February 28th, 1893 — Greyback Reach

The howling winds outside Greyback Reach seemed to conspire with the thick snowfall, blanketing the surroundings in an ethereal white. The large windows showcased a winter wonderland, but the dark and heavy sky indicated that the snowfall had no intention of letting up.

Inside the grand estate, the flames of the Floo flickered and roared, struggling against the harsh weather outside. Murdock sat in his office, a room adorned with ancestral portraits, antlers, and the warmth of a crackling fireplace. The snow had disrupted the magical network throughout the morning, and Murdock grew increasingly uncertain about Merida's whereabouts. She might have stayed at work or the London home, but having not heard from her made him uneasy.

The clock on the wall ticked away, its hands moving steadily as the snow piled up outside. He heard the sputtering woosh of the floo. Standing, his boots clattering against the wooden floor as he made his way to the hall fireplace. Instead of Merida, a figure emerged from the flames. The snow on their shoulders quickly melted, revealing a person bundled up against the winter chill.

Murdock squinted, trying to discern the features of the newcomer. The dim light of the office illuminated the face, and he couldn't suppress the surprise that flickered across his own features. It wasn't his sister who stepped out but someone unexpected. 'Miss Alloway' he greeted stiffly.

  

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MJ is a National Treasure

Somewhere where between the blizzard outside and the blizzard in her brain, Titania lost her mind. What was it that finally broke her resolve to stay away from him? Perhaps it was the unpleasant bent to her magic today, the way simple spells all seem to take effort. Perhaps it was seeing his seething, delusional sister every day at the hospital. Mostly, it was the impossibility of another restless night without an answer to this riddle.

She’d spent the day convincing herself not to go; not to allow him further power to humiliate her, but when she reached the floo, it was the Reach she sought. Even the floo felt off. She was unprepared for the first words from his mouth. Her name, but one he usually paired with a mischievous smirk that promised to threaten her definition of propriety. Now he seemed a different sort of threat entirely.

“I will no longer endure your pouting or your silence. You –“ Merlin, what was she meant to say? That he broke her heart and confirmed her fears? “You dishonored our vows and I will know why.”

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MJ revealed this beauty

Murdock's expression mirrored the storm outside. The chill from the blizzard seemed to seep into the room as Titania's words hung in the air, freezing the atmosphere between them. His gaze met hers, searching for a trace of the woman he once knew.

The accusation in her voice echoed, and for a moment, Murdock felt the weight of her words settle on his shoulders. His gaze narrowed, a mix of confusion and frustration etched on his face. "Pouting? Silence?" He repeated, his voice carrying more than a tinge of disbelief. The accusations felt like a foreign language to him, an unexpected turn of events that he hadn't foreseen.

"I haven't dishonored anything," Murdock countered, his tone firm. "It was you who made that particular decision." He took a step closer, the tension in the room palpable. He made a show of considering things, of searching his memory for the words that burned brightly in his mind 'It’s not that I don’t care about you, but that was before I knew. I don’t want to have to lie all the time.' he quoted her, his deportment stiff and cold, making no effort to cross the distance between them in the hall.

  

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MJ is a National Treasure

"You heard my words. No need to parrot me." Titania managed evenly as he had the audacity to look frustrated. This was a mess of his making, a year of petulant silence that had nearly broke her, but no - she would never break. His rejection, his abandonment made her stronger, made the stone walls she built to protect herself higher. She had cracked under the weight of this, lost pieces, but she would not be broken by the fickleness of a man. That was the least she could promise her breaking heart; even if she couldn't keep that promise.

Her own eyes flared at his assertion that he was free from blame. "I would think you a better man if you acknowledged your failings. I never thought you a coward." There was a grim pulse of satisfaction in saying that allowed, in goading him. It was reckless and not at all how she anticipated her strategy, but it had been over a year. She had suffered without him; without answers or remedy. She wasn't taking his guilt now; it was his to carry.

It took every ounce of effort to hold her ground when he moved toward her, the impulse to flee wholly new and unwelcome. She was in his home, his territory, challenging him on his broken word when the secret to his survival lay magically bound between them. "You committed me to a life of secrets and I agreed. I agreed because I trusted you and that was my true failing. I believed in you, Murdock Greyback, and you cast me aside once you had your vow." She channeled strength from the truth of her pain, from her year of questions and loss. She raised her chin defiantly, trying to occupy every inch of space she could against the brute strength of him. There was something horribly brilliant about him like this, of knowing how much strength simmered just beneath his skin. And she was challenging him. She truly had left her sense somewhere in that bloody storm outside.

