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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Before - Legends "Cat litter" (re-loaded), an old fanfic in a new coat

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction- Before, Saga, and Beyond' started by AzureAngel2, Sep 8, 2012.

  1. SWpants

    SWpants Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 28, 2004
    The ghastly tattoos were gone. So was my pain. I cried with gratitude.

    :) I’m very happy for her.

    “I am death,” he said hollowly.

    *shudders*


    It was indeed her scent. Underlining it I smelled tears, urine and blood. All relatively fresh and tinged with fear. I looked at Luçien in horror. What had he done to her?

    *growls at him*


    Once the echoes of Isabeau´s death stopped, I returned to the present. My eyes locked with Luçien´s.

    I don’t like Lucien’s mind. I know she doesn’t either, especially knowing what he’s done.


    But I stared at him in sorry.

    *wince* I can’t believe I didn’t catch that. Sorry!


    “May I place her in the sand?” Luçien asked, not daring to speak out Isabeau´s name.

    “If you care to wait until I have found the exact spot her father and brother died.”


    I love Gri.


    ”Do it for yourself then,” I barked. “But silently. Your words have the power to scar my soul.”

    SERIOUSLY
    He aught to be ashamed. He’s a terrible being with MUCH to atone for.

    I open the chest in the hall. There they were, the gruesome, but effective tools of my trade. Since Grianán´s early childhood, when she first found out about them, she has been fearful of them. That will make them more effective.

    It makes me want to gag.

    “My life,” I whispered. “All has trickled away like water. You did a good job. Tell me, how many Force witches have you redeemed?”

    So does that.
    And he would consider their deaths redemption. I think so, anyway.


    “I won´t,” he got out. “I gave you a promise. Please be assured that I will honour it.”

    For once in his bloody life.


    “Hit you? Why should I want to do that?” Luçien sounded confused.

    Oh hm, let me see. Because you’ve done it before? Because you’ve done WORSE than it before? Because you’re a raving psychopath?
     
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  2. Lady_Misty

    Lady_Misty Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 21, 2007
    He seems to be changing but you never know when it is all an act.
     
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  3. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    Well, we give him a chance here, won´t we, dear Misty?! [:D]


     
  4. SWpants

    SWpants Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 28, 2004
    We still can edit that, right?! What you suggest instead of this sentence?


    Pity would be my frist choice, but sorrow works as well.

    No the redemption is actually the part where a witch has to confess her sins, admits that she did forbidden things. At that stage death is a real mercy.

    Mmm, true. Fair enough.


    He has psychopathic tendencies, but he is no psychopath, I can assure you. Mislead, bloody stupid, fanatic... but he is really, really sorry here.

    *sigh* yeah, yeah :p
    At least he's aware of what he's doing. In the end. He is quite unaware when he's in the middle of an attack, which to me is part of a psychopath's problem - that they lose control.
     
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  5. DarthUncle

    DarthUncle Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2005
    I would guess sorrow was intended but a typo (spelling check gone wrong?) interfered.

    Well, the changes you made with the last version I read are subtle in the most part, but make it an even stronger story I think.

    Hard to begrudge Grianan her anger and hurt here, even though she's the one that challenged (taunted even at times perhaps?) him to be a lover, knowing that he'd have to shed his wrong ideas, requiring her offering herself up to his redemption. Knowing and seeing that he's gone twisted is one thing, but it isn't the same as understanding what redemption for him would mean to his "offering", and how it would influence her - if anyone would in advance know fully well how hard their struggle with the dark side would be, what it would cost, I bet a lot less people would take a path leading to the dark side. She has been a bit (arrogantly?) naïve I think, or perhaps that soul bond clouded her judgement. But she's strong, and should be able to get back to the light, now she has her hair, lost the scars, and has Lucien, even though right now he's not exactly what she wants for a while.

    And Lucien, she's found a way to make him suffer for what he's done, by making her suffer it too. Only now does he see how much that would hurt him, to know that he did this to her, and not be able to fix it (he seems quite in need of being able to fix things he sees as wrong, that's probably what put him on the path to the dark side - easy fixes for things that can't really be fixed). Was it worth the price? Let's hope so.
     
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  6. SWpants

    SWpants Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 28, 2004
    spelling check gone wrong?

    This is why technology is stupid sometimes ;)


    Well, the changes you made with the last version I read are subtle in the most part, but make it an even stronger story I think.

    Thank you!


    She's very naive-too naive, IMO, for someone who can read pasts the way she does. Lucien doesn't help matters. Her stupid Force vision from when she was a babe makes her googly-eyed.
    Stupid Force. :p
     
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  7. DarthUncle

    DarthUncle Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2005
    Yes, that darth force, blast it!

    I sort of agree to an extent, yes. But I do think that even reading someone's past isn't exactly the same as going through it yourself (even if only bc.you know how it ends I suppose), and despite her mother being a dark-sider, she also saw the love between her parents, and of course her mother redeemed herself in the end. Grianan wants to be optimistic and maybe she's being naive so that she doesn't get scared away from doing what she knows needs to happen to get there. Not entirely believing she herself will really get hurt beyond recognition.
     
