Chapter 3
John Constantine X Reader
A Highcastle Abbey AU
Summary: She has a troubled history and both her parents are dead. Adopted by Mrs. Logue of Highcastle Abbey she hasn’t left its grounds since she was small. A new butler by the name of Mr. John Constantine is hired and everything starts to change. Quickly betrothed to a man she does’t know. But something dark is coming for her soul… What is it about her past that makes hell want to rise up and greet her? Will she be able to save herself? Will John Constantine, the Hellblazer himself, be able to save the woman he would go to hell and back for? Or will everything they have ever known crumble around them?
Warnings: In this chapter.... Nudity, violence, threatening of rape, language, magic?, tooth rotting fluff, soft!John, almost freezing to death
Words: 2.7K
Links: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Masterlist
After John had left you alone in your room you locked the door and finished undressing. Finally, you sit down in the armchair facing the window in just your shift, the cool satin fabric clinging to your skin.
For a while you just watch the sky, picking out constellations you had learned from one of the hundreds of books in the library. The stars are comforting, so far away and peaceful. Eventually, your mind wanders back to John and your predicament with the Duke.
You shift in the chair, pulling your knees up to your chest. Whether this Duke was actually a man or a demon sent from hell, you are not going to marry him, no matter what you had to do. You had promised yourself long ago that you would marry for love, that is what your mother had wanted for you. She promised you when you were young that she would never force you to marry a man you don’t love.
You want a man you can rely on, a man who makes your heart flutter, a man who cares, a man who is willing to do anything for the woman he loves.
Your thoughts slip back to John and how wonderful it felt to have your face pressed to his chest and his arms wrapped around you, or how his hand felt in yours.
Moving to your bed, you strip off your shift and slide underneath the blankets, soft against your now bare body. You keep these thoughts in your head, doing everything you can to not think about Mr. Animae.
***
“You have such a beautiful face,” drawls Mr. Animae. His icy fingers brush against your cheek.
You try to move away from him, squirming in your seat, but you are unable to stand, nor move your arms to push him away from you. You are frozen unable to move as he strokes your cheek.
His dark eyes burn into you but they are so cold.
“You will make such a fine bride, my dear. And then,” his voice lowers, “You will be all mine, your body, heart, and soul.”
His hands begin to trail lower, down your neck, then tracing the swell of your breasts through your dress.
You try to tell him to stop but no sound seems to come out of your mouth.
You gasp for breath as that seems to be the only thing you can do other than blink.
Mr. Animae pulls a chair up in front of you that just seemed to appear out of thin air as everything around you is dark.
“That pesky butler of yours sure does like to meddle in things he should stay out of, but then again, when has John Constantine ever minded his own business.”
You stare at Mr. Animae quite confused by this.
“Oh,” he concludes, “You don’t actually know all that much about him do you?” He leans in closer, “Wake up.”
***
You wake up with a jolt drenched in sweat, your sheets clinging to your legs.
Suddenly, there is a knock at your door. Wondering if it is John, you slip your silk robe over your shoulders, tying the sash as you walk to the door.
You open it and jolt back surprised when you find the dark eyes of Mr. Animae staring back at you.
“Hello to you too, my dear,” he says as he pushes the door open more and steps into your room.
“Leave,” you say plainly, “This is inappropriate of you to be here.”
He only glances at you briefly before walking around examining your room. “Don’t bother ringing for your butler,” he orders as if you were his to command.
As he stops at your vanity to pick up one of your shining trinkets, you bolt for the sash to call John. There was no way you were going to let the Duke waltz into your room to be alone with you.
You manage to give it one good tug before Mr. Animae wraps an arm around your waist and drags you away from it.
“You will need to learn to be more obedient, little wife,” snarls Mr. Animae.
You struggle against him as he presses his chest against your back, “I will never be your wife!”
He gropes at you, your soft skin molding to his cold rough hands.
“Get your hands off me!” you exclaim trying to push his hands away, tears welling in your eyes.
His hand slides up to your neck, putting pressure harshly on your throat.
You gasp for air as he whispers in your ear, “You will obey me, after all, your body, your soul, they belong to me.”
You claw at his hand wrapped around your neck, your lungs screaming for air.
Your struggle against him is futile as you grow weaker from lack of air.
“Should I take you right here?” he asks as something hard grinds against your rear, “Break you for good?”
Whimpering in horror at his statement, tears finally slip down your cheeks.
He murmurs something and suddenly you are frozen, unable to move or speak. Finally releasing you, he starts to tug on your robe.
Pulling at the end of the sash, it comes untied easily. You close your eyes, silently praying that John would appear and save you. Mr. Animae pushes your robe over your shoulders and it falls to the ground.
You stand there, unable to move, completely bare in front of him. He walks around you as if circling his prey, mesmerized by your curves.
