Prompt# 226- Stranger in a Strange Land - Firelight cont. - Tekia - Original

[tekia.livejournal.com]

Title: Firelight cont.
Fandom: Original
Prompt: I have been a stranger in a strange land
Warnings: fighting?
Notes: Part of a larger work. I didn’t know where to start this segment off at, so you get a huge chunk of the chapter. If you want to read more, its all at my journal.
Rating: PG 13
Summary: Julia’s magic puts her in an unsavory situation.
Julia easily fell into the daily life without Meri. She stumbled over Dymitr more often than not and she never saw that cloaked man again. She tired to escape the house without Dymitr at her side, but failed more often than not.
She quickly grew bored with this life, always cleaning or cooking something. She missed the computers and cars and distractions of her life back home and she cursed Meri every chance she got.
The first snows fell and she grew ill. She huddled in bed until late in the day when her growling stomach forced her out to seek food. She stuffed furs under the door sills and over windows to keep out the cold, but it never seemed enough. When her illness grew to making her clutch a bucket to her every day, she wondered if the illness was something they didn’t have in her world and would eventually kill her.
Dymitr worried over her so much that she kicked him out of the room and let herself wallow alone.
When she did find the strength to leave the bed, she insisted on going outside and helping with whatever needed done. She hefted an axe and chopped firewood with Dymitr hovering at her elbow, to the horror of Claudia, but it made her feel better to do something active. Once Claudia convinced her that they had enough firewood to last them the winter and moreover, Julia turned her attention to picking Dymitr’s brain.
He was a water mage, he’d said, but she had never seen him perform any magic. She made his display what he could and she made him show her the spells, even if with her own magic being so different than hers, she’d never be able to perform them.
It was in the middle of winter, when snows had gathered high against the walls of the buildings, that word came that the troops were only days away from returning. Their forerunners had arrived with word of the state of the men. One came to the house to inform the Lady, Julia, and she frowned tightly, clutching her cloak tightly around her shoulders.
She’d gotten used to not having to deal with Meri, but she had missed him. The messenger assured her that he was well, but she had to wonder if she would care all that much if he wasn’t. He was her captor, holding her here against her will. When she thought of him coming back, whole, her heart fluttered and a smile wanted to fight its way to her lips.
She bit her lips to stop herself from smiling and instead nodded to the messenger. She sent him to the kitchen to get a bite to eat before he moved on and she returned to her room and the warm furs she had left behind.
Two days later, with a soft snow falling, Dymitr came to her.
“They’ve been spotted just outside the walls. Will you come to greet him at the gates?”
Julia couldn’t convince herself not to nod.
They rode in a sedan chair the distance to the walls and Dymitr held her hand as they walked up the icy steps to the top of the gates where hundreds of others had gathered. Dymitr clutched tightly at her so they wouldn’t be parted in the crowd and they pushed their way to the front so Julia could see the line of men marching up the road.
They were a long way off yet, and Julia took the time to look around at the landscape surrounding them. Snow covered the land in a white blanket, muffling the sounds of the people still far off. The wind had picked up and white flakes were tossed wildly in the air.
After a moment, she realized that there was a man on the opposite side of her as Dymitr, hovering too close for comfort.
She turned to say something, and found herself staring at the man from the market, weeks before. Her eyes widened and her lips snapped shut when he put a finger to his lips. She glanced at Dymitr who was focused on the troops making their way toward them. He still held her hand firmly in his grasp.
The cloaked stranger leaned in close to whisper in her ear. “I can free you of this unwanted burden they have put upon you.”
She nodded, licking her chapped lips. The man patted her shoulder. “Come outside after they have fallen asleep. I’ll return you to your home, and return your magic to you.”
Before she could ask how, the man pulled away and threaded his way through the crowd. She tired to follow, to ask him to help her now, rather than later, but Dymitr held her still. He turned to her when he felt her tug on his grasp.
“Lady?”
She turned back to him, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She shook her head and returned to watching the men approach.
