Demon Diary Fic: Tempus [PG-13; Eclipse/Raenef]
Title: Tempus
Author: Ria
Fandom: Demon Diary
Disclaimer: Not mine. Sadly.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: for all seven volumes
Pairing: Eclipse/Raenef
Words: ~7,000
Summary: Time, and Raenef IV, finally catch up to Eclipse. Thanks to not_cynical for the assurance that this wasn't as horrible as I was convinced it was. (written for autiotalo in yuletide 2006)
Tempus
"Eclipse," Raenef the Fourth says, his voice soft and icy like a morning breeze, and the peace is abruptly shattered.
Eclipse, who has been replacing heavy-bound volumes, pauses with a book stretched halfway to its place, his gaze fixing upon the shelf before him. The wood is faded and rather battered, having seen the Raenef line come and go for hundreds of years, right from the very beginning. It's been here since long before Eclipse's time; he knows that it will continue to remain here long after he has died.
"Eclipse," Raenef the Fourth repeats, and this time there is an undercurrent of steel to his voice which hints that he is displeased with Eclipse's attitude and will shortly be considering punishment.
Eclipse replaces the volume carefully and then turns, his robes swirling around him for a moment, bowing his head and replying quietly, "Forgive me, my lord."
Raenef the Fourth gazes at him with narrowed eyes; the pale winter light seeps what little colour from his face, making him appear tired and withdrawn. "When I call you, I expect to be listened to; I expect to be obeyed," he says, and his scowl deepens the faint lines that have begun to linger in his face (proof that he has, yet again, Eclipse thinks wearily, been dabbling in magic and powers that he should not).
"Yes, my lord," Eclipse says, not moving from his submissive position. He is a great demon in his own right, with a reputation that causes even the oldest Demon Lords to try and cajole him into their service, and yet both he and his master know that he will not leave the Raenef line's service - ever.
Everyone tells Eclipse that he should be grateful for serving such a powerful line for so long. He has wished more than once that he could tell them exactly what it means to be in a Raenef's service.
"Look at me," his master says, and Eclipse is looking into his dark eyes before he even realises it. For all that he is calculating, ruthless and warm, sometimes all at once and oftentimes never, Raenef the Fourth has charisma more than anything and Eclipse is a victim of this along with everyone else who has ever crossed paths with him, perhaps even more so. He gazes at his master and is struck numb, unable to move, unable to even blink.
"Master," he whispers, and the sound is low and hoarse, and he cannot help but swallow as Raenef the Fourth rises from the desk and walks towards him.
His hand is cool, his fingers trailing slowly over Eclipse's cheek and causing Eclipse's eyes to flutter shut. It is always the same, has always been the same, and Eclipse has stopped mentally berating himself every time it happens because this is the fourth of the Raenef line, his master, and it has always been his destiny to serve, nothing more. No matter what serving actually entails and how much younger his masters frequently are compared to him. He doesn't wince when Raenef the Fourth digs a fingernail into his lip, hard enough that Eclipse can soon taste the copper, metallic tang of blood filling his mouth.
"Remember your place," Raenef the Fourth says sweetly, his fingernails scraping against Eclipe's face as he caresses him one last time. "I may be younger than you, but I am your master. You serve; nothing more and nothing less. And when I call you, you will obey."
"Master," Eclipse finally replies, when his heart has stopped thundering in his chest and he has swallowed enough blood to stop it from dribbling down his chin. It is neither defiance nor acceptance; simply a response, exactly what Raenef the Fourth wants: acknowledgment.
He does not move until his master's footsteps have faded from earshot and then he falls to the ground, touching his mouth. The wound has already healed by now, Eclipse possessing superior healing skills in comparison to the average demon, but the shadow of the pain still lingers in his mind, and Eclipse closes his eyes as his breath hitches.
He had discovered almost immediately that Raenef the Fourth had been significantly different to his predecessors, but had chalked it up to newfound powers and the remaining memories settling in the new demon lord. He had expected it to be a challenge, for serving the Raenef line had never been easy, but it had soon become apparent that the fourth Raenef would be significantly more difficult to serve.
Eclipse doesn't know how he convinced himself that it would be easy. In retrospect, his past experience was a good indication: Raenef the First had been almost brutal in his lack of emotions, struggling to secure his power base at the time; his descendant had followed his example, being deadly in all kinds of weaponry and one of the best fighters against the clerics and their god.
The third Raenef had been thus complacent, being born into a secure power structure and the recipient of much respect and awe due to his immediate predecessor. The Raenef line had been one of the strongest by then, even though it wasn't the oldest, its lords seldom seeing over three thousand years. And through it all, Eclipse had been there, serving, following and guiding.
Raenef the Fourth is like none of his predecessors. He can be warm and amused at times, unlike Raenef the First, and he is considered a supreme warrior in times of war, unlike his immediate predecessor. But the earlier Raneef demon lords had valued Eclipse, both for his knowledge, loyalty and reputation, and had frequently turned to him for advice when they felt the need to. Raenef the Fourth does no such thing and, despite being far older and much more experienced than him, Eclipse sometimes even feels afraid of him.
Raenef the Fourth's temper runs deeper rather than hotter, and those that cross him seldom live to tell the tale.
Eclipse shakes his head and slowly opens his eyes. He licks his lips, now smooth and unharmed, and reaches for the rest of the volumes. He still has much work to do.
"Eclipse," Raenef the Fifth says one morning during breakfast, "I have a question."
Eclipse blinks and puts down the piece of bread he has been contemplating eating, gazing at Raenef expectantly. Raenef drains the last of his cup, smiling at him. The last traces of autumn are lingering in the air, being blown away by the oncoming sharper winter winds, and Raenef's cheeks are already bright from the crisp morning air. His hair is pale and shining, as bright as fresh snow, and his eyes gleam as he considers his words, tapping a finger against his mouth.
"What were my predecessors like?" he finally asks, and Eclipse can genuinely admit that it was the very last question he expected to hear.
Perhaps it was the reappearance of Raenef the Fourth and the chaos that soon ensued, but over the years Raenef has shown no inclination to ever learn about his ancestors. Eclipse, loyal servant that he is, had accepted his decision and simply assumed that Raenef would want to learn about them in his own time. Aside from Raenef the Fourth, none of the previous Raenef demon lords had been particularly... insane and single-handedly out for their own gain, but then, the other demon lords had had time to solidify the legacies they were leaving behind; Raenef's legacy had been a mysterious and ultimately butchered thing.
But now... now it appeared that Raenef's curiosity had finally gotten the better of him.
"Is there anything in particular you wish to know?" Eclipse finally asks, keeping his voice calm and his expression detached. He reaches for the bread again, nibbling it absently before adding, "Or is just general information you desire?"
Raenef frowns, stabbing at his plate with his fork, and then says, "I just... what were they like? Did they have friends? Were they successful? I know from you and others that the Raenef line is long and powerful, but that tells me nothing about them personally. And I want to know that they weren't all like - him."
Ah. Well, then. Eclipse picks up his cup, peers at the cooling liquid, and replaces it back onto the table. "That, I can tell you immediately: your other ancestors were nothing like Raenef the Fourth. Despite sharing a name, most of the demon lords of a common line are nothing alike, each being a unique person. And Raenef the Fourth was... more unique than most." The memories are like a bad taste in his mouth, and Eclipse forces himself to drink his cold tea, but they still linger at the back of his throat.
"Oh," Raenef says, and doesn't look very appeased. He appears the youngest he has been in years, uncannily resembling the young waif Eclipse had crossed paths with long ago, both unaware of what would happen when they met. Raenef shifts, pokes at his breakfast one last time, and then, still staring down at his plate, asks, "Do... were they all alike near the end?"
Eclipse frowns as he looks at Raenef, unable to immediately understand what he means. And then realisation hits him like a sudden, unfair punch in the stomach, and his eyes widen.
"No, Master Raenef," he answers at last, meeting his eyes with as much resolution as he can muster. "None of them were alike in the end."
Raenef glares at him. "I told you to stop calling me master," he snaps, and Eclipse falls silent and concentrates on his tea.
The rest of their breakfast is awkward, and Eclipse breathes a sigh of relief when Raenef finally rises to prepare for his morning petitions.
Eclipse is sorting through the paperwork regarding the servants' employment when the skin on the nape of his neck begins to crawl. He looks up to find Meruhesae at the doorway, smiling as she watches him. He stiffens, fingertips pressing into the parchment, but holds her gaze as she walks forward.
"Meruhesae," he says, and her smile widens.
