#tucfic

Happy TUC Week everyone!  A short angsty fic for day one to start off the week!

Gregor's dreams were dark.  Sure, they were filled with sharp claws and gnashing teeth, but they were dark. The sunlight that streamed in through his bedroom window was always too bright, even if the sky was shielded with clouds, even when it was only being reflected off the moon.  He couldn't remember the last time he used a lamp.  The TV hurt his eyes.  He found himself living more and more of his life with his eyes closed, in the dark.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25777189

day five: scars

The day the words appeared, Luxa rubbed her arm raw trying to wash them off.  Her mother found her with tears in her eyes and the black letters delicately set into red skin.  Her mother's soothing words did nothing to calm Luxa.  She did not want a soulmate.  Did not want the gossip that came with a Mark.  

Most Regalians never met their soulmate if they were Marked.  Too many died at war.  The stories of them never finding love were all too common.  Some never looked elsewhere, most were rejected in fear their soulmate would turn up later in life.  It was a curse.

She sat silent while her family discussed the words.  They were not written as if from Regalia and the talk of potential outsiders made her sick.  She covered the words with her hand, seeing the oddly placed apostrophe in her mind.  She did not want to think about it, but she could not help but wonder who would speak them to her.  They were rude words, not fitting for anyone speaking to royalty.

Luxa stormed out of the room as tears spilled down her face.  She ran to her room where she wrapped her arm in cloth.  No one else would see it.  She would not let four little words she had not asked for change her life.

She wrapped her forearm everyday. Special wraps were made to match her clothes.  All of her formal attire was made with long sleeves.  Any gossip she heard was silenced with a glare.  Luxa bathed with her eyes closed so she would not accidentally see the words already burned into her brain.

The rumors only got worse as she got older and closer to courting age.  Henry had earned many bruises with his sharp tongue.  Luxa's arm stayed wrapped.  

The night after her parents died Luxa stared at the jewelry adorned cloth covering her forearm.  If there was magic in this world, it was being used for the incorrect reason.

The words no longer had a place in Luxa's mind.  She was not afraid of death, she did not cry, and she did not have a soulmate.

Gregor began taking off his clothes as his mother watched, her hands on her hips.  He sloughed off his wet shirt and muddy pants, being careful to stay on the rug by the door. She handed him a towel and she saw it when he bent over to dry off his hair.

Three words in silver lettering across his shoulder.  She was so excited she forgot to be mad at him for playing in the mud.

The whole building knew within the week, the gossip mill ran overtime.  Little Gregor has a soulmate, yea, words on his shoulder, a real pretty silvery color, my cousin Kate has a gorgeous watercolor heart and all I end up with is a weird birthmark.

Gregor looked over his shoulder in the mirror to see it, the lines almost looking like scars.  He wondered when they would meet, what they would look like, if they would stay together.  

Marks were common in New York.  In such a big city, meeting your soulmate was pretty much set in stone.  But it wasn't uncommon for soulmates to choose not to be together. Gregor's neighbor was already married when he met his soulmate and chose to stay with his current wife.  A soulmate couple use to live two floors down and the building practically threw a party when they finally broke up.  Gregor could hear their fights from his bed some nights.

No one knew why soulmates were Marked when they weren't meant to be together forever.  Gregor's parents always reminded him that relationships were not judged based on length.  People changed and so did relationships.

Gregor wondered if maybe the magic wasn't adapting well to the modern world.

When his father disappeared, the rumors that he had run off with his soulmate were the most popular.  Gregor knew his parents weren't Marked, or at least, they hadn't told him they were.  His family knew something was wrong, but the police tossed their concerns aside.  

Their tiny apartment seemed a lot bigger.

Gregor never gave much thought to the three words stenciled onto his back.  Boots loved to run her fingers over the shiny letters.  Lizzie made up stories about how he and his soulmate would meet.  Gregor's grandmother knew his soulmate would have a real attitude.

It was just another part of Gregor that was pushed way into the back of his mind as he followed Boots through the grate.  A part that was pushed even farther away as he ran next to a giant cockroach through the tunnels.

Soulmates didn't exist as he watch Boots struggle for the ball in the pale girl's hand.  Pride and amusement filled him when Boots poked the girl in the eye and got the ball.

He smirked, “I guess she's smarter.” He didn't mind being a little mean.

The girl's answering glare was full of steel, her hands in fists, “But not you. Or you would not say such things to a queen.”