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  8. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    This is quiet a philosophical discussion going on here. Thanks, guys. Makes me proud that you have it.

    Grianán is a heroine that would do all for love... *should not watch "The Three Musketeers" while writing this and whacks herself with the sofa pillow*...

    Anyway, people in love do strange things, right? Because they are blinded by hope at times, by the dream that the partner changes. We all have been there with ex-partners right? All those foolish things we did when we were younger...

    And if Grianán would not have done things the way she did them, we had no story that would annoy you at times eve though you seem to like it, sweet pants! :D

    I often asked myself when reading a Sookie Stackhouse novel why she does the things the way she does and why she loves both Bill and Eric. (For me the choice is all too easy!) Or why Jane Eyre, the famous character written by Charlotte Brontë, falls for Mister Rochester.

    Can´t wait to thrill you all next weekend again, even though some of you are more familiar with the plot line and the darkness of Lucien than others. [face_tee_hee]
     
  9. SWpants

    SWpants Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 28, 2004
    Anyway, people in love do strange things, right? Because they are blinded by hope at times, by the dream that the partner changes.

    Hah, true! Good hell, that is true.
    But also, that tends to be without knowing such intimate details about their past.
     
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  10. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    Knowing things about a person does not mean that you act according to them, especially when you are eager to have things your way, right? ;)

    Okay,

    @SWpants666, Lady_Misty, earlybird-obi-wan, DarthUncle


    here is half of the next chapter.


    Chapter 34: Dune

    I did not sleep well. My thoughts taunted me and took me back into Luçien’s heart, the abyss.

    Grianán lies in front of me, helpless and vulnerable; nothing but flesh and bones. She always has been petité, but right now she seems more fragile than ever before. She is in great pain now. Her restraints are tight, already colouring her skin. She does her best not so shiver. Clever as she is, she is fully aware of the dire situation that she is in. Every tiny movement of hers makes the rope cut into her flesh. Eventually, she will experience spasms from the mandrake potion that I have administered to her earlier on, causing her to move more than her bonds allow, increasing the pain.

    First, I will let her do penance for all the sins that she has committed. Then I will help her to get rid of the demon inside of her. Considering the gravity of her offences, there may be even more than one Force phantom possessing her. It must have been too easy for them to enter her mind. Mediums are an easy target, as the Holy Scriptures inform us.

    My voice makes her jump. Or could it be her bad conscience answering my demands? “I will not hurt you, Grianán,” I let her know. “You will do that yourself by moving. The only solution that I see for you is to do your best to not move an inch.”

    The potion will cause her to move eventually. There will be no remedy against that. But I need her mind to open up to me like the petals of a rose, one by one.

    I move closer to her, trying to avoid her eyes. “It cost me a lot of energy to restore you and your blood loss. But it was worth the sacrifice.”

    She needs to know that I am also paying a high price and that this is no mere hobby of mine. Her universe will look different once I start to open her eyes.

    I touch her neck, follow its soft line. Something tells me that her skin will be less yielding than her spirit. But I can handle afflictions for the two of us.

    “Do not think that I enjoyed myself, Grianán. There is no pleasure in treating you this way. You brought this on yourself.”

    ********************************************************************

    In the dim hours of morning, I was able to return into my own body and into the right time line. Immediately, I felt the presence of another Force ghost, someone other than Isabeau.

    “You!” I exclaimed, gaping at the female form.

    My elder sister Adamah and I had never been that close. Yet she was here with us.

    “Mom wants to know when you start producing babies with him.”

    “I am not even nineteen.” I hissed. “And that is an unlikely future after what he put me through."

    “Can I remind you how old mom was when she got pregnant with me and the rest of the first serpent-spawn? Fifteen!”

    I turned away from the mischievous face of Adamah and scowled. How like her to ignore the second part of my statement! She remained in my line of vision, refusing to leave me alone.

    Luçien walked in, a mug in his hands. “I have made some hot chocolate for you.”

    I sent a single beam of Force lightning through the mug.

    “If you don´t want chocolate,” he said firmly, “I can prepare some jasmine tea for you. The fire is still on.”

    “Care to throw me in and be over with it? Use oil. Then I will burn even better.” I dragged my knees up under my chin.

    “I will not do such a thing, my love. Your healing process is only beginning,” he answered grimly. “And I can see that it will be challenging.”

    “You love only yourself,” I accused him.

    “I will prove you that you are very wrong about that.” He sighed and added, “If you let me.”

    “Do you do love potions?” I chided him. “I did not think that you could sink so low. You know what? I think it may be safer if I didn’t eat or drink at all.”

    As Luçien bent down to gather the splinters of the broken mug, his cloak brushed my right hand. The sensations built up in me again. I felt my muscles re-enact my imprisonment once more, but my thoughts were not my own.

