David Haller | Legion/X-Men Comics (we_are_legion) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2017-05-19 22:17:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, !completed gdoc, !log, ~2017 may, ~25 points, ~~lissa dragomir (queenlyspirit), ~~merlin (morethanblood) |
WHO: Merlin and Lissa Dragomir
WHAT: Going for a walk
WHEN: Tonight
WHERE: The park
WARNINGS: PG, brief allusion to self-harm
STATUS: Closed/Completed Gdoc
Merlin was hoping tonight was a good night for it, for the moonlight walk with Lissa, and he had done his best to be ready. So, this evening, he was sitting in his apartment, studying blueprints, when he heard his alarm go off. Glancing up, he saw that the evening sun was going down finally, and that meant his plan could go off.
With a grin, he lifted his phone and called Lissa, hoping she would be in the mood to walk a little.
***
Even though Lissa had tried to get in a diurnal schedule since arriving here, she still found it difficult to sleep at night. She’d spent most of her life awake at night and asleep during the day, and it wasn’t that easy to simply switch her habits entirely.
So when Merlin called, she was laying awake in bed, staring at the ceiling, despairing of ever being able to sleep. She was glad to hear his voice, and agreed to meet him downstairs in fifteen minutes.
She got up, got dressed, and was waiting for him a few minutes early. A moonlight walk sounded like just what she needed right now.
***
Merlin stepped out of the shadows a moment later, smiling as he let his magic fade and looked upon her. He had been having many adventures, and learning new things. And with his father, or a version of him, in town, Merlin was hoping that a night with her, which he found pleasant anyway, would help to distract him from a desire to drink himself into oblivion.
“Hello, milady. How does the night find thee?”
He swept her a bow, and grinned as he did so.
***
As Queen, she was used to people bowing to her, and she had mixed feelings about it. It was, of course, important that people respect the office of Queen. That was how it worked at all. But on the other hand, it felt strange to have people bowing to her. She’d been raised a royal Moroi, yes, but she’d never actually expected to be Queen. Andre had always been the one who would be the heir.
“It’s a lovely night, isn’t it?”
To her extra-sensitive senses, the whole night seemed to sparkle with life and vitality, and the stars seemed to dance in the sky.
“Where did you wish to walk?”
***
Merlin bowed to people simply because he liked to, because it was his way, but he grinned at her and nodded forward.
“Into the woods, mayhap, toward a hillock. A height, there is there, that would let us look outward to the stars and see and sense the flow of life of the land.”
His eyes danced with the idea of it, and with the idea of sharing it with her.
***
It sounded lovely, and Lissa found herself a little restless, anyway. A walk would perhaps relax her enough that she could find peace. She needed that. There had been precious little of it since the accident that had claimed the lives of her brother and her parents. And almost Rose.
She nodded, and began to walk in the direction he’d indicated. Slowly, as there was no hurry.
“Have you been well?” She asked.
***
Merlin nodded as he walked with her, smiling warmly, looking forward, but glancing toward her as they walked. She was an incredible woman, and a formidable person. He was curious about all of her, from her heart, which beat so warmly, to her power, to her interests.
“I have been, choosing to explore, and to try to experience more, here.” He chuckled, then quieted. “Tis my first taste of freedom in a very long time.”
***
“Were you imprisoned at home?” This was the first time she had heard of this, and it had her concerned. She frowned a little, looking at him slightly differently. Was he a criminal? No, she would know if it was that. His aura wasn’t the aura of a person she couldn’t trust.
“What were you charged with?”
Lissa could, of course, commute any sentences that she wished in her own world, but that was not here.
***
“It was no formal imprisonment, milady. Explaining takes some backstory.” He pursed his lips as he glanced at her, then forward again and spoke softly. “I had a dream, of a kingdom of hope, a shining beacon to bring humanity a fighting chance for life in the darkness of the ages I was born in. And I was not ready to accept failure easily. I believed in humanity.”
He nodded and spoke as he walked, voice taking on timber and old volume as he remembered. “Twice I had raised Camelot, working from the shadows, raising a king of men who was good and kind, strong and wise, and twice it had fallen. Once it fell from the failure of me and the king of seeing love and lust bloom in trusted people. Once it fell from betrayal that was open and clear. But I raised it again. And this time those who hated such things planned better, put together better plans. Old allies were corrupted or possessed, a traitor, what modern times calls a sleeper agent, was put close to me, and two who I trained, and loved, were corrupted beyond their ability to resist by evil. When there was a challenge that should have been easy, the sleeper struck, making King Arthur fall ill. I rushed to help him, but allies corrupted betrayed me, including the woman I loved. I was locked into a tree, a giant span of space, and further, my mind locked within a fortress-like trap, where I could watch the world, but not interfere. And so I watched the hope of light be destroyed, my friends killed, and the world of men fall into darkness for some three hundred years.”
His voice was filled with old despair, old fear and pain, and old hurt, and he spoke on, despite it.
“Slowly, humanity crawled out of the wreckage, and built a new world. I was able to only observe, but slowly the cage weakened, and i was able to project my mind into bodies that had been damaged in the brain, after the soul had fled, healing the damage and living a short time in those shells, living a little among people while my body and mind were truly still held prisoner.”
