"Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them."
- Washington Irving
Dark Clarity
Long after the defeat of Ran, long after Hamel was restored, long after she returned to Altera to be its Queen.
Eve knew that there was something wrong.
Her head hurt, her systems were fuzzy, and she knew it wasn't because of the Queen's Throne code. It was because of him. He was the one who was making everything hurt. Eve didn't know what to do. Why him? Even now, just thinking about him made not only her head, but her chest hurt. She felt heavy, like she was slowly sinking to the bottom of a river. Slowly falling, drifting downwards.
She had fallen unashamedly in love.
And it hurt.
It hurt to know that he probably didn't love her back, it hurt to know that he was probably in love with someone else. It hurt. She hated the fuzziness of her brain, she hated how she didn't know what to do. No one she had dared to talk to about this... issue, let's say, knew what to do either. And it hurt.
Everywhere she looked, searching her systems and wracking her artificial intelligence, she couldn't find the answer, the solution to her dilemma. The Nasods had no emotions, so why did she fall in love? How could she make the pain stop? No matter how hard she searched, he kept filling her mind, his sly, crooked smile, his mischievous, twinkling eyes, his lean figure. And it hurt.
The pain, oh the pain, it tore her to shreds every time she saw him leaning on his sword, chatting with Aisha, the lucky girl. Rage swirled inside her when she saw him laugh at something Rena said, even though she knew the elf loved someone else. She swooned when he and Raven sparred, when his shirt lifted when he dabbed the sweat away from his forehead. Everything was black, was so dark without him, and suddenly there was light, so blinding and bright when he stood next to her, or said her name.
"Eve," he said with a smile - how that smile drove her insane. "Are you alright?"
A smile, an unnatural curve of her lips, graced her delicate features as she smoothed her black and pink skirt. "I am fine..." Her heart fluttered, just thinking of his name, a name that became her utmost favorite in the span of a second. "...Elsword."
She sighed, staring into the reflective material of her mirror, gazing at her artificial flesh, her unnaturally pale skin and golden eyes, the glowing blue orb adorning her forehead. Never before had she been so conscious of her appearance. Clutching her chest, Eve took deep breaths. Her mind was still fuzzy, her legs trembling, her chest hurting, making it hard to breathe. How? How could she escape from this... this pain? This confusion? It was already affecting her ability to rule. She kept imagining him with his dual swords, glittering in the sunlight, when she was overseeing the training of her Nasod Bladers. She heard his warm, friendly laugh whenever she went out into the gardens. Her people began to notice it too, and worried about the health of their Queen, hoping - no, praying that she would not have to be scrapped at the recycle center. Still, Eve's mind was dark, her vision fuzzy, finding it hard to breathe.
And it hurt.
It hurt to know that he was popular with the women. It hurt that he came to visit her much less than the others. It hurt to know that she would outlive him, that she would have to live without him until the day she fell into a deep slumber and never woke up. It hurt to know that she would probably end up married to Chung for the sake of a permanent alliance with Hamel. It hurt.
And she didn't know how to make the pain go away.
A soft knock on her door, before it was flung open. Only one person opened the door like that. Turning around on her seat, Eve greeted Elsword with a smile that lacked emotion. "Greetings, Elsword. What is it that you require?"
Elsword grinned his big, crooked grin, eyes twinkling, running a hand through his red-and-black hair. Eve clenched her fists, nails digging into her palms, but she kept her composure, wishing for the pain to stop. "Can I not see a good friend of mine, oh Queen of the Nasod?"
A good friend of mine.
Eve's heart sank.
A good friend of mine.
Just friends. Nothing more. Was she the only one who felt like she did, heart pounding, mind blank, chest hurting, vision blurring? Was she the only one who cared for the other?
A good friend of mine.
That was it. She couldn't stand it. She couldn't stand how blurred everything had become, like she was looking out of a foggy window, like she was in a dimly lit room. She hated it. Why? Why wouldn't the pain go away, even though Elsword, the one person who made her feel like this, was right next to her?
Ah.
It was because she knew that she could never have him.
Even if the redheaded swordsman liked her as more than a friend, even if it was a simple crush, she could never be together with him.
Because she was nobility, and he was a commoner.
Because she was most likely soon to be engaged, and he was single.
Because she was Nasod, and he was human.
