Chapter 37: The Darkest Hour.
They did not travel far. By Skyla's guess they were roughly about the same distance as she and Alima normally appeared from the Wingdom. The flight had not been comfortable, but the creature didn't hurt her. Soon, she felt his grip release around her slightly as he opened his hands as a child would perhaps when showing a treasure to a parent. Skyla blinked, aware of the dim light around them and slowly started flying up. She looked around to see that there was another creature before her, staring at her curiously. Wondering if the monster had misunderstood her intentions, Skyla looked around then saw the light around them brighten slightly. A ball of light floated up from behind the monster and soon revealed the massive figure that stepped out from behind it.
Skyla blinked, then gasped slightly, unable to hide her shock.
It was a man before her, a man she knew but didn't.
Skyclone smiled at her but there was no kindness or humor in his eyes.
"Sister," he said. "Has my brother sent you to be his messenger?"
Skyclone was huge, a bulbous figure that bore almost no similarity to the man she used to have breakfast with. It was only his eyes really that were the same but even there Skyla found… distance. The years might have been good to her and her husband, but they had not been so for Skyclone.
"What?" Skyclone's voice was sharp. "What do you see…Sister?" Skyla didn't feel as if she deserved the vehemence that his tone took so she met his gaze, keeping her own expression soft, allowing herself to show the sadness she felt.
"You have changed, Skyclone," she said. "You look different."
The overweight man came closer to her, bringing his light with him. Skyla remained very still as he studied her.
"You have changed as well," he said then paused, his eyes narrowing. The rage that she saw in them scared her suddenly and not for the first time, she wondered if she was doing the right thing.
"What is this?" He demanded loudly. "Why are you bleeding?" His eyes went up to the monster that had brought her. "Did he hurt you?" His rage was for her and it nearly broke Skyla.
"No," she defended the creature, then felt silly because it could well have been the one who threw the building down on them. "He didn't do me harm. But his kind did! This happened in the Cloud Top District where I was helping people evacuate their homes. Your monsters have laid waste to the city, Skyclone, and have destroyed Skyhive."
Skyclone looked at the monster for another moment or two, then reached into the pocket of his jacket and drew out a white cloth. Skyla didn't dare move as he came closer to her and carefully took her arm, inspecting the area around her shoulder where he found the bleeding wound. Without saying anything, he bound the seeping cut and then moved away from her.
"Why are you here Skyla?" he asked again. "Is this my brother's idea of negotiation?"
Shaking her head, Skyla briefly rubbed her arm, wishing to rid herself of the sensation of Skyclone's touch.
"No," she said. "He doesn't know that I am here. I came on my own to talk to you."
Chuckling, Skyclone slowly flew around her, his gaze leering. "And what could you possibly hope to accomplish here?" He asked. "I told Skyler that I will not negotiate with him. It is the stone and the wingdom or I will lay waste to it all. That blood on your arm should tell you how serious I am about it."
Skyla turned around with Skyclone, making sure to keep eye contact. She found herself searching for something, anything that might give her some hope at his redemption.
"You might not wish to negotiate with my husband," Skyla intoned coldly. "But I am asking you to listen to me, Skyclone. Cease what you are doing, retreat from the wingdom. Come back to us, as you were. Please, stop before any more lives are lost." She flinched at his cruel laughter.
"Come back to you?" He sneered. "What, you think that all will be forgiven? That they will simply let me walk back in there and that Skyler will embrace me? Really, Skyla, how naïve are you? What is to stop me from simply taking you and exchanging you for the stone? Your husband might still have been willing to risk the wingdom's safety but he will never risk yours." He moved closer to her again and took her arm, his grip so painful suddenly Skyla feared that he might snap her wrist in half.
"I am not naïve, Skyclone," she spoke levelly. "I simply trust you not to do so, in honor of the friendship we have."
He let her go immediately. "Friendship?" Skyclone was taken aback by her words. "You think that we are still friends?"