She braced herself as he spoke again, his words like knives, but they missed the intended mark. What it earned him was a fully exasperated "Is that meant to mean something to me? When in Merlin's name did I ask you to lie?"

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MJ revealed this beauty

Murdock stood tall, his posture rigid, as Titania's words cut through the tense air like a sharpened blade. Her accusation stung, but he refused to let it show. Instead, he maintained a façade of icy composure, his features schooled into a mask of detached fury.

"I have many failings," he replied, his voice like ice against stone. "But cowardice is not among them." The accusation hung between them, a palpable tension crackling in the air. He resisted the urge to lash out, to match her anger with his own. No, he would not stoop to her level.

As she continued to speak, Murdock's jaw worked to control his rage, his fists tightening at his sides. Her words were a relentless onslaught, a barrage of accusations that threatened to pierce the armor he had meticulously constructed around himelf. But he refused to let her see the cracks.

If he had ever heard of gaslighting he would have accused her of it now "You speak of trust, yet you were the one who broke it," he countered, his tone cold and cutting. "You walked away, Titania. You chose to break if off - no attempts to rewrite history will succeed with me." His voice remained controlled, each word measured and deliberate. Murdock's gaze bore into hers, his eyes like chips of ice as he held her gaze unwaveringly. His voice dripping with anger.

There was a bitter taste in his mouth as he spoke, a bitter realization of what had crumbled beneath the weight of their secrets. But he refused to let her see the depth of his pain. Instead, he stood before her, a monument of cold fury, his emotions buried beneath a veneer of icy control.

  

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MJ is a National Treasure

No part of this set well with Titania. She had seen him angry before, but never this degree of rage. It felt wrong to be the target of such impassioned fury. Her eyes took stock of his tells, of the grinding of his jaw to his clenched fists, but it was the chilly weight to his words that frightened her. The man she loved spoke to her as if she was precious; valued. They were connected, she'd believed. The tone now made it clear she no longer stood beside him; but against him. It was the one place she never thought she would be.

She felt a wave of nausea at the idea that this was how they would end things, all vitriol and hurt. This was him leaving, but his words blamed her. It would have been less damaging for him to strike her. "Stop." Her voice was thick in her throat, the word catching in a jumble of emotions that were spiraling out of control. "You may tell yourself whatever fiction you must, but you will not tarnish my reputation to my face. You will not blame me for your silence. You -," he what? There was so much to be said, a whole year lost, but he seemed to have chosen an alternative reality. "I needed you. I needed you and you just stopped writing. How can that be my failing?"

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MJ revealed this beauty

Murdock's anger simmered beneath the surface, a cold fury that threatened to consume him. He listened to Titania's words, her voice thick with emotion, and felt a surge of resentment rise within him. How dare she stand before him and accuse him of tarnishing her reputation? How dare she question his actions in his own home?

His jaw clenched, his fists tightening at his sides as he struggled to contain his rage. But Murdock refused to let her see the cracks in his facade. "I will not hear this," he interjected, his voice like ice against her warmth. He raised a hand to silence her, his gaze steely and unyielding. "You came to me, Titania. You ended this." His words were laced with venom, each syllable dripping with disdain.

"You chose to walk away," he continued, his tone dangerously cold. "And now you have the audacity to come to my home and think to give me lectures?" Murdock's voice echoed in the grand hall, the sound ringing out like a final verdict. He refused to be the villain in her narrative, to bear the blame for their fractured relationship. No, if she wanted to assign fault, then let it rest squarely on her shoulders.

He met her gaze with a steely resolve, his anger smoldering just beneath the surface. The storm outside raged on, a fitting backdrop to the tempest of emotions that churned within them. But Murdock remained unmoved, a pillar of icy resolve in the face of Titania's accusations.

  

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MJ is a National Treasure

It was her own reaction that finally did her nerves in. His hand was meant to silence protest; not hit her, but still she flinched. It was an automatic response; she knew it meant nothing. At least, it should mean nothing. To Titania, it symbolized how much had changed between them. Some base part of her recognized him as a threat instead of protector. Oh God, her heart couldn't bear this.

"I did not choose this." She snapped before she could think better of it. "I would never choose this." She tried again, her voice barely holding steady. "The last I saw you, we were betrothed, and you were making it very difficult to leave." She alluded, that night the last memory she had to cherish of a man who promised to love her. He had been "incapable" of releasing her from an embrace goodbye and had peppered her with kisses. Between her own laughter at his antics, she eagerly returned his affections. It had been so simple and silly and the moment now had the painful moniker of 'ending.' Titania couldn't forget for another reason. "It was the night before I woke up as some farm girl."

