A Queen's Grace (CC, ML Mature) 1/1 - 04/20/10

Finished Canon/Conventional Couple Fics. These stories pick up from events in the show. All complete stories from the main Canon/CC board will eventually be moved here.

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PML
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A Queen's Grace (CC, ML Mature) 1/1 - 04/20/10

Post by PML »

Title- A Queen’s Grace

Author- PML with a little help from Mt. Gazer

Disclaimer- Roswell is not mine and no infringement is intended.

Category- CC-M/L

Rating- Mature

Summary- This is the eighth companion piece to A Kiss to Build a Dream On. As the others have detailed, this night has been a mix of glorious highs and horrific lows. This Companion occurs right after Isabel has finished her talk with Tess in the Evan’s kitchen. Already the horror she will face is starting.

And Isabel’s suffering could have catastrophic consequences as the next few parts will show. It is not crucial to read these to understand Kiss. But it will help.

Liz-

Liz watched as the girl she had once thought as her rival and nemesis shook slightly as she contemplated mind warping Isabel.

Amazing what a night of wonder and terror can do.

Her own world was as shaken.

Liz softly said, “Can I help you?”

Tess stopped. “I just can’t do it, Liz. Not after Kyle. Never again.”

This could be a bit of a problem. The longer Isabel warped the local weather, the greater the effects would be.

She had been serious about the world wide ramifications. Liz had no clue what this was going to do, but she was sure it was going to do something.

It had to be stopped.

Liz licked her lips and thought. How could she bolster the woman to do to her friend what she had done unwittingly to her boyfriend. Even if it wasn’t going to be that dangerous, and she suspected that it wouldn’t be. It would still be an offense against the person that Tess cared for.

It had been a shock to see that Tess wasn’t the cold and cynical person she had always assumed. No underneath the bitterness that Tess had used as a shield, there was a person she had never known was there.

But Kyle must have seen it. She must have let her guard down at some point. Let him actually see the girl underneath all the bitterness and self-pity.

Just as Maria had seen the worth in Michael, and Alex the vulnerability in the hardened armor of Isabel. Kyle had seen the cheerfulness underneath the bitterness. The optimist under the cynical surface.

Now the cynicism was gone, washed under a layer of self loathing and hate. If Max was not able to save Kyle, Tess would not survive him long.

How could she reach to Tess to make her see that underneath it all she wasn’t evil?

Which was the height of irony, because Liz herself had actually believed that not long ago.

Liz reached out and touched Tess’s shoulder. She sent a tiny healing pulse, learned this very evening from Max. It would wash away a little of Tess’s weariness and brighten her mood slightly.

“Tess….. Your gift is not evil, nor are you. Both it and you have that potential, yes. So do I. So does Max. We will need your gifts before the end. If only to do what we do now. But if you will let me, I will help you.” Liz held out her hand.

Tess gave her a tremulous smile, a few tears staining her eyes and took her hand..

Once more she connected to Tess. This time it was not a one way link, rather they were connected. There were no flashes exchanged, it wasn’t that kind of connection. But she could feel Tess’s mind and see her own reflected in Tess.

She felt astonishment in Tess’s mind as they meshed.

Tess had never done this.

Not ever.

No one had ever trusted her to let her in. The only connections she had ever had were she mind warped someone. The few other times had been through filters, like the communicator.

Not like this. Not a straight connection.

Liz felt her own apprehension drop at the wonder she felt in Tess. At the almost eagerness for emotional connection.

Liz let her hate go. The bitterness clung and held, but the hate. The hate of this girl that she had been carrying fell away.

It was so easy after today. It was just like the fear she had let go earlier. All it had take was the decision that this was her life. That her life was not as the perfect Miss Parker, but at Max’s side. And to do that, to give up her old life had required her to completely shift her world view. To accept the previously unacceptable.

To accept the impossible.

And all of its implications.

She/Tess lifted their hand and let the tendrils of power flow into the shattered mind of Isabel. Part of her wanted to pull Isabel fully into their new sisterhood. But it was rapidly apparent that would not be a good idea.

Isabel was close to madness. Images swam into their mind.

She sensed from Tess that this was NOT normal. Not normal at all.

Normally the mind warp was simply one way. You planted your image in the targets head. If it was a memory, you had to focus on the memory and alter it.

But now the memory was slippery and moving erratically about her head.

Isabel’s mind was falling apart, being held together by one thing and one thing only.

By a melody. An imperfectly sang melody by Alex was soothing her just enough. Just enough to not let her push herself that last bit.

That last bit that would mean madness followed swiftly by death.

And not just for her.

The images, the thoughts of what Isabel wanted to do. What she believed would make her safe, make her safe and avenge herself….. They were appalling.

Isabel was a hairsbreadth from becoming one with the storm. She wouldn’t survive it. But then neither would Aric.

Or anything else walking on the surface for the surrounding fifty miles.

They needed to work fast. To find and bury that memory. But Tess couldn’t find a fix on it.

There really was only one way. One desperate way. Liz would have to link with Isabel, with the maelstrom of emotion and thought that was swirling around her head.

To connect deep enough to relive the memory herself.

