Sharp tugging at the large blanket shook her from her reverie with a low moan. It had felt like minutes ago that she had finally drifted off to sleep, even if the sunlight spilling past the now open curtains told another story.
"Five more minutes, s'il vous plait. I'll be up in five minutes," she mumbled, grabbing the comforter and yanking it back up past her chin. It was far too warm and comfortable to be getting up, and she really didn't want to go to work.
"Come now, my dear girl. It's nearly noon and I can't just let you sleep through the entire day, Joanna," a familiar voice sounded far too amused for the brunette's liking, her usual gentle accent light and teasing.
"Theresa," the younger girl whined, sitting up. Though the blonde did have a point, sleeping away the entire day wouldn't be beneficial for anyone, and certainly wouldn't be healthy. With a huff, she climbed out of bed and moved to get dressed, reappearing a few minutes later with her hair tied back and wearing a simple black dress shirt and pants, "a wake up call from the Assassin Queen of Umbrebraneth, I am truly graced with your presence, your majesty," her words were accompanied by an over exaggerated mocking bow, followed by a genuine smile, it was good to be back home, and with family.
The queen simply rolled her eyes, "watch yourself, little one. I've cut out other's tongues for less." Though there was no real bite to her words, everyone knew she doted on her little cousin the most, even if they didn't know exactly who the two were, they knew better than to mess with either one of them.
Joanna laughed softly and slipped an arm around the taller girl's waist, resting her head against her shoulder, "come on, let's go find the others."
"Aye, let us."
It didn't take long to make their way through the maze of a castle, they'd both long since memorized the layout, following the sound of explosions and the trail of corpses (kidding... this time) was easy enough.
Hushed and tensed conversation inside the room stopped the moment the door was opened. Three sets of eyes turned towards the pair, followed by near identical half-smiles. Finally.
Joanna excitably rushed towards the group, she'd arrived late last night and hadn't had a chance to actually speak with any of them yet, "Lizzie, Lexi, Cat!" She all but shouted in joy as she threw her arms around each of them in turn. Oh how she'd missed them, it had been far too long since the last time she'd been granted medical leave and was able to visit.
Elizabeth laughed lightly to herself, the young girl was always a bundle of happy energy around them, the Empire kept her tied down and this was how she let it out, "come now, little cousin, let's get some food in you." Ever the voice of reason, the second oldest took the younger girl by the hand and led her over to a table, encouraging her to eat as much as she could.
Alexandria shook her head in amusement. Her older sister never failed to ensure that everyone was in tip top shape, fully fed and hydrated while getting all the sleep they needed. As much as it grated her nerves, she respected the older woman for it.
Theresa watched all of this play out before her, as she leaned back against the wall, the dark silk of her robes absorbing seemingly all the light around her. In the five of them alone there were two brunettes, two blondes, one redhead, two werewolves, one shapeshifter, half a vampire, half an elf, half an angel, and a genetic mutation. All of varying ages, the oldest being well past twenty six thousand years old, and the youngest being seventeen. Hailing from different realms, vastly different worlds, and lives. They never should've met, much less gotten along so well. It never shocked the queen how fate had favored them in this one instant, allowing them to meet and become fast friends, family even, when they had every right to kill each other.
"Sister," a voice spoke, the distinct accent forcing her from her thoughts, "you look troubled."
The blonde glanced to the redhead beside her, and simply rose a brow, "Observant as ever, Catarina. However, I fear that my troubles will not be voiced this instance." She gave the girl a thorough once over, taking in her clothes. Catarina had always been loyal to a fault, and ever since working for the Glaive, had found a group outside of their little entourage that she could call family. Truthfully, she was happy for the girl, having finally found a cause to fight and die for, "you wear the uniform well, sister."
"I learned from the best," the redhead joked, moving to stand beside her and lowering her voice, "we found a lead on... her."
Raising a brow, Theresa turned to face her, "continue."
"One of the smaller towns report spotting a woman that fits the description and drawing we sent out exactly. A day later, the guard found the place in ruins, wiped off the map as if it had never existed. All that remains are ashes. I was speaking with the others, we should go and see what we can find while the trail has not gone cold."
The blonde frowned, this was troubling, and far too perfect to be a coincidence. On the other hand, she knew of her twin's skill, she'd never be sloppy like this without having another motive behind it, "if we go, we will be walking into a trap. If we do not, we lose our best chance at finally stopping her."
