Twelve

What's Meant to Be

Happy One Year Anniversary, Song of the Nightingale. - Livvielove -

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Quinn helped Esmerelda get settled into his spare room before she got the grand tour of the house. The room once was a place where his nephews stayed when they were younger, yet it still matched the way the rest of the house felt. It was bright, colorful, and extremely well protected.

It was also a lot bigger than she expected. It seemed far larger than what should’ve been possible. She couldn’t discern if it was an illusion or if the house was just built in a manner that amplified the space. On top of everything else, each of the walls in the perfect harmony of colors was filled from top to bottom with trinkets and knick-knacks from all over the world.

It was beautiful.
She had seen every room in the house when Quinn finally pulled her outside of the house.
It was strange to stand outside in the bright sunshine. She had hesitated before leaving the doorway, it was strange to feel so exposed.

Was she really safe here?
Was this wise?
She couldn’t know for sure and part of her felt foolish for wanting to find out.
Quinn sensed her hesitation and watched her carefully before motioning. “Let me show you something, Ezzie.”

They were walking toward the sidewalk as Esmerelda checked over her shoulders. Quinn lived right off a river and she could feel her stomach drop at the realization. Her eyes were stuck on it wearily, panic filling her. Don’t go near the water.

Something touched her hand and she jumped. It was only Quinn and he gave her a slight smile as he brought her hand up to something solid in the air. Her eyes widened as she reached to feel with both hands.
Her hands tingled as she pressed into it and it gave a little before pushing back. She stared at Quinn with her mouth slightly agape.

“Nothing can get in or out of my house without my consent.” He was grinning at her as he spoke.
Esmerelda almost couldn’t wrap her head around it. The outside world was right there yet she couldn’t touch it. She could see Quinn smirking as he reached over and touched the invisible wall in such a way that it reacted to his touch and suddenly the entire shield lit up, revealing it’s protection. She could barely manage a response. “Wow…”

It was unreal.
He seemed to be relishing in how intrigued she was, because his smirk only grew into a grin. “Let me show you something else!”
He had grabbed her hand and hurried her back inside his house, closing the door before looking at her with raised eyebrows as he grinned. “Do you know ‘Shave-and-a-Haircut?’”
Esmerelda’s brow furrowed for a second before she nodded.

Quinn made a slight gesture with his knuckles, his eyes telling her to knock on the wall beside the door. She hesitated before bringing up her hand and knocking the five perfectly timed knocks, yet before she could answer with the last knocks two thumps sounded off behind her.
She jumped, swirling around to find the house nearly empty, dusty and small.

The walls were average and empty, the rugs on the floor looked worn, and dust particles floated into the air, giving it a strangely hazy effect.
Esmerelda’s mouth was hanging open now has she looked at Quinn who laughed in response. “Go outside!” He eagerly insisted.

Slowly Esmerelda turned the doorknob before opening the door to the sunny afternoon. There was noise as children played at the park across the road and cars passed by in front of the house. Her eyes immediately jumped back to look for Quinn who only gave her reassurance with an enthusiastic nod.
She stepped out past the front door and was greeted by a large stack of newspapers, she looked at them curiously.

“Oh! I’m late on my news!” Quinn immediately jumped and pulled them inside. “Forget to check for a day and they just fucking pile up.” Once they had been pulled inside he popped back up and gestured, “pretty neat though, huh?”
“This doesn’t even feel like the same place.” Esmerelda breathed as her eyes scanned the new terrain.
“It’s the best of both worlds.” His voice was closer to her ear as he looked out past her.

“What’s with all the newspapers?” She looked at the stack he had just pulled in from outside as they closed the door up and knocked on the wall.
Quinn lifted the stack and carried it into his office by the stairs, dropping it next to the other stacks he had. “I like to keep informed.” He stood up straighter and his smirk returned. “I’m also a journalist by day.”