Her words hit him so hard he barely heard the rest of her sentence.  Royalty.  His soulmate.  She still stared at him with fire in her eyes.  His grandmother's voice filled his mind, “I bet you she's full of sass.”

He shrugged, “No, if I'd known you were a queen, I'd probably have said something a lot cooler.”

“Cool-er?” She raised her eyebrows.

They stared at each other and Gregor noted his Mark was almost the exact same color as her hair.  She seemed to only get angrier as she looked at him.  

On that day, he had thought his Mark to be a fluke.  Luxa's hate of him only faded slightly.

Though on a quiet night, after prophecies and war and loss, she unwrapped her arm and showed it to him.  He had never seen her Mark.  He had never been sure she had one.  He traced over his words as she explained what they meant to her.

He laughed.  After all they had went through, love was what she was most afraid of.  His laughter earned him a bruise on the arm, but she cracked a smile.  She covered her Mark again before they left.

It didn't surprise anyone when Gregor moved into Regalia full time.

Gregor started, his pencil flying out of his hand at a flash of light.  A small pop sounded and something materialized out of thin air.  He picked up the piece of paper with his mouth still hanging open.  He didn’t know life still had surprises like this.

So You Were A Chosen One, Now What?

His brow only furrowed more at the title of the light blue trifold he held.  Was this… an advertisement?  Really?

He read through the pamphlet, his homework long forgotten.  It detailed a support group for ‘heroes whose journeys are just beginning’ whatever that meant. Gregor smiled at how corny it was.  There were testimonies he wanted to post online to share their top notch cringe.

There was a sparkly red square at the bottom of the last page labeled ‘teleporter’.  Gregor thought about the amazing way it had landed on his desk and shrugged before pressing his thumb to the square.  This would probably make his Tuesday interesting.

[insert corny title here^] fair warning, this bad boy is looong

Summary: Lizzie’s life has been great, but a fight with her girlfriend puts their relationship in jeopardy.  Her life falls apart all at once, and she has to go into the Underland alone, something she has avoided doing her whole life.  She fights her anxiety and fears of losing those she loves to bring an urgent message to her brother.

Lizzie looked at the clock again, only seven minutes had passed.  Her fingers tapped rapidly on the desk, her chin resting on her other hand.  She scooted some papers around and habitually saved her open documents though she knew she hadn't touched them.  With her foot shaking wildly under her desk and her lip between her teeth she glanced at the time.  What had felt like twenty minutes had only been four.  She stood up suddenly, scaring her sleeping cat, resigned in that her work day was over.  Working from home had its benefits, even if accounting was incredibly boring. Lizzie walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge though she wasn't hungry.  She glanced sideways at the oven and sighed like she had expected the journey down the hallway to take longer than two minutes.  It was creeping closer to 6:20, when her girlfriend would be home from work if she decided to come home at all.

A ball of nerves erupted in Lizzie's stomach when she thought of her and Corrine's fight last night.  It started to creep into her throat and Lizzie focused on her breathing. She counted her fingers repeatedly, focusing on the feeling of touching each finger.  The nerves retreated back into her stomach but she couldn't banish them.  She rested her forehead on the fridge and tried to stop dwelling on everything she had said during their fight last night.  Lizzie started listing as many things that live in the ocean as she could, but stopped after six.  Nothing was working.

Lizzie and Corrine have only had one real fight in their three years and it was about Corrine's brother. It was always about him.  But it had never been as bad as last night. Lizzie couldn't help her anger when she came home to him on their couch, already surrounded with dirty dishes and their fridge practically empty.  Corrine knew how Lizzie felt about Gavin, and to not even let her know that he was staying with them?  Anger filled Lizzie again, but the worry dissipated it quickly.  She wanted to be able to work through this, and she would have to calm down to do that.  Her throat tightened when she remembered all the terrible things they had said last night.

She felt her cat at her ankle and she walked over to his bowl to feed him.  The door opened behind her and she spun to watch Corrine walk in.  Lizzie stood where she was though she just wanted to grab her girlfriend and never let go.  Corrine took off her coat and hung it up without looking at Lizzie.  Lizzie wanted so badly to brush the hair out of her face.  A messy ponytail was a tell-tale sign she had had a rough day at work.

Corrine started walking toward Lizzie before she lifted her eyes and Lizzie met her halfway.  They held each other tight.

“That smells good,”  Corrine said, meaning the slow cooker Lizzie had started this morning.  

“Chicken tacos”  Lizzie replied with a small laugh.