Meri sat on a dun colored horse, his helmet held under one arm as he followed his troops. She watched as he scanned the people lining the gates. She couldn’t see his eyes, but somehow felt when his eyes settled on her, like a weight falling on her shoulders, another chain to keep her where she wasn’t meant to be.
Once the troops had disappeared past the gates, Dymitr led her back through the crowd so they could meet with Meri as he broke away from his men. Once they had reached him, he reached down and pulled Julia onto the saddle with him. She cursed him as she struggled not to fall and he laughed, wrapping a strong arm around her waist.
He brushed his lips against her temple. “I’ve missed you, firefly.”
“I can’t say the same. It’s been great without you.”
He chuckled and urged the horse forward. Julia looked back to see Dymitr disappearing down the road on his own. She looked around, seeking the man in the cloak. He was nowhere in sight.
Meri rode through the city and finally found his way to the house. He let her down first, then followed, immediately taking her in his arms. He bent her back to claim her mouth with his. She clung to his shoulders, retuning the kiss as if she didn’t have a mind of her own.
“Come with me,” he said, breaking the kiss and entering the house. Julia had no choice but to follow. Claudia and Maxima greeted them with bows and smiles.
“Master, there is food waiting for you in the dining room.”
“Good,” he said, moving in that direction. Julia followed and sat on the opposite couch, upright, as he lounged and ate all displayed for him. Julia arched a brow.
“Not enough food on the trip?”
He shook his head. “Food on the road is never enough.” Meri looked up from his bowl and grinned. “And neither is the company.”
Julia rolled her eyes, but couldn’t repress the flush she felt growing on her cheeks.
“Did you convince the senate that you are right and you can lead the army?”
“I do believe so. Things are going well.”
“Then you’ll release the spell holding me captive?”
Meri paused in his eating and met her gaze with his steady one. “You’re my wife.”
“Just because you said we’re married does not mean that we are.”
His lips quirked. “But saying it in front of the whole of the senate does make it true.”
Julia’s lips tightened and she folded her arms over her chest. “Even if I’m unwilling?”
“Are you?”
She looked away from him. How could she know that? The silence stretched on and he sat up and reached for her. She avoided his touch and leapt to her feet. She fled the room and clattered up the stairs toward their shared room. Her room, wasn’t it? She spent more time in it alone than with him. She refused to acknowledged how she felt so lonely without him holding her.
She shook her head and sat on the bed, clutching her suddenly upset stomach. She hadn’t known him long, had only laid with him twice. How could she have developed this need to cling to him, to love him?
The sun had set by the time she opened the windows and she wondered how long that man would wait. Her heart moved rapidly in her chest and her stomach turned as she thought about finally being able to go home. Meri was never going to let her go willingly. This was the only way.
She waited as long as she could, bouncing her knee and thrumming her fingers in agitation. Fed up with waiting, she crept out of the room and down the stairs and into the dining room. She found Meri still there, fast asleep. She scoffed, but felt a rush of affection. She moved forward and draped his cloak around his shoulders. She let her fingers trail through his thick black hair and down his chin.
He was a beautiful man and she admitted that he did have a hold on her heart. She took a deep breath. Could she life a life as a prisoner? In a world that was so far different than her own?
She knelt and propped her chin on her folded arms and stared at his sleeping face. She would have to face being so very cold every winter her fingers felt as if they would fall off. She would never use a toilet again. Nor would she ever feel safe. She could never use her magic. Meri would never trust her not to try to escape, nor could she ever promise not to try.
There was a loud crash in another room and both she and Meri jumped. He sat up faster than she expected and sent her sprawling to the ground. He suddenly had a sword in his hand and was pulling her to her feet by her arm.
“Get behind me,” he ordered and began stalking out the door. He peered one way, then the other before deciding that it was safe. He exited the room and Julia followed, close to his back.
“What is it?”
He shushed her and peered into another room. It was black within and he passed it by. They slowly made their way toward the front of the villa where the crash had come from. Julia clutched to Meri’s arm as they made their way through the dark courtyard, trembling in her shoes.