"Eclipse," she replies, her eyes flickering to the sheaf of parchment. "Engrossed in your duties as usual."
He shrugs. "Servants must be paid; a castle cannot run itself." He does most of the paperwork and oversees the majority of the day-to-day running, with Raenef doing his share; Eclipse's current dilemma is fairly appointing time off for the servants during an upcoming winter celebration.
Meruhesae laughs. "What happened to the days of you doing most of the work yourself? I thought the Raenef line doesn't approve of servants."
"They didn't," Eclipse says. But Raenef isn't anything like his ancestors lingers unsaid between them as they share a knowing look. Raenef had begun complaining that the castle was too empty and needed more people for its size soon after the debacle concerning Raenef the Fourth had died down. Used to a too-silent castle and doing everything for the demon lord he was currently serving, Eclipse hadn't known how to react. But Raenef had been persuasive and his argument that employing human servants from the nearby town would improve relations had made sense.
Of course, Eclipse had thought later when he was beginning to sort out the details, Raenef could also have been getting tired of the fact that his only outside contact came when the human townspeople petitioned him.
Regardless, he had found himself suddenly surrounded by humans who believed themselves more than capable of doing their jobs, and who became very upset whenever they realised that Eclipse had done their jobs at some point or another. Their arrival had brought a sudden burst of life back into the castle and had turned Raenef significantly more cheerful, but it had also doubled the number of Eclipse's headaches.
"Poor Eclipse," Meruhesae teases, as if she can read his thoughts. She probably can, he thinks, and finally puts the paperwork aside to deal with it at a later time.
"Sit down," Eclipse says, gesturing at a seat and watching her sink gracefully into it. His eyes narrow as he asks, "Why are you here?"
She widens her eyes. "I simply cannot come to visit you, Eclipse?"
"No."
Meruhesae pulls out her fan and flicks it open with a neat twist of her wrist. Everything below her eyes is hidden, and he's reluctant to admit that this makes her gaze seem even more unnerving than it normally is.
He sighs, asking, "Tea?" She shakes her head, but he rises to make some for himself. She begins to speak when he is watching the tea leaves swirl in the water as they slowly steep.
"I had a vision last night, Eclipse. Concerning you."
He raises an eyebrow, turning to face her. He lifts the cup to his lips, breathing in the pleasant scent as he takes a slow sip. "That is hardly an unusual occurrence," he remarks. What he doesn't add is that most of the visions Meruhesae has concerning him are mostly made-up on her part as a pathetic excuse to annoy him.
He looks at her again, and then lowers his cup; her face is pale, her expression the most serious he has seen it in a long time. As flippant and teasing as she may be, Eclipse knows her well enough to realise that, this time, the vision is not a joke.
"Meruhesae," he says.
"How much did your previous master care for you, Eclipse?" she asks.
The cup slips from his grip, shattering into fine, razor-sharp pieces. The spreading tea-stain appears almost like a paler shade of blood.
Eclipse has always known that time would be the death of him.
Time had been Raenef the Fourth's domain, and Eclipse had never had any power over it. Raenef the Fourth had, therefore, learnt nothing of the subject from him and had never bothered to explain any of the experiments he had conducted to him either, perhaps believing Eclipse disinterested or lacking the intellect to understand.
Eclipse had never been naïve enough to believe that Raenef the Fourth had cared for him beyond the basic relationship between a master and his servant.
He blinks and suddenly he is outside Raenef's door, gazing at the polished wood almost blankly. He takes a deep breath, preparing to turn and leave, but his hands reach forward and grasp the handles; he is inside before he realises it.
He moves silently, staying to the shadows and away from the bright path of the moonlight. He reaches the bed and gazes down at the sleeping figure of his master. As he looks at him somewhat helplessly, it occurs to Eclipse that he has no idea why he is doing this. He hasn't watched Raenef sleep in years, and shame churns in his stomach that he is doing it now. Raenef no longer has any need for keepers.
Raenef's skin shines in the moonlight, his smooth long arms almost glowing. The moonlight turns his hair a shade of white that is painful to look at as it spills over his arms and pillows. Eclipse finds that he cannot look away.
Meruhesae's voices echoes in his mind: "Time will be your death, Eclipse."
Eclipse has forgotten what it's like to be afraid over the years, but the slow, ghastly churning in his stomach is a sharp reminder.
Perhaps it is this fear that causes him to lean down and cup Raenef's face with his fingertips, gazing at him for a long moment before slowly brushing his lips against Raenef's.
His mouth is soft and warm, and Eclipse keeps his eyes closed for a little while longer, before he finally sighs and draws back. He looks at him one last time, before turning and leaving the room as silently as he had entered. He does not look back.
Raenef's eyes, shining in the moonlight, widen as he watches the door close quietly after Eclipse.
Oh.
They don't hear about the clerics' discovery and capture until several days later, when the Head Cleric himself arrives at their castle, Chris at his heels. Raenef rejoices to see his friend, but Eclipse, immediately noticing the tightness of the Head Cleric's expression, excuses them and leaves Raenef and Chris catching up on the other's recent events:
"...and the old man still won't give me back the position of Head Cleric..."
The Head Cleric sighs when the doors are shut, quickly sinking into a seat. "He is still very much a work in progress. You seem to have fared better with your demon lord, however."
"Yes," Eclipse says, sitting down and watching him carefully. "It continues to go well."
The Head Cleric snorts and rubs at his face with his hand. "Regardless, I am not here to share upbringing stories with you. Several days ago, a child was found in the wilderness, to all appearances asleep and unharmed. During the return to the city, she awoke and, after slaying two horses and threatening the rest of the party, she demanded to be brought to you."
Something drops in Eclipse's stomach and he feels his eyes widen. He must have turned pale, for the Head Cleric's expression grows alarmed and he leans forward. "Do you know her?" he asks, his voice low and urgent. "I was reluctant to bring her without speaking to you first; she is obviously dangerous, and has no fear. She seems to feel nothing, except for the task she has been set - which apparently involves you."
Eclipse can hardly concentrate on the Head Cleric's words; instead, all he can think is: Time will be the death of you, Eclipse. He swallows, opens his mouth to say something (he knows not what, precisely), when the windows blast open.
When the wind (despite the fact that there is no breeze today) dies down, and Eclipse's parchments and books cease to swirl everywhere, he opens his eyes to find a child floating in the air, watching him. He knows immediately that she is no child, and never has been, and he knows then that Merusehae's vision was real and true.
He is dead, or will be.
The Head Cleric gasps and sputters, but he is ignored by both Eclipse and the girl. He gazes at her, noting that she is a strange meeting of magic and science: a child with eyes that betray her years, reeking of magic but with strange wires protruding from her body: an experiment gone wrong.
Master, Eclipse thinks, what have you done?
The silence lengthens, before the not-child holds out her hand and a large, ornate hourglass materialises on her small palm. The bottom half is partially filled with sand, and Eclipse's heart begins to beat faster as he watches the sand slowly trickle down.
"You know me, Eclipse," the not-child says in a low, soft voice, and Eclipse nods.
"Yes," he replies just as quietly, stepping forward and meeting her piercing, condemning gaze. "You hold my death."
She laughs, then, but not loud enough to hide the sound of a sharp intake of breath, and Eclipse closes his eyes. He knows without having to look that Raenef is at the door and has heard their words, and he cannot think of a single thing to say that will make this any better.
It begins so slowly that Eclipse thinks he is imagining it at first.
Demons do not fall ill. They can be hurt, and die from grievous battle wounds (as most choose to depart from this world), and in some very rare cases choose to kill themselves. But they do not die from illness.
And yet, this is what starts to happen to Eclipse.
Raenef is understandably upset. "But Raenef the Fourth and I had come to an agreement when I regained my memory and powers!" he tells Eclipse on evening, looking horribly distressed and not a little panicked. "Everything was all right again!"
"I remember," Eclipse says, suddenly noticing that his cup is trembling in his grip; he quickly sets it down as carefully as he can. But he remembers how the last of Raenef the Fourth's spirit had appeared before him as the child his previous master once had been, after his ultimate destruction. The spirit had been sad and confused, but Eclipse remembered the faint thread of anger lurking in his voice and demeanour; Raenef the Fourth had never taken a loss very well, deserved or not.
Perhaps this is his punishment, for choosing one over the other. Perhaps this was always going to be his punishment.
In all likelihood, the most practical reason is that this experiment of Raenef the Fourth's, sent to them through a loophole in time, was created before his death, and then sent to them when the correct time arrived. Perhaps Raenef the Fourth glimpsed into the mists of future time and saw what would happen, and reacted in accordance. Or perhaps Meruhesae did it for him; her loyalty to anyone has always been dubious at best, and she is like every other demon in that she is ultimately out for her own gain.
