Lazarus cupped Noah's cheek as he said, "That, my son, is the spell he'd casted on your heart years ago." Lazarus said nothing after that as he helped get Noah cleaned up, dried him up and got him to the room where Lorena had heard her father's words and sat waiting for them to finish.
Lazarus got him in bed where Lorena tended to his shoulder where the wound had stopped bleeding, bandaging it before Lazarus pulled the sheets over him as he laid him down, patting his cheek. "Lorena will be here if you need anything. I will be right back, just going to change." He turned to her and she nodded. Before he left, he placed a kiss against Noah's head, then made his way to his own room for dry clothes. When he returned Noah wasn't alone on the bed, Shadow was on top of him, head nuzzled close to Noah's as he whined quietly, trying to brush away Noah's tears with his muzzle, sometimes his tongue. Noah's hand seemed to move by itself, caressing the wolf's head gently as he stared outside the window at the cloudy sky, his other hand fisted around what Lazarus assumed was Lucius's ring still gripped tightly in it since Lucius had given it to him.
***
Noah made his way through the hall, Shadow following him silently, as if keeping a close eye on him. Noah walked towards the infirmary, not the door everyone crowded at, but the one right beside it, where he knew Lucius's body was. He entered it before stopping in his step. He shut the door behind him and Shadow before taking slow steps to the bed, eyes tearing up once more. He couldn't help himself. His heart ached something fierce as he approached the covered body. He removed the blanket from over Lucius's head, scanning the blood smudges covering the face he adored. He gulped, turning around before grabbing a basin, pouring water into it and bringing it to the bedside. He pulled out a cloth, settled down on the bed beside Lucius before he started to wipe the smudges off his knuckles once he grabbed the hand in his own. He brought the fingers to his lip, pressing them against the cold skin as more tears fell from his eyes, his other hand wiping down the arm, dipping the cloth into the water before he continued.
Noah glanced behind him when the bed shifted, seeing as Shadow settled atop Lucius, eyes glued to his face as if waiting for him to wake up, whining as he did so.
"He's gone, Shadow... our Lu is gone..." Noah breathed, reaching to wipe the blood from Lucius's face. "You will have to wait. Like I do. You will have to. If we want to see him again. If we want to hear him again... my Lu's voice..." Noah whimpered, making Shadow's eyes turn to him, but returning to Lucius not too long after. Noah tossed the rug aside after he finished cleaning the blood from Lucius's body before laying down beside him. He closed his eyes, snuggling close before he muttered, "What am I to do without you? How long will I have to suffer this time, love? What horrors awaits you when you return?"
He stayed there for a bit longer before he stood up, going to the door conjoining the two infirmary rooms. He entered, pausing for merely a second before he glanced behind him, Shadow not seeming to want to move from his spot. He sighed, shutting the door as he went to where Liam was, muttering curses to himself as Lorena frowned over Leon's body cut open before them.
"Can I help?" Noah asked quietly.
Liam glanced at him before nodding, "I need an extra hand. The internal damage is worse than what you've made it sound."
"What do you need?" Noah asked in a monotone voice.
"Come here." He told him, "His heart is working overtime to compensate. Try and regulate it. Let me try and fix the mess going on here."
Noah nodded, helping out as he watched Liam work for the longest time before he asked, "How come... with so much damage how come he was able to survive for so long while Lucius died?"
"I understand where you are coming from. I was asking myself the same thing. I have to study the immortality casted upon Lucius more. The other spell has interacted with it and we merely believed it affected him by making him reincarnate. Now I am wondering if there is more to it."
"Help me understand... please..." Noah mumbled his eyes falling on Leon's closed ones, seeming peaceful in the coma Liam put him under to be able to heal him.
"I will. First we need to make sure Leon doesn't die." Liam said, "Lucius will not forgive us."
"That I know." Noah breathed, a breath he thought didn't truly reach his lungs as they felt too constricted.
After a few hours Liam sighed, taking his hands out of Leon's abdomen before hovering them over the gap, muttering a few words after he'd made sure everything was alright. He healed the flesh, skin mending until a light scar covered where the large gap was.
