WHO: Eliot Waugh, Margo Hanson WHEN: Margo's update day, March 6th WHERE: Margo's suite. WHAT: Margo has news for Eliot. TRIGGER WARNINGS: Talk of infant death, difficult pregnancy, attempted rape of a ship.
______________
While the first thing Eliot had done when he'd received his memories the prior week was search for Quentin, which had felt overwhelmingly important in the moment, the very next thing he had done was sought out Margo. He'd had the rush of concern over whether she'd gained memories of all that had happened and as to whether or not she'd been altered in this reality. When he'd reached her, and he'd seen that she was whole and intact and safe, he'd been quietly grateful. He didn't want that for her in their world nor in this one. And he wasn't able to prevent it there, and technically he couldn't prevent it here, but he'd at least been comforted in knowing that hadn't been the case here.
So, upon glancing at his network and seeing Margo's post, he didn't even wait to hear anymore. He'd responded, of course, but he had been out the door and on his way immediately. He didn't know how far her memories were out now but she evidently knew more than she had the day prior. And with her memories came the physical alteration. It made his blood boil and the typical feelings of hate and loathing for the Faerie Queen came rushing back to him with ease. They hadn't really gone away. They'd just been placed dormant inside of him for the time being.
He was at her door quickly and he wasn't kept waiting long after knocking before the door to the suite opened. He entered, turned, and looked to Margo.
She was going to be strong and regal and everything a High Queen of Fillory, Margo the Fucking Destroyer, was supposed to be. She had her head held up high, her chin tilted upward, and that expression that clearly meant that Margo was judging everything and quietly plotting her next four moves.
The Fairie Queen had taken them all for a goddamn ride. There'd been a moment when she'd thought she was coming around, when Margo didn't want to let Muntjac get raped by a pirate ship that was horny for her, but that was immediately remedied when she'd poisoned one of the court member's brains to drive him crazy. When she wanted Margo's eyeball back so she could continue to spy on them.
Margo was waiting in front of the door when he knocked so she pulled it open and all that anger and resolve melted away into the need to just hold him. Having months and months of memories crammed into your head and the final one being Eliot's horrified face as they were dragged from their carriage brought out that vulnerable side she rarely let anyone see. Eliot was the only exception so she rushed to him and buried herself against his chest.
One look was all it took for his arms to open and be ready to receive her in them. He'd even taken steps to meet her half way, effectively catching her, as his arms came round to fold against her from. One hand remained placed against her back while the other found its way to cradle her head. And he craned his neck down, his head tilting, so he could press his lips against the top of her head, before he turned his head and rested his cheek in the same spot for the time being.
"I've got you, Bambi," he whispered. He didn't know what memories she had now. She might be caught up with him and Q. She might be still lagging behind. Or she might be further along. It was anyone's guess at this moment. Regardless of what memories she did have, he could only imagine how traumatic it was for her to have went to bed the night before with both eyes in tact and to wake up with only one, plus the rush of memories. His own rush the week prior had nearly caused him to have a full on panic attack before he'd been able to focus on the memories that could calm him in that space.
He didn't think this was the case for Margo. Everything that he knew at this point wasn't spectacular for Margo. And the hope he'd mentioned to Kylo when he'd recounted all of the events? Seeing Margo was enough to make him doubt any faith he'd put in that word, because his gut was telling him there was something here that he didn't already know. Her words before he'd reached the door had made that even more likely.
He wasn't going to rush her. He knew she would tell him soon. Until she did, he would keep her in his arms for as long as she wanted to be there.
This was usually the place she felt safe. The rush of memories (and the lack of peripheral vision) had tainted that for the time being, but she didn't move. Her brain was still turning over how she was going to explain any of what she knew to him. What she had to tell him was going to break his heart, and if Fen turned up here…
She'd kept the fairy deal from Eliot, and that has backfired spectacularly. She'd only made it because the fairies promised they could fix the wellspring. They never said anything about controlling them forever after that was done. The fucked up thing is that Margo knew better than to make a desperate bargain. They never ended well for the one asking for the deal. She should know; she was used to being on the other side of a deal.
"The fairies are using FIllory to incubate their eggs. Hundreds — maybe thousands — more fairies in our kingdom." That was a good start. She could explain the blackmail, which lead to the revelation.
He still kept his embrace around her but with her words, his gaze turned upwards, looking to the ceiling with a visible shift of frustration. For a moment he closed his own eyes, letting that piece of information settle in his mind, before he opened his eyes again.
"Fantastic," he muttered, tone dripping with sarcasm. Hundreds more faeries sounded like an army. They were already under faerie occupation, but this had been able to occur because the monarchy from Earth had lost their most valuable resource. With magic gone, and Fillory still in turmoil from the decades before they'd shown up, it had been easy. If they regained magic, they had a chance of getting their kingdom back. But an army would make that feat even more difficult. Even with magic.
Margo blew out a slow, tentative breath as she worked to gain her courage. She'd remembered the feverish attempt to steal as many of those damn mushroom eggs as she could so she could use it to make a different kind of deal with the Faerie Queen. She wanted that bathtub, and the bathtub would be given to the people of Fillory which meant everyone would be able to see them. She hadn't counted on the revelations from that bargain.
Here and now she tightened her grip around Eliot, because the worst was still to come.
