TRIGGER WARNING: THIS CHAPTER IMPLICATES ATTEMPTED SUICIDE! IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO THIS, GORE, DEPRESSION, OR MENTIONS OF SUICIDE, PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS CHAPTER!
It was such… a sickening aura. That feeling of… such deep self-hatred.
When that aura first pulsed out, it made me sick to my stomach, and I almost felt like vomiting.
At first, I was unaware of who was giving off such self-hatred. I had felt this kind of thing once before… in myself.
That sadness… of not being loved.
That disgust… of who I was.
That anger… to the people who made me.
And that fear… of what my life would be like.
And all of that, causing me to think of relieving myself of this life on multiple occasions. I was glad I hadn't done it, with all the happiness I had now, even with the bad things in my life.
The fact that I felt this deep of hatred inside of… inside of a seven-year-old child was…
Terrifying.
When I felt the wave, I had collapsed. It was enough to remove Astoria from her rage induced attack.
But when I sat up and felt the aura, I felt my heart drop to my feet.
"Elphaba? Elphaba what's wrong!?" Astoria cried, watching me shakily return to my feet.
"Astoria…"
I felt the words build in my throat, and I turned to Astoria.
"Astoria there's something wrong with Soul!"
I don't think I had ever run so fast in my life. When I realized exactly what was about to happen, I shot to my feet and took off through the house. I jumped over George and weaved through the incoming sea of policemen.
I heard Astoria running behind me, hot on my trail.
"Elphie! What's going on!? What's wrong with Soul!?" she screamed, running up the stairs and flanking my side.
"There's something wrong with Solusod's aura. It's twisted something awful, it's almost…" I bit my lip, turning into the hallway.
Astoria gave me a fearful look, grabbing my arm as we ran.
"Almost what!?"
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"...Suicidal!"
I felt Astoria's wavelength twist up horribly.
The two of us tore through the house, moving through the hallways and up to the third floor where the master bedroom was.
As we raced up the stairs, I felt the aura from Solusod twist even more, and now the aura's intent was apparent.
Kill.
When we reached the third floor, I only saw one door.
"What room is that?" I asked, watching Astoria rush past me.
"It's my room! Why is he in here, there's nothing in here he could use-"
Astoria froze, her hand on the doorknob.
I rushed up to her, standing at her side.
"What, is there something he could use?" I asked, watching her open the door.
"GEORGE'S GUN!"
I rushed into the large room with her, my head whirling around searching for him. The room itself was empty, everything left untouched as if no one had come in in the first place.
The only thing different, or at least noticeable, was an open drawer on one of the nightstand.
There must've been where the gun was.
But where was Solusod?
I scanned the area, turning to the large window to the left of the room.
A balcony. And through the curtains…
I could see him.
The next few moments were a blur. I tore across the room, shoving things aside to reach the large balcony door. I ripped the curtain down and opened the door, seeing the young boy standing at its edge.
And in the light of the sunset, on a beautiful wintery evening.
I watched Astoria's youngest son stick a gun in his mouth.
And pull the trigger.
The bang… rang out.
There was no echo, only the single sound that lasted a second.
When I heard it, saw it, even smelled it, my brain went completely blank.
When I saw the blood rocket and the body sway, my own body moved on its own.
In the blink of an eye, in a moment I could hardly remember, I shot forward. I seized the gun and tossed it. I caught the boy to keep him from hitting the concrete. My magic activated and built to its maximum strength. With Spirit Magic, I seized Solusod by his neck and began to close his wound.
From it, I pulled something small and metal out of his neck, tossing it aside. It's clinking as it bounced on the balcony surface almost seemed to echo in my ears.
The blood was seeping from the wound, down my arms, and into my shirt.
When I was able to control myself again, I stood up. I was clutching Solusod to my chest, my magic keeping his wound closed, and his heart beating.
I saw Astoria staring at me with wide eyes, tears pouring down her cheeks. She stood completely still, rotted to where she was.
I pulled my wings out, ripping parts of my shirt as I gave them a few flaps.
"MEET ME AT THE HOSPITAL!"
I lifted off the ground, and shot into the sky.