    Silence is all around us. I hear Grianán´s faint heartbeat, slowed down by the drugs in her system and the restraints that make her blood clot.

    It is not easy for me to leave her in confusion like this, but I need to win time before the full effect of the mandrake potion kicks in. Her eyes are lakes of despair, but show clarity and alertness I did not expect in this stage of the torture. She is as strong as I feared. I need to do my worst to break her to heal her.

    I try to devote myself fully to the horrors I must expose her to. If I falter now we will be both lost to the dark side of the Force. I must be strong.

    My mother’s favourite quote comes to mind. “Spare the rod and spoil the child.”

    More proverbs rush into my thoughts, opening like beautiful flowers.

    “He that spareth his rod hateth his son; but he that loveth him casteneth him betimes diligently. Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.”

    My heart becomes lighter now. I wish I could teach Grianán these proverbs, but she is not ready for their elemental truth yet.

    “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. Withhold not correction from the child; for if though beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Though shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from… Draconis. The rod and reproof give wisdom; but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.”

    I feel a new clarity and tenderness for Grianán blossom in my heart.

    “I have underestimated you before. It will not happen again. Your entire body is a lethal weapon. I have no other choice but to keep you grounded like this.”

    She stirs uneasily.

    There was movement next to my shoulder. “Grianán?” I heard Luçien ask gently. “I know you remember. And this is very hard for you. I was unbelievable cruel. Please understand that I want to help you to have a normal life again. Free from fear and the dark side.”

    I started to cry. Soft sobs at first, but they ended in hot, bitter tears.

    Luçien vanished from my view and hurried back with a new mug in his hand. “Please drink! You look ill.”

    I carefully sniffed at the mug. It turned out to be normal jasmine tea.

    *************************************************************************************************

    [​IMG]


    For the next two sun weeks, Luçien spent the nights hunting for us and caring for the water supplies. There were rare desert flowers next to my pillow each dawn. Seeing them made me think of the lushness of the Mother Jungle, but fear had frozen my heart against the joy for life this should have brought.

    For hours on end, I would stare into the dunes, forgetting myself and the flow of time. Luçien held himself in the background as if he was my handmaiden. There was an endless supply of items I was in need of.

    Pillows and blankets made their way into our tent. There was fresh clothing for me. Things that I made dirty disappeared and were never seen again.

    One morning, I dared to wear Sionnach’s wedding ring. It fit perfectly.

    Luçien dropped our tea pot and sat stunned for a moment. When he grasped my left hand, his mind opened once again to me.

    The hours crawl by like years. I am painfully aware of their passing. Grianán stays stubborn. My words do not seem to get through to her. Her eyes speak a clear and unmistakeable language to me. That forces me to give her more of the potion. I need to be alert while doing so to prevent her from becoming brain damaged.

    She falls over again. I have stopped counting how many times she has collapsed onto the mattress. With the help of the Force, I bring her into the air again, where I ensure she hangs suspended. I open the bottle and fill the spoon with a steady hand.

    I roll up her torture mask to just above her lips while I leave the spoon hovering next to us in the air.

    She dares the impossible and addresses me immediately.Enough. Let us end it here.”

    “I gave you no permission to speak to me, Grianán,”

    I shove a second serving of potion into her mouth. Before she can spit it out again, I roll down the mask. Her jaw is fixed within a single heartbeat. I am exhausted. My indignation lashes out to her in a series of hot words.

    “You are doing this to yourself, Grianán! You brought us to this very dark place where we do not want to be. If you had listened to me in the past, had obeyed me, we would not be here.”

    I cannot stand her tearful look any longer and so I turn away from her. The window seems miles away, but I reach it with trembling knees. I fold my arms behind my backto keep my hands steady.

    It annoys me that my heart is beating fast. I need to focus again. Her voice should not have such power over me. Nor should her eyes.

    Outside, it is getting dark. I resist the strong desire to turn around and check if Grianán is well. Despite the mask, I can feel her in my soul, calling out for me. It is like a black flood whispering in my veins. She cannot tempt me to release her. Instead I recall the five sorrowful mysteries of Gorge, the founder of the Brotherhood of Shadows.

    First, his agony in the green hell of Cunabula. He had refused to follow an assassination order at the front line.

    Second, his public scourging. He had been tied to a column and flogged with a whip, which the Ophidea also mockingly called the ´Cat-of-nine-tails´.

    Third, the thorny slave collar. He was forced towear it immediately after his humiliation as a proud warrior.

    Fourth, being forced to carry the dead bodies of his wife and children into the underground laboratories. There he had to watch how his beloved were re-born as soulless zombies.

    And fifth, his branding with Forcelightning. Although he was bleeding,maimed and half-dead, he had been brought on-board a star ship and dropped into the dune sea of Sapuhru.

    Thinking of my forefather was inspiring. He had made sure that the majorityof the daughters of the moon were immaculate and shied away from unnatural Force powers.