Lizzie's phone rang from her back pocket and Corrine grabbed it and read it from behind Lizzie's back.

“It's your sister,” she said, beginning to let Lizzie go.

“She'll text me if it's important.” Lizzie tightened her grip on Corrine.

Corrine put the phone on the counter next to them and almost immediately after it stopped ringing it began again.

Lizzie sighed and picked it up, answering a bit annoyed.

The second Boot's began talking Lizzie stopped breathing.  Her heart dropped and her throat closed.  

“Liz? Liz breathe.” Corrine's worried voice was barely louder than Lizzie's heartbeat in her ears.

“Lizzie you need to go get Gregor. Is that Corrine I hear?  Let me talk to her.”  Boots' tinny voice said.  Lizzie started to function again at the command.

“Gregor,”  she said, “ I'll go get Gregor.  Get us plane tickets.  I'll need a couple hours to get us to the airport, but we'll be there tonight.”  Lizzie regretted not going to visit her parents with Boots, but was also glad she didn't or they wouldn't have been able to reach Gregor so fast.

“Hurry Lizzie.”  Boots hung up and Lizzie spun out of Corrine's grasp and into actions, ignoring how lightheaded she was and Corrine's questions.  The bag.  She needed the backpack.  Where had she put it?

“Have you seen the blue backpack?” Lizzie asked.

“It's on the shelf in the office closet.” Corrine answered, following Lizzie as she searched frantically.  “Please, hun, what is it?”

“It's my dad, “Lizzie choked out, “he had a heart attack.  It's-”  She stopped talking to avoid crying.  She had to hold it together.

Lizzie fought off Corrine's hug, “I need to go, I'm sorry.”

“Where?”

“I have to go get Gregor.  He needs to know.  He needs to be there.  I have to get him I have to-”

“Elizabeth. Liz.”  Corrine won and held Lizzie tightly, “breathe, please.”

Lizzie tried her best to take deep breaths and calm down.  She couldn't drive like this.

“Why do you need to get Gregor? Wouldn't it be faster if you both flew separately?” Corrine asked, grabbing the blue backpack from the shelf and unceremoniously spilling its contents.

Flashlights, a headlamp, a ton of batteries, an odd looking whistle, and two knives.

“What?”

“I don't have time to explain, I was gonna-”  Lizzie took a breath, it was getting easier with a goal in sight, “I was gonna tell you but now is not the time.  This isn't- not like this, please just-just let me go.”  Lizzie shoved everything back into the backpack and headed toward the door, Corrine right behind her.

“You're not going anywhere like that, I'll drive you.”

“No, you can't- you're not ready. You'll just slow- I can't tell you now.”  Lizzie's breath started to shorten again at the thought of Corrine coming with her.  She wasn't ready, neither of them were.

Corrine grabbed Lizzie's keys out of her hand.  “You're not driving anywhere like this Liz, I don't know what you're keeping from me, and you don't have to explain anything right now, but I'm coming with you, like it or not. Come on.”

Corrine reached for Lizzie's hand and held it tightly, dragging her out the door and to her car.  Lizzie's body couldn't figure out if this was better or worse.

Corrine's car was already warm and smelled of her.  The passenger seat a familiar place, Lizzie couldn't help the tears.  Corrine backed out of their driveway and placed a hand on Lizzie's thigh.

“Where am I going, honey?”

“Ce-Central Park.” Lizzie choked out.  Corrine only let her curiosity show for a second before driving to the highway, much faster than normal.  

The almost hour drive felt like a whole day to Lizzie, but Corrine's hand never left her thigh. Corrine sang softly to the upbeat songs on the radio, exuding calm for Lizzie to leach off of.  Tears streamed down Lizzie's face, half because of her dad, half because she was about the go into the Underland alone.  She was barely able to fight off an anxiety attack, but she was doing it.

The need to get Gregor was strong enough to hold back her fear, she was ready.  When she knew they were close she started gathering her things, pulling out a flashlight from the backpack, telling Corrine to stop anywhere, it would be faster to walk through the park.

“You're not going alone, wherever it is you're going.”

“You don't-”

“You are not going alone, Liz.  Put your seatbelt back on.”  Corrine drove like a maniac, almost getting into an accident multiple times before stealing a parking spot from someone backing in.  Lizzie jumped out of the car, Corrine behind her with a middle finger in the air at the yelling behind them.

Lizzie ran through the park, halfway hoping to lose Corrine though she knew Corrine was in better shape than she was.  

