Fandom_aid fanfiction for the_glow_worm. Part 1.

[sunlit_music]

Fandom_aid fanfiction for the_glow_worm

Fandom: The Demon's Surrender, by Sarah Rees Brennan. Naturally, I don't own any of this. All mistakes are mine.

Characters/pairings: Nick/Mae ageing, with a focus on Nick (as requested). The rest of the gang appears now and again.

Word count: 2,826 words. Please excuse the random dots throughout the story. I can’t seem to get rid of them, no matter what I try!

I hope you enjoy this fanfiction. Thank you so much for taking part in this great cause! :D

“How many places have you been too? What powers do you have? How do you your magic? Are there limits to your powers?” asked Lydie. She was now twenty four, notepad in hand like an intrepid reporter. Which she was, technically. Lydie was studying journalism, and she loved asking people questions. Nick just wished he wasn’t one of those people. Strangers called her Lydia, but she was always Lydie to her closest friends and family. Nick somehow couldn’t shake the image of her as how she’d been when they’d first met - an eight year old constantly asking him questions and refusing to be intimidated by him.

“Do you always pester people with this many questions all at once?” asked Nick. He turned to Sin.

 

“You said that the annoying questioning stage would end once she was older.”

 

Sin grinned wickedly. “I guessed wrong.”

 

Now he had a whole bunch of Lydies to deal with. In a way. Sin and Alan had three children, and they all wanted to ask him things at the same time.

 

The youngest daughter, Nancy, was about three. She seemed to be surgically attached to Sin’s leg, constantly holding onto it and laughing wildly. The twins (Kate and Sandy) were both five years old and bobbing up and down to Alan’s guitar playing.

 

Toby was now a vet. He loved animals, and doing practical hands-on things.

 

Nick grinned.

 

“You used to be scared of me when you were a baby.”

 

“Was I?” Toby raised his eyebrows.

 

“Yes. You recognised my demonic aura of evil. Mavis wanted it, but you can’t get everything you want in life.”

 

“Really?” Toby smiled, amused. “You have an aura of evil? That’s good to know.”

 

It didn’t surprise anyone that Seb was now a professional artist. He painted, drew and sketched nearly everyday. Seb blushed like a beetroot when Jamie had encourage him to submit his artworks to the local gallery, too.

 

“You’re the same colour as Alan’s hair,” Nick remarked.

 

“Thank you so much for that encouraging remark,” Seb said drily. But his eyes lit up when he saw Jamie. They kissed each other and held hands. Mae was beaming affectionately, and Nick was amazed by how much people seemed to age with time. Jamie was still short, but he was taller and more muscular.

 

Jamie now worked as a ballroom dancing teacher for children’s classes. He was incredibly patient and children liked him. Nick thought it was a wonder that anyone managed to understand Jamie, giving his babbling and constant stream of talk, but there you go.

 

“If you point people’s flaws out too often, they might think that you don’t care about them and they might avoid you or lash out,” Mae pointed out. She didn’t sound angry or weary. She only sounded as if she was teaching him something and waiting for him to fill in the blanks.

 

“Maybe I just like seeing people turn tomato red,” Nick said drily. But he decided to be merciful and leave Seb alone.

 

 

Mae pulled a face at Nick and turned to Jamie.

 

“Still have plans to become a famous singer’s back up dancer? This involves glitter. Anything involving glitter must be good[1],” said Mae, waggling her eyebrows.

“I’ve told you before Mae, the answer is no. I am not a glitter man,” Jamie said lightly.

 

“How about you wear glitter if I wear it too? We can be glitter twins!” Mae ruffled Jamie’s hair.

 

“God, no. Your hair is crazy enough,” Nick said. Mae laughed.

 

“But enough of my dancing. Seb, it’s up to you whether to send the pictures to the gallery or not. They’re yours, after all. I think people would love them,” said Jamie. Seb’s eyes softened.

 

“Thanks.”

 

“What about my pictures? Do you think the gallery would accept them?” Kate joked, waving a sheet of paper with random squiggles and dots.

 

“Much better than mine. Mine don’t stand a chance! Tell you what. How about I’ll submit my pictures if you hand in yours first?” smiled Seb. Kate giggled as Seb pretended to steal her sheet away from her.

 

***

 

“I’m glad things turned out the way they did. You’re a much better leader than me,” Sin said frankly.

 

“What made you want to become the leader?” Mae asked.

 

“It was just expected. I saw it as my right. The best dancer of the Market usually is the leader. Merris trained me, and...well, I couldn’t imagine being anything else back then. It’s not that I don’t want the leadership. But I couldn’t have made decisions half as quickly or as well as you. And I’ve got too many things to juggle – my siblings, Alan and the children, dancing.” Sin’s hands cradled a photo of her own family. She traced her fingers along the outlines of her children’s faces, and lingered on Alan’s.

 

“I’m not sorry. Merris said I was foolish and that I’d made the wrong choice. But I don’t regret choosing Alan and my children over becoming the leader. I’d do it all over again.”

 

Mae hugged Sin.

 

“I’m happy with choosing the Market and Nick over having a family. You can do both, you know. Be the leader, and care for your family. There’s still plenty of time to change your mind. I love the Market and being the leader, but if the Market votes for you then you’ve got my back.”

***

 

 “I did enjoy reading the play, The Indian Emperor. It’s just...” Sin shrugged. “The old language really got to me. It’s hard to enjoy something when it sounds formal and melodramatic, you know? And some of the so called ‘good’ characters were really selfish and unpleasant.”

 

“But I found the quote you mentioned! ‘My mother’s daughter knows not how to fear’. That bit made my day.” Sin leaned into Alan as he curled his arm around her.

 

 “Best bit in the play, really. The rest is just filler,” said Mae, cheekily.

 

 “Mae!” Alan shot her a look of mock outrage. Mae laughed.

 

“My mother’s daughter knows not how to fear. Do you remember? I saw you standing and holding Lydie’s hand, staring at the fire and the caravans. And I thought of that line. I still think of it when I look at you.” Alan’s forehead gently touched Sin’s as he kissed her. Mae knew fear, but she never let it stopped her. It made her stronger, more beautiful and strange than anyone else Nick had ever met.

 

“In one of my previous lives, I remember I thought a lot like that conqueror guy,” Nick said slowly.

 

“As if I owned everything and could take it. And I thought what other people wanted didn’t matter.”

 

“What else do you remember? Do you still feel that way?” asked Sin.

 

Nick shook his head.

 

“No. It’s like I’m staring at a different person when I think of myself in a previous life. But I could have been him again, if Alan hadn’t taken a chance on me.”

 

He gave Alan a small smile.

 

“Humans do things that don’t make sense and seem impossible. I’m glad that you’re no exception.”

***