Chapter Text
Every Friday evening, Mel and her friends – Buck, Paeon, Jaguar, and occasionally Elaine, Melanie, and Darius – go to Tess' taproom. It became a ritual of sorts after the whole turning-the-prince-into-a-baby thing, and coincidentally ended up being a perfect time to transfer custody of him. Buck had initially proposed it as a way to keep in touch throughout their busy schedules even if they saw each other regularly through volunteer work. Mel won't verbalize it, but she's very glad they meet up so often; after the loss of her previously only support system, her friends gave her somewhere to belong again. Reconvening with Tess is nice too, even if Mel works with her most days out of the week.
So, every week at the eighteenth hour, they meet up to catch up over dinner and drinks.
Mel's day has been rather busy. She caught up briefly with Paeon after dropping off a shipment of medical supplies at their office, did a few other deliveries around the Foundation, before doing some shopping at a gift market. Mel has never in her life been rich, so having a stable amount of money is still a concept she's wrapping her head around. That's also something she and Elaine have been working on, helping the economy even out between the city, but Elaine's better with numbers than she is so she's still learning.
When she found a shop that had several pieces of handmade jewelry, she couldn't help but eye them with interest. There was an array of options across the tables ranging from delicate gold and silvery necklaces to colourful woven bracelets. She might as well get something for her friends now that she has the funds, a little something to show her gratitude.
The shop owner kindly greeted her and she smiled back. They chatted lightly while Mel's fingers ran over the different textures. Buck liked more sentimental stuff, and a colourful bracelet would match the many bracelets from Melanie that he wears. Jaguar on the other hand, prefers clunkier jewelry similar to hers, so maybe a chain necklace would fit him well. Paeon doesn't like the feeling jewelry (especially rings and bracelets), so Mel asked the owner if there was a sort of key-chain he had. Elaine preferred gold and daintier necklaces, something that brought her undertones out. The kids were rather simple to choose for since they appreciated almost anything. Tess never wore jewelry on the job, so Mel only knows from the brief times she's seen her with a ring or necklace that she prefers gold.
In the end, she got everyone a little something: she got woven bracelets for Buck and the kids (orange for Buck, purple for Melanie, and blue for Darius), a dainty golden flower necklace with embedded gemstones for Elaine, a chain bracelet with fire emblems for Jaguar, a key-chain with a rod of Asclepius and emergency knife for Paeon, and a delicate golden bracelet featuring hearts in place of chains for Tess. It cost quite a bit, but the owner seemed more than joyful to have a customer with such a large order. The older gentlemen shook her hand to thank her, gave her a free candy with her order, and bid her a good day to which she did the same.
Being her last stop of the day, she finally started making her way towards Tess' for their weekly reunion. The sun had started falling behind the buildings, blanketing the Foundation in golden hues. While a lot of renovations have been taking place, the area had truly prospered in ways she had never imagined. Where she once would walk past someone getting mugged, she saw her neighbors helping one another with construction.
The taproom wasn't far from her location, but guessing by the height of the sun, she expected to be running late. Fortunately enough, the streets have gotten quieter as the sun lowered, making it easier for her to weasel through crowds. She also knew a shorter path she could take between alleyways that would cut her journey by five minutes. She secured her gifts in her cross-body bag before starting lightly jogging between alleys.
Although she resents her life of crime, one of the few good things it brought her was that she was incredibly skilled in navigating the twists and turns of the Foundation. She used decade-old markers and street art to guide her back to the safe haven that was Tess'.
A noise, akin to something between a wheeze and a groan, caused her to slow down from her jog. She almost thinks she was hallucinating until she hears it again from a nook in the wall to her left. A wet cough drives her to peak her head around the corner, hoping she doesn't stumble upon a murder scene.
What she finds is worse.
Jaguar Joe sits slumped over against the wall, clutching his stomach as blood pools around him. There's something so jarring in seeing Jaguar, who is regularly so full of life and power, almost lifeless in an alleyway. The only sign that he's alive in the shaky breaths he lets out.
