(no subject)
Fandom: Fairly Oddparents
Canon or AU: AU
Fic: Dark Ocean
A/N: I told you it was in the works. :P I’ve had a hectic few days. Hopefully, things have settled down a bit.
I don’t think the nurses know Mom’s prognosis either, so I guess we’ll find out together. Eh. At least she can have her ascites drained at home, which means no more hospital visits. I am so sick of the hospital. You have no idea.
“Why do you keep putting Wanda in the hospital, then?”
It’s familiar, I guess.
---------------------
Adolphus arrived with Diana at an amusement park. He barely had time to enjoy their reunion before a large group of human children rushed past them. The fairy godparents behind them hastened in their wake, except for two. Though he hadn’t met them in person, thanks to the Council, he knew what their fairy forms looked like. Cosmo and Wanda froze; Wanda looked like a deer in the headlights. Her lips trembled, and her fingers dug into Cosmo’s arm.
“Guys, what’s the hold-up?” Timmy groused and then saw Adolphus and Diana. Eyes widening, he rejoined his godparents. Wanda trembled and retreated in midair, out of arm’s reach. If her older self was terrified of him, it was nothing compared to ten years ago. This version looked like she was about to hyperventilate.
“I’m not Asmodeus!” Adolphus said quickly. “My name is Adolphus. I’m his identical twin. Wanda, I swear, I’m not here to hurt you.”
Saying her name had done more harm than good. Wanda thrust out her wand with her right arm and growled. It reminded him of a cat puffing itself up to make itself look more intimidating. Maybe it would’ve worked on a smaller creature, but Adolphus found it sad rather than threatening. Moreover, she’d blanched and begun to hyperventilate.
“He’s nothing like Asmodeus!” Diana added hastily. “He’s telling the truth.”
“Wanda, breathe!” Timmy said.
“Not you again!” Cosmo snarled as a Latino fairy and his godson, a blonde-haired boy, joined them. The fairy ignored Cosmo and poofed up a paper bag for Wanda to breathe into. She shot him a grateful look and dropped her wand, which Timmy retrieved.
If Wanda was going to pieces seeing him, this wouldn’t work. The Latino fairy rubbed Wanda’s shoulders and neck; Wanda gasped, recoiling. Cosmo growled, shoving him away from his wife.
“Back off, pal!” Cosmo growled. “No one asked for your help!”
“Are you okay?” Timmy asked Wanda anxiously. Wanda shook her head; her face turned blue from lack of oxygen. Adolphus felt worse and worse. Off-kilter, he glanced at Diana, who floated toward Wanda. Wanda flinched, clearly not wanting anyone but Cosmo near her. That, too, might be in doubt.
“Juandissimo, you need to give her some space,” Diana said quietly. “I’m sure she appreciates what you’re trying to do, but you’re crowding her.”
Juandissimo scowled but followed Diana’s advice. Remy gave him a sympathetic smile. Adolphus had no idea what relationship Juandissimo and Wanda had; it was clear that they were friendly toward each other, but beyond that, Adolphus could only gauge by Cosmo’s jealousy. Cosmo wrapped an arm around Wanda’s shoulders, and she flinched. When Timmy handed her back her wand, she poofed away to give herself physical and emotional space. Cosmo’s lower lip quivered.
For a minute, Wanda breathed into the paper bag and clutched her wand so tightly that her knuckles whitened. This wasn’t Wanda ten years removed from the trauma. This was Wanda three months removed, and the emotional distance didn’t exist. Adolphus cringed, retreating a step.
“Maybe we should try this again later,” he said in an undertone to Diana. “We seem to have worn out our welcome.”
“You wanted to talk to him,” Timmy reminded Wanda.
“Now might not be the best time,” Diana said gently. She frowned, resenting their inability to communicate telepathically. They had no privacy. He envied the Seelie Court for their specialties and for having an antidote to his poisoning, but that was neither here nor there.
“If we back off, where would we go?” Adolphus pointed out. “You don’t have a house in Fairy World after leaving centuries ago, and I’m guessing the Council isn’t about to allow me to roam freely. More than likely, they’re watching us to ensure I don’t do anything stupid.”
He scoffed. “It’d be the height of insanity to think they trusted me as far as they could throw me without magic.”
Diana grabbed his hand and squeezed. She was in her fairy form, which meant she was a good three feet shorter than him. He knew she meant to reassure him; they felt incongruous with this height difference.
“I can calm down,” Wanda said. Her wand tip alighted, and she exhaled raggedly. She drifted closer to Cosmo, but not close enough for them to touch. Juandissimo glared at Cosmo, but his gaze softened when he looked at Wanda. There was something else Adolphus couldn’t understand, but it wasn’t for him to ask. Besides, he was an enemy on foreign soil. They had no reason to trust him, either.
“I’m sorry,” Wanda said faintly. “You look and sound just like him.”
Adolphus frowned. “So I’ve been told.”
She frowned, too. “You’re considerably younger, though.”
Adolphus snorted. “That’s because I’m only twenty. Asmodeus lived through the intervening years after he poisoned me. Diana yanked me through time to save me; Asmodeus meant to assassinate me. If she hadn’t created a treatment, I wouldn’t have survived.”
He wished Wanda would relax. He stepped closer, thinking perhaps to allay her fears, and she hissed, her back up. Tension wracked her frame, and when Timmy and Cosmo tried to pacify her, she moved out of range.