Meri paused and pressed her back against a wall, his short sword held read. Julia peered under his elbow and saw a shadow darker than the rest moving against the opposite wall. When they stopped, it stopped and she felt her teeth tear the flesh of her bottom lip. Meri shifted his body so that he stood in front of her, protecting her. He growled low in his throat and she made out the words, “Night Terror.”
She gasped and the shadow moved, shooting right for them. She screamed and ducked down to the ground, covering her head with her hands. Meri shouted a warison and swung the sword downward as the thing charged him.
Julia cowered back toward the wall and hid her face from the fight. A moment later, she felt something tug on her arms and she readily stood and rushed away from the fight. She tripped her way out of the courtyard. She panted for her breath and looked around. Meri was still fighting the thing, but it seemed that he was alone. He was looking around him wildly for his foe. When he found nothing, he turned to look for her. She stepped toward him, his name on her lips, when suddenly the night was torn apart by a flame so massive it light up the whole of the courtyard.
Dymitr was suddenly there, leaning down from the balcony. “Lady, retreat, it’s dangerous!”
She couldn’t tear her eyes from the ring of fire that was hovering over the frozen pool. The ice was melting in cortinate lines around the fire and there was a soft breeze spreading the heat from the fire to Julia’s face. She stared, entranced and her body began to move toward the spell.
It wasn’t hers, and the magic was powerful enough that she could feel it feeding the magic.
Meri slashed his hand through the air and the breeze died and she was quickly shivering in the cold. Dymitr jumped from the balcony and into the pool, splashing up a wave that was much larger than his body should have made. The fire ring almost died out, but the magic grew stronger and the fire returned, burning at Dymitr’s flesh. He splashed more water and the water formed a rope and encircled the ring. It wasn’t enough and the water turned to steam.
Meri wove a spell in his hands and eyed Julia. She still wore his collar and could do nothing, the magic wasn’t hers. He shot the spell of air at her, encircling her and tugging her away from the magic. It wasn’t enough.
She stumbled over her own feet as another magic pushed her toward the portal. She didn’t struggle against it, still unsure of what she really wanted. She wanted to go home and be free. She wanted to be safe.
Her eyes stole to Meri and her heart clenched. She loved him, but she hated him. He was so much to her, and nothing at all in the same breath. She didn’t fight against the magic as it forced her into the portal. She heard Meri cry out her name and Dymitr leap for her. He touched her stolla as it disappeared into the fire. She turned to look at him, but he was already gone. She was gone.
She couldn’t see anything and this trip through the portal was different. She felt lost, unbalanced in this strange in-between worlds. There was also a presence that was all but breathing down her neck. She shivered and turned and saw fire.
A being was hovering behind her, engulfed in the magic fire. It came closer and wrapped wispy limbs around her. “Go home, little flame, to where you belong.” She felt a tugging at her neck and felt the magic on Meri’s collar give way to the fire’s touch.
“Who are you?”
“Go home, little flame, where you belong.” The voice was dull, as if spoken through a radio and read from a script.
She scowled and pushed her way free of the loose grasp. She didn’t feel threatened by this being of fire. It wasn’t dangerous, but she couldn’t read anything more into it.
“Talk to me!”
“You weren’t supposed to be here. Leave now.”
Julia hugged her arms around herself and blinked rapidly. “Why was I even there in the first place? Why do you want me to leave so much? Tell me!”
The brightly burning blaze dimmed and she felt a pull at her magic. Her own magic grew and was reborn inside her. She felt her own world pulling her back home. She turned to look at the emerging world around her, but quickly turned back. The fiery being was growing dimmer. “Don’t leave! Tell me!”
The voice changed, grew less robotic and more human. “It is dangerous for you. Nothing will be solved with you in our world.”
Her eyes widened suddenly and she reached out to touch the fire. “You’re a Night Terror!”
She saw a grin form on the face of the being. “You are not needed here.”
Then it was all gone and she was alone in her very own apartment. There was a siren going off in the background and lights lit the walls where cars passed by. She spun on her foot and tripped on her stolla.