"Jaguar!" She yells out, her legs finally moving to rush over to her friend.
He doesn't as much as lift his head at her voice. Right as she's about to grasp his shoulder, she feels something slice across her arm. At that same time, the silhouette of Jaguar dissipates in the air like water rippling. She reels sideways, stumbling over her own feet to see what attacked her.
Devon and Rose Castor.
Fucking fantastic.
She takes the cloth at her waist with her good arm to tie around the fresh wound on the other. Nothing major, but definitely frustrating considering she just got this shirt. "What the fuck do you want now?"
Devon, who has always been more confrontational than Rose, steps forward to which Mel steps back. She knows the wall is only a few feet behind her; of course they managed to corner her. She should have questioned why Jaguar seemed so quiet. Even he is more boisterous when he's severely injured.
"Aw, c'mon Mel! Are you not happy to see your family?" Devon says in a saccharine tone.
"You guys are still coming after me? Seriously?" She laughs, attempting to cover up the anxious buzzing underneath her skin. "Get a job or something, I told you guys to piss off ages ago."
"Did you seriously think we would let you run off with no consequences? Mel, darling," Rose breathed, and Mel recoils at that stupid pet name that she always calls her, "you not only went against us, but destroyed our image! Of all people, you should know that you'll never learn if there aren't consequences."
"We already did this whole" she gestures her hands, "fighting thing. You lost, so just let me get back to my friends and you get back to whatever you both do."
"You're really not getting this are you? That's fine, you were never the brightest anyways." Devon laughs, playing with the blade in his hand. "This time, you aren't running away. It'll be a fair fight between family, no outsiders. How does that sound?" His voice is a mocking one; Mel almost wished he didn't mask his anger.
"It sounds fucking stupid."
Rose sighs while Devon twists the sword in his hand. "I wasn't actually asking you, anyways" he mutters before tightening his grip and lunging towards her.
She really wished she brought her knife with her right about now. Luckily enough, her previous injury hasn't affected her ability to dodge and remain fast on her feet. She's still a bit shaky, but nothing she hasn't dealt with before. Devon is quick on his feet as well, twisting around to land a successful blow to her leg. She stumbles momentarily before landing a punch to his jaw in retaliation.
Rose joins soon after, brass knuckles decorating her fists. They might have raised her, but Mel's time fighting with her friends have honed her fighting skills immensely. She's more agile than both of them, managing to dodge most of their attacks. She's successful in landing a few punches herself and kicking Rose's feet under her. When Rose topples, a direct escape path clears up and she makes a run for it.
She underestimated Devon's reaction time which is why she feels a hot line carve across her back. The force sends her toppling forwards to her knees, stunning her for a few seconds. That gives enough time for Rose to hook her arms under her shoulders and grapple her. She does her best attempt at fighting back until Devon lands a sharp punch across her face.
"I don't think you understand just how much you fucked us over." He grabs her face tightly with the hand not gripping his sword. "It wasn't enough that we offered to take you back after everything, huh?"
"You fucking abandoned me!"
"You. Got. Caught. We provided everything for the plan to go smoothly, you just had to fuck it up."
She grits her teeth as he pulls his face closer. "After everything we did for you, you remain ungrateful. We raised you, and what? You abandon us for some lowly nobodies-"
Mel's anger spills over as she spits in Devon's face, kicks him in the balls, and throws her head back to headbutt Rose. They can insult her all they want, but she won't let them insult the people who took gave her an actual loving family.
It somehow works, Rose's grips loosens and she pushes herself off, making another run for it. "You little shit-"
Apparently she pissed off the God of fights or something, because she feels something snake around her ankle and pull. She once again falls forward onto the stone bricks. The best she can do with a grappled ankle is to lunge back towards its source and punch him across his stomach. She's quick enough to land one on Rose too, who's sneaked up behind her, but not enough to stop the hilt of a sword colliding with her temple.
