Chapter Text
You know nothing of the power you hold...
Aria stood at the threshold of the grand ballroom in awe. The twinkling stars above created a halo across the polished floor, accentuating the gowns of the denizens below. Sheers curtains danced across the room with the slight breeze from the open balconies. There were so many creatures she had never encountered before - in real life to be specific. Their faces had only existed in the books she had read as a child.
Pixies carried trays of hor devours and drinks, zooming from one end of the room to the other without wasting a drop.
A swirling pool opened in the centre of the room where mermaids and mermen performed synchronised leaps and vaults. Their scales cast a kaleidoscope of colours across the water, whenever one neared the ceiling.
Smoke gathered in the air as fire-breathers, covered in fur and red markings produced intricate patterns for a captivated audience.
She wandered into the ballroom, completely entranced by the magic surrounding her. A slight pressure on her arm made her look down, a small creature, resembling a firefly but much brighter sat on her arm. More gathered around her, moving in a hypnotic dance. A child-like laugh escaped her lips and she lifted one finger to touch them.
"I wouldn't do that Rookie. They give quite a sting."
The voice came from near her right ear and caused goosebumps to explode all over her bare arms and shoulders.
She knew that voice.
She turned slightly, her peacock gown slightly swishing across the floor, a sarcastic retort ready on her tongue. A sudden wave of deja vu struck her as she gazed into the searing blue eyes of her 'bodyguard'. Everything about him was familiar; the grey suit he wore, his blonde hair that never seemed to move, even the quirk in his lips that drove her to distraction.
Everything apart from his eyes. She remembered the last time they had worn these clothes, how he had looked at her with such profound pain and wonder. The longing - so obvious it hurt. She remembered how he pulled his guard up when she got too close, how badly she wanted to break down his walls.
Now it was different, The pain and longing were gone, replacing it was pure unadulterated adoration. She gasped slightly and he lifted an eyebrow in response.
"You okay?" He asked, cupping her face. His fingers were callused but warmed her face nonetheless.
She melted in his embrace and gazed at him with bright eyes, "I am now."
His lips parted in a disbelieving laugh, slim fingers travelled the length from her jaw to her gloved hand, and she felt her body heating at his light touch.
"Dance with me." It wasn't a question but she nodded anyway and he swept her away. For someone who had spent majority of his life in the darkness his touch was surpringly soft. Like how one would hold the Koh-I-Noor.
The deja vu returned, she remembered dancing with him but never like this. He had never held her this close and this tight. She opened her mouth to voice her confusion when a scream interrupted them.
"THE BARRIERS HAVE BEEN BROKEN!"
It was followed by a sound that needed no introduction.
That eldritch screech haunted her every nightmare.
Panic broke out, the stars dimmed, the pixies and fireflies raced out of the balconies, even the frightened merpeople dived back into the water.
"Nik...," she whispered, her eyes wide with terror.
Although the hold on her arms tightened and his body shook with tension, his voice was calm. " Nothing's gonna happen," he promised, almost like he believed saying it would make it true, " now let's get outta here, this was party was getting boring anyway."
She desparately wanted to believe him.
Before they could move, the far wall exploded and the ground shook beneath them. Nik's arms circled around her waist to keep her steady. The explosion created a huge, gaping hole and a hair-raising scream echoed through it.
"Come on Rookie!" Nik grabbed her hand and they ran in the opposite direction, desperately looking for a way out. Another explosion shook the room and she tripped over her gown and fell onto the cold floor. Every part of her body collapsed in pain as she was trampled by the beasts and Fae alike. She shielded her head in her arms in a fetal position, trying not to succumb to the torture. Just when she thought she couldn't take anymore, a hand shot out and gripped her upper arm, hauling her to her feet. The same callused fingers that had set her alight with desire now dug into her pale skin.
Nik's eyes blazed with fury. "Don't you dare!" He spat out between gritted teeth, "I told you we're getting out."
Nik elbowed and punched his way through the suffocating mass of bodies with one arm wrapped around her shoulders in an effort to save her from retaliation. At one point, both of her heeled shoes slipped off and her bare feet were caught under the stampede.
Once they escaped the throng, she scanned the room in despair. Most of the walls had crumbled, golden chandeliers had shattered from their fall and flickered in the darkness.
"There's a passageway about 20 feet away but we're gonna have to run for it okay?" When she didn't respond, Nik grabbed both her arms and lifted her close so he could look into her eyes. "Okay, Aria?"
She could see his how his nose flared in barely concealed terror and frustration, and how hard he was trying to appear calm before the loss of control could make him spiral.
"Okay," she breathed out.
He nodded and grabbed her hand again, this time their fingers interlocking. "On the count of three."
One.
Two.
Three.
