Ripping off the Chains
Vil and Yuu walked leisurely back to Ramshackle, and Yuu felt better than she had in a long time. Vil kept his promise to keep up Yuu’s spirits and kept her happy and jovial the entire time. It was as if the world was a distant memory, and all that existed were two cheerful kids strolling through a grand green promenade in a gothic college. It was straight out of a dream or fairytale, but this time more than ever, Yuu never wanted to wake up. But like most things in our bitter reality, all things end, some good and some bad. Upon reaching the door frame of the newly rebuilt dorm, Yuu was struck by the sudden urge to keep her Queen and protector from leaving. Vil’s absence would leave a gap too much to bear and too distinct to fill with a substitute.
Yuu stopped and turned to Vil, “I think we need to have some tea!”
“Tea?”
“Yes!” Sensing his hesitation, Yuu thought fast, “Surely there are more things we should discuss in a more sensitive manner? We can’t just spill our secrets where anyone can hear? Doing it over some tea is a fortunate coincidence!”
“Alright…” Yuu sensed his hesitation. Her mind was running hundreds of miles per hour. Did she overstep? Did she say something wrong? Did she offend Vil? But what Yuu did not notice in her contemplations was the blush barely hidden by Vil’s stoic expression.
Their walk soon came to a halt, and they finally arrived at Ramshackle dorm. Vil didn’t hesitate and pushed the door open, immediately gesturing for Yuu to go inside. Yuu hastily entered, followed by Vil.
“You didn’t have to do that, you know. This doesn’t have to be cliche. We both know I can open doors myself. I’m even mostly successful.”
Vil restrained a laugh and scowled. “Who pushes past the host when entering as a guest? I may not be a prince, but I. Am. A. Queen.” Vil huffed.
“Of course, your radiant majesty.” Yuu crooned and leaped out of Vil’s reach. She always enjoyed playing with fire, and she happened to enjoy how Vil’s ire made him greatly resemble an irate peacock. But that was one thought she had no plans for voicing.
Yuu dashed into the foyer with Vil hot in pursuit. All bets were off, and Vil was aiming to kill… or, well, win the impromptu game of tag.
Yuu dived onto the catch with a whoop. “Safe! I’m Safe!”
“Says Who?!” Vil yelled as he full on tackled Yuu. They made eye contact, then “I won….”
“The hell you did! I got onto the couch first.”
“False! Do you doubt your Queen?”
“I doubt your false claims that are as fraudulent as your reign! Viva La Resistance!” Yuu pushed Vil off the couch.
But before Vil hit the floor, he pulled Yuu down with him. They both landed with a royal thud. And both broke into laughter. It was rare that either of them had the chance to goof off without stressing about appearances and responsibilities. They giggled for a while longer.
“I only wish that we could stay like this a while longer....”
“Caught up in a dreamland?”
“Without anything looming.”
“Yeah-Yes! I agree…”
“No need to be so formal! Gah! Look at us! We’re both so stiff! I bet we both come off as icy and tired in public because of how rigid we are!
“You have a reputation to uphold, and I’m too nervous. We’re both too tired to even attempt a cheery facade!”
“I suppose you’re right Yuu….”
“Don’t take it as an insult, but it is a fact. We both are far too serious, and it kills us.”
“An unfortunate truth and a necessary sacrifice,” Vil sighed. “Did you know that while every actor gets shipped or badgered about love lives, nobody has even tried in years! There are no speculations about my preferences or anything. The running joke is that I’m married to work and myself because, apparently, no one is good enough for me!”
“You shouldn’t push yourself to settle, and you really should be grateful that they don’t harass you in such a personal way. But I understand your frustration. Even here, the world finds a way to separate you from others and make you unobtainable and untouchable. Something ethereal and separate.”
“How poetic….Which isn’t to say that I’m clueless. I do not pursue the ultimate beauty to be lumped in with most who couldn’t care less…yet….”
“Those who don’t focus on this beauty and remain ‘obtainable’ have popularity….”
“Yes…. And it seems so juvenile to say that I care about popularity…like a child, but it still hurts.”
“It’s not juvenile at all! This isn’t a popularity complex! It hurts to constantly, and I mean constantly, being forgotten and rejected! It’s not juvenile to want to be loved!”
“But it is juvenile to have a tantrum about how much I feel lacking, a tantrum that almost led to the deaths of 9 people!”
“You could have died to Vil….Why do you never include yourself when counting who got hurt?” Yuu whispered.
“Because…because I deserved it,” Vil whispered back, blinking furiously, trying to stop the angry tears.
“No, Vil. You would never deserve such a fate. You deserve everything you want, and it's not fair that no matter how much you bleed or cry, nothing seems to change!” Yuu whisper-yelled.
“But how? How do I get it to stop? How do I change it?”
“I don’t know how to help you now. Do you want a hug or a plan?”
“Oh Yuu, …. I’ll take both.”
“Oh, Vil,” Yuu softly gathered Vil into her arms, and they both sat swaddled by pillows, now off the floor and on the couch. Looking like two potatoes together wrapped in blankets.
“Do you feel like you can hear me out?” Yuu broke the silence after a moment.
“What do you want to say?”
“I was thinking about what you said.”
“What in particular, I don’t recall what I said amidst tears….”
“I want to help you break free of your expectations of others, just like how you’re helping me.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“We’re going to be dating, right? Well, that will include making us both seem much more chill than we are. You can use me just as I’m using you to completely revamp your image.”
“Yuu…I can’t…”
“Why not? It’s only fair?”
“I don’t think my manager would approve….”
