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I grunted in pain and put a hand over my arm. I had almost forgotten that Erik had slashed my arm in the Realm of Dreams; thank Poseidon that Jetsam soon came over to me with bandages. As he was dressing my wound, I heard a voice in the back of my head. "You have awakened," it said, and I knew that it was Erik bursting with pride for his student.
"Anastasia." I turned and there was Flotsam by my side, holding my hand. "I have something to tell you."
I knew he wouldn't have been by my side unless I had called him over when my soul was wandering in the dream world. "What did I say when I was in the Realm of Dreams? Erik said something about his great-great grandson not holding back on me, but I have no idea what he meant."
"Erik Legrange spoke to you?!"
"In the Realm of Dreams, anything can happen."
"That means you heard from him personally about his legacy."
I was confused. I had thought that he was tragically destined to remain a broken-hearted bachelor forever and always. Now, here was all this nonsense about him having a bloodline. "Legacy?"
Flotsam lowered his voice so Jetsam wouldn't hear. "I should explain. While you were still asleep, you told me about the Angel of Music's gift to Christine. She was carrying a child when she left him, and her teacher had given her this gift in the hopes of thinning his fae blood. The child, instead of having 1/4 fae blood when it was born, was 3/4 fae."
"They must have had mutual affections for each other for that to happen. Most fae, even a half-blood like Erik, refuse to fall in love with the mortals who lust for them."
"That's exactly what you said. You also said that all of his descendants, who were sons for some reason or other, married fae women. They were all exceptionally handsome, but it was his great-great grandson who most related to his ultimate forebearer.
"He inheirited his great-great grandfather's voice as well as his ability to turn music into magic. (That would explain why the music had hypnotized me in G-clef Cave.) Sadly though, you said he inheirited Erik Legrange's looks as well."
"Who is this person?" (I was curious, even though I felt that I already knew the answer.)
"Erik (Lelouch) Phoenix Legrange."
I was astonished, even though I had guessed what he was going to tell me. My hands flew to my neck, groping for the locket to tug on to reassure myself. My hands found nothing there and I started to get scared. Lelouch was actually related to the man I had intially thought him to be.
A sudden light appeared behind Flotsam and Jareth rematerialized behind him. "You knew," I said with an accusing look. "You knew all this time."
"Yes, and I am sorry that I didn't tell you sooner," Jareth replied. "Well, better late than never."
My boys and I sat silent as he told us his story. "It was many years ago, when all of you were still children most likely. I was young and restless. (What? He didn't look young now? Then again, fae can appear to be whatever age they choose.) I was still just getting used to the kingdom I had inheirited from my father. 'A king never has any fun' seemed to be the core of what I had been taught, so I thought I'd shake things up a bit.
"I had snuck out of the palace in disguise; no one would notice another business man in the big city. It felt exhilarating to be among other mortals instead of boring old fae. I had never felt so free.
"I also had never been so apalled by the violence that mortals were capable of until I came across a small boy, beaten and cowering in a corner of a dark alley. I could immediately tell that he was at least partial fae because of the sparkle in his eyes. He flinched when I approached him, hugging his teddy bear more tightly. 'Are you going to hurt me too?' he asked. When I made to touch his face, he said, 'It's okay. Everyone does this to me. Why should you be any different? I'm a monster you know.'
"I could not believe that human filth had done this to my own kin. (Even though some fae turn up their noses at half-blooded or partial fae, they are still considered cousins.) He was definitely not a monster, even though the left side of his face would suggest otherwise. He had faded out of consciousness after he had called himself a monster, so I pressed my hand into his and brought us back to the palace. My freedom would have to wait; this child needed help. (I always knew that he had had a soft spot for children, but I didn't think he was that soft. If it had been me, Lelouch would have been as good as dead by now.)
"The boy did not wake for three whole days. I had stayed by his side, despite my servants' questions about where I had been, refusing food, drink, or rest until he recovered. 'So, you finally decided to wake up,' I said as I got up from the chair I had been dozing off in, unintentionally of course. (The look on his face as he said it told me he hadn't fallen asleep on accident.)
"He had wandered into my study, probably half-convinced my palace was all a dream. The beating of his frightened heart had woken me; in-between the sound and my disappearing sleep, I had seen all that he had been through, all that he had suffered without saying a word to anyone. This was truely a remarkable child; I decided that I would teach him everything that I knew in order to help him get by in an unforgiving world.
"He handed me a locket, the very same locket that you came across in studying the documents from Zero and Kaname. (No wonder he had seemed so interested, and yet so scared, when he had seen it.) He wanted me to read the inscription on it for he couldn't read himself; it was his mother's first gift to him, and her last since she had abandoned him after she had given it to him. You already know what the inscription said [see Ch.16], and after I read those words to him, he retreated to his room without another word and cried for the rest of the day.
"The years passed like days. I taught him the essentials, reading, writing and the like, but he seemed to have a real fetish for the playing and composition of music. He had begun writing an opera when he was five years old; I found the score for it when I had searched among his few belongings deciding what could be kept and what would have to be replaced. (What a prying person Jareth is!)
"Music would not get him anywhere though if he didn't have a dangerous personality to go with his dark compostions, so I taught him the art of seduction. I think I may have taught him too well for soon fae women, even the married ladies of the court, began swooning at the slightest mention of his name. He had never mentioned his true name, so I had decided on the name Lelouch for him because of its mysterious nature and eccentric sound, just like him. (It would make sense since Lelouch's ultimate forebearer had earned the title of "The Seducer" from me when I was 14.)
"One day when he was walking around without his mask, which he insisted on wearing even when I was around, a plane crashed on the outer edge of the city we were visiting in the mortal world. He didn't give too many details when he came back that night, but I had seen soldiers rush off towards the crash sight and had heard gunfire a short time later. He also tried to hide his face from me, something he didn't do often since I was okay with his appearance, but I thought I glimpsed a red bird in his left eye. That is all I can tell you of him for he left me, under of cover of darkness, that same night. I never saw him again."
Flotsam had tensed up a few times when Jareth had been telling his story, and did I catch a glimpse of anger in his eyes when he finished? Jetsam sat still and stared, and I looked up at him with confusion in my eyes. The "Old-Persian" figure had finally come clean and still so many unanswered questions remained as Jareth turned into an owl and flew out of my grotto. "I still haven't said what I wanted to tell you," said Flotsam as he accompanied me to my bedroom.
"What is it Flotsam?" I asked when we stopped at the door.
"I was talking with Jetsam the day you set out underneath the waves. You cause me to lose my train of thought every I look at you."
"Excuse me for being so distracting," I said, annoyed.
"That's not what I meant. My feelings get all in a jumble whenever you speak to me."
"Excuse me for being so talkative."
"No, that's not it either. I don't know how to tell you what I feel in the way Jareth would, with fancy words and love songs, so I'll just go ahead and say it."
Wait. Did he say love songs? Was this why he glared jealously at Jareth whenever he was in the same room with him? "What are you saying?"
"I... I... I love you."
Neither of us said anything after that. I went into my room and he went back to sleep in the pool. I fell asleep that night happy, confused, and worried. One of my henchmen had fallen in love with me.
 srs diva 2011 xxl · Mon Mar 16, 2009 @ 04:03am · 3 Comments |
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