~An Unlikely Bond~
PART 4- The Return
SHIP: Jophie (Japeth and Sophie) and Japaric (Japeth and Aric)
SETTING: Takes place in Camelot during TOTK.
SCENARIO: (Continuation of BONUS CHAPTER #3) With the last ring in their possession, Japeth and Sophie have all they need to bring Aric back. But will Japeth and Aric's reunion be a happy one? And when Aric does return, what will he think of Japeth and Sophie's marriage?
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Darkness clouded Sophie's vision as if a blanket had shrouded her entire being. Her head throbbed and she stumbled blindly, searching for something to grasp onto. But it seemed there was no end to the abyss that surrounded her.
The ringing in Sophie's ears became louder, louder until she couldn't hear herself think. As she struggled to find her way back to the light, she distinctly remembered the thumping sound of a heartbeat.
Just minutes before, Sophie was standing in the throne room alongside Japeth as three servants worked to put out the burning throne using buckets of water from the kitchen. When the fire had been extinguished, the servants hurried out of the room, leaving the King and Queen of Camelot alone.
"So our deal still stands?" Sophie inquired, staring at Japeth as he held out the ring in front of him, shadows obscuring the engravings in the silver band. "You'll let Teddy and Aggie go free?"
Japeth didn't look at her, staring wonderingly at the ring now in his possession, the hope still evident on his smooth face. He looked almost like a young boy who'd just gotten everything he asked for for Christmas.
"When Aric is back, I'll have no need to keep you and your friends here," Japeth said dismissively as if his thoughts were elsewhere. But than he finally looked at her. "Just don't break a chandelier when you make your leave or slip a magical crystal into someone's unsuspecting bath tub."
Despite the fact that her friends were distrustful of her now, and despite everything that had happened tonight, Sophie felt laughter bubble up from her throat. Had Japeth really just made a joke? He never made jokes!
But something else Japeth said made Sophie's laughter fade as realization dawned on her. She'd never thought about what she'd do after she'd helped Japeth get the final ring back. Now, Tedros and Agatha seemed to hate her. Sophie never thought of what she'd do after Japeth let her go. Going back to being Dean seemed like child's play after everything she'd been through these past few months, and for some reason, the thought of leaving Japeth behind made something inside Sophie cry out in protest.
"Are you gonna remain King of Camelot after Aric's return or..." Sophie's voice trailed off as she watched Japeth saunter forward, his blue gaze still focused on the ring in his hand.
Japeth headed straight for the doors and Sophie followed him, Evelyn's red dress fanning out behind her like a train as she walked after him. "Where are you going?" Sophie cried after him. "Japeth!"
Japeth turned abruptly, his icy blue gaze conveying a look of uncertainty as if he was unsure whether to ignore her question or respond. Than, he tipped his head back slightly in a gesture--an obvious sign he wished for her to follow him.
"You promised you'd help me get Aric back, so come," Japeth told her. "Let's go get Aric back, together."
"Together?" Sophie whispered, struck by emotion and her voice wavered.
Japeth met her gaze, his icy blue eyes brimming in tears. They weren't tears of sadness, but tears of happiness that had Sophie almost forgetting all about her loss of hope.
"Together," Japeth confirmed before the two started outside.
The night sky had stars flecked in it's vast darkness, Stars that twinkled down on Japeth and Sophie as they stopped in front of the newly repaired stage Tedros had once almost been executed on.
Japeth held the ring flat in his palm as he nodded to Sophie. She found a stick in the grass and used her pink fingerglow to light up the end of the stick. As the flames threatened to lap up the stick and burn Sophie's fingers, Japeth took it from her. Sophie could see his fingers shaking as they curled around the stick and she shot out her hand to place her hand over his, guiding his hand over his palm.
The flames danced closer to the ring in Japeth's palm, closer and closer until Sophie smelt burning metal and she watched the silver band burn, melting into Japeth's palm like a forever scar. Sophie could see Japeth holding his breath as if he feared it wouldn't work and when the ring was nothing more but a pile of ashes coating Japeth's scarred palm, nothing out of the ordinary seemed to occur.