“Help me.”  She said breathlessly when they reached the boulder. Together they pushed it aside and Lizzie gave Corrine a flashlight and a knife.

“You can't- I can't answer any questions and you can't freeze.  You have to stay with me if you're going to come.  This is your last chance to stay”  Lizzie knew her girlfriend.  Knew she was brave, that she could handle this if she had been prepared.  She didn't know how she would take being thrown into it, but she didn't have a choice.

“I'm staying with you.”  

Lizzie didn't have any space in her head to think about how much she loved Corrine as she led her into the opening and they closed it behind them.

They headed down the stairs and Lizzie asked for her keys back when they reached the metal gate with the sign that indicated this was an entrance to the sewers.  A safeguard Gregor had thought of to stop Overlanders from wondering in now that their family used the entrance often.  She unlocked it and locked it behind her, focusing on her breathing.  They hadn't even reached the scary part yet, stairs were still under their feet.

Lizzie went as fast as she could safely, Corrine silent behind her.  She stopped only to grab the whistle out of her backpack.  She blew into it with every breath.  Unconsciously yelling for help in Morse code.

The stairs were gone now, all semblance of light long above them. Corrine stayed silent as asked, only speaking to offer to blow the whistle as Lizzie was getting winded.

“Don't stop.”  Lizzie said as she handed the whistle over.

The tunnel they walked through slowly opened, different entrances appearing.  Lizzie didn't hesitate in choosing their direction.  She focused solely on her goal.  Gregor.  Ignoring the danger they might be walking into.

Sound to their right made her spin, shining her flashlight at anyone who might be coming.  Corrine let out a squeal at the Crawlers who scuttled their way.

“Our Princess, is back, our Princess?” The phrase echoed among the small group.

“No, I'm sorry.”  Lizzie said lowering the flashlight, “we need fliers, desperately, can you help?”

“Help, we can, help,”  echoed through them as they headed down a different tunnel, too small for humans to walk through.

Lizzie sighed in relief that they were gone and squeezed Corrine's arm in comfort before hurrying back on their path.  Lizzie heard Corrine go back to blowing the whistle.

It wasn't long before they heard the beat of giant wings from behind them.  Lizzie blinded them with her flashlight and the whistle clattered to the floor as Corrine gasped.

Two bats with riders landed softly, but hissed at the light.  Lizzie dropped it when she was the seal of the Regalian military on their uniforms.

“I'm sorry,” she said as they rubbed their eyes, “We need to get to Gregor.”

“May I ask who wishes to see the King?” One of the riders said, he sounded young and wary.

“His sister, Lizzie.  Please, the palace.”  Corrine grabbed her hand and Lizzie didn't know if it was because she was scared or because Lizzie's voice had broke.

The pair of bonds eyes had adjusted and the other rider gasped and he and his bond bowed, “Of course, Princess Elizabeth, the C-”

“We really need to see Gregor,”  Lizzie interrupted.  She didn't like all those titles anyway.

“Of course.  It will not take long”  One of the bats said.  

Lizzie dragged Corrine, leaving the whistle on the ground “They won't let you fall, turn your flashlight off and hold on.”

Lizzie waited until Corrine was set before taking the hand of the rider and climbing on herself.  She turned off her light and closed her eyes for good measure.  She could hear small squeals and gasps coming from Corrine on the bat behind her as they flew.

They landed in the palace after what seemed like forever and Lizzie looked around for a familiar face but her eyes found only Corrine who she couldn't blame for looking awestruck.

“The king has been notified, you can wait for him here.” a man said while gesturing to a room to their right.

Lizzie and Corrine walked hand and hand through an archway to a small room with a table.  Lizzie was too anxious to sit down, she paced near the doorway.  Corrine walked around, running her fingers along the walls, the table, the chairs, inspecting everything and wanting so badly to ask questions.

“Lizzie what's going on?”  They both turned at the familiar voice of Gregor as he walked into the room.  Tears sprung up into Lizzie's eyes again as she rushed to hug him.  Luxa was not far behind him and echoed Gregor, “Lizzie what is wrong?  And who is this?”

Gregor looked over to see Corrine staring at the scene with wide eyes, “Hey Corinne” he said with a laugh, “Luxa this is Corinne, Lizzie's girlfriend, Corrine this is my wife, Luxa.”

“A pleasure.” Luxa said as Lizzie finally found words.  

“Dad had a heart attack, Gregor, it's bad.”