"I'm out of energy." Liam confessed. Without saying a word, Noah moved his hands to the scar, his eyes turning red before it vanished, leaving the skin as if nothing had ever marred it. "You are getting better." Liam noted.
"Not enough to have saved him." Noah muttered, sighing before heading to the door joining the two infirmary rooms, the one leading to Lucius as Liam went to wash the blood from his hands.
"Noah." Noah stopped when he heard Lorena's voice as she said, "You did well." It wasn't something he wanted to hear, but he knew she thought it was. He didn't reply, instead opened the door and walked into where Lucius was, but unlike when he left him, it wasn't only him and Shadow. It was merely a moment that their eyes met, him and Cole, but long enough for him to see the tears that the boy turned away to wipe.
"He was good." Cole muttered. Noah walked to Lucius, taking a seat on the other side of him where Cole wasn't. "Finally happy. Why do bad things happen to good people?" Cole asked brokenly, his eyes falling on Lucius again.
"It isn't fair..." Noah muttered quietly, "And the last thing I promised him was to protect him..."
"You didn't." Cole replied, the sorrow in him hiding behind his angry words.
Noah let out a dark laugh as he said, "How ironic."
"You should've kept him safe." Cole said, his hand reaching for Lucius's, "You said you were his protector." Noah felt choked, tears blinding him as he looked down at Lucius. "He looks like he's sleeping, doesn't he? It's not fair. So not fair..." Cole muttered the same words Noah had said.
Noah gulped his tears back, placing a hand on Cole's shoulder to comfort him as he said, "Cole, he's died many times in the past. And god, the memory kills me. But there is one fact that remains unchanged, that gives me comfort, which is that he'll come back to us."
"I still don't understand it." Cole told him.
"Me neither. But he is never truly gone." Noah said, and as he spoke the words, he knew them to be untrue. He didn't feel their bond anymore, and he wouldn't until Lucius was reborn. "He is in everything he's given us. In every memory he's been in." Noah said, "I see him in every room I walk into, to be honest. He is always in my heart. Closer than any other has been to me. That will not change, whether he is in my arms, or being raised by a family somewhere out there in the world. My Lu always comes back to me."
"Do you really love him so much?" Cole asked, finally looking at Noah, not trying to hide his reddened eyes anymore.
"I have never felt the way I do towards him with any other soul. He is the air I breathe. My heart beats for him alone. I exist, still, for him. He is my life. No other could ever replace him. And if this was it, if this was the end and he was not to return, I will end my life in a heartbeat to be with him, even if it means it will be in the world beyond this one." Noah said, his hand caressing Lucius's cheek as a tear trailed down his own.
"How can a person love another so much?" Cole wondered.
Noah smiled softly, pained as it was, he still wanted to make Cole understand, "I pray that you find the one that makes your life worth living. If you don't, you will not have lived a full life." Noah paused for a second before saying, "I am supposed to protect the love of my life, but he insists on doing the same for me. The reason he died is just that... like the very first time, trying to keep me safe. And god... if it was the other way around I would give my life for his without a second thought."
"Sounds like I will have another to worry about." Cole said.
"To love." Noah corrected.
"To be honest..." Cole trailed off before saying after a moment of silence, "I still can't stand to be touched, let alone everything that comes with loving another person."
At those words Noah slowly slipped his hand off of Cole's shoulder, not wanting him to be uncomfortable as he said, "Eventually, Cole, you will get over it. When the right person comes along, you will trust them enough to know they would never harm you. You will want their touch, you will crave it."
Cole's frown persisted as a weak smile tilted the corner of his lips, "It is hard to believe right now."
"I understand." Noah said, making Cole glance at him as he continued, "Even Lu recoiled from my touch sometimes because of what that filth did to him. But he came back to me... at the end, he found his way back to me, knowing that I was not going to harm him, instead all I wanted was to keep him safe."