“This is your fault, you know,” Juandissimo snapped at Cosmo. “If you had taken her seriously nine months ago, she would not be traumatized.
“You two blew her off.”
“The geas wasn’t supposed to take effect for two more days after that!” Timmy said defensively.
“She told you she needed you, and you dismissed her,” Juandissimo retorted. “You knew better.”
“We had five minutes’ warning!” Timmy countered.
“Five minutes is better than none!” Juandissimo said.
“You would’ve been too busy preening to pay attention,” Wanda snapped at Juandissimo. “Don’t take the moral high ground.”
“There is a time for admiring myself and a time for taking you seriously,” Juandissimo said. "Cosmo saw firsthand what they intended. I saw it on the TVs as well. He still did not act in time.”
His eyes flashed. “You should never have forgiven him. What he did was imperdonable.”
“I went back for her as soon as she went to the hotel!” Cosmo snapped.
Adolphus and Diana exchanged uneasy looks. He had no reference point. It didn’t help that Diana was at a loss, too. Befuddled, they glanced at the arguing fairies. Wanda refused to let anyone within arm’s reach and kept poofing away or drifting off. Adolphus could feel the stress in the air; Diana knew more than he did, but that wasn’t much. He sensed she and Cosmo and Wanda had never run in the same circles.
“When it was too late to make a difference,” Juandissimo rejoined.
“It doesn’t matter what you think because you weren’t there,” Timmy said hotly.
“What were you so concerned about, Turner?” Remy added coldly. “Your latest video games? Avoiding Vicky?”
Timmy bristled, and color suffused his cheeks. Remy had hit a sore spot.
“Oh, like you wouldn’t have done the same thing!” Timmy countered, nose to nose with the other human boy. “You and Juandissimo are full of it!”
“All I know is that if I had foreknowledge that Wanda was going to be degraded and abused and I could have prevented it, I would have,” Juandissimo said coldly. “I would not have stood around and stuck my fingers in my ears and pretended it would never happen.”
“That’s not what happened,” Timmy said, but his argument had lost strength. His lower lip trembled, and tears shone in his eyes.
“That is what happened,” Diana breathed, speaking quietly so the others didn’t overhear her. “It must be. Why else are Timmy and Cosmo so defensive?”
“I am not going anywhere,” Juandissimo said. “Unlike the moron, I will not abandon Wanda when she needs me.”
“I don’t need you,” Wanda said stiffly. “I can handle myself.”
“Unless Adolphus places a geas on you,” Juandissimo said. Wanda’s color, which had returned when she’d started arguing with Juandissimo, vanished. She looked like she might faint. Adolphus, who already felt awful, found his mood deteriorating. Granted, he knew why she acted like this, but that didn’t make it any easier to bear.
“He would never!” Diana said, more offended than Adolphus was. She hadn’t endured those videos. She hadn’t seen what he had. Diana was outraged; Adolphus pitied Wanda.
“I wouldn’t, no,” Adolphus said quietly. “You’re welcome to stay if you don’t trust me. I can’t imagine anyone would besides Diana. Asmodeus hasn’t exactly done the family name proud.”
Wanda’s gaze met Adolphus’s for a second, and she cringed. How Asmodeus could look at her and think she was designed to be a sex toy was unfathomable. When Adolphus looked at Wanda, he saw a tortured soul who should’ve been light and happy, and he felt sick thinking about what his brother had done to her.
“The Council wouldn’t have sent him back in time if they thought he would attack Wanda,” Diana said firmly.
“They forced me to drink a truth serum,” Adolphus added before Juandissimo interjected. He felt like Juandissimo trusted the Council as much as the Council trusted Adolphus, which was to say, not at all.
Cosmo folded his arms across his chest and regarded Adolphus skeptically. He tried to put his arm around Wanda’s waist, but she flinched. Before Cosmo turned away, Adolphus glimpsed his hurt expression.
“Would it help if I borrowed Diana’s wand and changed my appearance and voice?” Adolphus offered. “It might make my presence more palatable.”
Wanda shook her head. “I’d still know it was you. Give me a minute.”
She glared at the two huffy male fairies shooting daggers with their eyes. Squeezing her wand, she produced black sleeve gloves that concealed her arms. Timmy winced.
“You don’t need those,” he protested. “You don’t have the tally marks anymore.”
Adolphus shuddered. He’d seen Asmodeus and his goons carving those marks into her flesh. She wasn’t the only one who felt uncomfortable. It was hard seeing the evidence that his brother’s depravity had grown by leaps and bounds.
“They make me feel better, sport,” Wanda said. “I still see the marks when I close my eyes.”
She shivered, rubbing her arms. “And feel them on my skin.”
Cosmo’s lower lip quivered, though he didn’t break eye contact with his rival.
“Among other things that I feel constantly when I’m trying not to think about them…” she whispered. Adolphus hissed, feeling like her words had struck him in the chest. Asmodeus had liked tormenting fairy godmothers when they were teenagers, though never this badly. He’d had a bad reputation back then, even when it was consensual. The women he’d battered had been too terrified to tell the truth, but Adolphus had seen it in their haunted eyes.
“We can return later and find somewhere else to go until you’re comfortable,” Adolphus proposed, though he still had no idea where they’d go.
“I’ll never be comfortable,” Wanda said. “I might as well bite the bullet and get it over with.”