Or perhaps Raenef the Fourth saw what feelings Eclipse would gain for his next master, and decided to punish him as he saw fit. It would be ironic, but extremely fitting.
Eclipse knows that his only destiny is to serve, in the end, and nothing more.
The illness grips up on him in small doses, advancing slowly enough that he sees no reason to alarm Raenef, until one morning he awakens and is unable to rise from his bed, falling back in spasms as agony rakes through his body.
Eclipse is renowned through history as an accomplished warrior, ruthless and deadly; he has seen and committed what many would consider atrocities, things he has never told Raenef and has no intention of ever doing so. He has had much done to him in retaliation, but had genuinely believed that there was little he could not endure.
The pain that rips through his body in constant, even waves makes him immediately reconsider, and he bites his lip hard enough that blood floods his mouth so as not to let loose the screams that ripple in his throat.
His morning absence is soon noted, as Eclipse is a demon of routine if nothing else, and has always considered it his duty - and no one else's - to wake Raenef every morning, so the head of the household soon knocks on his door impatiently to enquire if he has overslept.
He cannot reply, for he will start screaming if he opens his mouth. The door is opened, the housekeeper saying, "Really, Master Eclipse, this is most un-" and then she screams when she sees him. He must look even worse than he feels, for her screams bring many to his rooms all at once. Gasps and hushed whispers echo through the air, but thankfully they have the common sense not to try and help him, and Raenef is immediately awoken and sent for.
"Eclipse!" he says anxiously, falling to his knees and touching Eclipse's cheeks his fingertips. He yanks his hand back as if burned (running a fever with the pain, Eclipse thinks vaguely), and shouts, "Send for Lord Krayon and Lady Meruhesae!"
Raenef tries his best to keep his attention by talking softly to him and pushing Eclipse's hair back from his face, but despite his best efforts, Eclipse feels himself fall into darkness and unconsciousness.
He opens his eyes and Raenef the Fourth is sitting before him, a teenager with sardonic eyes, a lanky frame, and awkward limbs which still haven't grown into themselves. He's completely different to how the current Raenef was at his age, and Eclipse gazes at him blankly for a moment, before saying, "Mas-" and cutting off before he can complete the word.
Raenef the Fourth grins at him, almost a baring of teeth, and says, "You never really made up your mind, did you, Eclipse? On which one of us you truly serve."
I did, Eclipse thinks, but it is useless to say the words, for his old master will not believe them, so he doesn't. He remains silent instead, until Raenef the Fourth huffs and blows his fringe upwards for a moment before it drifts slowly back onto his forehead.
"This isn't really revenge, you know," he says after a while, as calmly as if he is remarking upon the weather. "It was just... the thought of you serving anyone, even my son, after my death almost drove me mad, so I decided you wouldn't. Of course, I regretted creating the back-up after what happened when I came back, but the course of time is very hard to change when one is now truly dead."
Eclipse closes his eyes, resisting the urge to scream or to wrap his hands around the pale, slender throat and squeeze until nothing moves or makes a sound again. "I always told you that those experiments were forbidden for a reason."
"Yes, you did," Raenef the Fourth says, and Eclipse opens his eyes to see him smiling at him, sad and regretful, the most genuine of either emotions that Eclipse has ever seen on Raenef the Fourth's face. "And I never listened to you, Eclipse, did I?"
"No," Eclipse says, and has no qualms about letting the fury in his voice show.
Raenef the Fourth shakes his head, then, and says, "I'm sorry, if it matters now. But you know where my old notes are, Eclipse, don't you? I presume you never moved them from where I had them. You never liked to move any of my belongings if you could help it."
"Yes," Eclipse replies, and says where they are. Something shifts in the air, then, and Eclipse feels his head begin to spin and his stomach begin to churn.
Raenef the Fourth smiles again. "Good," he murmurs, and then adds before he disappears, "Never, ever think that I didn't care about you, Eclipse - in my own way."
Eclipse opens his eyes again and gazes up at the ceiling. He blinks several times, trying to decide if waking up this time means actually being in reality, and takes in a deep breath. Fabric rustles to his left and he looks over to find Krayon sitting beside his chair, a book open on his lap which he clearly hasn't been paying attention to.
Eclipse blinks again. "Krayon," he says.
Krayon peers down at him and almost lets the book slide onto the floor. "You're awake," he says, and Eclipse can't understand the faint rebuke in his tone.
"How -" Eclipse swallows and tries again. "How long have I been unconscious for?" The words are horribly foreign to him; he has never been unconscious before. Even when he had blacked out, the sensation had been terrifying to him as he'd never experienced it before. He'd never even passed out from extreme blood loss during the Hangma War. What has the experiment done to him?
"Four days," Krayon says, his frown deepening as Eclipse stares at him. "The brat" - Krayon's nickname for Raenef, used only sparingly while in Eclipse's company and always as a joke - "has been going out of his mind. You should have seen how fast he forced Meruhesae to admit that she had known this would happen."
Eclipse rubs his face, winces as his spine throbs like it's on fire, and then slowly and laboriously rises to a sitting position. Krayon doesn't even try to help him, much to Eclipse's relief, though he does fuss with the pillows a little until Eclipse growls at him; he backs off, holding his hands palm out in surrender.
"She warned me, after she had the vision," Eclipse says.
Krayon snorts, examining his nails. "Yes, and she did such a good job of it, too."
Eclipse shakes his head, then grits his teeth. "There was nothing either of us could do."
Krayon raises an eyebrow. "Raenef didn't believe that."
Eclipse blinks, his head whipping up as he gazes straight at Krayon, ignoring the twinges of protest his neck makes at the abrupt action. "What do you mean?"
"I've never seen him lose his temper so quickly," Krayon mutters and he looks away, fidgeting in his seat. "Not even when he had his weird personality change."
"Raenef," Eclipse says, closing his eyes.
"It's you, Eclipse," Krayon says, the faint accusatory tone back in his voice. "How else did you expect him to react?"
Eclipse keeps his eyes closed. At least this way he can pretend he is alone and doesn't need to answer questions he's not sure he wants to think about.
"He went to the oldest ones yesterday, when Meruhesae told him she couldn't help. They couldn't help - or wouldn't, knowing them. This is your personal battle, and Raenef's. No one wants to interfere, not when it doesn't threaten the demon population as a whole. You have to love their sense of self-worth, really," Krayon continues blithely.
Eclipse opens his mouth, perhaps to curse or let out a strangled sound, and then closes it and slides back down onto his back.
"It only gets worse," Krayon informs him. "Then he locked himself into a room with that mad cleric-in-training for hours, before he came in here and kicked me out." When Eclipse raises an eyebrow, Krayon points out, "This is still his castle, as loathed as I am to admit it. If he tells me to get out, I have to get out."
Krayon sniffs, looking momentarily vexed, and continues, "You were completely delirious by this point, but when the brat simply asked you where Raenef the Fourth's old notes and experiment details were, you somehow immediately told him. None of us can understand it; you haven't been making any sense since you collapsed, except for whenever Raenef asked you a direct question. Unbelieveable."
Hardly listening to him, Eclipse feels his eyes widen as he remembers his dream: "But you know where my old notes are, Eclipse, don't you? I presume you never moved them from where I had them. You never liked to move any of my belongings if you could help it."
"Oh, no," he whispers, sitting bolt upright in the bed. "Raenef is trying to control time." He can't, he's not strong enough - it will destroy him.
A sudden burst of pain almost doubles him over.
"Enough," Krayon snaps, any hint of humour seeping from his demeanour as he grasps Eclipse's shoulder and helps him back onto the pillow. "That excuse of a child is draining you to death, which is the primary concern of all of us. You're far too important to lose, Eclipse. I won't let you die, and neither will Raenef or anyone else."
"Raenef," Eclipse says.
Krayon shrugs, but he refuses to meet Eclipse's gaze. "He'll think of something. He had to have been chosen as Raenef the Fourth's heir for some reason. He's a smart kid, when he puts his mind to it. And he's refusing point-blank to let you die, and we all know the brat can be as stubborn as a mule when he gets annoyed."
The lack of conviction makes Eclipse's stomach churn (gods, what is wrong with him?), but what little strength he has recovered in the past four days fails him, and he slips into an uneasy sleep before he can stop himself.
Time goes on. Eclipse worsens, until it is simply a matter of everyone waiting for him to die. Finally, Raenef decides that he cannot simply sit around anymore - it is time to act.