Esmerelda snorted, “a journalist?” She straightened and cleared her throat. “That seems so unusual.”
“One can only sit and twiddle their thumbs so long before they die of boredom when inbetween magical catastrophes.” He chuckled as he shrugged. “It keeps me entertained; truthfully, information is more of my game anyways. I find it helps when you have friends everywhere.”
She couldn’t stop the smile that spread on her face as she shook her head. “You’re something else, slick.”

“Why, thank you. It’s my home, so I’ll be here all of… forever.” He bowed dramatically as he popped back up his face grew slightly more serious, though there were still traces of his grin hiding in his eyes. “Now, it’s your home too - clutter and all!”
Esmerelda smiled at him, he couldn’t possibly realize how dangerous this was - or maybe he did? Was she safe here? She couldn’t say.
“...if there’s someone out there that knows your struggle and is still willing to stick it out… don’t push them away.”

Perhaps it was time she took a risk again? She nodded slowly. “There’s nothing wrong with a little bit of clutter.”

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The first week had taken some adjustment. Esmerelda had jolted awake several times during the nights in a panic from the thought of staying still for too long.

She would be a sitting duck out here, waiting for the Sirens to catch up to her - waiting to be dragged to Siren’s Cove to be tested on and enslaved.
Yet for the first time in her life she was able to push those feelings to the side. She was taking this risk.

Quinn was helping, too, though she doubt he was aware of how much. She had taken to making dinner for them each night - it was really the least she could do as she still didn’t have the guts to leave the house much. She can’t make money to pay Quinn with if she stayed inside all the time, but she just wasn’t ready to see the world.

Quinn never complained, and while he was gone for most of the days hunting for a story he’d always be back right in time for dinner. Esmerelda had teased him over it, but internally she was grateful for his company.

It was going on nine days in Quinn’s house and Quinn was home for the day, buried under in his office as he scraped together a story about an arsonist on the loose and a potential cover up from the Monarchy. She had never really cared much for the news before, but Quinn was so invested it was hard to not be too.
Quinn had a pen name he wrote under, Alainn Q. Nufang; which he proudly introduced to her as an anagram of his own name. “I’m a sucker for wordplay.”

Esmerelda had become invested in reading some of the papers that were delivered to the front door each day, and she was in the middle of reading a new column when the room seemed to shift suddenly.
Her eyes shot up from the paper and she shoved it to the side as she nervously watched the room tense until a form popped into the center of the living room with a cracking sound.

The man with dark skin ducked quickly as he set off one of the traps in the living room and a spike nearly went through his head. He chuckled airily before his golden gaze jumped to her suddenly and his face fell.

He was tall and muscular, but the most unnerving thing was his skin and eyes. The deep gray of his skin contrasted against the severe gaze he gave her.

Esmerelda moved slowly, her chest heaving as she thought of all the exits in the house. The kitchen had the knives in it. If she went for the front door she would have to somehow be faster than the giant of a man who stood in the living room. He was at least twice her size and clearly magical but-
“Hey Kefka.” Quinn’s voice broke the tension, causing Esmerelda to jump and the man’s gaze to break away from her.

“Uncle Quinn.” The man nodded slightly. “I have the necklace you asked me to look into.”
“Any luck with it?” Quinn leaned against the archway as he spoke.
“The location device was stuck in the main gem, I wasn’t able to separate it without compromising the gem, so I found a gem that looked as close to it as I could to replace it with.”

“Thank you.” Quinn gave Esmerelda a smile and nodded towards her, causing the eyes of the stranger to land on her too. “It’s her necklace; Ezzie, this is one of my nephews, Kefka. Kefka, this is Esmerelda.”

Kefka bowed his head towards her, his face remaining stoic. “Nice to meet you.” His hand reached into his pocket and he approached her before holding out his hand.
Esmerelda held her hand out carefully but inside her she could feel her stomach jolt. It crawled up her arms and the second the man dropped the necklace static arced upward from her palm towards him and she immediately yanked her fist away. “Oh shit!”

