Monk of Jade and Light

Schyuler learns the truth of her father’s passing and her old friend’s *obsession*. 

Song: You’ll Be Back from Hamilton. (X)

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Maxwell chuckled with a sinister grin as he slowly stood from his throne, just as Schyuler Braveheart and Wrathion pushed open the large oak wood doors, storming into the keep’s throne room. “I take it, the cat’s out of the bag?”

There was a fire in Schyuler’s eyes as her footsteps were quicker than that of the human disguised dragon. The radiant power of the chi shining at her palms. 

Wiloh saw this and stepped forward, her hand reaching for her staff that was situated on her back, with Maxwell raising a hand, silently commanding her to stand down. 

“You diabolical liar!” The monk pointed an accusing finger at the man. “You lied to me about everything!”

He tisked, shaking his head at the woman. “I wouldn’t say that I lied, more like sugarcoated a little here and there,” 

“Really?” There was an edge in her voice as Schyuler stepped closer. “So you sugarcoated the fact that instead of coming down with an incurable illness, you murdered my father to take the throne, and sent out an assassin to hunt my mother and I for sport?!” 

“Those are the consequences when defying my command,” Maxwell responded with a stern look, as if he were lecturing a child. “I tried to explain to her that with my upcoming plans, you would be safer here on the island at my side, not out there with those barbarians,” 

Wrathion could sense that her emotions would explode and throw all caution to the wind as he just caught Schyuler’s wrist, holding her back from doing something she’d regret. “Did such plans include building an army to invade all of Azeroth and enslave innocents?” 

“Those barbarians are my family, my friends,” She spat. “They’ve treated me far better than you ever did when we were children,” 

“Better than me? I did everything to keep you safe, and to make you happy, to ensure your loyalty to me!” Maxwell stated as he slammed the end of his staff to the ground.

Lightning cracked at the ceiling of the throne room, startling the pair as Wrathion was suddenly pulled back from Schyuler, the lightning taking the form of chains at his wrists as they pulled and slammed him against the marble wall. 

“Wrathion!” Schyuler called out to him as she tried to run for him, but the lightning struck at her feet when she drew too close, tossing her to the floor. She shot a nasty glare at Maxwell as she gathered herself to her feet. “After everything I’ve learned, what makes you think I’d ever be loyal to you?”

Maxwell’s eyes flared in surprise as he glanced at Wiloh, almost to relish in her reaction before turning back towards Schyuler. “You truly haven’t remembered?” 

Schyuler casted a cautious look as the sorcerer made his way down the small throne steps. She tried to step back, but the surge of crackling lightning reminded her that there was nowhere to go. 

“You say

The price of my love's not a price that you're willing to pay

You cry

In your tea which you hurl in the sea when you see me go by

Why so sad?”

Schyuler tried to smack his hand away, but using his magic, he held her chi infused hand back as he held her chin with his bold fingers, forcing her to look at him. His eyes burning with fire that made her stomach backflip. 

“Remember we made an arrangement when you went away

Now you're making me mad

Remember, despite our estrangement, I'm your man,” 

“What are you talking about?” An uneasiness was settling at the pit of her stomach. “What arrangement?”

Maxwell smirked as his face inched closer. “We were arranged to be married, my dear. It was your father’s dying wish,” 

Schyuler’s eyes widened as she could sense losing the feeling in her legs, frozen in pure fear. Maxwell saw to take advantage of his, his eyes glancing at her lips as he eased closer. Her heart was pounding in her chest, the voice in her head screaming to stop this, to scream for help. Closing her eyes, she thought of Anduin, her mind thinking back to their first intimate moment they shared. In that split moment, realizing her other hand was free this entire time, Schyuler fully charged a chi blast, forcing her fist in between them as the spark set off, sending them both flying away from each other. 

The blast disrupted Maxwell’s spell as the lightning vanished, along with Wrathion’s chains dissolving. Pulling himself up to his knees, Schyuler scrambled towards him as Wiloh ran for her master, but again, Maxwell eased her off as he pulled himself up with a grudge. 

Schyuler helped Wrathion as her eyes burned into Maxwell’s soul. “I’m leaving, and I’m sure as hell that I will never be your bride,” 

The pair were scurrying towards the giant oak doors when they suddenly slammed shut. They turned back towards Maxwell, the crystal of his staff glowing vibrantly. 

“You'll be back, soon you'll see

You'll remember you belong to me,”

An iry trail of magic slithered from the crystal, scaling the floor as it hexed onto Schyuler. She could feel her head pounding, as if her brain was trying to pull itself free from her body as she wobbled out of Wrathion’s hold. 