He brushes strands of hair away from Eclipse's pale face, watching him sleep. He takes a deep breath, swallows, and then kisses him gently.
"Raenef," Chris says, and his eyes widen when Raenef turns to look at him. "Raenef," Chris repeats, after a moment's pause, "are you sure you can do this?"
Raenef snorts. "It's not like I have a choice," he says, glancing back at Eclipse once more, before standing up and walking to the door.
He's fully prepared to die trying, at least. Eclipse would do the same for him.
Eclipse opens his eyes, and this time it is the experiment waiting for him.
The hourglass is nearby, and he shudders briefly when he sees that a significant portion of the sand is now at the bottom. Deliberately turning away from it, he watches the not-child pace back and forth, prowling like a captured beast.
"He regrets creating you, now, you know," Eclipse says after several moments, and then blinks somewhat helplessly at his words. It's utterly unlike him to be so cruel, so flippant, especially towards one who has his very life in her hands.
She glances at him, her gaze empty and ancient, and says with a bitter smile, "I know. But I have to do what I was ordered - and created - to do."
It is then that Eclipse realises she is a contradiction to herself: created in a loophole in time, she cannot change. She had been created to destroy him in a fit of peevish jealousy, and now cannot stop or change even with different circumstances.
He supposes he would feel pity for her, if she was not slowly killing him.
"Have you given up, Eclipse?" she asks at last, and he frowns at her.
"There is nothing I can do to reverse what you have done to me," he says at last, after several moments of actually considering her question. "It is not a case of giving up; rather, I feel resigned to my fate. What will happen... will happen, I suppose."
She sniffs, giving him a disapproving look. "Such a typical answer from you, Eclipse," she says, and he knows that this is Raenef the Fourth's opinion rather than hers.
"Have you a name?" he asks her suddenly.
She stares at him, her expression almost comically blank, and then says, "No, of course not."
"Ah," he says, and something in his voice makes her glare at him.
"All things are powerless under the grip of time," she says after a while, gazing at the hourglass with a thoughtful look on her face. "Even our master was a victim of it, in the end. Even I am a victim, and I can wield time's power."
"He is not my master," Eclipse snaps, right before the hourglass shatters. He stares at the glass shards as they dance through the air, his eyes wide, as the experiment's screams grow loud enough to make his head hurt.
And then the pain bears down on him again, much worse than anything he has previously endured, growing to the point where he collapses again, writhing as he tries not to make a sound.
So this is what dying feels like.
Eclipse awakens to find Krayon peering down at him.
"Oh, go away," he groans, trying to turn onto his side and hissing. He feels like he has been blasted through several walls and then tumbled down a cliff for good measure. He is very clearly not dead. He feels like hell, and sort of wishes he was dead.
"Do shut up, Eclipse," Krayon says in a distressingly cheerful and pleasant voice, and then adds to someone else, "Sit down before you fall over. You're just as much an invalid as Eclipse is, now, you know."
Eclipse hears Raenef snap at Krayon to get out, and turns to find his master curled up with a blanket in a chair by his bed. He gazes at him for a moment, horror slowly growing in his throat, before he whispers, "What did you do?"
"Save your life," Raenef replies, smiling at him and then wincing. He looks, for lack of a better word, dreadful; his skin is a pale, sickly shade, with dark circles under his eyes. He appears like a child trapped in the throes of illness, thin, delicate and horribly fragile. He looks the youngest that Eclipse has seen him in years.
"Master," Eclipse says, his voice quiet but hoarse, and Raenef shakes his head, holding up a hand.
"No, Eclipse," he says, firmly and just as softly. "I don't want to hear it. I swore I would never lose you again. I don't think I could have coped if I had."
His statement hits close enough that Eclipse has to look away for a moment, and when he looks back Raenef has settled on the edge of his bed. Their gazes lock and then Raenef smiles, leaning down to kiss Eclipse slowly, before peppering his cheeks and jaw with feather-light kisses.
"I was so worried," he whispers when they break apart for air. "None of our kind would help me, even the gods, because it wasn't a public threat, and that was why I went to Rased, in the end."
"What?" Eclipse demands, his eyes and mouth widening, but Raenef shakes his head and presses a finger against Eclipse's mouth.
"Hush; let me finish," he says as sternly as exhaustion will allow him to sound. "After you told me where the previous Raenef's notes were - I knew you were dreaming, though, and I used it to my own advantage." Here, Raenef looks briefly ashamed, but he refuses to look away, holding Eclipse's gaze steadily. Eclipse cannot find it in him to feel outraged. Instead, he feels a strange sense of pride: Raenef has truly grown to be the demon lord that Eclipse has always hoped he would be.
He hugs Raenef, trying his best to hide his alarm at how thin his master has become, and allows him to continue speaking. "I'd finally managed to master time using Raenef the Fourth's notes, but I still wasn't strong enough to go up against the experiment. I needed more power, so I petitioned Rased. He drives a hard bargain," Raenef adds almost thoughtfully, and Eclipse begins to get an uneasy feeling in his stomach. "I hope the Head Cleric won't be too furious with me."
Deciding that there are some things in life that he is better off not knowing, and that anything related to Chris is one of them, Eclipse settles back in the bed, pulling Raenef down to lie beside him. His master lets out a long sigh as he stretches, curling closer to Eclipse and humming.
"Destroying her was so hard," he mutters, "but shattering that hourglass really hurt. Damn. How did Raenef the Fourth cope all the time, dealing with that kind of magic?"
Eclipse absently strokes Raenef's hair. "He didn't, in the end," he says.
"Mmm. True." Raenef look up at him, then, smiles, and kisses him again. "I was awake that night when you kissed me," he murmurs against Eclipse's mouth, and laughs when Eclipse stiffens. "Took you long enough."
Eclipse finally recovers enough of his dignity to say, "Don't be pert, demon lord or not," in as mild a voice as he can mange.
Raenef laughs, and then abruptly changes the topic in a way that is making Eclipse's head hurt. "Erutis has been taking care of me while Krayon has been keeping an eye on you. I don't think she expected Krayon to be so concerned about you," he adds. "It's kind of nice to see her change her mind about him."
"What, she still hasn't succumbed to that wretched idiot's charms?" Eclipse asks, raising an eyebrow; this has been one topic of conversation that has never come up between him and Krayon, and clearly it should have years ago. "I suppose I should give her more credit than I previously have."
Raenef raises an eyebrow at him. "Hey, be nice," he rebukes gently, though he is smiling.
"If you ask it of me, master," Eclipse says solemnly, his eyes gleaming, and leans down and kisses him slowly, deepening the kiss until Raenef is squirming and his breath hitching from mingled pain and desire.
"I think I still hurt too much for this," he gasps, but his gaze is serious as he reaches up to cup Eclipse's cheek. "No more calling me 'master'," he says, ignoring Eclipse's deep sigh. "No, I mean it this time. It's just Raenef."
Eclipse eyes him for a moment and then realises that he is truly being serious. They've had this argument many times over the years, and he says, "Raenef," not out of obedience, but more to feel the sound roll and curve in his mouth and on his lips. The first master he has ever served who he has actually called by his true name. It feels strange, so strange, but also oddly fitting.
Raenef's eyes light up, then, and Eclipse grudgingly thinks he could come to understand this strange desire of Raenef's - in several years' time.
They are walking through the gardens several weeks later, both using the exercise as an excuse for their health and an opportunity to talk privately, when Raenef says:
"It doesn't matter if Raenef the Fourth has any more nasty tricks waiting for us. I'm stronger, now, much stronger. It's my turn to finally protect you, as I was supposed to."
Eclipse turns to gaze at Raenef, noting the deadly serious expression on his face, and nods. "Yes," he whispers. "You are much stronger now."
They are returning inside when Eclipse sees a shadow lingering at the edge of his vision. He turns his head to look at it properly, his actions ignored by Raenef, who is talking a mile a minute about some summoning experiment Chris is thinking of trying out.
He almost freezes when he sees that the shadow is, in fact, Raenef the Fourth, with the experiment beside him. He almost falters in his step, except this is something that he doesn't want Raenef to see, without a doubt, so he keeps on walking and acts like he's seen nothing, even though his eyes remain on the two all the time.
He notices the difference almost immediately: they are both smiling. Raenef the Fourth looks almost approving as he watches them, while the experiment beams like the child she never was at him, waving energetically.
Eclipse feels like an immense weight has lifted off his shoulders when they both disappear from view.
