#calibae

SUMMARY: The reader is about to be offered as the pagan virgin sacrifice. Not if Caliban has a say in it, though.

Warnings: not really, reader has a nightmare at one point

Length: around 3300 words. I know. I'm sorry that this turned out to be such a monster! 😅

This was requested: A Caliban x reader where instead of Harvey being taken as a virgin sacrifice the reader does. Please and thanks in advance 😊

Requested by the lovely @rachelle3musicals

Also, just as a little heads up: this is the first imagine I've ever written, but I hope I did alright! Also, English is not my mother tongue, though I hope I didn't make too grave mistakes!

Have fun reading and please, tell me what you all think about this! :)

xxx

UNEXPECTED

So. This was it.

This was how you were going to die.

You’d never given that much thought to how you were going to die before – you were still in high school, after all! – but still, you’d never imagine that you’d die like this.

Being offered as a virgin sacrifice to some pagan nature God. One thing was for certain though: you wouldn’t go down without a fight.

 And so, even though you felt the fear and panic creeping in on you, freezing you from the inside, you struggled against the rough hands forcing you onwards.

You couldn’t see where they were dragging you towards, due to the fact that they’d blind-folded you, but you could still hear Roz’s, Harvey’s and Theo’s anguished, panicked screams.

This didn’t really help you, though, no, you only felt your panic intensifying.

Surely, it wasn’t really going to end like this, was it?

 Before you could form another thought – a better survival strategy, other than aimlessly struggling against your captors – the people dragging you towards Satan only knew what, stopped.

For a moment, you were too stunned about this, to think clearly, but then you realized: this was it! This was your chance to escape them!

It seemed like you’d only twitched and they were pulling at your arms again.

“Not so fast”, one of your captors grunted.

Damn it, they really were much stronger than you. You definitely would have to take that promise that you’d made to Sabrina and Roz about joining the cheer squad and practicing together with them, seriously after all of this was over.

 Though at the moment it definitely looked like worrying about cheer practice and your muscle strength would be the least of your problems, considering the fact that you were currently held captive by some crazy pagans who wanted to offer you as a virgin sacrifice to some pagan god.

One could always try with a little humor, though.

You had been stuck so deep in your own thoughts, that you hadn’t even noticed that your captors had untied the ropes that had previously bound your hands and legs together. And they’d even lifted your blindfold!

But why were Harvey, Roz and Theo screaming your name with even more panic than before? That didn’t really fit together, did it?

 You only realized that your captors were pushing you up, planning to now bind you against a tree, when it was already too late.

The tree’s vines were already twisting, stretching out towards you, pulling themselves around your arms, squeezing, so that your captors barely had to do anything anymore.

For a few, horrible moments you were too stunned to react. You couldn’t, wouldn’t believe that this was actually happening to you. Before, with the pagans dragging you along into the unknown, it had been bad enough.

But then, you’d had the slightest hope of escape left.

Now though, reality was dawning on you in form of the tree’s vines slowly, but surely squeezing out all the air out of your lungs, your life out of you.

And all you could do was cry out in pain, completely defenceless, completely hopeless.

 “Stop”, an unfamiliar voice suddenly said.

It didn’t stop. You didn’t have the strength left in you to open your eyes, you could only struggle against the tree’s unrelenting vines, whilst screaming out in anguish and fear. You were so desperate; you didn’t even notice the struggle going on underneath the tree that was draining your life out of you.

But then, something changed.

The tree stopped.

You could breathe again.

You could breathe again.

You could move again.

You hadn’t died.

 As all of these things began to dawn on you, you could hear an agitated conversation going on around you.

You opened your eyes – only to feel the need to close and then open them again, just to make sure that what you were seeing was actually happening.

Caliban.

He was right there, Caliban. Self-proclaimed asshole-prince of hell. And he was climbing up towards you.

Was he the one who had saved you? But why? Why would he do that? There we so many questions, yet now that the worst was over you felt utterly tired. And dizzy.

Everything was spinning before your eyes.

Maybe you’d really died and you were already in hell? That would explain why Caliban was there as well, at least.

