With her knuckles pressed against his larynx and her shrill cry fading fast into the streets below, Doctor Lucent, the seventh son of the seventh son, and the Lady Necromancer, the former third child of the late Head of the Yin Clan, were at a standstill. His eyes, green and cautious, moved across her face in quiet appraisal, calm and even. They had both changed, and in a span of a heartbeat they were able to fill in the blank months between their last meeting and now, here, on this foreign planet. The Lady Necromancer’s reputation had preceded her, and the standing of the Lucent Clan in the aftermath of the Xonese accession had been broadcasted worldwide on news programs.
The Lady Necromancer never had her exile status in the Yin Clan revoked, but it was clear within the month of Empress Měi Fèng’s accession that Nocte, with her “Yin” nixed, did not need the Yin Clan to be one of the leading influences in the Xonese Imperial Court. Although barely ever present within the emerald and ruby halls of the Xonese Palace or within the presence of Her Imperial Majesty the Empress, Great Mother of the Xonese Empire and the holder of Heaven’s Mandate, the Lady Necromancer’s ideals and beliefs were reflected within the empress’ decisions daily. The thought of Nocte was never far from the empress’ mind.
And as firmly as Nocte had rose in the eyes of the empress, the Lucent Clan had followed steadily. It had been no secret that the Lucents had supported Prince Zhé Lóng in his vie for the Xonese throne, but they had proved themselves outstanding when they loyally followed the former Crown Prince in his bid for his sister’s accession. The Lucent Clan had not only been accepting of the new Empress, but they had grown rather fond of her over the months. If anything, to the disappointment of many diehard Xonese patriots, the Lucent Clan had now taken over the seat of representing Xinque — the eastern and heroic half of the Xonese Empire — from the Yang Clan. The Lucent Clan’s prestige was something to be envied of.
But Doctor Lucent was different. He may be as accepting and adaptable as the rest of his clan, loyal to Prince Zhé Lóng and now loyal to Empress Měi Fèng, but-
Nocte lowered her gaze.
-but Doctor would never forget those months locked within the dark, slippery, icy caverns of the Lamisian dungeons, never forget what tortures the Lamisian soldiers had inflicted upon him and his friends, never forget the folly of both himself and those around him. If Doctor Lucent was anything, whether he be the sidekick of the sidekick or have his compassion misread as cowardly, he was fair. He was brave enough, intelligent enough, to acknowledge that it had been his mistakes, that it had been him, that had given one of his most hated enemies reason to imprison him, to punish him. Whether he had not been fast enough, or courageous enough, or strong enough — Doctor Lucent had failed to observe and act for himself and his clan within the tight and desperate situation over the Xonese throne. He had failed to understand. He had failed to be a hero.
Nocte let her hand fall to her side, unable to meet his eyes. She couldn’t say that he hadn’t deserved imprisonment; she couldn’t say that he hadn’t been obstructing the greater good. She couldn’t say that he hadn’t tried to kill her. But — but — she was not going to tell him so. She was not going to tell him that he had earned those long, cold hard days of darkness within enemy territory — in the heart of one of his most hated foes. She was not going to tell him that every day must have felt like agony for him, knowing that the girl, the innocent and good-hearted girl, sitting on his country’s throne was the same girl, the same innocent and good-hearted girl, he had unknowingly tried to kill.
She was not going to tell him that he had failed to think for himself.
But — but — Nocte was going to give him one thing — one thing — to his credit, and it was that he had been a hero, because he had thought everything he had been doing was for the greater good. He had believed he had been doing the right thing, and made his decisions based on what he had understood to be the best for his home, country and people. She, too, understood that their positions could have been different if Prince Zhé Lóng had been made emperor instead of the unsuspecting Princess Měi Fèng.
Nocte could have been the one to fail.
But she hadn’t.
That was why they were the way they were today. One singular moment, one singular victory, one singular defeat — although it felt like they had all been losers after the conflict — and one was left pitying the other.
At the very least, she decided, they could be civil.
“You’re my villain,” Doctor finally spoke, quiet and disheartened.
