Chapter Text
Humanity always left Adina in awe. She appreciated, even slightly envied, the way humans deeply fell in love with one another and grew old. How they persevered and overcame fear with their courage. Even when all seemed lost. It was more difficult to see that they could become murderers, and rapists, and have an overwhelming need to achieve power at the expense of others. More than humanity, Adina adored the beauty that nature provided here. All the darkness she had seen gave her more reason to love all life. But as she stared out of the carriage, looking upon the rundown tavern, Adina was reminded that she was not human. That she felt completely and utterly out of place here.
“Hurry now, or we will miss our chance," Johanna ushered as she flung the door open, “with their help, we can finally understand what you are."
“This may not be your best idea," Adina told her.
"Are you not curious? They might be able to provide you with answers," she argued, "they may even be older than you are."
"You certainly have a point, but perhaps there is a reason they meet in secret. Not to mention, we are uninvited guests. I fear it's not wise."
"You've spent the last century wondering what you are and now that you're closer to the truth you wish to run? Are you afraid?" "I'm terrified," Adina admitted, "and thinking that maybe this is a question better left unanswered."
Johanna then grasped both of Adina's hands and held them tightly, "Remember, I am here with you. It's you and me, yeah?"
Adina sat in silence for a moment, leering at the Inn. There was something else stopping her and making her hesitate. A presence that she could not decipher, one that was ancient, powerful, and dangerous. It was an odd sensation; it was unknown and yet it brought her comfort. Little did she know that just inside an anthropomorphic personification was acutely aware of her arrival as well. A gentle smile formed on her lips, and she linked her arm with Johanna's,
"Shall we head in then?"
"There's my girl."
Morpheus could feel the warmth and light that her presence radiated. He was overcome with this insistent need to follow it, allow it to lead him to her. There was an oddity about the woman that sparked his curiosity. Except he remained rooted in his seat, with the notion that he would find her another time, and redirected his attention back to the conversation at hand.
"There's a new system where they take English cotton goods to Africa, get a cargo of negroes, pack em' in like sardines. Same ship takes them back across the Atlantic," Hob explained with a sense of pride, "then comes back here with raw cotton, tobacco, and sugar... What?"
"It's a poor thing for one man to enslave another," Morpheus's tone had been even but to Adina, who was now listening intently from the catwalk above, it sounded as though he was looking down at the other man's success. With every right.
"Wait, but for a moment,” Adina pleaded, with a firm squeeze to Johanna’s wrist. Her dear friend nodded reluctantly and leaned back against the rail as they both continued to eavesdrop on a conversation that did not involve them.
Finally, Adina let her gaze fall upon the man... no, that didn't sound right, he was more than that. Throughout her time here she has never met nor seen a being quite like him. He was not human, that much she knew. With hair that was black as night and porcelain skin, making him look ethereal, as though he did not belong here like herself. But what truly drew her in, was the color of his eyes. They were a bright cerulean blue and deeper than any ocean she could drown in.
"I suggest you find yourself a different line of business, Robert Gadling," Morpheus advised.
"You're giving me advice? After four hundred years," He chastised, "What happened to ‘live your life as you choose?"
"The choice is yours. But would you take that choice away from others?"
Adina was enthralled by the way he spoke. His words were chosen carefully and held meaning. He did not need to over-explain, there was no reason for him to. And the timbre in his voice sent chills down her spine.
Robert looked down in shame, knowing that the being across from him was right, "I will consider your advice."
"I saw a production of Mrs. Siddons as Goneril. The idiots had given it a happy ending."
"That will not last. The great stories will always return to their original forms."
"That lad, Will Shakespeare. He turned out to be a half-decent playwright after all. You made some kind of deal with him, didn't you?"
"Perhaps."
"What kind of deal? His soul?"
"Nothing so crude."
"I have always found that some need more inspiration than others," Adina added, the words fumbling from her mouth before she could stop them. "My apologies, I know I should not be here."
"Yet you are," Morpheus quipped, a playful remark that held no annoyance. Instead, he found himself rather curious about the woman and asked, “Why?”
"I might ask both of you that same question, gentlemen," Johanna pipped in, "Please, please do not trouble yourselves to rise. These are Michael and Tobias."
"Johanna, what are you doing?" Adina was not one to resort to violence unless she deemed so, and this was not the time for a display of such acts.
“Leave the rest to me, darling. These two gentlemen are smugglers by trade. Although they’re only too glad to augment their earnings by slitting throats,” Johanna threatened, “if you move, they’ll slit yours.”
"That is entirely unnecessary and barbaric," Adina tried to reason, "I only came here hoping the two of you might help me, but I understand if you refuse to speak with me now. Johanna, come, we should leave them be."
"If you want answers, then this is what must be done,” Johanna pressed.
"Threatening their lives is not the way to approach this situation."
"No. No, I think not," Morpheus agreed.
