Chapter Twenty-One
Resistance of the Heart
Back in the resistance. Izzy is about to meet her second favourite person again, the lovable Page. I know I paint her the villain sometimes but during my own gameplay I got so annoyed with the rebel leader.
Walter led the two soldiers down into the sewers. After a week hanging around a sweet smelling cottage, Izzy struggled to control her gagging. The foulness of Bowerstone sewers made her miss proper plumbing. Careful to remain on the walkway, she refused to look into the foul waters beside them. They were spending far too much time down here. Damp and barely lit, it must be difficult to navigate the area. Izzy stuck close to Walter who carried a torch with him. The orange glow bounced off the brick walls, chasing away the darkness.
A few people watched them walk passed, eyes fixed on their red coats. Logan might have his royal guard clad in purple but no member of the army was a welcoming sight. Especially not who had been betrothed to the King himself. The old knight and the prince had proven themselves to the rebels. Ben Finn was a wanted man. The other Hero was an unknown factor. Having a escaped from the castle meant she could be very strong and brave. Or a plan conceived by the King.
Paranoia ran riot down in the lowly sewer. Most of the rebels had lost their families, either to the tyranny or due to them being on the run. Logan took everything he could from these lost souls. Izzy did feel sorry for them. They had to risk everything to order to bring Albion a better monarch. She just wished they would stop giving her the stink eye. For a brief moment the Hero wondered if she should have sent Angie this way. It might not be the best living conditions but the maid might have lived.
She shook her head. There was no point in thinking of 'ifs' now. What was done was done. No turning back, no glossing over what happened. Angie had lost her life because she helped. And it was Izzy's fault. The poor girl should never have been dragged into this mess in the first place. Not only had the kindly maid's life been lost but the Hero had taken others as penance. Now she could lose everything she held dear. She could feel it slowly move away no matter how tightly she tried to hold on.
Izzy stared at the back on Ben's head. It hurt to think about losing him. To be alone in a world she didn't belong to. She didn't know what to say, how to make it better. Make it so they were still that happy couple from the cottage. Being a Hero taught her that things could fall apart in an instant. Even with the super-strength, endurance and Will, she couldn't use any of them to make it right.
Walter led them into the war-room, placing the torch up onto one of the holders. Page and Darius were bending over the map, quietly talking about battle plans. On the floor was Shadow the collie. He looked thoroughly bored with the war talks. When the trio entered the room, he gazed up in excitement. His tail began to 'whump' against the ground upon seeing the other Hero. The dog quickly scrambled up from the ground and bounded over to Izzy. Yipping in excitement, he rolled over, demanding her to scratch his belly.
Laughing slightly, she obliged reaching down to the animal. It whimpered in happiness. Finally, someone was paying attention to him. The royal rebel and rebel leader gazed up from their plans, noticing the newcomers.
"Now the rebellion can really start," said Darius, smiling at his friends.
"If the king's fiancée can stop playing with the dog," grumbled Page, shifting through the papers.
"Hello to you too, Page," replied Izzy, standing up. "The torture for your cause was fine thanks. I was also looking forward to the forced marriage and rape. Damn shame someone thought about the crazy idea to rescue me."
Page's hand twitched towards her gun whilst Izzy's hand was on her sword. Walter had hoped the two women would not come to blows. Maybe that had just been wistful thinking on his part. After all, Izzy had put a large dent in Logan's support with the nobles. He would have thought they could bond over that. But they were both stubborn. It didn't help that Page had the social skills of a turnip. Walter decided he was going to stop trying to understand the pair.
"Some of us didn't get to rest for a week," sniped Page, brown eyes boring into the Hero
"Some of us had to train to use Will properly for a week," answered the dark haired woman, "and some of us almost died for the cause."
"Uh," said Darius, but he was swiftly ignored.
"I would die for this," affirmed the revel.
Izzy shook her head. "But you didn't. To you, everything can be sacrificed as long as your goal is met. Doesn't matter how many are hurt along the way. As long as your vengeance is satisfied, everyone can be shot in the head or tortured or destroyed."
The last part seemed to be directed over at Ben who was remaining oddly quiet. The Knight and Prince were expected at least one call for a cat fight or mud wrestling.
The rebel leader glared at the Hero. "I see the torture did still your tongue."
With impress speed, Izzy reached into her boot, pulled put and dagger and threw it at Page. It whistled past the rebel's ear, embedding its body in the pillar behind her. In response both of them drew their guns.
"Don't you dare fucking speak about things you know nothing about," spat Izzy, her gun hand was steady but the rest of her was shaking. "Did you have all of bones slowly broken? Or have to sit in your own filth as they dropped buckets of ice cold water over you? Do you find it hard to sleep because you keep remembering the things they did? Were you paraded around like a prized poodle when you knew rape was soon to come?"