She supposed that she reminded him of his own follies, of the time he had watched her fall into the watery depths of the Laqua Ocean without attempting a rescue. She supposed that she was his proof of just how un-heroic he was.
But that was all right.
He was her proof of just howun-heroic, or un-villain, she was.
“And you’re my hero,” she said, just as quietly.
How strange it was to find him, her hero counterpart. Stranger still was that it was Doctor Lucent, the unobtrusive out of all her acquaintances back from her days at Hero Academy. Shikyo had claimed that most, if not all, villains-in-the-making would never get the chance to meet their heroes-in-training, but to accidentally run into each other like this, to have him just step onto the roof like this… it was almost too convenient to be a coincident. And yet, she still felt rather stupid for not having had thought of it first. If her Keys didn’t work, then perhaps her hero’s would…?
He had yet to answer her on that count.
She released him from her spell as a peace offering, the runes lifting from his joints like snow falling from the branches of a sagging tree. There was no need to elicit violence or to foster bad feelings, not when he may have what she desired — not when he could have easily Unsealed the web long ago, a clear indication that he, too, did not want to encourage conflict.
She met him in the eye and he responded in turn, the last of her spell dissipating into a fine mist. A wind swept by and she crossed her arms to ward off the cold, suddenly aware that she was bare-footed, in her pyjamas, in the middle of autumn, while he was in a pair of jeans with a burnt-red striped shirt and a cargo jacket.
“Warm,” Doctor cast, chanting aloud for her benefit.
The air current shifted and the temperature rose, the degrees mounting at even increments to allow her body time to adapt to the spell. In a matter of seconds, the cold city air brushed warm across her face, his chi washing over her like an ocean on a hot summer’s day, rolling out like a cumulous cloud after a bad storm. Not once did she feel threatened, but rather thought the change as natural, as a part of herself, inviting and safe. Slow, gentle and warm — that was Doctor; his control brilliant and his power defined. He had managed to manipulate nature to the exact degree, twenty Celsius precisely. She had underestimated his skill.
It was his peace offering.
“Thanks,” she said, dropping her arms to her side, somewhat awkwardly.
He shrugged uncomfortably, as if to say that it hadn’t been anything special, but rather something that had been expected of him, of a gentleman, of any other Lucent or hero for that matter. And it probably was, just like how the late Yin Elders had expected her to be… well, not so attending to another’s needs or feelings, or to care if someone got cold, in particular if that “someone” was a hero. How strange, but she had found over the years that villains and heroes were more alike than not.
“You asked me where my Keys were,” he broke the silence, turning slightly to stare at the cityscape.
She looked up expectantly, hopefully, even as she told herself not to wish for something she had just begun to accept as never happening. But as human, she was made to feel and want for something more, to always fight for that fleeting happiness, no matter the cost.
“But your real question,” he continued, hands in his pockets, refusing to meet her stare, “was whether or not my Keys work.”
She cast her gaze out to the edges of the roof, her heart stalling several times like a rock skipping across a lake, the jumps getting shorter, lower with each arc into nothing. It was enough. No more was needed to be said. If he Keys worked, then he wouldn’t have worded his speech as such. With the sound of her heartbeat wilting to a faint feeling against her chest, she resented the fact that she was disappointed, in the news, in him, in herself. For over a month she had known, she hadaccepted (albeit not without a fight), that she was unable to return to Erisire. Now, with the appearance of Doctor, with his Keys as null as hers, all other possible paths back to her planet were cut off. And nobody seemed to be coming for her — she glanced at Doctor — or even him, apparently. She was stranded. Indefinitely.
“They don’t, by the way,” Doctor sounded ruefully, wanting her to say something. Her silence was dragged long enough; the suspense too much for him.
“Me too,” she admitted vacantly. “And no one has come. At least, I haven’t seen anyone who could possibly come looking.”
“Me too,” he whispered, blinking hard.
