Home Is Where the Heart Is, pt 3 of 3
Corinthiahn met Diederich at the doorway to the bedroom. He was wearing a long white nightshirt, and he made even that look holy somehow. He'd always looked beautiful in white.
His hands glowed golden as he spoke the first words of a spell.
"Silence," Diederich commanded, still striding furiously toward Corinthiahn. Corinthiahn's throat seized and his words were instantly cut off.
Diederich grabbed him by the throat. He could only manage that spell every few minutes, and he needed to be able to choke off Corinthiahn's words again at any moment if he tried something again before Diederich could will him silent. He then turned to slam Corinthiahn back against the door frame inside of which Corinthiahn had been standing.
"Time to stop denying who I am," Diederich snarled.
"My son is dead," Corinthiahn spat. "I don't think the Lich King got to you before your brain started to rot. You are not who you think you are."
"Even if I'm not him. Even if whoever, whatever I am got shoved into a body that wasn't mine. I have your son's life in my head. I have his feelings, I have his memories and I. Remember. You."
Corinthiahn laughed cruelly and it made Diederich shudder with remembered pain. He stared at his hand as he felt that awful sound in Corinthiahn's throat, felt his muscles move, his breathing and his warmth. He stared at the sickening contrast of his cold, blackened hands against Corinthiahn's gleaming white, living skin. It was hard to meet Corinthiahn's pale yellow-green eyes again - they made him feel like a child.
"You're not getting Diederich's inheritance, if that's what you're after."
"I don't want your money, Corinthiahn."
"Show respect," Corinthiahn ordered, eyes flashing.
With no awareness of the similarity, Diederich laughed just as Corinthiahn had. "Oh, so now you want me to call you 'Father'?" he growled with an ugly smile that was still pinched and crooked in the corners.
Corinthiahn reddened and glared.
"Why shouldn't I call you by name, huh Corinthiahn?"
"Son or not you have no business addressing me so casually. What do you want from me? What are you doing in my apartment?"
"You wanted me to be stronger, right, Father?"
"Stop calling me that this instant. It's disgusting."
"You have no idea what I am now," Diederich said in a low voice, grinding Corinthiahn against the doorframe, making him gag. "I have done things that would turn your stomach to people who meant nothing to me. Imagine what I'm going to do to someone I hate as much as I hate you."
"If you really are my son, you should be thanking me," Corinthiahn rasped.
"How fucking dare you."
"You don't even realize that?" Corinthiahn wheezed a small laugh. "You ignorant child. What strength did it take to break free of the Lich King and where do you think you got it?"
Diederich was struck silent. His hand eased away from Corinthiahn's throat and Corinthiahn shoved it the rest of the way.
"Do you think I would have invested half so much in you if I didn't love you?"
Diederich faltered back from Corinthiahn, hitting the opposite side of the door frame. This hurt worse than anything else his father had ever done to him.
Corinthiahn indignantly rearranged himself, straightening his night shirt and smoothing back his long white-blonde hair.
"Fix her," Diederich said weakly, pointing over to the girl's body by the front door.
"Not yet," Corinthiahn said disinterestedly, straightening his cuffs. "Not until you're gone." He looked up at Diederich pointedly.
Diederich tried to rekindle the desire for bloody vengeance that had brought him here, but he was crushed. He couldn't hurt his father.
"You should have listened to your mother," Corinthiahn said. "You have no place in this city. Don't show your face here again."
When he'd gone to tell his parents he was still alive, once of the few things his mother had had to say to him was that any elf who'd knelt to the man who'd destroyed Silvermoon had no right to ever set foot in it again. He'd avoided it as much as possible ever since. But to hear those words again, after he'd just acknowledged that Diederich was his son and that making no difference at all... Hearing that his father had even loved him once, and to still refuse him completely...
"Father, please," Diederich whispered, the words falling out of him against his will.
"Get out of Silvermoon, Diederich. If you still have any respect for your family at all, let them have the memory of someone dead that they can be proud of. You caused your mother enough pain the first time you showed up. Let her forget it ever happened."
"Are you ashamed of me?" Diederich asked, hating himself for caring.
"Of course I am," Corinthiahn said sternly, making Diederich wince. It hung in the air several agonizing moments before he added, "But you broke away and became your own man again. You're undeniably powerful. I'm proud of you for that."
Diederich's stomach clenched in a knot.
"That doesn't change what you did. That doesn't change my opinion. Get out of this city and stop claiming to be my son."
Diederich nodded, turned, and headed to the door.
"Fix her," he repeated, forcing himself to look at what he did to the girl.