    A corset of rules is not a deprivation of liberty. It is a necessity for peace and order. Therefore the witch hunt potion is essential for Grianán. She has not swallowed a great deal of it yet. There is no real health risk.

    “Well, I will help you to repent your sins. All of them! You need an exorcism.”

    To me, her flinch is an admission of guilt. It is a good sign. If she is capable of guilt she can be redeemed.

    “Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus
    omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio
    infernalis adversarii, omnis legio,
    omnis congregatio et secta diabolica.

    Ergo draco maledicte
    et omnis legio diabolica adjuramus te.
    cessa decipere humanas creaturas,
    eisque aeternae Perditionis venenum propinare.”

    I can see that she understands.

    We exorcise you, every impure spirit,
    every satanic power, every incursion
    of the infernal adversary, every legion,
    every congregation and diabolical sect.

    Thus, cursed demon
    and every diabolical legion, we adjure you.
    Cease to deceive human creatures,
    and to give to them the Poison of Eternal Perdition.

    I repeat the words over and over again, until they shatter her body. I can see that the possessing spirit is shaken loose. One convulsion follows the next. The intervals become shorter. It is a promising beginning, but then she wet herself like an infant. I expected better.

    Her eyes lose focus. My hands close around her shoulders. I feel her wincing beneath my palm.

    Vague sounds come from beneath the torture mask. I do not like the way that her throat works and know that she is in danger of frothing.

    Time is of the essence. I take off the mask and there is indeed the beginnings of asphyxiation. I gently open her mouth. A mix of foam and bile comes free beforeher eyes roll back and she passes out.

    With the help of the Force, I clean her wind-pipe and work on pumping air back into her lungs. I hold her head in my hands and sense that there is very little brain function. I have no choice but to stop the torture.She needs a break. Perhaps I need one, too. This is getting out of hand.

    I untie her.

    ********************************************************************

    As I returned to the present, I found myself lying in Luçien´s arms. His hands rested just below my ribs. “You passed out again,” he explained.

    “Then stop touching me!” I screamed and fled his embrace by jumping away from him. “Why do you stick to me like a sand fly? I cannot smell that good.” I sniffed the air and grimaced. “Oh no! I am a disgrace.”

    “You are not,” he insisted while I hid my face between my hands. “Your soul has been through a lot of misery. I will wait outside while you clean up yourself and change. There is fresh clothing for you next to your pillow. The wash bowl is at the back of the tent.”

    If I could drop dead right here and right now, it would all be over. No more wet pants. No more heartbreak. No more fear. No more temptation.

    He got up slowly, as if not to startle me. “Pray, how did you come by this ring? I would really like to know.”

    “It will hurt,” I warned him.

    “I can deal with the truth,” he assured me.

    “Sionnach gave it to Isa before she left for Sapuhru with your star cruiser.”

    He grinned ruefully. “You steal from the dead?”

    “Should you not be more concerned that Sionnach wants your marriage farce to be over?”

    “She has every right to demand her freedom from me,” he murmured. “And I am glad to be able to finally offer it to her.”

    I stared at him, my mouth wide open. Perhaps I had gone mad and was hallucinating.

    “There is another woman I would like to court, but I am not sure how to. She lost all faith in herself, in me, in love and in life in general.”

    “Can we discuss that after I change?” I ranted.

    “Of course. Take your time, Grianán. Please, take your time.”

    Under my scrutinizing eyes, he went outside and closed the tent´s flysheet behind him.
     
  11. Lady_Misty

    Lady_Misty Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 21, 2007
    Things seem to be going better.

    But then things could still go to the Devil in a hand basket..
     
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  12. SWpants

    SWpants Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 28, 2004
    “Mom wants to know when you start producing babies with him.”

    Ew :p


    “Care to throw me in and be over with it? Use oil. Then I will burn even better.” I dragged my knees up under my chin.

    I love her spunk.


    Please understand that I want to help you to have a normal life again. Free from fear and the dark side.”

    *sigh* can’t argue with that


    For hours on end, I would stare into the dunes, forgetting myself and the flow of time.

    At first it sounds peaceful. But it’s also unlike her in ways. I’m sad for her.


    One morning, I dared to wear Sionnach’s wedding ring. It fit perfectly.

    I still don’t like him ;)
    So odd though hahahaha

    Second, his public scourging. He had been tied to a column and flogged with a whip, which the Ophidea also mockingly called the ´Cat-of-nine-tails´.

    Just hearing the phrase makes me wince.


    As I returned to the present, I found myself lying in Luçien´s arms. His hands rested just below my ribs. “You passed out again,” he explained.

    “Then stop touching me!” I screamed


    SERIOUSLY!!!!



    “Can we discuss that after I change?” I ranted.