There was no time to load him into a car, or to try and sew the wound up more at the house. I could hear Astoria screaming for a few seconds, but as I got farther and farther away, her voice drowned out.
I saw the hospital in the distance, my heart pounding in my ears.
I looked down, seeing the blood covering his neck and face, including his shirt.
I felt my breath hitch, feeling a large amount of dread wash over me. I squeezed him even more.
"Why… Why does a boy of this age… know a thing about suicide?" I whimpered to myself, lowering in altitude as we drew nearer and nearer to the hospital.
When the hospital was close enough, I tucked in my wings and fell to the ground.
I stuck the landing and raced in through the ER entrance, rushing up to the receptionist.
"I NEED A DOCTOR NOW!" I shouted, skidding to a stop in front of the lady.
She seemed almost unfazed until she looked up and saw the small, bloody body hanging limply in my arms. She let out a scream of fright, even backing up.
"Wha-Wha-What happened?!" she cried, rushing out of her office and towards me, staring down at Solusod.
"Gun wound, entered in the back of the throat and exited out the top of the neck!" I shouted, hearing movement on the other side of the door. The receptionist slammed her hand against a large button on the wall, taking out a towel from behind the window and placing it underneath my hand.
"How… how is he alive?! Is he?!" she asked, staring down at his chest with awe.
"Magic. My magic. The wound is pretty much closed, but he's still bleeding and he's still unconscious. He needs a doctor to-"
The door swung wide open, three nurses and two doctors pouring out with a stretcher in hand.
"Lay him down!"
I did as I was told, moving over and laying him down on the stretcher. I keep my hand on his neck, still pumping my magic into his wound to heal it.
"Ma'am, are you using magic?" The doctor asked, the nurses moving around to start hooking him up. We backed out of the waiting room and into the endless hallways.
"Yes. My magic is a kind of all healing magic. All wounds and illnesses cured at my touch if you will, but only for so long. I've almost closed the wound up completely, but he still needs attention because of his unconscious state!" I explained, rushing down the halls with the team of doctors.
The doctor nodded, leading us into an operating room. They had him lifted off of the stretcher and onto the bed, maneuvering around so that I could keep a hand on him.
"Miss, keep your hand and keep using your magic until we have his vitals and have him hooked up," the doctor commanded. I nodded my head on confirmation.
It was almost hard to breathe in this room. There were at least four nurses and two to maybe three doctors as well, all crowding around me to hook Solusod up to the proper machine.
"Ma'am, what caused the wound do you know?" One of the doctors asked, looking up at me as they placed the oxygen mask over his face.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, needing to give the information to them straight, even the reasoning.
"It's a bullet wound. Entered through the back of the throat and exited from the back of the neck-" I began, only to be interrupted.
"Someone shot him!?" One of the nurses cried. She was young, and it was clear this was her first big event on the job.
I glared at her, moving aside for another nurse.
"No, someone else didn't shot him, he shot himself. This is a suicide attempt wound."
When I said it, the scene of the gunshot going off replayed in my head, making me feel sick to my stomach.
The doctor looked up at me in shock, staring at me for a few moments before turning back to look down at Solusod.
"You saved him from that kind of wound!? Usually, they'd be dead in seconds! How did you-"
"My magic sir. It's a spirit magic, almost life-giving. It heals all wounds, cures all diseases, but only to an extent. At least, for me…"
This was a moment, where I wished I had Spirit Water on me. If I used pure Spirit Magic, he'd be completely healed in seconds, not even a scar left behind. But I was only so powerful with my smaller state, being a smaller dragon in a way.
The doctor nodded, looking down at everything before grunting to himself.
"Alright. Miss, try to let him go. But slowly, not suddenly."
I nodded, looking down at my hand still at the back of his neck. I sighed, lowering myself down to watch more closely.
I felt the other doctors and nurses bend down to watch, curious at my foreign magic.
As I began to pull my hand away, long, silvery wisps connected the tips of my fingers and the palm of my hand to his neck, almost sewing itself into the wound. As I pulled back, the wisps got thinner and thinner, gently leaving his neck. The glow got dimmer, and Solusod groaned in response.