Corinthiahn said nothing.
Diederich pulled his goggles back over his eyes, put his hood back over his head, and left.
His hands glowed golden as he spoke the first words of a spell.
"Silence," Diederich commanded, still striding furiously toward Corinthiahn. Corinthiahn's throat seized and his words were instantly cut off.
Diederich grabbed him by the throat. He could only manage that spell every few minutes, and he needed to be able to choke off Corinthiahn's words again at any moment if he tried something again before Diederich could will him silent. He then turned to slam Corinthiahn back against the door frame inside of which Corinthiahn had been standing.
"Time to stop denying who I am," Diederich snarled.
"My son is dead," Corinthiahn spat. "I don't think the Lich King got to you before your brain started to rot. You are not who you think you are."
"Even if I'm not him. Even if whoever, whatever I am got shoved into a body that wasn't mine. I have your son's life in my head. I have his feelings, I have his memories and I. Remember. You."
Corinthiahn laughed cruelly and it made Diederich shudder with remembered pain. He stared at his hand as he felt that awful sound in Corinthiahn's throat, felt his muscles move, his breathing and his warmth. He stared at the sickening contrast of his cold, blackened hands against Corinthiahn's gleaming white, living skin. It was hard to meet Corinthiahn's pale yellow-green eyes again - they made him feel like a child.
"You're not getting Diederich's inheritance, if that's what you're after."
"I don't want your money, Corinthiahn."
"Show respect," Corinthiahn ordered, eyes flashing.
With no awareness of the similarity, Diederich laughed just as Corinthiahn had. "Oh, so now you want me to call you 'Father'?" he growled with an ugly smile that was still pinched and crooked in the corners.
Corinthiahn reddened and glared.
"Why shouldn't I call you by name, huh Corinthiahn?"
"Son or not you have no business addressing me so casually. What do you want from me? What are you doing in my apartment?"
"You wanted me to be stronger, right, Father?"
"Stop calling me that this instant. It's disgusting."
"You have no idea what I am now," Diederich said in a low voice, grinding Corinthiahn against the doorframe, making him gag. "I have done things that would turn your stomach to people who meant nothing to me. Imagine what I'm going to do to someone I hate as much as I hate you."
"If you really are my son, you should be thanking me," Corinthiahn rasped.
"How fucking dare you."
"You don't even realize that?" Corinthiahn wheezed a small laugh. "You ignorant child. What strength did it take to break free of the Lich King and where do you think you got it?"
Diederich was struck silent. His hand eased away from Corinthiahn's throat and Corinthiahn shoved it the rest of the way.
"Do you think I would have invested half so much in you if I didn't love you?"
Diederich faltered back from Corinthiahn, hitting the opposite side of the door frame. This hurt worse than anything else his father had ever done to him.
Corinthiahn indignantly rearranged himself, straightening his night shirt and smoothing back his long white-blonde hair.
"Fix her," Diederich said weakly, pointing over to the girl's body by the front door.
"Not yet," Corinthiahn said disinterestedly, straightening his cuffs. "Not until you're gone." He looked up at Diederich pointedly.
Diederich tried to rekindle the desire for bloody vengeance that had brought him here, but he was crushed. He couldn't hurt his father.
"You should have listened to your mother," Corinthiahn said. "You have no place in this city. Don't show your face here again."
When he'd gone to tell his parents he was still alive, once of the few things his mother had had to say to him was that any elf who'd knelt to the man who'd destroyed Silvermoon had no right to ever set foot in it again. He'd avoided it as much as possible ever since. But to hear those words again, after he'd just acknowledged that Diederich was his son and that making no difference at all... Hearing that his father had even loved him once, and to still refuse him completely...
"Father, please," Diederich whispered, the words falling out of him against his will.
"Get out of Silvermoon, Diederich. If you still have any respect for your family at all, let them have the memory of someone dead that they can be proud of. You caused your mother enough pain the first time you showed up. Let her forget it ever happened."
"Are you ashamed of me?" Diederich asked, hating himself for caring.
"Of course I am," Corinthiahn said sternly, making Diederich wince. It hung in the air several agonizing moments before he added, "But you broke away and became your own man again. You're undeniably powerful. I'm proud of you for that."
Diederich's stomach clenched in a knot.
"That doesn't change what you did. That doesn't change my opinion. Get out of this city and stop claiming to be my son."
Diederich nodded, turned, and headed to the door.
"Fix her," he repeated, forcing himself to look at what he did to the girl.
Corinthiahn said nothing.
Diederich pulled his goggles back over his eyes, put his hood back over his head, and left.