"For someone who claims keeping Lucius safe is his only job, you are not doing a great job of it." Cole said.
"Guess I should find a new thing then." Noah gulped, joking instead of saying what he really thought, everything he blamed himself for.
"I hope you let us stay another day to gather our things. The kids and I will leave early tomorrow-..."
"Where to?" Noah asked, confused.
"Lucius is gone. There is no reason for us to stay anymore."
"What in the world gave you that idea?" Noah asked.
"Cole, you are not going anywhere." The two turned to the door to see Lazarus standing there.
"How long have you been there?" Cole asked, worried he heard what they spoke of, not knowing that he already knew everything.
"Long enough. You, Benjie, and Mel are part of the family. You are not going anywhere. You will stay here until you are old enough to decide what to do with your future. But until then, you are staying. I will not hear an argument over the matter and will not accept anything you say against my decision." Lazarus said firmly.
"Why do you care so much? If it is pity, then I will not accept it." Cole said.
"I respect you too much to pity you." Lazarus said, making Cole clench his teeth as he pointed at Noah, "He is my son, and every other one in this place I consider my kin, yourself included. I don't abandon family. I don't let down family. I don't allow harm to come to my family. As such, you are to stay here, where it is safe. You will train, become strong enough to protect yourself, and when it is time, if you still want to, you could leave. Until then you stay here, safe, loved. We will not hold back knowledge, we will teach you all that we know until you never need anyone else but yourself." Lazarus then smiled a little as he said, "And even then, we are not going anywhere. We will always be here for you. That is what Lucius wanted, and that is what I want as well." Cole looked away from Lazarus when he felt tears in his eyes, only glancing up when Lazarus stood over him with a soft smile on his lips. "No need for that now."
"No one really cared, but Micha said I could trust you if anything happened to him." Cole muttered, wiping his eyes, "Maybe I haven't gotten there yet... but I did believe what he said, and I promise to try harder."
"Life hasn't always been kind to you, so I understand." Lazarus told him, "Take all the time you need, but in the meantime, you aren't going anywhere, alright."
"Yes, sir." Cole nodded.
"Good then. Now go check on Benjie, he was crying and wouldn't talk to me." Lazarus told him.
Cole nodded, getting to his feet to leave, but paused in front of Lazarus for a long moment before he stepped forward, head still tilted down as he said, "Thank you for giving us a chance at a good life."
"No need for thanks between family." Lazarus said, a small proud smile tilted the corner of his lips when Cole held his hand out for a handshake. The only person he's let touch him was Lucius, and Lorena when they spared. No one else. And he tried to hold back as to not frighten him, but the pride he felt at Cole starting to open up made him smile, despite the pain in his heart for Lucius's death. He put his hand in Cole's, shaking it firmly before letting go slowly, Cole turning around and leaving. Lazarus looked at Noah, the smile long gone at the frown on Noah's face as he looked down at Lucius. "Stop doing this to yourself."
"What?" Noah muttered quietly, not looking away.
"Blaming yourself." Lazarus said.
"At any point I could have turned around and brought him back. But I didn't. I wanted him safe, but I also wanted him with me. I wanted to keep an eye on him myself. Turns out he was watching me closer than I was him. He saved me again, did you know that?" Noah choked out brokenly as Lazarus sat where Cole had been, letting Noah speak, "It was the exact same thing that happened before... he protected me... he had my back. But he also promised to live...how come he had to die? Out of all of us, how come it was him?"
"What can I do?" Lazarus muttered.
"Bring him back..." Noah breathed, feeling his heart shatter all over again. All he wanted was that. His only wish in life.
Lazarus gulped before he said, "Anything within my capability?"
Noah shook his head, hand caressing Lucius's cheek just as the door opened, making them turn to see Cylus standing there, a pained look in his eyes while he walked up to them, standing at the foot of the bed, a hand rubbing against his neck as he said, "I'm sorry... I really am. It was not what I wanted. But it is my fault for insisting on leaving."
"His death wasn't a waste." Lazarus muttered, making Noah's eyes go to him, "Blayth said you got the spell."
