Chapter 21
Marionette
Roxas sighed as he watched on; pursing his lips, trying to figure out what Emery was planning. He sighed again when he failed considerably in figuring anything out. There seemed to be no way for him to stay with anyone other than Emery. The next thing he knew after he gave Axel a hug, he was transported back to Emery's side. It was as if there was something binding him and Emery together. He didn't know what and he didn't know if that was a good thing or not. He wanted to stay with Axel…
But yet, at the same time, he wanted to stay away from Axel. Then there was another part of him which wanted nothing more than for Axel's cruelest and torturous death. He didn't know why he had very conflicting emotions residing inside him. His feelings for Axel were odd mixtures of hatred, love, desires for vengeance, affection, anger, disappointment…
Those negative and positive emotions were each so strong that he didn't know how he exactly felt towards Axel. There were times when he felt like Axel deserved to feel guilty and bear self-loathe for what had happened and there were times when he felt that Axel was not to blame. His feelings towards Naminé were also the same. He wanted the same thing that Emery wanted for Naminé but at the same time, he didn't think that anyone deserved to be tortured as such. It was humiliating and sickening.
Taking in a deep breath, he dully pokes Emery's arm. His fingers went right inside. He rolled his eyes, wishing for someone to be able to hear him, wishing to be able to touch someone. Now, instead of touching someone, he just poofed and went right through them like wind. He liked poking people just to annoy them, but when the people he poked couldn't feel him… it was just plain boring. "Why do I feel the same as you, but at the same time, I don't?" he questioned, muttering under his breath. "You seem like a cool guy and all, maybe we could be friends in the college or something… considering that I'm not your mother then."
And then, he felt odd that he was Raven's mother. He just felt odd overall that he possessed the knowledge of what had happened. It didn't make him feel any better to know events that had occurred in the past. He hated history. He always did. He didn't like knowing what had happened. What was important for him was the present. But, he was there, even though he was non-existent to those people… he was there, reliving everything that had happened. So, it was as if he was living the past as a present, which completely made him confuse on how he should feel. Was that Roxas from five hundred years ago really him? But… why did they have the same name after five hundred years? People would have changed names, right?
And the only thing he could do was keep wondering, gaining more and more questions.
While at the same time… try to make himself not care too much about this… past… or present.
Since really, he shouldn't care, right?
Maybe when all of these were over, he would be returned to his home… where he would wake up every single morning to the smell of brewing coffee that his mother would always prepare, to the orange juice that Naminé would always pour for him, to the toast that he would always make for himself and Naminé, and to the omelet that his mother would always make for herself and his father.
Wake up to the bright sun that was shining beautifully outside, enjoying the lazy morning while listening to the radio or watering the small garden that he and Naminé made at the back of their house or watching the white curtains flow so freely to the wind, as if dancing…
And maybe then, he would take some classes… some crafting classes, maybe… Since after all… crafting dolls were…
Crafting dolls…
Marionettes…
Crafting and controlling marionettes… becoming a puppeteer was…
Axel's dream…
-xoxo-
She woke up to the feeling of slimy little things around her. She blinked herself awake and gasped as she noticed that she had been held up from four directions by what seemed like slimy and smooth tentacles. "W-what?" she stuttered, frightened. What were those?
She struggled, trying to free herself, but it was of no use. The tentacles were holding her securely in place, crawling and leeching around here and there. She began tearing up, about to scream for help but was silenced by a tentacle that suddenly made its way inside her mouth, gagging her.
She was in her room…
But there was nobody there, except for her and the tentacles.
-xoxo-
There was a smirk on his face as he was sitting on his bed, staring blankly at the wooden floor.
Roxas frowned at Emery's look. "Is everything okay, Emery?" he asked even though he knew that no one could hear him.
Emery chuckled darkly then. "Soon… soon… everyone will be… you'll be avenged soon, mother. I promise you."
"What?..."
He got up and walked out of his room, heading towards the princess' chamber. He opened the door to reveal the princess being gagged and held in place by the tentacles. "The things he taught me are actually quite useful…" he muttered as he flicked his hand, dismissing those tentacles.
Raven was thrown on the floor. She gasped and panted. "What are you doing?" she frowned. "What are those? Why are you…" she let out a silent scream as Emery hit her.
"Be quiet. Somebody as horrible looking as you is not worthy of speaking in such manners to me."
