Chapter XXVIII ~ Love Undying

 A deep, growling thunder rumbled through the thickened clouds in the sky, despite the sun trying to burn its way through, to reach the hearts of the forest’s captives. Above those clouds, where Quasimodo had sat within the niche still, quite ill from his injury among the ache in his bones, he watched the rising sun in a dull trance. As his tears awoke him, he slowly blinked before rubbing his face in his hand, alerting his new ally.

“As soon as the herbs settle in, could you make the descent down?” Humbert asked as he was gathering the pack. “… I have the vague memory of finding your pony…”

Quasimodo did not turn his head, yet he listened, deeply. His eyes were drawn to the sun, oddly, just as Odette was drawn to the moon each night. His movements were still sluggish, however his thoughts were firm on the fellowship, and his beloved. “… as intended, at the time, I presume…” Quasimodo’s voice was thick and sorrowful, while turning his cheek to the man.

“It is time that we keep the sun in our eyes, to keep them from darkening again.” Humbert spoke while tightening his belt, and overlooking Quasimodo’s torn vest, and a tuft of amber fur stuck in the patch that was sewn at the hunch. Quasimodo’s eyes were clearing from the herbal remedy was doing its work, but it would take some time to heal just right, and the sooner they reunite with the fellowship, the better. For when night returns, the trouble of change would come over the lovers once again.

“Our next trial, would be to face my father… In my heart I know the truth — that she had gone to him.” Quasimodo continued while he slowly and carefully fixed his tunic that had been cleaned and sewn through the night. “… of course, there is his wrath we must consider.” was the light warning on the Huntsman’s behalf.

“If it will suit him, I will be your Keeper until he finds you…” Humbert swore an oath, not only to rectify what he almost did but as a vow against the powers after their very souls, and for the love they are seeking to taint. 

Quasimodo’s jaw was tense, as he slightly bit down on his lower lip. He slowly shook his head, feeling the burn in his chest at the mere thought of Odette seeing him transformed, while she was a woman. His face contorted into a tearful wince before he slipped his hand over his eyes, gripping his own hair and forehead, hatefully so. He drew in a deep breath that wished to be a sob, but he could not allow it. After a moment, he felt a hand settle on his shoulder.

“From where I stand, with my heart crushed and morphed like clay by a mirror, and she was torn through the same one… the closer you are to her, the stronger your hearts beat.” Humbert told him.

Raising his eyes up at the Huntsman, Quasimodo soon worked hard to rise to his feet, taking in a thick branch to aid in his walking. Humbert helped him to rise by anchoring his arm and with a grimace, the Woodsman was up again. Humbert, with his face cold as stone, with his green eyes set down on the knife Quasimodo defended with and tied the tuft of amber fur onto the handle, much to Quasimodo’s sullen study. As he settled his gaze to the horizon above the thickened storm over the valley, Quasimodo ground his palms against the top of the branch, aching but his thoughts were consumed. Pure devotion in spite of the pain in his marrow, Quasimodo knew he was blessed as long as his heart kept beating. 

*

Amber Feathers

Faer took to the cold air, his tiny body being battered against the current, but his spirit was on fire for those he so loved. A traveler among the stars he was, but this was no escape. He had to make sure his rescuer and true friend was solely alive. Their love could not be broken, not after everything they had gone through… Quasimodo certainly could not be dead. Even the threat of thunder over his head, he had to push himself hard as he got closer to the clouds. If he had managed to go above, he might be able to search the peaks. Even during his desperate flight - using his small form to dive through - the swans all remain together as a single unit of white and heat. Odette could feel her very bones again, even as their guides and protectors had to fight on their own, for the sake of their own lives. She had immense faith in each soul that the Star Fairy had brought to her… 

As Claude had gathered his current best and began riding away into the storm, his steed’s grand hooves pounding through with such power on the path of hope and terror, Odette was determined to keep her heart as guarded as possible from here on… Jiminy’s life, the Dwarf’s lives, and her newly found love - a first love, inspired by the man who adopted her as his own. Love was eternal, for all… brotherhoods, sisterhoods, fatherhoods and pure partnerships could never be touched, no matter what is thrown between them. Odette’s heart trembled with a song - deep words that kept her mind whirling, sharp, and fairly awake. 