Her arms burned from the sensation and she raked her nails along the faint blue lines that had pulsed on the surface of her skin. Something grabbed her hand away and Quinn looked at her arm curiously. “Esmerelda has a magical artifact embedded in her, I believe it to be raw magic. What do you think, Kefka?”

Kefka bent down and watched the faint lines disappear back into Esmerelda’s arm as she looked towards the ceiling, trying to will this all away. Of course her artifact would decide to rear its ugly head full force now that she was willing to take risks and be noticed.
Kefka nodded. “That’s definitely raw magic.”
Esmerelda glanced down at her arm as Kefka reached to touch it again and static jolted through her once again. She gritted her teeth and hissed. “It never used to be like this before! Fuck!”

Quinn looked between her and Kefka before settling on her again. “Kefka is more familiar with raw magic than I am. What can cause raw magic that’s normally dormant in an artifact to act up?”
Kefka was quiet for a moment before speaking. “Have you been injured or exerted yourself a lot recently?”
Esmerelda bit her cheek and shrugged slightly. “I… may have been… impaled a week or so ago. The artifact has... a tendency of not letting me die.”

Quinn sat up. “You were impaled?”
“It’s… a… long story.” She gave him an innocent smile and shrugged again, gods was that really only just over a week ago? She tried to not let her stomach sour further as Kefka had picked up her arm and examined it.
Quinn’s face seemed to register a change and he paled. “Oh shit… you mean… that was… oh fuck!”
Kefka smirked very slightly. “Do you need a bucket, Uncle Quinn?”

Esmerelda felt herself smirking as she turned to look at Quinn. “Wait… do you have a weak stomach?” Could the only priest of the most powerful god in the pantheon really not stand the sight of blood?
Quinn made a face at her and he tried to shake his head. “No!” Yet Kefka’s smirk had grown as he shook his head ‘yes.’ Quinn saw it and clenched his fists. “I do not!”
Kefka chuckled. “You fainted when my brother was born.”

“I was tired. I had just gotten back from a mission.” Quinn glared before scoffing. “Now would you stop being a smartass with me and help the lady?”
Esmerelda had eased a little, it was strange to believe how paranoid she got around people she didn’t know. Maybe it was just more strange how at ease she was around Quinn? In theory, she and him were only just budding into a friendship, but that was more than she could say about most of the people in her life.

She still looked over her shoulder whenever she was around Melanie or Skinn and Miriam. Kefka had shifted and Esmerelda tensed again. “Where were you impaled?”
Esmerelda winced as she recalled the memory, yet by the time she went to speak Quinn had already pointed to her stomach, precisely where the blue lines had appeared the day after he found her. “Right here.”
“The raw magic is festering there, have you ever been injured to that extent before?” Kefka’s serious gaze landed on her and she leaned slightly towards Quinn on the couch.

She shifted and shrugged slightly. “I… uh… don’t think so? Well, not to the point of having a pole through my body. No.”
“That’s probably why it’s never acted like this before. Having to rebuild a large portion of your organs and tissues while at the same time you’re not someone who wields magic can have unusual consequences. We’ll need to get you to expel the leftover magic that’s festering in there, or it will find a way to expel on its own later which may be detrimental for your health.” He shifted her hand in his grip and lightly pressed his thumb to the palm of her hand. “Uncle, can you protect her heart?”
Esmerelda’s eyes widened. “M-My heart?”

Yet Quinn had shifted against her and she began to press back into him, her mind at the edges of panic. She knew running was a bad idea, yet there were pieces of her that pushed the thought forward. Pieces that made her eye the doorways wearily. Quinn had said something and the itch to run faded.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t…” She kept her gaze on Quinn who grinned at her.
“I was asking if you remember that night we got kicked out of the bowling alley?” He laughed a little.