“What? When?”

“Just a few hours ago, we've got plane tickets waiting.”

“Of course.  Cillian!”  He yelled, a man poked his head into the room, “I'll be leaving for-”

“I will come with you,” Luxa said, surprising Lizzie and Gregor.

“I do not want to miss the possible last chance of him meeting his grandchild.” Luxa said.  Lizzie had forgotten she was pregnant for a moment.  They had tried for so long they had thought one of them was sterile, until a month ago.  “Please tell the counsel we are both going, Cillian, We are taking leave to celebrate our child.  And pack Gregor's Over clothes for him please.”  Cillian hurried off.

“Luxa you shouldn't-” Luxa cut Gregor off.

“I believe I can do as I please.”

He sighed but knew fighting was useless, “Lizzie did you bring extra clothes?  Sunglasses?”

Lizzie shook her head, “I didn't bring any actually.  It's night though, and we'll get there before sunrise.  We can all wear Boots' when we get there I guess.”

“I have a jacket in the car.”  Lizzie had forgotten Corrine was there. “And a couple pair of sunglasses.”

“That's perfect,” Gregor said, somehow keeping calm, “Thank you Corrine.” His hands hadn't left Lizzie shoulders.  He turned her around and led her back through the archway and to a group of bats already being loaded up with bags.

“Thank you, Cillian.”  Gregor and Luxa said almost in unity.

Gregor led Lizzie to a flier and any response Cillian had was lost in the roaring in her ears.  She took a deep breath before climbing onto the brown bat behind Luxa.  

The took off almost immediately and Lizzie held on to her sister-in-law who she knew had to be worried like she was.  Lizzie was excited to leave the Underland though, Luxa's adventure was just beginning.

Lizzie held on tighter as the fliers picked up speed.  They were so much faster than the ones that had taken them to Regalia.  Luxa rubbed Lizzie's arm, of course she wasn't even holding on.

“We will be okay.”

Lizzie didn't know which way to take Luxa's words, they applied to so much. She buried her face into Luxa's back, the once unfamiliar smell of the Underland now ubiquitous with her brother and comforting.

“Your girlfriend.”  Luxa said, turning her head a little to be heard better.  “She is very pretty, such colorful hair.  I did not know she knew quite yet.”

“She didn't.”  Lizzie took a deep breath.  “She wouldn't let me go anywhere alone.”

Luxa laughed, “it seems her and I are in a similar predicament.”

Corrine must have told Gregor what entrance they used because he didn't ask Lizzie.  They were soon getting back on their feet, Corrine's flashlight lighting up ahead of them.  She turned, looking for Lizzie, blinding Luxa and their flier.

“Careful, please Corrine.” Luxa said, her hand covering her eyes.

“Sorry!” Corrine squeaked.  

Lizzie could hear the stress in her voice.  She walked over to grab her hand, “We're almost back.”  

They started the journey up the stairs, Gregor and Luxa much faster than Lizzie and Corrine, especially because they had run all the way down there.

Lizzie's phone started going off when they were close enough to the surface to get signal, text message after text message from Boots.  She was never one to send a complete thought in one message.  Lizzie started reading them expecting the worst but it was only their flight information and small updates.  She had booked three seats, like she had known Luxa would be coming.  Boots did know her a lot better than Lizzie did.  Lizzie tended to spend her time in the Underland with Ripred and Hazard and a few Nibblers she had befriended, but didn't spend much time down there all together.  

It was hard for her to separate her memories from present day.  The Underland was so different from when she was younger, so was she, but the memories couldn't be stopped.

Gregor and Luxa were waiting at the entry when Corrine and Lizzie made it to the top, panting.

“Where did you park?”  Gregor asked, barely looking in their direction. His attention was fully on Luxa now that they were under an open sky.

Corrine took a deep breath of fresh air before answering, “this way.”

They walked briskly through the park, Luxa getting plenty of attention. It bothered Lizzie the most.  As royals, she was sure they were never in short supply of attention.  Luxa almost glowed in the dark, though without light you couldn't really see through her skin and she could pass as simply albino Lizzie supposed.

Lizzie kept them off the path as much as possible to stay away from the lights to make it easier on Luxa and make their trip easier.

“Fliers would make this much easier.”  Luxa said trying to lighten the mood.  Lizzie tried to let her, though her worry had been creeping back.  She fought it off by focusing on her senses.  Five things she could see.  Four things she could hear.  Three things she could feel.