 But then you suddenly felt two hands carefully touching you, pulling you out of the tree’s dead clutches.

It really was Caliban. He was there, right before you, pulling you out of the tree and lifting you up.

“What?”, you croaked.

He only gave you a Cheshire cat’s smile in return.

And the last thing you felt before the darkness fully enclosed you were his strong arms, carrying you, and his warm chest your head was rested against.

Maybe Sabrina was right – maybe hell really wasn’t so bad after all.

  xxx

  You had no idea how much time had passed when you woke up again.

To make things worse, you had no idea where you were. In a bed, sure, but you had no idea where.

Then the memories came rushing back at you. The pagans and their crazy virgin sacrifice. How they’d trapped you and your friends and in the end decided to make you their virgin sacrifice.

You didn’t want to think about those horrible moments where you had indeed been sure that you were going to die, so of course, your mind had to settle on Caliban.

Why on earth had he been there? And, what was even more intriguing to you, why had he helped you? He hadn’t needed to. There wasn’t anything he could gain by saving your life except your gratitude – which, surely he didn’t care about at all.

 Why had he helped you?

You really couldn’t wrap your head around it. You had only seen him twice before, both times very brief and both times it had seemed like he’d barely noticed you because he had been so focused on Sabrina and winning her favour.

You had your suspicions – theories, more likely – why he’d helped Roz: to impress Sabrina.

But this time, Sabrina hadn’t been there.

So why had he just saved your life? It just didn’t make sense.

 You tried to get up – you needed to find out, where you were and how much time had passed.

But you’d barely sat up when the pain hit you like a knife being twisted around in your chest. It hurt. You could barely breathe.

You couldn’t help it, you cried out in pain. Immediately you bit down hard on your lips.

But then, suddenly, Caliban was there, right at your side. It seemed like he’d just appeared out of thin air, like you’d seen him do it before.

He steadied you, slung an arm around your waist and propped you up against him whilst you gasped out in pain.

 “I take it you’re awake after all”, he said, voice tinged with irony. His warm breath fanned over your neck, but you weren’t about to get distracted by that.

“Why did you save me?”, you asked him instead, meeting his gaze. You’d intended to sound eloquent, but the only thing you could manage was a croaky, rasping voice.

“A simple ‘Thank you, Caliban, for saving my life’ would’ve been sufficient enough, Y/N, you know?”, he said.

You snorted in exasperation – your chest wasn’t thankful for it. Trying to draw breath was utter pain. Caliban caught your gaze again, you still couldn’t figure out the look in his eyes.

Surely, it wasn’t concern? No, that was ridiculous. It was Caliban, after all. Maybe the tree hadn’t only tried to snuff out your life but had also killed some of your brain cells.

Yes, that had to be it.

 “Oh c’mon, don’t pretend it was for some noble reason, we both know that that wasn’t the case, Caliban”, you said.

Whatever you’d thought you’d seen in his gaze before, it was gone, immediately. He glared at you.

“Don’t assume to know my intentions”, he growled. You could feel his voice vibrating against your back.

He still had his arm around you, you were still pressed against him.

You were still glaring at each other.

 “How are you feeling?”, he abruptly asked you.

“I – what?”, you answered, completely confused.

He rolled his eyes at you, his expression clearly telling you that he wasn’t going to repeat his question.

“Fine”, you replied, gritting your teeth, trying to smile through the pain. You didn’t know why, but you knew that you didn’t want Caliban to find out that you were still in severe pain.

“Oh really?”, he said, quirking an eyebrow at you, tone implying that he didn’t believe you at all.

 You intended to huff out in exasperation, but instead the only thing you could manage was a miserable rasping sound. This damn tree had really tried to suffocate you and if it hadn’t been for Caliban, it would surely have succeeded.

You clutched a hand to your chest, just wanting the pain to stop.

Your eyes landed on Caliban again. His gaze was fixed on you, his eyebrows drawn together in concentration.

Then – somehow, the pain became somewhat bearable. Your eyes widened in surprise.

“Your friends are all fine, by the way”, Caliban suddenly said, before you had the chance to thank him.

