Author's Note: "A series of books detailing the horrid prophetic nightmares of the mad monk Silvester Magus. The final one is simply called 'Darkness Descends upon Albion.'"
That's the caption from a bookshelf I found under the Academy. So I thought, what would happen if the princess came across the book, then realized her 'mistake' after defeating the Crawler? Then this little story fleshed out. I added Ben only because I love him so much.
Ben Finn stood outside the castle's study, staring at the door somewhat anxiously. At his sides his fingers twitched. Should he go inside? The dreaded Crawler had been defeated just earlier that day, and over time all of their allies had returned safely to the castle. Since arriving back, the queen had been cooped up in the study. For hours.
After a few lengthy moments, he summed up the courage to move forward. He rapped his knuckles twice on the thick door. No response. That didn't stop him from opening the door and bustling in. Inside, Abigail was seated alone at one of the tables, staring blankly at a book spread out before her. Her cheeks were slightly red, and from that distance he could make out tear stains. She'd been crying again.
She'd broken down a lot over the past week. By then he was a bit used to it, but that didn't mean he liked it.
Not at all.
"You know, you really should start locking these doors. Wouldn't want just anybody to barge inside." He managed to smirk then, examining her clothing. "Well, would you look at that? A woman - a queen no less, wearing a simple tunic and pair of trousers. Such things are surely unheard of in other lands."
"Shut up, Ben," she muttered, unamused.
With a cocky grin plastered onto his face, he strolled over and took a seat next to her on the bench.
"You were right, you know," she said at length. "Earlier this week, I mean. You told me that I shouldn't regret all the decisions I made at court for my people. And I don't. Everyone was saved, and I know in a few years time this country will be back to the way it used to be. Never as good as when my father ruled though." Suddenly she grew silent, blinking slowly. "Well, I saved all except for one."
Then he knew exactly what this was about. Walter. He wanted to tell her that she couldn't possibly have saved him, but at that moment it didn't look as if she wanted to hear those words. And so he kept his mouth shut. Out of curiosity, he reached for the open book still lying on the table and flipped it over. In dark ancient-looking letters, the title clearly read 'Darkness Descends Upon Albion.'
A frown tugged at his lips. "A prophetic book, eh? To tell the truth, I didn't know you were into all that apocalyptic stuff."
"I found it," she explained, "long ago in the beginning of the revolution. It sat on a book shelf with all these other prophetic books in the Academy. At the time, I just overlooked it. I mean, could they really be true?" She gently took the book from his hands, pointing at a sentence. "This whole book is about the Crawler and his inevitable attack. But look at this phrase here. Darkness incarnate."
He cocked an eyebrow. "And that means?"
"That's the exact same phrase I found written in a journal in the cave of Aurora."
While Walter had been on the mend, she'd had plenty of time to talk to Ben - recounting every harrowing event that had happened. If he recalled correctly, it had been found just before the certain chant had that opened every magical barrier later on. Still, he didn't understand where she was going with it.
"If I hadn't been so stupid and read this book beforehand, I would have instantly recognized that phrase. Do you understand? I would have known what we were about to stumble across. I would have known not to go down any further into that hole."
"You're being ridiculous," he said bluntly. "Even if you didn't go down, the Crawler still would have attacked."
"And you're not understanding what I mean," she went on. "If we hadn't went further, Walter wouldn't have brushed with death with that damned darkness! He couldn't have been possessed at the battle and killed by my hand... He would be alive at this very moment."
Ah, so that's what this was about. At the sight of tears he placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.
"Abby, if you hadn't pushed on, you would be dead. There was no other way to get to us except by making it through that cave and letting us find you."
"What if our ship hadn't been attacked?"
He sighed. Maybe her mind was clouded. She knew that you couldn't go back in time to change events.
"Look," he began softly. "you can't change what happened over there. What's done is done."
"I-"
"Now, let's pretend that there had been another way to the city - perhaps a simple walkway with no enemies at all to stand in your path. You promise to help the Aurora-people, we sail back across the sea, and win the revolution. Now, let's say that this blind seer that you told me so much about informed you of the coming darkness just right after you were crowned. You've just one measly day to take it all in, and one mere year to prepare. Tell me, would you really have believed her without living through it? Would you have known how horrible it would actually be when the time came by just about hearing of it?" Without waiting for an answer, he shook his head. "No, you wouldn't have. Nobody would have, really. And then where would we be? We'd be sitting here mourning while hundreds of thousands of people laid slain in the streets over the entire kingdom. Living through it made you stronger, Abby."
"I know I'm acting unreasonable," she croaked after a moment of hesitation. "But... I just don't know what to think. He was like a father to me, you understand."
The corner of his mouth twitched. "You're not alone; I know how you feel. I lost Swiftie, remember?"
Her eyes widened. "Oh, Ben, I-I'm sorry. Here I am, whining about... and you - I'm so sorry."
He slid over and pulled her close. Not another word was uttered. He just allowed her to cry.
Maybe he would never get used to seeing her in this broken state, but he found then that he didn't mind being her shoulder to cry on.
Author's Note: Anyone else notice that everyone leaves after the statue of Walter is made? Statues take a long to make, don't they? You never know, maybe a scene like this could have happened.
Bad? Okay? Reviews appreciated! =)