"What happened?" Japeth began, his tone distressed as he spun around, his face hard. "I don't feel anything. Aren't I the One True King now? Aren't I--"
As suddenly as Japeth's cry rose to an inferno, something out of the ordinary did happen. The ground began to tremble beneath Sophie and Japeth's feet and the trees lining Camelot began to sway angrily as if a storm had decided to make its presence known. Sophie's eyes widened as she saw the ground begin to crack beneath her. Long scores scarred the earth, so deep and wide, a person could fall in and than Sophie's attention snapped back to Japeth.
But something dark and foggy had begun to overtake Japeth. A dark cloud enveloped him whole and Sophie heard a cry rip from his throat. Before she could think to help him, the darkness closed in around her too, suffocating her as she struggled to get away.
Through her panic, Sophie heard ringing, a painful ringing noise that made her skull pound. She couldn't see anything, couldn't hear Japeth's cry anymore, and she could feel herself slipping further into the unknown, into a place she wanted out of.
~.~ ~.~ ~.~ ~.~ ~.~ ~.~
Japeth didn't know where he was or how he even ended up here. All he could remember was burning the last ring and being sucked up in shadows soon after.
Dirt smeared at Japeth's hands as he crawled across the leaf strewn ground. The trees surrounding him made up a twisted dark forest with branches that blocked out the moon. Somewhere in the trees, Japeth could feel a hundred pairs of eyes boring into him and he caught glimpses of white bones in the branches.
It was only when he heard a screech, the screech of a bird, that it dawned on him. He'd seen this forest before in a storybook, Sophie and Agatha's storybook to be exact. But what was he doing here in this place of Stymphs who all probably wanted to eat him alive--
Oh. How could Japeth ever forget the place Aric had died in?
Japeth had wished for Aric back, and since the Stymph Forest was the place he'd died in, it was only logical that Japeth come here. Japeth remembered the details of Aric's death in Agatha and Sophie's storybook. The Storian had only recorded what had happened, not what Aric had been feeling as that wretched fairy Godmother ended his life.
But what now? Where was the one boy Japeth had wanted more than anything else? Where was the friend Japeth had chosen over his own blood?
"ARIC!" Japeth cried, his voice echoing in the dark sky, startling some of the Stymphs from their perches. "Where are you...?"
Japeth lurched up from the ground and suddenly found his scims were not the only things that covered him. A billowing cape flowed from his back, made from a strange material and sitting on his mess of copper hair was a crown. Japeth took it off to find the inscriptions from the many rings that once tied the woods' belief in the Storian were now etched into the golden surface of the crown.
Oh yes. Now Japeth could feel it. There was a sudden power flowing through his blood, through his whole body until the tips of his fingers tingled and he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise as a chill overcame him.
At long last, after months of anticipation, Japeth was here. This moment was the one moment he'd awaited for for what felt like an eternity. He was finally, finally going to get Aric back, and nothing was going to stop him.
Japeth walked forward, twigs and dry debris crunching beneath his feet as he made his way through the trees his gaze scouring the area, praying for a sign, anything to indicate that his wish had come true.
Something glinted in the dirt and he reached for it, crouching down to sweep away a pile of leaves. A dirtied blade was lying on the ground and Japeth's fingers curled around the handle to pick it up. With his other hand, he wiped off the dirt on the dagger to find the blade was rusted. A shock of recognition filled Japeth as he tightened his hold on the dagger.
It was Aric's dagger. Japeth would never be able to forget the time Aric had first procured this very dagger and used it to protect him against an old man who'd wanted to do Japeth harm. Had the dagger been here this whole time, forgotten as time passed?
Japeth found his fingers caressing the leather handle with softness, his heart swelling in emotion he couldn't suppress before a noise made him freeze. He spun around, leaping to his feet to find he was no longer alone.