“You'll finally get to ride in a car,” Gregor said, “and fly our way. Though it won't be very interesting at night.”  He was checking his own phone.  Boot's had sent him updates as well.  Their dad was stable, but not expected to recover much.

“You don't mind driving us to the airport, right?” Lizzie asked Corrine. She hadn't thought about how that had been implied.  Corrine had to work in the morning.

“Not at all.”

They reached the street and neither Lizzie or Corrine remembered the exact place they had parked, so Corrine hit the panic button.  They followed the horn to her terrible parking job.  A ticket had been placed on her windshield in the hour and a half they had been gone.  

Gregor guided Luxa into the back as she shielded her eyes from the bright lights.  Lizzie found a pair of sunglasses and handed them back to her.  They didn't do much, but she was able to drop her hand.

The car was quiet besides Gregor giving names to everything they passed. Though his voice was strained in stress, he was excited to have finally gotten Luxa Sky-side.  

Lizzie focused on the weight of Corrine's hand in hers.  On her soft voice singing with the radio.  Of the familiar sights around her, instead of their hasty visit to the Underland.  She focused on Boots' texts. Her dad was still alive.  Waiting for the rest of his children. Everything else was out of her control.  She prepared herself for any setbacks.

They still had hours before their flight.  The plane was almost guaranteed to be delayed.  They were in traffic now.  They would hit traffic on the way to the hospital.  They would make it though.

Lizzie put her head back and closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing and the amount of commitment Corrine must have if she hadn't jumped ship yet.

They pulled up to the airport drop off and Gregor got out first, letting out Luxa who couldn't figure out the car door.  Lizzie turned to Corrine.

“Thank you, so much.”

“That's what I'm here for, hun.  Anytime.  We’ll talk whenever you get back.”

Lizzie leaned over for a brief kiss before getting out of the car and heading into the brightly lit airport.  Corrine left the airport and pulled into the first gas station, blankly staring ahead and trying to process whatever the hell had just happened.

Lizzie, Gregor, and Luxa walked through the airport quickly.  With Lizzie briefly panicking about how Luxa could fly without an ID.  Gregor only smiled and pulled one out of his bag.  It had Luxa's picture and description, but her name and address matched a Margaret Campbell, making Lizzie laugh.

They didn't have any baggage to check and they were soon on the other side of security wondering how to spend the hour they had before their flight.  They made the rounds to the shops, explaining things to Luxa who looked anything but royal in Corrine's too big jacket and odd pants.  She reached up often to adjust the hood as if her crown were still on.

“I'd kill for a big mac, is anyone else hungry?” Gregor asked, steering them toward food.

“I don't want anything heavy, but I'm game for some stress eating.” Lizzie replied.

“Is there a Subway or something?”  Gregor asked, looking around, “Anything processed is going to kill her stomach.”  He kissed Luxa's hand that he was holding and they shared a smile.  Lizzie missed Corrine.

“There's one,” Lizzie said pointing to their right, “McDonald's in over there.”  she said pointing to the left.  “We can meet back at the gate, do you have money Gregor?”

Gregor shook his head and seemed reluctant to let Luxa go.

“We're in an airport Gregor, she'll be fine.”  Lizzie said, a little laugh escaping her lips at the look he had on his face when Luxa let go of his hand.  She handed him a twenty and they left him there, watching carefully.

“I am worried.”  Luxa said, “ He is spending so much energy on me, I do not think he is thinking about your father.”

Lizzie led them into the line, watching Luxa's amazement, “It's not hard to be focused on you.”  she laughed again.  It was nice to shift her attention away from worry.

“I suppose so.” Luxa said.

“Do you see anything familiar?”  Lizzie asked, having no idea what to get her.

“Not particularly,” Luxa said, scanning the ingredients, “though those,” she trailed off pointing to a few of the vegetables.

“Vegetables, got it.” Lizzie said.  She ordered for them both, filling Luxa's with vegetables she could pick off if she didn't like them.

They headed to the gate, eyes locked on them the whole way.  The weight of their stares hunching Lizzie over, but Luxa walked with her head up, her walk smooth.  Regal.

Lizzie's phone chimed, it was Corrine.

Let me know when you land, Princess ;)

Lizzie couldn't stop the smile but also groaned a bit,she wouldn't be able to get out of that one.

They had beat Gregor so they found seats and dug in, Luxa asking questions Lizzie didn't always have the answers too.  She barely knew how the vegetables grew, let alone how they had been selectively bred to get to where they were.