“Would it help if I tried to apologize for Asmodeus’s behavior?” Adolphus said. “An apology is inadequate, but it’s a start.”
“You’re right,” Wanda said tightly. “An apology is inadequate.”
She balled her fists. “An apology is nowhere near enough to cover the shit he put me through, so don’t even try.”
Timmy’s jaw dropped, though Adolphus didn’t know if it was from what she’d said or how she’d said it. Dismayed, Timmy glanced at Cosmo.
“Maybe we should reconvene at Magdalene’s house,” Wanda said. “The twins and Leander are there. Let Adolphus see firsthand what Asmodeus did to me.”
“The Fairy World Council forced me to watch recordings of what Asmodeus did,” Adolphus blurted. “I saw one of his cronies take the twins away. I know you went through hell--”
“No,” Wanda said coldly. Her gaze met his, and loathing seared her expression. “You have no idea what I endured. You saw highlights. I lived it.
“We’ll help you regain the Unseelie Court throne to depose Asmodeus, but don’t fool yourself into thinking I’m working with you willingly.”
Her gaze sharpened. “As far as I’m concerned, you and Asmodeus are cut from the same cloth.”
Diana opened her mouth to object and defend her husband. Adolphus shook his head. He wished he could tell Diana that while Wanda presented an almost convincing facade, that was all. Adolphus could see through her; Wanda was pretending to be in control so she wouldn’t have to remember how powerless she’d been. Maybe an idiot would believe her, but Adolphus didn’t. He knew she must be one step away from shattering again.
“I still think that transforming--” he started, and she growled.
“I don’t care what you think,” Wanda snapped. “It doesn’t matter. This is a partnership of convenience.”
She raised her wand and transported them elsewhere into Fairy World. They appeared in a plush but empty library. A few seconds later, Juandissimo and Remy materialized. Wanda snarled, not anticipating company. Before she turned away to brighten the room, Adolphus saw the vulnerability and fear in her eyes. Being around him was putting her on edge.
He didn’t dare approach her. She was holding it together with duct tape and a prayer. Unfortunately, the duct tape had lost its adhesion, and her prayers weren’t working.
Adolphus thought perhaps she wasn’t allowing Timmy and Cosmo near, not because she didn’t want their comfort, but because she was afraid if she accepted it, she’d lose what little strength she had left.
---------------------------------------
Wanda’s throat tightened. The babies were here with Magdalene and Nathaniel. If Adolphus was in cahoots with his twin, this was the last place they should be. Clearly, she wasn’t thinking straight. Her teeth chattered, and when Cosmo touched her arm, she jumped.
“It’s just me,” he whined. In an undertone, he added, “You don’t need those gloves.”
“Yes, I do,” she said through gritted teeth. “You don’t understand.”
“Maybe because you’re not telling us everything again?” Timmy suggested, joining them near a bookcase. Wanda felt cornered and poofed away. Unfortunately, since Cosmo held onto her, he joined her across the room. Wanda’s chest constricted. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t work with Adolphus. His proximity was terrifying.
Her chest constricted, and black spots danced before her eyes. It felt like she couldn’t get enough air into her lungs. This time, she wasn’t hyperventilating. She thought, based on what she’d read about abused godchildren, that she might be having a panic attack. The textbook had described it as feeling like a heart attack.
That reminded her of the nightmare she and Cosmo had shared, and her head swam. Adolphus stepped forward, and she tried to scream but couldn’t draw enough breath. She whimpered instead. Surely, if Adolphus was like Asmodeus, he wouldn’t hurt her in front of her family. Then again, Asmodeus and his goons had. Vomit lined her throat; she thought she might be sick.
She couldn’t share the room with Adolphus. Already, terrible flashbacks swamped her. Her imagination filled in the blanks and showed Adolphus rushing toward her, seizing her, and transporting themselves elsewhere to force himself upon her. Maybe even convince Asmodeus to join in. Her teeth chattered, and another whimper escaped.
She was simultaneously cold and hot; her palms sweated profusely, which meant she couldn’t hold her wand to defend herself. This had happened before in the hotel when Asmodeus “shared her” with his friends. If magic hadn’t suspended her in midair, she would have crashed into the floor.
Fainting was supposedly rare during a panic attack, but she felt like she was on the brink. Her stomach churned.
“I wish you’d calm down!” Timmy said. At once, her chest loosened, and she could breathe again. Tears streaked her cheeks, and she was ashamed. Moreover, she’d revealed weakness in front of a potential enemy. Clinging to Cosmo and Timmy would only exacerbate the issue. She needed alone time to recover.
Wordlessly, she transported herself into Tootie’s bedroom. On Earth, Tootie’s bedroom had been a solace for Wanda and often a balm to shattered nerves. Of course, she’d never shared that with Cosmo or Timmy. They hadn’t needed to know.
Tootie was elsewhere, which was probably a good thing because Wanda didn’t know how she’d explain herself. Timmy’s wish had forced her to relax but it wasn’t a permanent fix. More than likely, she’d resume panicking once she thought about Adolphus nearby.
She gasped; the panic attack was looming again.
“Wanda!” Timmy, Juandissimo, and Cosmo called simultaneously, arriving in purple and green dust clouds. Remy had joined Juandissimo, probably for lack of anything better to do. While Remy was a snooty, pretentious, rich brat, he looked sympathetic. That brought her back to her original musings of how much Juandissimo had told him.
