Archive of Our Own ^beta

Asterin was going to rip the bitch’s head off. 

She could practically taste the old hags blood, vividly imagining how to make her pain last as long as it could. Imagined wrapping the chains on her hands around the Matron’s neck, watching as the life drained out of her eyes before Asterin broke her neck. 

And yet, here Asterin was, chained and kneeling on cold stone floors as she glared up at the Matron. 

The rest of the thirteen, their heir missing, were beside her, hissing and snarling at the Matron and the witches that guarded her. The room felt too hot, the large fire in the corner making Asterin sweat, and the steel around her wrists chafed and scraped at her skin. Even still, Asterin glared at the Matron, teeth bared and wild and feral . 

The bitch had the gall to smile at her. 

Asterin snarled, jerking forward in her chains as she lunged towards the Matron, but the godsdamned chains held firm. That only made the Matron smile wider, tutting at Asterin and the rest of the thirteen. 

“I expected better from you. From all of you.” The Matron scolded “leaving the host for what? Hope ? Peace? ” The Matron shook her head. “Disgraceful.”

“Eat shit you old bitch.” Lin growled out, throaty and rough from what seemed like hours of yelling and snarling. The Matron had kept them in this room for what felt like ages, taunting them all the while. She had wanted them like this, angry and desperate and feral. She wanted to see them chained like wild beasts. 

The Matron flicked her hand and one of the witches guarding her stepped forward and slapped Lin across the face, the resounding smack echoing in the room. Lin spit out blood, the blue a stark contrast to the cold gray floors, and mockingly smiled at the witch who had hit her. “Is that as hard as you can hit? That hag must have gotten desperate with you.” 

The witch snarled, raising her hand to strike Lin again before the Matron clicked her tongue. “That’s enough. I need them awake for this.” The witch lowered her hand, glowering at the still smirking Lin. 

She felt pride rise deep in her bones. The thirteen were strong, stronger than the Matron gave them any credit for. They would take anything the Matron threw at them. 

They would have to. 

The Matron sighed, seemingly finally bored with watching the thirteen get more and more riled up, before she waved a hand, motioning at the door the thirteen had been dragged through before. 

The witch who had slapped Lin stomped through it, casting one last evil eye back at them. Asterin could hear a commotion, becoming louder and louder. Snarling and curses flying through the air as Asterin swore her heart stopped. She knew that voice. 

Manon. 

They definitely heard her before they saw her, insults that would make even Asterin cringe if they weren’t in their current situation. The witch dragged Manon in, the white haired witch thrashing and jerking all the while, practically throwing her in front of the Matron but too far away for the thirteen to reach her. 

Manon glared up at the Matron, teeth bared like a wolf as she snarled. The Matron only raised and eyebrow, stepping back nochantly as Manon rose to her knees, arms chained, and attempted to lunge at the Matron. The other two guards with the Matron grabbed Manon before she could get close enough to the hag, gripping her arms and keeping her on her knees. 

“I can see now where your coven got their… intresting quality’s from, based on your behavior.” The Matron drawled, disdain and annoyance coloring her voice. Manon threw a glance back, relief flooding her eyes as she took in the thirteen, bartered but still alive, before one the the guards holding her gripped her hair and forced her face back towards the Matron. 

She hissed at them, still tugging at the chains on her arms as the thirteen voices their displeasure in growls and snarls. The Matron paid no attention to them though, focused on glaring down at Manon, scorn and disdain clear in her gaze. 

“You disappoint me, Manon. I spend all this time molding you, training you to become the best you can be, and I’m repayed with this ? A traitorous exuse for a witch and her band of pathetic followers.” The Matron spat, gesturing to the thirteen. 

“Like you’re any example of a prime witch.” Manon hissed, smirking as the scorn on the Matron’s face grew. Asterin chuckled, meeting the Matron’s eyes over Manon’s shoulder as the older witch glared. 

The Matrkn sighed, cooling her face back into a emotionless mask, before she turned. She waved a hand around, walking closer to the bright fire as she called over her shoulder. “Let her face them. I want them to watch this.” 

Asterin felt confusion run in her as Manon was turned, meeting her cousin's eyes. She tried to convey as much reassurance and comfort as she could through her eyes, not trusting herself to voice her comforts with the witches still holding Manon up and the witch that had struck Lin. Manon met her eyes and the rest of the thirteen’s, relief still flooding her eyes at the sight of them all alive.