She looked to the sky, trying to see if she could pick Erisire out from the stars, but nothing could be seen over Juncture’s light pollution. And that was how she had been living for the past few weeks, her life no farther than the city’s borders, no more than the corner of the city’s street, no other than the city’s apartment. Truth be told, it was a rather simple life, a surprisingly fulfilling one too. No great conflicts except in her line of work, and even then her job was easy. At least it gave some excitement. There really was no need to return. She had carved herself a life here on Earth, or the beginnings of one, and it seemed like Alex and Chantée were quite happy to have her staying with them. She had a place to live, a… sort of… family, and definitely plenty to eat.
What more could she wish for?
Nocte kicked a pebble with her right toe, watching it skid some paces away. They had retreated to a unanimous silence, mere shadows on the rooftop almost invisible against the backdrop of the sky if one weren’t looking. From a distance they appeared like lovers saying goodbye, their silhouettes — one facing the other, and the other facing away — were like they were torn, whispering secrets their fathers would certainly disapprove of, their mothers could only dream of. But what secrets, only the two were privy to — secrets of that one chance they had hoped for when they had first laid eyes on each other in almost a year, secrets of that broken hope dashed away by that catastrophic question, secrets of that disappointment they had let themselves feel despite all logic, training, self-discipline.
His breath came out like an insubstantial cloud.
Nothing.
Nothing.
All that hope for nothing.
She turned when she heard footsteps coming from the stairs, clumsy and frightened. She thought that perhaps they were from Doctor’s allies, finally noticing that something was wrong and were coming to his rescue. But that was all right. They could come. They could all come. It’d be all for nothing though. Only a waste of time. She hadn’t hurt Doctor, and Doctor hadn’t even touched her.
Nothing.
All for nothing.
But when she started to recognize the aura signature of the one climbing up the stairs, she couldn’t help but think, “Okay, maybe not all for nothing.”
“SOMNIUM!” Alex burst through the door, all haggard and distressed.
Definitely not for nothing.
This had to be something.
“Somnium?” Doctor echoed hollowly.
Nocte shifted, knowing that the name brought back memories and regrets better left forgotten. “There are Fae here. I thought it better to use an alias.”
“D-Don’t hurt him!” Alex said to Nocte, trying to catch his breath, one arm raised as if to stop her. “He’s one of the friends I called for help!”
Nocte jerked; the world a slow blur. Alex knew Doctor. Alex thought she would hurt Doctor. Alex hadn’t thought of her at all.
There was nothing here.
“Doctor!” Alex exclaimed. “She’s my roommate — don’t hurt her!”
The world refocused in an instant.
This had to be something.
Nocte rubbed her left temple, not knowing what to do next. There were so many questions, and she didn’t know whether or not she wanted the answers to them. How did Alex know Doctor? How come Doctor used his real name? (“Stupid heroes,” she thought.) How many of Alex “friends” were here? How did Doctor know Alex? As far as she knew, the only time Alex had to meet with Doctor was during work, when he was at Ms. Kay’s and she was off tromping across the damn city taking down bad guys. How the hell did they know each other?
Glancing at Doctor, she saw that he, too, had the same incredulous look as her, wondering how she knew Alex and vice versa. They were both confused, and these mere coincidences were getting less and less coincidental as time went on. And Alex… Alex was in the middle of all of this, worried that they’d been killing each other, floored to find that they were both fine, and pleasantly surprised that the outside was not as cold as he had first thought.
With the wind picking at her hair, and strands falling over her face, Nocte wanted her glasses, if only to see them both better with. Her pyjamas rustled as she stepped to the door, and the two men watched her go hesitantly, not knowing how to move at such an awkward moment. It was always the women who had to deal with indecisive men, and Nocte just had to deal with them.
“Let’s continue this inside,” she suggested, calmly moving pass Alex and down the stairs.
Surreal and jaded, bleach-washed from the bad fluorescent lighting in the cheap apartment hallways, Nocte descended the stairs rather blankly. Every now and then she acknowledged the pinpricks on her feet when she brushed against the rough, uneven surface of the stairs, but that was all she let herself feel and think. She had shut herself down from shock and uncertainty.
Something slippery, slithery, whispered at the back of her head that this was meant to be.
Meeting Doctor was meant to be.
But what all this “meant to be” was for, was something she didn’t want to think about.
Nocte rubbed her arm when they finally approached the apartment door, left half opened. She paused. Why would Alex leave the door open? He wouldn’t.