Skyla was blind sighted by her own emotions as she found herself blinking tears and pressing her hand against her chest in order to still the pain she still occasionally felt there.
"We were, Skyclone," she said. "My last memory of you was… was of a meal we had together, in camaraderie. In friendship. And then… then I woke up from a nightmare and you were gone. And, all people could tell me was how terrible you were." The emotions broke her resilience to keep control and suddenly, she was crying, her chest shaking with sobs she could barely contain. "We were friends, Skyclone. I trusted you and I hate myself for saying it, but I still do! Ignore whatever imaginary vendetta you have against your brother. Tell me, what did I do to you to deserve this? What could I have possibly done to you which justified leaving me barren?" If her questions surprised Skyclone, it was nothing compared to her own, distant surprise that she felt. Skyla had shouted out the last, the wind picking up briefly and carrying her anger through the darkness. Skyla's mind was a flood of memories, of her dancing with Skyclone, of sharing breakfast with him almost every morning. She remembered how he would watch her dance as she practiced, something her husband rarely had time for with his schedule as king and regent of the realms. She remembered him at the eve of her wedding, one of two people they trusted to oversee their secret vows. Nothing had made her happier than to have both him and Faolin there.
And, vaguely, she remembered him sitting over her, pushing her shoulders to the ground as her body shuddered in pain as the poison washed through her system. She remembered the horror in his eyes and it was his voice that had boomed across the room as she collapsed.
What have you done to her?
"Skyla…" Skyclone's voice changed and there before her stood the man she remembered. A shy, brooding man. Intelligent but strangely uncomfortable with people. Her mother had described him as spoiled and cruel in the rare argument she had had with Alima when Skyla was within earshot but Skyla… Skyla had always tried to see past it.
"Skyla, you were never meant to be harmed," he whispered. "Never. I didn't know Lana was doing it. I swear that to you. I didn't know what she was doing. It was meant for my brother, not you. You didn't deserve this."
Still shaking, Skyla tried to pull herself together and get back on track, but it hurt hearing him say that. Ten years of wondering, ten years of wanting to know why… Ten years of trying to fool myself…
"And the people of the wingdom doesn't deserve what is happening right now," she said. "Like me, they are innocent victims in this, Skyclone. They are your people, those you should be protecting as you should have protected me against Lana. Can't you see where this has taken you?"
It was hard to say how he felt about her words, hard to say what he thought. Skyla saw a maelstrom of emotions play across Skyclone's face.
"This is not about them," he said. "You were never meant to be harmed."
"I am one woman, Skyclone," she pointed out slowly. "You are talking about your people. You are talking about the people you wish to rule one day. You can justify hurting me if you wish, but hurting them? You are killing those you wish to rule. How can you expect to lead them after this?" She took a deep breath. "Please just stop. I will talk to Skyler, help you. But please, Skyclone. Just stop what you are doing."
She lost him in that last plea.
"I find it funny that you still think that I can," his voice became more distant. "Talk to Skyler? Do you really think you have that amount of power? You say that I am killing people and then you expect that I should just be forgiven? What future do you see for me, Skyla? How can you think that I am still redeemable and that others have your capacity for forgiveness?"
Forgiveness? Skyla thought. Have I forgiven you?
"There is always a way, Skyclone," she said. "Always. We have access to other worlds, places. If not in this one I can help you in another."
"Exile?" He sneered. "I have been there for the past couple of years. No, thank you. The wingdom will be mine by the end of the day, Skyla. One way or the other."
Feeling a little desperate, Skyla flew closer to Skyclone, wary of the monsters till she saw that they weren't doing anything. It upset her to think that there were many of them out there in the wingdom, probably laying waste to the city where she and Skyclone grew up together.
"Skyclone, this is not your way," she said. "You are better than this."
He turned to her, his gaze once again seeming to take in all of her.