A few of the doctors and nurses sat up to watch his vitals, seeing if his condition slipped at all with the lack of my magic.
I held my breath, removing the last of my magic from him.
When I had disconnected completely, we watched him suck in a deep breath…
Then regulate back to normal breathing.
I released the breath I was holding, looking to see his vitals. He had lost a lot of blood, but they had hooked him up to a blood pack to help this along. His wound was closed up almost entirely, but they still observed both his neck and his throat, shining lights down through the mask.
I sighed, rubbing my temple stressingly. I looked down at my bloody self, wincing when I saw all the blood on me.
One of the nurses approached me, "He'll be alright miss. Thanks to you. Here, here's a clean shirt. It's one of ours, but it'll do for now. The washroom is down the hall, you can clean up in there."
I smiled, suddenly feeling tired.
"Thanks. I will, but for now I think I need to wait outside. His mother is on her way, I'll need to be there out front to prevent her from… forcefully coming back here," I smiled, watching the nurse chuckle.
"Okay, I'll walk you down to let the receptionist know to let you back in after you've gotten his family. They will have to wait out in the waiting room…" She explained, opening the door.
I took one last glance at Solusod, watching him lay there peacefully, almost as if he was sleeping.
I nodded.
"Okay. Lead the way ma'am."
"I DON'T GIVE A FLYING SHIT ABOUT THE RULES LET ME THROUGH MY SON IS BACK THERE!"
That was the first thing I heard when I approached the door to the waiting room.
Astoria was already here, and boy she was not happy.
I heard her all the way down the hall before we got there. It made me wince, biting my lip as the nurse looked over at me slowly.
"Um… is that… her?" she asked, her lip tightening.
I sighed, nodding my head.
"Yes, that's her. She's a very… protective mother. Not restricting, but you so much a pluck a hair off one of her son's hair intentionally… may the Great Divines have mercy on you…"
The nurse chuckled, approaching the door. She put her hand against the door, but winced when Astoria started shouting again. She backed away, "Um… I'm gonna let you open the door…"
I laughed, nodding. I approached the door and pushed it open, seeing not just Astoria.
She was backed by both Sound and Marina, with Wesley holding his grandmother's hand. Sound was trying to calm Astoria down, but was failing to do so.
"M-Ma'am please, someone will be back shortly to let you know how-"
"I DON'T WANT SOMEONE TO LET ME KNOW I WANT TO SEE HIM!"
Tears were streaming down Astoria's face, her fear for Solusod's condition showing through her rage. I smiled, stepping out more to make my presence known.
"ELPHABA! Oh, thank the divines it's you! Please, this stupid woman won't let me see Soul, is he okay?! Oh my god, you're covered in blood, are you-"
"Astoria-!" I shouted, "Calm down, take a deep breath."
She sucked in some air.
"Now let it out, slowly."
She exhaled.
"Feel better?" I asked, reaching out to take her hands.
"No! What's Soul's condition? Is he okay?!" she cried, seizing my shoulders and shaking me almost violently.
I grabbed her in return, trying to prevent her from moving past me.
"Astoria, Astoria calm down. Solusod is fine, he's going to be okay! They're looking him over now, but the wound has closed up enough, so he'll be fine. Once they have him all set up, they'll let you back okay? Just calm down, your son is going to be alright…"
As I explained what happened, Astoria's aura gushed out more and more emotions. She crumbled, her knees giving way as she fell into my arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Wh-Why Elphie… wh-why would my ba-baby do that to himself!? I don't understand!"
I felt my heart twist uncontrollably, closing my arms around her as she gripped my shirt as if she'd fall apart if she let go.
Sound came up behind her, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"Come on sweetie, let's go sit down. I think Elphaba wants to clean herself up," he whispered, grabbing her shoulders gently to pull her away.
As Sound lead her away back to the waiting area, Marina approached me.
"So, how'd the arrest of George-"
"Bastard got bailed before we could properly trial him!"
I winced when Marina shouted suddenly, her eyes narrow in anger. I couldn't help but sigh, knowing that he'd be back later to try and get back at the struggling family.
