Pain of the Past (a Preminger fanfiction)

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They stayed with Lady Gossamer for a full moon after that, busying themselves with planning and studying the few maps they had of the inner city. Addams had left shortly after he'd arrived, moving onto the next rendezvous point to spread word of the new plan. By the time they were to arrive back to their village, the word would have spread to the rest of the recruits to begin making their way to meet.

"We will act at the month's end, as the new year approaches," Addams had decided. "A new year, and a new age for the common man."

By the time they'd gotten word from him again to depart, there was snow on the ground and a bitter chill in the air. The journey home would be a long one.

"We will take the low roads, through the valley to avoid the north wind." William decided as they readied to go. Lady Gossamer had filled their bags with food for their trip and given them extra provisions for the weather.

"You're too generous," He'd insisted when she had first filled his arms with the extra pack. "Thank you for allowing us to stay with you this past month."

She had nodded, her thin lips curling ever so slightly with a smile as she helped Preminger fasten the straps of the satchel.

"I believe in what you are all fighting for, and I believe that a change is going to come." At this, she looked up at him, sharp eyes misty with some deep thought. "There are difficult times ahead. I cannot foresee the outcome of this fight, but I know that no matter how the end, there will be challenges ahead. Do not be hardened by your losses, my friend, or it will be your undoing."

She'd left him with that nugget of foreboding, staring dumbly with a pack in his arms, trying to shake the sense of dread that came with her words. Now, as they prepared to depart, he could see she was dropping a similar burden of speech on Vanessa. The girl's hands were clasped in the woman's palms, her face slack as she listened to the witch speak.

"Preminger?" William's voice snapped him back from his gaze. He shook his head, looking back to the others who were staring expectantly.

"Sorry, what?"

"Are you prepared to speak to the miners?" Erik clarified. "We intend to make way to the mines as soon as we arrive back to town."

"Yes," He said quickly, brushing his palms against the fabric of his trousers. "If word hasn't already reached them, I'm sure they'll be more than ready to rally. The miners probably have the most reason to be upset with the king."

"Wonderful," Erik said, clapping his hands together. "Are you well, my love?" Vanessa had joined them once again, face appearing a bit ashen, but otherwise she looked prepared to leave.

"Fine. Just speaking with the Lady," she said passively. Preminger wasn't listening. He was looking at William, who held his gaze with a deep and pensive look, as though he were trying to read the pages of his soul but could not piece together the words. It made Preminger's skin crawl, his heart murmuring in his chest. At long last, William looked away, though his expression still appeared deep in thought.

"We must make haste. There is a long journey ahead."

They said their final goodbyes to Lady Gossamer, making their way down the old path until eventually they broke out of the woods. Preminger couldn't shake the feeling that they were all walking back towards the mouths of their graves, but he did his best to ignore the sensation.

It was on the 5th night of their journey, as they huddled together around a fire beneath the stars, that Preminger found himself awake alone with William. The others dozed peacefully beside them, the twins tangled together beneath a heap of blankets and Vanessa and Erik side by side by the fire. William sat across from him, watching steadily above the heated flames.

"Something on your mind?" He finally prompted, feeling he could no longer stand the silent gazes that had followed him the past week. William shrugged lightly, leaning back against his pack that nestled behind him in the grass.

"Curious is all," he said.

Preminger spread his hands.

"I'm an open book."

At this, William let out a quiet laughed, but when he looked back up, there was intention in his eye.

"Why did you join us?"

Preminger blinked, wondering for a moment the answer to the question himself. He thought of his father, Eliza and the orphanage, of the twins who'd rather pickpocket on the streets than live in the home funded by the king. At last he folded his hands again, looking into the orange hearth.

"I don't know."

William nodded, and silence passed between them for a moment more. The sound of sparks seemed to echo in the nighttime air.

"Something Lady Gossamer said to me," he finally continued. "Before I met you. She told me you were a smart man, a bit wayward in your soul, but with ambition and cunning and the power to be great. She told me our fate was intertwined."

Preminger tried to ignore the way that made his stomach turn. He tried to gage William's expression as he spoke, wondering if he said that with tenderness or remorse, but his face revealed very little.

"She said you had the makings of a great hero and of a dangerous villain, and that I would in part determine which of those paths you took."

A quiet tension settled between them as they stared each other down, the words of prophesy looming heavy in the air. Preminger let out a breath, leaning back in the grass and gazing up quietly at the stars. He could see the constellations far above him, each in their place in the vastness of the midnight sky. His breath spilled in a cloud from his lips.

"I don't believe much in destiny."

"I know," William chuckled, leaning back to join him. Even through the thick layers of their clothes, Preminger could feel his body heat. "I don't know what to make of it all, really. Heroes and villains, kings and witches and armies and fate, it seems so daunting to me. I've lost so much in this world already."

The thought of home crossed his mind again. The feeling of his father's fingertips, cold between Preminger's adolescent hands.

"Me too," he admitted softly.

He shifted his head, turning to find William had not been looking at the stars, but at him. He watched the way the orange light of the fire caressed his features, warming his soft brown skin.

"Can I trust you?" William asked in a voice little more than a whisper.

Preminger thought of the road ahead. He thought of how far they'd come, of how much he'd already been through, of the witch's words and of how he felt he had nothing left to lose. He thought of the friends he had here, gathered around the campfire on the threshold of battle. Earnestly flushed his gaze.

"Until the end."