Angeles (Chapter Nine)
The Day The Sky Caught Fire
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine: I Saw Your Face
London, England, 1348
She’s seen this happen before.
She hasn’t seen Tina before (or is her name Cassandra?), but Rachel knows that she has been in this situation before. She can’t remember it exactly, but there’s something about her… Something about the way she holds herself, about how she isn’t quite sure the body belongs to her. Tina’s movements are awkward, as if she is struggling to understand what has become of her.
As if she doesn’t quite belong, or understand, and it both terrifies and comforts Rachel.
She has seen this before, the memory buried deep in her subconscious.
“Have we met?” Rachel asks. Tina looks up, bewildered.
“I don’t think so,” she answers, “but my memory isn’t right, you know, so maybe we have. I just can’t remember.”
She pauses, and tilts her head towards Brittany. “I don’t remember anything,” Tina says softly, but something about the way she says it suggests that she expects Brittany to prompt her memory.
Brittany’s eyes flicker towards Tina and something catches in Rachel’s throat.
It terrifies Rachel, the sudden look of complete indifference in Brittany’s because it isn’t like Brittany to feel nothing. And yet she is, leaning against the doorway, not even close to being a victim of curiosity.
“Brittany,” Rachel breathes, trying to break the trance, trying to make her sister feel something. Where was the empathy from just moments before? “Brittany!”
“I’ve heard about you,” Brittany says quietly. “They talked about you, you know.”
“What did they say?” Tina asks. She is torn between being intrigued or cautious.
“That you frighten them,” she tells Tina. “You frightened them before, when you were right, and now that they don’t know if you are correct or not, that frightens them even more.”
Rachel stares at them, aghast.
“Who are they, Brittany?” Rachel asks quietly. “Who have you been talking to?”
Brittany tilts her head, puzzled.
“I don’t remember. I could hear them before, but now I can’t.” She pauses, looking at the ground. “I guess they went away,” she says softly.
Something is wrong, Rachel realizes, because although Brittany isn’t explicitly stating it, she knows her sister well enough to know how to read between the lines. She has spent enough time with Brittany that if strangers had spoken about Tina, she would have been there, she would have remembered the conversation.
Which means either Brittany has been out in the night, when she should be asleep, or, the other possibility… that these conversations have been taking place in Brittany’s head.
And judging by the distant look in those clear blue eyes, Rachel has a fairly strong idea which one actually happened.
Rachel can almost feel the impact of the shock as it hits her, forcing her to take a step back. She stares, bewildered, at Brittany, but movement from Tina turns her attention back to the guest.
“You hear them, too?” Tina asks.
“Not anymore,” Brittany responds, and Rachel hates how hopeful Brittany looks, hates this stranger for coming into her home and suggesting the voices in Brittany’s head could be real, that they could come back.
They aren’t real. They can’t be, because then what does that say about Brittany?
“You used to believe,” Tina says softly, and it takes Rachel a second to understand she is the one being addressed.
“I don’t know what I believe, anymore,” she confesses, and Tina simply stares back at her, unblinking.
“You used to believe,” she repeats. “Doesn’t it strike you as strange that you don’t, anymore?”
& & &
Santana finds Quinn at the edge of the moor. At first glance Quinn doesn’t appear to be really doing anything, but when she gets closer, she realizes that isn’t exactly the case.
From this vantage point, Quinn had a perfect line of sight to the path leading away from the village to… whatever lies beyond it. There isn’t anything particularly interesting - Santana has been there many, many times before - and so it takes Santana a moment to locate whatever it is that has captured Quinn’s interest.
A boy, a soldier.
He is shorter than Finn is. Even from this distance Santana can tell he is ordinary at best. But he is a mere mortal, and so she isn’t quite sure why Quinn is so intrigued with him.
The angel’s thoughts are completely closed off, Santana notices with a huff as she sits down next to Quinn and watches the boy walk along.
It is only then that Santana notices how much Quinn is fidgeting with her hands. She knows what it means. Disguised as casual boredom, it is in fact a sign of ruthlessness, the kind Quinn had embraced for almost 500 years.
“Why him?” Santana asks quietly.
Quinn doesn’t respond at first, seemingly content with toying with the boy from afar. He is calm, unsuspecting of the horrors Quinn is casually building. He is so completely unaware that he is about to be driven insane from the comfort of his own mind.
“Why not?” Quinn responds, but there’s something else, something behind it that suggests that maybe Santana was wrong, that maybe this boy was not really chosen at random.
“He hasn’t done anything to us,” Santana offers. “Surely there must be another way to elevate your boredom than playing with a pet? One you’re not even interested in keeping in the long term.”