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MJ revealed this beauty

Murdock Angus Greyback's laughter cut through the tension like a sharp knife, cold and bitter. A barking sound, that echoed off the walls of Greyback Reach, a stark contrast to the warmth of the crackling fireplace. He watched as Titania flinched at his gesture, her reaction stirring a pang of guilt within him, though he quickly buried it beneath layers of resentment.

"I didn't think you capable of lying to yourself so fully," he retorted, his voice laced with scorn. But as she spoke of their last encounter, his laughter faltered, replaced by a gnawing sense of unease. The memory she described tugged at something deep within him, stirring a disquieting realisation that threatened to unravel the carefully constructed facade he had erected around his emotions.

"The night before you woke up as a farm girl," he repeated, the words hanging in the air like a heavy fog. His mind raced, the pieces of the puzzle slotting into place with a sickening clarity. The dates aligned, a damning revelation that sent a chill down his spine. He took a step closer, his movements deliberate and calculated. The distance between them seemed to shrink, his presence looming over her like a dark shadow.

"What was the date?" Murdock demanded, his voice sharp and commanding. He crossed the distance between them in a single stride, his movements aggressive and domineering. His gaze bore into hers, searching for answers amidst the turmoil of emotions that churned within him.

But when Titania hesitated, his patience wore thin. "Tell me," he demanded again, the urgency in his voice betraying the fear that gnawed at the edges of his consciousness. The realization of what her words implied loomed over them like a dark cloud, threatening to shatter the fragile balance of their fractured relationship.

  

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MJ is a National Treasure

"I didn't stutter." She grumbled as he parroted her words. The petty retort feeling satisfying until his whole demeanor changed. Something has clicked into place, she could see it in his eyes.

She wasn't prepared for his movement. With great effort, she kept her feet planted as he closed in. Titania pulled herself as tall as possible, intending to meet him head-on, even if fleeing seemed the only sensible option. She was many things, but she had never been a coward. Today wasn't the day to start.

As he closed the last of the distance between them, she caught a startled breath and held it; Murdock suddenly far too close for her to make sense of. She'd had time before to ease into their bond; had learned to manage the cacophony of sensation that came with being near him. But now, after over a year of his absence...This close, he was overwhelming.

So little space was between them now. She could feel the heat of him, her lungs full of the warm, spicy scent that was Murdock Greyback. She fisted the fabric of her skirts tightly, keeping her hands firmly to herself. She should be hexing him for the pain he caused, but it was all she could do not to embrace him and never let go. Something in her was smart enough to resent him for the power he had over her, but it had been so easy to give that power away.

He was demanding answers of her, his barking tone a warning to stop her mental wandering and to return to the matter at hand. She obeyed, or at least she tried. It was his eyes that stopped her. There was something feral in his eyes that intrigued her, that reminded her he was both man and wolf. Did that make him more primal somehow, she wondered. Was it a struggle to keep the beast at bay and go through the motions of society? She was pulled back from her rapidly devolving thoughts by the urgency in his voice.

"It was April 1. There was a new tea shop. There was an investigation, but nothing came of it." It took effort to keep her pace measured, her own head spinning. "When I woke up, I did so in another witch's body. By my wand, I swear it." Meeting his unflinching gaze with her own, Titania prayed he could read the sincerity in her eyes.

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MJ revealed this beauty

Murdock felt the world shift beneath him as her words sank in. The storm cloud of his rage shifted, melting away, replaced by a rising tide of dread and disbelief. He remembered the investigation, the oddities surrounding that day, but had never known Titania was involved. The pieces clicked together with a clarity that made his stomach roil.

He sank into a nearby chair, the weight of her revelation crashing over him and robbing him of his strength. The strong, imposing figure seemed to crumble, his face going pale as the implications took root. He felt hollow, a chasm of despair opening within him.

"April 1," he repeated, his voice barely above a whisper. His eyes were wide, unfocused, as if he were seeing a different reality altogether. "The tea shop… the investigation." He looked up at her, his expression one of dawning horror. "I didn't know."

Murdock's mind reeled as he connected the dots. Someone else had worn Titania's face that day. Whoever he had pulled into that cupboard, kissed, and confessed his love to, whoever had told him they couldn't go ahead with their marriage, had not been Titania.

"It wasn't you," he murmured, more to himself than to her. The realization was a physical blow, leaving him feeling sick and empty. "It wasn't you."

His hands trembled as he covered his face, trying to process the truth. "All this time, I thought… I thought you had left me. That you couldn't bear the life we were building together." His voice cracked, the controlled fury from moments ago replaced by something raw as he looked at her.