As his Eyes Sang to Me,

~ On that Moonlit night ~

There would no longer be a cage bounding me

Our wings were prestine

Fine and Serine

~ At first sight, we were never meant to be ~

A Love Undying

~ Was birthed at once when the Lake met the Soul in the Trees ~

As his Eyes Sang to Me,

~ On that Moonlit night ~

Faer’s wings burned the more he pushed through the sharply freezing air, his tiny body feeling weighted against all odds against him as though this curse was begging him to stop. The higher he would go, the angier it would get but he was not afraid anymore. At last, after a burst of cold, Faer tore out into a blinding gold light of the risen sun. Faer gasped and had to sheild his eyes for a second, realizing that the truth lied above the clouds. As he blinked his eyes, he was met with the beauty of the sun over the mounts they had previously left behind. Shaking his feathery head, his entire body shuddered before he spotted a peak in the very close distance beyond a wall of black thorns peeking over the clouds that rumbled with a hidden rage below. However, something was pulling at his heart, in a certain direction, toward that peak. He gasped, his eyes completely reflecting the fragile hope they all tried to hold onto.

Oh how my heart has come to trust you~

How I have come to adore you…

~ Let me see those eyes once more ~

The robin’s trembling heart led him on, toward this stony peak and inside he flew into this shaded niche. It was a place that was clearly rested in, by someone… as there laid a great ruined chain that was pressed into the wall, the shackle still locked as if it fell off, that told the brave robin that someone was just here, and the familiar earthiness that belonged to his friend made his feathers rise on end. Tears tormented him as he backtracked and dove down and quick toward the rocky paths. Poor Faer began to weep as he flew along, hoping so strongly that Quasimodo was truly alive. He had to be… His scent was sprawled along the rocks, and merely in the air, so the more he flew along, the faster his heart would pump. Besides the familiar earthiness he associated with Quasimodo, he smelled… blood. Blood, copper and a new dampness that sparked that more dark magic was at play. 

The pure coo of Odette’s voice through the morning, Faer was able to feel that their love was as pure as the Diamond. That fact alone made his confusion all the more potent. His rescuer and dearest first ever friend in this world was hurting, and he had to give it his all find him, for her… Of all the hope they had left in this world — they needed to stay close. As on fire as his heart felt, he dived below those clouds once more. 

Quasimodo nearly slammed his palm against the rock, that branch falling side as he felt a stab from his healing wound. Humbert beside him had held his other arm to ease him low as they made it to the bottom of the stony mount. Even when injured — he dared not to try — he would take a leap down for good measure on a good day, however, this was one the rare times when he felt incredibly fragile. Little did he know was that a smear of blood happened upon the rocks as he worked his way down with much agony. To bypass all this in order to walk as straight as he could, he had to occupy his mind with the current issue as he had left Odette back in that hallow. 

“At ease, brother,” Humbert could be heard as he reached the end of the path. “The blood is seeping through~ Allow me…”

Quasimodo held this exasperation as he rose his arm a little as he noted the blood. “… a small sacrifice, I find…” he replied. His voice, usually a deep and comforting resonance, was now thin and wavering, like a bell rung underwaterHe took that branch back in hand and stood more profoundly, in spite of the pain. Humbert knew the issue entirely however, he had to tighten the binding some more. His jaw clenched as he kneeled low for a moment. 

“You are no help to them half dead, sire.” he breathed a sharp chuff as he finished. He was met with a tight lipped glare for half a second before they continued on. Pressing forward, both men had noticed that the snowfall was beginning to thin, revealing the tight, fractured shapes of the trees. The impending thunder that was well heard that morning was the stark presence that Maleficent’s eye was never truly closed. After that initial exchange, Quasimodo seemed to go still as he kept his sights to the clouds for a long moment, as though he was trying to listen. 

“Faer,” Humbert heard him whisper as this orange dot dart between the canopies. Quasimodo’s face nearly grimaced with quiet tears as his precious bird darted down in a frantic, hasty manner. Quasimodo gave a worried gasp when the poor robin seemed to change shape at the last second to try to land. The poor elven flew over them, almost colliding with a stone if Humbert had not scruffed him. He saw the mark of distrust in the Woodsman’s eyes, he gave a curt nod before he put the elf down as he was on the brink of a panic. 

“Quasi ~ glarp!” the poor creature nearly coughed. “Quasimodo~!” he gargled, as though he couldn’t take it anymore. He was let down to his ruined sandals so he could embrace his formerly lost companion. “It’s you!” he began to cry at once when Quasimodo breathlessly drew his better arm around his trembling furry frame.

“… faer,” Quasimodo voice tenderly hummed. “It is I ~ breathe, friend, deep breath for me…”

Trying to keep from sobbing, Faer nodded as he took a deep breath - not before gazing up at Quasimodo’s eyes while in the presence of their new ally.