Then he turns his head, bringing his attention back to the demon lord he serves - and the one he fell for long ago.
END
Author: Ria
Fandom: Demon Diary
Disclaimer: Not mine. Sadly.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: for all seven volumes
Pairing: Eclipse/Raenef
Words: ~7,000
Summary: Time, and Raenef IV, finally catch up to Eclipse. Thanks to not_cynical for the assurance that this wasn't as horrible as I was convinced it was. (written for autiotalo in yuletide 2006)
Tempus
"Eclipse," Raenef the Fourth says, his voice soft and icy like a morning breeze, and the peace is abruptly shattered.
Eclipse, who has been replacing heavy-bound volumes, pauses with a book stretched halfway to its place, his gaze fixing upon the shelf before him. The wood is faded and rather battered, having seen the Raenef line come and go for hundreds of years, right from the very beginning. It's been here since long before Eclipse's time; he knows that it will continue to remain here long after he has died.
"Eclipse," Raenef the Fourth repeats, and this time there is an undercurrent of steel to his voice which hints that he is displeased with Eclipse's attitude and will shortly be considering punishment.
Eclipse replaces the volume carefully and then turns, his robes swirling around him for a moment, bowing his head and replying quietly, "Forgive me, my lord."
Raenef the Fourth gazes at him with narrowed eyes; the pale winter light seeps what little colour from his face, making him appear tired and withdrawn. "When I call you, I expect to be listened to; I expect to be obeyed," he says, and his scowl deepens the faint lines that have begun to linger in his face (proof that he has, yet again, Eclipse thinks wearily, been dabbling in magic and powers that he should not).
"Yes, my lord," Eclipse says, not moving from his submissive position. He is a great demon in his own right, with a reputation that causes even the oldest Demon Lords to try and cajole him into their service, and yet both he and his master know that he will not leave the Raenef line's service - ever.
Everyone tells Eclipse that he should be grateful for serving such a powerful line for so long. He has wished more than once that he could tell them exactly what it means to be in a Raenef's service.
"Look at me," his master says, and Eclipse is looking into his dark eyes before he even realises it. For all that he is calculating, ruthless and warm, sometimes all at once and oftentimes never, Raenef the Fourth has charisma more than anything and Eclipse is a victim of this along with everyone else who has ever crossed paths with him, perhaps even more so. He gazes at his master and is struck numb, unable to move, unable to even blink.
"Master," he whispers, and the sound is low and hoarse, and he cannot help but swallow as Raenef the Fourth rises from the desk and walks towards him.
His hand is cool, his fingers trailing slowly over Eclipse's cheek and causing Eclipse's eyes to flutter shut. It is always the same, has always been the same, and Eclipse has stopped mentally berating himself every time it happens because this is the fourth of the Raenef line, his master, and it has always been his destiny to serve, nothing more. No matter what serving actually entails and how much younger his masters frequently are compared to him. He doesn't wince when Raenef the Fourth digs a fingernail into his lip, hard enough that Eclipse can soon taste the copper, metallic tang of blood filling his mouth.
"Remember your place," Raenef the Fourth says sweetly, his fingernails scraping against Eclipe's face as he caresses him one last time. "I may be younger than you, but I am your master. You serve; nothing more and nothing less. And when I call you, you will obey."
"Master," Eclipse finally replies, when his heart has stopped thundering in his chest and he has swallowed enough blood to stop it from dribbling down his chin. It is neither defiance nor acceptance; simply a response, exactly what Raenef the Fourth wants: acknowledgment.
He does not move until his master's footsteps have faded from earshot and then he falls to the ground, touching his mouth. The wound has already healed by now, Eclipse possessing superior healing skills in comparison to the average demon, but the shadow of the pain still lingers in his mind, and Eclipse closes his eyes as his breath hitches.
He had discovered almost immediately that Raenef the Fourth had been significantly different to his predecessors, but had chalked it up to newfound powers and the remaining memories settling in the new demon lord. He had expected it to be a challenge, for serving the Raenef line had never been easy, but it had soon become apparent that the fourth Raenef would be significantly more difficult to serve.
Eclipse doesn't know how he convinced himself that it would be easy. In retrospect, his past experience was a good indication: Raenef the First had been almost brutal in his lack of emotions, struggling to secure his power base at the time; his descendant had followed his example, being deadly in all kinds of weaponry and one of the best fighters against the clerics and their god.
The third Raenef had been thus complacent, being born into a secure power structure and the recipient of much respect and awe due to his immediate predecessor. The Raenef line had been one of the strongest by then, even though it wasn't the oldest, its lords seldom seeing over three thousand years. And through it all, Eclipse had been there, serving, following and guiding.
Raenef the Fourth is like none of his predecessors. He can be warm and amused at times, unlike Raenef the First, and he is considered a supreme warrior in times of war, unlike his immediate predecessor. But the earlier Raneef demon lords had valued Eclipse, both for his knowledge, loyalty and reputation, and had frequently turned to him for advice when they felt the need to. Raenef the Fourth does no such thing and, despite being far older and much more experienced than him, Eclipse sometimes even feels afraid of him.
Raenef the Fourth's temper runs deeper rather than hotter, and those that cross him seldom live to tell the tale.
Eclipse shakes his head and slowly opens his eyes. He licks his lips, now smooth and unharmed, and reaches for the rest of the volumes. He still has much work to do.
"Eclipse," Raenef the Fifth says one morning during breakfast, "I have a question."
Eclipse blinks and puts down the piece of bread he has been contemplating eating, gazing at Raenef expectantly. Raenef drains the last of his cup, smiling at him. The last traces of autumn are lingering in the air, being blown away by the oncoming sharper winter winds, and Raenef's cheeks are already bright from the crisp morning air. His hair is pale and shining, as bright as fresh snow, and his eyes gleam as he considers his words, tapping a finger against his mouth.
"What were my predecessors like?" he finally asks, and Eclipse can genuinely admit that it was the very last question he expected to hear.
Perhaps it was the reappearance of Raenef the Fourth and the chaos that soon ensued, but over the years Raenef has shown no inclination to ever learn about his ancestors. Eclipse, loyal servant that he is, had accepted his decision and simply assumed that Raenef would want to learn about them in his own time. Aside from Raenef the Fourth, none of the previous Raenef demon lords had been particularly... insane and single-handedly out for their own gain, but then, the other demon lords had had time to solidify the legacies they were leaving behind; Raenef's legacy had been a mysterious and ultimately butchered thing.
But now... now it appeared that Raenef's curiosity had finally gotten the better of him.
"Is there anything in particular you wish to know?" Eclipse finally asks, keeping his voice calm and his expression detached. He reaches for the bread again, nibbling it absently before adding, "Or is just general information you desire?"
Raenef frowns, stabbing at his plate with his fork, and then says, "I just... what were they like? Did they have friends? Were they successful? I know from you and others that the Raenef line is long and powerful, but that tells me nothing about them personally. And I want to know that they weren't all like - him."
Ah. Well, then. Eclipse picks up his cup, peers at the cooling liquid, and replaces it back onto the table. "That, I can tell you immediately: your other ancestors were nothing like Raenef the Fourth. Despite sharing a name, most of the demon lords of a common line are nothing alike, each being a unique person. And Raenef the Fourth was... more unique than most." The memories are like a bad taste in his mouth, and Eclipse forces himself to drink his cold tea, but they still linger at the back of his throat.
"Oh," Raenef says, and doesn't look very appeased. He appears the youngest he has been in years, uncannily resembling the young waif Eclipse had crossed paths with long ago, both unaware of what would happen when they met. Raenef shifts, pokes at his breakfast one last time, and then, still staring down at his plate, asks, "Do... were they all alike near the end?"
Eclipse frowns as he looks at Raenef, unable to immediately understand what he means. And then realisation hits him like a sudden, unfair punch in the stomach, and his eyes widen.
"No, Master Raenef," he answers at last, meeting his eyes with as much resolution as he can muster. "None of them were alike in the end."
Raenef glares at him. "I told you to stop calling me master," he snaps, and Eclipse falls silent and concentrates on his tea.
The rest of their breakfast is awkward, and Eclipse breathes a sigh of relief when Raenef finally rises to prepare for his morning petitions.
Eclipse is sorting through the paperwork regarding the servants' employment when the skin on the nape of his neck begins to crawl. He looks up to find Meruhesae at the doorway, smiling as she watches him. He stiffens, fingertips pressing into the parchment, but holds her gaze as she walks forward.
"Meruhesae," he says, and her smile widens.
"Eclipse," she replies, her eyes flickering to the sheaf of parchment. "Engrossed in your duties as usual."