For a dozen seconds (or more, she can't tell) she's dazed. The world goes fuzzy and bright, all sounds get muted, and she can't form a single thought. When she comes back, she knows for certain she's got a concussion because her head feels like it's genuinely splitting open. She cries, trying to move her hand to cover her eyes because the light hurts so bad, but her hand doesn't move. She's pinned against the wall by Devon's arm and her hands are pressed underneath his, rendering her unable to move.
"You really don't know when to give up, do you?"
Despite the pain blazing throughout her head, she still manages to retort back. "Gee, I wonder where I got that from? Surely not the people who can't leave me the fuck alone!"
"Gods, do you ever shut up? What part of this makes you think you're in any position to talk back?" He sighs, turning towards his wife. "Rose, dear, mind wrapping a cloth around her mouth? Clearly she won't keep quiet."
"What? Why? Mom-" the name slips out of her delirious mind, "-just let me go, please!"
Devon laughs, "As if we're letting you go after your little stunts, you can't be that stupid Mel!"
She wants to cower and ask for forgiveness despite the rational part of her brain yelling at her to fight back. Everything hurts; she's barely able to form a thought through the piercing headache. She grits her teeth when feels a cloth press against her lips. Devon presses down hard on both sides of her jaw – like you would a dog – to dislodge her teeth. She tried to clamp it back shut but every action in her body feels like she has to work three times as hard to accomplish. She ends up gagged by the cloth as Rose ties it exceptionally tight around her head (which does nothing but aggravate her growing headache).
"To think we gave you so much and you still abandoned us. After everything, you remain ungrateful."
She wants to bite back at him but there's a fucking cloth between her teeth, so it ends up sounding muffled.
What she didn't expect is feeling something wet on her stomach. It's like the world around her dims, and when she lowers her head, she finds Devon's knife embedded in her abdomen. It's only then that the pain registers; hot needles creep from the wound as her body burns. She yells – or at least she assumes over the all encompassing pain radiating through her stomach and head – through the gag, not caring about the drool and tears that cover her face.
Once the pain subsides along with her yelling, she's left gasping for air around the gag. It doesn't last long, because she sees the blade twist and pain envelops her once again. She screams and cries and gags, praying to anyone that it'll end.
Devon pulls the knife back causing her to yelp, before throwing her to the ground. All she can do is whimper at the pain and try to hold her insides together through the state of delirium she's in.
She makes a poor attempt at shuffling back when Devon approaches her again, wiping her blood off his blade. He gets to one knee in front of her and roughly grabs her face again. It sends a spike of pain to her temple and she sobs.
"Pathetic," he growls. "You've always been an ungrateful brat, Melody. After everything we gave you — picking you off the street, raising you, giving you a life and family — you couldn't do as much as let us live a peaceful life in the upper city, huh?"
Through the pain and fog slowing coating her brain, she attempts to steel herself. She hates being weak, especially in front of her parents. It comes out illegible through the gag. Devon slips it off her mouth slightly, just enough to let her talk. "What was that?"
"M'friends will kill you."
"Oh yeah? Where are they now?" He looks around with fake curiosity. "I don't see them?"
"S'cuz they're togeth'r, stup'd" she slurs.
"Sounds more like they left you. I mean, we did warn you, didn't we Rose?"
"We did tell you Darlin'," Mel's stomach swirls with nausea at the name, "we're the only ones who could understand you. We had your back, you know? I guess it was only a matter of time before your friends realized how selfish you are and left you."
Her friends wouldn't just leave her, not after everything. "They didn' leave-"
"Oh is that why you're about to die in an alleyway alone? Because it sure looks like it."
She doesn't want to die.
She feels so incredibly weak as she sobs, her composure melting. Her father sets back the gag, letting go of her face and stepping away. Just as he retreats, his eyes land on her cross-body bag that fell at some point during their skirmish.
Her breath stills as she prays he doesn't pick it up, that he thinks she carries nothing of importance.
Of course he doesn't.
He picks up the bag and opens it, smile growing on his face as he looks at the jewelry. "Wow Mel, I didn't know you were this much of a jewelry person!"