“You'll be back, time will tell

You'll remember that I served you well,” 

He was trying to manipulate her, control her. If she wouldn’t go with him willingly, he’d do it by force. Grinding her teeth, she concentrated on her vivify spell, her hands pulsing a shade of green as she forced the slithering snake out of her mind, shattering. 

“Come on,” Wrathion grabbed onto her hand as he tried to led her away, until they were suddenly swept away by a sudden gush of water as it lifted them up into the air before it morphed into a series of boulders and concrete, plummeting them to the floor. 

“Oceans rise, empires fall

We have seen each other through it all

And when push comes to shove,” 

Shadows hovered above them, as the pair glanced up to see magical manifestations of naval warships sailing through the air, firing cannon balls that exploded fireworks. They shielded themselves from the blinding lights as Maxwell laughed almost manically at the sight. 

“I will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love!

Da da da dat da, dat da da da da ya da

Da da dat dat da ya da!

Da da da dat da, dat da da da da ya da

Da da dat dat da!” 

Schyuler glanced over at Wrathion, both knowing that they needed to get out of this room and off this island. Trying to use the blinds for, they made another attempt at running for the door. Something caught a hold of Schyuler as she yelped out of Wrathion’s reach. Magical chains wrapped themselves around her torso as they pulled her back to Maxwell’s side. 

“You say our love is draining and you can't go on

You'll be the one complaining when I am gone,”

A loud beast-like cry erupted the room as the opposite end of the room filled with smoke, before Wrathion emerged in his dragon form. He leapt forward, aiming as if to take a bite out of Maxwell, but the sorcerer was quick. He summoned a protective barrier, catching the dragon's claws and teeth as his blood ruby red eyes scorched down at him. 

“And no, don't change the subject!”

Amplifying the barrier, he pushed Wrathion back right through a pillar and collided with the wall, shattering a large chunk of a glass painting. The chains rattled as Schyuler tried to pull herself free to go to her friend, but the noise alerted Maxwell as he glanced back towards her. 

“'Cause you're my favorite subject

My sweet, submissive subject

My loyal, royal subject,” 

He seemed to circle her as if he were a shark hunting for his prey. His hand petted her head before his finger snaked down the side of her face and grabbed her chin. 

“Forever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever!”

His face inched closer again, anticipating a moment, and Schyuler wasn’t having any of it as she spat right on his face. Maxwell recoiled, taking a step back with a snarl. For the first time that night he looked at her with such disgust as he raised his hand and slapped her, knocking her to her knees. 

“You'll be back like before

I will fight the fight and win the war

For your love, for your praise

And I'll love you 'til my dying days,” 

Her cheek stunned as Schyuler could feel the hand print along her skin. She tried to go in for a jab with her knee but Maxwell swiftly moved out of the way, allowing her body to fall forward. 

“When you're gone, I'll go mad

So don't throw away this thing we had,”

He reached out, grabbing her hair as he yanked her back up to her feet. He caught and spun her around, forcing her to look in the direction of Wrathion as Maxwell aimed his staff towards him. 

“'Cause when push comes to shove

I will kill your friends and family to remind you of my love,”

He charged an arcane blast and with as much strength as she could muster, she thrusted her body and knocked the staff out of Maxwell’s hands. “Wrathion, run!”

“I can’t just leave you here--”

“GO!”

With a defeated and disgruntled roar, Wrathion managed to pick himself up, soaring through the broken stained glass window. His wings flapped through the mist as Wiloh ran to peek outside, watching as the dragon’s image shrank smaller and smaller. 

“Shall I give the order to go after him?”

“That won’t be necessary,” Maxwell dismissed the idea as he glanced over towards Schyuler’s body. He knelt beside her, his hand reaching out as his fingers curled around the chains and pulled her up from the floor, staring obsessively as if admiring a painting. “Let him warn your precious fools of a family. I already have what I want,” 

The monk casted her gaze towards the window, the flapping of Wrathion’s wings growing faint by the second. He was safe, and alive. Warn the others. That was what mattered. After everything he had done to get her here, she’d never forgive herself if something happened to him. 

“The Alliance will stop you,” Schyuler proclaimed, her voice dry from the screams. She took a moment to better compose herself before staring right into his eyes. “Anduin Wrynn will stop you,” 

She had only been sitting there for a few minutes when she sensed a shift in the earth, leaves and weeds of grass crunching against a heavy weight. A single footstep. A faint smile ghosted her face as Schyuler remained still, listening as the footsteps slowly crept closer.

