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Derek was sick and tired of waiting in this god forsaken library for Avery. He had to be close by now, right? Grumbling, he made his way out of the hole beneath the lectern, wandering around the neverending hallways, shouting out Averys name periodically.
Eventually, he made his way back to the gate, the gate which would take him back into the hallway, with even more gates stretching for what felt like forever. With a heavy sigh, he reluctantly walked through the gates, finding himself in what he deemed 'The Door Room' once again.
He looked out across the bridges, hoping to see a glimpse of Avery, though even after waiting several minutes, no one came. He continued down the bridge, heading through the gate which would take him back to the church. Just the thought of it made him shudder, that book was disgusting. He hoped that if Avery had made it there, he hadn't read it.
After what felt like forever, he was back in the castle walls, looking out at the church, when suddenly, a moving figure caught his eye. He reflexively pulled out his axe, taking a defensive stance, but relaxed after a closer inspection. They seemed to be…planting flowers at a grave?
He approached them, still cautious, in case it was a trap, but despite his armor clanking and the crunch of the grass, the person still kept planting the flowers. Once he was close, he froze with shock.
"Avery..?" He called out, but Avery paid him no attention, continuing to plant flowers beside the unmarked grave.
"Avery can you hear me? Avery listen to me," he repeated, moving closer. After a moment of silence, Avery stood and walked to the river, picking up a bucket, filling it with water, and walking over to a well hidden in ferns, emptying it there. The way he walked was so stiff it seemed robotic, like his limbs were limited to certain movements.
Derek followed him, calling his name and even stepping in his path, but Avery simply moved around him, continuing his pattern. He followed Avery to the church, where he cut down the tall ferns and picked more flowers before walking into the church, going to the lectern, and staring at the last page in the book.
'You are safe here'
That's it all it read. Derek knew this, he had read the damned book himself. It was disgusting.
He walked up to the lectern where Avery was standing, and stared to wave his hands in front of him.
"Avery? Avery are you there? Avery, please," he said, starting to flip the pages back and forth, though Avery remained fixated on the book, unblinking. Derek could've sworn he saw tears in his eyes.
He paced around the church, up and down the rows, from the lectern to the door, all while Avery stood unmoving, the same blue orchids held tightly in his hands. They seemed to be wilting, as if he had been replanting the same flowers over and over again.
Derek felt as if he had tried everything to snap Avery out of this…trance, you could say. Closing the book, tilting Averys head, even trying to pry the flowers from his (unusually tight) grip.
He slumped down against the lectern, burying his face in his knees and letting out a shaky sigh. He couldn't save Avery, could he? He was going to be stuck doing this until the day he died. Or if…no. Surely not. The King hadn't gotten to Avery yet and he wouldn't. Derek would make sure of that.
Ignoring the tears rolling down his cheeks— god, he didn't even know he could still cry, how long had it been?— he stood up and walked over to Avery. He took him by the shoulders and turned him towards himself, immediately pulling Avery into a tight hug. The trance wasn't broken, he could tell, but that wouldn't stop him from holding Avery and crying into his shoulder.
"Please Avery," he sobbed, "snap out of it, listen to me."
He felt Avery twitch.
He released the hug, stepping back to look Avery in the eye. Before he could speak, Avery turned, walked out of the church, and started to cut the ferns.
"Please," Derek whispered, voice cracking, "I love you, Avery."