"What?..." Raven blinked, sitting up from the floor, watching Emery with horror in her expression. "Have you gone insane?"
"I have just figured out what I'm going to do with the people who don't agree with me… with somebody like you," Emery walked towards where Raven was lying and with his boots, he kicked Raven's stomach and put his leg there, staring down at her cruelly and coldly.
Raven choked and coughed. "W-wh…"
"What am I trying to do?" Emery began laughing maniacally then. "Dispose of you…" he narrowed his eyes dangerously. "You're the only one who's not suffering. You've been happy all your life. It is time for you to experience suffering and anguish, Raven."
"Emery… please… don't… what have I ever done to you?"
"You look too much like mother. You look a lot like mother, yet you don't even have the same purpose as what mother would have had if she were still alive. It sickens me to know that. You're her daughter, but you're not even angered at the fact that your mother has been accused, suffering a torturous and inhuman death… All you can do is cry and beg me to save that fake mother of yours who is the cause of everybody's suffering. You deserve to die just because of that, Raven."
"No, Emery. Don't do this. Raven has nothing to do with this! If you still see me as your mother, then Raven is your sister… You're supposed to protect her!"
"You don't know what mother wants!"
"I know her better than you do! Anyone would want revenge!" Emery took out a small knife.
"But mother isn't just anyone, right?" Raven countered.
"I know she wants revenge!"
"How do you know?" Raven said, increasingly becoming panic as she saw the knife. She kept struggling but Emery kept pushing her down with the sole of his feet. "Have you talked to mother?"
"No. But neither have you."
"I have! I talked to mother! I see her! And she said she doesn't want revenge!"
Roxas blinked, wondering if Raven was telling the truth.
"Lies. If mother 's spirit were to be seen, I would have been able to see her! Not you! I feel her presence with me. She must have not been able to rest in peace because she's not yet avenged. My vengeance will start with you, Raven... because you have been too foolish..." he hissed hatefully. "You have been too kind and too foolish..."
"Was that what happened? Did that mother of yours also deserved what happened to her because she was too foolish and too kind?" Raven said desperately, examining the area without being noticed by the madman above her, trying to find a way to save herself.
Emery's calm face was instantly turned into a mad scowl. He grabbed a hold of Raven's long and beautiful red hair and slammed her to the nearest wall. She let out a deafening scream. Blood began rolling down from her forehead because of the impact. She reached around, trying to grab something that she could use as a weapon to defend herself.
Then, Emery pulled her back by her hair, whispering dangerously to her. "Don't you dare... compare yourself to mother... You might be her daughter, but you're nothing like her."
Roxas frowned. "Emery, what the hell is wrong with you?"
"What do you know about her? Whatever you remember of her was when you were a baby!" Raven growled, struggling.
Raven finally grabbed a pair of scissors which was sitting inside her small music box. With a swift hand movement, she managed to use the pair of scissors to stab Emery's side.
Emery let go of Raven's hair soon after, but immediately recovered when Raven was about to make her way out of the room. He grabbed her by the wrist, turned her around, and swiftly slit Raven's neck with the small knife he was holding. Blood began bursting out of her neck.
Roxas let out a scream, using his hands to cover his mouth.
Raven murmured some gibberish before her body finally fell limp on the floor, blood accumulating on her neck and her forehead.
Emery stared at the dead body without any sense of remorse.
Out of anger, he began repeatedly stabbing the dead body.
Stabbing and stabbing...
Until the body became so ghastly deformed...
-xoxo-
Roxas couldn't look anymore.
Emery ripped apart the flesh of the body using his small, but sharp knife. He brought the piece of flesh to his mouth and began devouring it raw, remembering how he had survived the forest after the village attack, renewing his desire for revenge… remembering how Roxas and Riku and Kairi and everyone in the village had been murdered… remembering how he dug the soil and bury those bodies of loved ones. Everything was still so clear to him… So clear, as if it all happened just the day before. He cursed himself for having such excellent memory.
Blood dripped out of the corner of his mouth as he kept chewing on the flesh that was Raven's. He kept consuming her, finishing her insides and leaving her outsides be because he was already too full. He swallowed, watching the disfigured body… nothing but blood and pieces of red meats. He stared at the body with some sort of sad expression on his face. Then, he shook his head, wondering what he had done.
