Hey everyone, Paradigm of Writing here with a brand new chapter of Icarus Chronicle, #25: Aqueous Farewell. Last time, shit hit the fan at 60 mph and now we're left with all of the repercussions. I wanted to get this chapter out in the next couple of days given how busy I've become. Midterms are coming up in about three weeks, teachers are starting to bog me down with work that is completely ridiculous. I had auditions at school for a play called The Elephant Man, a show that I'm in called Dream of the Burning Boy is going on next Wednesday... and then not to mention I just officially finished writing my first draft of my full show called Delusion of the Heart, a contemporary drama about love... and so somehow in the mix of this I had to find time to write fanfiction hahaha. As in I've got seven chapters to write in 25 days, and that can happen, it can totally happen! Thank you to SeththeGreat and YoshiDB for reviewing. I hope you all enjoy Chapter #25: Aqueous Farewell.
Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. ~ Isaiah 53: 4-6
The elongated shadows from the candles in the hands of the conjoined forces of Lycian and Ylissen soldiers flickered over Roy's stoic face, the redhead looking into the starry night sky, trying to stop the tears from streaming down his face. He wasn't afraid of crying, and he surely didn't think that crying would affect him as a man, but there were times when the king and leader of the army did not show true, genuine sadness to be the rivet everyone else flocked too. He overlooked the kingdom of Ylisse from the castle balcony, the melding light of candles spreading out many miles wide. In the corner, Ness was sniffling and wiping away tears.
Separating the base of one of the castle's balconies was a moat, and held up by rigging and some tied pieces of rope was a boat. Nothing too fancy, a wooden, floatable structure in water that was easily flammable. In it lay Lucina Lowell's body, queen of Ylisse. After the initial chaos of armies retreating, and Roy trying to rip Kuro's head from his inhuman body, Robin had tripped over a body several yards away from where the connecting bolts of energy had connected. Lucina had been blown back when the sphere of ice exploded, shards of frozen crystal embedded in her back. Blood caked the queen's face, sores and burns erupting all up and down her porcelain façade. Roy cried over her body for an hour straight, hugging her to his chest, murmuring into the nape of her neck, braiding and plaiting her hair all the while crystalline tears flowed and flowed and flowed.
Peach had no idea how Ylisse and Lycia perceived grief, nor had she any dealings on the matter of Lycian and Ylissen funerals. In Skyworld, anyone of political power would be given a proper funeral administered by the entire kingdom. Had it been someone lesser, normally a few selected officials of the Skyworld court, including herself, Robin, and Pit would be present alongside the family or families of the deceased, with a simple service. Normally the body would be buried.
In Lycia, as the blonde would discover, it was entirely a different process.
Robin placed her candle down on the ground, walking up to Roy. She squeezed his shoulder in affirmation. The warrior was very familiar with the concept of death. It angered her, frustrated Robin Pherone to the point where she could not coherently speak, of how she had just started getting close to and caring about Lucina... for the cold hand of war to come down and crush whatever precipitating feeling of friendship there may have been. Roy looked at the Skyworld soldier and blinked back tears, smiling. "Are you ready?" she asked.
He nodded. "Yes. At least... I think so."
She took a step back. "If you need to cry Roy, just cry. No one here is going to judge you."
In the moment of silence that passed between the two warriors, a history of understanding flowed between them. Robin could feel the anguish, the rippling pain that'd cause mental scars for years to come... loved ones dying hurt, comrades dying in battle hurt just as much. People you fought alongside were just as closely related to you like a brother and sister. When one fellow soldier died, the attacker was going after the entire family, not just one person. And now the silverette only wished she could eviscerate Kuro's spine from his back whilst making Pit watch after doing such a thing to a friend he used to care about so much.
Roy managed to make it to the tip of the balcony, overlooking the gathered crowd of the army, citizens, and others who came far and wide to mourn the loss of their queen. A few people clapped out in the audience, which then turned into a tide of raucous applause, some cheering, and altogether a feeling of mutual happiness that didn't necessarily fit the occasion. The redhead broke into a smile, the one where the nerves in the face stimulated one as a quick response. He raised his hands into the air, lowering them.
A hush fell over the crowd, and save for the gentle breeze and moving of the candle wick, all was still in Ylisse. Roy, though he wished for perhaps something to channel his voice into, could feel the power surging through his veins. That whatever he said, there'd be people on the end of it to eat it up with a spoon, engorging themselves. "People of Ylisse and Lycia, thank you... thank you for deciding to be with me and the rest of us in mourning the loss of Ylissen queen, Lucina Lowell. She died two days ago in battle, our army engaged in a clash in Eagleland against the Skyworld forces led by the Icarus twins. In... in a moment of confusion, the elements of electricity and ice conjoined together and killed my girlfriend, your queen, and for some of you, your mother," Roy said, taking every sentence as an opportunity to let it sink in with exactly how much the bluenette meant to everyone. "Lucina and I had mutual feelings for one another for quite... quite sometime. It started roughly five years ago during the first Icarus campaign, but then boiled over recently into a love affair," he cut himself off, locking his jaw. When Roy looked back up to face the music, tears were in his eyes, glistening lights flickering amid the bowl of darkness. "I loved her. You all loved her. We loved her, every single one of us to some capacity. Lucina had no idea that I had been ready to propose. A ring still sits by my now empty bedside. Had we won or lost the fight in Eagleland wouldn't have mattered. I, that very day, was going to propose to Lucina Lowell, your queen, and mine too. But... now that's never going to be able to-" Roy couldn't finish the sentence, breaking down entirely.