“I can’t be with him,” Wanda blurted and looked at Cosmo desperately. “I don’t know how this is going to work because looking at him brings me back to that damn hotel.”
She whimpered and gasped back a sob. “I keep thinking he’s going to attack me. I don’t know what to do.”
“He will not attack you,” Juandissimo said fiercely. “He would have to go through us first.”
“What he said!” Cosmo said.
“If he’s as powerful as his twin, that won’t be an issue,” she said, squeezing her wand to stave off the rising tide of choking anxiety. She’d shooed Cosmo away because he couldn’t confront Asmodeus. Adding Juandissimo wouldn’t improve their chances, not if Asmodeus’s magic level surpassed theirs.
“For all we know, he’s bewitched his companion, too, and she’s waiting to pounce,” she said. It was illogical, but her terror knew no bounds. Tears streamed down her face, and her lips trembled. Cosmo’s green eyes were huge, and she could feel through their link how badly he wanted to hold and comfort her. She tore her gaze away before capitulating; she couldn’t pretend she didn’t want that either or that it wouldn’t be a relief to let him soothe her.
Timmy surveyed his surroundings and thankfully changed the subject. “I know this is a random question and probably a bad time to ask, but why are we in Tootie’s room?”
“Oh,” Wanda said, snorting weakly, grateful, for once, for Timmy’s short attention span. “That. Force of habit.”
“Force of habit for what?” Timmy said. “Since when have you been visiting Tootie?”
Wanda rubbed her arms. “Well, hon, it’s not like you and Cosmo always notice where I go. Or care.”
Something they’d made abundantly clear nine months ago. Cosmo whimpered, flinging himself in her direction. She arrested his movement in midair and created a barrier between them. She didn’t want to be touched right now. The way she felt, she never wanted to be touched again. Not with Asmodeus’s clone waiting next door.
“You’ve been fleeing to Tootie?” Timmy said, outraged. He was acting as if Tootie were his mortal enemy. Remy, meanwhile, was surveying the room with a scowl.
“For once, I agree with Turner,” Remy said. “She must have poor taste if she thinks he makes for good decorations.”
Wanda ignored the byplay, although Timmy’s fists tightened at Remy’s insult.
“Tootie is more understanding than you might think, sport,” Wanda said stiffly. "She knows what it’s like to be ignored and overshadowed or mistreated because she’s not the one you prefer.”
Timmy flinched, and the color drained from his face. “That’s not fair!”
She sighed. “I know you prefer Cosmo. You always have. As for Cosmo, for times during our marriage, I know he preferred other women.”
Her breath caught in her throat. Admitting it aloud, especially in front of Juandissimo and Remy, was exquisitely painful. Juandissimo hadn’t admired other women; he’d admired himself. She didn’t know which was worse.
Juandissimo’s purple eyes hooked onto Cosmo, and the Latino fairy seethed. For once, Wanda wasn’t sure whether Juandissimo was playing the part of a jilted lover or if he was genuinely angry at Cosmo for demeaning her. She wouldn’t ask. Sometimes, she sensed Juandissimo might care more for her than he showed.
“That’s not fair,” Cosmo said. “I apologized. We made amends. You forgave me.”
Wanda ignored his protests. She didn’t want to think about how Cosmo had desired other women and made her feel inadequate, and it wouldn’t help her deal with Adolphus.
If Timmy’s attention span could drift and change the subject, she could switch topics, too.
“That’s not to say I unloaded onto her. She’s going through enough already. But being away from you two for a while helped.
“She’s seen the way you treat me. I didn’t have to tell her.”
Aghast, Timmy appealed to Cosmo mutely. Cosmo bit his lower lip as tears slid down his cheeks. Through their link, she could feel Cosmo’s guilt and remorse, both for the recent past and how he’d treated her prior to the Unseelie Court. He knew he’d hurt her and then compounded it. She didn’t want to think about that time. If she did, she’d fall into the pit of despair and never recover. Her dream self hadn’t thought Cosmo would find her in time to rescue her. Given his track record, she couldn’t blame her.
“I took you for granted, and I’m sorry,” Timmy said. “I ignored you when I shouldn’t have, and I’m sorry for that, too.”
She gulped. “That’s not the issue, sport. I don’t see how I’m going to work with Adolphus if the very sight of him is enough to send me over the edge.”
“Shapeshifting him wouldn’t work?” Timmy said. She shook her head.
“It’s still him. I’d know it’s him. If anything, it’d fuel my imagination more,” she said miserably. She rubbed her arms. “I can’t do this. I’m not ready. I feel like I’ll never be ready.”
“Wandita, you are the strongest woman I know,” Juandissimo said sincerely. “I believe you can do this.”
Wanda stared at him flatly. “Don’t butter me up. It won’t work. I know my limitations.”
Juandissimo gawked. “I am not ‘buttering you up.’ I have discussed this with your sister.”
Wanda glared. “You talked about me with Blonda behind my back?”
“It’s not what it sounds like!” Juandissimo protested, holding his hands up defensively. “We are both muy concerned about you.”
Wanda folded her arms across her chest. “I can’t trust Adolphus. I can’t trust myself around him. I know I’m his best chance of overthrowing Asmodeus, but that would also mean sharing the room with them. I can’t--”
Her voice caught. In a whisper, she said, “I’m not strong enough.”