  

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MJ is a National Treasure

Titania caught a breath she hadn't remembered losing. Something twisted in her that felt oddly close to doubt. Her traitorous heart was elated at the idea he believed her, that the truth won out; her practiced skepticism thought less of this. Could it truly be that simple; after all this time? The idea that something as asinine as magic-gone-awry could rob them both of over a year of their lives together... Titania found herself sagging into the wall behind her.

What should have been relief hit another snag in her mind. "It wasn't you." Everything in her tensed. "Who wasn't me?" She knew she didn't want the answer, whatever it could be. It was made worse by his words, given to her as a confession. There had been someone else in her skin, and that someone had interfered with her Mr. Greyback.

"I was not the one that left." Bitterness beat reason, her own heartbreak too close to the surface still.

"Couldn't bear?' I swore my life to protect you, to protect us. I wrote to you," Forcing herself to breathe, Titania's mind made the next, unfortunate leap.

She met his eyes and the vulnerability in them terrified her. "What happened? Did," There were too many questions between them, but one had her questioning her own body in ways she'd tried to avoid for the past year. "Did I - they do something...dishonorable?" Titania did not consider herself a moralist, but she didn't hold her honor lightly.

Someone had been in her skin and ruined their engagement. Unfortunately, her mind was fully capable of imagining multiple ways an encounter could have gone terribly wrong.

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MJ revealed this beauty

Murdock felt his heart sink further as he saw Titania's reaction. Her initial relief, so fleeting, was quickly replaced by a guarded bitterness that cut him deeper than he thought possible. The truth that had seemed like a glimmer of hope moments ago now felt like a knife twisting in his gut. Her words, laced with pain and suspicion, were daggers that pierced through the last vestiges of his composure.

As she sagged against the wall, Murdock's instinct was to reach out to her, to offer some form of comfort, but the distance between them felt insurmountable. Her question, "Who wasn't me?" echoed in his mind like a curse, a question that he dreaded answering. He could see the fear and the rising horror in her eyes, and it mirrored the turmoil in his own soul.

"It wasn't you," he repeated, his voice hollow, as if saying it again would make the reality less unbearable. His mind raced, trying to piece together the fragments of memory, the moments that now seemed tainted by a cruel deception.

"The person who came to me that day, who told me they couldn't bear this life, who ended our engagement… it wasn't you. It was someone else, wearing your face, your voice…" His voice faltered, the weight of the truth almost too much to bear.

When she asked if they had done something dishonorable, Murdock felt a cold sweat break out across his skin. The thought of someone else, an imposter, taking her place in such an intimate way was a nightmare made real. His mind flashed back to that day, the emotions, the words exchanged, the desperate embraces… all of it now tainted by a horrifying doubt.

He shook his head, trying to dispel the images from his mind, but the damage was done. "We… we were in the closet. I thought it was you, Titania. I would never… " His voice broke, and he looked away, unable to meet her eyes.

"I kissed her. I thought it was you. She… she told me she couldn't go through with the marriage, that she didn't want this life. Told me not to speak to you...her again, to not dare to write" The memory of that moment, once so painful, now felt like a twisted betrayal of everything they had shared. "I believed her, believed it was you. And when she walked away… I thought you were gone."

His hands trembled as he forced himself to look at her again, his eyes filled with a deep, haunting regret. "If I had known… if I had even suspected…" He trailed off, his voice barely a whisper. The words felt empty, inadequate to express the depth of his remorse, the helplessness of having been deceived in such a cruel way.

  

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MJ is a National Treasure

It felt like physical blows, the idea that she would end their engagement. The thought that she would do such a thing, that she would ever throw him and the children from her life, the idea was laughable. But what else was there to explain the sudden souring between Isobel and the rest of her siblings and Titania's own distance from the children? The death of her father had stripped her world of its remaining sanity; Murdock's seeming betrayal only pushed her farther from her sense of self.

Something primal and petty in her coiled at the idea of him kissing another woman, his assuming it was her only complicating the emotions. The practical and cruel part of her was positive he'd done far more in her absence, as a man in his prime freed of all commitment. If she ever found the fool that stole her last kiss and over a year of their lives, Titania would be testing her moral code.

The cruelest part was her need to comfort him, the mess of emotions competing for prominence. She pushed off the wall and approached him but stopped short. She couldn't be the one to bridge the distance between them; didn't have the courage to risk him rejecting her touch. "It would never reject you. I swear it on my life, on the oath I swore to you." She wouldn't swear on the girls, not as he still questioned her, but on the vow that held her life, there could be no question. She would die for this man and his secrets; she'd chosen him.

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MJ revealed this beauty