{oOo}

The first thing Miriael felt was pain. Searing, mind-numbing pain. She opened her eyes. What had she been doing... Running. She had run with her Lady and taken a stand to ensure Persephone's safety. But what she saw was not Sicarus. It was... She saw the dusky red skies. Lampadas. Their failure. She saw the battle once again as if watching a movie, team after team falling back to the shuttles, members of the Order slowly retreating as they fired into the mass of approaching Traitor Marines.

Persephone tried to run past to the Sisters still fighting on the ground, her still-silver armor glinting in the light, but Miriael grabbed her bodily and pulled her onto the last shuttle out as it lifted off. She could see the proud salute they gave as they died in the Emperor's name. The planet's surface below them glowed red from the fires, and streaks of thick black smoke obscured the view. There were still loyal citizens on the planet, she knew, who had no hope of rescue.

A streak of light shot out from the Battleship Titania, descending towards the condemned world. It impacted the planetary surface and a massive burst of golden fire shot up in a gigantic pillar, flaring briefly before fading to nothingness. The shockwave blew across the surface of the planet, flinging chunks of earth and rock high up into the atmosphere before they came down ever so slowly to crush the fragile beings still clinging to life on the surface. The shuttle bay doors closed with finality, finally cutting off the vision of the planet below...

Miriael Sabathiel's body jerked in its binds, letting out a soundless scream as the Keeper of Secrets contemplated its next action.

{oOo}

She didn't know how many times the Keeper of Secrets had tried to possess her anymore, losing count after fifty. The entire time, her worst failures played, looping over and over again. It was painful, seeing faces remembered only in deepest memory brought to life, only to be killed over and over again. The pain was excruciating, but she forced herself to endure it. She had promised to return, and return she would, pure and of her own volition.

Another wave of searing pain battered her consciousness, and she forced herself to remember herself - her identity, her name, her duty.

"I am Adepta Sororitas," she said to herself in the depths of her mind. "My duty is my life. I defend Man against his enemies. My life is Saturn's to command..."

The pressure on her mind doubled and redoubled its intensity and slowly, she gave way under the force, folding in upon herself from the intensity of the pressure applied to her. Mentally, she screamed and raged. Slowly, she lost the senses she once had, ceded control of herself, curling up in a corner of her mind, surrounded by memories.

Pain.

Praetoria was a harsh world, where every breath she took was taxed. It was no place for orphans, and she lived miserably, small frame wracked by spasms of hunger.

Loneliness.

There was no one who would help her, who would take her in and raise her. Her parents were long dead, and who in their right mind would take on another burden, another mouth to feed, when they barely had enough to make ends meet themselves? Sometimes, she saw children playing in the streets, happy and, if not well-fed, at least not constantly hungry, and she wondered what it would take for her to be loved like they did.

Relief.

The starving orphan was found by a member of the Order of the Holy Flame and taken in. For the first time, she could live not having to worry about paying for the air she breathed. It took her six months before she stopped hoarding food.

Pride.

She wanted to follow in the kindly Sister's footsteps, and she applied to join the Sisters of Battle. She had never felt prouder than on the day she was accepted into the Order of Silence Eternal after completing her basic training.

Sorrow.

The Sister who had taken her in, the first person to show her true kindness, died, killed by Chaos Cultists during a humanitarian mission. In her sorrow, she cried and refused to speak to anyone for weeks.

Honor.

She was assigned to be the head of Persephone's personal bodyguard. She swore to follow wherever Persephone led and, if necessary, to trade her own life for that of her ward's. It was her honor to do so. She would not fail.

Love.

More than ever, she realized that sometimes, Persephone was just a lonely child. Mortarion could not take care of her properly, as he was usually away on some mission or another. More than anything else, she could empathize with her loneliness. So she made it her job to make Persephone happy, to let her smile freely, to wipe away the haunting solitude which lurked behind violet eyes. Seeing Persephone with a look of sheer, unadulterated joy whenever she met her made her brilliantly joyful yet depressingly sad at the same time.

Regret.

She left behind over three hundred of her sisters on Lampadas that fateful day, abandoned because the shuttles which were supposed to be there to take them off-planet had been destroyed. She cursed everything - herself for not being able to do more, her duty for not permitting her to trade with someone who deserved the space she took up more, her kindness for not letting her leave Persephone alone. The next day, the first flecks of black tarnish showed up on Persephone's silver armor.

