[h1][center][i][u]"The Firebird and the Charmer"[/u][/i] [/center][/h1] [center]Trigger warning: dubcon[/center] Taran slipped away from the caravan weIl before it reached the castle, not wanting to talk to anyone, and really, not wanting to return to the castle at all, knowing what would happen in just a few days time. Instead he held back, waiting for the fanfair to die down and for everyone to dissipate before heading inside. After a while, he finally manged to find the nerve to enter the castle. Instead of heading to his room, like he wanted to, he found himself heading to Medusa's study, book in hand. He knocked three times before entering, not really sure what the purpose of his visit was at the moment. [color=708090]"Evening Mistress,"[/color] he said softly, entering the room and closing the door behind him, Medusa looked up the reports she'd been reading, smiling softly as the spied Taran at her door. Setting her spectacles to the side she gestured towards an empty chair. [color=ed1c24]"Taran, how was your trip?"[/color] Taran wasn't sure what to say. How was the trip? He murdered a boy who was only trying to help. He nearly killed Phagora. There were now a thousand blood thirsty voices screaming in his head, telling him to burn nearly everyone he met. And...and he met Alyssa..... But he didn't want to think of that, he didn't think he could even phrase what the ...instance was. [color=708090]"It...It was....eye opening," [/color] he said, choosing not to meet her eyes at that moment. [color=708090]"I was able to finish your books Mistress," [/color] he said, holding up the books she had lent him before. [color=ed1c24]"Eye opening huh?"[/color] Medusa elected not to press Taran for more, at the moment. She wished Taran hadn't gone, but how was she to know he'd find Lorelai just as she was departing? Perhaps she'd been remiss, but there was nothing for that now. [color=ed1c24]"They're quite dense reads aren't they? I promise they grow on you, hopefully you found them insightful at least."[/color] She patted the last empty space on her desk. [color=708090]"From...what I understood, yes, they were very insightful,"[/color] he gave her a small half smile that faded a moment later. [color=708090]"I suppose you are..very busy and I don't want to take more of your time Mistress," [/color] With that he walked towards the door and pulled it halfway open before...stopping. Unsure if he wanted to stay and ask the question that was most bothering him or to simply walk out and hide under his rock. [color=ed1c24]"Speak Taran. Something eats at you."[/color] Medusa's voice was softly encouraging. [color=ed1c24]"Be it a question, or something you want to share. I may be busy, but if I couldn't make time for my covenmates amid my work I wouldn't be much of a leader would I?"[/color] Taran turned back to face Medusa, his mouth opening and then closing it a few times, trying to find a way to make his question come out in a way that one could take meaning from. [color=708090]"Did...Mistress. Did you know...what it is that we faced and sent us...anyway?" [/color] [color=ed1c24]"I had... some idea yes, but not of the specifics."[/color] Medusa sighed in legitimate sadness. Her finest blunder, acting in haste instead of trusting Lorelai in something the woman knew better than she did. [color=ed1c24]"I knew Reyna wouldn't part with the knowledge willingly, but to the magnitude of the threat? I'm not a seer, but perhaps I should have been more mindfull of the Ruvina matriarch's reputation. Our sisters where dying though, what else could I have done?"[/color] [color=708090]" I...I don't know Mistress,"[/color] said Taran, he wasn't sure what he hoped to gain by asking his question, only that he didn't get what ever it was he was looking for. [color=708090]"If you don't mind Mistress, I'd like to ....go to bed, I'm not used to road travel," [/color] With that, Taran pushed the door open and walked out. [color=ed1c24]"Good night Taran."[/color] Medusa whispered to an empty room. [hr] [sub]Hours later.[/sub] Alyssa strolled through the darkened hallways of the castle in seach of Taran. The boy had slipped away quietly during all the commotion of their arrival, which was annoying, but a very Taran-like thing to do. Her familiar sniffed the ground in front of her, a small black dog Uriel was good for tracking and little else. She let out a frustrated snarl. Make a friend, just to find out they would be joining Medusa. Her luck wasn't holding up all that well. Between that and Lorelai and Lotte getting along so damned famously she was getting the distinct feeling of being left out in the cold. Taran couldn't do that to her though, she wouldn't let him. Uriel stopped in front of one of the many, identical, wooden doors in the long hallway that made up the witch's dormitories. Alyssa didn't even bother with knocking, pushing open the door and stepping inside. [color=2e3192]"Taran, pet. I've brought some wine and my troubles, you'll be enjoying both tonight."[/color] Taran had been trying to sleep. And by trying, it was more like...replaying everything that had been said to him over the past few days, about... what side to pick or not pick. And that was only to keep his mind from thinking of...Alyssa, who always seemed to be creeping into the shadows of his thoughts. He had just banished another thought of her when his door slammed open and the devil appeared. He lept from his bed, taking his blanket up from the bed to cover his bare chest. [color=708090]"I...don't drink. Get out," [/color] he said, his voice started out low and almost like a growl, but cracking slightly towards the end. [color=2e3192]"Excellent, more for me then."