    There’s the Gri I know :D
     
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  13. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    caught up and loved the intrigue and poetic language
     
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  14. Tyranus230

    Tyranus230 Jedi Master star 7

    Registered:
    Feb 16, 2005
    I caught up on the story this morning. Looks good! You have done well with the reload. :)
     
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  15. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    [face_thinking] Maybe, maybe not. We shall see, right. After what Anakin & Jacen pulled with the important ladies in their lives, there is always a chance that this goes from bad to worse



    Thanks for still reading, still being my beta and trying hard not to like Lucien after all. :D


    You also need to thank our dear pants, because without her we all would trip over grammar mistakes and get annoyed with bad writing! Any author is only as good as the person who edits his or her books.


    Awwww, you read it. I am so grateful that you did! This earned my husband an extra evening with you guys last night! [:D]


    Okay because it is the Feast of "Sinterklaas" tonight here in the Netherlands and because I wear a silly "Zwarte Piet" cap with a large feather, I give you a "Sinterklaas" surprise: an extra up-date. But just half of a chapter, okay?

    Somebody has to hoover our house and this might be me, because I am wearing a silly cap. Plus my husband is cooking. Besides, Saint Nikolaus had a hoover for me, because the old one (a present in October 2010 for our moving day) broke more than 2 weeks ago.



    Chapter 35: Crisis

    My breath felt like it was piercing my chest when I was ready to meet Luçien again. I was not sure what to say to him. Wordlessly, I held the ring in front of him. He opened his palm and I dropped the rare jewel. His fingers closed around it.

    “Thank you for saving it, Grianán.” His smile was warm.

    “Because of how much it cost you?” I commented dryly.

    “It is not about the money. This is about Sionnach´s feelings. After everything, our divorce will have to be done through a formal ceremony. I fear that she will ask me to destroy the wedding ring.” He got to his knees in front of me. “If you are still interested in marrying me, I would like to give you a new ring. A ring that has no complicated history with its previous owner. Small, simple and unadorned; it would be more suitable for you.”

    I stormed out into the desert, blind with tears. Luçien followed me.

    “Grianán! Please! The midday sun is murderous. You are not even wearing a head scarf for protection!”

    But my feet had their own agenda. I only stopped when my lungs were on the brink of bursting. Luçien could have outrun me easily, but that was not his purpose. He stopped right behind me, his distance respectful.

    “As far as I understood from my mother, we are already engaged to be married. The holonet news on Amnion states that we are even on our honeymoon,”

    “I´have been dying a little bit each day since you came back into my life,” I screamed.

    “And yet you love me,” he said flatly. “Against all odds, you love me. For that, I am grateful. You never gave up on me, no matter how far I pushed you.”

    “I wish I could just wish away my feelings,” I snarled. The warmth of his voice annoyed me.

    “But you can´t. I know how that feels.” Luçien produced a little book from his sache, one that was all too familiar with me.

    I gave a gasp of surprise. “How come my diary is in your possession? Did you steal it from Isa´s study?”

    “I did not. Garou was the one who brought your most private thoughts to my attention.” His smile was benevolent. “I am glad that he did. He saved us both by stealing your diary.”

    My vision was fading.

    ********************************************************************

    I awoke in Luçien’s arms. He had taken his sache to make me a head scarf.

    “I found your diary lying around on the control panel,” he explained, as if the conversation wasn’t interrupted. “Garou had attached a note to it. It was a rather frightening experience for me. I was engrossed in the shame I felt for all those cruel things I said and did to you since you were a baby. Suddenly, I came to myself and realized that I had forgotten about you completely.I rushed towards the luggage compartment, cursing myself for my dark deeds. The colouring of your limbs was foreboding. Your light was going out. I reached out in the Force, frustrated when my healing powers would not work. Then it dawned on me. The dark side blocked my abilities. There was nothing wrong with you. I had been me all along. I was the demon.”

    Had the circumstances been different I would have been able to laugh. At last, he realized he was the one to blame.

    “I could not bear to stay with you, knowing you would die because of me. So I left you with Minou. I also could feel my father and my brother Parhelion in the Force. They would achieve what I failed to do.”

    There were tears burning on my lower lashes. I puffed my breath out in sheer exasperation.

    “To divert myself from you, I went through the city. There, the ducal guard caught up with me and informed me that my step-sister had been seen at the space port. I found her lying in Ruadhan´s lap, heavily wounded. Obviously a blaster shot. I reached out for her in the Force, but my healing skills were still not coming back to me. My apparition skills also seemed blocked.”

    I felt pity for him. It sounded like the tricks of the dark side. It dwelt in emotions like uncertainty and self-loathing.

    “But instead of comforting her in her last moments, I gave her all the venom of my despair and self hate. I let it all flow into her. I will never be able to forgive myself. She deserved better than this, especially from me, who once wanted to be her older brother and protector. I failed her.”

    I had the strong urge to touch his face. But as soon as my fingertips came to rest on his cheeks I realized it was a big mistake.The past hit me like a bolt of lightning.

