Senna scanned the charred remains of the land that she had once
called… no, it hadn't been home. Neither this place nor Everworld had ever
truly been home, so they certainly weren't now.
She remembered the war, of course. She couldn't forget that. She
hadn't done any actual fighting. Senna had simply stayed locked in Loki's
tower, and had watched from the narrow balcony.
Much like what she was doing now…
From this tower she had watched them die. They had fought for
Earth, and of course they had failed. It was almost comical, the forces of
Earth joined up against the unnatural forces of gods, goddesses,
enchantment, and witchcraft. And yet, they defended their homeland
to the death.
David hadn't been killed in the battle. He had been shot down
with an arrow when he tried to free her, a desperate and stupid attempt
to storm a castle that had once belonged to Medieval England, before
Loki took it. He had died because of her.
She felt no pity.
And why should she, Senna said to herself. After all, it was
his duty as her champion. He had been a good champion, but he had
failed in the end. Loki had used her as a gateway and all had been lost.
It wasn't her fault as much as it was his. She looked out for herself, if
she needed to use others, so be it.
Oh, she knew that others might have thought that cruel.
They were probably right. She was beyond caring. Nothing is
clear-cut in that broken line between evil and good.
And must I now begin to doubt,
Who never doubted all these years?
My heart is stone and still it trembles
The world I have known is lost in shadow
Loki, as good looking and destructive as ever, walked in the roomed
with a look amusement on his face.
"So Witch, you have done your part, and I have done mine, eh?"
Senna avoided his eyes, "And now that both parts are complete,
what is to become of me?" She kept her face devoid of emotion.
"You outran me for a long time, you can't be that dense. I'm sure
you can figure it out for yourself." He sneered.
Senna faced him, "I'm no longer any use to you. I think you will kill me."
Loki laughed then, a laugh that might have scared away the bravest of
knights. But Senna wasn't intimidated; she knew that side of the line. She had
laughed that way to.
"Very clever, Witch. But I'm afraid that will have to way another time.
I still have some business to attend to. Don't worry, it won't be long." He turned
to leave. "Oh yes," He called over his shoulder, "I wouldn't try any glamour spells
if I were you, I should warn you that I can see through any shape you try to take on."
With that, he left.
* * *
Senna clutched the bar of the balcony, her knuckles white with that effort.
She knew that they, Christopher, Jalil, David, and April- especially April,
had thought that Senna couldn't feel deep fear. She was too devoid of emotion to
feel much of anything. They had been wrong.
Senna feared dying. Maybe it was because she was so used to being in
charge of situations… and people. Of course, compared to most of Everworld's
population, Senna's powers were really minute. However, in the 'Real World',
and with Everworld humans, she was always able to control, to manipulate.
She liked it that way.
Yet nothing can authorize death. It can do whatever it wants and
there's precious little you can do about it.
She was so frightened that she could hardly breath.
She was going to die and it would not be pleasant. Despite Loki's
good humors she knew he didn't like how the war had worked out. Oh sure,
he had won. However the resources of the land were dried up. Earth was as
useful as a bowling pin is in a tennis match, and it would take centuries for
the world to return to its natural state. Loki would take it out on her, the one
who and made it all possible. Senna's death would be slow and painful.
Unless she took it into her own hands.
Unless she manipulated death in the one way she knew how.
By causing it.
Senna threw herself off the balcony.
I am reaching, but I fall
It was a surprisingly long fall. Senna focused on the sky. It was
as scorched and vacant as the ground below.
And the stars are black and cold
She was killing herself. All that the others had done to keep her
from harms way (whether for her or for what she stood for, a way home),
it had all gone to waste.
And, even as she hit the ground with a sickening neck-cracking
jolt, she felt no guilt.
No guilt at all.
As I stare into the void
Of a world that cannot hold
I'll escape now from the world
There is nowhere I can turn
There is no way to go on....
Senna was wrong, the sky was not vacant, only covered with
clouds. After a few moments they cleared and a full moon shown down
upon Senna's body.
In her death, Senna's hard shell fell from her face. The look of
manipulation, of fear, of pride, of anger vanished, leaving her face pure.
The moonlight played upon her skin, making her look soft and pretty.
The Witch left Senna; leaving only a young girl, alone in the
moonlight.
"And of the Witch? In the life of a Witch, there is no after,
in the ever after of a Witch, there is no happily; in the story
of a Witch, there is no afterword. Of that part that is beyond
the life story, beyond the story of the life, there is -alas, or
perhaps thank mercy- no telling. She was dead, dead and
gone, and all that was left of her was the carapace of her
reputation for malice."
-From Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Part 5, page 406
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::Re-reads story:: Well that's it, I've finally gone off the deep end. But I'm sure you knew that already…
The song is from Les Mis. Noticing a pattern here?
This is dedicated to the book Mice and Men: one of the saddest books I've ever read and inspiration for the last two paragraphs. It is also dedicated to Gregory Maguire author of two of the best books I've ever read, one of which is quoted above (Warning, his books contain mature subject matter).
illah44@aol.com -This is an e-mail. This is the Internet. You know what to do.
Oh, and by the way, this is…
My Disclaimer
I do not own these characters
They don't belong to me.
So why I am using them
You mightn't be able to see.
Well, I am also broke,
So pretty please: Don't Sue!
But I have this urge to write fanfiction
::shrug::
So what can ya do?