“It’s Odette! She’s- she’s with them now, safe - in the ‘campment~” he alerted, knowing the stakes fully after his silent vigil of how she was found. The tensity in Quasimodo’s shoulders seemed to plummet at this, his face slowly twisting into that teary grimace as he nodded.

“She is s-safe,” he slowly choked out a whisper. She kept to his promise, and she did not go after him, which showed him just how much her trust strengthened. He had to turn his face away for a moment, while providing a steady hand over poor Faer’s shivering body. “Her heart - her mind - they are kept refined —“ he broke off for a second before he harshly blinked to keep those burning tears at bay.

“His Honor has found ‘er… She came bare winged and cold, and her Diamond gone.” Faer went on with his message. “He has sprung on now, to find y-ya~ The flock has her now, and she told us all that Jiminy has returned in the storm…”

Quasimodo’s breath shivered deep in his chest as his eyes hardened into a deep focus. As he worked to rise back up again, settling a protective hand over Faer’s frail shoulders. He could feel him shivering. “… when the night comes, Faer, I fear that you will see our next obstacle,” he firmly warned. Even his own eyes could see the weakness in the Woodsman before him, as with this other man that made his entire body shiver. Who was this other man, who may have been the shadow they all sensed in the midst of the storm and brambled trees that threw them all aside like a school of fish. “… very soon.” Quasimodo finished with a tight throat, much to Faer’s horror.

“Wot you mean? What’s happened…” Faer broke further as his small head was cupped by the man’s sturdy hand. “… they thought you may have —“

“I haven’t,” Quasimodo reassured in a very hushing tone. “… you see me, you feel me, don’t you? I need you to fly~” he nodded at him. “At any point when you see this huntsman by night, know the creature beside him.”

“I am his Keeper, Faer.” Humbert nodded, curtly and strongly holding his belt.

“Keeper? Keeper…” Faer blinked, trembling like a leaf. “… you- you’ve been changed? Like the flock?” he asked Quasimodo.

Tight lipped, Quasimodo sheathed his dagger out from his makeshift belt and took the amber tuft off of it before holding it pinched in front of Faer. Delicately, he took Faer’s open paw and placed it there before softly closing it. “… our bonds have not changed, Faer… Do not cry, because you need to be the line that will bring us all together again. Take this to my father… and take him to Fidele. Fidele has been caught by a line and was tied as a means to draw Odette out, but the danger has passed. Would you do this for me?”

Faer’s body appeared to curl as he seemed to bring the tuft of thick bristles close to his heart just moments before he nodded tearfully. “I’ll - I’ll do - Yeah, yeah I’ll do…” he nodded, desperate before he blubbered directly into Quasimodo’s tunic. “… we thought we lost ya~” the poor creature muffled in hiccups.

Quasimodo let out a sigh that sounded partial to a laugh and a sob all at once, while tenderly bringing his friend close enough for him to hear his beating heart. The joyous sobs remained there for a moment until Faer was brave enough to take the gift and fly. Humbert drew in a deep breath, knowing what this reunion could entail even if it would go well. Quasimodo’s eyes remained as moist as a spring’s creak as he slowly, yet careful stood with the aid of the branch. In his palm, he held the trembling bird before softly lifting him to the air ~ a somber memory of the little bird resting in the mouth of one of his gargoyles as if so very long ago. Faer had to keep from crying too much so that he could simply see. 

Misty eyed, Quasimodo watched his friend fly into the white air before he glanced at Humbert with deep determination before he gazed high until the little robin vanished from sight. Even in the midst of all this pain, hope was at its brightest on this dawn. It was as it was when Odette before her mind was enchanted, before she took on the journey with pure empathy that began on the day Rayan found her, and saw her, she understood the riddles the Blue Fairy had spoken of with such wisdom from her own world, of stories of true love and happily ever afters… Sore from her flight, but warmed by the love of her flock, there were no more qualms, and there was no more doubts in their minds as the clouds had cleared. Love would always survive, and it will. The storm may have been physically strong and overwhelming, but their story was not ending anytime soon. 

The warmth of the Diamond needed no words to tell her, and each of them, that something was held tight and untouchable regardless of this separation. They were all spiritually tied, and no snake… no evil can penetrate their minds further. Odette - Cass - Cassandra … She was herself again. Her father was here, after so long of her mind being tormented by all that greed and malice, her first love never vanished and she never truly forgot. Her father, the man who saw her, and Quasimodo, the second who had seen her… at her lowest point. Evil was trying to shatter the men in her life, with an ongoing hate that stemmed from something darker than what they were all facing now…

You feel his heart against you… the Blue Fairy sweetly hummed deep into the hearts of the Maidens as they hovered and held close to each other yet.