"Should it come to blows you and I both know that we outnumber and out-skill her by leaps and bounds. With all four of us, we could easily take her and then escape if not unscathed, then in one piece," Cat offered, it was the same argument she'd used on the others, hoping to convince them that it was worth the trip.
"It is not physical blows which I worry for. She knows us inside and out, just as we know her. The one difference being, we would never hurt others in such a way to achieve our goals. Nothing hinders her from doing so to us, my sister has never followed our morals nor-," she was cut off by the look on the other's face. Catarina looked like she was about to slap her, "you know I'm right, sister."
"I also know that we took an oath, we knew what we were getting ourselves into, we've always known since the very beginning. It's a risk we are all willing to take, and have taken before."
"Point taken. Very well, have the horses prepared, we leave immediately," Theresa instructed in a near whisper before looking over at the others. Elizabeth and Alexandria managed to thoroughly distract Joanna, allowing her and Cat to have their discussion. Listening to them talk for a moment, she couldn't help but roll her eyes, they spoke of everything and nothing at the same time, something which she could never find the patience to partake in, "Cousin!"
Joanna visibly perked up, looking over, "yeah. What do you need?"
"Elizabeth, Alexandria, Catarina, and I are going out for a little while. I need you to look over the inventory and make sure everything is in order. We will be back shortly, but the council has been hounding me for it, and it must be done soon."
Of course she noticed that Theresa had managed to skirt the specifics about what they were doing, or exactly what she wanted her to do while they were gone, but she didn't question it too much. Joanna trusted them, and knew that if all four were going together, nothing would get the better of them. They would come back in one relative piece, if missing a few fingers or toes from getting on each other's nerves, "alright. I'll go take care of it. Be careful, ok? I can't lose you too, Reese."
With a final promise to be extremely careful and keep an eye on each other, the youngest left, making her way to the armory with a slight bounce in her step.
"I see Garrison's managed to convince you after all," Elizabeth mused aloud, sounding almost annoyed, "I don't like this idea, at all."
"Don't start with me, sister. I don't like it either, but we've no choice in the matter."
"I for one, am in agreement with our dearest Lizzie," Alexandria began, pouting at the blow which she was dealt for teasing the older brunette, "there is always another way, we are simply not seeing it."
"This isn't one of your plays, Beauford," the Queen turned her gaze to the other blonde, though the other's hair was far more golden than her own, "I can't take the risk of waiting or looking for another angle. Enough lives have been lost, enough blood shed, and most importantly, enough innocence corrupted. The die is cast, we aren't waiting any longer, one way or another, this ends, now. Come, we are leaving."
The two glanced at each other, they knew better than to attempt to argue, not only was she beyond stubborn, she also had a point. With reluctance, they stood and followed her out.
Joanna meanwhile had taken up silent refuge in the armory. It wasn't rare for them to be hiding things from her, and she knew she could get it out of them if she really pressed for information, but she didn't want to. Ignorance was bliss, and for the last three years staying out of active combat had allowed for leaps and bounds in her own confidence and mental health, she didn't really want to know exactly what they were up to, so long as they remained safe, she would be content to simply sit here and do inventory. Actually, that was a lie, she hated doing inventory, especially since there was no point. Elizabeth had already done it, and everything was of course meticulously labeled and completely to a T, anyone else's work would simply look sloppy next to hers.
At this point, she was just walking around, examining the various weapons and occasionally running her fingers over the smooth metal. She'd never admit it, but she missed the thrill of battle, and the relationship it built with the people around you. There was something special about relying on others, and depending on each other to remain alive. Soon, the brunette found it hard to breathe. Something was clearly wrong, and she could tell that her movements and thoughts were sluggish. She'd recognize that smell anywhere, it was just on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't quite process it. Whatever the case, she stumbled towards the door and tried to open it, of course it was locked. Banging on the unforgiving metal, she attempted to unlock it, or kick it down, to no avail. Mentally cursing her cousin for putting so many different safety measures in place, it really was a pain in the ass during an emergency, she looked around, desperately praying for another exit to suddenly appear. As skilled as she was, there was only so long she could go without proper oxygen and she collapsed, coughing and wheezing in a desperate attempt to get enough air into her lungs. Eventually she succumbed to unconsciousness, allowing it to overtake her.
Waking up wasn't enjoyable in the slightest. The harsh fluorescent lighting burned her eyes, and an attempt to move was rewarded with a sharp jolt of pain that sent spasms down her spine. Her hands were chained to the wall behind her, and any movement sent a signal to the device on her neck, which then sent electric pain down her back and spine. It had been near half an hour since her last, and only, attempt to move, and she could still feel the muscles in her back twitching.