He shrugs. "Servants must be paid; a castle cannot run itself." He does most of the paperwork and oversees the majority of the day-to-day running, with Raenef doing his share; Eclipse's current dilemma is fairly appointing time off for the servants during an upcoming winter celebration.
Meruhesae laughs. "What happened to the days of you doing most of the work yourself? I thought the Raenef line doesn't approve of servants."
"They didn't," Eclipse says. But Raenef isn't anything like his ancestors lingers unsaid between them as they share a knowing look. Raenef had begun complaining that the castle was too empty and needed more people for its size soon after the debacle concerning Raenef the Fourth had died down. Used to a too-silent castle and doing everything for the demon lord he was currently serving, Eclipse hadn't known how to react. But Raenef had been persuasive and his argument that employing human servants from the nearby town would improve relations had made sense.
Of course, Eclipse had thought later when he was beginning to sort out the details, Raenef could also have been getting tired of the fact that his only outside contact came when the human townspeople petitioned him.
Regardless, he had found himself suddenly surrounded by humans who believed themselves more than capable of doing their jobs, and who became very upset whenever they realised that Eclipse had done their jobs at some point or another. Their arrival had brought a sudden burst of life back into the castle and had turned Raenef significantly more cheerful, but it had also doubled the number of Eclipse's headaches.
"Poor Eclipse," Meruhesae teases, as if she can read his thoughts. She probably can, he thinks, and finally puts the paperwork aside to deal with it at a later time.
"Sit down," Eclipse says, gesturing at a seat and watching her sink gracefully into it. His eyes narrow as he asks, "Why are you here?"
She widens her eyes. "I simply cannot come to visit you, Eclipse?"
"No."
Meruhesae pulls out her fan and flicks it open with a neat twist of her wrist. Everything below her eyes is hidden, and he's reluctant to admit that this makes her gaze seem even more unnerving than it normally is.
He sighs, asking, "Tea?" She shakes her head, but he rises to make some for himself. She begins to speak when he is watching the tea leaves swirl in the water as they slowly steep.
"I had a vision last night, Eclipse. Concerning you."
He raises an eyebrow, turning to face her. He lifts the cup to his lips, breathing in the pleasant scent as he takes a slow sip. "That is hardly an unusual occurrence," he remarks. What he doesn't add is that most of the visions Meruhesae has concerning him are mostly made-up on her part as a pathetic excuse to annoy him.
He looks at her again, and then lowers his cup; her face is pale, her expression the most serious he has seen it in a long time. As flippant and teasing as she may be, Eclipse knows her well enough to realise that, this time, the vision is not a joke.
"Meruhesae," he says.
"How much did your previous master care for you, Eclipse?" she asks.
The cup slips from his grip, shattering into fine, razor-sharp pieces. The spreading tea-stain appears almost like a paler shade of blood.
Eclipse has always known that time would be the death of him.
Time had been Raenef the Fourth's domain, and Eclipse had never had any power over it. Raenef the Fourth had, therefore, learnt nothing of the subject from him and had never bothered to explain any of the experiments he had conducted to him either, perhaps believing Eclipse disinterested or lacking the intellect to understand.
Eclipse had never been naïve enough to believe that Raenef the Fourth had cared for him beyond the basic relationship between a master and his servant.
He blinks and suddenly he is outside Raenef's door, gazing at the polished wood almost blankly. He takes a deep breath, preparing to turn and leave, but his hands reach forward and grasp the handles; he is inside before he realises it.
He moves silently, staying to the shadows and away from the bright path of the moonlight. He reaches the bed and gazes down at the sleeping figure of his master. As he looks at him somewhat helplessly, it occurs to Eclipse that he has no idea why he is doing this. He hasn't watched Raenef sleep in years, and shame churns in his stomach that he is doing it now. Raenef no longer has any need for keepers.
Raenef's skin shines in the moonlight, his smooth long arms almost glowing. The moonlight turns his hair a shade of white that is painful to look at as it spills over his arms and pillows. Eclipse finds that he cannot look away.
Meruhesae's voices echoes in his mind: "Time will be your death, Eclipse."
Eclipse has forgotten what it's like to be afraid over the years, but the slow, ghastly churning in his stomach is a sharp reminder.
Perhaps it is this fear that causes him to lean down and cup Raenef's face with his fingertips, gazing at him for a long moment before slowly brushing his lips against Raenef's.
His mouth is soft and warm, and Eclipse keeps his eyes closed for a little while longer, before he finally sighs and draws back. He looks at him one last time, before turning and leaving the room as silently as he had entered. He does not look back.
Raenef's eyes, shining in the moonlight, widen as he watches the door close quietly after Eclipse.
Oh.
They don't hear about the clerics' discovery and capture until several days later, when the Head Cleric himself arrives at their castle, Chris at his heels. Raenef rejoices to see his friend, but Eclipse, immediately noticing the tightness of the Head Cleric's expression, excuses them and leaves Raenef and Chris catching up on the other's recent events:
"...and the old man still won't give me back the position of Head Cleric..."
The Head Cleric sighs when the doors are shut, quickly sinking into a seat. "He is still very much a work in progress. You seem to have fared better with your demon lord, however."
"Yes," Eclipse says, sitting down and watching him carefully. "It continues to go well."
The Head Cleric snorts and rubs at his face with his hand. "Regardless, I am not here to share upbringing stories with you. Several days ago, a child was found in the wilderness, to all appearances asleep and unharmed. During the return to the city, she awoke and, after slaying two horses and threatening the rest of the party, she demanded to be brought to you."
Something drops in Eclipse's stomach and he feels his eyes widen. He must have turned pale, for the Head Cleric's expression grows alarmed and he leans forward. "Do you know her?" he asks, his voice low and urgent. "I was reluctant to bring her without speaking to you first; she is obviously dangerous, and has no fear. She seems to feel nothing, except for the task she has been set - which apparently involves you."
Eclipse can hardly concentrate on the Head Cleric's words; instead, all he can think is: Time will be the death of you, Eclipse. He swallows, opens his mouth to say something (he knows not what, precisely), when the windows blast open.
When the wind (despite the fact that there is no breeze today) dies down, and Eclipse's parchments and books cease to swirl everywhere, he opens his eyes to find a child floating in the air, watching him. He knows immediately that she is no child, and never has been, and he knows then that Merusehae's vision was real and true.
He is dead, or will be.
The Head Cleric gasps and sputters, but he is ignored by both Eclipse and the girl. He gazes at her, noting that she is a strange meeting of magic and science: a child with eyes that betray her years, reeking of magic but with strange wires protruding from her body: an experiment gone wrong.
Master, Eclipse thinks, what have you done?
The silence lengthens, before the not-child holds out her hand and a large, ornate hourglass materialises on her small palm. The bottom half is partially filled with sand, and Eclipse's heart begins to beat faster as he watches the sand slowly trickle down.
"You know me, Eclipse," the not-child says in a low, soft voice, and Eclipse nods.
"Yes," he replies just as quietly, stepping forward and meeting her piercing, condemning gaze. "You hold my death."
She laughs, then, but not loud enough to hide the sound of a sharp intake of breath, and Eclipse closes his eyes. He knows without having to look that Raenef is at the door and has heard their words, and he cannot think of a single thing to say that will make this any better.
It begins so slowly that Eclipse thinks he is imagining it at first.
Demons do not fall ill. They can be hurt, and die from grievous battle wounds (as most choose to depart from this world), and in some very rare cases choose to kill themselves. But they do not die from illness.
And yet, this is what starts to happen to Eclipse.
Raenef is understandably upset. "But Raenef the Fourth and I had come to an agreement when I regained my memory and powers!" he tells Eclipse on evening, looking horribly distressed and not a little panicked. "Everything was all right again!"
"I remember," Eclipse says, suddenly noticing that his cup is trembling in his grip; he quickly sets it down as carefully as he can. But he remembers how the last of Raenef the Fourth's spirit had appeared before him as the child his previous master once had been, after his ultimate destruction. The spirit had been sad and confused, but Eclipse remembered the faint thread of anger lurking in his voice and demeanour; Raenef the Fourth had never taken a loss very well, deserved or not.
Perhaps this is his punishment, for choosing one over the other. Perhaps this was always going to be his punishment.
In all likelihood, the most practical reason is that this experiment of Raenef the Fourth's, sent to them through a loophole in time, was created before his death, and then sent to them when the correct time arrived. Perhaps Raenef the Fourth glimpsed into the mists of future time and saw what would happen, and reacted in accordance. Or perhaps Meruhesae did it for him; her loyalty to anyone has always been dubious at best, and she is like every other demon in that she is ultimately out for her own gain.