“He hasn’t done anything to us,” Quinn repeats, looking as if she’s thinking about smiling. It’s dangerous. “But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t done anything to someone else.”
“Still doesn’t quite explain why you’re so interested in him,” Santana shrugs. “I mean, sorry Quinntus, but he’s hardly your type at all, and I mean that in every sense of the term.”
This time Quinn actually does smile.
“Is anyone ever truly innocent, Santana?” She asks. “Is there such a thing as a pure state?”
“Of course not,” Santana replies. “Everyone is guilty of something. But whatever crime you’re convinced he committed, let it go. He didn’t do it to us. He’s just a human, ignore it, let it go.”
“I don’t know…” Quinn looks at him with renewed interest. “He might prove to be entertaining, if his use is… limited.”
“He’s a pet,” Santana snaps. “Let him be.”
Quinn sighs, seemingly releasing her grip on the boy’s mind. Santana realizes her mistake a fraction of a second too late.
“Blaine,” Quinn says quietly, her voice barely audible above the wind, “I’m bored now. Entertain me.”
The boy drops to his knees, clutching his head. When he finally gets back to his feet, his mind is no longer his own. He stares up at them, his eyes completely empty.
“Good pet,” Quinn smiles. Santana watches on, impassive.
& & &
“Quinn is slipping,” Santana says brusquely as she appears next to Sue. “And I absolutely loathe being summoned, so please don’t do that again.”
“You do as I tell you,” Sue shrugs, “and sometimes that means appearing when I tell you to. But your obedience isn’t the issue here, apparently.”
“She stripped a boy of his mind earlier today,” the angel explains as she leans against a wall.
“I fail to see why that would bother you. You’ve done that on more than one occasion, if my memory is correct.”
Santana scoffs. “That’s beside the point. Quinn did it because she had nothing better to do. She did it because she was bored.”
“And you believe that?” Sue raises an eyebrow. “Surely you know Quinntus better than that. I mean, yes, she positively loathes boredom and yet I cannot help but feel there is more to it, don’t you?”
Santana hesitates as she drops her eyes to the floor.
Could it be that simple, after all? Could Quinn really have been motivated by something other than sheer boredom? It is tempting to believe as much, and yet, and yet…
“You took away her soul,” Santana says quietly. “Her concept of right and wrong is almost gone because of what you did.”
“I think it’s more because of what you did,” Sue reminds her almost gleefully. “Again, Santana, I almost have to applaud you because you were one of the first to realize it, you know, that that little pet of hers was a weakness.”
“You see it, too,” Santana defends.
Sue smiles at her. “I saw it because of you. I had my suspicions, of course, because what would I be if I didn’t? You, my darling angel, you were the one who made me see clearly. Quinntus was created by the Gods but they were so blinded by their own ambition they didn’t see their mistake.”
“Quinntus is their perfect creation,” Sue continues, “but even perfect things get broken.”
“So fix her,” Santana bargains.
Sue raises an eyebrow. “Now why would I do that? I rather like her the way she is.”
“You want her to crave darkness, don’t you?” She’s desperate and it shows in the way her voice is slowly becoming hysterical. “Then give her back her soul, make her switch her humanity back on. Quinn is giving into her dark side now because it’s there, but eventually she will get bored and she will find something else do to. Like disappear.”
“She won’t go over the edge if she doesn’t care,” Santana says, watching Sue closely, for a sign that her attempt at negotiation is working. “Give her something to care about, then take that thing away from her.”
“You mean Rachel.”
Sue’s voice is flat, but there’s something about her eyes that makes Santana flinch.
“Yes,” Santana says softly, resigned. “I mean Rachel.”
& & &
Rachel’s headache is agonizing.
She stares at the ceiling of the farmhouse, convinced that if she can somehow regulate her breathing maybe the pounding will stop.
It doesn’t, and instead blurry memories start to dance in her subconscious.
A girl.
An angel, she has to be, with features like that. But there’s something else about her, how she wears tragedy like a shield, and Rachel has never seen someone so addicted to darkness and yet so incredibly beautiful.
Or maybe, Rachel thinks, this fallen angel is so gorgeous precisely because of her love affair with tragedies.
“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” A voice whispers next to Rachel. She turns to locate the source.
For some reason, Rachel knows this woman isn’t completely real - she can’t be, and yet… She struggles to understand but the woman makes a gesture with her wrist, and the fight starts to fade.
“Hello, love,” Sue smiles at Rachel. “I think it’s time we had a chat, don’t you?”
Rachel hesitates. She’s seen this woman before - that day at the market, with the bread - but there’s something about her that makes her want to flee, to take a step back. She turns around, prepared to flee, only to find she can’t even move.
“Don’t do that,” Sue sighs, “it’s rather unbecoming, for lack of a better word.”