“You’re Vil Schoenheit! Since when do you bow down to the opinions of others?!”
“...never…” Vil answered uncharacteristically meekly.
“And here’s another question: why does it feel like, no matter what, your agent is screwing you over?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you’ve known Adela since childhood, right?”
“Yes, she was my father’s agent before me, and she was good to him,”
“So it’s reasonable to say that she knows you well. Which means to say that she can read you better than most people you meet.”
“Yes, she’s proficient at knowing what I want and need.”
“If this is true, then why does she frequently rub Neige Leblanche in your face like rubbing salt in a gaping wound? And why doesn't she doesn’t fight the typecasting? It seems as if, for years, she has been putting you in roles that would pair up with Neige for some reason. Instead of trying a different genre that would be more suited to you, a genre she is more experienced in, she instead focuses on keeping you in juvenile productions and coincidentally the same one where Neige is.”
“That’s not fair, there is a limited amount of movies and shows that were profitable enough for me to act, and Neige, another A-list celebrity, would also likely be involved.”
“That’s a fair point. However, I’ve been doing some research since I found out about this. Plenty of film roles would be perfect for you, and that had large productions and no room for Neige-esque characters. These productions even wanted you as the star. But for some reason, it's as if you never heard about it and never participated.”
“What do you mean?” Vil paled significantly.
“Like Rhinedottir’s Heart, you were pegged as the ideal lead, but even though production has started, you never got the offer.”
“How do you know about this?” Vil was paling rapidly.
“I met the director when I was with Corivna. It's one of her few fae friends that's known for sponsoring artisans. He complained that he was rebuffed by your agent, who claimed that this wasn’t your type of role and you wouldn’t even consider it.”
“What. The. Hell.”
“Exactly, which brings me to my next theory…I think your agent works with or for Neige. She might either be his agent or work for his agent. I doubt you know now who she works with, but we can try to find out.”
“Y-yes. I’ll do that. I’ll do that now.”
“Let’s have some tea and calm down. I just dropped a bombshell on you.”
“Please. Then I have some calls to make….”
“And I do too.”
Yuu was never more grateful for Corvina dragging Jade and Rook to her revenge meeting. Now she definitely would find out what was going on behind the scenes.
Not too far from Ramshackle, something was going on behind the scenes.
“Oh, Corvina! There you are!” Came the earsplitting and migraine-inducing screech from an incredibly depraved bird.
“So much for peace and quiet….Couldn’t you have stayed sulking and quiet longer? It’s so much easier to do your job for you when you aren’t there to set us back.”
“I feel your fondness from here! You always keep track of me!”
“It would be foolish not to track a liability.” Corvina swept away like an overgrown bat in her chic clothes.
“Oh, and did you get all dressed up for me, my sweet, dear, birdie.”
Corvina fought back a gag and a jerk, disgusting. “Get your mind out of the gutter, you bastard. Now leave me the hell alone. You’ve wasted enough of my time.”
“Oh, don’t be so coooold, beloved.”
“Go fuck yourself.”
“Oh my! Such profanity! You truly have such sinister thoughts, my dear Corvina….”
At this point, Corvina could no longer hide her disgust. “You’re disgusting. And I’m not your dear! I have a boyfriend.”
“A boyfriend? Hah! Playing hard to get isn’t necessary when you already have my heart!”
“You don’t have one, you slimy jackass. And my boyfriend is right here.”
“Hello, Pet,” Crewel slid up behind Corvina, slid his hand around her waist, and kissed her cheek.
“I’ve missed you.” He placed his chin on her shoulder and looked smugly back at Crowley.
“And I you….” Corvina kissed him back.
And just like that, Crowley’s false benevolence melted away faster than Malleus lost his head, horns and all, during his brief time back in his homeland.
“What is this?” Crowley asked with his true voice. A voice far colder and sinister than most staff imagined him to have.
“Headmaster, I demand you stop harassing my lover now!”
“You have no power here, Crewel! How dare you do this to me, Corvina?” Crowley’s voice lost the pretense of any civility and went octaves deeper.
“Do what to you? I never even entertained your disgusting fantasies. So how could you finally back off.”
“I refuse to let this end like this.” Crowley activated his magic in offense, and Corvina matched him to protect all others in the lounge.
“I doubt you can protect them all and defeat me! Even as skilled as you are in murder, Corivna!” Crowley smirked darkly.
“Many have doubted me, and all of them are dead. What makes you think that you’ll be any different. You whose only skill is sitting on the sidelines while weaker puppets die for you.”
“Then we are at an impasse.”
“Perhaps. But you want something. We are fae, the bargainers and speakers of truths. Mayhaps we make a bargain. So we can keep things civil.”
“I knew you'd come around-”
“I’ll make the terms.” With a wave of her hand, Corvina blocked out the memories of all others in the lounge and put them into a trance.
“Then I’ll make the terms. Suppose Yuu manages to end up happy with anyone from Wonderland and successfully snaps the Dragon prince from his stupor. In that case, I will leave you alone forever and do whatever you wish. But if she fails, then you will do whatever I wish.”
“Then neither of us can directly or indirectly aid them after this point. We must maintain complete separation. If you violate these terms, I will know. And any violation of these terms will cause an instant nullification of a fae bargain from lies. And we both know the severity of lying.”
“Most certainly.”
“You will not be able to involve yourself with them in any way from now on, not through others, not in private, and not yourself, and not in public. Those are the terms you must swear to me.”
“Well then, we have a deal.”
“Then let this deal be sealed in our blood, the blood of the fair folk. If our natures reject the truth, then fae, we shall no longer be.”
“Our bargain is sealed in blood.”