It wasn’t Cass who reached out and woke up a few days later. It was the Gods who reached out.
To Gideon.
Gideon had been certain that the gods were watching them and watching this situation. They liked Cass, in Gideon’s mind. They had selected him as a hero after all, of course they would watch out for one of their favoured children. Gideon expected this, because he knew that he was a last minute saint.
He didn’t tell anyone that and no one outside of himself needed to know that, he just didn’t think that they would speak to him outside of when they made him a saint. It had been a rather strange experience, one he wasn’t sure if he had wanted to experience again.
So, it came as quite a shock when he had been chased downstairs to go through his normal routine by Edgar that during the middle of his regular drills that his vision faded, the sound of his heavy breathing faded, and Gideon found himself pulled into a dark space that he’d only seen once before.
It wasn’t completely dark, but shrouded in darkness. In the darkness, like the first time that Gideon had been in this place, he could see the steps leading up to the altar of the main temple and the looming statues above him. He couldn’t see their faces, like the first time, and Gideon found himself crouching down, kneeling with his head bowed.
His hands were free of the practise sword he’d been swinging, but he was still bare chested, sweaty, and short of breath. He could feel himself breathing but he couldn’t hear himself. His gasps were muted, silent.
"Gideon Ridgewood." A voice so foreign and incomprehensible that it made all the hairs on his body stand on end spoke. Gideon had never felt this way before, even in dungeons. It was a bit disquieting that this was the second time that this had happened to him.
How had Ava spoken to these...beings so calmly? Was that what made the difference between a true saint and a fake one?
"Y-Yes?" Gideon spoke hesitantly. He wasn’t sure how he was able to make noise when even his breathing wasn’t something he could hear here, but who was he to question them? He was nothing, just a speck of dust in their major plans.
"We have summoned you to demand that you bring Caspian to us." Gideon blinked, unsure what he was hearing for a moment. Caspian? Who was Caspian?
Then it dawned on Gideon. They were speaking of Cass, but they were referring to him by the other name. The one that Gideon barely heard anymore. In fact, Gideon was sure he’d only heard it from Cass’ lips once.
"Are you referring to the main temple?" Gideon asked carefully, wanting to make sure that that was right. If they wanted him to bring Cass to another place, he would do so. He just needed clarification.
"Yes." It was a short answer, but enough that they understood that he knew what they were talking about. Gideon stared at the dull, dark carpeted steps beneath him and nodded.
"Okay. Right now?" Gideon asked.
"Yes child." Gideon could almost swear that they were a little annoyed with him, but Gideon wouldn’t ever say that the gods could get annoyed. They were gods, after all, and all Gideon was was a mouthpiece for them. Gideon nodded.
"It will be done." He told them solemnly and Gideon swore he felt a hand touch his hair.
"You are far more straightforward compared to him. Good. We don’t regret making you a saint." It was a soft whisper, a quiet set of words that Gideon wasn’t sure he was supposed to hear.
It was gone as quickly as it came.
One moment, Gideon was bent, kneeling at an altar that was almost in grey scale, the next? He was back in the dusty clearing, his sword raised high as he was about to strike down.
Gideon’s breath was still ragged, but his heart was racing even more. It was a good thing that no one else was around him as he lowered his sword, his mind spinning and a sudden bout of dizziness and nausea hit him.
Gideon fell to his knees, coughing and spitting up as he fought it, knowing that he had been given a mission to get Cass to the Gods, but he first had to deal with the aftermath of them coming to speak to him for the first time.
Gideon hoped that it wasn’t always like this, and that it wasn’t always so sudden. What if he had been in the middle of anything else? That could be very dangerous.
Gideon panted, groaning lowly as his hand trembled against the ground, his fingers fisting against the ground as he tried to support himself. He was glad that someone else hadn’t come across him. They would think he was sick or something, but instead he was just getting used to his new...responsibilities.
~
Gideon pushed open the door to Cass’ room, drawing the attention of Sam and Edgar when he didn’t knock. Sam’s face didn’t change, not shifting in the slightest way as he was folding up clothes on the couch. Edgar, who was sitting with Cass in bed, the other man pulled up into his lap and Edgar petting his hair, furrowed his brows.
"You know that you’re supposed to knock." Edgar told him, his voice quiet. Gideon exhaled slowly. He’d barely pulled on his shirt and he was sure he stank of sweat, but he’d made sure he came here as soon as he could. He moved across the floor, coming to stand at the edge of the bed to stare at Cass for a long moment. It appeared he was asleep at the moment, which Gideon wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
"We need to go somewhere. Now." Gideon said quietly. Edgar looked even more confused.