Odette drew in deep and tender breaths, with ruffled feathers against the heat of the other swans around her, a place of solid warmth as a sweet memory came to her as she naturally began to drift into a warm, exhausted sleep. I feel his heart against me… her thoughts grew more calm and soft as she had all of her loved ones close now… Her heart flowing with trust. 

*

Endymion

That very moment between the waking land and the deepest darkness she found herself in, as the rush of love, worries and fears fled from her for merely a moment, Odette had found herself standing before the island of a normal, basic kitchen bathed entirely in the moonlight she would often dread… Odette blinked around before softly soothing her hand along the familiar granite of the island. This was a home, her modern… childhood home. For a moment, she felt a little wobbly legged as she was once again in her human form, adorned in her the white and pink gown she had made within the heart of the Seven’s mine at the time of when they had found her. She shut her eyes, feeling her own breathing and even her own heartbeat… She knew, for a fact, that this was a vision… 

“This is truth. This is the truth, isn’t it? As to why I feel safe? I feel so safe and now I am here?” Odette uttered to herself before she opened her eyes. “… evangeline…?”

“I am here,” whispered that sweet, honey adorned voice. A swift and beautiful glow began to manifest into the quieted kitchen, that used to be so sunlit and golden as she remembered as a child. Odette’s eyes widened as her face ran slack as she watched her softly float towards her. That single orb soon grew in a shroud of starlit glamour that formed slowly into the form of a tall woman. A woman adorned in faded, shimmering sapphire, with soft gold hair and deep sea blue eyes… 

Odette studied her with a growing worry as she noticed that the Fairy was… transparent. She could see the hall behind her form. The gentle smile she held for a second slowly fell when the realization hit her…

“… you’re fading.” Odette uttered, feeling a shred of guilt in her heart.

“Do not worry for me, Cassandra.” she hummed, tiredly but with a voice full of love. “… my magic is keeping this place fully guarded. Come with me… There is something you must see.” she shared a motherly smile as she slightly turned and held her hand out to her to take.

Odette timidly nodded, knowing deep down of what this meant, rose her hand to take Evangeline’s. Two women walked side by side toward the staircase of the childhood home as the air sparked with a lovely shimmer that Odette almost mistook as floaters in her eyes for a second. 

“I’m home… It’s… it’s exactly how it was, when I went to bed that night. He said he would see me in the morning…” Odette spoke in broken whispers as she  followed the Blue Fairy up with careful steps. 

“And it is so, dear… It is so. I had made sure it would be so when you will return. And you will return.” the Blue Fairy told her, with straight confidence.

In the quiet hallway, even as she felt her own chest heave with a hidden sob, the beautiful Fairy that led her entire found family and fellowship had soon stopped at the slightly ajar door of the master bedroom. “… know that he is here and he is sound. Alive, safe and sure, however, he cannot wake entirely yet.” she began to seriously explain as calming as her voice was. Odette locked eyes with her for a solid second before she shakily nodded.

“… he cannot because his very heart is the one thing that is keeping our Diamond warm and as bright as my star. His strength was what burned the brambles and is warming Jiminy in the dead of that hallow. Richard is there, but his mind is sealed… It is sealed away from her ilk to ever touch him again.”

“It is more than I could ever ask for…” Odette spoke, so grateful. “… I wouldn’t have lived with myself if I knew if he ~”

“Ssh, then go to him, Cassandra. There is no rush…” the Blue Fairy softly smiled before she eased the door quietly open.

Stepping through the threshold, Odette slowly passed the guarding Fairy and into the one place that was the epicenter of the entire Rayan household. Being left with her own, Odette stepped right on through to a most tragic, and a most beautiful sight. The air speckled with soft orbs of light, like floating stars above an unbroken sea that surrounded the still form in the center of the vast bed. There she saw a single hand laid along the side, almost draped beside his head, partially open and curved. Odette stopped herself before she could see his face before a small loving smile tugged at the corner of her lip. She approached the side of the bed, taking in the very feeling the room had, with such simplicity surrounding her with the cool moonlight leaking in to embrace the still man living and breathing before her.

“… richie.” Odette’s voice fell lightly at once when she saw his face.