    There is an anccient tale about a sleeping princess. She sleeps for hundred years before the loving kiss of a prince wakes her up again. Grianán is like this princess. Her Midi-chlorians are not cooperating to my healing powers.

    After eight hours I am on the brink of giving her the antidote. We need to go on with one another. I will not leave my work unfinished. She needs to be shown the true ways of the Force. I need to re-establish her innocence, which will be a painful, difficult process.

    I have risked her succumbing to an overdose of the witch potion. I need to be more careful. There must be no permanent damage.

    I sink down next to Grianán. “Don´t you dare to die on me,” I whisper to her. “Your journey with me has only just begun.”

    Her eyelids flicker, and her body stirs slightly. There is enough life left in her body for me to rekindle the light of the Force. Her heart muscles work more regular again.

    The jute rope is still where I left it. I pick it up from the floor. This time the restraints will be tighter.

    “Here we go again,” I let Grianán know, but she is not conscious yet.

    Guided by the Force, my hands are quick and efficient. I compose a net of bindings to wrap around her body, directly over her clothing.

    I start quoting from the Holy Scriptures to distract myself of the task I must complete. “I will destroy your witchcraft, and you will no longer cast spells. For among them are those who make their way into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and swayed by various impulses, who will listen to anybody and can never arrive at a knowledge of the truth.”

    I will make Grianán listen needs protection from her own folly.

    “For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry.”

    My heart pounds loud in my chest, while my eyesight is reduced to a tunnel. I need to be strong for the one I love.

    The rules of the Brotherhood of Shadows are clear about the treatment of a Force witch that is not willing to see the truth that she has fallen to the dark side.

    “But if, neither by threats nor by promises such as these, the witch can be induced to speak the truth, then the jailers must carry out the sentence, and torture the prisoner according to the accepted methods, with more or less of severity as the delinquent´s crime may demand.”


    [​IMG]

    ********************************************************************

    @SWpants666, earlybird-obi-wan, Lady_Misty, Tyranus230, DarthUncle, Gkilkenny, Chilla
     
  16. Lady_Misty

    Lady_Misty Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 21, 2007
    Wow!

    This is the second fic that I have read the references Sleeping Beauty.
     
    AzureAngel2 likes this.
  17. Tyranus230

    Tyranus230 Jedi Master star 7

    Registered:
    Feb 16, 2005
    Great update! I can really sense the emotions.
     
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  18. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    Great update and with the beautiful paintings enhancing it
     
    AzureAngel2 likes this.
  19. SWpants

    SWpants Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 28, 2004
    “It is not about the money. This is about Sionnach´s feelings.

    :)


    “As far as I understood from my mother, we are already engaged to be married.

    She’s one kriffing annoying woman.


    BLARGH LUCIEN YOU DO NOT TOUCH A WOMAN’S DIARY


    I reached out in the Force, frustrated when my healing powers would not work. Then it dawned on me. The dark side blocked my abilities.

    YES


    I was the demon.

    You were kriffing psychotic too, is what you were.


    But as soon as my fingertips came to rest on his cheeks I realized it was a big mistake.The past hit me like a bolt of lightning.

    Her abilities are a hindrance at times.

    I start quoting from the Holy Scriptures to distract myself of the task I must complete.

    You definitely show how important the Scriptures are to him.
     
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  20. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    In the original German text, unedited by a brilliant and wise pants, there are even more fairy tale references. Due to the university seminar I once had to take for my teacher studies. [face_idea]


    Must be all the Dickens DVDs I watched at the period when I wrote this chapter. :p


    Thanks for saying so, dear pants.


    Okay, let us finish Chapter 35 nicely. As we came to know Grianán is traumatized reliving her abduction... through Lucien´s eyes. Her gift of psychometry shows her what he thought and felt at the time she was his prisoner. He has moved on, but she is stuck in his past with past nightmares and past madness each time they touch.

    SWpants666

    earlybird-obi-wan

    Lady_Misty

    Tyranus230

    DarthUncle

    Gkilkenny

    Chilla


    ********************************************************************

    When I regained consciousness,my head rested in Luçien´s lap. “Do you know where you are, my love?” he asked, his worried eyes hovering above me.

    “On Sapuhru,” I replied weakly. “The dune sea.”

    My answer seemed to alleviate his concern. “Do you also know who you are?” he added.

    “Of course I do,” I lashed out to him. “I am the woman that you are obsessed with for some bloody reason.”

    He gave me a tight smile. “It is you who is obsessed with my past thoughts and feelings at present. And I am very, very sorry about that. I never meant anything like this to happen to you.”

    There was no answer I could give him. So I looked away from his face and took note of our surroundings.

    A large blanket shielded us from the sun. It was held in mid-air by the Force and threw a shadow over us. Our tent was about seven or eight feet away.

    “What happened?” I asked weakly.

    He looked at me long and intense, his eyelids half closed. “You lost to the dark side for a while. Your Force lightning hit some dunes. But that is about it.”

    I raised an eyebrow. “And my new clothes?”