Noah looked back at Lucius before he whispered, "He did."
"Blayth can't remember it." Cylus said.
"The Marconian spell." Noah told him.
"I don't want to be insensitive..." Cylus said, not knowing how to finish his sentence without being as such.
"I can't cast the spell." Noah said, making the archer frown, "I am barely keeping it in... all this power. It is taking everything to hold it at bay."
"Can't Ira do it?" Lazarus asked.
"She said it might require healing ability and she doesn't have that." Cylus explained, "Liam needs time to recuperate his power."
"Can't you be there just in case?" Lazarus asked Noah.
Noah gulped before he said, "I can do simple spells, nothing major. Breaking the Marconian spell will require a lot, it will destroy any control I have." He then glanced at Cylus as he said, "If it is merely small healing spells, that I could do."
"Anything." Cylus nodded, his eyes reflecting gratefulness and desperation.
Noah leaned over Lucius, placing a kiss against his brow before he got up, shadow's eyes following him before he took his spot by Lucius's side as Noah left with the others. They went to the room opposite that one, where Wyatt had been staying for the past weeks. He entered after Cylus, Ira looking at them, giving them a nod before she stepped up to Wyatt just as Liam pulled the pipe from his throat, Ira placing a hand over Wyatt's head at the same time as she placed the book she had next to her, reading the spell to counter the Marconian control curse. Once she was done, she broke the spell she had put on him, the one that was countering the Marconian.
Liam stepped up to Wyatt's bed, feeling for a pulse and making sure he was breathing. "He seems fine physically. He should be waking up." Liam said, taking the needle out of Wyatt's arm and putting it away, turning off the machine that was helping Wyatt breathe before they stepped back, waiting in anticipation for him to wake up.
"Are you sure it worked?" Cylus asked.
"The concealing spell should have broken the moment the Marconian spell did, and I sensed nothing wrong afterwards." Ira explained.
"You sensed nothing wrong before." Cylus muttered making her walk up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Yes, it is true. But he wasn't able to breathe without that machine's help, but now he is. Be positive." Ira told him.
"It's hard to be with everything that's going on." He sighed.
Wyatt parted his eyes, grimacing at the sunlight then looked around, yawning and stretching slightly before he froze, the last thing he remembered made him sit up abruptly, cursing before reaching to the nightstand near him. His hand found a pen laying there, grabbing it and looking around to all the eyes that were locked on him in surprise, some in hope before he pulled himself out of bed, almost falling but grabbing onto the nightstand before looking back.
"Ira, you have to stop it! It's inside my head. He put it inside my head!" Wyatt rushed, "Quick before he uses it. Quick, Ira..." he took in a sharp breath as his head ached suddenly, making him look back at them in fright, "Cy, please, before he takes control!"
"Wyatt, calm down." Ira breathed, her eyes tearing up in relief at seeing him in front of her. Even though she tried to assure Cylus, she still feared being wrong.
"Don't ask me to calm down! I don't want to hurt anyone!" He said, holding the pen to his neck, "I'll take my life before I hurt any of you!"
"Wyatt, stop. Stop it, we already know. I just broke the spell." Ira said, gulping, her eyes moving to Cylus who stood there, as if in a daze, watching as Wyatt held his hand up to his head, muttering words none of them thought he'd ever remember, making his hand glow with his power before he sighed, and dropping the pen.
"Thank god..." Wyatt muttered, looking back at Ira, "Thank you." he then glanced at Cylus, who merely stared at him. "Cy, what's wrong?" Cylus parted his lips, his bottom lip quivered, instead of speaking he let out a breath as he took the few steps that separated them, his arms wrapped around Wyatt, his breathing becoming uneven as his heart clenched in his chest. "What's wrong?" Wyatt asked again, his hands touching Cylus's arms that were wrapped around his waist, but instead of words he heard a whimper, a whimper that turned into a sob wrecking Cylus's body, his entire existence shaken, his mind unable to handle the facts in front of him, his heart unable to handle the emotions coursing through him. Cylus slid to his knees, his arms wrapping around Wyatt's legs instead as he held on to him, his sobs shaking Wyatt to the core as he demanded, "Why are you crying?" his eyes fearful as he looked up at Ira frantically, "Why is he crying? Oh god..." Wyatt mumbled his hand against Cylus's hair, "What happened?"