"We stole some of the eggs, planned to use them as hostages to get them to leave. Wanted leverage against her. Fray betrayed us and told her so the queen tried to use her against us. I don't think she counted on Fray feeling betrayed and told the truth." Margo pulled away, just her face, to look up at him. "Eliot, I'm so sorry. Fray is not your daughter."
Eliot's gaze dropped back down to Margo when the grip tightened. He was used to the closeness. They used to always seek one another out for comfort and stability. Even if that wasn't happening on a day to day basis anymore, it was still an ingrained part of him, and he knew that something was indeed wrong and worse. Instinctively, his hand began to stroke at her hair.
With her initial words, he nodded along. That made sense. Leverage was something they could definitely use. And it was only when she mentioned his daughters name that his hand stilled. They'd been aware of that probability. He'd been keeping Fray at an arm's length to prevent such an action.
His hand dropped down entirely from her hair with the final bit and his stomach gave a pitfall. He met Margo's gaze and his face reflected a sense of immediate concern and an attempt at masked disappointment. "Oh, God. Fen." This was going to send her reeling.
His face scrunched up for a moment as he brought a hand up to swipe at his hair. "I had hoped we were wrong on that, Margo," he confided, not even realizing that there could potentially be more.
"I know, honey." He'd tried so hard not to feel responsible for her, to not let her under his skin, but she knew that Fray had. He'd come around over time, and with Fen's insistence… Well, they were beginning to feel like a family. Fen and Fray had gone to New York City together, had bonded and maybe that was why even Margo raged when she heard the next bit of news.
Margo reached up and cupped the side of his face. She took his other hand in hers. She was upset, but nothing was more important to her than being there for Eliot. Especially with this next news. "There's no easy way to say this, and no matter how I try to soften it… Your daughter… didn't make it out of childbirth."
It felt like a disappointment, because El had generally come to like her, even with his foresight and knowledge. And he had spent years in Fillory's past thinking about how he'd really try to be there for Fen and Fray if he and Quentin ever returned home; even though he had been fixed on living the life they had there. They didn't leave his mind entirely. And knowing how Fen had been before Fray had even been introduced to them...he didn't want that to be where she slipped back to. Worry was already growing inside of him, and Margo's words felt like genuine sympathy. He thought he could manage that revelation.
But then her hand was on his cheek and she had stolen his attention back to the present and this moment. Even before she spoke, dread was filling inside of him. His eyes were searching her expression. And when she said the words aloud, his lips parted, as if he could say anything at all in that moment.
Instead, a small sound escaped from the back of his throat.
He'd spent the better part of a year trying to find a way to get back to Fen's side so he could protect her and their daughter. He had so many different plots for travel between realities. All with the goal of bringing them here. And he had the memories now of his behavior back home. Of the dismissive attitude he'd given Fen at the announcement, born out of his own fear of being like his Father, and how it had taken him far too long to show Fen any support. She had been a good mother from the moment the rabbits made the announcement; but he hadn't been a good Father in the beginning. He hadn't been a good partner.
But he had tried to turn that around. He had declared them his priorities and he wanted a better Fillory for his daughter. He had wanted to get back to Fen and Fray. He'd wanted his family.
His chest rose and fell as the gravity of the words began to sink in. He took a step back and his eyes were locked onto her. "Margo…" he spoke out, almost in a pleading tone, as if begging for it not to be true.
His eyes moved past her and looked off in the distance as he thought of Fen. And then his eyes swam.
"I know." Her own throat was tight, but she knew that expression, and it was the one she was dreading. She hated being the bearer of bad news, and maybe Kady had been right. Maybe he hadn't lived it yet, so it was okay not to tell him. But Margo couldn't do that to Eliot, not with the lie of omission with the fairy deal, and she felt, in a way, responsible for the infant's death. Maybe if she hadn't made the deal, Fen would have been in Fillory to have the baby. They had Dean Fogg who knew a shitload of magic.
Margo knew that he was going to need to sit down before he completely broke so she grabbed his hands and pulled him with her to one of the couches. She hoped that Strange didn't come back during this, because she would hex the holy fucking shit out of him without explanation if he did.
Eliot would let Margo lead him anywhere during the best of moments and thus there was no protest from the man. He allowed for himself to be pulled down by her side and for a few short moments, he was trying to keep it entirely together, to be the strong leader. But there was no Kingdom here that needed him to put aside his own feelings. His wife wasn't here for him to focus on. All the usual people he'd put before himself, and bury his own feelings for, were not presently by his side. It was simply Margo and Margo didn't need for him to put on a show. He didn't need to be strong in this moment for Margo. And so, without necessarily even realizing he was doing so, he shifted upon the couch from sitting up right to sliding down. He laid his head down in her lap and breathed out the tightness in his throat. And by doing so allowed for the first crushing sound of his sobs to escape from him.
And though he was laying against Margo, who made him feel safe and loved in moments where his emotions got the better of him, all he could think was how desperately he wanted his wife. Without Fen there, however, he turned upon his side and moved his arms to wrap around Margo's form, burying his face against her waist with no intent to move anytime soon. There was a part of him that knew he needed to ask her more, to find out what else was going on at home, and eventually he'd get around to finding a way to ask. But for now? For now he just held onto her and let his grief pour out from him.