She gathered her feet under her and rushed into the bathroom just in time to lose her last meal into the bowl.

She woke up several hours later with her brow pressed to the toilet still. She made a face at the sight before her and reached up to flush the mess down the drain. She stood on wobbly legs and went to the sink to brush her teeth.
She turned off the water and looked up at her own face in the mirror. She hadn’t seen her reflection in quite a while and she marveled at what she saw. She had forgotten her eyes were dark and her skin was pale. She didn’t have shadows under her eyes from too little sleep, but she had hallows under her cheeks.
She sighed and pushed away from the sink and walked toward the kitchen, wondering if anything was still edible. She passed a clock and noted the time, then opened the fridge. A blast of cold air made her shiver and blink in awareness that the house was warm, far warmer than it ever was in the other world.
She found that all the food in the fridge appeared to be fresh still. She frowned and closed the fridge and reached for the remote to the television. She flipped on the news and gaped at the dates displayed in the upper right corner.
It was the same day she had left this world for the other one. She hadn’t spent any time in the other world as far as this world was concerned.
Julia found her bed and returned to the sleep that was seeping the strength from her limbs. In the morning, she was woken by her phone ringing. She blindly stumbled for the receiver and put it to her ear.
“Hello?”
“Julia? Is that you?”
Julia sat up and rubbed sleep from her eyes, “Candace?”
“Julia, I’ve been so worried about you! What happened last night? One moment you were there, the next, you were gone.”
“Oh, Candace! You have no idea.”
“Julia, why are you speaking Latin?”
Julia paused and took a deep breath, trying to remember her language skills. She had to speak slowly, “Candace, we have to talk. Can I meet you somewhere?”
“Sure, but don’t you work today?”
Julia blinked dumbly at the wall opposite the bed. “Uh…” She really couldn’t remember. She couldn’t even remember what her job was. She frowned and rubbed a hand over her brow. “I’m really messed up, Candace. I don’t know.”
“I’ll be right over.”
“Thanks.” She hung up the phone and stood. Her stomach protested and she rushed to the bathroom and vomited into the toilet once again. She moaned and wondered if the illness she caught in the other world was not dangerous in this world. Would she bring with her a new plague?
She brushed her teeth, showered and dressed before Candace showed up at her door with doughnuts. Julia led her to the kitchen table and asked, “Where do I work?”
Candace blinked wide brown eyes at her. “I don’t understand.”
Julia shook her head. “That night.”
“Last night.”
“Yes, last night I went into a portal and emerged in another world. I have been a stranger in a strange land.” She went on to tell her mentor about her time in the other world. Beginning with her frantic run through the forest to how the Nigh Terror forced her back to where she really wanted to be. She told her about the many, many spells she had learned while in the other world and she told her about Meri.
Half way through her telling, she got sick and rushed to the bathroom. She told Candace about her illness and Candace told her to go to the doctor.
Candace called her into work, where she remembered she did indeed work as a cashier in a local shopping center. She let the other woman drive her to the hospital and waited while Candace looked for a doctor with the required credentials to work with magic users. She sat listlessly in the hard plastic chair and let her head lull to one side. There were huge glass windows to her right and the sun’s light filled the waiting room. It was beautiful outside; the grass was green and the sky was clear. She felt so awkward here, in the middle of summer, when the other world was in the cusp of winter. Riding in a car was so strange, and she couldn’t remember how she used to live her days in this world.
Working, surely. She remembered being overworked for little pay, but she made her bills and that’s all that really mattered to her. She never went on vacation, and she didn’t own a house, or a car. She walked everywhere, or rode the bus, and, as she watched the people outside the hospital, she thought that this world was in such a hurry.
She blinked her eyes for only a moment and found that it was longer than a moment and she was woken when a nurse called her name.
She struggled to sit up and followed the woman back into a closed off room. Forty minutes later, Julia was once again standing in the waiting room, staring blankly out the window. Candace put her hands on Julia’s shoulders and began rubbing. “What do you have?”
“A cold.”
“That’s good. Nothing dangerous.”
“And I’m pregnant.”