She cried so hard that it felt like the sobs were ripped out of her chest. Miserable, she released the barrier surrounding her and threw herself at Cosmo and Timmy. They caught her with Timmy looking startled she’d poofed at them. Wanda balled a fist in Timmy’s shirt; Cosmo had one arm around her, and Timmy had another. She was pressed against Timmy’s chest with Cosmo right behind her.
“I can’t do this…” she whispered despondently. “I can’t…”
“There has to be another way,” Timmy said. "Maybe you could use a webcam or a robot you could control and see everything through. Maybe you don’t need to share space with him.”
She glanced up at Timmy. It was hard to see his features through her tears.
“It’s not a permanent fix,” he said. You’re going to have to face him in person eventually.”
“I know,” she said, wilting. “But it’s an idea.”
She felt so weak and powerless, the way she always did around Asmodeus. Cosmo rubbed her back.
“We are not going anywhere,” Juandissimo said firmly. “You are not alone.”
“What he said,” Cosmo said and grimaced, displeased he’d agreed with Juandissimo again. He kissed Wanda’s neck. ((I love you.))
((I love you, too, hon,)) she reassured him.
((I’m still sorry about before…)) he said.
((I can’t talk about that now,)) she said. ((Thinking about you acting like Asmodeus in any way makes me nauseated.))
“Perhaps we should return,” Remy said, grimacing. “If we can show them we're not intimidated, perhaps they'll back down.”
When the others gawked, he shrugged.
“It works with my parents when negotiating contracts,” he said.
“We can try that,” Wanda said. Timmy released her, and she shifted in Cosmo’s arms to hug him. She lifted her head, and Cosmo kissed her on the lips. She deepened the kiss without thinking, just needing him against her. He was reassuring and familiar in a world gone topsy-turvy.
“Do you wanna go back out there?” Cosmo said softly. He stroked her hair, and she lifted her head to kiss him again. While she would’ve preferred sloppy makeouts and more, this was neither the time nor the place. She remembered wishing they could become one, and her cheeks reddened further.
“We might as well, sweetie,” she said. Cosmo rubbed her back, though he was careful to avoid her wings. Her heart pounded.
Swallowing hard, she raised her wand and brought them back to the library. Cosmo kept his arms around her. She had already proven she couldn’t stand alone; let Adolphus make of that what he might. She didn’t think she could handle another bout with him without Cosmo and Timmy nearby. Hell, even Juandissimo’s presence was comforting, and she was still vexed with him, most recently for his trying to convince her to toss Cosmo and Timmy aside.
Adolphus and Diana, who must’ve been deep in discussion, whirled to face them.
Cosmo remained behind Wanda, his arms around her waist and his chin on her shoulder. She could feel his heart racing. He loved her. She was safe. If worse came to worst, she could summon a Council member to their aid. She was okay.
She wondered how often she’d need to repeat that mantra before she believed it.
Cosmo kissed her neck, and she remembered how badly she’d wanted him during those six months in hell. How she would’ve done anything to have him by her side.
((I wish I could’ve been there too,)) Cosmo said, picking up her train of thought. He brushed his lips against her neck.
((I won’t let anyone touch you like that again,)) he swore. ((You’re mine and no one else’s.))
Her expression brightened as she turned her head to look at him. ((Yes, I am, sugar. I’m yours.))
He grinned and cradled her closely. She felt loved, especially when Timmy took her hand. While she wished she felt stronger, well enough to handle this alone, at least she knew that her family had her back. They wanted her to feel secure, and she did, if only for now.
-------------------------
Due to the barrier, entering Fairy World was impossible, which meant Asmodeus perched outside of it with a pilfered wand. He was supervising as his smartest, most cunning advisor introduced a magical virus to the shield. His advisor had warned him that it might take a while to work-possibly days or weeks. Asmodeus knew he had to be patient, even if he was chafing at the wait.
He’d promised his advisor, Brent, a shot at Wanda once he recaptured her. Since the twins’ loyalty was not to him, and girls were useless, he would kill them before her. Hopefully, by the time he entered Fairy World, someone would have discovered a way to sever the Bond. Then, he would murder Cosmo and destroy her.
Asmodeus loathed Cosmo with every fiber of his being. Although Jorgen had been the one to retrieve Wanda from the hotel, Asmodeus knew Cosmo was trying to repair the damage he had wrought. It infuriated him that Cosmo might be succeeding. Wanda might have had time to recover from her ordeal. Three months wasn’t much, but supported by her friends and family, it might be enough to make inroads.
That was intolerable.
It hadn’t occurred to Asmodeus that the Unseelie Court’s presence, brief though it was, had registered on Jorgen’s magical map. Moreover, when they left to return to the hotel, the Council placed a spell on Asmodeus’s magic. It performed much the same task as their soon-to-be unsuccessful venture did. The Council’s spell would tear through Asmodeus’s magic.
When Adolphus confronted his brother, Asmodeus would be weak and vulnerable. If Adolphus tried to rescind his word, Asmodeus would still be in a bad position, which Fairy World could exploit.
It wasn’t an opportunity they had expected to discover, but it was one they intended to capitalize upon. Asmodeus had to suffer for what he’d done to Wanda and the other fairies in his custody. Also, the Council had erred in waiting so long to confront him. It should not have reached the point where Jorgen risked himself to rescue Wanda, not to mention three mixed magic fairy children.