What kind of sick, twisted game was this? Throwing her off a tall cliff, making her fall deeply into love, head-over-heels even, with this boy, causing her to lose sight of everything else but him, only to realize that her people would reject him, that they could never, never in a thousand years, be together, and the only thing she could do was have him by her side, but even that wasn't enough, because she wanted him to love her, for him to say that he loved her, for him to stay by her side forever. And it was impossible, never meant to be, a perfect example of star-crossed lovers.
Except the love was only one-sided.
"Eve? What's the matter? Is it something I said?"
It was then, and only then, she snapped.
"Everything is wrong, Elsword! How could you be so blind? Nothing is right! Everything, everything isn't meant to be! Stupid head, stupid chest, I just can't... I can't think... I can't breathe! Elsword, do you even know what you're doing to me? I'm being destroyed from the inside out! Stop mocking me silently, stop pretending to be my friend so you can laugh behind my back! You... Just stop it!"
Elsword's eyes widened, mouth agape, as he took a stumbling step backwards, shocked that Eve, the quiet, somewhat distant girl he had become accustomed to, shouted at him, when all she ever did was quietly flush and call him an 'insolent fool,' slapping him on the cheek lightly (Elsword always hammed it up, saying that Eve slapped harder than Ignotum himself to see if he could make her laugh, but it never worked). "...Eve, you can tell me if something's wrong. I'll always listen to you."
Eve shook her head, silver hair flying wildly, her golden eyes wide and... moist with tears?
"No Elsword. You'll never understand." A cold, unnatural bout of laughter bubbled up, spilling past Eve's lips, filling the silent, eerie room. "You'll never understand, because you caused all of this. It's all your fault. How could you? It's all your fault."
Elsword slowly walked up to Eve, placing his hands on her shoulders. Gold eyes met crimson ones, and Eve could see the concern in them.
Fake, he made you like this. Now he's pretending to care for you, pretending so he can laugh at you again when he says your JUST FRIENDS when you're not even -
"Eve, I'm sorry for everything that I've done to you, the things that I have knowledge of, and the things that I don't. Please forgive me."
Eve sighed, lowering her head, avoiding Elsword's gaze.
"I'm sorry."
Elsword blinked, confusion scrawled across his face. "Sorry for what?"
Pain ripped through Elsword as Eve plunged an obsidian dagger into his chest. Eyes wide, he began to cough, blood seeping out of his mouth.
"For that." Looking up, Elsword saw a maniacal smile spread across Eve's face, delusion flashing through her eyes as she giggled, covering her mouth slightly. Eve's giggles soon turned into laughter, until she was doubled over with laughter, watching the ruby-red blood seep into Elsword's clothes as he stumbled to the ground, his breath labored.
"This is all your fault. I love you, Elsword."
Striding over to Elsword's collapsed form, Eve placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. Elsword groaned, his face paling as the blood pooled around his body.
"Why... did you do this? ...Eve..."
Eve rolled her eyes. "Still alive?" Standing up, Eve placed a firm kick on Elsword's side, causing him to cough up more blood, his face contorting with pain. Taking one last shuddering breath, Elsword locked eyes with her.
"I... I loved you, Eve..."
Smirking, Eve flipped her hair. "Please don't lie to me, Elsword. We all know that you were just laughing at me as I made a fool of myself. Goodbye, Elsword. Forever."
Finally, the fog was gone. Her chest no longer hurt, nor was her mind fuzzy. She could breathe. She could think. She could see with clarity once again.
With dark clarity.
Me: Aloha! I have returned from Disney World with lots of Donald Duck merchandise, a tan, and a one shot for my question contest winner, RubyCrucifix!
Eve: It took you long enough.
Me: Hey, I was in Disney World. *sudden mood change* -.-
Raven: What's with her?
Elsword: I dunno.
Me: -.- *stares at Elgang*
Ara: W-What? What's wrong? Is there something on my face?
Me: Aren't you going to say something...?
Aisha: Um... Nice Donald Duck stuffed toy?
Me: *face palm*
Chung: *light bulb moment* Happy belated birthday!
Me: Thank you!
Rena: Oh yeah, that...
Me: That? THAT?! Seriously, you guys are terrible at remembering things! On a side note... YAMA RAJA! I just saw her character design now, and let's just say she's AWESOME. WAAAAY better than SD, IMO.
Ara: Thank you very much~!
Elsword: I'm not happy with this, you know...
Eve: Because I murdered you?
Elsword: *nods* You also went nuts.
Me: Blame Ruby, she wanted a tragedy one shot. Anyway, see you later alligator!
Chung: Don't forget to R&R!
Me: Love y'all! Chu~
Rena: *whispers* Don't forget to follow and favorite and give this lots of love!