Ira covered her lips, turning around as her own tears fell. Liam gulped as he said, "You recall nothing?"
"Of what?!" Wyatt asked, "Just tell me! Why is he crying so much?"
"It's because for the past few weeks, more than two months now, you knew nothing about any of us. Your memories had been completely wiped. You didn't even know your own name, Wyatt." Liam said.
"Cy..." he breathed, managing to unwrap Cylus's arms enough to kneel in front of him, holding him in a tight embrace, "Oh god... Cy... I'm so, so sorry... I'm sorry I made you go through that." Wyatt spoke softly, arms wrapped around Cylus, caressing his hair as he muttered, "I'm here, Love." As Wyatt muttered the nickname Cylus felt more vulnerable, his arms tightened around Wyatt, not wanting to let go of him, fearing what might happen, fearing it to be a sweet dream he would wake up from and shatter his mind in the process. His tears soaked Wyatt's shirt who felt the hands on his back clasp him tighter, one reaching up to the nape of his neck, holding him closely. "I'm here and I am not going anywhere ever again." Wyatt held him for a long while, at some point Ira and Liam left them, feeling it was a private moment. Noah having slipped out the moment he was sure Wyatt was alright to return to Lucius's side. "Cy... I've never heard you cry in my life... please calm down... you are making me want to cry myself." Wyatt muttered, his hand caressing Cylus's hair, feeling his warm breath against his neck, his tears against his skin. "I didn't mean to hurt you, I swear it."
Cylus's weeping slowly reduced, only to return a bit later when he recalled that he'd lost Wyatt, and even though it had not been that long, it had not lasted the years Noah had to wait for Lucius, it still left a scar on his heart. A scar he knew would never remedy. A burn he would remember for the rest of his life. That thought made him crumble once more, the tears that never stopped merely became thicker as he gasped for breath through them. It ached like he'd never thought it would. Like he never imagined anything would. And the second his voice, choked with tears, reached Wyatt's ears, the mage let his own tears fall. He didn't believe that he'd made Cylus suffer so much. Made the man he loved relive the worst time of his life.
Cylus finally pulled away, his swollen reddened eyes looking into Wyatt's. Both his hands cupped the face of the man he adored, resting his forehead against his. He parted his lips, so many things he wanted to say but only a whimper escaped him. He gave up on speaking, instead placed a lingering kiss on Wyatt's lips followed by many more that Cylus placed all over Wyatt's face before he again buried his face against Wyatt's neck.
"Love, please tell me you are alright. That is all I need to know right now, so please... just..." Wyatt gulped, "Talk to me." Cylus didn't, for the longest time he just cried over his lover. Wyatt finally managed to talk him into moving to the bed, where Cylus kept a close grip on him the entire time, nestling beside him, his head against Wyatt's shoulder where they sat.
"I resigned myself to the fact that you weren't coming back to me..." Cylus whispered brokenly, making Wyatt sigh in relief at hearing his voice. "You were never going to know who I was to you before..." he choked, "nothing I said would have meant a thing to you again. All our inside jokes lost. It was supposed to be the two of us for the rest of our lives... but I lost it... I lost you..."
"I'm here now, Cy... and god, I am so, so very sorry." Wyatt muttered, his arm tightening around Cylus, "I just wanted to do something nice for you. I didn't think it would end up the way it did... I didn't think I would hurt you instead."
"I can't live without you, Wyatt... I can't even imagine life without you without completely breaking down. My heart aches, my mind... everything. All I want to do is have you with me. If it means I lock you up away from anything that might threaten that, I will."
