[Original] DS: ADD Special Chapter
Character Focus: Onyx Dremischee
Series:
Demon Spawn: A Deep Dream
Date created: May 16, 2007
Summary: This one-shot takes place after Onyx and Meara announce the fact that their married to Omedus in Demon Spawn: A Deep Dream, when Onyx discovers that Zack had been spreading rumors about their marriage and chases him down.
Panting and heaving heavily, both men collapsed against Reion University's polished walls, frantically gulping in much-needed air to regain their sense of balance lost as a result of a strenuous chase around campus. The brown-haired, dark-eyed man continued to glare at the other despite his rapid and shallow breathing, watching the other with a gaze promising grievous bodily harm.
With a grin, the auburn-haired man pushed his bangs from his face, wiping away the trickles of perspiration that had beaded around his hairline. "Satisfied, Dremischee?"
"You bloody well know I'm not," Onyx Dremischee growled at Zachary Farnham, glaring as if he could split the other in two just by his pointed look. "I did say I was going to murder you."
"For what?" the investigator cocked an eyebrow at his... friend, if it may be called that. "For spreading the truth?"
Onyx made an annoyed sound. "You know Meara and I meant to keep our marriage secret. It's no business of yours to go around spreading rumors about it!"
His grin widening, Zack jabbed a finger at Onyx's direction. "Well, you certainly needed some help letting the people know about the fact that you are Arie's husband."
"Farnham!"
Sighing, the older man raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, fine. Say I didn't spread the rumor. How will you explain away Arie's pregnancy?"
"By letting them know as soon as I found out she was pregnant."
Zack smirked, shaking his head. "Ahh, but you see, that would feed into the gossipers' minds some more."
"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" Onyx roared. He knew he was bordering on the irrational, but right now, he was in such shock, he didn't care. "You think I would deliberately set my wife up for gossip?!"
"No, but..." Meara's childhood friend trailed off, striking the stance of one who is deep in thought, "it would be very useful way for slanderers to claim that Arie seduced you, became pregnant, and you hurried to marry her as a result. You would then be seen as a victim, and Arie would be whispered of as a woman of loose morals. She'd be ostracized, ridiculed, and sneered at. It was much better to start quelling the fire by letting the townspeople hear of gossip that you're already married, and thus only natural for Arie to bear your child."
The entire time, Onyx had gaped at him, his jaw hanging slack as Zack enumerated the various possibilities, before he boomed, "I could have shown them the marriage license!"
"They would claim it was fabricated."
"Father would have confirmed it!"
"In the end, Arie would still have gone through all that until we heard from the marquis." At this point Zack gave Onyx a very pointed look. "Is that what you want for her?"
Silence was the only answer he could give.
"I think it's time you grew up, Dremischee."
Onyx could feel his nails digging into his palm as he managed to say through gritted teeth, "And just what is that supposed to mean?"
"You heard me. Grow up," the other man stated as he pushed himself off the wall. "How long are you going to keep reveling in the attentions of the women in this town, while mostly ignoring the longing in your wife's heart?"
Denial came quick to his lips. "I wasn't ignoring-"
"Yes, you were," Zack interrupted, his hazel eyes narrowing in frustration. "Why do you think she reacted that way after the play?"
"If Solev had mentioned anything about that-"
One of Zack's hands fisted into Onyx's shirt. "Can it!" he hissed, shaking Meara's husband hard enough to make his head rattle. "There should be no other women in your heart, no other women who could catch your eye, no other women who would make you stray from Arie's side. If you hurt her, I swear, I will tear you limb from limb myself!"
"I won't hurt her!" he retorted, prying Zack's fingers from his clothing. "Meara knows better than to think that I would betray her."
"So you say. But you are certainly acting like a child let loose in a toy shop, Dremischee. Finally, after so many years of being sought by women, and being loved by one with all her heart, you decide to repay her by carrying on with others. Does it not matter to you how she feels every time those women come to you, enticing you with their eyes and words? How would you feel if there were scores of men around Arie, and she was loving every single moment of it?"