Or perhaps Raenef the Fourth saw what feelings Eclipse would gain for his next master, and decided to punish him as he saw fit. It would be ironic, but extremely fitting.
Eclipse knows that his only destiny is to serve, in the end, and nothing more.
The illness grips up on him in small doses, advancing slowly enough that he sees no reason to alarm Raenef, until one morning he awakens and is unable to rise from his bed, falling back in spasms as agony rakes through his body.
Eclipse is renowned through history as an accomplished warrior, ruthless and deadly; he has seen and committed what many would consider atrocities, things he has never told Raenef and has no intention of ever doing so. He has had much done to him in retaliation, but had genuinely believed that there was little he could not endure.
The pain that rips through his body in constant, even waves makes him immediately reconsider, and he bites his lip hard enough that blood floods his mouth so as not to let loose the screams that ripple in his throat.
His morning absence is soon noted, as Eclipse is a demon of routine if nothing else, and has always considered it his duty - and no one else's - to wake Raenef every morning, so the head of the household soon knocks on his door impatiently to enquire if he has overslept.
He cannot reply, for he will start screaming if he opens his mouth. The door is opened, the housekeeper saying, "Really, Master Eclipse, this is most un-" and then she screams when she sees him. He must look even worse than he feels, for her screams bring many to his rooms all at once. Gasps and hushed whispers echo through the air, but thankfully they have the common sense not to try and help him, and Raenef is immediately awoken and sent for.
"Eclipse!" he says anxiously, falling to his knees and touching Eclipse's cheeks his fingertips. He yanks his hand back as if burned (running a fever with the pain, Eclipse thinks vaguely), and shouts, "Send for Lord Krayon and Lady Meruhesae!"
Raenef tries his best to keep his attention by talking softly to him and pushing Eclipse's hair back from his face, but despite his best efforts, Eclipse feels himself fall into darkness and unconsciousness.
He opens his eyes and Raenef the Fourth is sitting before him, a teenager with sardonic eyes, a lanky frame, and awkward limbs which still haven't grown into themselves. He's completely different to how the current Raenef was at his age, and Eclipse gazes at him blankly for a moment, before saying, "Mas-" and cutting off before he can complete the word.
Raenef the Fourth grins at him, almost a baring of teeth, and says, "You never really made up your mind, did you, Eclipse? On which one of us you truly serve."
I did, Eclipse thinks, but it is useless to say the words, for his old master will not believe them, so he doesn't. He remains silent instead, until Raenef the Fourth huffs and blows his fringe upwards for a moment before it drifts slowly back onto his forehead.
"This isn't really revenge, you know," he says after a while, as calmly as if he is remarking upon the weather. "It was just... the thought of you serving anyone, even my son, after my death almost drove me mad, so I decided you wouldn't. Of course, I regretted creating the back-up after what happened when I came back, but the course of time is very hard to change when one is now truly dead."
Eclipse closes his eyes, resisting the urge to scream or to wrap his hands around the pale, slender throat and squeeze until nothing moves or makes a sound again. "I always told you that those experiments were forbidden for a reason."
"Yes, you did," Raenef the Fourth says, and Eclipse opens his eyes to see him smiling at him, sad and regretful, the most genuine of either emotions that Eclipse has ever seen on Raenef the Fourth's face. "And I never listened to you, Eclipse, did I?"
"No," Eclipse says, and has no qualms about letting the fury in his voice show.
Raenef the Fourth shakes his head, then, and says, "I'm sorry, if it matters now. But you know where my old notes are, Eclipse, don't you? I presume you never moved them from where I had them. You never liked to move any of my belongings if you could help it."
"Yes," Eclipse replies, and says where they are. Something shifts in the air, then, and Eclipse feels his head begin to spin and his stomach begin to churn.
Raenef the Fourth smiles again. "Good," he murmurs, and then adds before he disappears, "Never, ever think that I didn't care about you, Eclipse - in my own way."
Eclipse opens his eyes again and gazes up at the ceiling. He blinks several times, trying to decide if waking up this time means actually being in reality, and takes in a deep breath. Fabric rustles to his left and he looks over to find Krayon sitting beside his chair, a book open on his lap which he clearly hasn't been paying attention to.
Eclipse blinks again. "Krayon," he says.
Krayon peers down at him and almost lets the book slide onto the floor. "You're awake," he says, and Eclipse can't understand the faint rebuke in his tone.
"How -" Eclipse swallows and tries again. "How long have I been unconscious for?" The words are horribly foreign to him; he has never been unconscious before. Even when he had blacked out, the sensation had been terrifying to him as he'd never experienced it before. He'd never even passed out from extreme blood loss during the Hangma War. What has the experiment done to him?
"Four days," Krayon says, his frown deepening as Eclipse stares at him. "The brat" - Krayon's nickname for Raenef, used only sparingly while in Eclipse's company and always as a joke - "has been going out of his mind. You should have seen how fast he forced Meruhesae to admit that she had known this would happen."
Eclipse rubs his face, winces as his spine throbs like it's on fire, and then slowly and laboriously rises to a sitting position. Krayon doesn't even try to help him, much to Eclipse's relief, though he does fuss with the pillows a little until Eclipse growls at him; he backs off, holding his hands palm out in surrender.
"She warned me, after she had the vision," Eclipse says.
Krayon snorts, examining his nails. "Yes, and she did such a good job of it, too."
Eclipse shakes his head, then grits his teeth. "There was nothing either of us could do."
Krayon raises an eyebrow. "Raenef didn't believe that."
Eclipse blinks, his head whipping up as he gazes straight at Krayon, ignoring the twinges of protest his neck makes at the abrupt action. "What do you mean?"
"I've never seen him lose his temper so quickly," Krayon mutters and he looks away, fidgeting in his seat. "Not even when he had his weird personality change."
"Raenef," Eclipse says, closing his eyes.
"It's you, Eclipse," Krayon says, the faint accusatory tone back in his voice. "How else did you expect him to react?"
Eclipse keeps his eyes closed. At least this way he can pretend he is alone and doesn't need to answer questions he's not sure he wants to think about.
"He went to the oldest ones yesterday, when Meruhesae told him she couldn't help. They couldn't help - or wouldn't, knowing them. This is your personal battle, and Raenef's. No one wants to interfere, not when it doesn't threaten the demon population as a whole. You have to love their sense of self-worth, really," Krayon continues blithely.
Eclipse opens his mouth, perhaps to curse or let out a strangled sound, and then closes it and slides back down onto his back.
"It only gets worse," Krayon informs him. "Then he locked himself into a room with that mad cleric-in-training for hours, before he came in here and kicked me out." When Eclipse raises an eyebrow, Krayon points out, "This is still his castle, as loathed as I am to admit it. If he tells me to get out, I have to get out."
Krayon sniffs, looking momentarily vexed, and continues, "You were completely delirious by this point, but when the brat simply asked you where Raenef the Fourth's old notes and experiment details were, you somehow immediately told him. None of us can understand it; you haven't been making any sense since you collapsed, except for whenever Raenef asked you a direct question. Unbelieveable."
Hardly listening to him, Eclipse feels his eyes widen as he remembers his dream: "But you know where my old notes are, Eclipse, don't you? I presume you never moved them from where I had them. You never liked to move any of my belongings if you could help it."
"Oh, no," he whispers, sitting bolt upright in the bed. "Raenef is trying to control time." He can't, he's not strong enough - it will destroy him.
A sudden burst of pain almost doubles him over.
"Enough," Krayon snaps, any hint of humour seeping from his demeanour as he grasps Eclipse's shoulder and helps him back onto the pillow. "That excuse of a child is draining you to death, which is the primary concern of all of us. You're far too important to lose, Eclipse. I won't let you die, and neither will Raenef or anyone else."
"Raenef," Eclipse says.
Krayon shrugs, but he refuses to meet Eclipse's gaze. "He'll think of something. He had to have been chosen as Raenef the Fourth's heir for some reason. He's a smart kid, when he puts his mind to it. And he's refusing point-blank to let you die, and we all know the brat can be as stubborn as a mule when he gets annoyed."
The lack of conviction makes Eclipse's stomach churn (gods, what is wrong with him?), but what little strength he has recovered in the past four days fails him, and he slips into an uneasy sleep before he can stop himself.
Time goes on. Eclipse worsens, until it is simply a matter of everyone waiting for him to die. Finally, Raenef decides that he cannot simply sit around anymore - it is time to act.