Rachel stares at her, completely terrified. Her mind is shrieking at her to run, to get as far away as she can, and yet the only step she can take is towards the older woman.
“Good pet,” she smiles, “I see now why Quinntus was so fond of you.”
“Who is Quinntus?” Rachel manages to ask. “And what do you want from me?”
“You’ve been quite the thorn in my side, you know,” Sue says as she circles around Rachel. “They say I should have seen you coming, and, you know, I did. I knew exactly what would happen because of you, and they just refused to listen.”
Wide, terrified eyes follow her movements. It makes Sue feel powerful.
“I know what you’re going to say,” Sue continues. “It wasn’t your fault, you weren’t to know, it wasn’t anything you did, and all that is true, you know. It really wasn’t your fault, sometimes things just… happen.”
“Please,” Rachel whimpers. “Please, just let me go. I’m nothing special, I promise…”
“That’s precisely the point, darling,” Sue says as she shakes her head. “You’re not special, but you could be. Don’t you want that?”
Rachel hesitates and Sue seizes the opportunity. “You could actually do something with your life,” she whispers into Rachel’s ear. “Leave this filthy mediocre lifestyle behind and do something great.”
Rachel finally looks up at Sue.
“You already know what I’m going to choose, don’t you?” She asks.
“Well,” Sue smiles, “I don’t like making predictions if I know I’m going to be wrong about someone. Come along, pet, I have great plans for you.”
& & &
Brittany senses something is different when Rachel comes into the kitchen the next morning, but she can’t quite place what it is. Her sister is holding herself differently. Even her eyes have changed, as if Rachel is seeing the world from another perspective, and it unsettles Brittany.
Rachel’s belief in the world had been unwavering for so long that she doesn’t know what to make of the fact that something might have changed that.
“Rachel?” Brittany asks quietly. “Is everything okay?”
Her question prompts Tina to look over at them, and the fallen prophet can see the shift as well. Rachel’s eyes slide towards her and the molecules seem to shift around them.
Brittany can almost feel the struggle as two destinies suddenly collide with each other.
Tina just watches on quietly. If anything, it is Rachel who seems to be struggling, trying desperately to hold onto something that neither Tina nor Brittany can fully comprehend.
“She didn’t mean it, you know,” Tina eventually says. “Whatever it is that the Original Prophet promised you, it wasn’t for your benefit, it was for hers.”
“And how would you know?” Rachel asks.
Tina raises an eyebrow. “How many do you think have come before you, Rachel?” She takes a step away from the wall. “How many other girls, Rachel, do you think the prophet has played just to see how her precious Quinntus will react? She might have promised you were special but you’re just a pawn in her game.”
“And what are you?” Rachel snarls. “What makes you so special, Cassandra?”
Something flickers across Tina’s face, as if she is trying her best not to smile.
“I’m the only vision she didn’t understand.”
“So you do remember,” Rachel breathes.
“I’m starting to,” Tina says. “But the real question, Rachel, is why haven’t you started remembering?”
She wants to say more, but then she notices the figure approaching the farmhouse. She suddenly holds herself completely still. She doesn’t even breathe, but it is not enough to make herself become invisible.
Rachel is focused on Tina, so she misses it, but Brittany sees the way the stranger’s eyes flicker towards Tina. It is a look of someone who has seen the person before, but there are traces of lingering regret, of remorse.
For reasons she doesn’t quite understand, it triggers feelings of jealousy in her.
“I’m really sorry,” the stranger apologizes, “but I left something here, a long time ago, and I need to take it back. She said it was okay.”
“Did Mother say what it was?” Rachel asks, but her focus is still on Tina.
“Mother?” The stranger repeats, and the one word is enough to break her concentration away from Tina.
“Mother,” Rachel affirms. “Shelby?”
“Of course,” the stranger says distracted. “No, she said it was fine if I looked around. You don’t mind if I do, do you?”
It was asked as a question but there’s a part of Rachel that knows better than to argue. She steps aside and lets the stranger in. The stranger’s skin is warm, almost too warm considering the current weather conditions outside.
“I didn’t get your name,” Rachel stammers. “Just in case Mother comes back, you know.”
“I think she’s rather… distracted at the moment,” the stranger says. Then shrugs. “Not that it matters that much. You may call me Santana.”
& & &
There is a brief moment when Rachel thinks about fighting back.
She is watching Santana walk quickly through the farmhouse. It’s obvious the stranger is looking for something but Rachel can’t quite figure out what it is, and from the way Santana is growing increasingly frustrated, neither can she.
Santana emerges from one of the bedrooms and the frustration has turned into anger.
“What did you do with it?” She growls.
Rachel takes a step away from her, shaking her head. She doesn’t know what Santana is talking about.
