AN: Hi again! There's a quick mention of torture in one of Marli's memories, but nothing graphic. Be careful and enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fenrys growls quietly, trying to stop himself when he realises what he's doing, and Chaol drops his fork.
"You've been imprisoned underground for two and a half years?" The human nearly yells in surprise.
I wince and see understanding dawn on Rowan's face. "No, she's been in there for half a century, but the last time she was let out was one and a half years ago." He finishes with a questioning look at me and I nod hesitantly.
Chaol's eyes widen, and he blurts out more questions."What did he have you do? Why did he need you for 50 years?" I shiver, and next to me Fenrys glares at his plate with such hatred, the potatoes should be scared for their lives.
Shadows.
Frozen. My body not my own.
It never was.
First Maeve. Blood oath.
Him. Mine.
Shadows. Cold obsidian around my neck.
He raises the whip.
Tell me.
Everything. About them.
It bites into my back. Ripping flesh.
Healed. Again.
Just to live through it all over and over.
Knives. Scars. Healed.
You will break eventually, my pet.
And I did.
Fire. Burns. Healed.
Collar. Wyrdmarks.
A glowing mark.
Shaped like an A.
Extra diagonal line through the middle.
My light.
Soft fluffy white fur.
Snow.
Forest. Pines.
White wolf.
"Marls? It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. We're here to help, but we don't want to pressure you into anything." I give Lorcan a thankful look and Chaol turns red, apologising profusely as Fenrys turns that murderous stare onto him. I rest my hand on top of his on the table and he glances down before meeting my gaze, his eyes softening.
"What's your secondary form?" Aedion butts in, changing the conversation. "I need to imagine you all running through a battle, or flying, sorry Rowan. A hawk, wolf, Fae and..." He smiles at me, and I push my hair behind my ear shyly.
"Snow leopard. Us four large animals would always run ahead to clear the way, Lorcan coming in the clean up any soldiers we'd missed, and Rowan joining in whenever he got bored of scouting." Lorcan snorts and Rowan shakes his head, smiling sadly. "Being look out was boring. I didn't want to miss all the fun. Besides, Lorcan and I did more than just clean up! We couldn't exactly sneak a giant dog or cat into the ranks of soldiers to attack from behind!" He laughs loudly and I grin, seeing Fenrys shaking his head.
"Of course not. So impractical, how could we ever think that!" Dorian rolls his eyes. "It's not like we can also shift and be formidable fae warriors or anything." I add and Lorcan searches my gaze for a second before smiling, happy that I'm comfortable enough for my usual sarcasm shine through. Aedion stares at us all in wonder. My smile drops as I remember that two of them are gone. Fenrys bumps my shoulder and I look up at him. 3 blinks. Are you okay? I blink once and he frowns, blinking 6 times. I narrow my eyes because that was never a signal we agreed upon, yet he still uses it and we both understand what it means. Liar. I don't respond, and he blinks again. 4 times. I am here. I am with you. I give him a grateful smile and turn back to the conversation.
"-has fire, and technically ice and air as well since she can access Rowan's powers, Dorian has raw magic, and you already know theirs." Aedion finishes his list and I give Rowan a cheeky smile. "So, your mate and Carranam is Mab's great granddaughter...?"
Rowan groans and puts his face in his hands. "Leave me alone! We're very, VERY, distantly related." He stresses the word and I laugh, Lorcan raises his eyebrows suggestively, grinning broadly.
I turn to Lysandra and smile. "And you're a shapeshifter?" She throws her hands in the air, and I stiffen, worried the humans didn't already know.
"I don't get how you all know as soon as you see me! I'd hidden it for years and then met these guys and Rowan's like, "You going to steal my form, shapeshifter? Ugh it's unfair!" I relax and smile as Rowan rolls his eyes and points out cheekily. "Smell. Not see. As soon as we smell you. You have a very distinct scent." Dorian laughs and Aedion tries to hide his own in a cough, but Lysandra smacks him lightly on the arm.
"If only I had copied those fangs, just so I could sink them into your trachea. You'd sound a lot nicer if you couldn't speak." She says sweetly and Chaol almost spits out his drink. I watch for Rowan's reaction, but he just smiles again.
"Fair. I've been told I can be quite annoying sometimes." He loudly whispers the second part to me conspiringly and I shake my head. "What, You? Never." He leans back, searches my face for a second and then grins again.
"Anyone else I should know before I see them around?" I ask and Elide chips in happily. "Manon sometimes visits, but normally she's busy ruling." I frown, even though I overheard her asking Dorian about the Crochan Witch before, I still want to know more about her. "Ruling?" I ask and she nods. "She's the Queen of the Crochan's and Ironteeth." My mouth hangs open in shock. How could she be queen of both? They are immortal enemies, the Ironteeth hunted the Crochans to near extinction. Everyone looks at me a bit confused and then remembers that I haven't been around for the past half century. Rowan rushes to explain for me. "Manon unified the witches during the war, she's a descendent of both lines of royalty, so it worked out well."
Rowan grins and stands up from the table, servants coming in to collect the empty plates. I notice they all look at the court adoringly and wear proper attire. Nothing like the rags that Maeve demanded hers wore, the fearful looks sent across the room to each other in warning, the whispers shared before meals so that everyone was prepared for whatever mood the Queen was in.
"Come on. I want to show you around." I stand up and we all walk out of the room. Aedion and Lysandra wave goodbye and elide wanders off, leaving us four legendary warriors of Maeve . But no, none of us are under Maeve's command anymore. The three of them are basically free, sworn to a new, kinder queen. But me, I'm still trapped. I reach up to touch the cold metal around my throat. Maybe if I just tell them, they can get it off. Surely if He's dead, His orders to stay silent are also non-existent.
"I need your help."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What does Marli need help with? Do you think they'll agree to help her? Please vote and comment any feedback you have for me, I really appreciate it.
Xx Tahlia
YOU ARE READING
Slave of Darkness
Fanfiction~~~ Light pours into my cell. I see a shadow. It's him again. But not just him. There's a whispering in my ear but this time I don't shrink away from it. "Who are you?" My voice sounds croaky, quiet even to me. They don't reply. ~~~ Throne of glas...
