Courage: A Landella One-Shot
The young woman’s sobs rang across the living room, making the demon king stop in his tracks. He had just been about to turn the corner of the hallway that led to his bedroom, when he heard the unfamiliar sound of a woman’s weeping. This was not something Landon was accustomed to. Most woman who he invites to his home only let out cries of pleasure, and they certainly don’t linger around. The man, dressed in silky red pajamas with his initials engraved on the front pocket, hovered by the edge of the wall, peaking his crimson eyes into the dark room. The only light was coming from the small fire that danced in the fireplace, where the girl sat hunched with her legs pulled up to her tear-stained face. She was wearing her prime choice of sleepwear, a tank-top and shorts. The soft light of the flames highlighted her thin frame, and he could see her body shake with each sob.
His instincts told him to turn back around, and keep on walking. Feelings were the one subject the demon was not comfortable speaking of. Had it been another girl, he would have listened to his head and mind his own business. He knew what ever bothered her tonight would pass by tomorrow. He wasn’t a babysitter, or a counselor, or her father. He was just…just…just what? He was certainly not her friend. The king of demons didn’t have friends. Only work proximity associates. That’s all she is to him. At least, that’s what he told himself.
So, why did he feel this obnoxious pull to her? He suddenly became aware of his slipper-covered feet moving him closer to the destressed female, and before he could stop himself, he found his legs bringing him down on the floor beside her.
“Go away!” She shouted at him, before shoving her face further in the space between her crossed arms.
Landon didn’t quite know why he was here, but now that he was, he certainly wasn’t going to leave. Especially after being told to do so.
“I’m afraid I’m not going anywhere, Love.” He smirked at her, but was discouraged to see her head still buried in her arms.
“You know it’s rude to ignore a person who is addressing you.” He snapped, his uneasiness waning his patience. His words fell on death ears, however, because the girl’s body continued to shake as she continued to sob.
The king internally sighed, as he shifted in his spot, his legs crossed and hands in his lap. He sat there awkwardly as he stared into the orange, red, and blue lights of the fire. The sound of its crackling mixing with the sound of her uneven breathing. He was officially at a loss of what to do now. As he racked his brain for an idea, he ran into an old memory, one he hadn’t recalled for centuries.
A little girl, about the age of five, was skating across the frozen lake, the blades on the bottom of her shoes scrapping against the ice. The girl laughed in pleasure as she glided across the slick, cold surface, leaving marks in her wake.
“Come on, Papa! This is fun!” She called out to the man standing at the edge of the lake, his body wobbling as he tried to balance himself on the thin blades of his own home-made skates.
“How about Papa just watches you for afar?” The man called back, his amber brown eyes pleading with his daughter.
“No Papa! You have to try!” The little raven-haired girl giggled as she began creating figure eights on the ice.
Landon watched her with a worried expression. “Please be careful, Darling!”
Either the youngster didn’t hear her father’s warning, or she ignored it. Her movements quickly became faster and bolder. Each successful loop fueling her confidence, until she bent her knees and leaped into the air. Her tiny body spun around like a top, but her inexperienced caught up with her. As her feet contacted the ice, they slid past her and she fell back on her rear end. She let out a terrified screech as she skidded on the ice.
“Raven!” Landon bellowed as he clumsily made his way to his daughter’s side. The poor little girl was hiccupping as tears ran down her rose-colored cheeks.
“Papa!” She wailed as her father wrapped his strong, warm arms around in small frame.
“Are you okay?” He fretted as he pulled away from her embrace and began examining her for any injuries. Raven shook her head as her body shook from both the chilly air and her sobbing. Landon patted his gloves hands around her short legs, then up in her skinny waist desperately searching for the hurt area, but he saw no sign of a wound. Sure, her rump may bruise a bit later, but the rest of her seemed perfectly fine. So why was she crying?
“I think you’re okay, Darling. It was just a fall. You’ll be okay.” He told her as he ran a soothing hand through her long, black hair.
The girl shook her head once more, and jumped on her father, wrapping her short arms around his neck and burying her face into his deer-skin jacket. Instinctively, he closed the embrace, but he was still very confused.
“No need to cry, my Angel. You aren’t hurt. You can still play.” He attempted to comfort her, but to no avail.
“No, Papa. Too scary.” She wept.
“Oh Raven…you can’t give up now!” He told her as he gently pushed her off of him so he could look her in her bright brown eyes.