Fairy World, in general, was pissed with how the Council had handled things. Sadly, they were right. The Council had botched things badly. It was time for them to rectify that mistake, starting with targeting Asmodeus.
------------------------------
Magdalene folded her arms across her chest. She’d known the Unseelie fairy had been there since he set foot in her house. It wasn’t Asmodeus; he couldn’t have broken through Fairy World’s magical barrier. However, Magdalene couldn’t think of a good reason for any adult Unseelie fairies to be present. Ansel and Amalia were one thing, but an adult made no sense. It wasn’t like he could cry sanctuary.
Nathaniel was at work, and she’d steered Tootie clear of her bedroom and the library. However, Tootie was growing suspicious. She could also sense the Unseelie fairy, and it worried her.
They’d staked out in the living room, but neither was paying attention to the drivel on TV. Tootie was mindlessly scrolling through her stalking pictures of Timmy, and Magdalene was gnawing her bottom lip. Enough was enough.
Magdalene shut the TV off and turned to her goddaughter.
“You’re dying to know who it is, too, aren’t you?” she asked Tootie.
“Especially because I can sense Cosmo and Wanda,” Tootie said. Her brows turned down, and she frowned. “I hope they’re not in trouble. Especially Wanda. She doesn’t need any more crap on her plate.”
“Amen to that,” Magdalene muttered and transported them to the library. It was an odd scene. Remy and Juandissimo flanked Cosmo, Wanda, and Timmy. Meanwhile, across from them were the Unseelie fairy and a fairy Magdalene vaguely recognized. She couldn’t have said from where, though. She was out of the loop.
“Did you really think you could poof into my house without my noticing?” Magdalene said lightly to Wanda, who winced. As if on cue, the twins and Leander arrived and floated near Wanda. Wanda groaned.
“Aw, c’mon,” Timmy groused. “Right now? Aren’t there enough fairies here?”
“Hi, Timmy!” Tootie said, and Timmy facepalmed.
“My point exactly,” he huffed.
The twins did a doubletake at the Unseelie fairy. Though they crowded Wanda, they didn’t react strongly to his presence. Rather, they glanced at him, at each other, and then at Wanda as if waiting for her cue.
Magdalene gritted her teeth. The man standing before them, the only full-size fairy among them, looked identical to Asmodeus. Wanda was pale and holding onto Cosmo’s arm tightly. Her breathing was shallow, and Magdalene sensed she’d arrived during an attempted detente that was not going according to plan.
It couldn’t be Asmodeus. Fairy World wouldn’t have let him step foot here, much less arrive within a private residence. Plus, while Cosmo looked annoyed, he shot worried glances at Wanda in between. If it had been Asmodeus, Cosmo would’ve been doing something explosive and stupid.
“What’s going on?” Magdalene asked, arms folded across her chest. "And why is it happening in my house?”
Wanda winced. “Sorry about that, hon. I might’ve jumped the gun. He looks exactly like Asmodeus.”
“I noticed,” Magdalene said flatly. The Unseelie fairy moved toward Wanda, and she reacted instinctively, blasting him into the wall. Her teeth chattered. Whatever was going on, it was a frigging nightmare. There needed to be some ground rules laid down before Wanda went on a tear.
The Unseelie fairy brushed himself off and looked mildly discomfited at the ash on his clothes.
“His name is Adolphus,” the blonde-haired unnamed female fairy said. “He’s my husband. He also happens to be Asmodeus’s identical twin, to our everlasting shame.”
“And you are?” Magdalene said. She kept close to Tootie. With Wanda on a hairpin trigger, Magdalene couldn’t trust her not to attack first and ask questions later.
“You don’t remember me?” the blonde fairy said. “I’m surprised.”
“I don’t remember most people from Fairy World,” Magdalene pointed out. “I was exiled for 500 years. I had other concerns.”
“You were only supposed to be exiled for a hundred years!”
“My darling Mags didn’t understand the assignment,” Nathaniel drawled, and Magdalene elbowed him in the ribs. She glowered, too, for good measure. She didn’t appreciate him making light of what had been a horrible and then lackluster existence. It was nothing compared to the torment Wanda had faced for six months, but it wasn’t like Magdalene could look back on that time with pride.
Or even remember some of it. She sensed her mind had protected itself by erasing a lot of memories.
Magdalene folded her arms across her chest. “Refresh my memory.”
“I’m Diana,” the blonde fairy said, and Magdalene shook her head.
“We were friends!” Diana said desperately. Magdalene’s eyes narrowed.
“All the friends I had ditched me after the Council came down on me,” Magdalene snapped. While it was an old wound, it still pained her occasionally. She had Nathaniel and Tootie now, plus she had access to magic whenever she wanted or needed it, not to mention no longer being in an abusive relationship or struggling to survive. That didn’t mean all of her old hurts had vanished.
“The Council wants us to strategize how to bring Asmodeus down and install Adolphus as king in his stead,” Wanda said. Her knuckles were white on her wand. The twins looked concerned; Magdalene had hoped as time passed, they might grow less attuned to their mother’s moods. That hadn’t happened.
“I see,” Magdalene said. “Should we, perhaps, stay out of the way? I feel strange saying that, since this is my house that I share with Lilith.”
“I wanted to check on the twins and Leander,” Wanda said. “We can get out of your hair if you’d prefer.”