Just a few feet away was a figure, crawling across the ground towards him. Something inside Japeth swelled and he swore his heart stopped for the briefest of moments as he remained frozen, watching the figure stumble to its feet.
"Aric?" Japeth breathed as the figure stumbled forward, so close now Japeth could make out a pair of unmistakable violet eyes glinting in the shadows. Than, a body slammed into him, a heavy weight collapsing into Japeth.
Instinctively, Japeth caught the boy in his arms and gazed down at the face of the one person he'd always yearned for most. Those thick lashes framing a pair of violet eyes and those sharp cheekbones were features only belonged to one person Japeth knew. Japeth's hand couldn't help but stroke the boy's black hair, fingers running through the soft locks.
"Oh, Aric," Japeth murmured, staring down at the boy in his arms. "Is it really you? Say something so I know this isn't just some terrible dream...please."
A hand inched along Japeth's chest, trailing down the length of his arm before a single pinkie curled tightly around Japeth's own pinkie. A gasp escaped Japeth's throat as he stared in wonderment at him and the boy's intertwined pinkies.
That was all the confirmation Japeth needed to know before he felt all his worries ebb away as he pulled Aric close until Aric had rested his chin on Japeth's shoulder like a little boy.
"What happened?" Aric whispered, delirious. "All I remember is stabbing my mother and--How are you even here, Japeth? I don't understand."
"You...you died, Aric," Japeth said, voice breaking. "And I had to get you back. I had to, and now you're here and it's all I could ever want. I promise I'll explain everything, but for now...I just wanna hold you a little bit longer...Just a little bit longer."
Aric's face was a sickly pale, a paler shade than even Japeth. Japeth could only imagine the thoughts running through Aric's mind. He had to be confused and shocked by suddenly returning from the dead and finding that Japeth was dressed in this ridiculous outfit like some grand hero.
"I died? What do you mean I died?" Aric said, wrenching away from Japeth without warning. "Impossible--I couldn't have died--"
Instantly missing Aric's closeness, Japeth stepped towards him, slowly, like he was cornering a wild animal.
"We all die, Aric," Japeth said, his voice conveying a gentle tone he would never use on anyone else but the boy before him. "Professor Dovey killed you, stabbed you in the back. And I worked so hard to find you again. Because after you left Arbed, I realized there was no life without you in it. I wanted you back so badly I was willing to kill to ensure you come back to life...I--I killed Rhian for you, Aric." Japeth's voice wavered at the memory of his brother's death. Rhian was all Japeth had after Aric left and still Japeth yearned for his best friend back. Rhian hadn't understood Japeth's pain and so he'd paid the price for that.
When Japeth had locked Sophie in his room, she'd questioned him, wondering why Japeth chose to dwell on Aric rather than Rhian. Japeth hadn't answered her, but in his heart a part of him missed his brother. When Rhian died, it was like a part of Japeth died along with him. The thing was that Rhian was still his twin, the other half of his soul, and Japeth would always be hurt by his absence, even if Rhian had misjudged Aric and hated his guts.
There were just some bonds people couldn't get rid of, and Japeth's twin bond he'd shared with Rhian was one of those bonds he couldn't push away, no matter how hard he tried.
But now? Now, Japeth had Aric, and there was nothing else Japeth could ask for in that moment that would make it any more perfect than it already was.
"Are we going home now?" Aric's voice was hesitant as he spoke up, his violet gaze uncertain, but Japeth knew his friend would be back to his old self soon enough.
Where did Aric consider his home? Was it Arbed, the place that had brought him and Japeth together in the first place? The School for Boys?
"There's no need," Japeth murmured to Aric, the corners of his lips twitching in the faintest hint of a smile. Japeth grabbed Aric's hand, feeling Aric's rough palm against his cold skin. With their hands clasped, Japeth knew in that moment that he had everything he'd ever wanted.
Japeth looked back at Aric as he guided him along, feeling the power course through his blood. "I'm already home."