Gregor joined them soon, visibly relaxing when he sat down next to Luxa. Lizzie stole a handful of fries and they chatted lightly.  They were all stressed for various reasons, but pulling on each other for support.  They were all comfortable by the time their flight left, Luxa glad the plane was darker than the terminal.  

Lizzie somehow drifted to sleep, her head on her brothers shoulder. His steady breathing comforting.  He was a lot more accustomed to death than she was.  She had not had to deal with it since their grandmother.  She had been so lucky.  So complacent.

She had Gregor.  She had Luxa, though she was currently glued to the plane's window, watching the lights go by underneath them.  She would have Boots when they landed.  Their mom shortly after. She took another deep breath, banishing the anxiety from her stomach.

Day 4 of Fandom Week is here! I love seeing all the new content being made! @oneunexpected

I was falling.

But that had never been reason to be scared before.  I had no fear of hitting the ground, however far down it was.  That was the point of the vow.

Screams surrounded me, but I didn’t join them.  I was not afraid.

Gregor tuned his hands over slowly, watching the sunlight bounce off the tiny wrinkles.  No matter how much he didn’t want to live above ground, he had to admit he really liked the sun.  Its warmth, its light.  After almost a year of living in the Underland, he still couldn’t go more than a few months without coming up to see the sky.

He glanced upward as a cloud covered him in shade.  It was early fall, some trees already losing their leaves.  He always thought it was funny that the trees energy sources jumped ship when they were no longer useful, just to give the tree itself a bigger chance at making it through the winter.

Just like Luxa jumped ship ‘for Regalia’.  He thought bitterly.

The wind was making him cold without the sun, but the cloud was small so he waited it out.  He turned his attention back to his hands, looking at the scars on his palms.  They hadn’t really grown with him, so they seemed out of place.  They used cross his entire palm, but now only made it part of the way. His hands were so different now than when he had gotten the scars.  He was different.  Or was he?

He didn’t feel different.  He felt like he had frozen in time after the war.  The opposite of Luxa.

Gregor thought of how she used to be, when they were young.  She had been so rebellious, so set on doing what she thought was right.  Now, she didn’t make a decision without the counsel of others, no matter how strongly she feels on the matter.

He was stupid to have thought that the young, defiant princess wouldn’t change when she became queen.  That she would have made sure peace and equality were not just words.

The sun came back out as a breeze moved the cloud across the sky.  A couple of kids ran by screaming, a game of tag in full swing.  Gregor sighed, knowing he could never get that innocence back.

After another hour in the sun he went back down.  Luxa had meetings planned for most of the day, so he had some time to kill.  

He went to the prophecy room, the only place where memories of Luxa didn’t win out over any others.  He lied down on the floor, directly under the Prophecy of Time, his usual spot.

Gregor tried not to think of their most recent argument, but even the rhythmic sound of the prophecy in his head or the images of war couldn’t keep it at bay.

“Did you forget everything that happened when we were young?!”  Gregor had shouted.

“Of course not, how could you say such a thing?”  Luxa had shouted back.

“You just sound an awful lot like Solovet right now.  Taking away their resources?! What’s happened to you?”

Her face changed instantly at the mention of her grandmother and she stepped toward Gregor.

“This is the only way-“

Gregor cut her off, “No.  There’s never only one way.  It’s just the easiest and gives you the opportunity for revenge!”

“How dare you!”  Tears filled her eyes for only a second before she was in control again.  Luxa had walked out without saying anything else.

                           When the Warrior has been killed

The line brought Gregor back to the present.  It had foretold his death, but he had twisted the words to mean something else.  Over the years he had believed the prophecies less and less, and disliked Sandwich more and more.

Gregor’s eyes flicked over to where he knew the words on the walls ‘foretold’ Luxa’s parents’ deaths.  He imagined a world where they had lived.

Luxa would not be queen yet.  She would probably have a lot more fun.  She could learn how to rule from them, not have to forge her own way with only her grandparents as examples.  She wouldn’t be struggling with trying to find the balance between diplomacy and violence.

The door opened and the sound carried a picture of Luxa.  Gregor didn’t sit up.

“I just thought you should know I did not do it.  Not today anyway.  I gave them two weeks.”

Gregor’s mood lightened a bit, he hadn’t lost her completely.  He heard her walk over and she sat down next to him.