But it was not the time for him to stop and doubt himself. He still had a lot to do. He still had to avenge his mother. He still had to bring her back to life…
Yes… after she was avenged…
He would seek to bring her back to life…
No matter what…
Afterward, he cleverly disposed of the body and cleaned up the room…
Making a scenario as if Raven ran away from the castle…
Missing…
-xoxo-
She couldn't stop chuckling and giggling crazily in that jail cell where she would rot. She tilted her head to the side once in a while, just staring into the nothingness. She would crawl around and eat the hay that was laid about on the floor. She would continuously mutter and chant "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
The doors to the dungeon opened and in came the young man with expression so cold.
He stopped when he arrived at the cell where the queen was kept. There was an expression of happiness in his face. "And how are you doing today, my Queen?" he asked with a scoff.
Naminé giggled some more before finally craning her neck up to stare at the figure in front of her. It was then that there was a look of horror in her face. "R-R..." she stuttered, falling down on her bottom, crawling backwards until her back was up against the wall.
She wasn't staring at Emery. She was strangely staring at the blank wall beside Emery where Roxas was standing. Emery tilted his head to the side, wondering what kind of game Naminé was playing now.
"Roxas…" Naminé whimpered, curling up to himself.
Roxas blinked. "What…? You can see me?"
"A-a-a-are you here for revenge? No, please… I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" she cried.
"No, no. Naminé, I'm not here for revenge. I… I'm… I'm trying to stop Emery!" Roxas said as he walked through the iron jail bars.
"S-stay away from me!"
"What nonsense are you trying to play, Naminé?" Emery narrowed his eyes unhappily.
"R-Roxas, please… please… I had to do it! I was angry because you stole the prince away!" Naminé tried explaining, staring into Roxas' eyes.
"You… really can see me?"
"Roxas… please let me out of here! Don't let that monster get to me!" Naminé said, kneeling down, pleading.
"Roxas…? Mother…?"
"Please, Roxas! Tell him to let me out!" Naminé cried.
"Emery can't hear me…"
"Don't beg mother for forgiveness because she won't ever forgive you, you witch!" Emery roared.
Naminé turned to look at Emery, eyes dead. "It's your fault… it's your fault…" she giggled again, sitting back down, hugging her knees close. "It's your fault."
"How is it my fault? You're the one who…"
"It's your fault for being born ugly. It's your fault that I had to switch you with her baby. It's your fault that Roxas died. Y-you see…" she laughed. "If you hadn't looked so monstrous, Roxas wouldn't have said that you're not her baby. And Axel wouldn't have prosecuted her. It's all your fault. You're bad luck. You bring everybody misfortune."
"Silence. If it weren't for you, everybody would have been…"
"It's all your fault in the end…" Naminé chuckled again. "Your fault… your fault…" she kept chanting and muttering.
"It's nobody's fault… stop it…" Roxas shook his head.
"If you hadn't been born, nothing would have happened to Roxas, right?" she continued laughing, looking at Roxas' feet the whole time.
Emery narrowed his eyes. "I will make sure that you receive your painful and slow death soon, Naminé." Then, he turned around and walked away without looking back.
-xoxo-
When he walked out of the dungeon, he met the King. He pressed his palm against the wound that he had gotten from Raven, feeling the sting. He had bandaged the wound and stopped the bleeding, however, he could still feel the pain.
Politely, he bowed down respectfully at the King's presence. They looked at one another without exchanging a single word. There was a tint of guilt in Emery's eyes, while there was sadness and anguish in the King's.
"Is everything alright? You're injured." Axel stared at Emery's wound.
"It's nothing…" Emery said, about to walk away.
"Who are you?..." the King finally muttered, examining the young man.
Emery stopped and looked into Axel's eyes. "My King… I am just someone from far away travelling to this country in hope of finding luck and fortune. I found happiness and fortune in Princess Raven…"
"Who are you…? Speak of the truth. Is it a mere coincidence that you bear the same name as my son? Emery…?"
Emery's eyes widened for a second. Why… why did the King call him as his son? The King clearly knew that he was an infidel son between that woman and his father. He quickly returned to his calm, normal expression. "The famous Prince Emery who was thrown into the sea along with his mother's dead body when he was still a baby? If it is so… then I am not him. I am but a mere traveler."
