The Chain (Thresh & OC FanFiction)

12. silence before the storm

Aylin stayed close to Thresh. She was much bolder and more confident now than she had been on their first walk, but even though she could walk quite far on her own, with Thresh she always stayed incredibly close to the wraith. The Warden didn't know whether he was happy or, on the contrary, worried.

Despite everything, he put his arm around the frail figure of the woman, his clawed hand hidden behind a metal glove placed either on the shoulder or on the woman's waist. The wraith's other hand always held the lantern firmly so that the light of a million tormented souls would show the two the way through the corruption and unpleasantness of the Isles.

It was evening, so it was getting really dark. The twisted trees in the twilight and flickering lamplight looked really eerie. Unpleasant and sad.

"Thresh..."

"Yes?" The Warden replied immediately.

"Do you think the king and queen will ever get back together?"

Thresh narrowed his eyes. He saw Viego, madly with love, ready for anything, for things terrible and beautiful, for the ultimate sacrifice. He also saw Isolde, enraged and possessed by the warp that resulted from the collision of life and death. If they were finally in that Mist, would everything be right, or would it plunge their whole world into darkness?

"I don't know," Thresh admitted. "I don't know if they should have done that."

"They're both dead, aren't they?"

"Yes," he confirmed.

"Can nothing save them?" she asked in a strangely tearful voice.

Thresh only sighed. He remembered a thousand years of darkness and curse, saw again millions of dead souls, begging for an end that would never be given to them. He saw corruption and hatred, the evil born of mad love.

And then he remembered how many years ago some people had fought for a hopeless cause. He had fed on these stories in his childhood and was delighted with the course of events. Even the fact that he discovered the truth about the Black General did not diminish the beauty of the story and the pathos of the events.

"There's always a way out, Aylin," he replied slowly. "But I don't know what would be best in this situation. Perhaps the fact that the king and queen are dead and apart is a blessing to us."

Aylin sighed, heavy and tender. For her, this story seemed sorrowful. For Thresh – full of his mistakes, he wouldn't make today. Thresh remembered that The Gray One had combined all these feelings into one in a bizarre way. She thought the story was beautiful and wished she had known the blessed sources herself when she had lived and decided the fate of millions.

"Harrowing is coming soon," Aylin remarked quietly.

"In two days," Thresh clarified. "You should start preparing for your journey, Aylin."

"I know," she admitted softly. "I'm afraid, Thresh."

"You have no reason," he replied. "I'll be close. As long as I can."

"What's next for me?"

Thresh didn't answer right away. He didn't quite know what to answer.

"I don't know, Aylin," he finally admitted. "I've been dead for a thousand years. I have no idea what the living are doing now."

"You never wanted to be alive again?" she asked quietly.

"No, Aylin," he replied. "I'm dead. History has already taught us that nothing will change that. Even blessed water."

"But then..."

She stopped, and Thresh glanced at her briefly. Her cheeks were red with embarrassment, and she looked away from him. He quickly understood what she was thinking – then, on the beach, his body came back to him briefly, very briefly. He doubted, however, that it was possible to revive a wraith back to human life in this way.

His right hand, the one he was resting against Aylin's cheek, returned to normal a few days after the incident. It shone brightly again with the cursed magic of the Isles, and it didn't hurt him every time he flexed his fingers. Thresh wondered what had caused these changes, if not the blessed water and its unusual powers.

"Then?" He took it despite everything.

Aylin turned her head ostentatiously, but remained under Thresh's arm the whole time. As they talked, they came to the gardens of the library. The intricate paths, the lush if bizarre plants, and the beautiful sculptures could still be somehow enchanting. Thresh was captivating.

"Aylin?"

Thresh stopped at a small pond. The twisted branches of a weeping willow hung over the water. It was surrounded by hedges and tall bushes, and he had always liked this secluded spot with a single stone bench. It was dark and peaceful.

"Aylin..." he repeated, amused when the woman ignored his call.

"I don't... and... can we not talk about it?" She groaned.

He laughed and nodded. He sat down on a bench, placing the lantern on a high pedestal. Aylin sat next to him after a moment, still as red as a peony, embarrassed and unsure.

"Sorry," she whispered softly.

"What for?" he was surprised.

"For... then..."

"That kiss?"

She nodded, still with that cute, sweet look. Thresh had to admit he liked the view a lot. Maybe even too much.

"You don't have to," he replied. "You didn't cause me any embarrassment. Rather the opposite."

"But... didn't it... hurt you?"

"It hurt," he confirmed honestly. "No more than anything else about me being a wraith. Don't bother with it."

The woman clearly wanted to ask something else, say something else, but she was silent. Possibly, she was afraid, possibly ashamed – Thresh didn't know. Actually, Aylin didn't know either.

"Thresh... what if... it fails?"

"We haven't even tried it yet," he pointed out.

"I just..."

"If we fail at this Harrowing, it will succeed at the next," he pointed out. "Fortune favors you. We found the boat. Just before Harrowing."

The woman just nodded her head weakly.

"We should head back," Thresh pointed out. "You should get ready for the trip and..."

"Can we still stay?" she interrupted him. "Please."

He nodded. As she snuggled against his side, he didn't react. He was afraid that any movement or gesture could only make the woman turn away from their plan and want to stay in the Isles forever. He could see it in her eyes, a longing for something she shouldn't have missed.

But what he was even more afraid of was that he actually wanted the same thing.