He sighed. “Nearly 2000 years, I was in that place, before i was brought here. I had come to resign myself to that life, having moments of relative freedom amongst the world, and had learned that magic still lived in men’s mind and bodies. By entering ones here and there, i was able to awaken it, and make sure they passed it onward, and so magic’s power slowly, secretly, reentered the world. But even that did not free me, not until I was brought here, milady.”
He smiled to her, a brighter thing. “And so you might see why I am very glad to be here, prison or no, for it is a far better prison than I have known for a very long time.”
***
It was a long and intense story, and Lissa would be lying if she said that she understood every word. She didn’t. But she got the big picture, and bit her bottom lip against the feelings and thoughts that it brought forward in her. To be trapped that long in one place, in a cage, unable to move! She couldn’t imagine it. She shuddered at even the thought of it.
“Magic does still live,” she said softly, finally. “It lives among my people, and among humans as well. My dear friend Sydney has strong magic, although she denies it, and she is very human. My magic is...different,” she said carefully. “Damaging. But good magic, nonetheless.”
She was rambling a little, because in all honesty she wasn’t sure what to say. It was an epic tale, and it would take her a long while to take it all in and truly understand. But she was glad that he’d told her.
“How much of the world you must know. I must seem very provincial to you.”
***
“I believe in your magic, milady, and in you. And I think I’ve met Sydney, briefly. I gave her a scare, accidentally, not knowing her thoughts on magic. It was some time ago, now.” He nodded, and listened to her, smiling warmly.
Her words shocked him through and through and he stopped short for a moment, before shaking his head and resuming his walking. “Nay, milady. I do not see you so at all. You are smart, and kind, and wise. You are warm, and loving, and full of hope. Do you know how much all those things mean? More than all the power, and all the wisdom, in all the world.” He waggled a finger at her.
“Your kindness and your warmth give hope, and spread it where there is none. Such a gift is beyond price, milady. Provincial? Hah! You are a queen in ways no worldly potentate would ever understand.”
***
Lissa couldn’t help but blush slightly at that. She had been complimented extravagantly many times by those wanting to win her favor, but this was different. He seemed entirely sincere, and she believed him. He really did think those kind things about her. It warmed her inside in a way she hadn’t felt since Christian. Ah, Christian. He seemed so long ago, and surely he would want her to be happy here. She was fairly certain that she was never going home, and that he was never arriving here.
“You are very kind,” she said softly. “Although I am not a paragon of virtue, either. I have not always made the right decision. I have...hurt people in my life, been cruel on occasion. I have made mistakes, and others have suffered for them.” She looked at him, her eyes filled with intensity. “I try to be good, but I am only a person, like everyone else. I have both strengths and weaknesses. I only try to make my strengths more prominent than my flaws.”
She paused. “And my magic...comes with a darkness. It is a magic of light and life, and so when it is used too often it leaves behind darkness. And it leads me to do things that I…am not proud of.”
Even now, her right hand went to her left wrist, where once she had been forced by the darkness of Spirit to let the pain out physically.
***
Merlin smiled. “I do not call you perfect, milady. Merely amazing.” He winked at her, then sobered. “And someone I am very much honored to know.”
“We all make mistakes, and we all fuck up, to use the modern parlance. I’ve done many wrong things over the years. Sometimes, in the name of the right, sometimes because I was angry, sometimes, just because i messed up. We all make mistakes, and fail.”
He nodded, listening to her.
“I am sorry, milady, for the pain I hear in your voice. I am sorry for how these powers, and weights have hurt you. I wish I knew how to help.” One hand moved, hesitantly, to her hand, on her wrist, and gently enfolded hers there.
***
“They have been good as well,” she said, worried that she would sound ungrateful. While Spirit had brought her trouble, it had also done wonderful things.
“I was able to bring Rose back to life,” she said. “When I was younger, my family was in a terrible car accident. My parents, my brother, and my dearest friend Rose were all killed. I didn’t know about what my magic could do yet, because Spirit was terribly uncommon and hadn’t been seen in generations; they’d stopped teaching about it at St. Vladimir’s. But I took Rose’s hand - lifeless and dead, and when I touched her, the magic in me brought her soul back to her body and she was alive again.”
Tears were streaming down Lissa’s cheeks at the memory of that day, and she wiped them gently away:
“And just a few years ago…” She stopped. “To understand, I will have to explain to you the difference between the vampires in my world. I am Moroi. We are born this way, have souls just like humans, and are mortal. We drink blood only from willing donors and we never, ever kill or seriously injure those we feed from. Actually, there is a drug in our saliva that makes it quite pleasant for them. Then there are the Strigoi. They are what you think of when you hear the word Vampire. They are evil, soulless, dead and immortal. They kill without thought and cause as much pain and despair as possible. They are the monsters that haunt nightmares.”
She shuddered, then continued.
“A few years ago, Rose’s boyfriend was turned by Strigoi while fighting them. He became one of those monsters. And I...with my Spirit magic, I was able to bring him back...to restore his soul.”