Page didn't say anything. There was a broken part of the Hero before her. A mask sat upon Izzy's face. It was of the person that used to exist before they watched a friend die and the enemy tried to physically break them. The young woman who bounded into the rebel headquarters and joked about everything wasn't there. She was still sarcastic but there was a harsh edge to it now. Bitterness wrapped its warped fingers over her words. Even the most cheerful spirit can be broken by Albion.
"I thought you didn't have an answer," said Izzy, unwavering. "Stop pretending that you don't fear death. Because I can see the terror in your eyes."
Page cocked her gun back, ready to shot the Hero right through the heart. Walter stepped forward, ready to give them both a good talking to. To his surprise, the prince beat him to it.
"Oi!" shouted Darius, stepping between the two of them.
Their aim didn't waver but the both woman paid attention to the royal Hero. The tension was running extremely high right now. Darius would have to say the right thing in order to defuse the whole thing right.
"We do not have time for you two to bicker," he snapped, glaring at them both. "We are on the cusp of a war which will decide the fate of Albion. I need all of my people to be on the same page otherwise this whole thing might fall through. How can I expect to win a war when I can't control the battles between my own people!?"
For a moment, Walter thought they were going to shoot the Prince. But they gazed down at the ground in guilt. Izzy was the first to lower her car and holster it. Most of her dark hair covered fell across her face, hiding the expression on her features. Page glowered for a little while before putting the gun away.
"I'm sorry, Darius," said Izzy, quietly. "I won't interrupt you anymore. You know, with bullets and knives and things."
The Prince rolled his eyes. "Thank you, Izzy. We need to discuss our plans on reaching Aurora. Now, if you two are done threatening one another, we start talking like adults."
"Fine," grumbled Page, taking a seat around the table.
Walter let out a long breath, watching Izzy take a seat far away from the rebel leader. He was beginning to get fed up with these young people and their problems. As much as the old knight respected them all for their own special abilities, he was getting tired of the drama. First, Ben and Izzy seemed to be having a spat. Now, Page and Izzy were at one another throats. The defining factors in both these were the new Hero.
Her behaviour needed to buckle down and take this seriously. Or else everything would be put at risk by the sudden emotional changes. It was bad enough when Ben decided to be a pain in the arse joker to serious brooder. Even though the Prince had given them all a good talking to, they had more issues to work out. Rebellions were hard to plan if people were at throats. Darius circled the table, gazing at them all with purpose. He looked entirely regale and ready to lead.
"We need to reach Aurora within this month," stated Darius, tapping the map. "Now, there are only a few ships in the fleet fast enough to do that. They are right at the front of the harbour which means a select few of us need to fight to towards it. Walter, Ben, Izzy and I will be the group. I need Page here to prepare for the battle when we get back."
"You sure the revolution is going happen when we get back?" asked Izzy, leaning forward on her crate.
"The people of Aurora have the best navy fleet. If we want to win against Logan, then we have to employ their help before anything can start," explained Darius.
Izzy titled her head to side, considering the words. "Something is in Aurora, remember? It sent your brother running back here, fearful and desperate."
The Prince nodded sadly. "I hope to find out what drove him to these measures. Hopefully we will be stronger than him."
"Why only four of us?" asked Ben, speaking up for the first time.
"I can't take a big group with us. It will draw attention to fast," he stated. "Four of us can handle the boat on our own. I doubt we should bump into anything once we're on the water."
"A few of the resistance members will come as back up," said Page, "making sure that you reach the ship."
"Well, this will be fun," mumbled Izzy, scratching Shadow behind the ears.
"If you don't want to go, just say," scolded Ben, not looking at her.
Izzy huffed but didn't reply to the snide remark. The rebel leader smiled slightly; apparently happy the couple were in trouble. It's weird on what people get off on. She wanted to shout at Ben, tell him to grow the fuck up. But instead, she remained quiet in the corner. They were making all these plans to overthrow Logan, for Darius to screw his own brother over. Had anyone asked him about this? Whether or not the younger brother was ready to betray his own sibling?
Maybe Darius was just able to handle the Hero mantle better? After all, his father had been one. Izzy could barely remember her own parents, they died too young. There were snippets like picnics in the park and her father's beard tickling her cheek. She did recall her father stating his great-father had been a circus strongman. So the Hero gene at least managed to worm its way in somewhere.
"We begin our attack tomorrow evening," said Darius, "for now, I suggest that everyone gets so rest."
"Ben and Izzy can use the two bunks in the training room," said Page, not looking at either of them. "No one is using them, currently."
