Fire Meets Water - A Kotlc Marellinh Fan Fiction

Chapter 18 - Marella

Marella hadn't seen Linh in a while. Every few minutes or when she had a break from fighting, she would glance around and take a headcount. Linh had been absent from the last three. Marella set a ring of fire around one person in a black cloak and set off in search of her girlfriend.

Marella dodged fighting as she ran over the once-beautiful fields. She felt a pang of guilt as she realized she had set a decent portion of Elwin's property up in flames. Some wedding day. Marella scanned the hills all around her. She thought she caught movement in her peripheral vision. She inches closer.

"...are lost. You have no purpose. We can change that." An achingly familiar voice said. Fintan. Marella clenched her teeth and moved as close as she dared. Still, she couldn't see who he was talking to.

There was a moment of silence as the person seemed to consider what Fintan was saying. Don't do it! Marella's mind screamed. Nothing good ever comes out of the Neverseen. But the person seemed to be thinking hard about it. Marella wanted to jump in right then and there and light Fintan's stupid head on fire, but she knew she had to wait until the right moment.

Fintan had that look on his face that he got when he could tell what someone was thinking. He began to speak.

"Love is a powerful thing. You see, love is like a..."

There was a boom that came from behind Marella. She whipped around to see Dex throwing little explosives. How he got those, Marella had no idea. Fintan had continued talking but it took a minute for Marella to clear her head before she could hear what he was saying.

"...doesn't see the spark that I do. A spark that could ignite a flame of passion and power with the proper training. That is what I offer you."

Marella shifted her weight and was finally about to see who it was Fintan was talking to, leading into his scheme.

But she didn't need to. She heard the person first. A voice that made her heart stop in her chest.

"Okay," Linh said.

Marella's stomach heaved. That didn't happen. Linh hadn't just agreed to join the Neverseen. The very organization that had tried to kill her and her friends. She vaguely registered Fintan saying something else, but her ears seemed to have stopped working.

A flash of silver and black hair confirmed her worst fears. Linh, beautiful and perfect Linh, was leaving them - leaving her - for the enemy. It was too much to handle.

Marella exploded.

Without really meaning to, Marella shot all the fire she could muster at the man. It knocked him back several feet and he landed hard on the ground with a crunch. Marella let out a guttural roar and charged at Fintan, setting the earth around him on fire. Rage burned bright in her as red clouded her vision. Fintan had taken almost everything from her. And now he was taking Linh from her too.

Suddenly spent, Marella fell to her knees and felt angry tears well up in her eyes. Fire crackled around her but she barely felt the heat.

A hand touched Marella's shoulder. She stiffened and looked up, Linh's face obscuring her vision. Marella pushed her hand off and back up. "Don't touch me." She growled.

Linh flinched as if Marella had hit her, and she could see tears forming. Marella didn't take it back. Linh deserved to feel hurt.

"How much did you hear?" Linh asked softly.

"Enough."

"I-I can explain..." she tried.

"Yeah? Well, I don't want to hear it." Marella snapped, "'Okay'? You just give in and say 'why not?!" She was screaming now, "I'll tell you why not. Because you have a loving brother who almost lost himself completely last time you left! Because you have friends who care for you and would do anything to keep you safe. Because they just got you back and couldn't bear to lose you again. Because-" Marella's voice broke and tears spilled down her cheeks, "because I love you."

The words hung in the air for a second before Linh wrapped Marella in a tight embrace. Marella wanted to push her away but all her energy had been drained and she sank into the hug instead.

"I love you too," Linh whispered into Marella's hair. "I-I thought that you were too good for me. You are a strong and amazing person and-and you didn't need me clogging up your life with my problems. He-he just has this way of talking and-"

"I will always need you."

Marella looked up and pressed her lips to Linh's in a passionate kiss. She reached out and cupped her hand on Linh's cheek, letting the other get tangled in her hair and she pulled her close.

Linh seemed startled at first, but soon melted into the kiss, wrapping her arms around Marella's waist. For the first time since the Neverseen kidnapping, Marella let her worries fly far away and just let herself live in the moment. Linh's impossibly soft lips on hers, the small zap wherever their skin touched. Fireworks erupted inside of her as Marella wished she could spend the rest of her life in this euphoria.

Perhaps the kiss had only lasted a second. Maybe it was an hour. It didn't matter. Marella didn't know and didn't care. She could have laid there all day with Linh pulled tight against her. Marella was still a bit delirious from the kiss and felt up on cloud nine when he heard a groan coming from where she had thrown Fintan.

Most of the fires had burned out - the grass had been very dry so the fires had burned bright but not for long. Another grunt came. Marella and Linh shared a quick look before going over.

The charred earth crunched under their feet as they moved across the land. Marella had thrown him quite far and it took them a minute to locate Fintan. They found him struggling to get up. His cloak was in rags and his hands shook under his weight as he forced himself to his feet.

When he turned to face them, Marella stifled a scream.

Half of Fintan's face was red and blotchy, almost bubbly looking, and one eye had been swelled shut. Most of his hair had burned away what was left was singed black. A look of shock passed over his face as he soaked in his chart and calloused hands. Clearly, he wasn't used to being burned.

Suddenly, Fintan realized he had company. He looked up quickly and dropped his hands to his side, his good eye locking on Marella and Linh. Marella tried to calm her churning stomach by looking at Fintan's injuries - injuries she had caused.

Anger contorted Fintan's features. "You did this to me," he growled, eye boring into Marella's. "LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" He roared and started limping toward her, rage radiating off him in waves, each hitting Marella like a blow.

Linh saw what was happening and ran to the top of the hill and called for help. Fintan advanced toward Marella, hands ablaze. She stumbled back a step and tried to clear her head enough to take in the situation and make a plan. Fintan was injured so maybe she could take him.

Thankfully, Marella never got to know the answer because soon after, Della, Biana, and Dex charged over the hill. Marella had never been so happy to see them in her life.

Della blinked away and reappeared almost immediately next to Fintan. She punched him in the face.

Fintan was sudden;y swept off his feet, presumably by Biana right before Dex yelled: "Take cover!" and threw one of his little explosives.

Marella dove behind a little mount of dirt as the bomb went off. The explosion went off right as she hit the ground. A wave of warmth hit her like it was something solid, throwing her backward a little bit.

When Marella recovered she saw that Fintan was slowly retreating from Dex and Biana, getting closer and closer to a cliff that drops off into the sea below.

Fintan looked over his shoulder and saw what was happening, but didn't stop walking. One of those evil smiles cracked on his chapped lips. Marella gulped. She knew that smile. That was the calm right before the storm. The ocean drawing back before it crashes a huge wave onto the shores.

He was backed up until he was balancing on the edge of the rock that jutted out over the unforgiving ocean. Marella knew what he was doing a second before he did it. But she still couldn't tear her eyes away as Fintan launched himself over the edge and let gravity take him down to the jagged rocks and cruel waves. 

A/N: Ahhhh! This is the second to last chapter! I'm so excited to finally be sharing this with you guys and I hope you all enjoyed it! The last chapter will be out shortly!

Word Count: 1.4 k

Art Credits: camelspit on Tumblr