Fic: Fear Of Evil, Nevermore (1/1)
Title: Fear Of Evil, Nevermore (1/1)
Author: BradyGirl_12
Pairings/Characters: Kristen Bouchard, Leland Townshend, David Acosta, Ben Shakir, Fenna, Sister Andrea
Fandom: Evil
Genres: Drama
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Spoilers: For Fear Of The End (4x14)
Summary: Upstate New York is the place to be.
Date Of Completion: August 27, 2024
Date Of Posting: September 2, 2024
Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em, Paramount does, more’s the pity.
Word Count: 780
Feedback welcome and appreciated.
Author's Notes: The series has ended but there's so much rich material to work with, I doubt this is my last story in this fandom. ☺️
The opening lines to Kristen's poem come from Going Up The Country by Canned Heat, (1968), I.D. Sound Recorder. The rest are hers (mine). ☺️
DO NOT read if you haven't seen the finale. Spoilers galore!
Going up the country,
Where the water
Tastes like wine.
Going up the country,
Stay drunk
All the time.
I'm gonna leave this city,
Got to get away,
Where the air
Is fresh and clean,
And birds
Sing all day,
So they say.
Feel the sunshine,
Warm and bright,
Smell the flowers
Nice and light.
Leave behind blood
And crumbling brick,
Breathe the air,
No longer sick.
Kristen Bouchard
"Up The Country"
Her Private Poem
(She 's A Poet
And Didn't Know It) ☺️
2024 C.E.
Sacred Trinity Monastery in upstate New York was not usually Kristen's favorite place in the world, but tonight she loved it. As the monks dragged away Leland in a brown sack with him yammering all the way, she finally felt safe. It had been a long time coming.
She was also relieved that she didn't have blood on her hands again. Killing LeRoux had been necessary to protect her girls and killing Leland would have been for the same reason, but Kristen wasn't a killer at heart. Like Wonder Woman, she would work hard to find a peaceful solution first.
But if all else fails...
Kristen took a deep breath. The vow of silence everyone took here made the monastery quiet. The whisper of sandals over stone soothed her. Outside, the wind was blowing through the trees, an occasional owl hooting, and here within the stone walls Kristen could swear she could hear the faint hiss of candlelight as the flames danced along the walls.
David was communicating via slate with the head monk and seemed satisfied. Ben was reading over his shoulder. This was good, very good. If it was the Trio's last hurrah, what better than to oversee Leland Townshend's punishment? And, oh, yeah, his imprisonment, too.
Kristen smiled in the darkness. Apparently the Catholic desire to see punishment done had never left her. Self-flagellation was a biggie, but seeing evildoers get what was coming to them was something she could get on board with. Evil in the form of Leland Townshend would never threaten her family again.
Quoth the Raven, Nevermore.
Someone bumped shoulders with her. She looked down and was pleasantly surprised to see Fenna, the young woman she had befriended her first time here. They exchanged smiles and Kristen relaxed even more. She still wondered about Fenna's motivation for coming to this place, but she should stop being so judgmental. Maybe her daughter Lynn's desire to become a nun was teaching her tolerance, and no doubt Sister Andrea's example as well.
Sister Andrea! Kristen's stomach had actually hurt at learning her fate from David. Sent here to a place where the priests dumped their dirty dishes on the nuns' table before the sisters had finished eating just underscored the Church's misogyny. At least at St. Joseph's, Sister Andrea had enjoyed some autonomy.
Kristen snorted quietly as David and the good sister embraced. Fenna looked at her curiously. Feel sorry for Sister Andrea? Ha! She would be running the place in six months. These priests would never know what hit them!
Sister Andrea would make sure that Leland would never escape. Kristen could bet on it.
A faint scent of incense drifted through the hall. Not an unpleasant smell. It reminded her of the patchouli her mother had been so fond of in Kristen's childhood.
The thought of Sheryl hurt, but David had given her the Last Rites, irony of all ironies. Her mother had made many, many mistakes in her life, but had made up for them in the end. Her love for her daughter and granddaughters had been rock-solid.
And so is mine for my daughters and son.
Sister Andrea embraced Ben and then it was Kristen's turn. Sister Andrea patted Kristen's back and when they parted, Kristen could read the promise in the older woman's eyes.
Leland Townshend will never leave this place.
Kristen nodded.
Quoth the Raven, Nevermore.
Two warrior women with different roles in life, evil could not stand against them.
Kristen hugged Fenna as silent goodbyes were said all around. No doubt she would be Sister Andrea's junior partner-in-crime very soon.
Outside with David and Ben she breathed in the clear night air, free of city soot and grime. The moon was nearly full, shining down its benign benediction, and once again an owl hooted as a gust of wind rattled the tree branches. And maybe a raven's screech?
Evil had come to New York, but now its avatar was imprisoned in upper New York state.
Where the water tastes like wine, Kristen thought as she followed Ben and David to the car. No more of this particular evil.
Quoth the Raven, Nevermore.
This story can also be read on AO3.
This entry has been cross-posted from Dreamwidth. Comment on either entry as you wish. :)