Japeth led his friend along, through the trees. Japeth fought the urge to tell Aric every single thing that had happened since his banishment from Arbed, but he didn't want to overwhelm him. Japeth could tell Aric was still struggling to comprehend the fact that he'd died and had just come back to life, and as Aric took in his surroundings, Japeth could see Aric's fingers gnarl into fists. Than, Aric's body began to shake, tremors racking through him as his violet gaze darkened in anger.
"Aric," Japeth said, tentatively letting go of Aric's hand to face his friend. "Tell me what's wrong."
"I did hurtful things here, Japeth," Aric whispered, staring around. His gaze focused past Japeth beyond the trees. Japeth knew a few miles from the Stymph Forest, was the School for Good and Evil.
"Don't let that bother you, Aric," Japeth tried to reassure him. "I get it. You might not think I understand, but I do...I know what it's like to fall into that darkness and fear you can never reach the light."
But Aric didn't seem to be swayed by Japeth's words, and he clutched Japeth's shoulders with both hands, his skin so hot Japeth thought Aric's palms would burn a hole in his scims.
"No, Japeth," Aric rebutted. For the first time, his violet gaze was intense as it bore into Japeth's icy blue ones. "I hurt so many people and I didn't regret any of my actions. I still don't regret anything I did; torturing and punishing boys for my own pleasure. I did it for so long and got so used to it that it was like beating them became a second nature to me—"
Japeth cupped Aric's cheeks in his hand to keep him from confessing any more, and Japeth's gaze was sincere as he studied every inch of Aric's face.
"That doesn't matter now," Japeth hissed, tone firm. "What matters now is that you're here, by my side, and nothing can change that. I did it, Aric. I brought you back, because you were all I had left. You came back to me..."
The words Japeth spoke were familiar. Japeth recalled once hearing those same words in a dream he'd had once, not too long before he found out Aric had died.
"You spoke those words to me in a dream once," Japeth admitted, suddenly sheepish with Aric's violet gaze boring into him. "I dreamt that you returned home to me and it was everything I could've hoped for but..." Japeth's face softened as he ran a finger against Aric's sharp cheekbone. "I missed you, Aric. I really missed you."
Aric seemed to relax at Japeth's cold touch and Japeth suddenly pulled out the rusted dagger as if he'd almost forgotten he had it. Than, without a word, he placed the dagger in Aric's open palm and the raven haired boy stared at it.
"Remember when we found it?" Japeth asked, a small smile finding its way on his face.
"Remember how I stabbed that old man in the leg to save your butt?" Aric responded and his lips, too, curled upwards in a familiar smirk that made Japeth's insides melt.
"I do," Japeth said back, the mood lighter now. "Of course I do. Those were good times, weren't they?"
Japeth was so busy, absorbed in the sound of Aric's very voice as he spoke, that he almost forgot all about Sophie. He'd last seen her outside Camelot in his mother's billowing red dress before the darkness had taken him away.
Japeth had never trusted Sophie from the start. He'd believed Sophie would only take Evelyn Sader's place, causing a rift between him and Rhian. But, than she helped him. Sophie had helped him get Aric back, and Japeth felt he wouldn't be here now without Sophie's aid.
Perhaps, a part of him tolerated being around the little minx. She could be a bit too chatty and emotional at times, but she understood him in a way his brother hadn't. Sophie understood that Japeth had a lot of darkness inside him and in a way, Aric was his light, his crutch.
But the only problem was Japeth and Sophie's marriage. If Japeth could've gotten out of marrying anyone, he would've never wed Sophie at the altar. But marrying Sophie is what the prophecy had said, and Japeth had to marry her to become the One True King. It'd been another complication he'd had to deal with on his path to get Aric back.
"Where are we going anyway?" Aric's voice butted through Japeth's thoughts and Japeth halted.
"How could I forget? I'm the One True King," Japeth laughed, pulling Lionsmane from his pocket. The fake pen glowed bright gold in Japeth's palm. Well, now the pen was real, and Japeth, with a flourish, magically wrote a wish into the sky.