"Anything, but please, stop crying... please, Cy, it hurts my heart to see your tears." Wyatt breathed just as Cylus sat up, looking him in the eyes. Wyatt reached for his cheeks, whipping his tears away as he said "The one and only time I saw you cry was when your uncle died. I am not used to this... and I don't want to be. I never want you to cry again... ever. It really does hurt to see you so sad."
"Then don't leave me again..." Cylus whispered, his head tilting into the hand against his cheek.
"Why would I want to leave my master?" Wyatt asked with a sad smile that turned into a frown when Cylus's cheeks became wet again, bowing his head as he grabbed Wyatt's hands, pressing them closer to his cheeks. "What is it?" Wyatt asked, wondering what had Cylus crying again.
"You didn't remember that before... in my mind that part of our lives was over... forever." Cylus said through sobs, making Wyatt's frown deepen. "It hurts you to see me cry... just imagine the agony I was in when I didn't have you, Wyatt. When you pushed me away from you because you feared my touch... I... you are my world in every sense of the word. I would literally die without you, and if you had died that night, if I lost you then and there, I wouldn't have had an excuse to live anymore. And I wouldn't want one. It is so bitter not to have you... the whole you. To talk to. To complain to. No one understands. No one."
"How can I make it up to you?" Wyatt asked.
"Just be you... my Wyatt... don't leave me again. Don't forget me again. I beg of you, love... I beg of you-..."
Wyatt's hand touched Cylus's cheek again as he shushed him, muttering, "I swear it on my life, I will not make you go through that again."
Cylus nodded, sniffling before he wrapped his arms around Wyatt again. "I did something bad..."
Wyatt caressed his hair as he asked, "What do you mean bad?"
"It is my fault. I insisted on going out to find a way to save you but then... Lucius is dead because of me, Wyatt. I don't know how to fix that... I don't know what to do. Noah isn't even mad, he hasn't yelled or done anything, but... he's broken. I don't know what to say to him. I have you now, but it cost him Lucius."
Wyatt took in a deep breath as he held Cylus close, feeling the guilt eat him up as well, "Lucius is dead?"
***
Leon took a breath as he woke up, wincing when he felt his body ache. He sat up, looking around him before finding out where he was. He pushed himself up, hissing at the pain in his abdomen. He clutched his stomach as he stumbled in his step until he reached the door leading to the other room where he guessed Lucius would be. He opened the door, seeing Shadow sitting beside him, head on Lucius's chest. He gulped as he made his way to him, noticing the paleness of his skin before he collapsed on the bed beside him, looking him over, wondering why he had woken up before him when Leon's injuries were worse. The color of his skin making fear course through Leon as he reached the hand not against his abdomen forward, pressing his fingers to his neck, desperate to feel a pules before he heard a voice behind him.
"Leon, he's gone... You should be in bed."
"This is your fault." Leon said, turning to Blayth slowly with a glare, "His death is on you. You should have protected him."
Blayth frowned as he said, "His immortality is different from ours, Leon. Liam was saying how he couldn't have saved him even if we got there earlier."
"Don't blame it on anyone else. His death is your fault. Nothing will change that. He wouldn't have needed healing if he wasn't injured in the first place." Leon spat before turning to Lucius again, feeling his eyes burn as they blurred, "He wouldn't be dead..." he muttered finally, wiping at his eyes roughly, "Get out."
"Leon-..."
"I don't want to look at you right now. Leave." Leon said.
"You should get back in bed before you rip your wounds open." Liam said as he walked in with Noah after they left Wyatt and Cylus, Blayth glanced at them before he sighed and walked out of the room, knowing that Liam will be able to convince Leon to go back to bed. "I only used my power when I needed to, most your injuries are yet to heal."
"How come I'm alive when he is dead?" Leon asked.
"Leon..." Noah said as he sat near Shadow, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"He doesn't deserve this..." Leon breathed as he leaned over him, his brow against Lucius's shoulder, "I'm sorry I failed you." he whispered.
"What are you doing out of bed?" Lazarus asked as he walked in, bringing a cup of tea to Noah who placed it on the nightstand making him frown. He then looked back at Leon who sat up, wiping his tears as Liam went to him, holding a hand out.