He is going to ruin me, you think. Actually, you tell yourself, you are already ruined just standing in front of him completely naked. No man of any stature would risk his reputation for a soiled woman.
Just as he moves in to catch his prize, John bursts through the door.
Mr. Animae turns to greet him, a sly smile on his lips. It’s like the temperature in the room suddenly plummets, a small cloud from your breath hangs in the air. The cold nips and bites at your bare body, unable to move, unable to shiver, you stand there as the cold sinks into your bones.
“I don’t believe you are needed here, Constantine. You may return to your duties as butler,” snarls Mr. Animae.
“Oh I think not,” John’s eyes sweep across you quickly, checking for any injuries before turning back to the Duke.
For a moment it’s like they just stare each other down, trying to figure out what the first move of the other will be.
John sees your lips turning blue from the cold out of the corner of his eye, “Just leave, Edex. This is not the place.”
The Duke chuckles, “Do you not want to reveal to her what you really are?”
John frowns as he peels off his white gloves and drops them to the floor. Following his gloves, he slips his evening coat off. He is disheveled, likely from trying to dress quickly and get up to your rooms. Without his coat you see his white button-down untucked from his trousers as he wears no vest, the cuff around his wrists unbuttoned, and the buttons along the front of the shirt are hastily fastened, having missed one here and there. You can see the skin of his upper chest in the moonlight.
Pushing his loose sleeves up his arms he glares at Mr. Animae, “You know what will happen if you continue this.”
“Try me,” the Duke laughs.
It feels as though frost has settled on your lips and your tears have frozen on your cheeks in the relentless cold that had descended on your room.
John suddenly stomps his foot, thrusting his bare hands out in front of him, “Ignsa.” Flames appear in his hands, dancing on his fingertips.
You long for the heat of the flames, the warmth of John’s hands against your skin.
Mr. Animae chuckles, “That’s all I needed you to do. Show her who you really are. I have such big plans.” He turns back to you stroking your cheek, “See you tomorrow little wife…”
“Leave her be,” John warns stepping closer.
The Duke’s hand suddenly grips your jaw harshly, “Mention a word of this to anyone, either of you, and I will kill you and everyone in his house.” With that, he pats your cheek once more and vanishes.
The second he is gone John rushes to you muttering, “Te libero.”
With those words, you collapse to the floor shivering and shaking violently from the cold and the sobs that rack your body.
“I-I-I-” you are barely able to speak through your shivering.
“Shhh, you are safe now,” John whispers. He picks up your robe from the floor and wraps it around your shoulders.
Your trembling hands can’t even manage to grasp the edge of the fabric so John pulls it tightly around you. He sets his hands on your shoulders and closes his eyes, “Frigus ex te mitteo.”
You shudder as the cold leaves you. John brings you into a hug as tears start to slide down your face again.
“Shh, shh, you are alright now,” he gently rocks you.
“I’m ruined,” you sob.
“Hmm?”
“He has seen me…” you can’t even finish the sentence, “He-he touched me.”
John shakes his head, “No one will ever know.”
“But I will!” You still shiver occasionally, your body confused by switching from the extreme cold to the warmth of John’s body. “How could he do that, make me freeze? H-how could you do those things?”
You can barely think clearly enough to know that what the Duke did, what John did, should be impossible.
John sighs, pulling away from you. He gently brushes your hair from your face.
“The nightmares?” He asks, changing the subject, “They have been about him haven’t they?”
“How did you-“
He gives you a sad smile, “Love, I know more than I let on.”
You shakily hold your head in your hand, trying to take deep breaths.
“Yes, they have been about him…”
“And what happens in them?”
“In the first one… it was as though he was sucking out my soul… and the last one, he-he was terribly inappropriate,” you stutter out, avoiding John’s eyes.
He sighs, obviously, this news does not please him.
“What do I do, John? He has ruined my reputation and threatened to kill us all!” Tears begin to slide down your cheeks again.
He tips your chin up so you can see his face, his fingers are warm against your skin, the rough pad of his thumb brushes the tears from your cheeks.
“Do not worry, love. I’ll take care of him.”
“But what will you do?” You ask.
He chuckles, “Might as well tell you this now.”
You stare at him, confused.
“Are you religious?”
You hesitate, “what does this have to do-“
“Well, they all have something a little right,” John says, “Demons and Angels do exist, so does Heaven and Hell. God is more like… well Gods, truthfully, just immortals. Reincarnation is not unheard of, I once knew a bloke who was a tiger in a previous life.”
You just stare at John in shock.
“And I’m… well… A warlock, among other things. That’s why I can do things like this,” he brings his hands up to his face, whispers, “pulveres splendidos voco.” He blows a puff of air into his hands and you are showered in golden sparkles.
