Title: Mourner's Dawn
Author: Kytten
Pairing: Lucien Lachance/OMC
Rating: PG13
Disclaimer: Don't own.
Author's Note: The end. The end. The end. THE END. Yes! You have no idea how glee-full I am.
He was giving her the puppy-dog eyes. May hated the puppy-dog eyes. Because when Vicente had the puppy-dog eyes, he looked very small, very vulnerable and she always wanted nothing more than to sweep him up into a hug and hold him until he smiled again.
And that was not going to work today. Because he had pushed her way too far. He could go on giving her the puppy-dog eyes all day if he liked. She wasn't coming to bed. Hell, she wasn't even going to look at the self-serving little bastard.
Punching Arquen in the side of the head as the woman's flailing nearly gave her a black eye, she struggled to hold her down.
"Careful!" Lucien snapped. "I need her alive."
"I could always bring her back," Sam suggested. "Though it would be risky. Sithis is probably rather aggravated with his missing voice by now. If he's got mine, I can't imagine people find him very threatening."
Unless his Ayleid found Bosmers attractive. In which case, the voice trade totally made sense.
"I refuse to let you risk your life for this fetcher," Lucien growled, attempting to paralyze her again in hopes her shield had worn off. "I wouldn't be heartbroken if she didn't die properly. Just rather disappointed."
Sam laughed, nudging him with a hip.
"And Sithis knows you're easy to live with when you're disappointed."
"Point taken."
May bit her lip and tried very hard to ignore them. Because their being in love around her made it painfully obvious that Vicente was still in the farthest corner of the room looking at her with those bloody puppy-dog eyes.
Probably wanted to apologize… the fetcher.
Gritting her teeth, she considered breaking Arquen's arm to fit it properly into the binder corset, but thought Lucien wouldn't really appreciate it. Still, it was a bit trying to have the idiot pig's breasts flopping about, Sam and Lucien flirting like nothing was wrong in the world and Vicente burning a hole in her back.
And then his gaze was gone, Vicente striding across the room to grab Arquen's arms and pin them against the bed. May knew from experience, fighting against him was like fighting against a statue, but she was not pleased that he'd gone and taken her job from her.
"Bugger off," she snapped, glaring at him. "We were managing just fine without you."
"May—" he started, those puppy-dog eyes back again.
But she was not about to listen, because she knew the moment she did, she'd cave into that bloody look and she'd seem like a spineless idiot who couldn't back up her side of the argument if she wanted to.
"Why do you always have to ruin everything?" she shouted, hands balled into fists at her side, angrier than she could ever remember being.
Angrier even than the time she'd killed that poor idiot with a hoe. Because this time, she knew she couldn't hurt Vicente. She couldn't do anything. She loved him, for Sithis' sake, and he'd gone and broken her like this and it wasn't bloody fair that he could just look at her like that and expect her to come falling back into his arms.
Even if she wanted that more than anything.
Furious with herself and Vicente both, she fled the room before she could break down in tears in front of him and make a complete ass of herself.
"May, wait!" he called, relinquishing his position to a half-visible Antoinetta Marie, before running after her.
She was faster than he'd realized and they were halfway to the ladder before he caught up to her, catching her wrist.
"Please," he said, voice soft, pulling her back. "Don't go."
Rounding on him then, she punched him as hard as she could. It was the shock of actually being struck, more than the pain that made him let go. And once May had started, there was no stopping her. She broke; sobbing so hard her whole body shook as she blow after blow shattered into his chest.
"I hate you, you fetcher," she choked between sobs. "You liar!" and then, when she couldn't find the words to voice just how utterly betrayed she felt. "You said you loved me!"
"I do," he said softly, reaching up to sweep her hair away from her face, but making no move to stop the blows raining over his chest. "I'm sorry. I misunderstood."
"Misunderstood what, you ass?" she shouted, hitting him that much harder. "That I was stupid enough to care about you? That I was naïve enough to want to make you bloody happy?" the blows were subsiding now. "I tried to cheer you up, you fetcher and you threw me out on my ass! I hate you." And here they stopped and she curled into him, sobbing so hard he could barely make out her manta of, "I hate you. I bloody well hate you."
Vicente wrapped his arms around her and pulled her as close as he could, ignoring the ache in his chest for the flowery scent of her hair.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to the nape of her neck as he rocked. "I love you."
Abruptly, Arquen stopped screaming. Her shield had worn off, apparently.
"Ass," she spat, and hiccupped, wanting to tear his clothes just to ruin them.
Vicente smiled softly, wanting to kiss her but afraid she'd bite him in the mood she was in.
"Forgive me?"
"No," it was mostly muffled as she was, apparently, trying to smother herself into his shirt. "I don't even want to look at you. You're a selfish, childish ass and the sound of your voice make me sick."
Lucien and Sam trekked out of the room then, carrying Arquen between them like a plank of wood dressed in men's clothing. Her hair had been hacked off close to the scalp and it almost looked as though she had stubble. As they passed, Lucien nodded, but Sam glared at him, managing to convey a wide array of threats with very little motion.