    “You made yourself dirty again,” he sighed.

    Guilt spread in me. I wanted to rise, but Luçien stopped me.

    “You also had a sun-stroke. Please let me carry you to the tent. You are not fit enough to walk on your own,” he observed with a quiet voice. “Your energy level is dangerously low. I can hardly see your meridians flow through your body.”

    A bottle was held in front of my nose. “More mandrake potion?” I could not help sneering.

    “Just water,” Luçien replied. “Do you want me to drink first?”

    I pushed the bottle away from me. “Why are we outside?”

    “When I entered the tent with you, the seizure intensified,” he explained flatly. “So I decided to stay here with you. The open horizon had a calming effect. There was even no need to send you into a healing trance. After your body managed to reject the dark side, you fell asleep with no prompting.”

    Hearing all this irritated me beyond means. “I will get up now and you will not stop me! Is that clear?”

    “Do as you wish, but I strongly advise against it, Grianán.”

    “As my keeper?” I snapped.

    He shook his head in denial. “As a healer.”

    I struggled to my feet like a newborn eopie calf. He did not hold me back.

    I made two steps and fell on my face.

    Her uncoordinated movements herald Grianán´s return to consciousness. I am ready for her. She has kept me waiting long enough. Though her body lies defeated before me, her mind has not even cracked. It is almost as if she refuses to wake up for me.

    “Tu vas me détruire!” I get out, my throat tense. You will destroy me!

    I cannot spare her. After she is purged by me, I want her to bask in justice and purity.

    Her burning eyes rest on me. It is a pity to torture such a fine mind, no matter what the Holy Scriptures say about women like her. I remember all the essays Grianán has ever written for me. All those paintings and drawings she composed. I kept every single one of them. And yet the dark side is in her. I failed her, let it happen.

    I am not prepared to give up on the love of my life. The words burst out of me before I am aware that they left my lips. “I have a proposal for you, Grianán. You must consider my words before saying anything.”

    She regards me with blatant suspicion.

    “The magic of your ancestors is evil and manipulative. My heart was blinded by you from the moment I set eyes on you. In no time, you made me bare myself to you, kneel at your feet. That kiss between us sealed it. I will bring you back.”

    Her stare makes me nervous. I should not allow her to have such power over me. My anger dissolves into tears while I speak.

    “You know my thoughts and feelings like nobody else, using them against me all the time. But I have news for you, Grianán. I know your fears as well. All of them.”

    I swear to myself that there will be a lot of crying from now on. From her, not from me. She will drown in her own despair.

    “In the end, like it or not, I will have the higher ground. It is you who will pledge yourself to me. I will accept your gladly offered heart in return. And your soul with it.”

    Her eyes grow large in disbelief. She does not even know the true meaning of the word love. In my kindness I decide to tell her about the higher plan that I follow.

    “With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to this sun system. You would be an asset in the fight against the encroaching powers of evil. I can redeem you and turn you into a better person.”

    There is nothing but rejection in her eyes.

    “What is your answer to that, my love?” I ask, even though I already know it.

    She shakes her head in a slow motion, sealing her own doom.

    Judging by the size of her irises,the witch hunt potion has finally started to infect her system. She is not in control any longer. No matter what impossible cruelty I will tell her, she will believe me. She will not be able to fight her fears any longer. Her soul is bare for any mental attack.

    “Since you are in bed already, let me tell you a bed time story. Like in the old days, when you were nothing but a sweet and innocent child.”

    I sit next to her on the bed. She cannot move away, but she attempts anyway. The pain makes her wince, causing more waves of pain to clash over her. Such foolishness. I have no mercy with her any longer.

    “Once upon a time your ancestors held some special Elves in captivity - stone masons -hoping that they would bend under their magical powers. But they were proud folk from the mountains who refused to submit. Those who did not cooperate were bound just as you are, until their limbs mortified and were bloodlessly amputated. You will live. I have, after all, tested the procedure on the father of Éibhear, Laird Dian O´Gradaigh.”

    I need to stress the subject of me maiming her. She has been afraid of that since she her early childhood.

    “You have a choice, Grianán. You will join me or... make some little sacrifices.”

    Her instinct for survival gives her the strength to rock away from me. But the restraints do their cruel work and hinder her. She almost strangles herself in her struggles. Nothing but blind panic is in her eyes now. I force myself not to intervene in her pointless escape attempt. Loudly, she crashes on the floor. Her seizure intensifies while she tries to crawl towards the door. I admire her courage.

    Then I hear it, the deadly rasp in her breath. She will suffocate if I do not remove the torture mask.

    ”You must unlearn what you have learned.”

    While I speak, I kneel beside her and I gather her in my arms. Instead of removing the mask fully I only free the bottom of her ashen face. My washing bowl is nearby. I let it fly towards us and hold Grianán´s sagging form while she pukes into it.

