A Love Beyond Time// Eternals Druig fanfic

Chapter 9: Reunion

Present day.

Artemis didn't have a lot of time to think about what she was going to say when she saw him again. Her mind was racing and she couldn't think straight at all.

"Artemis, are you okay?" Sersei's voice seemed far off. She could only nod.

Before she knew it, she was back in the overgrown ruins of a village that she seemed to know off by heart. She kept quiet as the others led the way into the forest. Even it seemed so familiar.

They were walking for about an hour when they reached a clearing in the middle of the forest. Although it had grown in size, Artemis was sure she had been here before.

"This can't be," she whispered, more to herself than anyone else. Kingo and Sprite looked back at her, worriedly.

"Perhaps you should go wait in the village," Sprite suggested and Artemis frowned. She looked at Sprite, almost completely convinced of her hand in the whole situation.

"No," was all she said, before moving on.

Artemis had moved only a few more yards, completely flabbergasted at what she was seeing.
A whole community living in the clearing.

She vaguely heard Sprite ask one of the people living there whether they knew where Druig was. And to Artemis's horror, the man answered with bright yellow eyes.

"Hello Sprite," he said.

Artemis whipped around so fast she tripped and fell backwards. A door was opening some way to her right and out came the very man she had dreamed about for centuries.

He looked as good as ever, as he walked out of his cabin, looking at each of them in turn. When his gaze found hers, Artemis wondered if he was looking at her with shock or hatred.

She suddenly found herself wondering what he must have thought when she didn't find him. Did he look for her as she had searched for him.

"Artemis," he said slowly, seemingly forgetting about the others as he walked forward. He held out his hand for her to take. She did and he helped her to her feet.

He didn't say anything else to her as he turned to walk back to his cabin. Artemis found herself mesmerised as she followed him.

"Please," he said gesturing to the others. "Make yourselves at home."

The others all followed him inside, but Artemis couldn't bring herself to follow. She found herself sitting on the steps in front of the room they all entered and stared at her hands.

"This can't be," she said softly to herself, looking at the clearing. "Why would Sprite do this?"

She was sure now, more than ever that Sprite had interfered. But why?

Artemis sat, staring around for a good while longer before she whispered to herself again.

"Why would you intervene in me finding him Sprite?" She asked softly, unaware that Druig had re-emerged from the room behind her.

"I was right here. I was right here, and I couldn't see him."

Druig was staring at her. He had dreamed about seeing her for so long, he could hardly believe his eyes when he saw her earlier. She was here.

He listened to her muttered, seeing her look around the clearing and repeating her mutterings. He frowned. As angry as he was at the thought of her abandoning him all those years ago, he couldn't bring himself to hate her.

"Artemis," he said softly. It pained him to see her flinch as he said her voice. She looked back at him, slightly fearful. His eyes softened and he took a seat next to her.

"How have you been?" He asked, not knowing where to begin. Artemis was sitting staring wildly around at the clearing before she burst out in tears.

"Woah, hey," he said, immediately moving closer to her as she sobbed. He pulled her into his chest, smelling the familiar smell of her hair as he did. "Its alright."

They sat there for a while, not even noticing the others move off into different areas of the camp. After a while, Artemis's sobs turned into hiccups and finally she sniffed, pulling away from him.

She was startled to see that he had been crying silently too.

"I'm sorry," she said, furiously wiping her eyes. Druig shook his head.

"I should have-.." she broke off. "I was right here-... why couldn't I reach you?"

"What?" Druig asked frowning slightly. "What do you mean?"

Slowly and through a lot of hiccups and sniffles, Artemis recounted the story of her search for him. He sat listening silently and intently as she did. When she told him about screaming when she gave up the search, he stirred.

"I heard you," he said. Artemis looked at him. Her wide and puffy red eyes urgently trying to understand. "I searched for you, every day that week. I knew you wouldn't leave me on purpose, but with each passing day I lost hope."

"On the seventh day of searching for you, I thought about giving up. But something told me to search for you one more time."

"So I searched again, heading further into the forest, when I heard you scream."

Artemis uttered a soft gasp as he recounted how he sped through the woods as fast as he could, how he now felt stupid for not trying to search the village again. He told her about finding the spot where she had fallen, and she hiccuped again.

"If I just stayed there a while longer," she said as a new wave of tears overcame her.

Druig sighed as he pulled her into him again, softly kissing the top of her head. When she calmed down again, she pulled away, not looking at him.

"You must have hated me," she said staring at her feet. "You must hate the sight of me now."

"No," he said and he cupped her face. She leaned into him before opening her eyes to look at him again. "No, my beautiful, beautiful Artemis. You're as beautiful as the day I lost you."

Artemis whimpered slightly, but there were no more tears to come out. She sat, hugged to his side for a few minutes in silence, listening to his steady heartbeat when she remembered.

She told him about her theory of Sprite creating an illusion to keep them apart. He wouldn't laugh at her. His frown deepened as she finished her story, wondering if she sounded crazy.

Druig looked over to where Sprite was standing, leaning against a tree.

"It makes sense," he nodded. "But why would she do such a thing."

"I don't know," Artemis admitted. "But she told me on the plane ride over here about how she had hoped I would find them and reunite everyone again."

Druig frowned once more, keeping his arm firmly wrapped around her middle. He opened his mouth to speak again, when they heard Ikaris yell. Sersei came sprinting into the clearing with a deviant landing on a cabin roof opposite them.

"Shit," Artemis heard Druig say. Before he jumped up and disappeared into the room behind them.