Esmerelda’s brow furrowed. “Yeah, I remember that night. Why?”
“Don’t you remember how shitty I was at bowling?” Quinn’s eyes flickered away and back to her quickly as he chuckled more.
Esmerelda eased as she laughed. “To be fair, you got a strike, it was just in the wrong lane.”
He shook his head in response. “I blame the alcohol, you still owe me a rematch.”
She shook her head. “No way I’ll believe that was the alco-”

Everything burned suddenly and she yelped from the pain. She had jerked her head around as she squeezed at Quinn with her only free hand. The burning left her body quickly and she felt raw; she slumped back against Quinn feeling dazed.
“Ezzie… are you ok?” Quinn tugged on her. “Ezzie?”
Slowly she got her bearings and she shook her head if only to shake away the light-headedness. “Holy fuck that hurt.”

Kefka had somehow gotten across the room and Esmerelda’s brow furrowed as she watched him dust off his clothes before nodding. “You’ll be a little sore, but the artifact shouldn’t act up again.” He straightened himself. “In the meantime, I should head on back before Liro eats my cheesecake. Pleasure to meet you, Esmerelda.”
Esmerelda tried to straighten herself but she could barely catch her own breath. “Thanks for… fuck… whipping my ass with my own… fucking… magic, I guess.” She managed to grin.

Kefka grinned back at her before shrugging. “Just doing my job, try not to get impaled again.”
She snorted. “It’s on my list of things to not do, I assure you.”
Quinn hadn’t moved from where he sat behind her. “Do you need me to open a portal for you?”
Kefka shook his head, “no thank you, I’ve got it.” With that he pulled a vial from his pocket and uncorked it, tipping it slightly so the liquid nearly drizzled to the ground, yet he stopped himself.

“Oh, and my dad asked me to tell you to drop in soon, Uncle, or perhaps he said he’ll make you drop in soon? One of the two.” He grinned deviously with a loose shrug before letting the vial’s contents drizzle onto the floor, causing him to disappear just as quickly as he appeared.

Esmerelda slumped back hard with a slight gasp as she finally relaxed. It took the couch shifting behind her to realize that she had actually leaned back onto Quinn and she jumped to pull herself away. “Well, that was… a thing.”
He laughed and slowly pulled himself off the couch. “Sorry, I didn’t realize he was going to drop by today, I would’ve given you more warning. The boys aren’t used to me having someone else in my house.”

“How many nephews do you have?” She stood as well and looked over his walls carefully, knowing she had seen pictures of Kefka around on Quinn’s walls.
“Four.” He ran a hand through his hair and smiled. “Sheogorath, Deliro, Kefka, and Aleccas.” He looked over and pointed to one of the pictures on his wall.

She followed the gesture and found herself smiling. “I thought I saw pictures of Kefka around before. Are they cousins?”
“Brothers.” Quinn nodded. “And, I suppose by scientific terms, they’re not technically my nephews. They’re my master’s kids, but I was there from the day they each entered my master's life - and no I didn’t faint each time either. It was just that once and… I was just… tired.”
"Of course." Esmerelda nodded seriously, looking at the pictures. "Are these the same boys?" She asked as she pointed to another picture of four older boys with normal skin.

"Yes, indeed! They wear disguises when they go out in public, trained by yours, truly." He smirked before stepping closer to examine the pictures with her. He pointed to a group of four pictures. "This is Sheogorath, he's the oldest. I remember when my master decided he was going to have children I told him he had lost his marbles - well, moreso than normal. Sheo's a quiet boy, always has been - he struggles with a bit of a stutter; he's excellent at teleportation though. I spent almost all of his infant years praying I wouldn't end up in the slaughterhouse for how many times he would disappear on my watch. Now he's the best in the world with his teleportation, and he's kind of got a thing for my master's high priestess, Mania. One of these days I'll finally help him get the guts up to ask her on a date."