Walter gazed over at the duo worriedly. It was bad enough that the young Hero and the rebel leader had pulled a gun on one another. He didn't know what would happen if those two got pissed off. Page is a good aim but the other two are excellent shots. Standing up, Izzy didn't say a word as she crossed the room, pulled her knife out of the beam and stalked from the room. After sitting a few minutes of awkward silence, Ben got up to leave too.
He remembered where the training room was. The two of them had battled out there in more than once. They even flirted too. When he walked in there, no warm feelings left between them. An icy wind drifted between them, filling the room. The room was an oval shape with about four bunk beds to one side and weapons hanging up on the other side. Izzy had chosen the top one with her back turned to him.
He didn't want to be angry at her anymore. Nor did he want her to be upset. All Ben wanted was to understand what was happening. The village incident had put him on edge. But something else was clearly going on in her head than just wrath. Instead of yelling at her until he was blue in face, perhaps he might want to talk to her. It wasn't like he could excuse the slaughter of a half a village. But he did want to help her.
"Izzy," he ventured, standing beside the bunk.
She kept staring at the wall, not saying anything. Ben sighed, placing his on the depressed mattress. He never considered himself much of a feelings man. His old man always taught him to only open up around the ladies. Enticing them by letting them believe you cared. Then Ben's mum would playfully hit him and tell her husband to stop teaching their sons bad habits. But with Izzy, he actually wanted to say what he really felt.
"I need to talk to you," he whispered, leaning his forehead against the bed. "I want to understand what's happening."
Izzy turned around, frowning deeply at him. "What no lecture?" she demanded.
He shook his head sadly. "No. I want to listen."
She glanced at him with heavy suspicion. "What exactly do you want me to talk about for you to listen to."
"Just tell me what's going, Izzy," pleaded Ben, "why are you so angry?"
Her bottom lip quivered but she composed herself quickly. Sitting up on the bed, she slipped off from the bunk. Opening and closing her mouth a couple of times, the Hero couldn't find the words. Then they blurted out all at once.
"Because everyone expects me to bounce right back!" said Izzy, tearing up. "I was alone in a dark dungeon waiting for them to kill me. I knew no one was coming back to me. I knew that I would be beaten broken until I didn't even know my own name!"
"Izzy," said Ben, heart plummeting.
"No!" she shouted, "stop it. This isn't something that can be fixed with some great speech. When you were sleeping I would wake up in state trying to remember where I was, that the pain wasn't there anymore and I was safe. I thought the week in the cottage would help me calm down but Garth came along and threw me back in. Because I'm a Hero I don't get to recover! I don't get to act like I was broken!"
She burst into tears. One minute the Hero was trying to hold it together. The hurt in Ben's face pushed her into opening the floodgates. Izzy had been trying to hold it back for the entire conversation. A lump crept up her throat threatening to unleash the pain and anger she been feeling for days. Tears started to pour down her face at a worrying rate. Ben pulled her into an embrace.
Of course, no one had even bothered to ask how she was after the castle. There had been hints of what happened. The scars on her skin were one massive hint. The biting edge in her tone was also another. At first he thought she didn't want to talk about it. Or she had already sorted out those feelings. In any case, he should have been paying more attention instead of pushing her back into battle. The only other person had been tortured in such a manner was Major Swift but he had been executed.
"Shhh, shh" he said, stroking her hair. "I'm here. I'm here for you. It's ok now. I'm not going to walk away."
Izzy just let it all out, making the soldiers shirt completely damp. Wrapping her arms him, she buried her face into his chest. The outside world could fuck off right now. She needed to let go of all the stupid shit that happened to her over the past few months. The balverines, the torture and the capture had been a weight on her shoulders. No one had wanted to listen until now. Bringing up 'hey, do you want to hear about my traumatic experience' in conversation is difficult. Burying it for a while had been fine.
A small part of the weight had been lifted. Somebody had taken the time to understand things. Izzy knew their relationship wasn't magical fixed. They needed to work on a lot of things. Talk things out rather than being passive-aggressive with one another. At least now she knew that Ben wasn't leaving, she felt a little better. Pulling away from the hug, she smiled weakly up at him.
"I'm sorry about the village," she hiccupped, wiping away tears. "That you had to see all of that. I-I lost control and abused the powers I have."
He kissed her forehead. "I don't know what to do," he said, stroking her hair. "I don't want to condone what you've done but I can't leave you. I want to help with the dark side. To make sure the Izzy I know will always be there."
"Then don't," she whispered, kissing him.
Ok, so this chapter was dealing with a traumatic experience. Where you wander around for a few days, a little numb and ignoring the problem. It deals with everyone expecting the person in trouble to magical get better. I thought Izzy's torture needed to be explored through her slightly questionable actions. Hoped you enjoyed.
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