 The tenderness – which you most definitely had imagined – was gone from his face, back was his usual arrogant expression.

You felt utterly irritated and annoyed, both because of him. You couldn’t figure him out, you really couldn’t. That was frustrating you more than you would’ve liked to admit.

“And you’re at Theo’s uncle’s farm, in case you were wondering”, he added. He continued speaking, not even giving you the chance to say anything.

“You should get some rest, though Sabrina and I both did what we could. That tree did some serious damage to you.” He paused, and his gaze found yours again. He seemed as if he wanted to say something else, but then he just said:

“I take it that you’ll be fine on your own. There’s been someone here to check on you every few hours though, so… Anyways, I have other things to do this as well, now that you’re…”, he stopped, looking annoyed with himself.

 He slowly got up, carefully taking his arm away from your waist. You immediately felt the absence of his warm body, which had been pressed up against your back.

“Caliban…”, you began, but then you stopped too, not sure what you even wanted to say.

His gaze found yours again, and then, just like that, he was gone.

 “Aaargh”, you groaned out in annoyance, angrily glaring at your pillow as if that would somehow solve your problems.

You just couldn’t figure this guy out, seriously though. There he was, acting like an arrogant jerk the first two times you’d met him, and then he saved your life, only to be annoyed at you because you didn’t worship him afterwards.

Granted, maybe your reaction to him saving your life really hadn’t been the best. You still needed to thank him for saving your life, you realized. Though, you still wanted to know why he’d saved your life.

Damn him for acting so irritating, one second being a complete jerk and then the other second it almost seemed like he cared about you, which… surely couldn’t be true, could it? You were only an ordinary mortal, after all, most definitely not of interest to the Prince of Hell.

And, really, damn him for being so incredibly handsome. Your cheeks felt aflame, just thinking about how you’d been pressed up against him just mere moments ago.

 You pinched your nose in frustration.

Somehow you felt like what had happened with the pagans had been nothing at all compared to the conversation you’d just had with Caliban.

He was irritating you so much, it was beyond frustration.

 xxx

 You felt the tree’s vines sneaking up on you, tangling themselves around your body, and you knew: this time there would be no one there to save you.

This time, Caliban wouldn’t show up.

This time, you were truly going to die.

 “NO!”,

“Y/N, please, listen to me, it’s just a dream, please wake up, damn it!”, you could feel hands on your shoulder, trying to shake you awake.

You jerked up and your head nearly collided with Caliban’s bare chest. How had he gotten here so fast – could he possibly have known that you’d been having a nightmare?

Also, was this guy ever wearing a shirt, like at all? Not that you didn’t appreciate the view, though.

“Caliban!”, you gasped out, at the same time as he asked you:

“Y/N, are you all right?”

 “Could be better”, you said, a feeble attempt at trying to lighten up the mood. Caliban didn’t look convinced at all.

“I’m sorry that I wasn’t there earlier…”, he said and it somehow sounded like he hadn’t actually intended to say this out loud at all.

“Thank you”, you said, deciding that a thank you was definitely overdue at this point. Instead of the self-satisfied, arrogant expression you’d expected, he only looked at you in confusion.

“Thank you, for saving my life. And for uh, you know…”, you gestured vaguely with your hand at the two of you.

 Your hand brushed his chest. His breath caught for a moment and your eyes met. You hadn’t realized how close you two really were.

A loose strand of hair fell in your face and you wanted to brush it away with your hand, but Caliban’s hand was there first.

You looked at each other again.

You could feel his heart beating, you hadn’t taken your hand off of his chest yet. You vaguely wondered why.

Caliban looked at you and you felt shivers going down your spine. You really couldn’t figure him out – though suddenly you weren’t so sure if that really mattered all that much anymore.

 “Y/N”, he said and you were glad that his voice sounded slightly husky and irritated, because you took that as a sign that you weren’t the only one confused in this situation.

Were you only imagining things or had you two somehow moved closer together and you just hadn’t noticed it?

Because suddenly it seemed like you just had to lean in slightly and you could’ve touched the tip of his nose. Or his lips.