Axel's eyes widened. "How do you know of such details? No one from sixteen years ago lived to tell this story."
Emery looked away, it seemed that he had miscalculated his speech. "I…" he stuttered, trying to find some reasoning to get out of the situation.
"I've sent troops and single-handedly killed all commoners that were related with Roxas' death. So, speak… Or you will rot in the dungeon with that woman."
"You killed every one of those innocent people…?" Roxas whispered.
"I heard from someone in the castle. As much as you would like it, I am not your son, My Lord. No ordinary babies would have been able to survive such ordeal." Emery walked passed Axel, about to return to his room.
"You said no ordinary babies…"
Emery stopped for a while before finally walking away, without leaving a reply.
Axel turned to watch the figure disappearing down the hall. "No ordinary babies..." he muttered.
-xoxo-
Naminé had no choice but to relieve herself in the corner of her jail room when no guards were going to let her out no matter how much screaming and arguing she had caused.
This time, when she was relieving herself… she noticed some changes in her womanly part… it hurt when she urinated. There were some lumps, big ones and small ones at the corner and inside her vagina. She whimpered in fear. What were those…?
What were those?
The big lumps even contained some liquids inside.
And around her private area were red bumps…
It hurt…
It hurt…
That pear-shaped tool that was shoved inside her…
That tool…
-xoxo-
Axel made his way down to the dungeon and stopped in front of where Naminé was kept. There was no pity in his eyes as he stared down at the woman whom he had called a wife for sixteen years.
Naminé stopped giggling to herself when she saw Axel. "Are you here to let me out?" she asked, feeling hopeful. "Please... I need a doctor... s-something's wrong, Axel... something's wrong with my woman part..." she sobbed then.
Axel showed no emotion. "And why should I care?"
"Axel... y-you don't understand! Some white things appeared all over it... and there's water in them... i-it's... it smells too... I... you have to get me a doctor... please..." she cried.
"No doctor will be sent to you, Naminé."
"But I might die!" she cried hoarsely. "You don't want me to die, right?"
"I won't give a single care if you die because of whatever happened to you. In fact, it would be a fitting death for you."
She continued to cry, curling up to herself then. "Let me out... Let me out..."
"You'd better enjoy the rest of your stay here. The people will prosecute you next week... I will make sure that you're still alive until then. Farewell, Naminé," The King turned and walked away. The guards closed the door behind him.
There was no need for him to visit Naminé personally. However, he thought that he should pay her a visit and see her suffering. After all... after everything was over... it would be just him, Emery, and Raven in the castle.
However, when he decided to go pay a visit to Raven, Raven was nowhere to be found. A search within the castle yielded no result. The princess was missing.
And she never came back...
-xoxo-
There was uproar when a commoner found a sack filled with bones and rotting flesh of a human inside. The clothes were later identified as the princess. Rumors began spreading around that Naminé's witchery was to be blamed for the Princess' death. It was not a surprise when the people started demanding for the date of the queen's trial to be moved forward.
-xoxo-
Emery morphed to a canary and made his way to where Diz lived in the woods.
Roxas always felt odd to be flying with Emery during the morph. It made him feel nausea. The idea itself was odd to him—it was as if his consciousness merged with Emery's. It was, of course, amazing for him that he was flying in the form of a small bird. It was later on that he found out that he was prone to airsickness. He made a note to himself to never travel by plane unless necessary. He felt especially sick when Emery started flying downwards.
Emery instantly morphed back to his form after he landed on the ground. Roxas gagged a bit after his consciousness return. Afterward, he began walking along with Emery.
Emery pushed the door to the small shack in the forest open. The door creaked. And inside, was the man, whose face was covered with red bandages, sitting by the window.
"Diz..." Emery greeted.
"Emery, I've been waiting for you." the man turned to look at Emery, a smirk on his face.
-xoxo-
Oh, I forgot about this. "harlequin ichthyosis" is your word of the day. Go copy and paste it and google it at your own discretion. Here's what LMAObackspacebutton said, "I just found a baby that... sort of reminds me of what I pictured Emery to be. Emery had reminded me of a baby with harlequin ichthyosis. Don't look this up unless you like to see mutated babies. Because that's exactly what it is."I do feel sorry for those babies. And you can thank LMAObackspacebutton for that piece of information.
Hope you enjoyed. Sorry for the long end note.
Thanks!