Japeth watched the words brighten like beacons of light, casting shadows across the Stymph forest, before the air buzzed with power. That same power tingled at Japeth's fingertips as he held his hand out to Aric, who hesitantly took it.
"I wish to go back," Japeth read the words in the sky aloud, and his eyes fluttered closed. "I wish for Aric and I to go back to Camelot."
Than, the darkness came once more, engulfing both Aric and Japeth whole like the jaws of a hungry monster. Blinded, Japeth squeezed Aric's hand tighter, afraid that it would slip from his grasp as the pitch black closed in on all sides.
The darkness only lasted an instant, and when Japeth opened his eyes, him and Aric were no longer in the Stymph Forest.
Instead, the two friends stood in grass, just beside a winding rock path that cut through the Camelot gardens.
"Whoa. What did you do?" Aric asked, astonished as he looked around his surroundings. The castle loomed before them, lit up by fairy lights blinking in and out.
"I brought us here," Japeth told Aric. "To my kingdom."
"Camelot?" Aric breathed, stumbling back before Japeth steadied him with an arm wrapped around his back. Aric looked at Japeth, gaze questioning. "But I thought Tedros was the King of Camelot."
Japeth shrugged, trying not to make a face at the sound of Tedros's name. Japeth would've loved nothing more but to rip Tedros's head from his shoulders and gouge out his eyes with his scims for ever speaking ill of Aric the way he had back in the throne room. But, alas, Japeth and Sophie had a deal and he wouldn't break it.
"So...what? Rhian spouting all that crap back in Arbed wasn't nonsense after all?" Aric pressed, his eyes lightening in realization as he gazed at Japeth. "You and Rhian were the sons of King Arthur after all?"
Japeth could only nod. "Yes," He responded, moistening his lips with his tongue. "Originally, it was Rhian who was the king and Sophie, his fiancée. But as you know already, I killed him to get you back. Now, I'm the king."
"Sophie?" Aric asked, a strange look coming across his face that Japeth didn't miss. "You mean the same Sophie who paraded around as a boy and took my spot as training leader while she was queen of evil?"
Apparently, Aric still held a grudge against Sophie. Japeth remembered him and Rhian's last confrontation when Rhian had refused to bring back Aric. He said he would never let Aric run rampage in his castle, because even after so many months, Rhian still held a grudge for what Aric did to him back in Arbed.
But Sophie would be safe under Japeth's protection. He'd convince Aric not to hurt her. The past was no longer the present. The past was the past, and Aric had to realize that.
But first, Japeth had to tell Aric some matters that might concern him, so the King of Camelot took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak.
"Before we head inside, I need to tell you something important," Japeth began, uncertain of how Aric would take the news. "It's a long story but...Sophie and I are...well, sorta married."
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Sophie was waiting for Japeth to return, pacing back and forth in Japeth's bedroom as the maids worked to clean up the mess Japeth's scims had intentionally made to test her loyalty.
As Japeth pushed open the bedroom door, he found his queen with her fingers tapping her pursed lips, her brows furrowed over her emerald green eyes in a look of worry.
Sophie's head snapped up when she heard the door creak open and at the sight of Japeth, her gaze lit up in relief. Before Japeth could react, Sophie flung herself into his arms, throwing her arms around him in a tight hug that had Japeth's scims feeling uncomfortable.
"I wasn't gone long, was I?" Japeth asked, guiding Sophie's arms off him. He saw the tears in her gaze and added, "Something wrong, little minx? You weren't worried about me, were you?"
Sophie wiped at her tearstained cheeks, but only managed to smear mascara all over her eyes. She peeked at him through her watery eyelashes.
"I wasn't worried," She said, obviously lying. She struggled to compose herself, looking Japeth over. "Although part of me did wish that darkness that sucked you up took you away forever, I'm...I'm glad you're back, Japeth."