"What are you saying?" Edgar asked, and Gideon realised that he wasn’t explaining himself well. He could feel the energy of Sam behind him shift. Like he was getting ready to prevent Gideon from doing anything.
"The gods spoke to me." Gideon clarified. "They told me to bring Cass to them. As soon as possible." Gideon watched as Edgar’s expression turned towards Cass, his brows still furrowed.
"They spoke to you?" He repeated slowly. "We’re still waiting on a response from Taniora and the nursery tree." Edgar told him and Gideon clenched his hands tightly.
As much as he trusted those that Cass trusted and who clearly had his best interest at heart, Gideon was more inclined to believe the Gods. Simply because, Gideon was fairly certain they were the reason for all of this.
Gideon didn’t say as much, but he just...knew.
"We can let them know that we are going to the temple and that the Gods summoned us. It’s not as if we are keeping them out of the loop, and we don’t have to. I just know that the Gods have asked this of me, and if it is something that will help him, I want to do it." Gideon told him.
Edgar couldn’t find an argument to prevent it, which was why he was so quiet for so long.
"I can go tell them while you and Sam get him ready." Gideon said, glancing back at Sam. "I can also inform Byron, who I’m sure will want to come with us. We don’t have to let anyone else know. We’ll wrap him up in a cloak, protect his identity. They might even think it’s Fiona we’re bringing." Gideon’s brain tinged with a reminder. "We could even use this as a time to say that Fiona miscarried." Gideon said.
Take one misfortune to cover another.
Edgar’s handsome face was contorted with worry and concern for everyone involved.
"What if it doesn’t work?" Edgar asked quietly. Gideon reached out, hesitating only a second before he placed his hand on Edgar’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze.
Edgar didn’t look like his usual put together self. He was sure that none of the others were themselves either. Without Cass, even silent, the house felt...barren. Empty. It was like the soul of the house was gone. Edgar hadn’t neglected his appearance, but he wasn’t as fancily dressed as he normally was.
Gideon couldn’t blame him, even as he knew that the bags that were beginning to form under his eyes were from care, not lack of it. Edgar was taking care of Cass when he couldn’t take care of himself, and Gideon was doing his best to make sure that everyone was cared for, including Cass.
It was only the night prior that Gideon had forced Edgar to have a bottle of his ’wine’. He had protested, but Gideon had used the fact that Cass would be pissed if he woke up and Edgar hadn’t taken care of himself.
That seemed to be the only thing that convinced him.
Gideon nodded slowly, glancing at Sam who he knew would do what was best for Cass. They shared a look, a moment before Gideon turned back to Edgar and offered a soft smile.
"I’ll go speak to the others and let them know the plan. I’ll be back soon for everyone, Edgar." Gideon told him and Edgar looked distraught.
"Alright." Edgar agreed, worry eating at him. They both hadn’t expected Cass to be this out of it. For three days? That was unusual. It wasn’t surprising to Gideon that the Gods had reached out, he was just surprised that they had reached out to him.
Gideon was halfway downstairs when he came to a realisation.
Maybe they had reached out to Cass but he was too deep in his own concerns that he wasn’t able to hear them. Gideon didn’t know how that was possible, but Cass was a special being. A Hero. A man chosen by the Gods to alter a fate.
There were probably a lot of things that Gideon wasn’t aware that Cass could do.
Gideon huffed, brushing it off quickly. He couldn’t let that shake him right now. He had been given a task, and Gideon would not be the one to not complete it. Especially when he felt in his heart that it was going to help Cass, not hinder him.
Gideon took the stairs two at a time to get to where he needed to, and was thankful that when he got there the family that he spoke to were completely understanding of what he wanted to do. In fact, they looked relieved.
It seemed that the nursery tree and Taniora had gotten wrapped up in a deep, philosophical debate around Cass and what could help him, and given that both were entities outside of the norm, it was taking a while. Alysora seemed the most upset, and also resigned out of the fairies.
It seemed being a matron meant that one dealt with these kinds of situations often. Or, at the very least, not a lot fazed someone who held the position that she did. Gideon was just glad that she easily agreed to letting Cass go, but there was something in her gaze that told Gideon that she held the same belief that he did, only she blamed the Gods for Cass’ current situation.
Gideon kept his mouth shut. He did not want to make Cass’ family dislike him. Not after he had worked so hard to get to where he was. Gideon turned to go let the carriage driver know they would need him.