"Am I?" He asked. "Tell me, Skyla, why did you choose Skyler instead of me? We were all friends as children. I tried to win your attention as much as he did. Why did you choose him?" Blinking, Skyla struggled to find an answer.
"I… I didn't think you wanted to be my friend," she said. "You just…" He had been cruel… "You treated me like a servant." Skyclone nodded slowly, they were within touching distance again but neither of them reached out to the other.
"And, why later?" he said. "Our relationship did change."
Not sure where this was going Skyla sought for the answer. After she recovered, it had been so hard to think about Skyclone that she simply… stopped.
"He… I wanted to give you a chance, Skyclone," she said quietly. "And it meant a lot to your brother. He has always loved you and defended you." She felt herself blinking tears again. "I don't understand why you hate him so."
Her brother-in-law didn't answer her, but reached out and took her hand, still studying her features. Skyla didn't flinch away as he reached up and touched her cheek, wiping away at the tears trailing down them.
"Would you have loved me?" He asked. "If he wasn't here, if he never existed. Would you love me if he is gone?"
His hand moved down her cheek to her throat.
Skyla swallowed and broke her gaze away from his, staring up at the sky above them.
But, think of Skyler. Faolin had said earlier in the evening. If you had died… His grief and not these… these creatures might have destroyed us.
It would be so easy to lie, Skyla thought. Perhaps in lying I could persuade him to call of his attack. Perhaps… But… She couldn't. Forgive me, I cannot lie, not about this.
"No, Skyclone," she whispered. "I was never meant for you."
His hand tightened for a moment and Skyla braced herself, wondering what she would do if he decided to kill her, wondering if she would fight or beg for her life. Wondering if she would lie…
"Thank you for your honesty." The grip on her throat disappeared. Skyla opened her eyes and looked at Skyclone, seeing his sadness. He squeezed her hand, then moved away from her, turning his back.
"Nothing you say will persuade me from my course," he said. "I will have the stone or you will have a city and wingdom in ruins. I will also not spare my brother because he would be the symbol of hope to his people. I would never be the true king, as long as he lives. This night comes at a high price. I have killed my father, I have unknowingly sacrificed your right to bear children. I have gone too far to turn back now with everything that I have desired all my life so…" he turned around to her again and his eyes were hungry. Hungry for power, perhaps even hungry for her. "So close. But I will give you this, Skyla. In payment for the harm I did you through my ignorance. And, out of respect for our friendship and the honesty you have always shared with me… I will give you pardon. A choice. Stay here, wait for this to be over and then, when the Skyswirlstone is mine I will send you to my mother to live out your life in that world. To dance and teach as you have also desired. I will never bring you back here to the sorrow and ruins I will create. But you don't have to see it." Strangely, his eyes saddened for a moment. Time stood still in the space between them, the stars winking out and in that moment, only she and Skyclone existed.
"Or, I will let you go back to your husband. To die by his side."
Breathing out, Skyla watched the man she knew fade into the night. She felt him slipping, slipping into the madness that drove him towards the throne. There was no rush of wind or thunder as this happened, it was simply… a shift.
Or perhaps, Skyla thought as she straightened. I am finally, simply seeing the truth. The madness behind him. The desire, the barely contained hatred. She closed her eyes now and thought back on her life, on all the moments she shared with him and Skyler. Of Faolin and her caution towards him.
He has always been that way.
"I will go to my husband, Skyclone."
Turning around sharply, Skyla could see that he had not been expecting that answer. "But you will surely die!" He snapped. "I will not spare you, Skyla!"
She didn't blink as she met his gaze.
"Then kill me now and get it over with."
He approached her slowly, his eyes filled with darkness as he raised his hands out to her. She remained where she was as he put them around her throat and, for just a moment, tightened his grip. She shuddered, but didn't pull away as she met his gaze as she did so, he released her immediately. Perhaps a test he set for himself that he had failed.
"I wash my hands of your death," he said angrily. "This is your choice! Your choice, do you understand?!"