Zack's words had hit him dead on. Onyx knew then, that if the tables were turned, he would not have stood for it either. In fact, he would have been furious, livid. "Meara is mine..." he whispered hoarsely.
"And you are hers," his wife's childhood friend added. "It's time the town knew that you and Arie are not to be sought after, that you already belong to each other. So make sure you act like it, or I would have to do something even more drastic to wake you up."
And Onyx could say nothing as Zack turned to leave, knowing that he meant his words, that it was time he treated Meara with a little more consideration.
That night, with some of the money Alevor Henfinn set aside for him, he purchased a house in town, and within weeks, the residence was ready for occupancy. It was close to the university, so they could still continue their schooling, but also afforded them a sense of privacy.
When they both moved in, he surprised his wife with a box of chocolate muffins, gave her a tour of the house's modest but cozy library, and led her to her bedchamber where he had sprinkled rose petals across her blankets.
The months passed in a blur, even as his worry mounted increasingly every day as he watched Meara grow with his child. Already by the third month he had forbidden her from doing any heavy lifting in the house, going as far as not allowing her to cook their meals. At times Onyx wished Foine Anngelumme was around to placate Meara with sweets just to get her out of the kitchen. Emie tried to help as much as she could, but between his sister's exuberance and his wife's stubbornness, he was usually dead on his feet by the time the dining hour rolled by.
On the outside he tried to hide the worry, the panic that gripped him every day, even as he begun to question his abilities as a father. Was he ready? How could he be ready? And how could he juggle his studies and a family all at once? Sigma Drucalan teased him to no end, laughing every time Onyx was jolted awake in class because of the lack of sleep, trying to satisfy his wife's cravings for the strangest types of food.
"What did Meara want this time?" Sigma had asked as Onyx shook the sleep from his eyes.
"She wanted peaches with caramel sauce," he answered in frustration, nearly at the end of his rope. "Where was I going to get something like that in the middle of the night?!"
The artist's loud laugh only resulted in a chase across campus.
He would deny emphatically that he was jittery, nervous about impending fatherhood, only to be as ornery as a bear cub every time his wife climbed on a stool, made their bed, dusted the curtains. He had no idea how Meara withstood his foul temper all these months. But each time he apologized, she would just smile at him, stroke his cheek with her hands before she stood on her tip-toes to give him a kiss.
It was during Omedus Eyre Saedfrig's math class when it finally arrived. Meara had pleaded exhaustion and opted to rest for the day, and so Onyx was having a hard time concentrating in class. A few minutes after the lesson was announced, Luciine Korvelus came barreling into the room shouting for the professor and Onyx.
"It's... It's Meara!"
He wasted no time and dashed out, the professor barely able to catch up. Onyx found Meara in their bed, her face drenched with sweat, contorted with pain. Zack had been holding her hand, and as soon as he arrived, her childhood friend released her and deposited her palm in her husband's.
Just then a spasm of pain went through Meara and she gripped his hand so hard he thought his bones would shatter.
Hours passed, Omedus took over the birthing procedure, talking Meara through it, tears streaming from her eyes even as she tried to give her husband a reassuring smile. Onyx bellowed, demanded the physician to ease her pain immediately, stalking the room and threatening him if he didn't do something about it. He was soon thrown out, and Zack was left to keep him under control.
In the hours before the birth, his father sent them a note informing them that he had bequeathed Libia to them, naming him the Earl of Libia, and Meara as his countess.
Onyx cursed then, not caring a whit about the title, as long as his wife and the babe was all right.
It was nearly midnight by the time Luciine emerged, tired but happy, as she informed Onyx that his wife was fine, and that he had to go meet the newcomers.
The meaning didn't sink in then. He bounded up the steps, three at a time, stopping with relief as Meara smiled at him from the bed, nursing one baby in her arms, the other being examined by Omedus.
"We have twins, Onyx," she whispered as he came to her, kissing her forehead before turning his lips into her palm that she had rested on his cheek. "Come and meet your son and daughter."