Joanna gave up trying to stay awake and let herself doze off again, there was nothing to do anyway, except stare at stone walls. If whoever had taken her wanted her awake, they would wake her.
A gentle hand caressing her cheek was the only warning she had before a sharp blow landed, forcing her head to snap to the side. The brunette instinctively recoiled, jerking her hands forward, only to be rewarded with the now familiar sharp pain. Turning to look at the person who'd stricken her, the young girl frowned. Familiar facial features accompanied bright red hair and lively green eyes. The woman looked almost like Cat, 'surely it couldn't be... no!' She thought as her eyes widened in shock, the one person she never thought she'd actually meet stood before her.
"Rise and shine, my dear girl. Aren't you a lovely little thing," she purred, gripping her captive's chin in a vice like hold and tilting her head back, forcing their eyes to connect, "such unique eyes, the ring of gold around your iris brings out the green, especially in this lighting. Its no wonder why my twin dotes upon you as much as she does, if there's one thing I know it's that Theresa hates to see innocence and purity lost. It's such a shame that my sister and sisters-in-arms sunk their claws in you before I did, you'd make such a lovely addition to my ranks, especially with your innate intelligence and desire to learn."
Glaring up at her, Joanna's eyes narrowed, "If it isn't Ivaka. Purgatory too boring for you?"
Ivaka grinned, more than amused with the amount of fire the girl had. Normally such a docile and delicate looking thing, she didn't need to fight outright when her words did it for her, even now in her condition, "Indeed it was. Rest assured, little one, we have something very interesting planned for you." A wave of her hand had the chains disappearing into nothing. Grabbing onto the poor girl by her hair, the flame-haired woman dragged her out of the room and into another one.
The most obvious thing was the smell, blood and old chemicals, most likely bleach. The next was the large metal table in the center, complete with straps to tie the limbs down during experimentation, or surgery. Beside it was a smaller table, filled with crude medical instruments, none of which were in ideal operating condition. The brunette inwardly shivered, this wouldn't be the first time she'd been experimented on, or treated as a lab rat, but her captor had another plan.
Evie, affectionately called so by her family, simply smirked. She'd followed the girl for years now, tracking her progress and learning exactly what made her tick. Using her as a human guinea pig was nowhere on the agenda, no, this time she'd be the one performing the operation, "I heard you were quite the doctor. Skilled with your hands, no? Well then, it's just oh so fortunate that I happen to have patients, thousands of them in fact, that require medical attention, and I think you're just the person to help me. Some may need amputations, bone marrow replacement, organ removal, hysterectomies, you know the type I'm sure. Most, I believe, have been deemed unequipped to reproduce, and it is just so hard now a days to find a doctor to complete such an onerous task on so many people. You're young and strong, I'm sure you can manage, hm?"
Joanna growled lightly, staring up at her, "I won't do it. You are asking me to mutilate others, and knowing your reputation, against their will. I'd rather-" she was cut off as white hot pain suddenly flowed through her veins. This was much worse, so much worse than what she had endured earlier, but she wouldn't let her hear her scream. Biting down on her lip hard enough to draw blood, she lay on the ground, writhing as she struggled to recover.
"Now then, while I have your attention, I've given you the tools you need to operate, however I'm sure you notice the knives aren't as sharp as they could be. If you behave well, I'll get you some better instruments, I can't have you killing yourself on me, can I? There will of course be no pain medicine or anesthesia, it's entirely up to you to be quick and painless with your actions," emerald green eyes softened as she kneeled down beside the girl in obvious pain, "oh honey... It's cute how you must be thinking of ways to refuse, how to fight back against me. I'll tell you this now, if you try, I will come in here and do it myself, and I promise you, I will be no where near as gentle and tender as I am sure you will be. If that does not work, I will take over your body and make you do it anyway, but that is just a pain for both you and myself, so let us try and keep it to less trouble, alright?"
Having finally managed to recover her senses, steely eyes met those mocking ones, "why? I don't even know you, Ivaka. What could I have done to warrant this?"
"You? What makes you think an illegitimate, pathetic, whiny, little bitch like you deserves everything you have? You're disgusting, hiding behind the love and favor of powerful people in order to protect yourself. You think you've suffered, but you know nothing of pain, you know nothing of what I can inflict. I don't care what happens to you, I never have, this was never about you."