“Wait-!”
But the rest of Alex’s cry was lost when she tackled the door open, an ice-sword in her hands, cold and cruel.
“YOU!” Nocte accused, finger pointing at Mister Pàn just as he returned the rude pointing with a cry of “YOU!” in return. What the hell was he doing in her kitchen?!
“You,” another man breathed incredulously by the glass door.
“YOU!” Nocte responded, now pointing at the man who had tried to kidnap Chantée the other day, slightly pleased to see the bruise on his cheek from being attacked by her cwn annwns. “And YOU!” Her finger jabbed towards the vampire sitting legs crossed on the couch, his brown hair in a half ponytail and his eyes now green instead of the red she had last seen him with — the same vampire from Siren’s concert. And just as soon, her finger cut the air like a knife to point at the only woman in the room, appearing to be in her late twenties, standing by the couch, with her blonde hair in a tight bun and her hard blue eyes behind a pair of black-rimmed glasses [T1] a reflection of her stiff charcoal grey dress suit. “I don’t know you,” Nocte admitted, but not any softer in tone, “but I’m sure I will soon.”
The vampire appeared pleasantly surprised to see her while the woman quipped, “Pleasure.”
Nocte’s grip on her sword tightened, her body hardening when Mister Pàn made to move around the island counter. Her first priority was to subdue the threats in her living room and kitchen — the vampire was the most dangerous from what she had gathered from experience. Although, she noted, the man with the bruise was the more irritating one. He should have known by now that his attempts to kidnap Chantée were not very viable. Well, third time was the charm, after all, she supposed.
She spread her feet apart to get a better grip on the ground, sword in both hands, her eyes sliding from one figure to the next. She moved, almost unconsciously, in front of Alex when he arrived, shielding both him and Doctor from the strange (antagonizing) group in their apartment. She was just about to activate the charms plastered along the walls when a shriek from the bedroom snapped her alert like a cat hissing at a threat.
“Chantée!”
“Wait-!”
Nocte didn’t listen when she flashed across the apartment and smashed open the bedroom door, blood rushing to her ears and her palms hot against the ice of the sword, sharp and cutting and hard. But just as soon as the door threatened to rip from its hinges, Nocte skid to an abrupt halt, out-of-breath due to panic and heavy due to worry, to see Chantée rolling on the carpet laughing hysterically from being… tickled by another girl?
“Somnium!” Chantée exclaimed upon seeing her through lidded eyes, quickly scrambling up from the floor to latch her arms around Nocte’s stomach.
Nocte carefully hid the sword behind her back, away from the girls, and struggled to contain the adrenaline running through her bloodstream.
“What’s that?” Chantée enquired, trying to get a look at what Nocte had in her hand.
“Nothing,” Nocte answered stiffly, and then vanished the sword to show the girls that there was, indeed, nothing. “Who’s this?” She was referring to the other girl.
Chantée beamed, taking Nocte by the hand and dragging her to the blonde on the floor, right beside a pink and purple plastic dollhouse Nocte didn’t remember buying, or Alex for that matter.
“This is my friend!” Chantée introduced with a wide grin. She didn’t have friends over much, which only made Nocte wary of the new development. “Her name’s Achindra.”
“Hello, Achindra,” Nocte spoke cautiously.
Achindra, hazel-eyed with long lashes and long blonde hair with bangs just below her eyebrows, stood and curtseyed. She was wearing a flowing magenta tank dress with pink and white polka dots, the string straps threaded through with several matching beads. She was every inch of her a well-mannered, stylish little girl with a very sweet and attentive smile, sugared and candied.
“Hello!” she chirped enthusiastically.
“And the dollhouse?” Nocte asked Chantée.
“I brought it,” Achindra supplied happily.
Nocte nodded, but did not ease after the introductions, aware of the tension behind her in the living room. Her sudden spike of chi earlier didn’t diminish any odd suspicions at all. In fact, it only caused the other “guests” (she supposed, seeing as Chantée was not harmed) to stir their own energies in defence. Nocte resisted the urge to snort. As if they would even have the time to counter whatever she was to throw at them.