He gives you a sad smile, admiring how beautiful you looked with the gold shining in your hair, “I am both blessed and cursed with these abilities, love. And sometimes they only do more harm than good.”
You just sit for a moment in awe at John, “Are you truly a butler?”
He chuckles, nodding, “I am, I just have a knack for choosing employment where my enemies have decided to take up residence.”
“Do you believe me? That he must be a demon?” You whisper.
He brushes some of the sparkling dust from your cheek, “I believe you, love. I have seen things far more fantastical.”
You lean into his warm hand, your eyes meeting his brown ones.
Shivering again, you draw your robe closer to you. John shifts so he leans against the side of your bed, his arms open, he beckons you over.
“Let’s get you warmed up, love. I’m afraid you might catch your death otherwise.”
You hesitate, the things he is doing go far beyond the duties of a butler, but then again, he is your friend now. Isn’t this what friends do for each other?
You crawl up in between his legs and lean back against his chest. He wraps his arms around you, bringing you even closer.
It’s like his warmth envelopes you, and you sink into the rich smell of smoke and him. Your eyes slide closed in bless, reveling in the steady rise and fall of his chest.
Finally, your body stops its occasional shudder since John’s warmth had fought it off.
“How do you feel love?” His whisper is like the quiet rumbling purr of a cat.
“Mm,” you sigh, “Much better.”
The two of you sit there in silence for a few moments.
“What do we do now, John?” You ask.
“We will do what we can to either run the demon off or banish him back to hell where he belongs,” he says.
You nod, as you rest your head back in the dip between his neck and his shoulder.
“And what about me? Why has he set his eyes on me?”
John doesn’t reply for a moment as he slowly tilts his head to rest his cheek against your forehead.
He takes in a small breath to speak but stops suddenly like he had decided against saying whatever it was.
“It is hard for me to say for sure, love....” He trails off, thinking hard on the words he is about to say. “It could be because you are the most beautiful women I have ever seen.” He was so quiet when the words slip off his tongue.
The words go straight to your heart, and a new kind of warmth spreads through your body. You can feel the tenseness that had suddenly appeared in his neck, shoulders, and arms. He slowly slides his hands into yours, as if he is unsure whether or not you would be welcome to his touch.
His hands almost radiate warmth as his rough fingers lace through yours. You give his hands a small reassuring squeeze, but the closeness of him makes your own heart race. You can feel his hot breath linger in the air in front of you.
“Honestly, love, I do not know what has drawn him to you, but I will tell you this,” he takes a deep breath, “I promise that I will do everything I can to make sure you do not wed that monster, and I do not take the promises I make lightly.”
Your breath hitches as his voice drops, “I may have an idea that will, at the very least, delay him. However, I will have to do a bit of reading to make sure. In the meantime, you need to get some rest love, you have had quite the night.”
He starts to pull away from you to stand. “Wait,” you say, “would you- would you please stay with me? For a little while longer at least?”
Settling back down again with you in his arms, he lets out a quiet, contented sigh.
“It has been… a long time since I was last this close to someone,” he whispers.
You smile, “And I have never been able to curl into anyone’s arms and feel safe… save for my mother and now you.”
John releases your hand and gently brushes your hair from your face, running his fingers through it in a calming manner.
“Get some rest, love. Tomorrow will be a long one,” he breathes.
Taking a deep breath, you settle yourself comfortably in his arms, feeling safe from whatever creatures may roam the night as you fall asleep.
To be continued...
A/N: Thank you all so much for reading! Sorry about the wait for this chapter, but it plenty long to make up for it. Yes, all of the Latin in this chapter is real as can be, I translated it myself, so I apologize if there are a few Latin grammatical issues! Also, I can include a translation list in future chapters if anyone is curious!
49. John offers to stay on “Highcastle Abbey” with Astra (Legends of Tomorrow 5x13 The one where we’re trapped on TV)
“Astra, look at me. What have I got to show for myself? 38 crap years of pain and broken promises. You want to know what my original sin was? It was you, Astra. I rail against the angels and the demons for being arrogant bastards, but I'm worse than the bloody lot of them. You know, I thought that I could use your innocent soul as a bargaining chip to save your mother. Bollocks. If you're happy here, then I will spend an eternity as ruddy Mr. Constantine trying to make it up to you and Natalie. “
“ Is John Constantine really capable of such a selfless act? “
We're down to our final 2 Legends TV costumes, and it's a Zari/Zari battle.
Zari Tomaz in Highcastle Abbey (The One Where We're Stuck on TV, 5x14)
Zari's Downtown Abbey copy is impeccably done and really gorgeous. It has earned its place as the sole survivor of 5x14.
Zari Tarazi in Da Throne (The Ex Factor, 6x03)
And then there's our diva in her fringe and butterfly wings for her big wildcard performance on Da Throne. Cover story every magazine, queen queen queen queen, etc.