A wheezing laugh cut through the silence that had settled over the pair after Ivaka's little rant, Joanna shook her head, unable to hide the little smirk that tugged at her mouth, "You are the pathetic one for holding on to so much hate. You are just jealous that I succeeded where you failed. Always fighting for favor and love from your sister, hurting the others and turning them against on another to prove your own worth... all that rage inside you is exactly why she stopped loving you. Ivaka, you always had her love, until you started hurting those who shared it with you."
Ivaka laughed at that, she'd truly gone off the rails sometime down the road, "it doesn't matter anymore, what's done is done and cannot be undone. You always were the family favorite, your suffering will hurt them far, far more than their own, my dear. Consider this the final word on our game of cat and mouse. Now darling, have you made your final decision?"
It went against everything she'd ever been taught, but right now, she truly couldn't bring it in herself to care. With a low snarl, Joanna tried to bite the bitch that stood before her.
Tutting softly, the red head gestured for her men to grab the girl, while the others brought in the first of her 'patients'.
It was a young girl, probably twelve at most. Looking around, she seemed in a near panic as wide eyes pleaded with someone, anyone to save her as she was tied down. Joanna's heart melted at the sight, and she struggled, trying to shake off the two holding her back, but they were much stronger than she, especially in her desperate state. There was nothing she could do to help as she watched Ivaka take one of the filthy scalpels and plunge it into the child's stomach, twisting the blade deeper. The bloodcurdling scream that followed broke her, "EVIE!" She shouted, praying that such a fond nickname would do gain her some form of humanity, "STOP! I'll do it! Just stop, please."
"That, my dear child, is all I wanted to hear." She'd won, now all that was left to do was to sit back and watch the show unfold.
The moment she was released, the former Princess of Tenebrae rushed forward and placed a hand over the weeping wound, assessing the damage done. The wound was deep, and would need proper care in order for the girl to recover. Even now her soft whimpers cut deeply into the doctor's heart, "hush now, it's alright little one. I'm going to help you, I promise. I need you to trust me, alright?"
Ivaka held out the bloodied blade to her captive, a dangerous smirk on her face. The rusted edge would definitely result in an infection if not properly cleaned, and the fact that it was dull meant that Joanna would have to make a larger cut, using more brute force instead of precision, "you have five minutes with her, before I bring the next one in. Judging by that wound, you'll need to remove a kidney, and part of her liver. Enjoy."
Joanna immediately set to work, rolling her sleeves up and revealing her scarred arms. She couldn't bring herself to care about that when a life was in danger. Taking a deep breath, she allowed herself to relax and focus on the task at hand, even if it went against everything she ever believed and loved. Working quickly, her internal clock kept screaming the exact number of seconds she had left, she cut the girl open, silently ignoring the screams and pleas for mercy. It didn't take long for her to find the wounded organs, removing that which would only damage the poor thing further and leaving behind any and everything that could be spared, 'two minutes gone, that's fine, I can work with that. I can still patch her up,' she thought to herself as she reached for the needle and thread, but before she could, a strong shock surged through her body and brought her to her knees, jaw clenched as she gripped onto the table with trembling hands for support.
"Ah ah ah, I've change my mind. You'll now get two minutes with each patient. Take her away, and bring the next one."
Grip tightening on the hard metal, the girl forced herself upright, ignoring the pain which made it all the harder to work. The finality in the shutting of the door and clicking of the lock sent shivers down her spine, the only other exit led to a room full of captives, from which there was no escape. There were too many guards for her to attempt something, with her training she could easily kill them all and escape, but she didn't â couldn'tâ think about the ramifications, and how many innocent lives they would take before she could stop them.
Child after child was brought in to see her. Each one injured, clearly having been worked half to death, and still to be mutilated before slowly withering away into nothing. Joanna tried to disassociate herself, separate mind from body in order to protect herself and her own sanity. Every time she managed it for a little while, the sheer barbarism of what she was doing forced her back to reality, her natural instinct to confront the wrong torturing her all the more. The rational part of her knew that she was letting Ivaka get the better of her, falling perfectly into her trap, and it screamed at her to stop this nonsense, to fight her way out and at least grant the children a swift death. No matter how much sense it made, she couldn't do it, she couldn't bring herself to attempt to escape while she knew others would suffer because of it.
It continued like that for a month. Two minutes a person, and then the next was brought in. No rest. No food. Little water. There was no need to count really, a simple calculation was all it would take to figure it out. Thankfully there was no time to dwell on it.