[/color] Alyssa flopped into the desk-chair that each room contained, ignoring the second part of Taran's utterance. She survyed his troubled face, frowning slightly. [color=2e3192]"What's gotten to you?"[/color] She poured the first of many glasses of wine she intended to drink that night. [i]You. The war. You. The voices. You [/i] [color=708090] "Nothing," [/color] he said, glaring at her from his far away corner spot, he was slowly trying to inch away from her, closer to the door. If only to stop from feeling so trapped. Not that he wanted to leave. This was...his space. [color=708090]"I'll t-tell you again....get out," [/color] although his voice was slowly losing what little confidence it had. It sounded closer to begging. [color=2e3192]"This room's in some serious need of decoration Taran."[/color] Alyssa drained the glass and began pacing the small room. Her hand traced the sparce bookshelf, his desk. She looked at the bare floor and walls. Turning back to her spot she poured yet another glass. [color=2e3192]"Maybe you wouldn't be so glum of you had some pretty things to look at hmm? A rug here, some figurines maybe. I dunno, seems to be a waste to have your own space and not fill it up yes?"[/color] [color=708090]"I'm not..glum," [/color] he said, defensively. He was at the difficult part now, where he'd have to slide just past to woman to be on the side closest to the door. [color=708090]" What is it that you want Alyssa," [/color] he finally said, [color=708090]"Besides .I've already given you what you wanted.[/color] [color=2e3192]"[i]'What is it that you want Alyssa'[/i]"[/color] Alyssa puppeted in a mocking imitation of Taran. [color=2e3192]"I'm just looking for company Taran. Now stop being glum, which you are, and start holding up your end of the conversation before I get nasty. So, what's up?"[/color] [color=708090]"I don't want to talk to you! [/color] he said, shouting, not because it would help, but because it would make him feel better. [color=708090]"Why don't you go ...drink with your sister, or Al, or anyone else? I'm sure they'd love to talk to you," [/color] [color=2e3192]"Al is busy doing my sisters damned bidding, same with Phag, and Liz. Lorelai herself is of course in mourning and entirely too busy playing with Lotte."[/color] Alyssa's voice was low and dangerous, her eyes narrowed into malevolent slits. [color=2e3192]"Oh, right, the other friend I made I may have to kill in a few weeks too. So tell me Taran... do you think you have sole claim on a bad week?"[/color] She trembled with a mixture of rage and sorrow. Taran almost felt sorry for her, almost. But then he rememeber why he wanted to get away from her. [color=708090]"Well, I am sorry you've had a bad week and you don't have any friends but...that doesn't mean...I-I care okay?" [/color] He had managed to by pass her and was now slowly backing away towards the door. [color=2e3192]"Yeah... I guess I can understand that. I mean, here I am right? Tormenting you instead of spending time with the family I've searched for nearly a decade for."[/color] Alyssa took a seat, bypassing her glass in favor of the bottle. She drained nearly half of it before continuing, her voice trembling. [color=2e3192]"Now Lorelai's off to war, I wonder if I'll ever just get to talk to her like I dreamed... or if she'll die before I get the chance."[/color] She sighed. [color=2e3192]"Give me some time to compose myself then Taran, and I'll leave you alone. I'll just roam the hallways with my thoughts for company."[/color] Taran stared at the girl. He had to keep reminding his heart that she had wrong him...or...it was all very confusing. But he did not, no matter what, he shouldn't...let the fact that he pitied her play in part in how he treated her. All the same. [color=708090] "Fine... a few minutes," [/color] he said, reaching down to pick up his wayward shirt and pull it over his frame. [color=2e3192]"Thanks."[/color] Alyssa wiped a stray tear from her cheek. Before the silence in the room could get too deep she spoke. [color=2e3192]"So... what is troubling you? I mean... aside from me."[/color] [color=708090]"Nothing I care to share with you,"[/color] grumbled Taran, pacing the room slightly. [color=2e3192]"Come on Taran, I'm not gonna tell anyone. You might as well get it off your chest."[/color] Alyssa took another pull from her bottle. [color=2e3192]"It's the least I can do right?"[/color] [color=708090]"If I was going to talk to anyone, it wouldn't be you,"[/color] he said again. His mind flashing towards Sam, then Phag, then...what Medusa said. The voices were easy to ignore, they were only whispering right now. [color=708090]"But....I killed...someone and...it wasn't just," [/color] he said, saying what he felt was the safest thing to discuss. After all, mostly everyone knew what he had done already. [color=2e3192]"Your first?"[/color] Alyssa nodded in commiseration. [color=2e3192]"Some witches play it tough. I mean... sometime's killing is part of the job. Either to save yourself or... for a myriad of reasons really. The worst is when they're a bystander, caught up in something they hadn't earned... I'm sorry Taran."[/color] [color=708090]"Y-you're the first person who said that,"[/color] he said, looking at her. [color=708090]"Mostly everyone else likes to go on and on about how I had no choice or how is was my duty or how I saved my sisters. What they don't understand is that...well. I did have a choice and I choice me over them,"[/color] [color=2e3192]"It's always a choice. I hate that talk of duty."