Doctor, on the other hand, was a different matter –being — altogether.
“S-Somnium,” Alex huffed, coming up from behind her as his eyes flickered to the window, the walls, the charms — Chantée to see if she was in one piece. Despite him telling Nocte to wait, and thus believing that his sister was safe, Alex didn’t seem very confident in her being secure once he was actually in the room, what with him frantically searching here and there for an invisible threat. It was good, then, that Nocte had charged ahead of him.
“Alex?” Chantée enquired, confused at his panic.
“We were worried,” Nocte explained, giving Alex a moment to compose himself. “We heard you screaming.”
Chantée ducked her head and fumbled shamefully. As passive as Nocte’s comment was, it was just as effective as a sound scolding, the calm lilt a disturbing contrast to Alex’s turmoil. Achindra seemed to take note of this.
“S-Sorry,” Chantée apologized bashfully. “Achindra and I were just playing…” She scuffled her fingers fretfully.
Seeing the guilt on the girl’s face, Alex could only sigh and resign, “That’s fine,” before reaching over to make sure that the protective pendants around her neck were secure. “But remember to watch your volume. The walls here are thin.”
The girl gave a restrained smile and nodded. It had been a thin escape.
“We’ll be in the living room,” Nocte said, closing the door and effectively pushing Alex out of the room. “Be careful.”
“Yep!” Chantée tweeted eagerly, glad to be left alone with her friend again.
Nocte secured the door and turned to Alex stiffly, who turned to their little audience in the living room with an awkward slant of his lips. Limbs stiff and expression hard, Nocte followed Alex’s gaze and politely, if not robotically, revolved to gauge the four strangers with scepticism; the ice sword a cool breezy graze along her fingertips, just asking to be constructed, but Nocte held herself in check, narrowing her eyes and swallowing hard.
If this was all meant to be, then the Sisters Fate must be watching on a big screen with a jumbo box of popcorn and a mega-sized cup of soda pop.
Bitches.
“Somnium, these are the friends I mentioned earlier,” Alex introduced, giving her the first look since his “friends” had barged in on her sleep quite unexpectedly — rudely even. To his credit though, he hadn’t been expecting them either… not that Nocte would forgive him for it. “This is Seth.” The vampire. “Priscilla.” The woman. “Pàn.” The wanted murderer. “Ciel.” The kidnapper. “And Doctor.” Of course.
He gestured to Nocte for his friends’ benefit. “This is Somnium. My roommate.”
“Of course,” said Seth complacently, leaning forward to rest his chin on his hands, contemplating the newest development.
There were many reasons for his calm, Nocte surmised as she leaned against the bedroom door, a series of memories flashing through her mind in a flicker of colours and disjointed images: encountering him in the waiting line to Siren’s concert — meeting his eyes while running Chantée out of the stadium — knowing that he must know that she was both the feared and coveted Darkness.
She moved her eyes to the ground to regroup.
If this Seth character had known Alex long (and she could only confirm such a hypothesis from the way Alex seemed to be waiting for the vampire’s approval of Nocte’s presence), then he must know how important Chantée was to Alex. Since Alex hadn’t (supposedly) told Seth about Chantée being missing, the vampire’s immediate conclusion must have been that the Darkness (Nocte) had let the girl go and then left, and hopefully for good. He mustn’t have thought that the Darkness (Nocte) would be staying with Alex and the girl the Darkness (Nocte) had taken from Siren’s concert.
She met Doctor in the eye and he seemed to understand. No matter how clouded their history was in the past, the fact that they were the only ones from Erisire brought out an obligation from the both of them, that they were honour-bound to aid the other — nay, their duty. A hero could never ignore a damsel in distress.
Doctor stepped forward and they all turned to him, their heads swerving in sync and eyes more than just attentive, but almost in awe. It would have been frightening if Nocte hadn’t known that he was to speak on her behalf. Such charisma, such instant command — Nocte hadn’t thought that Doctor Lucent of all people was capable of it. Perhaps she had overlooked him amidst Delano’s considerate smiles and Kardos’ flamboyant personality… or perhaps he was just that good…
Nocte frowned, however slight, at the prospect that she could ever “overlook” anything.