"Just, try and keep calm Marina. I'll see if there's anyway I can help. I mean, he's done some nasty things to a high ranking member of the Mercenary Squadron, so maybe with my status, I can do some things to get him locked up for good," I offered, giving her a reassuring smile.
Marina smiled back, nodding her head, taking Wesley and moving back to the waiting room to sit with her daughter.
I frowned, watching the family take a small corner of the waiting room to themselves. I walked back into the hallway, taking the shirt from the nurse and letting her lead me down to the washroom.
When I stepped in, I took a look at myself in the mirror.
God I looked like a wreck. The quick flight over left my hair a mess, and I was covered in dry blood. I sighed, running a hand through my hair.
This was going to take a while.
By the time I had cleaned up and made myself presentable, it had been about three hours. When I stepped out, the nurse was outside waiting for me.
"Have… Have you been out here the whole time?" I asked, throwing my dirty shirt over my shoulder.
Thankfully, she shook her head.
"No, I went and ran a couple of errands around the building before I came back to wait here," she explained.
I sighed, nodding as I stepped out of the room.
"So, what's the verdict? How's Solusod?" I asked, quickly asking her to lead me back to where they were keeping him.
The nurse hummed, rubbing her arm.
"He's doing alright. He's vitals are stable, but he's in a bit of a daze. He's been in and out of consciousness for a while. He's been awake for about an hour now, but he's silent. We've got a therapist in there, but they're trying every trick in the book, and he still refuses to speak," she replied.
I nodded, following her through the winding halls.
When we reached the room, I saw Marina sitting outside with Wesley. Wesley was silent, looking down at his hands.
Marina's head rose, her eyes widening.
"Oh Elphaba, thank goodness. Maybe you can say something to him," she announced, standing up to walk over to me.
I peered inside, seeing Astoria and Sound leaning over the bed with the therapist at the end.
I breathed in deeply, expelling my breath before knocking on the door.
When I walked in, no one turned to me. Astoria and Sound had their eyes focused on Solusod, and the therapist was still trying to get through to him.
"What kind of things do you think about, when you feel upset?" she asked, tapping her clipboard with her index finger.
Solusod said nothing, he simply stared down at his lap. He still wore that dull, lifeless expression, as if nothing had changed between a few hours ago and now. I frowned, stepping forward a bit.
The therapist saw me, and stood up almost threateningly.
"Excuse me ma'am, this is a private session, please leave!" She snapped sternly. I felt the hairs on my neck bristle, staring at this woman angrily. Who the hell-
"No, no, please. Let her stay…"
Astoria suddenly spoke up, turning up to look at me.
Her eyes were puffy and red, and her cheeks were stained with tears. I made my heart ache, but I smiled to both reassure and thank her.
The therapist made a motion to protest, but one angry look from Sound was all it took to get her to back down.
I stepped forward, coming up behind Astoria to place a hand on her shoulder.
"How is he?" I whispered, trying not to disturb the silence of the room to the best of my ability.
Astoria sighed, taking Solusod's hand and squeezing it gently.
"I'm losing him… I've been losing him for years and I hadn't even realized. I'm… I'm such a…" Astoria bit her lip, tears leaking from her eyes.
Solusod slowly turned to her, staring at her with a slightly curious gaze.
I lowered myself down to my knees, trying to hear her when she began to whisper to herself.
"Astoria?"
She turned to me, tears gushing and streaming down her face.
"I-I'm a terrible mother! I-I didn't even see when my baby needed help I'm such-"
"Mama! Don't!"
Solusod suddenly spoke, his eyes wide with fear. When I looked up, he was trying to move closer to her, pulling at the cords he was hooked up to. I was honestly surprised that he could speak with his injury.
"Soul- what are you-"
"M-Mama, don't say you're a bad mother. You-You're wonderful, it's me that's… that's…"
I smiled, seeing and even feeling the emotions about to burst from the boy. I stood up, rubbing Astoria's back tenderly before walking away. I tapped the therapist's shoulder, motioning to the door.
"Let's leave them be. He needs to tell his mother all of this before he can tell anyone else," I whispered, watching her look back at the pair. I kept my hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze to sort of say, I wasn't afraid to drag her out.