Closer she came until she was able to see his face… Richard was warm and so still, seeming so young and untroubled. The way his eyes were hooded closed, and the soft flash of his throat as he breathed was more Odette had hoped. He was in sleep, a beautiful but heavy sleep that held him just as arm’s reach on their journey. His stubble and brown hair were the things she chose to touch after softly seeking his hand to hold. Odette sat on the side of the bed, holding his warmed hand as she soothed through his hair with featherly light care.

“… you’re here.” she whispered, her voice finally cracking before she had to lean over him to embrace him close. “… dad…” she broke.

The Fairies watched in silent reverence as this slight reunion came to be, the ones who intervened before tragedy would strike watched the miracle of their vigil right before their very eyes. A family unbroken by the evil of their world as much as it tried to dry them hallow. 

After a long moment, Odette rose slightly, with her cheeks purely moist with her tears as she slowly bestowed a kiss against her father’s cheek with a solemn promise. The Fairies watched in silent reverence as this slight reunion came to be, the ones who intervened before tragedy would strike watched the miracle of their vigil right before their very eyes. A family unbroken by the evil of their world. 

There was a moment of silence then before Odette would whisper the words… “I love you… I love you, Dad… I’m coming to you. We’re all coming to you… I remember everything. Please know that I remember it all…” 

The most magical of it all had come to be when Richard’s closed eyes fluttered only slightly as he drew a deep and pleasant breath. “… casey,”  whispered the Swan King. 

It was a single sigh of a word, but it meant the entire world to her that her family was purely whole… His voice, she had not heard in over two years. A sweet crisp of a sound, so heavy with sleep and memory. She choked back a sob as a smile grew along her face. She squeezed his hand…

“Yes. Yes… it’s me.” her voice was so small and joyous. “… and we are all in this. Together.”

Odette slowly released his palm and soothed her hand along the sheets as she had to pull herself away from the bed. She joined the Fairy just outside the door, overcome with such tender emotions. She pressed against the wall just outside after sliding the door to be slightly open as they found it… Evangeline sighed with relief and pride, in them both.

“He is very aware, my dear… very aware.” the Fairy soothed as Odette swiped her wet eyes and cheeks widely with both hands. “His body is stilled but his spirit is strong, just like yours is…”

“… you came here to protect him as well as us, and I still had the audacity to… to doubt you… I screamed and yelled…”

“I know. Be in freedom in knowing that this will end. This will come on a long winter night when the hours stretch longer before the rising sun. In close to four months time… Do you know what night this is?”

“… the winter solstice?” Odette uttered as it slowly dawned on her.

The beautiful faded star Fairy nodded with grace. “On that sunrise, set before even the light leaks from the horizon, you must seek your lover’s eyes. You both must gaze deep into each others eyes, as your father will open his own on that morn…”

“My lover’s? You mean that … Quasimodo…?”

“He is alive, dear… Very much alive.” Evangeline soothed. 

Odette slowly covered her face and slid down the wall in muffled sobs. Evangeline had lovingly followed as she lowered, allowing her a moment, yet she continued.

“When you find him you will see… He had endured a transformation in the mountains…”

“Oh my god!”  the young woman coughed out into a fit of weeps, even imagining that even he was thrust into the same hell she was thrown into because of this witch.

“Under the moon as you are a woman, he will be known under another form. A form loyal to us… Maleficent had tried to strip him of his dignity but his beauty is unmarred.”

“What has she done to him…?” was Odette’s cracked inquiry.

“She has made him… into the Lord of the Mountains. Into a mighty bear.”

Her body shuttered and she clenched her eyes as she felt the hair on the back of her neck rise into that of risen feathers. Her eyes open wide… back inside the tent as the flock all began to feel the call of the moon…

“Faer is coming, and Fidele is near. You will know when you see him accompanied by a Huntsman~”

*

That precious voice leaked on as though she were right beside the Blue Fairy even yet. In a way, she was… even as the moon had come relentless upon each of their bodies.

“I can’t do this anymore!!” Ida wept aloud by her head as the snow rose around them guided by an emerald chain all inside the tent alone…

Odette opened her eyes to the withering tent folds above her, as she was swarmed with the worried bodies of her fellow swans. She shook her head as she was thrown into the reality of the moonlit transformation.

“We’re fitting through tight — holes— just intake your breath- fast intake!” Odette strained after she announced, finding it hard to even breathe for a moment.

Odette’s vision tunneled as she gazed up to find herself staring at her own calf of her leg, dressed in those wools once more, leaning against the others as they gasped for breath. They were human once more…