The Scattered Petals of the Saga of Evil
A Message Too Late: Rin
I had fled. I really was a coward. The peasa- no, the people, were right. I was not the all powerful ruler I had thought myself to be. I was just a child with too much power. Len, my dear Len, he knew. He tried to help me. I wish I had known what Len always had known.
When my kingdom had fallen, when the rebels had pushed down the walls of the castle, Len had turned to me. At first I had thought that he was going to desert me too, like all the others. But instead, he had given me his clothes and a cloak. I wondered why at first, but I understood when he pushed me into the closet and grabbed one of my dresses. I pounded on the door for him to let me out, but he never did.
I heard everything. He had dressed as me, pretended to be me, and had been taken away, as me. I finally broke the lock and got out, but too late. I had dressed in the clothes that Len gave me, and ran out to find him. I had got there in time to see him die. Still as me, he had smiled and said my line as the blade fell.
I had ran as far and as fast as I could. In a way, I was still running. I had found refuge in a church, far from Loewyl. Every day, I missed Len. There is a really nice girl here, a white haired girl that reminds me of Len. She has the same kindness that he had, that same sad look in the back of her eyes. That same look that I would have used to try and ignore. Now, I notice that I have that same look at times.
I found solace and comfort in the quiet backroom, there was an old pew that stood in front of a beautiful stained glass window. In there, I felt free to tell my secrets. I told the window of my history. It never replied, would never tell my secrets. Sometimes I wonder if I'm going mad. The old me would have scoffed at the idea of living in a church.
I spent my days doing chores in the morning with the nice white girl, then I had the rest of the day to myself. Usually, I would go to the backroom, but some days I would wander around the church. Today, I wandered up to the tall tower. I had never been so high before, in fact, I had never been farther west that the church. My visit was partly motivated by a desire to see the city.
The tower was made of stone, an old rock that had slowly eroded over the years. It had that damp, rocky smell that stone had. I liked that smell. Len did too. I trailed my hand over the stone as I walked up the tower. Rounding the last stair, I arrived at the top. The whole city and all its surroundings were mine to gaze at. I could see everything.
I looked to the west and smelled the salty smell of sea water. I could see the ocean. Me and Len went to the ocean once. He had told me that if you wrote a letter in a bottle and sent it out to sea, that if it didn't break there then surely your wish would be granted.
Back then I had laughed, believing that getting a wish grated was as simple as an order. Now, I didn't laugh. Instead, I ran down the tower, grabbed a glass bottle from the kitchen and a piece of paper. I wrote my wish on the paper and ran out of the church. As I ran west toward the beach, all I could think of was my dearest brother. I didn't care that the people were staring at me. I didn't notice the man in a blue coat. But that man, that right hand man to the king of Ulbe, noticed me. I didn't know that he followed me.
I ran and ran, always toward the ocean, only stopping when my feet touched the cold water. The sea breeze felt wonderful on my face. The salt water pooled around my ankles, was sucked back out to sea, and then returned to touch my ankles. I wadded out farther into the water, my torn dress now floated below my knees.
I bent down, and I gently dropped the bottle into the sea. The tide came in, and I watched the bottle float away. I closed my eyes and prayed that my wish would be answered. My tears fell down my cheeks. Behind me, I heard a splash.
I turned and saw the white haired girl. She had been holding a knife in her hands. But she faltered, and dropped the knife. She began to cry too.
"I'm sorry," she stuttered, 'So sorry."
I was shocked, not because she had tried to kill me, but because I hadn't been scared. In fact, I wished she had brought the knife down.
I heard running behind us. We both turned around and saw the man in the blue coat running toward us. No, toward me. He grabbed the fallen knife and lifted it into the air. The white haired girl turned to face the man, standing in front of me.
I panicked, and in my hysteria I pushed the girl out of the way, yelling, "No, don't Len!"
The knife fell and I closed my eyes. My chest hurt.
I collapsed to the ground, letting the ocean water sweep over my dying body. My blood mingled with the water, coloring it red. Part of me could hear the white haired girl crying, part of me could feel the horrible pain of the slash that cut to my heart.
I shut a door on that part of my mind, ignoring it. I focused my eyes on the glass bottle floating out to sea. It hadn't broken, and my wish would soon come true. I felt myself slipping away, I smiled, but didn't close my eyes. I stared at the bottle, as if my gaze would prevent it from breaking. The darkness bore into my eyes. I still stared, fixated at the bottle that held my wish, 'Let me see Len'
I felt death consume me; I was now at peace, happy in death.
"Len…I'm…coming….."