The truth finally hit home, and for the first time in many weeks, he was at peace.
Series:
Demon Spawn: A Deep Dream
Date created: May 16, 2007
Summary: This one-shot takes place after Onyx and Meara announce the fact that their married to Omedus in Demon Spawn: A Deep Dream, when Onyx discovers that Zack had been spreading rumors about their marriage and chases him down.
Panting and heaving heavily, both men collapsed against Reion University's polished walls, frantically gulping in much-needed air to regain their sense of balance lost as a result of a strenuous chase around campus. The brown-haired, dark-eyed man continued to glare at the other despite his rapid and shallow breathing, watching the other with a gaze promising grievous bodily harm.
With a grin, the auburn-haired man pushed his bangs from his face, wiping away the trickles of perspiration that had beaded around his hairline. "Satisfied, Dremischee?"
"You bloody well know I'm not," Onyx Dremischee growled at Zachary Farnham, glaring as if he could split the other in two just by his pointed look. "I did say I was going to murder you."
"For what?" the investigator cocked an eyebrow at his... friend, if it may be called that. "For spreading the truth?"
Onyx made an annoyed sound. "You know Meara and I meant to keep our marriage secret. It's no business of yours to go around spreading rumors about it!"
His grin widening, Zack jabbed a finger at Onyx's direction. "Well, you certainly needed some help letting the people know about the fact that you are Arie's husband."
"Farnham!"
Sighing, the older man raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, fine. Say I didn't spread the rumor. How will you explain away Arie's pregnancy?"
"By letting them know as soon as I found out she was pregnant."
Zack smirked, shaking his head. "Ahh, but you see, that would feed into the gossipers' minds some more."
"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" Onyx roared. He knew he was bordering on the irrational, but right now, he was in such shock, he didn't care. "You think I would deliberately set my wife up for gossip?!"
"No, but..." Meara's childhood friend trailed off, striking the stance of one who is deep in thought, "it would be very useful way for slanderers to claim that Arie seduced you, became pregnant, and you hurried to marry her as a result. You would then be seen as a victim, and Arie would be whispered of as a woman of loose morals. She'd be ostracized, ridiculed, and sneered at. It was much better to start quelling the fire by letting the townspeople hear of gossip that you're already married, and thus only natural for Arie to bear your child."
The entire time, Onyx had gaped at him, his jaw hanging slack as Zack enumerated the various possibilities, before he boomed, "I could have shown them the marriage license!"
"They would claim it was fabricated."
"Father would have confirmed it!"
"In the end, Arie would still have gone through all that until we heard from the marquis." At this point Zack gave Onyx a very pointed look. "Is that what you want for her?"
Silence was the only answer he could give.
"I think it's time you grew up, Dremischee."
Onyx could feel his nails digging into his palm as he managed to say through gritted teeth, "And just what is that supposed to mean?"
"You heard me. Grow up," the other man stated as he pushed himself off the wall. "How long are you going to keep reveling in the attentions of the women in this town, while mostly ignoring the longing in your wife's heart?"
Denial came quick to his lips. "I wasn't ignoring-"
"Yes, you were," Zack interrupted, his hazel eyes narrowing in frustration. "Why do you think she reacted that way after the play?"
"If Solev had mentioned anything about that-"
One of Zack's hands fisted into Onyx's shirt. "Can it!" he hissed, shaking Meara's husband hard enough to make his head rattle. "There should be no other women in your heart, no other women who could catch your eye, no other women who would make you stray from Arie's side. If you hurt her, I swear, I will tear you limb from limb myself!"
"I won't hurt her!" he retorted, prying Zack's fingers from his clothing. "Meara knows better than to think that I would betray her."
"So you say. But you are certainly acting like a child let loose in a toy shop, Dremischee. Finally, after so many years of being sought by women, and being loved by one with all her heart, you decide to repay her by carrying on with others. Does it not matter to you how she feels every time those women come to you, enticing you with their eyes and words? How would you feel if there were scores of men around Arie, and she was loving every single moment of it?"