Despair.

Ten years of defeat after defeat ensued, and even the small victories they won were not enough to wipe away the lingering shame at having to kill civilians, PDF, Imperial Guard, themselves, in their endless quest to defend the Imperium from its enemies. Through it all, the tarnish spread and grew. The silver lining on her own armor rusted as well, and the once-bright badges marking her rank and accomplishments dulled as well from lack of care.

Hope.

Their quest could finally be at an end. Sicarus would be their salvation. They would cleanse Lorgar of Chaos or kill him, and they would finally be able to rest, knowing that their failures had been redeemed, and she would be happy knowing that she would see Persephone smile again. Ten long years, finally at an end.

Miriael Sabathiel awoke, and cried out in horror as her body, possessed by a Keeper of Secrets, laughed. She could feel it, the wetness of blood sticking to her hands as she killed her comrades. She screamed, and no one heard save the demon inhabiting her body.

{oOo}

They were retreating. Yet another failure to add to ten years' worth of defeat. The shuttles had landed, and the level plains of bone was filled with running Astartes and Sororitas. Occasionally, an artillery shell streaked in, exploding amidst the running mass, throwing up massive clouds of dust and sending shards of metal scything through the massed ranks of humanity.

Word Bearers came from all sides, supported by the occasional Daemonette or Keeper of Secrets. Persephone spun, almost as if dancing, glaive in hand, buying time for the others to retreat. An Adepta Sororitas of her Order approached her.

Go! We'll hold them off!

Persephone shook her head.

My duty is to you. I have failed once. I will not do so again.

She had worked with Miriael for over thirty years, and, despite the fact that she was literally hundreds of years older than her, she had seen her as one of her closest friends. Even though she had left her behind, Persephone knew in her heart that somehow, Miriael would return. She had promised. Miriael didn't break her promises.

The Order of Silence Eternal were the people she worked with, trained with, fought with. Up until now, they had died for her, in her name. She would not let such a thing happen again. They had a duty to her. Did she not also have a duty to them?

The Sororitas tapped at her shoulder more urgently, trying to get her attention.

Your life is our duty. Go.

Persephone shook her head again.

Your lives are my duty. I will stay until everyone is off.

Seeing that her Lady would not be dissuaded from her course of action, the Sororitas resumed firing into the milling crowd of Word Bearers. Persephone kept on fighting, ignoring the sharp reports from the bolter besides her. The constant stream of fire suddenly cut off. Looking over, Persephone could see her erstwhile partner gazing up at the sky, a gaping hole in her chest armor dripping blood. She looked away and kept fighting. There would be time enough to mourn after this was over.

The Sororitas thinned as more and more shuttles lifted off, and finally there was one last shuttle and no more Sororitas, the ramp down and the hold open, waiting only for her footsteps. Even as Persephone turned, the fire peppering the armored hide of the shuttle slackened, and a Keeper of Secrets appeared before her. It's face was-

No. Nonononono. It couldn't be true. It wasn't. Her glaive dropped as she let go in shock, and she stumbled backwards and fell. It's claw-like fingernails reached down to rend flesh, and she closed her eyes. A moment passed. An eternity. She opened her eyes, and saw Miriael's face above hers, claws twitching as if some invisible force were preventing it from descending. "I'm sorry," it mouthed, one eye leaking tears, "run."

Persephone grabbed her glaive and sprinted for the shuttle as the bolter fire resumed once again. She dove into the cargo hold and the shuttle lifted off, ramp closing behind her, granting her one last look at the person she considered family before the hatch sealed with a hiss.

"It's not her," she whispered to herself, "it's not her."

For the first time since meeting Miriael, Persephone cried.

The members of the Order of Silence Eternal looked at each other awkwardly as their Senshi sobbed on the cold metal floor of the shuttle. And through the gasps and the sounds of sorrow, they could hear three phrases repeated over and over again.

"It's not her."

"She'll come back."

"She promised."

Just as the shuttle broke orbit, a single heart-rending shriek sounded.

"How could they steal her face?"

{oOo}

Miriael's records were sealed at Persephone's orders.

The Senshi herself waited.

She'll come back to me.

She promised.

{oOo}