The monk felt their presence and as a hand grazed their shoulder, she carefully snatched their wrist and flipped the body over herself. Her other hand cradled the back of their head as Anduin Wrynn’s back side came down on the grass, his head caressed in Schyuler’s lap.

“By the light!” He squealed, laughing as he tried to compose himself. “How did you know it was me?”

Schyuler smirked as she booped his nose. “A master of stealth, you are not,”

Anduin scrunched his nose at the gesture before playfully swatting her hand away. “But you have to admit, I did better this time,” he cocked an eyebrow as he gazed at her.

“Fair enough, I’ll give credit where credit is do,” she smiled softly, her body floating to sit along the grass. “Did your meeting end early?”

The young king nodded as he adjusted himself, wanting to get more comfortable. “Everything is accounted for. I was hoping you’d like some company?”

“Of course, Anduin,” Schyuler laughed as her fingers brushed his hair back, “I love you, don’t even need to ask,”

His smile brightened as he raised his hand to caress her cheek before his fingers trailed down to her chin, “Come here,” he smiled as he gently pulled her down and locked her lips into a kiss.

Drabble snippet from Chapter 9 of Find Where I Belong of my human monk OC Schyuler going through a nightmare. 

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The rain soaked her clothes and skin as she looked about, terrified as the crewman worked tirelessly to maintain control of the ship in this blasted weather. The floorboards were slippery as Schyuler ran to the edge of the ship, peeking over to see the crashing waves push against the hull of the ship. 

The crackling of the lightning startled her as she jumped back, falling over as she desperately tried to steady herself. She clutched onto her blanket for dear life. She didn’t remember where she had gotten it or where it came from, but she felt a sense of safety with it wrapped around her torso. 

“Schyuler!” 

She turned around to see a man dressed in a high ranking sailor suit stomp towards her, trying to push through the rain. When he was near, he reached for her, placing his hands on her shoulders. “It’s not safe for you up here! Get down to the Captain’s Quarters!”

“Lieutenant!” The Captain cried out from the steering wheel of the ship as he pointed out something in the distance. 

Schyuler and the lieutenant looked out to see a massive wave of water charging towards the ship. With its massive size, she could already feel the ship beginning to curve on its side. 

“Brace for impact!” He shouted before grabbing onto Schyuler and held on to her for dear life as he glanced down at her and whimpered softly. “I’m sorry, child,” 

Her eyes widened as she watched the wave draw closer and closer towards them. When she felt the ship start to curve on its side and notice the water pick up as extra large water droplets rained down, she shut her eyes and pressed her head into the torso of the lieutenant. 

Darkness quickly followed. She couldn’t breathe, the sea salt water had filled her lungs and then she hit something hard. . . yet soft. Her head was spinning. She wanted to wake up. But no matter how hard she tried, her body wouldn’t move. Schyuler could feel herself screaming, but she didn’t physically react. 

Her chest burned suddenly. As if she had been getting punched there multiple times. Her vision turned white and as she began to open her mouth, her lungs sparked like a fire as her eyes shot wide and puked out salt water. She immediately turned to her front side, spewing out the remaining water as she coughed uncontrollably. 

“Are you alright, little one?” A voice gently called out to her as she felt a large hand on her back. 

Schyuler barely had the energy to keep herself pushed up from the sand, much less turn her head. Slowly she glanced over to notice thick black fur, he gaze grazing down the arm to see a giant bear, coating in a mix of black and white near her with piercing emerald green eyes. 

“Ren?” She gasped. 

“Schyuler, what’s wrong?” He asked. 

He repeated her name again, only this time it sounded as if there were two voices. It grew louder as her ears started to ring. Schyuler closed her eyes, trying to shake away the pain from her head. 

“Schyuler?” 

She opened her eyes and glanced over to see Anduin sitting next to her. Only. . . he looked different. He was younger, and wearing that silly headband around his forehead that he wore when he was. . . a prince. 

“Schyuler, are you alright?” He asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Are you haven’t second thoughts?” 

“Seconds thoughts about what?” Schyuler asked cautiously. 

“Coming with me to Stormwind?” He clarified. “The Horde are taking over Pandaria, it’s only a matter of time before they find us,”

Schyuler’s head shook vigorously before raising a brow at the boy. “What did you just say?” 

Loud drums ran overhead as Schyuler turned and looked out over the large cliff the pair stood on that overlooked the entire continent. Horde warships could be seen on the shore and most of the continent was painted red with flames torching trees and villages. Schyuler could hear screams, the pain and suffering of innocent lives. 