The therapist sighed, nodding her head. She slowly stood up, walking with me out of the room and back into the hallway.
Marina rose up from her seat, walking over to me.
"Why are you back out here? You weren't in there for a whole minute," she asked, walking me over to the seats.
"I guess I wasn't needed. All I did was walk in and things happened on their own," I replied, sitting down on the chair with a satisfying sigh.
Marina sat down next to me, leaning back in the chair.
"Damn… everything happened so fast… has it really only been a few hours?" she asked, looking down at her watch.
I nodded, leaning over to check the time on the said watch.
1:37 am.
Jeez…
I ran a hand through my hair, leaning back to close my eyes for a quick moment.
It had all happened super fast. One moment, I'm relaxing at home with my son and my husband, and the next minute, I'm in Melody fending off George from the Eater family and rescuing Solusod from… well himself.
I sighed, sinking into the chair, feeling sleep beginning to wash over me.
"M-Miss Elphaba?"
I opened my eyes, looking over to see Wesley looking over Marina at me with a worried gaze. I sat up, leaning forward to see him better.
"Yes? What is it?" I asked, watching him look down at his hands nervously, folding them together.
"Is… Is Father in trouble, for what happened to Solusod?"
I felt a lump build up in my throat, shooting Marina a glance. She sat up, looking over at Wesley nervously.
"Wes, what makes you think that?" She asked, watching Wesley lean back in his chair with a huff.
"Well, Father and Mother got in a fight, and I heard Father shout something really… awful. Suddenly, I heard Mother scream out like some kind of, some kind of warlord, and Father screaming in pain. And then… Solusod gets hurt. What happened to him, why is Solusod hurt, but also why aren't we paying attention to Father? Isn't he hurt too, shouldn't we be concerned!?"
I felt my heart pound in my chest painfully, feeling the utmost sympathy for him. He had no idea about George's true nature, and only had a single day to experience it. Wesley loved George, like a father. And now, George was suddenly almost completely out of the picture. No one cared, no one wanted to. Everyone was glad he wasn't here, making Wesley the only one who wanted to know if he was okay.
And George wasn't going to be okay for long, hell…
He wasn't going to be around for much longer. Not is Astoria had anything to say about it.
"Honey… your father did something really… really bad. He might, he might be going to jail and will be there for… awhile," I admitted, not wanting to sugar coat anything.
Wesley made a face of heartbreak, staring up at me with fear and disbelief.
"Wh-What? Why!? So what if Father was upset for one day, that shouldn't be enough to get him thrown in jail for… for who knows how long!?" He screamed, jumping up to his feet.
"Wesley, that's enough!" Marina snapped, leaning up to try and get him to sit back down. But the young eleven year old swatted her away, tears beginning to stream down his face.
"NO! NO, IT'S NOT! WHY IS EVERYONE SO HAPPY ABOUT FATHER BEING GONE!? I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT! WHY DOES EVERYONE KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON BUT ME!? DOES NO ONE CARE ABOUT ME!?"
Wesley began to scream and shout and cry at both Marina and me, telling us how unfair we were being and how he was being kept out of the loop. Marina tried to calm him down, standing up to try and get him to sit down.
I remained sitting, sighing as Wesley's aura twisting up in anger and hatred.
The poor thing… he didn't even know how horrible his so called "father" was.
"What's with all this noise?"
I felt a searing heat burn at my throat, boiling in the pits of my stomach and flaring in my chest. My head whirled around, staring hatefully at the figure of George.
He was alright, to say the least. He had horrible wounds on his face and chest, all bandaged up. He hadn't actually gone to jail, or the police station, but he had come here under heavy police supervision. But goddamn his money, he was able to walk this hospital as if he had never been arrested in the first place.
"FATHER!"
Wesley jumped up in happiness, tears streaming down his face as he charged at George happily.
"Wesley, WAIT!" I shouted, seeing George's face twist into anger as he watched Wesley rush towards him.
"Oh Father, I was so wo-"
George's hand lifted, and came clean across Wesley's face. The boy was knocked to the side, letting out a cry of pain as he was thrown to the floor.