“Are you going to be okay?” Tootie blurted. “What if he really is evil, and this is a trick to lull you into false complacency? What if Diana is his accomplice?”
“I am not!” Diana said, puffing out her chest in outrage like an angry cat.
“Your fears are understandable,” Adolphus said quietly. “You want to protect Wanda. I don’t know what she means to you, but I promise I won’t hurt her.”
“Not good enough!” Tootie said. Her eyes brimmed with stubborn tears. “How could the Council let you get anywhere near her after all that? How can we possibly trust you?”
Wanda sighed. “Sweetie, if we play that game, we could be here all night. I have to hope that, if Adolphus is the villain he resembles, I have time to escape or find the Council to help.”
“He’s not going to touch her!” Diana snapped.
“Di, they only have our word,” Adolphus said. “She has every reason not to trust us. My brother and his cronies brutalized her for six months. She doesn’t know us and is afraid we’ll hurt her and her family.
“Why don’t we meet in familiar territory for you? That way, you’ll have the upper hand, and perhaps it’ll ease your concerns.”
“I don’t want you anywhere near my house,” Wanda said. If this was supposed to be exposure therapy, it wouldn’t work. Wanda was rapidly deteriorating. Adolphus moved closer again, and Diana intercepted Wanda’s spell before she hurt Adolphus.
“We can revisit the amusement park,” Diana offered. “That way, the kids can run around, and we can discuss this like rational adults.”
Magdalene winced. “I’m not sure a public meeting is a good idea.”
Adolphus swung his arms, perhaps to show that he meant no harm, and Wanda and Magdalene flinched. Nathaniel and Cosmo watched with wide eyes. Magdalene recovered quickly; it had been centuries since she’d been abused by Henry. Wanda, meanwhile, was shaking badly. Her lips trembled, and her face had gone chalk white.
“That’s why,” Magdalene said quietly.
“Is there some way I can prove that I won’t hurt you?” Adolphus asked. “Can I exonerate myself in your eyes?”
Wanda shook her head. She’d released Timmy’s hand, and she was retreating in midair. She looked surprised that she could still float. Gulping, she vanished in a pink fairy dust cloud. This wasn’t going to work. Any idiot could see that.
Cosmo and Timmy chased after her; the twins and Leander glared at Adolphus before pursuing their parents.
“Is she seriously going to run like a frightened rabbit?” Diana snapped.
“You didn’t see what I did,” Adolphus said. “The Fairy World Council made me watch multiple videos of Asmodeus and his cronies brutally attacking her. They…they gang raped her, Diana. And carved their marks on her arm as trophies. Asmodeus placed her under a geas where she was compelled to satisfy the Unseelie Court fairies. They could do whatever they wanted, and she couldn’t defend herself.
“It’s only been three months of freedom from captivity. She also just gave birth to another child conceived from rape. Cut her some slack.”
Diana’s expression softened. “I know, but…how are we supposed to topple Asmodeus or even confront him if the fairy who knows the most about him can’t stand to be near you, let alone him?”
Nathaniel scowled, glancing at his smartwatch, pecked Magdalene on the cheek, and said via telepathy, ((Lunch is over. I’ll see you later.))
Magdalene nodded distractedly. Diana was right; if Wanda couldn’t handle being in the same room for five minutes with a man who looked like her assailant, defeating Asmodeus would be impossible.
“He’s triggering her,” Magdalene said quietly. “Shapeshifting won’t help, not if she knows the truth. She has to work through this on her own. Exposure therapy will help, but she has to reach that point first.”
“So, what? We’re supposed to sit around and wait?” Diana said.
“You’ve waited this long,” Magdalene said.
“I know, but…” Diana fussed with her wand. “We have nowhere to go and no one to turn to. No one will succor an enemy, especially if they know what Asmodeus did to Wanda.”
“We can talk to the Council about that,” Magdalene said, hating that she had to throw her lot in with Diana and Adolphus. Tootie was on edge; Magdalene knew her goddaughter was frantic with worry about Wanda.
“What makes you think your word is any better than mine?” Diana said.
“One, because they know they owe me,” Magdalene said sharply. “And two, because I didn’t marry an Unseelie fairy with a dubious past.”
Adolphus growled and hung his head.
“What’s done is done,” Magdalene said sharply. "We’ll have to reap what you two have sown and, more importantly, what seeds your brother has sown.”
---------------------
Wanda was furious with herself. She thought she’d had this under control, only to discover that she could barely breathe in Adolphus’s company. Magdalene was right--the man’s existence triggered Wanda. She was alternatively hot and cold again, huddled in a ball on the couch, and trying not to think about the nightmares Asmodeus had foisted upon her.
Her teeth chattered, and Cosmo conjured a warm blanket around her shoulders. He was terrified; she hadn’t erected the barrier between them, so he knew what she was experiencing. Whimpering, he sat close beside her, but not quite touching. If she hadn’t been so overwhelmed by her terror, she would’ve been bowled over by his. The nightmare they’d shared was in the back of her mind, but it was supplanted by the ones Asmodeus had created using her magic.
“I never loved you. Why else do you think I pined after those other women? You deserve this.”
Cosmo snapped his fingers in front of her face, which jolted her back to the present. He was pale, and tears slid down his cheeks.
“I never said that!” Cosmo said, and she turned her head away. She couldn’t bear to look him in the face after partially reliving that nightmare.