"Time to go back." Liam said.
Leon took a deep breath before nodding, wincing as he got to his feet when Noah looked at Lazarus before he said quietly, "Let me burry him. I don't want to just leave him like this." Lazarus nodded which had Noah get up, one arm under Lucius's neck while the other went under his knees as he picked him up. Lazarus followed him when he refused help. Everyone gathered outside the infirmary where Liam had treated Leon looked towards them as they turned down the hall and started walking to the balcony in the library, the quickest exit to the backyard. Leon asked Liam to help him follow them instead as he promised to stay in bed afterwards.
Noah walked halfway towards the trees that market the graveyard before his eyes turned to the sky above the lake, a few shades colored it, orange, purple, red. A mixture that marked the departure of day. Instead of walking further he stopped, eyes lingering on the scenery before he sat down on the grass, Lucius in his arms still before he placed one of his hands on the ground. "Look, love, isn't it beautiful?"
"What is he doing?" Tobias muttered to Lazarus.
"Saying farewell." Lazarus sighed.
As the sky started getting darker, Noah finally summoned his power, gathering it in his palm and directing it to the ground where tree roots started to grow, twisting and wrapping around itself until it created a casket. When it was completed, Noah looked down at Lucius, his hand caressing his cheek before he placed another kiss against his forehead as he said, "Until the next time we get to watch the sunset together, my love." He then picked him up, placed him in the casket before his magic grew the wood further, wrapping it around the open top and covering Lucius's body. He then moved towards the trees, the casket hovering beside him as he walked, placing it on the ground before he knelt down, his hand again on the ground, close to the last tree that marked where they'd buried Lucius the last time, the ground starting collapsing on itself to create the grave before he hovered the casket again, lowering it into the ground, covering the grave back up.
He sat there for a moment longer before a rock started to part the dirt over the grave, settling like a headstone then an engraving started to carve itself onto it, then white roses rose from the sides, covering the headstone as a tree wrapped around it, keeping the carved part visible.
"This is different." Edmur said as he settled down beside Noah, reading what the headstone said:
'Precious are the memories of
Micah, 1879-1899
Lucius, 1896-1899
Loving Fiancé, Son, Brother
Our brief parting will appear one day
as nothing beside the joy of eternity together'
"This was the longest we've had together... even if most of that time he only knew I was to be trusted and nothing else." Noah breathed, "I didn't have the chance to do this before... with the Lucius I first fell in love with. Shouldn't I commemorate it?" he asked Edmur.
Edmur put a hand on his shoulder as he said, "He would love it." Noah bit into his bottom lip to keep the sob in his throat at bay as he reached for the ornament around his neck, sensing that his powers had not gotten under control yet after he'd used them.
"My god... this is so hard without him..." Noah whimpered, taking in a breath as he collapsed onto his hand, the other still clasped around the ornaments hanging around his neck.
"What did he say to help you control it? Think, Noah." Edmur tried to help.
"That he was here..." Noah choked out, "He isn't here anymore... he isn't..." Noah felt his lungs constricting in his chest before a choked sob left him, and with it he let a small part of his power out making everyone's worried eyes fall on him, some scared of what might happen to him as surge of power engulfed him and seeped all around him, creating the same white roses that were around Lucius's recent grave all around the old ones, engulfing them completely and climbing up the large trees he'd once grown over them. The entire spot filled with them until nothing but white and green was seen where it had been covered in the melting snow a moment earlier. And right when it stopped, the magnificence of it having everyone astonished, Noah's head pressed to the ground that Lucius was under, and a powerful scream escaped him, let out the pain he was trying to keep from showing, from making everyone as sad as he was, but he couldn't anymore. He couldn't be considerate when he was shattering on the inside. When his whole world had been ripped out of his hands with him unable to do anything about it. Helpless as ever. And that thought alone had his entire body shaking as he wept, his tears soaked by the dirt as they trailed down his cheeks in thick streams.