She laughed as she watched him grin at the picture. He carefully pointed to the next one - the one who looked familiar. "Next came Kefka - he was always a very serious child."
Esmerelda snorted, "yeah, I got that vibe from him."
Quinn laughed as well and he nodded. "He is actually pretty goofy when you get to know him, but he didn't always used to be so serious. He's a great cook, I'll usually bum food off of him when I'm really desperate. Out of all the boys, he's the only one that doesn't have any magic. He can absorb magic - even raw magic, but he was never capable of wielding it so he works with his hands a lot; lots of building and he'll occasionally make jewelry. He was married to a girl who could wield raw magic like what's in your artifact; she... went missing a while ago and he's been a lot more serious ever since."

Her smile had completely faded away and she frowned. "I'm so sorry... that's... terrible."
He nodded in solidarity. "Love is so goddamn messy that way." He shook his head. "When Kefka was about two was when the master adopted Deliro." He pointed to the next picture and then up to another picture on the wall.
Esmerelda looked at him curiously. A god... adopted a child? "Is that common...? For a god to... adopt a child? He looks so much like the other boys..." She stared closer at the pictures.

"Not common, no, but my master has never exactly been the type to listen to 'what's common.'" Quinn smirked and nodded. "Liro is Nymphen, like me - only I'm half, and he's entirely. My master had altered his appearance slightly so it would be painfully clear that blood or not, he was a Keeper boy. I remember the day my master brought him back like it was yesterday. I was watching Sheo and Kefka when my master kicks down my door - literally - and introduced Liro as their new brother; said he plucked him from a tree. The reality was a lot darker than that, but Liro instantly fit right in. He's like a month older than Kefka so the two of them are practically twins." He turned and grinned at her. "You got a very rare sighting today, seeing one without the other."
She laughed and pointed to the last boy. "I take it this one is the youngest?"

He nodded. "That's right. Sheogorath was eight and the twins were four when my master did the most unpredictable thing I'd ever seen him do: he fell in love." He shook his head and closed his eyes. "It was weird as shit."
She laughed and swatted at him. "It sounds kind of cute."

"Oh, it was, it was just really fucking weird. All my years of working under him when suddenly this woman came along and twisted him up so bad he was willingly tying himself into knots for her. Her named was Sael; she was raised in the woods by Ma - the same woman who adopted me!" He gave her a cheeky grin.
Her gaze widened. "You were adopted?"

"Well, as adopted as I can be." He laughed, shrugging. "To be fair, she adopts anyone who steps into her house. She's the reason I was freed from the genie lamp."
They were looking at each other now and Esmerelda could see the emotion in Quinn's eyes, even though he tried to conceal it. She smiled at him softly. "She sounds like a great woman."
Quinn smiled back at her, genuine and warm. "She's something, I'll say." There was a pause as he continued to look at her. "You should meet her one day, I bet she'd love you."

She bit her lip and grinned. "Well, if she likes you then maybe there's some hope for me!"
He laughed louder and nodded. "Oh there's definitely plenty of hope for you." He shook his head. "Right, where was I? My master fell in love and soon enough along came his youngest - Aleccas."
"Is that him up there?" Esmerelda pointed curiously.
He nodded. "That's him, alright."

She couldn't help but grin as she stared at the picture. "He reminds me of you with that posture, slick."
Quinn gave her an easy shrug as he grinned back. "What can I say? He takes after his favorite uncle." His voice dropped yet he continued to grin. "The little shit."
She broke out laughing.

"What? It's true. He's a fantastic kid and I love him to bits but that kid could get away with murder. His mother was sucked into another dimension when he was younger and his father spoiled the shit out of him. That's just my master's way. His kids are everything to him. After he lost Sael, I'm pretty sure they were the only things keeping him going. They give him purpose."
Esmerelda frowned looking at the pictures. It almost didn't make sense - gods had all the power in the world. Could it not be prevented? "How is that possible? I mean... sucked into another dimension?"