The redhead sank to his knees, placing one hand over his mouth as the tears flowed. He gasped, a sound of human pain leeching from his lips, reverberating through the crowd as a noise of dissent rose up and echoed into the star ways. Behind him, Peach, Robin, and Ness were unsure exactly on what to do. It wasn't necessarily like there was protocol to follow. Ness looked at the two ladies, the look of loss reflected in his raven eyes. The ancient commander of Earth swallowed, and then walked up to Roy, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. The king of Lycia sniffled, glancing up, and then immediately blushing out of embarrassment. Ness pressed his forehead to Roy's murmuring something unintelligible to Robin, who couldn't hear him, despite only being a few feet away. After Ness finished, the commander of fire went back to stand by the Skyworld team.
Again, the crowd began to cheer and applaud, but it died down even faster than the first bough that had spread through. Joy wasn't as contagious as it should've been, but then again, a funeral. Ness cleared his throat, and though he felt like he was shouting, he could tell that there was the hint of reluctance in his voice. "People of Lycia and Ylisse... if we haven't had the chance to meet yet, I am Ness Hyacinth, once the king of a kingdom named Onett, which is now a section of Skyworld territory. I came to join the war effort for you all roughly two weeks ago, not even that. I am the commander of Earth... and it is evident tonight that in the ground the palpable emotions of despair and destruction run through us all. Though this is not necessarily what anyone wants to hear, it is in the best interest of you all to hear it. Lucina Lowell, your queen, my leader, would not want us to grieve her for too long. Focusing on what happened will only continue to keep us down, instead of us trying to focus on who's been holding us down. Any of this anger you feel needs to be channeled. It needs to be directed," the boy licked his lips, now on a tangent. "Lucina was the commander of the element of water. Her ability range could vary from summoning a waterspout to cooling down someone's body temperature by lining up wrists. Over her body lay the element itself, and after a day of deliberation, Roy and I have decided that the element will stay in stasis and never be used. That no one could honor its gifts like she did. For now, Roy is not in the position to be making many political decisions. Between us and the ladies of the Skyworld court, it's been agreed upon that I shall be the commander of the Ylissen forces and deal with whichever issues come up as long as the war continues. The crowing of a new king or queen is still up in the air, but at the very least a possibility," Ness said, letting the effect of his words sink in. He looked back at Roy, the king recovering somewhat from his emotional breakdown. "Let us all have a moment of silence for our dear leader, lover, friend, and mother... Lucina Lowell..."
Everyone bowed their heads in a moment of silence. Robin could feel Peach gravitating towards grabbing her hand, to just connect with someone. The silverette took the gentle touch, startling the blonde. "Thank you..." the warrior whispered back to her best friend, smiling.
Peach's smile mirrored that of pure happiness. "You- you're welcome."
The moment passed for a few seconds longer, the picture of ten thousand lit candles all blowing together in harmony, the sniffles and wiping of tears... Roy would be damned if he found another moment as capturing as that. He gained some levels of confidence back, matching evenly up with Ness. "Although I am not as well affiliated with Ylissen traditions, for any Lycian funeral, a structure of some sort is burned. The boat you see before you holds her body... and we shall burn it, lowering it into the moat the surrounds this castle. It'll be as a reminder the loss of life some have endured in ensuring that Smash remains tyranny free."
He looked back at Robin, this part having been considered since the end of the battle. Lining the wall were a few unlit torches, and the warrior grabbed one. She handed it to him. Roy turned the torch over to face his palm, a warm feeling coursing through his veins. A tiny flame burst from his skin, catching the torch on fire. Robin backed away as he turned to lean over the balcony. Roy wiped away a tear, his vision catching down on Lucina's still body.
They tried washing away the blood and grime the best they could. The deceased queen of Ylisse had her navy hair down, interwoven with petunias, water lily's, orchids and other flowers. Her armor had been replaced by a flowing ivory dress, her hands wrapped around her trusty sword, Falchion. "I love you, my darling..." he whispered to no one except her, and for a split second he thought the corpse smiled. Roy let go of the torch, it landing in the boat.
It caught fire immediately, the wisps of smoke and ash curling into the starry night sky. He couldn't bear look as the flame ate away at the delicate dress, tearing and ripping away at the fabric, the pallid skin smoldering and blackening. Ness outstretched his palms to face the ground, willing the gears holding the rope which held the boat up to spin, lowering the boat into the moat. As the boat began to be lowered, Roy broke down some more, Peach throwing her hands around the distressed king, cries of dissent and mourning shrieks rising from the crowd. The commander of Earth felt the gears at their wits end, releasing his control on them, the ropes snapping, the boat falling into the water with a splash.