"I am too," Japeth said, unable to resist the joy that came across his face at the thought of Aric waiting for him in the hall. "He's here," Japeth told Sophie and the witch's gaze widened in understanding and shock.
"Aric?" She whispered, and Japeth nodded in confirmation.
Japeth figured it was time for Sophie to see the boy who'd stolen his heart, the boy who he'd chosen over his own blood, so he opened the bedroom door wide in invitation.
Aric stepped into the doorway through the shadows, his violet gaze drifting from Japeth to Sophie before his violet eyes glimmered darkly.
"Why, hello again, Sophie," Aric said, his tone sending a ripple through Sophie's body as if a chill had overcome her.
"Hi," Sophie greeted him, forcing a smile that Japeth didn't buy. "I'm glad you're back too."
Her words sounded shaky and awkward, and her body pivoted away from Aric as if she were resisting the urge to step back. Japeth ignited her reaction and turned back to Aric, a smile finding its way on his face.
For a moment, nobody spoke. Aric's attention had begun to roam around the bedroom and Sophie was too busy looking uncomfortable to utter a word. Than, Aric turned back to Japeth, a curious look on his once darkened expression.
"So...You two are married now? How in the hell did that happen?" Aric questioned, looking between Japeth and Sophie again.
A nervous laugh ebbed from Sophie's throat. Japeth watched Aric move further into the bedroom, his dirty boots leaving muddy footprints in his wake as he walked across the new lion printed carpet.
"It's a long story," Japeth muttered, his gaze flickering to Sophie's diamond ring. "But, Sophie was my brother's fiancée, before I killed him. Than, I stole Rhian's identity."
"Who knew you were so devious, Japeth?" Aric drawled, running a hand down the gold and blue bedspread. "You stole Rhian's life, his crown, and on top of all that, you steal his queen?"
There was amusement lacing Aric's tone as he looked back at Japeth, a wicked gleam in his gaze that Japeth found familiar.
"Well, we're not in love if that's what you're asking!" Sophie spoke up, her voice clipped.
"Definitely not," Japeth agreed, seeing the amused gleam in Aric's expression. "Look, without Sophie and I's marriage, I wouldn't be the One True King and you wouldn't be here, alive, like you are now."
Aric listened and as he did, he toyed with his dagger, scraping his fingernails across the blade to chip off bits of rust which fell to the floor.
"I told you we'd be together again, Aric," Japeth said, softening as he reached out to place a hand over Aric's own. "I promised it."
Japeth and Aric's gazes locked and obviously feeling awkward, Sophie ducked out of the room, trailing after the maids who had bundled up Japeth's ripped curtains and were carrying them out of the bedroom.
Japeth noticed Aric's eyes flicker past him to see Sophie making her escape, her still blood red dress billowing away. If Japeth looked close enough, he would be able to catch the heated look in his best friend's gaze. He would notice the way Aric's fingers curled tight around the handle of his dagger and the way Aric's tongue traced over his teeth in a disgusted reaction.
But Japeth didn't notice, and he just neared closer to Aric, disregarding his golden crown by throwing it behind him and flinging his billowing cape off, essentially freeing his Scims from their confines.
In that moment, in his suit of scims that felt right hugging every inch of his bare skin, Japeth had to admit that Sophie had been correct...He'd never wanted to be a king in the first place. Besides, posing as Rhian was just plain exhausting.
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I thought I could finish writing this Bonus Chapter sooner, but I got busy. Anyway, what do you guys think? Was it everything you guys hoped for for Aric's return?
DID ANY OF YOU READ THE FIRST FOUR CHAPTERS OF THE ONE TRUE KING CAUSE HOLY COWWW!!! JAPETH ISN'T KING ARTHUR'S SON. OMIGODDDD. 😱 I FLIPPED OUT WHEN I READ THAT PART! WHAT WERE YOUR GUYS' REACTIONS TO THAT OR DID I JUST SPOIL THAT FOR YOU? WHELP. 😳
Comment and vote? 😍