Zack's words had hit him dead on. Onyx knew then, that if the tables were turned, he would not have stood for it either. In fact, he would have been furious, livid. "Meara is mine..." he whispered hoarsely.
"And you are hers," his wife's childhood friend added. "It's time the town knew that you and Arie are not to be sought after, that you already belong to each other. So make sure you act like it, or I would have to do something even more drastic to wake you up."
And Onyx could say nothing as Zack turned to leave, knowing that he meant his words, that it was time he treated Meara with a little more consideration.
That night, with some of the money Alevor Henfinn set aside for him, he purchased a house in town, and within weeks, the residence was ready for occupancy. It was close to the university, so they could still continue their schooling, but also afforded them a sense of privacy.
When they both moved in, he surprised his wife with a box of chocolate muffins, gave her a tour of the house's modest but cozy library, and led her to her bedchamber where he had sprinkled rose petals across her blankets.
The months passed in a blur, even as his worry mounted increasingly every day as he watched Meara grow with his child. Already by the third month he had forbidden her from doing any heavy lifting in the house, going as far as not allowing her to cook their meals. At times Onyx wished Foine Anngelumme was around to placate Meara with sweets just to get her out of the kitchen. Emie tried to help as much as she could, but between his sister's exuberance and his wife's stubbornness, he was usually dead on his feet by the time the dining hour rolled by.
On the outside he tried to hide the worry, the panic that gripped him every day, even as he begun to question his abilities as a father. Was he ready? How could he be ready? And how could he juggle his studies and a family all at once? Sigma Drucalan teased him to no end, laughing every time Onyx was jolted awake in class because of the lack of sleep, trying to satisfy his wife's cravings for the strangest types of food.
"What did Meara want this time?" Sigma had asked as Onyx shook the sleep from his eyes.
"She wanted peaches with caramel sauce," he answered in frustration, nearly at the end of his rope. "Where was I going to get something like that in the middle of the night?!"
The artist's loud laugh only resulted in a chase across campus.
He would deny emphatically that he was jittery, nervous about impending fatherhood, only to be as ornery as a bear cub every time his wife climbed on a stool, made their bed, dusted the curtains. He had no idea how Meara withstood his foul temper all these months. But each time he apologized, she would just smile at him, stroke his cheek with her hands before she stood on her tip-toes to give him a kiss.
It was during Omedus Eyre Saedfrig's math class when it finally arrived. Meara had pleaded exhaustion and opted to rest for the day, and so Onyx was having a hard time concentrating in class. A few minutes after the lesson was announced, Luciine Korvelus came barreling into the room shouting for the professor and Onyx.
"It's... It's Meara!"
He wasted no time and dashed out, the professor barely able to catch up. Onyx found Meara in their bed, her face drenched with sweat, contorted with pain. Zack had been holding her hand, and as soon as he arrived, her childhood friend released her and deposited her palm in her husband's.
Just then a spasm of pain went through Meara and she gripped his hand so hard he thought his bones would shatter.
Hours passed, Omedus took over the birthing procedure, talking Meara through it, tears streaming from her eyes even as she tried to give her husband a reassuring smile. Onyx bellowed, demanded the physician to ease her pain immediately, stalking the room and threatening him if he didn't do something about it. He was soon thrown out, and Zack was left to keep him under control.
In the hours before the birth, his father sent them a note informing them that he had bequeathed Libia to them, naming him the Earl of Libia, and Meara as his countess.
Onyx cursed then, not caring a whit about the title, as long as his wife and the babe was all right.
It was nearly midnight by the time Luciine emerged, tired but happy, as she informed Onyx that his wife was fine, and that he had to go meet the newcomers.
The meaning didn't sink in then. He bounded up the steps, three at a time, stopping with relief as Meara smiled at him from the bed, nursing one baby in her arms, the other being examined by Omedus.
"We have twins, Onyx," she whispered as he came to her, kissing her forehead before turning his lips into her palm that she had rested on his cheek. "Come and meet your son and daughter."
The truth finally hit home, and for the first time in many weeks, he was at peace.