She tries to object, yelling through the gag and fumbling on the floor uselessly.
He laughs at her attempt. "I don't think you're in a position to object. I think we could make some money off to these, don't you think, Rose?"
Her mother inspects the jewelry, fingers catching onto Tess's bracelet. Mel wants to rip the smirk right off her face, but what good is she if she can't even get up?
Her father snickers as he closes the bag and slings it over his shoulder. "Thanks for the gifts, Melody."
His footsteps fade away as Rose finally speaks up. "I really did love you Melody, maybe it would have been different in another timeline." Her footsteps follow his, and she's left alone to bleed in an alleyway.
Her fists weakly hits the floor in frustration. She can never have anything nice for too long, can she? It's like some sick game that some omnipotent power is playing on her, seeing how many times Mel can get the rug pulled from under her. Just when her life was getting better, just when she truly wanted to start living, she's going to die. What fucking luck she has.
All she can do is stare at the sky. As the sun sets, it paints the clouds gold and pink. She's always been a sunrise person, but this sunset doesn't so much as disappoint. The light hurts so much, but she resists putting a hand over her eyes. She wants to see the sunset one last time.
Oh Gods, she really is dying isn't she?
She won't ever get to see her friends again. They won't ever see or be able to wear the gifts she got them.
She won't get to grow old with them in the castle, or get drunk on Fridays anymore. She won't be able to ask Paeon for literature recommendations, or Jaguar to take a walk after she has a nightmare, or Buck to sing her a song before bed. She won't be able to have anymore of Elaine's pecan pies or Tess' iced raspberry tea that she makes when Mel has a bad day. She won't be able to see Darius grow old with the care they've all put into raising him right this time. She won't be able to run down the castle halls with Melanie, nor play hide and seek in the courtyard with her.
She thinks that one hurts the most; she's always wanted to be a big sister, being able to protect someone else and do whatever regular sisters do. Braids each other's hair, do each other's makeup, playing pretend: she only got a sliver of it, and now it's being ripped away from her.
"I'm sorry, Melanie" she tries to whisper, but the gag in her mouth doesn't permit it. She finds a small comfort in knowing Buck and Elaine will raise her right. She hopes the last memory of her in Melanie's mind is a joyful one that she can look back to and smile.
She blinks and somehow more time has passed than would in a second. The hues decorating the sky have grown deeper in the time she wasn't aware.
She doesn't want to die.
She looks down at her stomach and feels dizzy. There's so much blood- she doesn't even know what to do anymore. What would Paeon say if they were here? It's a grueling task trying to form a coherent thought throughout the haze enveloping her brain.
Paeon… Paeon is a doctor, they would know how to fix this. What can Mel do?
Her voice rings out in Mel's brain: 'First thing you want to do when you get stabbed isss to not pull out the item'. Too late. 'If for whatever reassson that isn't possible, put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding'. Okay, Mel can do that. She weakly reaches for the cloth she tied around her arm and cries at the movement. If she can just push through, maybe she can see her friends again if she can just get this stupid cloth. She fumbles lethargically for a while, frustration growing. When she finally gets it undone, she almost sobs in relief. She bundles up the fabric, bracing it over her abdomen and presses hard.
Her vision goes white as pain overwhelms every part of her body.
When she comes to, more time passed. The sky is darker than before.
She is still breathing.
She always saw actors breathing heavily after getting stabbed in theater plays. That couldn't be farther from the truth. It hurts so much to move her diaphragm, so all she can do it take shallow breaths. It feels like she's going to run out of air, but the pain of breathing deeply hurts significantly more. She focuses on breathing so that she doesn't stop.
The cloth resting on her abdomen is irritating her wound and it takes everything in Mel's body not to throw it off. She just needs to hold on longer. Surely someone will find her, right?
Maybe, with the last luck she has, she can pray to the divinities that someone finds her just in time. She knows she probably won't make it, but it's the only thing that will keep her eyes open. Maybe, just maybe, if she holds off long enough, she might have a chance.
She blinks again.
She is still breathing.