I jumped up, rushing forward to seize George by the collar of his shirt.
"What the hell is your problem!? Knocking your children around as if they were-"
"That little mudblood is NOT my son!" George snapped, barring his teeth at me savagely.
I could feel the fear and betrayal swell in Wesley's aura, seeing Marina in my corner vision rush over to pick him up.
"But… but Father? What do you mean?" Wesley whispered, his voice trembling with sadness.
"Shut the hell up you little ingrate! Your not my son, it's no wonder you were never good enough! It's because of that filthy FAE in that room with my wife!" He hissed, grabbing my wrist to try and rip it off of his shirt.
But I held on frimley, letting some heat begin to burn the fabric and send up smoke into his face.
"You need to shut the hell up. One more hateful word out of you and Marina may have to hold me back because I'll rip your goddamn throat out!" I threatened, watching him begin to squirm in fear in response to my threats. I guess knowing there was someone in the room who could physically overpower him frightened him.
I never said things like this often but…
Good.
Before anything else could happen, however, the door to Solusod's room opened.
We all turned to face the door, watching Astoria slowly exit the room. She closed the door slowly, and silently, never turning her gaze up from the ground.
"Finally woman, took you long enough. You and I need-"
I shoved my fist in his mouth, hearing him gag in response as Astoria slowly walked over to us.
"To have a talk?"
I looked down at Astoria, my brow raised as she finished off George's statement.
I felt a ripple of fear run up my spine when I not only felt her aura, but saw her gaze.
I had never seen Astoria wear such a murderous stare…
"Yes… I agree. You and I must have a very, very, very serious discussion. Elphaba… let him go."
I was scared shitless if I'm being honest, so I did as I was told. I let go of George's collar, watching him pull away aggressively.
"M-Mother? What's wrong?" Wesley voiced, walking over towards Astoria.
She didn't respond, but she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Wes, stay with Granny. I'll be back in a bit."
I watched her gently nudge Wesley towards Marina, who in turn took Wesley by the shoulders.
George huffed, sticking his nose up and stalking off, a proud grin on his face.
As Astoria walked by me, I grabbed hr by the shoulder.
"Astoria… what are you going to do?" I asked, feeling uneasy at her aura's wavelength. It was full of hatred, anger, disgust, with a murderous intent to mix it up. But the cherry on that bundle of negative emotions?
Was the unsettling build up of madness.
She remained silent for a few seconds, before turning up to give me a half glance.
The dark, almost evil look in her eyes made me shiver.
"What I should've done eleven years ago."
She jerked her shoulder from my hand and walked forward, following George down the hall. I watched in fear as Astoria disappeared around the corner, the dark aura going with her.
I turned around to look over at Marina. She was holding Wesley close to her side, her face twisted up in fear. Wesley was crying into Marina's side, clutching his wounded cheek.
"Gr-Grannyyy… wh-why did he hit meheheh!? Wha-Wha did I do wrohohong!?" He wailed, sniffling and rubbing his eyes furiously.
I frowned, walking forward to rub his back.
"Hey, it's going to be okay. Everything will work out alright?" I cooed, lowering myself down to my knees to get eye level with him.
He looked over at me, sniffling weakly as I tried to smile, doing my best to reassure him.
He whimpered, and buried his face back into Marina's side to muffle his cries.
I sighed, turning around to look down the hall. No sign of Astoria or George yet.
I stood back up, peering into the room through the window.
At least one thing in this moment made me smile.
I saw Solusod and Sound, embraced tightly together. They both were crying profusely, Sound almost cradling Solusod in his arms while rocking back and forth.
Solusod was speaking, and when I looked at him for a few seconds, I could only read one word on his lips.
"Papa."
I was guessing Sound told Solusod that he was his father. And from what I saw, it was a huge relief to him that George wasn't truly related to him.
The sirens went off.
I jumped and felt my wings explode from my backside in shock when the siren went off, the red lights and sounds blaring.
"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! THERE IS AN INTRUDER IN THE FACILITY! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! I REPEAT, THIS NOT A DRILL!"