[/color] Alyssa scoffed. [color=2e3192]"But, for what it's worth, I think you made the right one. Not all the choices we get to make are good ones. Killing's always amongst the worst."[/color] [color=708090]"I take it you know about that?[/color] Taran had stopped his pacing, and was now standing at the foot of his bed. [color=708090]"Do...do you think you can leave now? Please?"[/color] He wanted to [i]tell[/i] her to get out, but it didn't quite come out right. [color=2e3192]"More than I'd like to yes... Von'Strausses are hunted like animals, for the sins of our mothers."[/color] Alyssa stood, wobbling on her drunken feet. [color=2e3192]"I hope you don't get forced with that choice again, but with the current climate I'm not sure it'll do any good. My sister and Bloodrose are determined to kill each other after all, with us caught in the middle."[/color] She stumbled slowly towards the door. [color=708090] "I thought if any was stuck to one side of the war, that'd be you,"[/color] He said, taking a slight step back to give her as much access to the door as possibly. Taran then paused, looking at Alyssa, then figuring it was as good of time as any to ask [color=708090]"You're not...pregnant...are you?"[/color] He silently prayed the answer was no. [color=2e3192]"Well... I should be. The fertility spell took root after all."[/color] Alyssa mumbled audibly. She turned to Taran, a strange glint in her eye. [color=2e3192]"Why? Are you hoping for a bouncing baby boy?"[/color] [color=708090]"Not with you,"[/color] he said, snappishly. He felt his stomach grow hollow at the thought. Could he really leave any child of his with...her. Boy or girl? And could he really stand to be around it, knowing that a part of it was Alyssa.[color=708090]"Perhaps with my wife yes, when this all just a...forgotten...memory,"[/color] He said finally. Alyssa's eyes flared in anger as her mind regained focus. Bile rose to her throat as her mind formulated a fitting punishment for his numerous insults. Dominating the boy's body hadn't been enough had it? Then his heart and mind would be next. Alyssa roused Yserora from her slumber in her flesh. Yserora, the Maven, made an orchestra of the heart strings of mortals. [color=2e3192]"It's too bad I'll never be anything other than that mistake you made isn't it?"[/color] Alyssa drew close enough to pat Taran's cheek, grinning in pleasure as Yserora jumped gleefully across their brief connection. This would be punishment enough. Taran knew what was coming the moment Alyssa's hand came towards his face. He remembered the way his body hungered for her's more than words could explain. The lost of control, He reached out his hand and grabbed at her arm, the only part of his body that managed to call fourth his fire, leaving an angry hand-print burn on her skin before another shadow lept into his skin. [color=708090]"W-what did you do?"[/color] he demanded as he clawed at his own skin, trying to get the thing off of him.. But it was too late. He closed his eyes waiting for emotions and wants that didn't belong to him to start forming. Alyssa hissed as her flesh burned, her anger boiling over as she examined the angry red imprint left behind. [color=2e3192]"You thought... with everything I made you do. That it would be wise to treat me so?"[/color] Alyssa tittered madly. [color=2e3192]"You should know not to play so carelessly with fire by now Taran."[/color] She sang to Yserora in Dragon's Tongue. A sweet, yet poisonous love song. One born of chains and bondage, with no escape in sight. Alyssa wanted Taran to weep before defying her again, and wouldn't be satisfied until it was so. Taran could feel...something inside of him. It almost purred as Alyssa spoke words he couldn't understand. Then the something sunk [i]into[/i] him until he couldn't tell himself from the thing. After a few moments passed, Taran still didn't open his eyes. He had a feeling and a fear about what he would do or...feel when he opened them and saw Alyssa. [color=2e3192]"Taran?... I'm cold."[/color] Alyssa said with a faux whimper as her lips curled into a pout. [color=2e3192]"Would you... warm me up?"[/color] Taran shook his head, trying to block out her voice. But ever her soft words threw his heart into a flutter and sent butterflies skittering through his stomach and left him with a vauge, untraceable happiness that caused a stupid smile to creep onto his face. Without his concent, his eyes shot open and he saw her. seeing her was a thousand times stronger than her voice alone and in a moment, he felt himself walking over to her. Taking her face in his hands, he looked down at her. [color=708090] "You're freezing,"[/color] he agreed, reaching down to take her hands, noticing the burn on her arm, he felt a thousand spears of guilt his him at once for causing her pain. [color=708090]"I've hurt you!"[/color] he cried, [color=708090]"I am so, so, so sorry,"[/color] Alyssa smirked. [color=2e3192]"Yes, you have Taran."[/color] She pulled away and moved to sit on the edge of his bed. [color=2e3192]"What will you do to make it up to me? If I ever decide to forgive you that is?"[/color] Taran sunk down to his knees as he approached Alyssa, looking up at her from the floor below.[color=708090]"Anything, anything to make this right,"[/color] he said, his voice filled with sorrow. [color=708090]"I... I know I don't burn, but...surely there is something else you could do to me? Or...Or anything Alyssa, please, please, please forgive me,"[/color] Alyssa grinned. She had plenty of ideas, and all night to try each of them. She hiked up her skirt. [color=2e3192]"I think I know where you can start."[/color]