Adina noted the way his tone had changed, gentle but still commanding as he addressed her. A smile graced her lips that did not go unnoticed by him, and the King of Dreams was completely enamored. He was unable to look away from the blonde woman standing before him, who met his gaze with respect and kindness. Her eyes were a bright green and gentle, filled with an honesty that most humans did not possess, not even Robert Gadling. Her golden hair fell past her slender shoulder in natural waves, and he imagined the strands feeling like silk between his fingers. He could not deny that she was stunning, blessed with beauty that no goddess could match. But the spell was broken as Johanna’s voice rang through the air,
"There is a tale in these London parts, that the Devil and the Wandering Jew meet once every century in a tavern. Two years passed, and sewn into the shirt of a dead man, I found this."
"Is that meant to be me," Robert asked baffled and Adina walked over to the table to view the sketch for the second time that day,
"Yes, it doesn't seem to capture your features at all. The nose is even all wrong."
"Oh, I look terrible," Robert glanced up at the man who sat across from him, "You look worse."
“It certainly doesn’t paint either of you in a good light.”
"Perhaps he or she needs more inspiration then," Robert remarked, and the sound of her soft laugh filled Morpheus’s ears, his attention now fully directed at her. But his eyes narrowed in on a pendant that fell out from under her white cloak, a moonstone. How odd, he thought. If such a stone was ever used by a wielder of magic it could absorb power.
“I’m afraid this artist is a lost cause. And it seems my manners have escaped me. My name is Adina.”
“Robert Gadling, a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise.”
Morpheus quietly observed how Adina easily connected with humans. As though it was second nature for her, and it was a trait she shared with his dear sister. He could feel a slight smirk tugging at his lips, secretly admiring the fact.
“Do not bother asking his name,” Robert added referring to his old friend, “he still has yet to tell me.”
Adina raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the information, “You meet with a man every hundred years and you have yet to know his name?”
“He dodges the personal questions.”
“Enough,” Johanna barked, “as I was saying you return to this pub every hundred years, striking bargains with men, sharing gifts, immortality, which you now share with me. Well, have you nothing to say?”
“I am no devil,” Morpheus answered slightly annoyed with the brunette, who had dared to command him.
It confused him to watch the two women, who were vastly different in personality, be close friends. Yet he could not help but feel as though something was off between the two. One was hiding a rather dark secret and he was quite determined to figure it out.
“I am not Jewish,” Robert added.
“Fine, well if you do not wish to answer, perhaps they can persuade you.”
Michael and Tobias stepped forward as Constantine retreated back to a secluded corner but before Robert could react, Adina smashed a teacup into Tobias’s face causing him to stumble backward, giving her a mere moment to pick up a knife. Michael had thrown a punch in her direction, but she quickly stepped aside, reversed her grip on the hilt, and plunged the blade deep into Michael’s chest then pushed his corpse to the floor with a heavy sigh.
“Bloody hell,” Robert mumbled in awe, as she then tossed the knife aside, metal clattering against the plate, and picked up a cloth to clean the blood from her hands.
Adina could feel eyes boring into the side of her face and she dared to glance over at Morpheus. There in his blue irises, she saw the swirl of the cosmos and it felt as though the air had been sucked out of her lungs. Her anger was coming to a simmer as he looked upon her with sympathy. He could see that it had pained Adina, that guilt weighed heavy in her heart, and he had to push away the urge to reach for her hand, to somehow provide comfort.
With caution, Johanna then approached Adina to comfort her with words, but shame rose from her chest and formed a lump in her throat. She did not dare speak. She knew that it was not easy for Adina to take the lives of others and always preferred to be a voice of reason between the two.
“I am sorry,” Johanna told her sheepishly.
“I know you mean well, and I love you dearly, as though you are my own sister. But this is not the way I wanted answers,” Adina hissed, not taking notice of Tobias slowly coming to and struggling to stand.
Robert had sprung from his chair, his fist colliding with Tobias’s cheek and the smuggler was out cold before he even hit the floor. Robert then stepped towards the brunette woman who immediately pointed a blade of her own at him. Adina had taken a step forward to stand between them and hopefully disarm Johanna until a commanding voice stopped her,
“Wait,” Morpheus spoke up as he stood and reached into his jacket pocket.
Adina furrowed her eyebrows together in question, watching the man as he held out his hand and with a soft blow of air, gold sand traveled over to Johanna. She immediately dropped to her knees, eyes turning white, and quietly mumbled to herself.
“Well, that is one way to keep her from making things worse,” Adina commented, “This is not what I had in mind when I sought the two of you out.”
“Her actions are not yours to bear,” he reminded.
“Quite true. Maybe you can teach me how to do that, it could be useful in the future.”
“I’m afraid such power resides with me alone.”
“What a pity,” she jested with a smirk.
“What did you do to her,” Robert questioned Morpheus.
“She has old ghosts that I have shown to her. She will recover,” Morpheus assured and took a step toward Adina, “And you did not need to come to my defense.”
“Yes, well, her behavior was unwarranted. As was mine, I sincerely apologize for interrupting such a private occasion.”
“Perhaps you should keep better company,” He suggested and was rewarded with a small chuckle from the blonde woman.
“You are not the first person to say such a thing. She has only ever been trying to help me.”
“Care to explain what exactly she is helping you with,” Hob wondered.
