Saya did not understand the situation she was in… Why would two men fight over her as they did? What was she to them that they had to risk life and limb for her, in her sake? Haji had been with her since she could even remember, but Solomon… She knew that he too, had given much in her name.
In all her life, she had seen herself as a monster, as a beast that would bring woe to all others if she was not checked and challenged. She needed blood to survive, blood that other creatures need as well, and it was this need for blood, that sparked many, many violent bursts that caused so much death. Of course, she blamed no one, but herself; for it was she, who allowed all this chaos to happen. It was she who allowed Diva's escape, and her twin sister's first act after gaining her freedom, was to kill everyone in the Zoo, including her benefactor, Joel Goldschmidt I.
For more than a century, she had hunted down the very same woman that she had freed, trying to right the wrongs that she had created, but that was not all. Her powers, could not be controlled, not even by herself… In frenzy, she massacred all that stood before her in Vietnam before her current awakening, and she even cut off Haji's hand… She had hurt the man that had cared for her above all… No amount of pain and regret could ever be described whenever she saw his bandage-wrapped hand…
But there were times when she questioned even herself, and her own goals. Sometimes, in the dark of the night, she would often ask herself questions that Haji did not even know would come. Why did she need to do this? Diva was her twin sister, why should they be separated in the first place? Diva had killed all those people, did she even find out why? And who was she, to wish to seek happiness amongst humans, which hated her own race with a deep passion that ran as much as their lust for power? Must she allow herself to be used as only their weapon, and nothing else? The Red Shield was founded by Joel I's descendants to avenge their clan against Diva, but was it not Joel I that had locked Diva up in that horrid tower? Who was right, and who was wrong? Why must she live by the standards of humans?
She knew that she could not answer them not because she did not know how, but because she was afraid to find them. Diva was her twin, and one who possessed such a voice like her, could not have had such malice… She could have been used by others, by that Chevalier that lured her to the Zoo in the first place… Amshell Goldsmith… Phantom, that Carl Fei-Ong, he could have been a pawn as well, and so was James… In the end, there were so many variables, and she knew that one by one, they fit into place like the pieces of a puzzle. She only needed to face her fears, that somehow, there was a small possibility that she, the great warrior and the defender of humans, had been wrong, somewhere in her long life.
"Come with me, and I will show you a different world," those were the words that Solomon would always say to her, one way or another. Always, she had thought that they were just tools, to lure her to Diva's side, so that he could kill her. He was a temptation, the Chevalier of her sister, a potential mate, the potential father of her own children. There was always a possibility that he had acted the way he did around her out of instinct, but in the same manner, Haji's protection and his devotion, was it not because of the same blood as well?
Was there a way, to see an end to such days of death and pain, and still see the end of the suffering on the human's part? Was there a way for her to avenge her father's death, and that of Riku's, without killing Diva? It was impossible, yet, the idea seemed… tangible.
Saya, nothing is absolute, a voice whispered in her head, a voice much like her own. You will come to understand that your path is not set in stone, and that it changes when you least expect it. A river does not run straight, Saya, nor do you always have to fight alone.
Her path… It did not run straight. It never did. There were obstacles to overcome, and there were times when she would deviate far from it. She had her friends by her side, Kai, David, Julia, the Schiff, Lois, Mao, Okamura, and many others. If she wanted it, Solomon would readily join her as well… She had vowed to rid the world of all Chiropterans, including herself, but was it the only way?
"Stop it, the both of you!" Saya shouted towards the fighting Chevalier, and both of them materialized before her immediately, Haji, with his claws ready to attack Solomon if the latter were to make any false moves. "I don't want you to fight because of someone like me!" Tears were streaming down her ruby-hued eyes, and she knelt down, feeling the weight on her shoulders too great to bear.
Ignoring Haji, Solomon bent down and held her in his arms. "If that is what you wish," he replied, words that Haji would utter all the same. However, when he said it, it came with a smile, and Saya's tears ceased to flow. "It has always been useless, a fight to the death between Chevalier, especially if our heart is with the same Queen."
In a rare show of defiance against his opponent, Haji spat, "Saya will never be your Queen!" Serene blue eyes were filled with anger, and he continued to speak. "You will lead her down a path that she cannot follow, one of darkness, where she will be forced to join with those she swore to destroy!"
