halfamoon | Day 9 - Aging - Caster Chronicles Fanfic

Title: "The Many Lives of Lena Duchannes"

Fandom: Caster Chronicles/Beautiful Creatures (2013)

Rating: G - General Audiences

Characters: Lena Duchannes

Relationships: Brief references to Lena/Ethan and Sarafine/John, as well as Ridley & Lena

Wordcount: 540 words

Summary: There are forks in the road, and then there are the planets above them.

Also available on AO3

Her name is Lena Duchannes, and she is the New Girl. She is always, the New Girl, walking through schools and listening to the petty words they hurl at her head. When she turns 16, becomes Dark, she remembers them all. This is not a Lena that grows old. This is a Lena that burns herself out, burning the words out of the mouths of all the people who treated her like a freak.

Her name is Lena Eades, and she has lived with her father ever since she can remember. He tells her nothing of Light or Dark, and in the end it doesn't matter. Green eyes stay green, and she grows old. There is never a boy, but that is okay. Her community is all that needs her. When her father dies, it is that community that steps up to support her, and in turn, she supports them. Not a single disaster ever hits the town, and those who come in seeking trouble, well, let's just say that it found them. Nobody messes with Old Lady Duchannes who drives a hearse.

Her name is Lena Duchannes, and she has to be Dark. Her mother was Dark, and according to her, it's was the best way to be. Moving from tropical city to tropical city, wondering what will happen if she looks in the mirrors and sees green eyes after her 16th birthday. But that doesn't happen. Lena the Cataclyst rules the world, a power unlike any other. Not even her mother could stand up to it. It's a power that sustains her, keeping her the same year after year.

Her name is Lena Duchannes, but nobody knows that except her family, and she hasn't seen them in forever. Now, it's just her and Ridley, or whatever they want to call themselves these days. A new name for every town is fine for a set of "sisters" with matching green eyes and a tendency towards getting whatever they need, even when it seems impossible. Travelling the world arm in arm with her cousin, Lena could never settle down in just one place. She collects scars and souvenirs with a smile.

Her name is Lena Duchannes, and she calls her parents on the weekends while she's at college. Asks for updates on them, wants to see if Mom's still doing okay, if she can keep fighting off the Dark. Because even though those yellow eyes are supposed to be a warning, they have only ever been filled with love when Lena sees them. Or, well, frustration at her daughter's antics, but isn't that always how it is with mothers and daughters?

Her name is Josephine Duchannes, but it isn't, really, it never has been. Lena is just fine. Lena is the one who discovered herself, Lena is the one that discovered Ethan, that has saved him and reconciled with her cousin and fought with her mother. Even if she knows her true name now, it doesn't matter. Nowadays, when people look at her, wrinkles crinkle in the corners of her eyes. They ask her to tell her story, and she does--but she keeps the good parts to herself, her eyes twinkling as she glances at Ethan in the corner.