going homeXander regretted entering the dining room as soon as he’d exited the dumbwaiter. It stunk exactly like he imagined Dante’s seventh circle of hell would, all boiling blood and brimstone. He remembered a fiery accident he’d been called to once; one never forgot the smell of burning flesh. Xander steeled his resolve, much like he had that day, and forced himself to enter the dining room.
“My God,” was all he could manage to say as he stared at the scene before him.
There was – meat, meat everywhere in the dining room. Six… monsters? Humans? Could they still be called that? sat at a table, connected to one another with sinewy strands of flesh. They hummed and groaned, the sound of smacking lips echoing through the dining room as they feasted upon a mummy’s remains.
A dog barked; Xander thought he had imagined the noise until one of those wretched fish-dogs, ruby red instead of the usual slate blue, lunged at him. He managed to raise his sword and block the beast’s bite at the last second, but the impact caused him to stagger backward, his shoulders hitting the wall and knocking the breath from his lungs. The fish-dog sprung at him again, its jaws snapping around the blade of his sword. Blood poured from its mouth; but this was no deterrent to the monster.
I can’t die here, he thought. Millie’s soft, ever concerned face flashed before him. He could picture her, teary-eyed and bloodied, reaching for his corpse. If he died here, she would certainly come looking for him, and for her to witness such horrors – if she even made it that far – he couldn’t bear it.
Xander pushed the blade further against the creature’s gaping maw, severing tendons, screaming with effort. His good leg managed to kick one of the beast’s legs out from under it. It fell, howling in pain, and Xander stabbed the horrid animal through the chin, up through its skull. His arm spasmed with the effort. “Go to hell!” he screamed, yanking his blade from the beast’s head.
I need to get out of here. I need to get out of here, now. Xander sheathed his sword and used his cane to stand, leaning against it in desperate search of relief for his bad hip. There – beyond the “party,” an elevator. Could it lead him to further horrors? Possibly. But nearly anything was better than staring at the scene before him.
He made it to the elevator and ascended. The Hightown air, though heavy with smog, felt so much more clean already. He gasped in desperate lungfuls, trying to avoid hyperventilating and making himself sicker.
Xander passed through a lounge and into a small vanity room, where one of the Countess’ mirrors awaited him. He stumbled to the mirror. His stomach churned violently – how long he’d be able to keep it at bay, he wasn’t sure. The squelching of flesh, the stench of gore and sulfur, the jerky writhing of those… things…
He fell through the mirror, just barely managing to catch himself instead of landing face first in the dirt. He had jammed his wrists, though, and they shrieked in pain as he managed to stand and limp forward.
His ribs stung. An earlier scuffle with a constable had left his bones bruised, no doubt. In the moment before, he’d thought of Millie, too. Of how devastated she’d be if he didn’t return to her. Of how she’d fight Grezzo tooth and nail to try and find him. Of how he’d spend the rest of eternity begging for her forgiveness.
Millie was at the forefront of his mind now, as well. Xander smiled deliriously as he remembered the softness of her skin and the gentle scent of her perfume. The thought of her was the only thing keeping his body moving; he’d long since run out of physical energy. Millie, Millie, my dear little mouse... I’m coming home.
At last, he made it to the mirror for the Emerald Eye. When he stepped through and nearly fell down the ladder, Millie was already waiting for him.
Xander could no longer stand. He collapsed before her, hugging her legs, burying his face in her soft stomach and sobbing like a child. Millie gasped, a soft, surprised oh! before she began to stroke his hair, coo gently. “Oh, Xander. It’s alright. I’m here. Here – let me hold you.” She pried him away for a moment so she could kneel and embrace him comfortably.
Xander hid his face in her neck as he wailed. Millie held him tight, her body the one thing keeping him upright. His suitcase and cane sword had fallen by the wayside as soon as he saw her; his last bit of strength had been sapped. How Millie always managed to have enough strength for the both of them, he would never know.
“Do you want to talk about it?” she whispered.
“No. Not now.”
“Okay.” Millie squeezed him tighter; he was grateful she wasn’t the type to prod. “It’s alright now. You’re safe, Xander. Shhh.”
And he was. He never felt safer than when he was with Millie. Maybe she wasn’t physically strong, but her emotional fortitude and unconditional love was his bulwark, a willow tree shielding him from rain. He could spend all his days beneath her shade.
Millie pulled away so she could look him in the eye, caress his stubbled face. Even though his cheeks were peppered in prickly stubble, even though he certainly smelled of gunpowder and guts, she didn’t hesitate to touch him. Her stormy green eyes held no judgment, just love, and her touch was so tender his heart broke. How could he ever stand to be apart from her?
“Marry me,” he blurted.
Millie’s lips parted, then shut, and she smiled bashfully, as if she still didn’t quite believe he could love her. Oh, humble little mouse! “What’s gotten into you?” she whispered, that smile still on her lips. “You must’ve been really scared by something.”
“I’m serious,” he said, grasping her small, soft hands in his large, calloused ones. “I’ll find you a ring somewhere. We’ll leave here together when this is said and done. I’ll make you the happiest woman there ever was, I promise, if only you’ll make me the happiest man.”
Now his dear little mouse was tearful, but her tears were beautiful and earnest, like diamonds glittering on her lashes. “Oh, Xander… are you s–” she stopped herself, shook her head, then grinned at him. “Of course. Of course I’ll marry you.” Millie kissed him, sweet as ever, and Xander sank into her arms once more.
He’d have to return to Hightown once he’d licked his wounds and healed some. He’d have to face the horrors head-on. But in this moment, in the safety of his now-fiancee’s arms, he could forget.