“But Papa…I’m scared. I don’t want to skate anymore. You were right. This is dantress.”
Landon chuckled softly at her pronunciation. “It’s dangerous, sweetheart, not dantress. And yes, you may hurt yourself at times, but you should never let that deter you, my princess.”
“It means discourage. You know what courage is, right?”
“Well discourage means no courage. Do you have courage, Raven?”
Again, she nodded her head. “Yes, Papa.”
The man smiled fondly at her. “Then you must face your fears. You can’t let your fears define your life. You must never let your fears win. Do you understand me, Raven?”
“Yes, Papa, but don’t you feel discouraged too?”
“What?” The man gapped at her.
“You didn’t want to skate with me, remember? Were you not discouraged then?”
He took a moment to consider her words carefully. “I suppose you are right. I guess that means we both must conquer our fears. Come on, Darling.” Landon stood up on his skates. His body shook for a moment, but he managed to use his arms to balance himself on the blades. He took her fragile hand in his, and pushed off, slowing moving across the frozen water.
“Let’s do this together.”
The memory faded away from the demon’s mind and his gaze moved from the fire to the young woman sitting beside him. Her sobbing seemed to have died down, but her tears still fell freely from her pale cheeks. Her long violet hair fell sloppily in her face, and her purple-green eyes held a hint of red from the salt of her tears. She sat still now, her bare legs still pressed against her chest and her chin resting on her folded arms on top of her knees. She was eyeing the burning flame as well, her face blank and unreadable.
Landon decided he’d give this comforting thing another shot.
“So…I began, but was swiftly cut off by the girl.
“Why are you here, Landon?” Her voice was weak from the crying, but it still held a great deal of hurt and pain. Landon thought he felt something ancient stir inside of him, but he shook the feeling off. Her words can’t do anything to him, he has no feelings to hurt.
“Well what kind of gentleman would I be if I ignored a damsel in distress?” He reverted to his normal teasing nature, but the frown that stayed on her face reminded him to try a new approach.
“Sorry, Darling. I guess I’m just use to facing my problems with incentive humor.”
Landon couldn’t believe his stars. He made her laugh. Sure, it was more of just a sharp exhale of air from her nose, but that counted, right?
“Listen, Arella, I’m afraid I haven’t the brightest idea what is bothering you right now, but I have been around long enough to know that whatever it is, your scared by it.”
Arella didn’t look at him, but she did give her head a small nod. “I’m scared alright. I’ve been scared my whole life. Scared of evil demons trying to kill me. Scared of my powers hurting the ones I love. Scared of my secret getting out. I’m always scared, Landon, and now that my family knows who I really am, I’m scared that…that they’ll be scared. Of me.”
He felt it again. That weird sensation in his chest. What was that? This girl, this annoying, delightful, heartrending, wonderful girl, was doing something to him that he never thought possible. She was making him give a damn.
Landon placed a comforting hand on her exposed shoulder. She stiffened at his cold touch, but she allowed his hand to stay. Looking back at the roaring flames, Landon spoke.
“I had a daughter once.” His confession surprised the sorceress, but she waited for him to continue. “I wasn’t always a demon, you see. Before this life, I was human and I had a daughter. She was my entire world.” Landon removed his hand and put it back in his lap, his dead eyes reflecting the light of the fire.
“She was the bravest person I knew. Still is. But even she would feel fear at times. I told her to never allow her fears to define her life. That she must always have courage.” Landon must not have noticed the tear that ran down his cheek, but he did feel the gentle touch of a pale hand wrap around his own. He glanced down at their interlocked hands curiously, but he made no move to pull away.
“She had courage, Arella, and so do you.” The king of Hell lifted his head and met the woman’s grateful gaze. Before he could stop her, she leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his prickly cheek. The kiss only lasted for a heartbeat, before she pulled away from.
“Thank you, Landon.” She said as she took back her hand and stood up off the ground. She walked towards the hallway, but stopped and turned at the edge. “Your daughter was a very lucky girl.” And with her words left to hang in the air, Arella disappeared down the hall.
Author’s Notes: So @bearhow2 asked for some Landella fluff, but I think this took a turn on Angst Ave. Lol I hope you still like it @bearhow2! Maybe this can find it’s way into Every King Needs a Queen? ;)
For those who don’t know, Arella is my OC and Landon is @bearhow2‘s OC. Arella is the youngest daughter of Beast Boy and Raven. Landon is the demon King of Hell. To read more about them, read our story, Every King Needs a Queen.