“No, this. . . this didn’t happen,” Schyuler trembled at the sight as she looked back at Anduin, pointing down at the gruesome scene. “This shouldn’t be happening!”

“You think Pandaria solely allied with the Alliance?” 

Schyuler froze before turning back to see Wiloh standing at the edge of the cliffside. She just stood there, staring menacingly with her green eyes as her scarf blew in the harsh winds, the snake emblem glowing a bright green. 

“Schyuler,” Anduin called out to her, but once she met his gaze, he was now present day Anduin, dressed in his armour. “You need to wake up,” 

“Anduin?” Schyuler rose a brow at the boy as she took a step forward before the pounding in her head returned as she reached up and clutched it almost immediately. 

“Wake up, Schyuler!” Anduin yelled, his eyes narrowing down at her. 

Schyuler hissed from the pain as she fell to her knees, trying to fight it. She glanced back at the symbol again as Wiloh stayed perfectly still. The snake emblem pierced her gaze and made a permanent space in her mind as it flashed itself before her repeatedly. 

As Schyuler screamed, the jewel in the snake’s tongue morphed into an orange eye. 

“SCHYULER!” 

Schyuler gasped for air as she sat up in her bed. Her whole body was too warm, her back and forehead sweating uncontrollably. She threw the covers off and ran to open her balcony door, a guff of cold wind blew inside as she welcomed it gladly. A hand over her chest as she monitored her heart rate. 

Schyuler’s heart dropped as Anduin struggled to speak through his chattering teeth. She pulled the makeshift fur cape turned blanket tighter around him, while with her free hand gently rubbed his back. “I’m using my body heat to try and warm you up,”

With shaking hands, Anduin reached out and held onto Schyuler, feeling her warmth engulfing his chest. His hair was damp, tied back as he buried his face into the crock of her neck.

Schyuler could feel her heart pound against her chest as she sighed, leaning against the young King. A terrible blizzard had plundered the Eastern Kingdoms, Stormwind and the Forest outside the city taking the brunt of it. The pair were separated from their patrol unit in the harsh winds.

If it weren’t for Anduin’s instincts, Schyuler would have collapsed into a frozen lake and drowned. However in his successful courage, the ice gave way and the priest was met with a shivering shock. Schyuler managed to safely pull him out, but his skin was ice cold and the temperature was dropping lower by the minute.

Using the survival skills she’d learn from Master Chen and Spymaster Shaw, Schyuler dug through the thick snow and made some cover, deep enough to steer clear from the harsh winds. All they could do now was wait for either the storm to clear up or until help had arrived.

“How are you feeling?” She asked as she continued to rub his back soothingly, noting his soaked winter clothes previously tossed to the side. Thank goodness he dropped his cape before heading for the lake.

“Better,” he managed to breath the word out. His fingers scrunched against the fabric of her clothes along the rim of her jacket, sensing the warmth of her skin but afraid to journey further. “What about you? Surely, you’re cold as well?”

“Yes, but I wasn’t the one that fell in the lake,” Schyuler managed a small laugh, yet shook her head as she buried her face into his damp hair, “. . . Thank you, by the way,”

It was Anduin’s turn to laugh as Schyuler could feel the vibration from his chest. “Think nothing of it, but please allow me to return the favour. We both can’t freeze to death,”

“Anduin,” Schyuler softly protested as Anduin shifted, moving his hands fluff out the blanket and expand it, wrapping it around both of their bodies. “Please—“

“Let me,” he insisted, his voice but a husk whisper in her ear.

He shifted their bodies, lowering themselves lay down alongside another. Anduin tucked Schyuler closer to his chest before his hands carefully wandered to her back as his eyes casted over her, seeking permission. She nodded and gasped quietly as his still faintly cold, large hands slid beneath her shirt, and his fingers began to curl and massage the skin of her back.

He pressed his forehead against hers, eyes closed as he focused intensely. Schyuler watched as the radiant light began to wash over them like a second blanket layer and slowly their skin turned warm.

“Better?” He asked whilst opening his eyes.

“Much,” she smiled, sighing as she relaxed into his touch. “Let’s hope help arrives soon,”

“Yes, though if this were under different circumstances,” his cheeks turned a shade pink as he managed a small confident smile. “I wouldn’t mind *this* for a tad longer,”

“Perhaps when we return to the keep?” Schyuler proposed as her fingers curled along his bare chest.