***
Listening to her tale made him wince in sympathy. She had been through much, fought much. She was a good person, he thought, and nodded.
“It sounds like you have done your best for others, bent your effort to good use and to good cause. It weighs on you, but you show it well.” He spoke softly, but surely.
“You offer to aid others, and push your power, and your wits to do so. You worry about the darkness, and carry that weight, even as you do your best. To me, my dear lady, that is the sign of someone who is a good person. Striving, even when worried, working, even when afraid. Living, even when there is darkness. “
He licked his lips as they walked.
“It sounds like you have had an amazing life, both good and bad.”
***
She smiled a little, thoughtfully. She did try to be a good person, but it always seemed to her that there was a long way to go; that there was so much more she could do. It never seemed to be enough.
“I…” she stopped. She was going to say that her life had been dull, but that was a lie. She had had an amazing life. She’d been through terrible things, but she’d been through wonderful ones too. She’d loved, she’d cried, she’d lost people dear to her. She’d grown to lead her people, and was struggling to bring them into the modern age. So many people would never get to experience even a fraction of the things that she had.
“I suppose I have. I’ve never thought of it that way, but perhaps it was because of my birth. I was lucky. Many Moroi were not raised at Court, and don’t have the opportunities that I’ve had.”
***
“The true secret of life is seizing what opportunities you have and using them as well as you can. Sometimes, you are born with little and rise to great heights. Sometimes, you never do, and neither are bad lives, or worse ones, just different.”
He smiled.
“And you have made your life, and you give, and care, and show your compassion in your giving and caring.”
He paused, then spoke quieter. “And it inspires me, milady.”
***
Lissa wasn’t sure that she was so inspiring, but it was a kind thing to say. After all, she was only a young girl with limited experience with the world because of her years...no matter how full and fascinating those years might have been.
That was why she still blushed at his flattery, sincere or not.
“You’re very sweet,” she said softly. “But I’m not sure I’m inspiring.”
***
Merlin drug one hand down his face and sighed. “Milady, is it your intent to object to every compliment I give thee, which I will tell thee, I do not do lightly? I ask, simply because I can take that in stride if so.” He raised an eyebrow, curiously, but not sharply. He was honestly curious now.
***
“I don’t mean to,” she said softly. “But you must realize that as Queen, I get a lot of false flattery. I can usually tell it from the sincere...and I know yours is sincere, but it has become my habit to brush it aside. I am...perhaps not the best person to compliment.”
It would be better, perhaps, if he showed it with his actions. That she could not dispute.
***
Merlin nodded as her words sank in. “I understand, I think.” He smiled warmly then, pivoted, and did something he has wanted to do for some time. He kissed her.
It was a brief kids, but a warm and entirely not just friendly kiss.
“Perhaps I can work on ways of showing you how I feel.”
***
Lissa was entirely caught off guard, and because of the brevity of the kiss, didn’t kiss him back. It wasn’t because she didn’t want to, it was because she had frozen in surprise. She blinked several times, cocking her head slightly as she looked at him.
“I - “ She blushed. “Perhaps we could try that again?”
***
Merlin grinned, eyes dancing golden to red to black and back again. “Twould be my pleasure, milady.” He was rather hoping she would react somehow similarly to that. He stepped in front of her, and close, one hand sliding to her hip, the other to entangle in her hair and he bent his head to kiss her, his lips meet hers. It was a slower kiss, and longer, letting her choose when to end it, as he poured his passion and care for her into it.
His lips parted to let his tongue eventually tease at hers, because, well, having finally kissed her, he was ready to kiss her as much as she was ready to be kissed.
***
Lissa kissed him back his time, but kept it soft and pulled back before too long. She had too many things to figure out before she knew for sure if she should be kissing him, but she did like it. Her face was aglow, and she was smiling when she finally looked at him again.
“That, I think, is something I can believe in.”
She paused.
“But we must not rush things.”
***
Merlin smiled softly, lifting one hand to gently touch that glowing face and he nodded, eyes full of warmth. “I would be glad to walk a road of discovery with you. I do not wish to push you, or rush you. I only wish to make you smile.”
He nodded.
***
“I should tell you,” she said softly. “I had a boyfriend back home. His name was Christian, and I cared for him very much. But he isn’t here...and I’ve been here long enough now that I don’t think he will be here. And I know that he would want me to be happy in this place. But I have to make sure it’s right for me to move on,” she said. “So...baby steps.”
She really liked Merlin, but she had to make sure she wasn’t going to regret this all later. She didn’t want to do that to either of them.
***
“Thank you, for telling me.” Merlin nodded, and listened to her more. “Of course. I do not want you to feel pushed, coerced, or hurried.”
He grinned. “You are a good woman, Lissa, and I do believe that. And no matter what happens, no matter if we end up as more, you will never have to fear that my friendship will leave thee.”
Then he waved a hand forward.
“Let us continue, then. To explore, to talk, and to dream.”
***
“I don’t know what the future will bring, but I am going forward open minded,” she said. Honestly, she thought there was at least a decent chance of things working out between them, but she wanted to be as truthful with him as she could. It wasn’t going to happen overnight.
“I’d like that,” she said softly, then took his hand with a smile.”