“I understand that you were attacked,” Doctor addressed Alex sympathetically. “Perhaps you could stay with us?” He looked to Seth.
The vampire straightened slightly from his hunched position and frowned a tad, more in deliberation than in rejection. With a minimal shrug, his brown hair nipping at the base of his neck, he said, “I suppose.”
Priscilla narrowed her eyes and frowned, more in rejection than in deliberation, and hissed, “Would that be for the best, milord?”
Seth raised a lazy brow and his lips slid into a languid smile. “I don’t see why not.”
Quite by accident-on-purpose, Nocte met Ciel’s guarded, and uneasy, gaze, knowing full well that he could at anytime ruin all of Doctor’s careful, and precise, planning. She didn’t doubt for a second that he recognized her from the concert — did not doubt that he knew she was the Darkness. Although she couldn’t understand how a single vampire, whether in his residence or not, could protect them from the Unseelie Court, Ciel seemed rather stressed at the prospect of such an idea coming to fruit, as if Seth could stop him from taking Chantée.
Doctor might actually have something useful, if only to make the damn kidnapper uncomfortable. She would just have to… (gulp)… trust him…
Her skin crawled eerily.
What a frightening aspect.
“I don’t want to impose,” Alex told the group, both honoured at the suggestion and horrified at the idea. Living with a vampire was not exactly safe for a human. “Perhaps we should relocate.” He was facing Nocte now, who could only knit her brows together.
As viable as that proposal was, it was also troublesome. They’d have to find a location first, and that was hard considering where they worked and whether or not there was a school nearby for Chantée. Then there was the moving. At anytime during the relocation they could be caught unawares by the Fae. And then there was the need to familiarize themselves with the neighbourhood and reconstruct protective charms, barriers, runes. It may be worth it in the end, but it could also be their undoing.
“That’s a lot of work,” Nocte voiced, already feeling tired at the thought of moving. “And not all that work would be viably safe.”
Alex fingered one of the charms around his wrist. “I suppose…”
“Then you should definitely stay with us,” Seth spoke, rising from the sofa with a friendly smile. “We have the room.”
Ciel looked stricken.
“You sure that’ll be safe?” Pàn finally sounded, eyeing Nocte distrustfully. “This one isn’t exactly the most auspicious of people.”
“Oh?” Seth perked an ironic brow, his smile widening when he glanced at her. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
Nocte wanted to pull on his half ponytail, if only to irritate him as much as he did her. He was assuming too much of her character based on just her decision to live with Alex and Chantée, as if she had done it out of deeper feelings, as if she could live with him too — as if she was not a threat at all.
He could not possibly know that she had done it for selfish reasons, to stay close to the Singer.
“She tried to bring me in,” Pàn grumbled, laying his elbows on the island counter in a rather disgruntled manner. “Couldn’t recognize the Medallion.”
“You’re that new bounty hunter?” Doctor said surprisingly, but it really wasn’t that shocking if he had taken the time to think about it.
Nocte shrugged. There wasn’t much else to say.
“You can’t take her in then!” Ciel protested. “You can’t possibly trust her.”
“Oh?” the vampire hummed, the corners of his eyes growing sharp as he zeroed in on the bruised man. “I’ve taken risks before, haven’t I?”
“I’m sure she’s trustworthy,” Doctor stepped in to defend her honour, ill at ease at the sudden conflict between Seth and Ciel. “I’ll watch her.”
Nocte gave the hero a prickly stare, daring him to try, but Ciel did take a step back at Doctor’s declaration.
“There are many things that must be taken into account,” Priscilla clipped, fixing her glasses glaringly. “We are dealing with the Fae, yes?”
Alex bit his lips together and nodded grimly. “The Unseelie Court.”
Nocte caught Ciel clenching his fists. Even Mister Pàn shuffled uneasily on his feet. The vampire more quiet than concerned.
“That can be easily fixed,” Seth quipped casually. “We can summon the best magic users in the city to reinforce our defences.”
“I do not think that would be efficient,” Priscilla hissed.