She would have to do it alone. Tess would need to be able to keep her mind clear to bury it. Clear to focus on using her powers on Isabel.

To let Tess warp Isabel through Liz.

Before Tess could think to stop her, Liz reached out a hand to Isabel and made the connection.

And she lived it. Lived the wonder and glory as Isabel experienced her first love making. The conversation and friendship she began to form with Tess. She could feel the pleasure of the second time with Alex. Feel as the worry began to build, but the bliss too great to heed the warnings.

Felt the feelings of ecstasy merge with the horror of realization of what had happened. As Aric kept pumping into her. As Isabel tried to force him off, tried to attack him. But her body had other ideas.

Even as the horror and self hatred built in her, wave after wave of pleasure washed through her. Mixing and poisoning her mind. The image of Alex gloating and raping her, the real Alex laying helpless on the ground.

And that was what broke her. That feeling of helplessness. Of not being able to protect herself or even Alex. The knowledge that something horrible had happened to him, something horrific.

And whatever had been done to him had been ignored as she had had coffee and girl talk with Tess.

Hatred and loathing BURNED in her.

And Liz felt it too. Felt as it resonated with her. Resonated with who she had been only hours before.

The Liz Parker she had shed. Her former self.

It all came back to her. All of it was swimming in her head and threatening to drown her.

But she wouldn’t let it.

Liz’s days of running were over. She had a Destiny, damn it, and she was going to shape it not be shaped by it. She, with Max by her side, could do anything.

And Liz was NOT going to let her sister in law self destruct because some evil monster had tried to destroy her. No she was going to hold on, to hold on and let the balm that Tess could bring save them both.

But to hold on, to strengthen her, to strengthen Isabel, she focused on the haltingly sung Antaran lullaby that Alex was mangling.

She used it, used the memory, the deep memory that Isabel clung to from her deep past, her life as Vilandra and pulled up the lullaby as it had been sung.

As it had been sung to her by her father so very long ago on Antar. Sung while the arms cradled the frightened child.

Liz could feel as Isabel began to calm, as the tortured self hatred began to slacken.

It was then she felt Tess. As she felt Tess flow through her, through her mind and soul and into Isabel.

And weave her magic. Cut off the source of poison that filled her, cut off the source of madness.

She couldn’t remove it, Tess couldn’t work miracles. But she buried it. She buried it deep.

A moment of sorow laced through Liz. Because with the horror had gone the wonder. Tess had removed the whole night from Isabel. The memory of the connection she now shared with Alex was buried as deep as was the pain and horror of Aric’s rape.

Liz slowly drifted out of the working.

Tess hugged her tightly. “Thank you. I never would have been able to do that. Not without your help.”

Liz smiled at Tess, “See? We make a much better team than we do as enemies.”

Tess nodded. But her gaze rapidly hardened. “Aric has to die.”

“Yes. But doing it…..”

“Will be difficult.”

Alex settled Isabel’s sleeping head on the pillow and removed himself from the bed.

Tess reached out to him. “Alex, we saw. We saw it all. What did Aric do to you?”

“Enough. He did enough. Is she going to be okay?”

Liz sighed, “Yes. We will have to deal with it sooner or later, but for now. For now she will be okay.”

Alex’s eyes remained dead as he looked at Liz. “She will remember nothing of tonight will she.”

Tess said softly, “No.”

Alex nodded. “And if you tried to help me, the same is likely for me. I need these memories. Someone has to bear them. Good night.”

“Where are you going?”

“Home. I figure we will have a meeting later this morning or for lunch. I will be there. Call me with the time. But I need to think. Time to think and to sleep.”

“Okay. Do you need one of us to drive you home.”

Alex turned his green eyes to her, they still looked flat and there was a darkness lurking there she had never seen before. “Trust me, Liz. I will be fine. Remember to call me.” Every movement was precise and economical and the only softness she could see in her friend was a small kiss he gave to Isabel before he left.

“Do you think he is going to be okay, Liz?’

“We are going to have to watch him. But right now, right now we have others who need us more.”

Liz walked over to a groaning Max. “Tess can you help me get him to his room?”

Both of them half carried Max into his room. Liz gave him a full kiss as she tucked him in.

Max’s voice was hoarse as he asked, “Aren’t you going to join me?”

Liz smiled and said, “Someone should stay with Isabel.”

Max started to lift himself up.

Liz pushed him back down. “Sleep, we need you to sleep. We may need you tomorrow.”

Max looked up at her, “Tell me it will all be okay.”

Liz smiled, “It will all be okay. Really it will Max. As long as I have you….”

“And I you.”

“Yes, it will all work out.”

Max turned to face Tess, “I did what I could. He still needs more work. It will take time to fully fix him.”

Tess nodded soberly. “I will help you. And we will also have to work on Liz and Maria. Liz, Liz has managed to work through most of the knots, but I want to make sure. Make sure that all of you are okay.”

Max nodded sternly.

Liz lead her out of his room.

They carried Kyle into Tess’s room where he could be hid. And together they repaired Isabel’s door.

Finally it was just Liz and a sleeping Isabel.

There had been a time when the girl had intimidated her. But now, now she only felt pity and love.

She watched her for a time, and eventually drifted off herself.

It was going to be a busy day.
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