A relief that lasted for only a moment before the witch that struck Lin ripped off the back of her shirt. 

Manon snarled, turning her head to glare at the witch, who only smirked tauntingly. Asterin tugged in her chains, baring her iron fangs at the witches around Manon. Her shirt was still on, the front attached by the sleeves, but Asterin could guess by the scrap of shirt in the witch's hand that a large part of her back was exposed. 

Asterin chanced a glance around the room, taking in the bare walls. Asterin had, unfortunately , gotten familiar with the punishment rooms that Morath and this room definitely was not one. Asterin’s eyes moved to the Matron and she felt her heart almost stop. 

The Matron was by the fire, reaching a hand towards a handle Asterin hadn’t noticed before, the large fire overshadowing it. Her blood ran cold at the sight of red hot steel, the blackbeak crest shining in the dark room, smoke billowing off of it in waves. 

Asterin met the Matron’s eyes, desperately shaking her head. She heard herself talking, begging . Anything but this, anything. 

The Matron only smiled before she plunged the brand into Manon’s exposed back. 

Asterin’s ears rang as Manon screamed .

Asterin was screaming too, she realized. Threats and pleading and curses spilled out of her mouth, her throat aching as she yelled herself hoarse. She could hear the thirteen next to her, yelling and threating and angry, but Asterin could only focus on Manon, on her fearful, agony filled eyes. 

The Matron pulled back the brand, the sickeningly familiar smell of burning fleas choking Asterin. Manon slumped forward, still held up by the guards on her arms, sobbing and wheezing as she trembled. 

Asterin tugged on her chains, feeling her wrist ach and bleed as she rubbed them raw, desperate to get to Manon, to kill the witches holding her, to shove the Matron into the fire. 

She only ended up doing one of those. 

The door banged open, blond hair shining in the firelight as Petrah sprang forward, driving a sword through the chest of the guard who slapped Lin before she moved onto the ones holding Manon. There were more witches, Petrah’s coven, Asterin dimly remembered, swarming into the room, some splitting off to chase the Matron, who had escaped out the damned window, her wyvern shrieking as it caught her. 

She felt someone tugging off her chains and pain sparked through her arms as the metal dug into her skin. She ignored it though, dashing forward to cradle the fallen Manon in her arms. Manon was breathing heavily, pants and half sobs echoing in Asterin ears as she tightly gripped the witch in her arms. 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry .” Asterin chanted into Manon's hair, her tears wetting it. Manon raised weak arms to grip Asterin, to weakly tug her closer, and Asterin gladly went. She could hear shouting around them, someone resting a hand on her shoulder, but Asterin could only focus on the shaking, pained witch in her arms.

 She was tugged up, the witch grabbing her ignoring her wild snarl, and shoved out of the room, Manon still in her arms. Manon groaned as her weight shifted with each step Asterin took, her bran- her injury , Asterin told herself, unable to handle assigning a word she so hated to the thing on Manon back.

 Her injury was being further aggravated as it rubbed against the tatters on the back of her shirt and as it rubbed against Asterin leathers. Asterin murmured apologetically as she ran where she was directed, until the group burst into the airie. Asterin hadn’t realized where they were even going, the whole run a hazy blur. 

Narene was chained to a wall, the witches that out her there not even bothering to remove her saddle, metal digging into skin, and Asterin felt a rush of anger at the sight of her proud wyvern chained like a common beast. Swords and iron tails clanged against steel until the chains on Narene, on all of the thirteen’s wyverns, broke apart, setting the wild things free.

Asterin whistled sharply, gaining Narene’s attention as the sky blue wyvern quickly stomped over to her, lowering herself as Asterin hastily pressed Manon into position, crawling up after her. 

Asterin could barely ignore the heart wrenching whine Abraxos made as he saw Manon in Narene’s saddle, his neck extending to try and brush against Manon. 

She did though, yelling out for Narene to fly as a group of witches burst into the airie, swords and nails and teeth at the ready. Narene was in the air before the enemy witches could get their wyverns, the thirteen, Petrah and her coven rising up with her. 

Asterin ignored the wind on her face as she clutched Manon closer, holding the half awake witch close. 

“It’s going to be okay, I promise . I'll make it okay.” 

She whispered, only half sure that Manon could actually hear her, staring out into the gray-blue sky as she imagined what the Matron would look like when Asterin gutted her.