"And you?" Solomon asked, cocking his eyebrow. "You lead her to death, even when she deserves to live, because you do not question her, as a Chevalier. You accuse me of acting by instinct, because I may be a potential mate, but you as her own biological Chevalier, you do not go against her will… You will kill her as she has asked you to, but yet you know that no one deserves death, for crimes that they are not convicted!" Ice-hued eyes pieced that of Haji's, releasing Saya from his embrace, Solomon turned to face Haji in his full height. "Diva was used, just as much as Saya is. Used for the greed of one man, the man I used to call my brother… How could I have defended her against one who was given me so much?"
Amshell Goldsmith. Haji remembered well that he was Joel I's partner in his various research projects. He had been a shady character in their life at the Zoo, and he knew well that he was their enemy after Diva was let loose… Solomon's words struck him, not because he was right, but because they told him that he had failed to look into one of the most probable causes of Diva's murderous rampage. Amshell was the one tasked to care of Diva, and he was the only human that she came into contact with… How could he have let this pass him?
"How do I know that you are not lying to us?" Haji asked in reply. He had never trusted Solomon, the Chevalier of Saya's sister. The way Saya was so at ease around him, even in the heat of battle, made him distrust him even more. "I cannot risk Saya's safety for only one word of the enemy."
Solomon smiled. "On the count that I love Saya, with my heart," he replied. Turning to face the red Queen, he said, "I have always loved you, Saya." It would be useless to tell her how he had watched her fight, and how he had longed to be free like she did, and with Haji around, he knew that his words might not even get through to her. She was stubborn, but he would not have it any other way. "Subete chi wo koete, for you, I will do all that you wish." [Overcoming all blood]
His words, his smile, his eyes, they brought warmth to Saya's heart. Deep down within her, she always knew that Solomon loved her, and she had certain feelings towards him, but Haji… it was a different kind of love. Haji was part of her family, he who knew her past, from the very time that she was the young, arrogant ward of a rich man. He had protected her, and guarded her from danger, but somehow, she craved for something more. To be accepted as what she was, without condition, to understand what she would become, and what she had done… She had no time for dreams, and sweet promises, but she had time, for this…
Wrapping her arms around Solomon's neck, Saya kissed him, albeit lightly. "I believe you," she told him. This man, she knew had saved her and the Red Shield from many dangers. She had once thought that he would bring their deaths, but now, she knew that it was not so. He was the only one who had not seen her as an enemy, or as a tool, although they have faced one another in combat before. Ever since the first time they had met, he had done nothing but to smile at her, and to lead her towards the light. "Solomon, may I ask you something?"
"Ask, my Queen, and it is yours."
"If Diva really was used by Amshell Goldsmith, did she… really killed Riku because she knew that he was my Chevalier and my brother?" That sole act had been the result of Diva acting on her own will; she knew it, because David had warned them of a full-scale attack thanks to Solomon, but only Diva and Carl appeared…
There was a moment of silence. Luckily, Solomon had the privilege to have had Diva secretly confided to him: I only thought to make him mine… Oh, Solomon, how was I to know if he was already Saya Nee-sama's Chevalier? Clearly, Diva herself had not known that she could only bear the children of her sister's Chevaliers at that time… A fatal mistake and she had been clearly distraught from it. If you really love her, then why don't you have her carry your babies? He remembered how disappointed Diva was when he announced that he would no longer be fighting by her side, but it had to be done.
"No, Saya," Solomon replied. "Diva may be vicious towards those she hates, but she has only acted thus because humans have only tried to kill her." With the twisted form of love Amshell Nii-sama has for her, she tried to show it to one that she was physically attracted to… "She does not understand love as we do, nor can she comprehend it wholly… But if it is your wish, we can help her, once we are rid of the main evil."
Saya looked at Solomon, whose hand was once again, stretched towards her, waiting for her to take it, and she glanced back at Haji, who looked on with a new sense of understanding. Nodding, Haji watched his Queen walk towards the other Chevalier and clasp her fingers with his. Those were the first steps that she would take towards her own happiness among such woe and war, and frankly, it would be the ones that he rather her take.
Haji watched on the balcony as Saya walked back into the apartment with Solomon, where he once again knelt before her, asking for her hand in marriage. This time, he was not refused, and a new bond was formed. Like Diva, she would soon carry the new generation of Queens, and hopefully, they would not know the violence and pain that their mothers had ever known. .. "If that is your wish," Haji murmured before leaving the apartment. Saya had given her choice, and she had chosen well.