Seth shrugged nonchalantly with his hands in his pockets, all boyish and relaxed, “It will be when I say it will be. No one can deny me, can they?” He smiled at Priscilla, his expression a tad jagged, challenging.
Priscilla went silent, but she was glowering, almost coughing up a hairball.
Nocte was confused and tense. She thought of Chantée at the other side of the door behind her. She still didn’t know what her friend, Achindra, was capable of, and if things turned bleak, Nocte would have to splinter the door, a thought that she didn’t particularly like. Doors were expensive to replace.
“Then it’s settled, yes?” Then Seth did a peculiar thing. Instead of looking at Alex for a confirmation, as Alex was the head of the household being threatened, the vampire looked at Nocte instead, eyes wide green and expression expecting.
She, on the other hand, met Alex in the eye and saw him uncertain. She, too, felt it rather fast for the vampire to make such a decision, especially when the woman, Priscilla, didn’t seem fond of it. In fact, Priscilla was against the idea altogether, “subtly” glaring at Nocte to deny Seth’s offer.
“Don’t worry,” Pàn assured, taking Alex’s silence as fear. “You’d be well protected within the city’s House.”
Nocte didn’t understand what he meant by that, but assumed that he meant under the protection of Seth who, apparently, could never be denied of anything.
“I suppose…” Alex trailed, giving nervous glimpses at the bedroom door, thinking of Chantée’s well being.
“No, you can’t!” Ciel argued, stepping forward boldly.
Nocte leaned back against the door; Alex taken aback.
“She’s dangerous!” the man proclaimed, his green irises flashing.
“Certainly she can’t be more dangerous than you?” Seth enquired with a soft lilt of his brow, his eyes flickering red so fast that Nocte almost couldn’t catch it.
Doctor saw it at once and stiffened. The warning was like a blaring siren to those who were sensitive.
“YES, she is!” Ciel disputed, this time with a stomp of his foot.
Nocte clenched her teeth when his gaze moved over her.
No.
He couldn’t possibly-
“SHE’S THE DARKNESS!” he bellowed, his dirty blond hair whipping over his shoulders.
Yes.
He could.
Nocte squeezed her fingers together when an eerie silence settled over the room, thick and stifling. She could picture Ciel’s triumphant expression on his face, feel Priscilla’s obnoxious glare on her head, sense the anxiety from Pàn’s aura, taste the vampire’s disappointment in the air… She was glad, really glad, that Chantée wasn’t in the room to witness this, for they all knew what being the Darkness meant-
Her eyes slid to Alex.
No…
Her nails dug unto her palm.
He couldn’t possibly-
“Y-You’re the D-Darkness?” Alex whispered fearfully.
Yes.
He could.
He knew too.
Nocte felt her breath catch painfully against her throat when Alex took a step back, away from her, looking to Ciel for answers, for help.
“He tried to kidnap Chantée!” Nocte didn’t know where the words had come from or why she was pointing an accusing finger at the dirty blonde, but she knew very well that she sounded petty, desperate even.
And she didn’t care.
“He’s tried to twice now!” Nocte added spitefully, face red with indignation, anger… panic and distress.
Alex looked from Ciel to Nocte and back again, lost and betrayed, his expression like a disillusioned child. Nocte didn’t know what to do or say, but she felt like something warm — something important — was slipping through her fingers.
And she couldn’t catch it.
It was sneakier than the wind.
“You’re the Darkness?” Doctor breathed incredulously.
With a jerk, Nocte turned to him, swallowing uncomfortably at how disjointed he appeared, how out-of-place his aura seemed to be. She didn’t — couldn’t — understand why he had to look so forlorn, or why he had to act so displaced from reality when he said those words. As if her being the Darkness made every sense in the world, but made everything else all the more chaotic and perplexing.
“But of course,” she thought in disbelief, her eyes growing large in realization. “You’re the Light.”
Heavy, yet weightless, her words hung suspended in the air like a thick cloud. The pressure in the room grew thin, so thin that it became hard to breathe, pressing against her neck and threatening to choke her. The tension was made even more impossible when Pàn placed himself between Doctor and Nocte, looking ready to gut her at a moment’s notice. She was written off, just like the many times before, as a threat.