"Sweetheart?"
A short distance off, the well cap clanged open… and then shut.
"Shut up," May sniffled and hiccupped again, pulling away to wipe at her eyes. "I don't want to talk to you."
"I'm serious," he said, taking her chin then so she'd look him in the eyes. "I love you."
"You're a fat, old liar and I want to be left alone," she announced and turned for the kitchens.
Vicente watched her go, feeling like a complete and total idiot who had just ruined the most important thing in his life.
"Escaped prisoner," Lucien grunted, nodding towards the guards as they carried the unfortunate woman through the gates. "Lex told us t' bring 'im back hell or high water. Put up a hell of a fight."
One of the guards frowned.
"Who's this then?"
Lucien shrugged.
"No idea, really. Cap'n gave me a wanted poster, sent me on m' way. Probably his latest Gray Fox, I'll bet. Not sure how we're gonna get t' the Imperial City 'fore this spell wears off. Bloody hell."
The guard was apparently satisfied as he moved back to let them pass with a shrug and a sad chuckle.
"Poor bloke's losing his mind. Can't blame him for trying though. I hear he 'bout runs the entire legion up there. Everyone else only worrying about their purses."
Lucien shrugged again and nodded.
"'s true. Money-hungry fetchers, the lot of 'em. Caerien, help me get 'im up on the horse, 'ey?"
Sam nodded and kept silent, knowing his voice was a dead give away and trying hard not to laugh at Lucien's new accent.
"You are a genius," he whispered once they were riding away and safely out of earshot.
Lucien grinned, smug as all hell.
"I know."
May curled up in the corner of the kitchen, picking Sam's new book up from where he'd left it on the floor.
"Boethiah's Pillow Book," she murmured to herself, reading the title. It was a wonderful book, she decided. The cover was worn and properly soft, the spine flexible and well loved. Someone had thoroughly enjoyed this book. Smiling to herself, she opened it.
And blinked… and then began to laugh, realizing exactly why it was so well loved.
"That one's new," Antoinetta said, leaning through the wall and over her shoulder to see the picture. "I'm not sure Vicente bends that way though."
"Do you think Eldamil could do it?"
Antoinetta laughed.
"Oh, yes. Eldamil definitely bends that way."
"Well then, I simply cannot allow Vicente to be outdone by some blond, too-flexible freak," she said, feeling better than she had all day. "We shall have to try it at once."
Vicente looked up from his book as May entered the room, a very mischievous light in her eyes.
"Sweetheart?" he asked, wondering exactly what it was he was going to have to do to be properly forgiven.
May said nothing, only opened the book to the appropriate page and smiled.
"Oh, Sithis," Vicente said, laughing. "I didn't realize that was even possible."
That smile grew a little bigger and Vicente shook his head, still laughing.
"You can't be serious, May."
And then she gave him the look.
There was no fighting the look.
Vicente sighed, and chuckling to himself, rose to lock the door.
It was noon when they reached the Old Home, and Lucien was immensely pleased with Sam's paralysis spell, and mentioned as much as he heaved a struggling, screaming Arquen from the back of his horse. The spell had been timed perfectly, lasting just until they thundered onto his mother's land. And by this time, all her screaming would have gotten the ogre very, very excited.
"Help me carry her?" he asked, breaking an arm when she tried to punch him.
"Does your ogre particularly like men?" Sam asked, paralyzing her from the knees down to better carry her.
"Ah, yes." Lucien grinned. "Brilliant that you mentioned it. Cut her loose, would you."
Sam pretended to gag as he sliced his dagger down the front of her shirt, slicing through the fabric of the semi-corset and into the skin beneath. Arquen screamed again, this a litany of threats and louder than before, all the while trying to bite Lucien as he held her.
"What in the hell is going on out there?" Veronique shouted, stepping from the door to the house.
"Just dealing with a traitor, ma'am!" Sam called back, picking up Arquen's feet as they crab walked towards rock where the ogre was frantically straining against its chain.
From the little porch, Veronique laughed.
"Mother, Lucien's brought his lover," she called inside. "He's charming. But they're feeding that traitor of theirs to Sangre, and he only just got over his stomach ache."
"Might do him good to have human again, actually," the widow Lachance said, rising to her feet and coming outside to watch the slaughter.
They swung Arquen between them in tandem, laughing as on three she arched through the air.
"Stand back!" Lucien said, grinning as he pulled Sam a safe distance back. "Last time it took us weeks to get the blood from our boots."
It was odd, standing there watching the woman get alternately ravaged and devoured by the giant beast and yet feeling like there was no where else in the world he'd rather be. Because Lucien was standing with his arm draped very comfortably over his shoulder, happier than he'd ever seen him. The guild was intact, the traitor dying in an appropriate bloodbath and Sam had a life, a lover, a family.
Lucien leaned down, smirking as that wicked tongue crept out, winding over the oh-so-sensitive tip of his ear.
"Welcome home, Sam."
Welcome home.
And for the first time in his sixty odd years, Samwane felt whole.
END