A few times, Joanna had collapsed from sheer exhaustion, hitting the ground unconscious. She was immediately electrocuted awake or had cold water dumped on her face in order to wake her up. Any time spent 'dallying' was cut into the time she had to attempt to patch her next victim up. A cloud of helplessness passed over her. She was too weak to help herself, barely even able to keep upright now, much less able to help the others. Guilt began to bubble and form a permanent knot in her stomach, leaving her praying to anyone who would listen for aid, or death.
Having passed out again on the thirty first day, she woke up hours later when the continuous throbbing pain at the base of her neck suddenly turned into sharp agony. Writhing on the cold ground, a loud clanking noise pulled her from her dazed thoughts, chains. Her wrists were chained to the floor, how she hadn't noticed the raised hoops imbedded in the ground was beyond her, but that wasn't the point. Sluggishly, she reached a hand up to touch her cheek, feeling a warm, slick substance there where there shouldn't have been. Looking at her hands, she realized she was covered in blood, having fallen asleep in a puddle of it. Looking around, sea-green eyes widened when she spotted the bodies, strung up randomly throughout the room, others left in haphazard piles, seemingly tossed around at random. Glazed over eyes met hers as she shrank back, moving under the table, a grave mistake as she found herself face to face with another body, features distorted to the point of being utterly unrecognizable as human. Biting back a shriek, Joanna tried to stand, banging her head slightly as she put as much distance as she could between herself and the corpse. With her back safely against a wall, the seventeen-year-old curled in on herself, hugging her legs against her chest and simply trembling. She'd finally been left alone with her thoughts, which was perhaps more dangerous than being in a room filled with armed guards, at least then she had something else to focus on.
'Two minutes a body. Thirty bodies an hour. Seven-hundred and twenty bodies a day. Twenty-two thousand three-hundred and twenty bodies total. Twenty-two thousand three-hundred and twenty children that you mutilated. Twenty-two thousand three-hundred and twenty families that will never get to see their children grow. You could've helped them, you could've tried. Even without your magic, you're still a highly trained warrior, you could've fought your way out, at least grant them a peaceful death.'
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"
'I'm not in your head, I am your head, you little shit.'
"JUST SHUT UP!"
'Oh come now, you and I both know that's impossible. Your mind never stops working so unless you die, I'm afraid you're stuck with me."
"Enough of the damned logic!" Joanna shouted at nothing, running a hand frustratedly through her tangled and filthy hair. It disgusted her, especially since she normally payed very close attention to how she looked, but there were more important things to take care of right now, "I must be going mad."
'Oh honey, you are already mad.'
"I SAID SHUT UP!"
With the damned voice of reason temporarily gone, she settled for trying to get the chains off of her. Normally it would've been an easy enough task, but malnourishment had finally caught up to her, and she was too weak to even try. Even though she tugged and pulled every which way, the brunette only succeeded in cutting and chaffing her wrists. This was probably the first time she'd ever cursed her training. Even going into shock was better than sitting around and counting the seconds until her own inevitable death.
There was only so long she could last without food and water. Within days, she fell unconscious, her body unable to sustain itself any longer without a proper source of food and nutrition. A part of her knew it wouldn't be long now, a few days at most until she died of starvation.
Waking up in a strange environment was becoming a habit of hers by now. The first thing her body registered was the feel of soft silk against her skin, and the familiar scent of peach blossoms, which she always kept in her room. Eyes flying open, Joanna frantically looked around and was relieved by the familiar sight of her brother sitting to her right, looking at her concerned. He had always stayed with her while injured or sick, and evidently this time was no different.
The girl sat up slowly, wincing slightly as her head spun. She wasn't injured, which was good, simply tired and weak. Though knowing the doctors, they'd used feeding tube on her for however long she'd been asleep, at least that would let her get the proper nutrients and allow her to properly recover.
"Easy, sister. Take it slowly," he spoke gently as he placed an arm around her and helped her to sit up.
"Ravus..." she whispered, voice hoarse from being unused, "water... please."
The high commander made sure his little sister was sitting up comfortably before pouring her a glass of water and pressing it lightly against her lips, knowing full well she was too weak to hold it on her own. He couldn't help but frown at how her hand shook as it attempted to grasp at the cup on top of his own fingers, nor how desperately she drank. The doctors had been giving her liquids for a while now, and yet she was still parched.
Finishing the glass off, Joanna gently pushed his hand away and wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand. Leaning back against the pillows, she closed her eyes, "what happened, brother? Last I remember..." the girl trailed off, not wanting to speak of it.