But for Nocte, she didn’t notice him, didn’t notice anyone or anything save for Doctor Lucent. Faced with the knowledge of him being the Light from Ewan’s prophecy, Nocte felt like someone had stabbed her in the stomach and dropped her off in a ditch somewhere to bleed to death. It was not ironic. It was not unexpected. It was not even unfortunate.
This was the trump card the Sisters Fate had had in their hands.
This was their last deal.
This was everything on the table.
The hero she had been paired with was also the Light to her Darkness. The Keys to their escape were rendered useless from the beginning. The destiny she had been avoiding had caught up with her in one magnificent gesture of declaration.
Now Nocte had to wait to see if she was to survive.
Now Nocte had to see whose will was stronger: hers, or theirs.
She was fucked.
“I know,” Seth said.
They startled from the strange impasse they had unintentionally put themselves in and faced him in various degrees of uncertainty and confusion.
“I know,” Seth repeated with an easy smile.
“You…” Doctor trailed, “…know?”
The vampire nodded with a hunch over his shoulders, rocking back and forth on his feet like there was nothing to worry about. “I know she’s the Darkness.”
Ciel froze, unblinking and unthinking.
“And it’s okay.” Seth shrugged good-naturedly, smiling up at Nocte from his handsome bangs. “And you’ll come, won’t you?” His eyes dark, but gentle. “You’ll come with Alex and Chantée, won’t you? And live with me?”
Nocte stopped herself from placing her arms over her torso to protect herself with; their stares unnerving, some frightened, some threatening, some feeling threatened. She never once broke eye-contact with the vampire, knowing that he was testing her, knowing that he was teasing her, knowing that he knew that he was making her uncomfortable. But she would not retreat. She would not fall back.
She would brave the damn bonus levels.
She had, after all, nowhere else to go. She was the Darkness, and they were a part of the Light. If she were not to go willingly, then they would force her to. Besides, Nocte couldn’t possibly leave Chantée’s side, not when Ciel was so keen on taking her for himself, and certainly from Doctor too if she were to guess.
Ciel was something entirely different, smelling of the forest and aura of a strange viscosity.
Releasing her fists, her palms littered with nail imprints, Nocte straightened herself and said, “Yes. I will come live with you if Alex and Chantée will also.”
“And you will, won’t you?” Seth asked Alex pleasantly.
Alex hesitated, but not for long when Seth had that look.
The vampire had never been denied of anything.
“Y-Yes,” Alex stuttered, paling and hoping that he hadn’t destroyed his sister’s chances of survival.
Nocte caught Ciel scowling at the ground. His plans had been foiled, or at least made more difficult.
“Excellent,” Seth said with a certain bounce in his step. “I think Achindra and I should stay tonight to help them pack tomorrow.”
It was a kinder way of saying that they’d stay for guard duty, in case the Darkness made a run for it.
“No,” both Pàn and Priscilla objected.
“Achindra is too young!” Priscilla bristled.
“You shouldn’t put yourself in danger,” Pàn protested.
Seth smiled with that mischievous spark in his eyes. “It’s alright, I’ll look after Achindra, and I’m pretty sure Alex will look after me, yes?”
“Y-Yes!” Alex sputtered, feeling like he was a mouse being tossed around by a cat.
Priscilla scowled, destroying her cool and quiet beauty, and argued, “You should not be so irresponsible, milord.”
“I’m sure Achindra would agree with me,” Seth said with an easy shrug. “She hasn’t seen Chantée in months!”
With a mechanized jerk, Priscilla pulled back as if she had been struck. It had left her speechless, a detail not lost to Nocte.
“I’ll stay as well,” Doctor said.
Pàn was alarmed, but the hero brushed him aside to look Nocte in the eye.
“Just in case,” he added, not quietly, but rather adamantly with a frown, an error he didn’t bother to hide.
Adversaries.
Nocte nodded solemnly.
It was no surprise.
They had been born to be adversaries.
“Of course,” she conceded.
But neither were willing.
[T1]Changed Priscilla’s descriptions. Now has blonde and blue.