The burning away of her body represented an era of Roy's life he'd never get back, he'd never see his true love smiling and kicking ass on the battlefield. He'd have all of these words he wished he could've said to her and never get the chance to. That the ring will sit there for someone else to use if they proposed, when they proposed to the lucky fellow or gal who'd get a damn expensive and well thought-out ring made by a king who could wield and bend flame as if it was innate. Roy exhaled deeply, going to rest against the wall on the right of Robin.
Ness backed away from the balcony, going to Peach's left. The four stood together in silence, each of their pairs of eyes unsure of where to focus on in the night sky. Robin hugged her sides tight, deciding to be the first one to break the ice.
"So... what do we do next? We have a game plan?" she asked.
"Give Kuro and Pit living hell, a hell they deserve to drown in." Roy barked, his voice harsh, the tears drying, being replaced by bitter tears of black embodiment.
"Get in line," Ness snorted. "We recuperate and deal with it later. Clearly your citizens are too emotionally affected by this loss to make any rational decisions. We wait it out."
"For what?" the redhead retorted, leaning forward to eye the raven haired boy. "So we can give Kuro another chance to come in and kill us all? That sounds like a really shitty idea!"
"Calm down..." Peach whispered, chills scaling down her back. "Being angry will not help the situation. We-"
"What do you propose Miss Seraph? Since you're the diplomat here, I imagine you have the personality with working with people. Tell me, if you're so petty to do so, in how we should go about this!" Roy snarled, jumping to pace the balcony.
The other three were shocked with this outburst, Ness outright paling to an already lighter, ghostlier version of himself. Peach's rebuttal died in her throat, but Robin was sure in hell not going to back down from a cry like that. "Watch it Roy! Don't talk to Peach like that! We're all grieving here, we're all upset. But getting mad at us is not going help the situation where we're 0-1 right now!" she got in his face, arms crossed over together. "Five minutes ago you lost your composure, and now you are going to spit fiery rage at us?"
"My girlfriend is dead, Robin!" Roy screamed. "I don't know what you want me to do! Should I just stand there next time we have a battle and let you die?"
The silverette raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"You know what I mean."
"Are you suggesting-" Peach shook her head in confusion, hoping that she was not hearing what she thought she was hearing.
Robin's face turned into animalistic rage. "Oh? So you're blaming Ness, Peach, and I for Lucina's death? How about this as food for thought, Roy. Lucina should've been thinking that attacking Kuro outright in the mix of all that chaos would only bring us trouble. Pit is completely off his rocker, and she probably didn't even think of him for that very fragile second, did she?"
Roy got in her face too. "Don't you dare think you talk to me like that. Don't think for one second that you have any idea what mental anguish and pain that I'm going through," he balked. "I can only imagine how hard it must be for you, the only worst thing you have to deal with is the feelings you're hiding from Peach. That you love her, but that you're afraid of telling her. It'll make you less of a woman, that you can possibly be falling in love with someone of the same gender... you're a coward Robin, you are in love, you are on the battlefield-"
She slapped him square across the face, and for good measure, stomped on his heel. In a fit of rage, Robin went hustling back into the palace, Peach biting down on her lip, following her. Roy rubbed his cheek, leaving a red welt in its place. Ness locked eyes with him. Roy jutted his chin out at the commander of Earth. "What, Ness? You going to chew me out to because I'm distressed and unbalanced-"
Ness's gaze was cold, almost as freezing as the worst one Pit could muster with riveting blue veins and sharp cuts. "Get your act together, Roy. I wonder why we're failing. It's because we've got an unstable joke for a leader."
The rebuttal died in Roy's throat as even Ness Hyacinth himself told off the king of Lycia. He stomped inside after the ladies, leaving the redhead all alone up on the balcony. A gust of wind blew through the vicinity, and deep inside, Roy finally felt the cold feeling of being alone. And it scared him, it hurt him, it terrified him. Roy bent down and picked up the last candle left on the balcony. Lucina's name had been etched into the wax, it starting to fade as the candle burned down.
He raised it high above his head and smashed the candle against the ground, wax and flame dashing out in jagged lines.
The legacy of an aqueous queen would go down in infamy.
Originally, that was not the plan I wanted this chapter to take, moreso it was originally going to be Roy and Ness talking about the aftermath of the battle and where strategy went wrong, but I deemed almost last minute that it would drag things along and not get much done. So now in its stead is an unstable, emotionally affected Roy who is going to go off on everyone as I felt like in chapters past he's starting to become one of those OC characters without flaw... and we need some flaws within these characters. Will this group regroup one last time for the final assault on the Icarus twins? Who knows... right? Anyways, that was Chapter #25: Aqueous Farewell. I literally just typed this in 100 minutes and I'm not even tired. However, bed time is calling my name. Thanks so much for reading! Please review and let me know what you thought! I'm probably going to be posting Chapter #26: Ironfrost, on Friday or Saturday depending on how busy I may be. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Have a great day! Love you all! Bye!
~ Paradigm