Aria gathered her dress in one hand, her lungs crying out from exertion as they sprinted across the floor. She felt glass and other debris pierce her bare feet but she barely noticed, her eyes fixated on the narrow passageway Nik was leading her to. She saw Lady Thalissa at the entrance, beckoning both of them closer.
Almost there, just a couple more feet.
"Aria!" she heard Nik cry out before he pushed her away and she rolled on the floor until an upturned table halted her descent. Her head rung as she hit the ground and it took a couple of moments before she could compose herself.
The eldritch scream heightened and caused her headache to intensify. She keeled over in pain, stumbling across the floor with her hands covering her ears.
It was as if it happened in slow motion. The creature passed where she had been moments before, claws ready for the kill. Frustrated that it missed, the phantom turned on Nik, she saw his lips move in what was probably a witty comment.
Their eyes met.
Grey and blue.
And then the blood wraith reached out with its other talon and impaled his chest. A splatter of blood gushed from Nik's wounds, covering both the ghostlike skin of his killer and his crisp suit.
His mouth hung open in a silent cry until the wraith catapulted him across the room, he crashed into a towering pillar and fell to the ground like a puppet without strings.
Aria felt pain like she had never done before. Her heart seemed like it was going to beat out of her chest, leaving behind an open wound that would never heal.
She couldn't move.
Couldn't breathe.
His name echoed in her head like a mantra, drowning out the screams that surrounded her. She already missed him, Missed the way he smiled when she answered back to him, his warm hands that were never far from touching her, the way his eyes twinkled the night before on the terrace when he confessed his feelings.
The same eyes stared into space, dark and unmoving.
All the fight had left her body and she fell to the floor. The blood wraith now hovered over her with red eyes, lifeless and cruel ready to strike and she closed her eyes waiting for the agony to end.
Waiting to join Nik.
"Open your eyes, daughter mine."
She listened to the command, still expecting to see her death staring back at her. Instead, it was a pair of moon-coloured eyes so much like her own.
"Father..." she whispered, her brain still clouded.
She was sure she had only just seem him last night but for some reason she was struck by how much she missed. His long blue and silver flowing robes and the almost fluorescent hair that reached his waist were all unfamiliar now.
She sat up suddenly, as the memories assaulted her again, "where's Nik?" She demanded, her eyes zeroing in on where she had last seen his body. It was then she noticed where she was.
They were back in the ballroom, without all the trappings of a grand ball, without the people and the stars. Most importantly without the phantom that was so determined to end her life.
Lord Elric held out a slender hand and rested it on her shoulder, "come daughter mine, we have much to discuss but not enough time."
He helped her to her feet and guided her to the open door of the balcony. The night breeze calmed her erratic breathing and she looked up at the twinkling stars above as they had never dimmed.
"Was it..." she started as they reached the balustrade. Below the marketplace was alight but barren, not a soul in sight. She placed her hands on the cool stone, "was it all a dream?"
"A dream," Lord Elric confirmed in his soft and ancient voice, "a dream with remnants of a memory." Their eyes met and Aria was overcome with a wave of anguish - her memory slowly piecing together.
"You're gone." She stated, her voice thick from tears.
Her heart warmed at Lord Elric's familiar tinkling laugh. "No daughter mine," he held both her hands in his own and Aria noticed the sharp contrast of his silver skin to her own golden. "I am never far from you."
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I have been searching for you."
Aria pulled away and wrapped her arms around herself, something she had done as a child when she was anxious.
"Why?" She questioned.
As if he didn't hear her, her Father carried on, "I should've known to look here," he said faintly, he focused his gaze back on her, "you were happy this day, weren't you?"
"Father, what was that? I have never dreamed of anything..." her voice broke, "anything like that before."
Regret marred his graceful face, "I do solemnly apologise for that."
Aria tightened her arms around herself, "you did that?"
"I needed to find a way to reach you but so enamoured by your knight you were, that it took great difficulty to break that spell."
"I don't understand, why...why did you need to reach me?" Her voice rose, "what was so important you had to make me go through that?"
Lord Elric sighed and suddenly Aria saw how old he was, how much he had loved and lost.
"There are things you must know, daughter mine. Vital counsel that I thought I would have had time to provide you..." He stopped at looked at the sky for a moment as if something was calling him.
"About what?" She inquired. He looked down at that and Aria felt uneasy. Why did he look so worried?
"Your abilities. What you are, what you will be capable of. There will be many people who wish to exploit it."
"Who-"
Lord Elric cut her off, his voice desperate as if he couldn't get the words out fast enough.
"Just remember daughter mine...the link must never be broken."
Before she could utter another, her father pushed her off the balcony. As the ground neared, her eyes flicked to her father's lone figure and the dark shadow that slowly encased his glowing form.