Skyla nodded slowly and reached out to touch his face. Slowly she leaned forward and pressed a kiss on the corner of his mouth before she brought her lips to his ear.
"I forgive you, Skyclone."
He flew back immediately, staring at her as if she had gone mad. She hoped for a moment that he would change his mind, that he would abandon this venture. She could tell suddenly that he wanted to. That somehow, losing her might well be the worst punishment he might bring upon himself.
But, her hope was not to be.
"Take her back to the palace," Skyclone's voice was distant and without emotion. "See to it that she is not harmed until she is safe."
He didn't say anything to her, didn't even look at her again as he turned around and went back to the other monster. Skyla closed her eyes and surrendered herself to the strangely gentle touch of the massive creature as he enveloped her in his hands again, this time cradling her against his chest protectively.
She did not see her brother-in-law again.
The monster took her back to the gardens where he found her and gently placed her there amongst the roses. He didn't fly away immediately but seemed to wait for her to go back to the palace. Skyla found herself looking up at him, trying to puzzle out how he thought. She reached out and touched his hand, her own dwarfed against his.
"Thank you," she whispered then headed back through the passageway she came. Skyla didn't think that the creature was smart enough to remember it but also understood on a deep visceral level that it didn't really matter. She went back to the kitchens were she found it in quite a commotion. Exiting through the passageway, Skyla came face to face with a young wingdom girl, her hair tided back underneath a head scarf. Her eyes went wide when she saw Skyla and, without much ceremony turned around immediately and ran
"I FOUND HER!" She hollered. "She's here!"
Skyla sighed and folded her hands together, figuring that her departure must not have gone unnoticed. She waited patiently as a few people gathered around her, looking at her strangely but not quite approaching. She wasn't surprised to see that her husband was the first to push through them. He went straight to her and grabbed her shoulders, his eyes wide.
"Where have you been, Skyla?" he asked. "We have been searching everywhere…" He trailed off and looked at the makeshift bandage tied around her arm. Immediately his apprehension faded to despair.
"You went to try and negotiate with Skyclone." He looked up to her face again and brought his hands up to cup her cheeks, tracking his fingers down salty trails left by her tears.
"Yes," Skyla spoke quietly. "I did."
The din fell silent around them as everybody seemed to hear their words. Skyler didn't let go of her but kept on searching her face for answers, the hope in them nearly killing her.
"He won't give up, Skyler," she said. "He wants to rule and he will kill you and all of us to do so." She closed her eyes and found herself dropping down to a curtsey in front of him. "I am sorry I failed you, my king." A murmur began around them again but it soon fell silent as Skyler knelt beside her and took her hands, pulling her up as he stood again. Looking into her eyes, Skyler leaned in and kissed her, the intensity of it held at bay by the eyes on them.
"Oh, my beautiful wife," he said as they drew away from each other. "My beautiful, brave wife. How fortunate are we, to have such courage in you." It felt surreal when he smiled at her. "And how fortunate have I been to be blessed with this life with you." He turned to those around them. "My people fear not, there is still hope. You and your families will be safe. I will personally guarantee your safety and can promise you now that Skyclone will be vanquished." He turned back to Skyla, cupping her face. He was still addressing the people but only had eyes for her. "You will survive and rebuild and there will be a time where his name will be forgotten on your lips. It will be a golden age that will follow this night, this – our darkest hour. You will know peace and the sorrow that we all experienced here, the loss that we suffered, will remind you to uphold it and how precious it is."
There was a murmur, then applause as their subjects gathered around them, encouraged by Skyler's words. Skyla however found herself studied her husband's face and it frightened her. She stepped closer to him, allowing him to embrace her, not caring how her weakness looked to those watching.
"Husband," she whispered. "My ever love. What do you plan to do?"
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To Be Continued…
AN: A very special thanks to Stilldormant, whom – after all these years, still Beta my work. And dangle carrots in front of my nose.