"It was a combination of shit timing and even shittier luck. I don't really know the details of it and I never really asked. I just saw the before and then the aftermath. I do know she saved Aleccas's life, which didn't go unnoticed by Aleccas. It was... a mess." Quinn turned and pointed upwards slightly. "He stayed mainly with me for several years after, which is why that room you're in still has some of his stuff. We tried to find a way to bring his mother back, but after a while we had to stop because we just couldn't find it. There are an infinite number of dimensions out there... We weren't having any luck and the boys needed us present and not gone all the time. To this day I still think my master works on trying to find something but he mostly keeps to himself."

She watched him as he spoke before they finally looked back at the wall of pictures and paintings.
Gods always made her uneasy, yet they had never been this close. She never saw them as people who could experience happiness and loss - they were just the powerful beings who towered over the world and laughed at the misfortune of others. The closest she had ever been to a god before was the day she had her Rights Ceremony in front of Calypso, herself.

Esmerelda had nearly died and her mother had been injured.
That was normal to her - not... this. They were like any other family.
She had become convinced nothing good could come of close contact with gods. She turned and let her eyes meet Quinn’s as he smiled at the pictures.

For once, she was happy to be wrong.

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Quinn stretched his neck and back as he heard the doors close behind him. He just finished dropping off his finished article with the editor and he had some downtime before he would get his next story.
Good timing, all things considering, as he was due to check in with his master anyways. Best drop in figuratively before he’s forced to drop in literally, as Kefka had warned several days ago. Quinn would usually find himself a dark corner to vanish into, yet today he decided to walk.

Today was the first day Esmerelda had decided to head out to the park to play for tips.
He wasn’t particularly sure of her talent, but he had to admit he was curious.
He hadn’t expected to like having a roommate as much as he did, yet there was no awkwardness at all. Occasionally he’d be alarmed seeing another person in his home, but it would soon fade away as he remembered that she was now a permanent fixture in the house.

Well, mostly permanent.
Until the war ends, at least.
He looked over his shoulder as he walked, and when no one stuck out to him he smiled to himself before donning a quick disguise. Was it risky to use magic in public? Absolutely - and that was part of the fun.

Quinn continued forward until he could hear the faintest sound of the violin being carried on the wind. He had never been good with instruments in his life - though he supposed he had ample time to pick one up if he wanted to. That was usually the problem though - his lack of desire to. He just never saw himself as a musical person.
He could appreciate music, sure, but playing it? Not so much.

Esmerelda was a different being entirely. She radiated music. Her voice, her laughter, and the way she idled; he shook his head of the thought as music continued to pull him forward.
He didn’t come to the park much anymore, but a small crowd had been drawn in and Quinn found himself intrigued.

He was curious as to what drew such a crowd, yet he didn’t need to wonder long as Esmerelda also came into view. She stepped gracefully off the fountain in the center in time with the strokes on her violin.

He stood stunned as he remembered exactly where he had seen that last.
The fountain.

Bridgeport.
That was her?
Esmerelda had been right there and he hadn’t even realized it.
She was incredible. He felt his disguise slip off of him willingly as her eyes danced over the small crowd and stopped at him. Her face shifted with surprise before she grinned widely; with a wink she turned and carried on with the song.

Quinn had never been one to put weight into fate of any variety: the concept nor the goddess of said concept. Yet there was something that pulled on him and nagged away deep within his mind - a stray thought he just couldn’t let go of. A thought that maybe… just maybe, he was meant to meet Esmerelda when he had.

It was a strange thought, but it had existed from the first day he had met her in that bar back in Bridgeport.
Yes, they could’ve met by coincidence not once nor twice but four times…

Or perhaps there was some master plan at work…

In the end it didn’t matter.

He was along for the ride, no matter where it would lead him.

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Playlist

"Little Talks" -  Of Monsters and Men
"Blank Space/Style" - Louisa Wendorff
"Take Me to Church" - Hozier