He looked to her face, seeing her hair was falling out of its braid, her crown a bit lopsided.  Her face was creased with worry and stress, her eyes staring blankly at the other side of the room.  There was only a torch by the door, so Gregor was sure she couldn’t read anything, but she was staring in the direction of The Prophecy of Grey, and neither of them needed to read it to know what it said.

He sat up a bit, leaning on an elbow.  He reached out and traced the scar down her face, smoothing her worry lines in the process.  She sighed.

“We have changed so much, Gregor.”

“We grew up.  That’s supposed to happen.”  Gregor said as he lied back down, staring at the ceiling again.

“Not like that.”  Gregor saw her point at the prophecy above them, referencing the war.

He nodded, still kind of mad at her, but not really sure for what.  He couldn’t blame her for the way she ruled, though he didn’t agree most of the time, he didn’t know what he would do if he was ruling a city like her.  What would he do if he eventually ruled beside her, like he so badly wanted to?  

Gregor couldn’t believe who she had become though.  It didn’t seem like anything was left of the stubborn twelve year old he was forced to leave here. But he was different too.  Growing up in the Overland after the war gave him a much different experience than Luxa would have had down here.

The Prophecy of Time had a soothing effect since he came back.  His eyes roamed over the words in time with his heartbeat.  Gregor was long removed from the terror it had once instilled in him.  The war was over.

Neither of them moved for a while, and when Gregor glanced up he saw Luxa was sitting against the wall with her eyes close.  

“I’m sorry.”  Her eyes opened slowly at his words, “We were kind of robbed of the fun times, huh?”

Gregor imagined have Luxa there though his teenage years, getting into even more trouble.  

Suddenly, Gregor got an idea.

“Come on.”

“Gregor, I-“ Luxa started, but stopped when Gregor pulled her to her feet.

He straightened the crown on her head and brushed some stray hairs back into her braid.  She looked so tired.  She let him lead her to the Museum where he had some things stored away.

“Trust me?”  He asked before going inside.  Luxa nodded slowly with narrowed eyes.

He pulled out a piece of cloth and tied it around her eyes, not without struggle.  Luckily, she caught onto Gregor’s good mood instead of fighting it because there’s was no doubt who would win.

He hurried through his preparations, smearing as much of the sunscreen as he could onto all of her exposed skin.  It was the highest SPF he could find, and he followed it up with a large hat and gloves, just in case.

He pulled her out of the palace quickly, not wanting to be too late.  He didn’t think Aurora would agree with his plan, so he asked a random bat in the high hall to take them to the drop off.

Gregor brushed off all of Luxa’s questions and was pleased to see a smile through her agitation, she needed a break.  He asked the bat to wait for them and helped Luxa off, making sure her blindfold was still in place.

She had always refused to see the Overland, arguing that although she was curious, she didn’t need to see it.  Gregor had always thought it was because she was scared of how much she didn’t know.

He carried her up the stairs much to her dismay, but it was easier than leading her.  A smile spread across his lips as he moved the boulder as quietly as he could.  They had made it in time.

It was his favorite part of the day.  The sun was setting and was at just the right angle that you could see shadows in the grass and beams shining through the trees.  Everything had a soft golden glow.

Gregor heard Luxa gasp as the fresh air hit her.  He pulled off her blind fold and replaced it with sunglasses so she wouldn’t hurt her eyes.

He thought he would have to fight to get her to go out, but she walked willingly with her hands in his.  Gregor faced her, watching the wonder on her face.  She had seen Central Park at night, but the world was so different during the day.  Gregor doubted Luxa had ever seen so much light.

“Gregor,” she started in wonder, walking slowly out of the shadows.  She reached a hand into the sunlight, holding it there for a second, before raising it to her face, marveling at the warmth.

Gregor wrapped his arms around her and she turned to face him, returning the gesture.  They sat against the boulder until the sun set, returning them to darkness.  Luxa stood first, being the responsible one and suggesting they go back.  Gregor nodded and pushed the boulder back into place behind them.

They descended the stairs holding hands, a small flashlight lighting the way.  Luxa sat behind him on their way back to Regalia, her head resting on her shoulder.

“Thank you.”  She said, kissing his cheek.  Gregor turned so she could reach his lips and he thought that maybe they could work after all.  It would be hard, and take a lot of compromise, but maybe with enough lighthearted trips like this one, it wouldn’t be so bad.  

Persephone flew the perimeter with Aris on her back, not seeing an ounce of activity.  She could feel him shaking with anxiety, his legs gripping her sides tightly out of agitation.