“Yes, you do!” Santana snaps, and Rachel’s eyes widen because she is positive she didn’t say that out loud. She keeps backing up and now she is against the wall with a volatile stranger pacing in front of her.
“Where is it?” Santana growls. “Stop lying to me and tell me where it is!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Rachel cries. “Please, stop it, you’re scaring me…”
“It’s rather pathetic,” Santana growls, “that you think I even care how you feel right now.”
She exhales harshly, her eyes completely emotionless. “I can smell it on you, you know,” Santana whispers harshly into Rachel’s ear. “I can smell exactly what the prophet did to you. You might be able to fool your sister but you can’t fool me and you sure as hell can’t fool -“
She takes a step back, and the anger suddenly changes into curiosity. Rachel stares at her, wide-eyed.
“Huh,” Santana says quietly. “Interesting.”
& & &
“Blaine,” Quinn says in a sing-song voice, “I’m bored again. Entertain me some more.”
The boy turns to her, afraid again, and Quinn’s only response is to raise an eyebrow. Still overcome with fear, Blaine drops to his knees. He is shaking.
“Good pet,” Quinn smiles. “You’re learning far quicker than I thought you would.”
Then a look of boredom takes over her face, and with a flick of her wrist, she starts manipulating his body into different positions. It is just shy of being painful, and Blaine starts whimpering. Quinn, however, starts to smile.
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to play with your toys like that?” Santana sighs as she appears next to Quinn.
It’s enough to break Quinn’s concentration and Blaine falls to the ground. Quinn takes in a breath, looking at Santana.
“You smell like her,” Quinn says quietly, and Santana has to look away from the heartbreak so visible in those hazel eyes. “Why do you smell like her, Santana?”
“Because I thought your little pet had something I wanted,” Santana replies, then scoffs when she sees the look on Quinn’s face. “Don’t work yourself up, Quinntus. It turns out my trip to the farmhouse was in vain. Well, sort of.”
Quinn raises an eyebrow. She is obviously unimpressed.
“Cassandra’s there, but apparently goes by Tina now,” she sniffs.
“Did she recognize you?” Quinn asks. Although she is annoyed at Santana, she is also concerned. She remembers vividly the destruction Santana had caused when she toyed with that girl’s mind.
Sometimes, the guilt plagues them both.
“She pretended not to,” Santana shrugs. “But you know how these things are. Even if you want someone’s mind completely clean there is still a part of them that remembers. The human mind is rather strange, in that way.”
“And Rachel?”
There it is, that trace of hopefulness that reminds Santana that even stripped of her soul, there will always be a part of Quinn that cares. She will always be tempted to put Rachel first, even if she doesn’t understand why she is doing it.
Quinn’s obsession with Rachel goes back centuries, and Santana suspects that it won’t fade any time soon.
“Do you ever wonder why Sue is so interested in Rachel?” Santana asks.
Quinn glances at her. Her hazel eyes are so guided, and Santana tries briefly to read Quinn’s mind, but it is closed off. Santana sighs and then leans back, looking over the moor.
“I mean, the only one in all this is probably more interested in Rachel’s welfare than you is, well, Sue,” Santana continues. “I can understand your obsession with the pet but why hers? Why is the Original Prophet so interested in a mere mortal? Is it because of your obsession or is it something else?”
“What are you saying?” Quinn asks, careful to keep her voice completely neutral.
“Rachel is the only thing that is keeping you from rebelling against the Gods,” Santana says. “And we know there is nothing Sue would love more to do than to dethrone them. And Sue had the opportunity to do so, yet didn’t take it.”
“How do you know?” Quinn growls. Above them, lightening flashes across the sky, but there is no rain.
“Because I offered her Rachel,” Santana says, and she moves half a second before Quinn lunges for her.
“Knock it off,” she growls, “Sue didn’t take it. Your pet is safe.”
“She is not something you bargain with!” Quinn shouts.
“Why not?” Santana responds. “I get that you love her because at the end of the day, you never really had a choice. You were always going to love her and the Gods knew that! Everyone knew that!”
“What’s your point?” Quinn growls, and it’s an eerie echo of an earlier conversation.
“Your love for Rachel defies the Gods,” Santana says. “Everyone knows how inconvenient it is for them, including Sue, and yet she goes to extraordinary lengths to make sure your pet is safe and sound.”
Quinn stares at her, a muscle twitching in her jaw. “Don’t you ever wonder why Sue constantly goes to such lengths?” Santana prompts.
Chapter 10
Disclaimers:
- I don't own Glee and have no particular desire to
- Title of the chapter is a line from "Angeles" by Elliott Smith
- Not a Blaine fan
- Special thanks to Erika for looking it over