He brushes strands of hair away from Eclipse's pale face, watching him sleep. He takes a deep breath, swallows, and then kisses him gently.
"Raenef," Chris says, and his eyes widen when Raenef turns to look at him. "Raenef," Chris repeats, after a moment's pause, "are you sure you can do this?"
Raenef snorts. "It's not like I have a choice," he says, glancing back at Eclipse once more, before standing up and walking to the door.
He's fully prepared to die trying, at least. Eclipse would do the same for him.
Eclipse opens his eyes, and this time it is the experiment waiting for him.
The hourglass is nearby, and he shudders briefly when he sees that a significant portion of the sand is now at the bottom. Deliberately turning away from it, he watches the not-child pace back and forth, prowling like a captured beast.
"He regrets creating you, now, you know," Eclipse says after several moments, and then blinks somewhat helplessly at his words. It's utterly unlike him to be so cruel, so flippant, especially towards one who has his very life in her hands.
She glances at him, her gaze empty and ancient, and says with a bitter smile, "I know. But I have to do what I was ordered - and created - to do."
It is then that Eclipse realises she is a contradiction to herself: created in a loophole in time, she cannot change. She had been created to destroy him in a fit of peevish jealousy, and now cannot stop or change even with different circumstances.
He supposes he would feel pity for her, if she was not slowly killing him.
"Have you given up, Eclipse?" she asks at last, and he frowns at her.
"There is nothing I can do to reverse what you have done to me," he says at last, after several moments of actually considering her question. "It is not a case of giving up; rather, I feel resigned to my fate. What will happen... will happen, I suppose."
She sniffs, giving him a disapproving look. "Such a typical answer from you, Eclipse," she says, and he knows that this is Raenef the Fourth's opinion rather than hers.
"Have you a name?" he asks her suddenly.
She stares at him, her expression almost comically blank, and then says, "No, of course not."
"Ah," he says, and something in his voice makes her glare at him.
"All things are powerless under the grip of time," she says after a while, gazing at the hourglass with a thoughtful look on her face. "Even our master was a victim of it, in the end. Even I am a victim, and I can wield time's power."
"He is not my master," Eclipse snaps, right before the hourglass shatters. He stares at the glass shards as they dance through the air, his eyes wide, as the experiment's screams grow loud enough to make his head hurt.
And then the pain bears down on him again, much worse than anything he has previously endured, growing to the point where he collapses again, writhing as he tries not to make a sound.
So this is what dying feels like.
Eclipse awakens to find Krayon peering down at him.
"Oh, go away," he groans, trying to turn onto his side and hissing. He feels like he has been blasted through several walls and then tumbled down a cliff for good measure. He is very clearly not dead. He feels like hell, and sort of wishes he was dead.
"Do shut up, Eclipse," Krayon says in a distressingly cheerful and pleasant voice, and then adds to someone else, "Sit down before you fall over. You're just as much an invalid as Eclipse is, now, you know."
Eclipse hears Raenef snap at Krayon to get out, and turns to find his master curled up with a blanket in a chair by his bed. He gazes at him for a moment, horror slowly growing in his throat, before he whispers, "What did you do?"
"Save your life," Raenef replies, smiling at him and then wincing. He looks, for lack of a better word, dreadful; his skin is a pale, sickly shade, with dark circles under his eyes. He appears like a child trapped in the throes of illness, thin, delicate and horribly fragile. He looks the youngest that Eclipse has seen him in years.
"Master," Eclipse says, his voice quiet but hoarse, and Raenef shakes his head, holding up a hand.
"No, Eclipse," he says, firmly and just as softly. "I don't want to hear it. I swore I would never lose you again. I don't think I could have coped if I had."
His statement hits close enough that Eclipse has to look away for a moment, and when he looks back Raenef has settled on the edge of his bed. Their gazes lock and then Raenef smiles, leaning down to kiss Eclipse slowly, before peppering his cheeks and jaw with feather-light kisses.
"I was so worried," he whispers when they break apart for air. "None of our kind would help me, even the gods, because it wasn't a public threat, and that was why I went to Rased, in the end."
"What?" Eclipse demands, his eyes and mouth widening, but Raenef shakes his head and presses a finger against Eclipse's mouth.
"Hush; let me finish," he says as sternly as exhaustion will allow him to sound. "After you told me where the previous Raenef's notes were - I knew you were dreaming, though, and I used it to my own advantage." Here, Raenef looks briefly ashamed, but he refuses to look away, holding Eclipse's gaze steadily. Eclipse cannot find it in him to feel outraged. Instead, he feels a strange sense of pride: Raenef has truly grown to be the demon lord that Eclipse has always hoped he would be.
He hugs Raenef, trying his best to hide his alarm at how thin his master has become, and allows him to continue speaking. "I'd finally managed to master time using Raenef the Fourth's notes, but I still wasn't strong enough to go up against the experiment. I needed more power, so I petitioned Rased. He drives a hard bargain," Raenef adds almost thoughtfully, and Eclipse begins to get an uneasy feeling in his stomach. "I hope the Head Cleric won't be too furious with me."
Deciding that there are some things in life that he is better off not knowing, and that anything related to Chris is one of them, Eclipse settles back in the bed, pulling Raenef down to lie beside him. His master lets out a long sigh as he stretches, curling closer to Eclipse and humming.
"Destroying her was so hard," he mutters, "but shattering that hourglass really hurt. Damn. How did Raenef the Fourth cope all the time, dealing with that kind of magic?"
Eclipse absently strokes Raenef's hair. "He didn't, in the end," he says.
"Mmm. True." Raenef look up at him, then, smiles, and kisses him again. "I was awake that night when you kissed me," he murmurs against Eclipse's mouth, and laughs when Eclipse stiffens. "Took you long enough."
Eclipse finally recovers enough of his dignity to say, "Don't be pert, demon lord or not," in as mild a voice as he can mange.
Raenef laughs, and then abruptly changes the topic in a way that is making Eclipse's head hurt. "Erutis has been taking care of me while Krayon has been keeping an eye on you. I don't think she expected Krayon to be so concerned about you," he adds. "It's kind of nice to see her change her mind about him."
"What, she still hasn't succumbed to that wretched idiot's charms?" Eclipse asks, raising an eyebrow; this has been one topic of conversation that has never come up between him and Krayon, and clearly it should have years ago. "I suppose I should give her more credit than I previously have."
Raenef raises an eyebrow at him. "Hey, be nice," he rebukes gently, though he is smiling.
"If you ask it of me, master," Eclipse says solemnly, his eyes gleaming, and leans down and kisses him slowly, deepening the kiss until Raenef is squirming and his breath hitching from mingled pain and desire.
"I think I still hurt too much for this," he gasps, but his gaze is serious as he reaches up to cup Eclipse's cheek. "No more calling me 'master'," he says, ignoring Eclipse's deep sigh. "No, I mean it this time. It's just Raenef."
Eclipse eyes him for a moment and then realises that he is truly being serious. They've had this argument many times over the years, and he says, "Raenef," not out of obedience, but more to feel the sound roll and curve in his mouth and on his lips. The first master he has ever served who he has actually called by his true name. It feels strange, so strange, but also oddly fitting.
Raenef's eyes light up, then, and Eclipse grudgingly thinks he could come to understand this strange desire of Raenef's - in several years' time.
They are walking through the gardens several weeks later, both using the exercise as an excuse for their health and an opportunity to talk privately, when Raenef says:
"It doesn't matter if Raenef the Fourth has any more nasty tricks waiting for us. I'm stronger, now, much stronger. It's my turn to finally protect you, as I was supposed to."
Eclipse turns to gaze at Raenef, noting the deadly serious expression on his face, and nods. "Yes," he whispers. "You are much stronger now."
They are returning inside when Eclipse sees a shadow lingering at the edge of his vision. He turns his head to look at it properly, his actions ignored by Raenef, who is talking a mile a minute about some summoning experiment Chris is thinking of trying out.
He almost freezes when he sees that the shadow is, in fact, Raenef the Fourth, with the experiment beside him. He almost falters in his step, except this is something that he doesn't want Raenef to see, without a doubt, so he keeps on walking and acts like he's seen nothing, even though his eyes remain on the two all the time.
He notices the difference almost immediately: they are both smiling. Raenef the Fourth looks almost approving as he watches them, while the experiment beams like the child she never was at him, waving energetically.
Eclipse feels like an immense weight has lifted off his shoulders when they both disappear from view.
Then he turns his head, bringing his attention back to the demon lord he serves - and the one he fell for long ago.
END