Why on earth were you suddenly thinking about touching his lips? This was Caliban after all! Caliban, whom you didn’t even like – that’s what you were trying to tell yourself, at least.

 “Why did you save me?”, you asked him, voice just slightly more than a whisper. You didn’t know how you knew, but somehow you were sure you’d get an answer this time.

He sighed. His eyes captured yours again and this time, you really could’ve sworn that your breath actually stopped for a second, when you looked into his eyes.

Was it even allowed to be that beautiful, to have such wonderful eyes?, you dimly wondered.

“Y/N….”, he began, and he suddenly looked uncomfortable.

 Again, he looked at you, as if trying to figure you out, as if he was trying to solve a puzzle and you were the last missing puzzle piece to make it complete.

Caliban, Prince of Hell at a loss for words. Now, this was something you’d definitely never expected to see with your own eyes.

And, truth be told: you somehow kind of liked it that you seemed to be the reason for his speechlessness and irritation.

This suffocating, life-draining pagan tree really had gotten to some of your braincells after all, you were sure of it.

 “Y/N…”, Caliban said again, but this time, it was barely more than a whisper. Now, he seemed like he was already regretting the words he was about to say.

“Surely, you won’t believe it”, he began, voice suddenly bitter and cold, “but I like you. I didn’t save your life to impress Sabrina and to convince her of my good intentions – though, I won’t lie, that’s definitely a side-effect I don’t have anything against – I saved you because I like you.

I saved you because I couldn’t stand the thought of you dying.”

You were stunned. Truly, stunned. Speechless, for once.

You’d expected anything, really, but definitely not this.

 When your eyes met again, you didn’t only feel shivers going down your spine, no, you could also feel goose bumps building on your arms.

Damn this stupid, hot, clay Prince of Hell, who kept on irritating and frustrating you! And damn him for being so close to you…

He inhaled sharply and you could feel his breath on your skin.

“Caliban, I…”, you began, unsure of what to say.

He clearly mistook your searching for words for something else, you hadn’t even intended to hurt him with your words.

 “Go on and make your clever remark, about how this surely can’t be my real reason, because I’m the worst, isn’t this what you’re thinking right now?”, he said bitterly, not looking at you this time.

However, he still hadn’t moved away from you, your hand still lay on his chest and you two were still extremely close – so close in fact, that you only had to lean in just a little bit to kiss him.

You weren’t really sure why you’d done it, it wasn’t only because you truly couldn’t stand it to see Caliban so bitter and disappointed. No, you had to admit it to yourself, it was also because you’d wanted to kiss him.

You’d really, really wanted to kiss him.

If were you being really honest with yourself, you’d wanted to do so, since the moment you two had moved so closely together, but it was his confession that had really sparked the desire to kiss him in you.

And also – as there was no point in denying it anymore – you also liked him. Had your feelings for him started out with constant annoyance and frustration, you now felt like lighting up whenever you saw him.

 For one, terrible moment, you were utterly convinced that you’d done the wrong thing, because Caliban didn’t react, it felt like you were really kissing clay.

You were already in the motion of pulling away – and then springing up from the bed and running away from this humiliation – when suddenly, he kissed you back.

Damn.

Kissing – truly kissing Caliban – felt like the ground was being taken away from under your feet, but in a good way.

It was intoxicating.

 Where you had been unsure and not entirely convinced in your action, when you’d leaned in to kiss him, and had only lightly touched his lips with yours, there was none of that hesitation in Caliban after that initial moment.

The kiss was feverish and heated and somehow almost felt desperate. You two were surely desperate to get even closer, he put his arm around you and pressed you against him and somehow, your hand that previously been lying on his chest found its way into his hair.

You could have gone on kissing him like this forever, it just felt so right, but after some truly glorious moments Caliban broke away, breathless, but smiling.

 “That was…”, you panted, again, searching for the right words.

“Incredible?”, he suggested with a lazy grin, a hint of the usual arrogance back in his voice.

You rolled your eyes at him, which only caused him to grin even wider.

“So, you’re still a virgin, right?”, he suddenly asked, smirk only growing wider at your exasperated huff.

But then you only smirked back at him – and kissed him again.