“A little over a century ago Johanna’s great-grandmother found me unconscious but my memories before that are gone. I have nothing more to go on, unfortunately.”
“You’re like me then unable to die,” he concluded.
“Not quite,” Morpheus corrected still keeping eye contact with Adina who was now standing only mere inches away from him. A sense of ease washed over him as the sweet smell of lilies filled his lungs and it assured him that he would not be wrong to trust her. “You are not human.”
“Neither are you,” she pointed out, seeming to find relief in the common ground they shared, “I was thinking you might be able to help me but given what has happened I would understand if you were hesitant.”
Adina was not wrong, nonetheless, he was insanely curious about her. It was not her beauty that Morpheus felt enraptured with it was her kindness. How she addressed others with such a soft tone. That display earlier, he did not expect it to come from someone of her nature, yet violence was not something she shied away from. He truly wanted to know more about Adina. He wanted to know her fears to keep them away at night. He wanted to know her hopes and dreams.
“I cannot help you restore your memories but as to what you are,” he leaned in a bit closer, “perhaps you and I can find out together, without your… friend.”
“Is that your only condition?”
“Will that be an issue?”
“Of course not, but I have no intention of keeping it a secret from her.” Adina glanced down at Johanna and with a defeated sigh, she poured herself a glass of wine and suggested, “Robert perhaps you should disappear for the time being. Johanna will not stop trying to find you, she is stubborn that way. I know of someone who can get you out of the city.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“She is right,” Morpheus added, “Constantine may have told others about our meeting. It will not be safe for you.”
“I’m perfectly safe. I can’t die, remember?”
“Even so, Johanna will not give up on her quest for power. You may live on, but I’d prefer it if you weren’t hurt or captured,” Adina implored. “Meet me at the docks tonight. I will buy you some time, until then you must be cautious.”
“I will see you tonight then,” Hob agreed and leaned in placing a chaste kiss upon Adina’s cheek, “Thank you.”
“It is the least I can do, now go on both of you. I will deal with this mess.”
However, Morpheus stayed behind for a moment intently watching Adina as she kneeled down next to Tobias and poured a type of liquid onto a cloth. She then put it up to the man’s nose, and within mere moments Tobias was sitting up coughing heavily and frantically looking around.
“Easy now, love. Slow down,” she spoke gently, “Do I need to remind you what will happen if you breathe a word of this?”
“No,” he answered shaking his head.
“Then here is your pay and I would advise you to find a different line of work, Tobias. I see you anywhere near this Inn, you will suffer a fate worse than your brother.”
“Adina-.”
“It’s all right, and I am sorry about Michael.”
“I know. Everything was going to catch up to him eventually.”
“Go on now.”
“I won’t forget this,” he exclaimed before rushing out the door.
“You are letting him go,” Morpheus wondered aloud, and Adina jumped slightly at the sound of his voice, forgetting that he had been there the whole time. “I did not mean to frighten you.”
“You didn’t,” she assured, turning around to face him, “I thought you might have left by now.”
“There is something I would like to discuss but you have yet to answer my question.”
“I see forgiveness is not your strong suit,” Adina teased with a smile only he did not see the humor in her words, “but forgiveness is not about the person who has wronged you, it’s about being able to heal. Tobias had more reason to leave the smuggling business behind. He has a wife and two children; a desperate man will do anything to provide for his family. While Michael enjoyed the suffering of others.”
“You had no reason to help us.”
“And yet you have every reason to give me the same punishment as you have given Johanna,” She moved closer to him and her gaze did not waver as she explained, “Simply doing something that you feel is right does not need a reason. I do not expect anything from you in return.”
“Except for my help,” he corrected.
“I was hoping that would be given willingly not because I chose to do something out of kindness.”
“Can I trust you to keep your word then?”
“About Robert? I assure you he is safe with me. Johanna will never know where he is if I do not.”
Morpheus has existed for eons, and no one had approached him with kindness, at least from anyone who did not want anything in return. Taking that single step left between them, he whispered,
“You are an oddity, Adina.”
“You speak as though you are not one yourself,” a shy smile played on her lips as she avoided eye contact, “You show people their nightmares and have yet to tell me or Robert your name. I would argue that you are the peculiar one.”
“Is that what you want in return,” he felt the beginning of a smirk tug at the edges of his mouth, “To know my name?”
“Only if you are willing to give it.”
His lips curled into an amused smirk, even now she was giving him a choice. Perhaps she had manipulated this from the beginning and if that were true, he did not mind. So, without a second thought, he gave her what she wanted,
“Morpheus.”
“Morpheus,” she repeated, and he found himself enjoying the way it sounded, softly spoken as though it was a whisper in the wind. “Well, it was quite a pleasure meeting you but if Johanna did in fact tell anyone else, this is not the place you want to be.”
There was genuine concern in her tone that made him believe that she might actually care, but she cares for all life. He was not special to her, and yet he longed to be, he desired to mean something to her. Whatever form that took.
"Until we meet again," he tilted his head slightly bidding her farewell and headed towards the door.
"Wait," She called out, and Morpheus glanced at her from the corner of his eye, "When will I see you again?"
"Say my name, and I will come find you."