“Did he make you think I did?”
“Make Wanda think you said what, Cosmo?” Timmy said, baffled. She knew she was unintentionally excluding their godson, but she couldn’t hold herself together. At least Juandissimo and Remy hadn’t accompanied them, even if the babies had.
“Look at me!” Cosmo protested. She shook her head; her throat tightened painfully.
“I wish you’d tell!” Timmy huffed. He wasn’t used to not getting his way with his godparents.
Wanda drew a deep, bracing breath. “Sport, when I was trapped in the hotel, Asmodeus used my magic against me. He constantly gave me nightmares that ate at my fears. Among them, it brought back when Cosmo and I were having marriage problems. Asmodeus convinced my subconscious that the problems were still real and that Cosmo was glad that I was gone.
“In some nightmares, Cosmo would join Asmodeus in attacking me. In others, Cosmo would tell me that he always preferred other women and that I deserved what Asmodeus did.”
She spoke without looking at either of them. The twins whimpered; they couldn’t know what she was saying, but they’d picked up her tone. Matilda and Lily hugged her and patted her on the cheeks.
“Sad Mama,” they chorused. “No more sad, Mama.”
“But I never said that!” Cosmo protested. “I’d never think you’d deserve being hurt, especially like that.”
He touched her shoulder, and she flinched. Cosmo whined; she hunched in on herself.
“I missed you when you were gone. I love you,” Cosmo persisted, determined to make her speak to him instead of the living room wall.
“None of that stuff was real,” Timmy said. “You know Cosmo and I love you. Neither of us would want you gone, much less going through…that.”
“When you’re trapped in a real-life nightmare, it’s easy to assume that no one’s rescued you because you deserved it. That everything you’re going through is your fault, that you brought it upon yourself.”
“It was only six months!” Timmy protested. “Out of almost ten thousand years!”
“Before Asmodeus kidnapped me, hon, I’d only been separated from Cosmo for an afternoon. Not only was I separated from him, I couldn’t sense him and was out of contact with Fairy World and everyone I loved. I was used…”
She choked back a sob. “I was used indiscriminately for whatever sick fantasies they had.”
Cosmo’s fingers brushed her back. He yearned to hold her; she hadn’t consented, and he was aching with the desire.
“When you’re on hell on earth, it’s impossible to think things will ever improve. You believe whatever they tell you.”
Cosmo whimpered, and she shivered. She shifted back a couple inches, and Cosmo enveloped her in a tight hug. She turned her head to look at him; tears streamed down his cheeks, and he kissed her. She shifted around so it was easier than twisting her neck, and he held her like a life preserver. Like he would drown without her.
“You believe us now, don’t you?” Timmy pressed. He sounded like he was on the brink of tears.
“Yes,” she said, pulling away (Cosmo whined.) “But seeing Adolphus brought all of it back. I’d like to believe Diana that Adolphus is relatively innocent compared to Asmodeus, but it’s impossible. Your presence doesn’t improve it because I know Asmodeus could kill you if he wanted to.”
She drew a shuddering breath. “The only thing that might make it palatable would be to have a Council member or even Jorgen with us. I don’t think Adolphus could defeat Jorgen with us backing him.
“If Adolphus isn’t lying about being poisoned, he’s already been weakened. That would make him beneath his brother power-wise.”
She balled a fist and punched her thigh. “I hate this. I used to be able to stand up to bullies like him.”
“You have us,” Cosmo said and then paused. “And Jorgen. You’re not alone.”
“I know,” she said, sighed, and pecked Cosmo on the lips. "I love you two. I just wish I could stand on my own two feet.”
“Maybe you can,” Timmy said and then, when she stared at him strangely, amended his statement. “You will. Not now, but someday.”
She nodded. “We’d better go annoy the Council. Or Jorgen. We’ll try Jorgen first; he’s more likely to be amenable to the idea than the Council.”
She scowled. “I also have a higher opinion of Jorgen than of the Council.”
“You know I love you, right?” Cosmo pressed. He shuddered. "I’d never do anything like that to you-or anybody.”
“I know, hon,” she said softly. “I was terrified and trapped. I’ve known you almost my entire life, and Asmodeus knocked all of my confidence in you out the door. I’m not proud of it.”
“It wasn’t your fault!” Timmy said.
“I know that, too,” she said, smiling sadly. “Intellectually, I know. Emotionally, it’s a different story. Emotions aren’t always rational.”
“I wish you two were my real parents,” Timmy muttered, and she and Cosmo froze. Her breath caught in her throat. They’d been dancing around this for months now. She’d thought the issue had been put to bed. It hadn’t.
“Technically, we’re your guardians,” Wanda said after prolonged silence.
“I mean my real parents,” Timmy said.
“We’re gonna have to talk to Jorgen anyway,” Cosmo said, exchanging glances with her. She nodded.
“A wish this big isn’t within our power without higher approval,” she explained. “We’ll do what we can, sweetie.”
“Good,” he said. “Because I’m never losing you again.”
Her smile was pained. “I certainly hope not.”
Though she’d replied to Timmy, her response was for Cosmo, who nodded. His eyes still welled with tears, and she thumbed them away. Cosmo kissed her again.
((I want alone time later,)) he said with a significant glance. ((You need it; your memories are scary.))
((I know…)) she said. She shivered. ((It may be over, but it’ll never be over.))