And intruder!? Inside the hospital!?
I saw doctors and nurses rushing back and forth through the halls, leading patients and guests away.
"What's going on!?" Marina shouted, clutching Wesley to her side.
I built up a flame in my chest, ready to fight whoever had broken in.
"DEAD BODY! DEAD BODY IN ONE OF THE SUPPLY CLOSETS!"
I heard a nurse screaming as she zoomed down the hall we were in, tears streaming down her face as she fled.
Dead body? Someone's been killed!? Where was-
I felt my world spin, and my blood run cold, when I saw Astoria standing at the end of the hall.
Drenched in blood.
She slowly walked down the hall towards us, looking downright evil as she strutted towards us in the flashing red lights.
As she approached me, my nose curled at the rancid smell of the blood coating her arms and chest, her dark expression stronger than before.
She stopped a foot in front of me, staring up at me silently.
She grinned.
She raised her hand and held it there, wanting to hand me something.
I hesitated, shakily reaching my hand out.
She chuckled, dropping something in my hand.
I restrained the urge to vomit.
She dropped a flesh, glowing, pulsing, bloody soul in my hand. It was spotted with madness, almost half Kishin Egg.
I stared down fearfully at the albino.
She smiled.
"You need to take me in. I'm being arrested for breaking rule number one of DWMA protocol…"
She looked down.
"I've killed an innocent soul…"
Yikes... this was a crazy chappy huh?
Also... I'm such a liar. "Oh im confident in my updating time!" yeah...
So so sorry about the lateness.
But, let's have a very heavy talk about the chappy at hand, shall we?
So, has the warning at the top of the chapter stated, this chapter covers an attempted suicide. In my AU, Solusod, or Soul, attempts suicide at the young age of seven. Why he does this is hinted at, but the true reasons and causes are explained in Astoria's story.
This is how Soul knows Elphaba. Soul in a later story will say he remembers her in some way, and this is it. She saves his life! Also, we see a bit of Elphaba's spirit magic. She, like the Empress Dragons, can heal wounds and sicknesses. However, unlike them, she can only do it to a certain extent. She could close Soul's wound, keeping him alive and saving him from any permanent damage, but he will be in physical and mental therapy for a while after this. And she couldn't restore his consciousness.
And, the bigger elephant in the room.
Astoria...
Yeah, so she kinda, temporarily... loses her goddamn mind.
Her psych was heavily damaged do to George's manipulation, abuse, watching her sons be tortured by him and the separation from Sound. I never made it too clear, but she is very very very very mentally unstable. Don't worry, she doesn't go nuts forever, just a for like a day or so. Which is enough time for her to commit first degree murder.
Or, can it really be called first degree murder?
We're getting into some DWMA law next chapter...
Also, a quick update announcement! No, I'm not going back to the every two week thing. Au contraire my faithful viewers...
THE END IS IN SIGHT!
The last chapter of The Dragon Witch will air on JANUARY 12TH! With just a minor setback this week, this Saturday and onward, we'll have one chapter each week until January 12th. After that, I will be taking a ONE MONTH break in-between this story and the next.
Speaking of which...
A STAR'S REVELATION WILL BE RELEASED ON FEBRUARY 12TH! EXACTLY ONE MONTH FROM THE ENDING OF THE DRAGON WITCH!
I've got it started and will be writing at least five to six chapters ahead to keep on top of it. I'm so excited to release it, I can't wait!
Welp, that's all I have to say! The Dragon Witch is updated EVERY SATURDAY I SWEAR I USED TO BE SO GOOD AT THIS WHAT HAPPENED!? At 5 pm Tokyo time (+9)1
NEXT TIME:
Astoria has committed first degree murder. She's killed George in a mad frenzy after the attempted suicide of her youngest son, Solusod. Now, Elphaba must take her to Death City to get her trialed. Elphaba doesn't want to see her best friend get jailed for the rest of her life, so she tries to find a loophole in the event. And she does, in the simple look of George's disembodied soul. What does she find, and how can this help Astoria get back to her family?
Find Out Next Time: December 8th!
~HUGS ALL AROUND~