    The colour of her bile makes me uncomfortable. It should not be black and bloody. Suddenly I worry. Perhaps I have pushed her too far, given her too much ofthe potion. But I cannot stop the process now. It would be fatal for her redemption and render her life pointless.

    “I can be generous and you know that, Grianán,” I state. “Search your feelings, you know it to be true.”

    I presume that she hears me, but pretends not to.

    ********************************************************************

    When the visions faded, I found myself in the sand, face-down. Luçien lurked above me, the blanket flattering above us. “Welcome back to the present,” he said flatly. “Would you like to have some tea?”

    My answer was to spit out the sand in my mouth. Then I started crawling towards into the tent again.

    “You need to drink with a sun stroke like that. Please, Grianán. You will only drive yourself to exhaustion.”

    “I want to die!” I yelled, collapsing in front of the entrance, too weak to push the flysheet out of the way.

    “No,” he said behind me, “you are afraid to live. It is a totally different matter.”

    “You cannot take my fears away,” I sniffed.

    “I wish I could, because I put them there in the first place.” I heard him drop knees behind me, while he said so. “But in the end the only person who can help you win this battle is yourself. Please try! If not for my sake, or even your own, then for the family that you have on Draconis. I can assist you, if you want me to, on such a passage.”

    He had a point and I knew it, which made me even more miserable. “Can I have some tea? And some cookies? Perhaps even some womp rat stew later?”

    “Of course,” he said, relief lacing his voice. “May I carry you inside now?”

    “Just hold that damn flysheet open for me,” I hissed. He had won one battle, but not the entire war. I would not let him.
     
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  21. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    It sure is a battle between Lucien and Grianan. Beautiful verse.
     
  22. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    ^:)^ You are too kind.

    *is busy with reading all your recent updates*

    By the way, I wrote on with the Lucien story last night... :D... for I needed some break after the NaNo hassle.
     
  23. SWpants

    SWpants Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 28, 2004
    I thought hard what I can say for defending Fleur, but nothing comes to mind. Well, some stories just need vicious characters now and there.

    [face_laugh]
    Ah, fair enough



    “Do you also know who you are?” he added.

    “Of course I do,” I lashed out to him. “I am the woman that you are obsessed with for some bloody reason.”


    Serves the moron right!!
    Their entire conversation was great though. He’s actually starting to be “okay” and she’s being stubborn (and herself) but is listening. She was quite worse for the wear.


    It is a pity to torture such a fine mind, no matter what the Holy Scriptures say about women like her.

    He truly does respect strong minds.


    I swear to myself that there will be a lot of crying from now on. From her, not from me. She will drown in her own despair.

    That thought makes my blood boil.
    “Welcome back to the present,” he said flatly. “Would you like to have some tea?”

    *eye twitches*
    “I want to die!” I yelled, collapsing in front of the entrance, too weak to push the flysheet out of the way.

    “No,” he said behind me, “you are afraid to live. It is a totally different matter.”


    I think that is one of my most favourite lines ever.
     
  24. Lady_Misty

    Lady_Misty Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 21, 2007
    Methinks that she should have heeded his advice.
     
  25. DarthUncle

    DarthUncle Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2005
    Well said, it's an epic struggle. And she did partly invite him to do this, challenge him to test her, not fully realising what it meant, which probably makes it all the harder for her now. She has won him over to her now, but lost herself a bit.
    Quite. But she was always stubborn, wasn't she!
    I agree, well executed turnaround too, using her skinreading abililty to make us relive what horrible things he did and thought, while he has already seen the truth of how bad it was, but she can't really accept that yet because she was hurt so badly. But here we also see her back a bit more, and she's listening, healing, just a bit too.
    He truly does respect strong minds.[/quote] Yes, he does, though it didn't stop him just going further with her. I'll put that up to the dark side that was ruling him, or it would be quite troubling still, that he "respects" strong willed persons, only to strongly battle with them to conquer .... Well, he's reformed, my dear AzureAngel2 assures me :p
    I loved that contrast, nicely showing how she's still stuck in thoughts about her torture, while he's moved on but can't seem to do much to help her get back to the present. At least it is a good sign that her body eventually keeps snapping her out of the past and dark-side influence. There is good in her still, clearly, and it is fighting hard to get her back.

    Though I think Lucien still is a stickler for punishment - he can't really help her, but feels compelled to be with her, to be tormented by his love (as he now fully knows) hurting from wounds he inflicted. His "responsibility", I guess he will have to learn to stop doing that and let people be, instead of always trying to intervene!

    Oh, I agree it is also about love, he can't leave her alone when she's suffering like this, and I do guess that he needed to show her he finally will be compassionate and really able to at least try and mend what he caused instead of just forcing the issues. But still, I am sure that the punishment that it mentally gives him is secretly welcome now he has abandoned his own daily punishing on her earlier orders:
    Maybe now it is just another type of pain, not physical but mental? Not sure that's really better if so Luçien! But cleverly played, sort of. Need to work a bit more at staying in the light perhaps?

    Yep, for me too, definitely.