She'd really messed up this time. Messed up badly.
She had always relied on herself to solve everything. Others couldn't be trusted. Hah, such sweet irony. Because you see, as it turned out, even she couldn't be trusted. She wanted someone to tell her that it wasn't her fault... Tell her she didn't mess up for the millionth time. Tell her that nobody could have seen this coming. But that would be a lie.
She should have known.
"And what would you do if all your plans fell apart and you were finally cornered?" - "All my plans? Why, it's almost like you don't know me at all. There is always another plan."
She should have learned from the mistakes of others. She should have known not to be tempted by the allure of elder artefacts. It couldn't end well... It never did. What had she been thinking.
The Siphon. The staff that fuses elements together. Did he plan this, too?
A feeling of dread started spreading through her. For this to have happened, had they needed to be compatible? Did this mean she was just like him? Everything she should despise. Not the hero everyone thought she was. Had she been lying to everyone, including herself?
Had she, by trying to defeat the greatest danger, become the greatest danger herself? People relied on her. People who were oblivious to the fact that she could black out at any given time and probably rampage through an entire city. Her friends. She could never see her friends again. She wasn't sure what would happen if she did, but she couldn't take that risk.
Guthix, you've made a mistake by choosing me.
This was too much. In an effort to calm herself she tried to rationalize. Maybe, it was all in her head. Maybe nothing happened. Maybe, just maybe, this was just some sort of trauma.
After all those years of mind games, her mind had not yet realised that she was free. That must be it. There was no way that this could be reality.
I can almost feel you breathing, like a whisper in my ear.
No.
Perhaps Linza hit her on the head one too many times during that last fight. A concussion? That sounds plausible.
Or... She was probably just losing her mind.
Am I..?
Just imagining it.
Please...
Just...
She let out a frustrated scream and snapped her eyes shut, and quickly regretted it.
I stare into the blackness... It's staring back at me.
No!
Hearing a knock on the front door she tensed. After all the bridges she had burned lately who would come to visit her but him, the one she dreaded to face the most right now. Ofcourse he would have been left out of the loop. Wasn't he always the last to hear? She couldn't bring herself to tell him what happened when she should have. Could she now?
She was afraid to lie to his face. She was also afraid of not being able to lie.
Maybe he already did know. Maybe he came to yell at her.
Don't open it...
Don't open the bloody door...
She heard her butler open the door and thought about making a run for it. Instead she pulled up her blanket even higher, as if though it would make her disappear.
He found the World Guardian in her living room. Sitting in front of the fireplace, a blanket wrapped around her with an iron grip, knuckles white. What little he could see of her was still a bit bruised. Her eyes rimmed red. Eyes that looked frantically into the fire, causing shadows to dance over her face.
When after a deafening silence she finally met Wahisietel's defeated gaze she knew that he knew. Ofcourse he did, she thought. He wasn't an idiot. He knew she, his so called friend, had killed his brother. Self defence or not, it didn't change anything. Killed. He just came here for confirmation. For her to tell him it wasn't so. Despite how he felt about his brother, despite the fact he had it coming, it was still his brother. You don't just shrug it off and go on with your life. She felt like she'd betrayed him.
More moments passed as she tried to find the courage to speak, unsure of whether she should tell him the truth or not.
Killed, not ended. Say it.
"I... I'm sorry.", she finally choked.
She couldn't. The shame and guilt were all consuming.
"I am so, so sorry.", she repeated more audible, turning back to the fire and snapping her eyes shut once again as the tears spilled over.
When she opened her eyes he was no longer in the room.
If only he knew what she was truly sorry for, she thought as she clutched the wound the staff had left on her stomach.
She heard the front door slam shut. Her final bridge had been burned. She was all alone now.
Overcome with a sudden feeling of glee that sure as hell wasn't hers, she heard an all too familiar voice in her head...
Ah, not to worry, World Guardian. You'll always have me.
I'm not going anywhere.
No. No. No.
Not ended.
AN:
I am normally not one for drama but I wanted to try to picture a legit reaction to what would go on in the World Guardians mind after what happened during Sliske's Endgame. She always operated alone, defied all the gods, and now she has to pay the price for her poor judgement. Which maybe could have been prevented if she would have asked someone else for advice. You'd think she'd have learned by now the error of her ways, but instead she is blocking everyone out yet again, leaving nobody to help her with her current problem.
She is afraid to reach out to others because that would potentially put them in danger, but even if she dared to face them she still couldn't tell them because she feels ashamed about the fact that she fell into one of Sliske's traps once again when she really should have known better... Now with bigger consequences than ever.
She feels trapped and seems to slowly descend into madness. There is nowhere to run, for your shadow matches every step you take.
As for Wahisietel, I was kind of bummed out that he didn't get post quest dialogue. Which made it look like either our WG is a jerk or he simply didn't care. So I made a Wahisietel that cared... And ended up not giving him any dialogue either. Shame on me. But sometimes actions speak louder than words do.
He'll get over it, but by the time he realises she lied to his face he probably won't be so forgiving.
The first italic part is a quote from the memory in Children of Mah, when Kharshai has a conversation with Sliske.
The next two italic sentences are from a song, Yours Again by Red. They're meant to portray that no matter how hard she tries to deny it, she feels the truth. She is not alone. The bold parts are her denial.
The final italic part speaks for itself... Cue evil laughter. ;)