"Catarina called me in the middle of the night once she'd found you missing. With Ardyn's help, we looked for you for almost two months before finally managing to get a clue as to where you'd gone. Garrison, Lexi, and Elizabeth stormed the place and brought you back here, where they thought you'd be safest. You've been asleep for almost two weeks, sister."
She frowned in thought, she'd been in that hellhole for two months? Granted, the days had begun to blur together after a while, so it was entirely possible, but her managing to still be alive was an entirely different story all together. Looking up at her brother, her eyes softened slightly, she couldn't begin to imagine how had felt this entire time, Ravus had never gone missing or given her great cause for concern, and yet he was always worrying about her and Lunafreya. The most she had to worry about with him was when he confronted the emperor and went out on missions, and even then he made sure to keep in contact with her, while she was entirely unable to even text him while working.
"You've barely slept these last two months, haven't you? Come here, Rae, stay with me s'il vous plait?" She moved over slightly, giving the silver haired man enough room to climb in beside her. Automatically, Joanna wrapped her arms around him and cuddled up against him, a habit she'd had since she was a child, and never broken. Ravus couldn't help but sigh quietly, eternally grateful that she had returned in one piece, and he could now keep her safe. Absentmindedly, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close, minding his prosthetic, and waited for her to fall asleep before drifting off himself.
Joanna's recovery was a relatively swift one, as her body was as stubborn as she was, and bounced back fairly quickly. Soon she was working her normal shifts again, though they still kept her away from missions or active combat for a little while, simply to monitor her back at the base and make sure she was completely back to peak physical condition before they dared sending her out. Mainly since both Ardyn and Ravus would be very upset if she was sent out before she was ready and ended up bedridden or captured, again. However, as time progressed, her body healed, but it was becoming more and more clear how broken her mind had become.
The girl had kept it well hidden for a long time, hiding behind fake smiles and laughs while she effortlessly maneuvered through the complex political war zone that was the Empire, it had always been a natural talent of hers, honed by years of practice and experience, and had become a weapon that she'd learned to wield perfectly. No one would have been any wiser as to how much mental turmoil she'd been suffering through if the nightmares hadn't seeped into her waking hours.
It wasn't anything new, nightmares had become almost a nightly occurrence for her. Recently, however, they'd become worse. It started a few nights after she'd been cleared for work, the poor girl never remembered exactly what she saw, only that whatever it was had her screaming and thrashing in bed before finally being jostled awake by her own actions (or by falling out of the bed). She'd end up sobbing until it was time to get up for work, and would almost mechanically go through the actions of preparing for the day before showing up for work with a flawless mask in place. However, it was becoming blatantly obvious that she wasn't getting the sleep she needed, as she was constantly zoning out or drifting off during meetings, and just generally seemed out of it, her mind wasn't where her body was.
A good three months after she'd woken up, she began seeing things. Phantoms and ghosts in the corner of her eye, always following her, lurking in the shadows just out of sight. The usually calm and collected mage soon grew paranoid and skittish, jumping at every sound, fidgeting and constantly remaining on edge with one hand on her gun, and always looking over her shoulder, begging anyone who would listen to help her, save her from something that wasn't there.
Ravus hated this, he was watching his sister descend into madness, and there was nothing he could do. The first and most obvious sign was that she'd stopped smiling, or rather, it wasn't the same as it had been before. He had always adored her smile, and couldn't stay upset at her when she looked at him like that. Innocent and genuinely happy as mirth and sometimes ambition sparkled in her eyes. Now, her smile was empty, simply an act in order to seem polite in the moment. The second major sign that something was wrong, was that she'd stopped talking to him as much as she'd once had. The usually grumpy male had long since grown used to, and often enjoyed, the moments at the end of the day where'd they'd just sit and chat in his room or office. Recently, she'd just stopped showing up, or if she did, ended up staring blankly at the wall the entire time. It wasn't as if there was someone or something physical he could fight for her, protect her from. No, he could and would protect her from everything, except for herself. And yet, no one knew how to hurt her like herself. It made it all the worse knowing that she would never speak of what had happened, even from the first day he knew that she would never tell him what they'd done to her, the pain evident in her eyes every time it was brought up. Once it had escalated to the point where'd she'd had a meltdown in the middle of a one on one training session, he'd finally caved and signed her up for therapeutic treatment. The high commander had put this off for as long as he could, knowing that no good could come out of keeping her locked away all day and heavily sedated until a therapist deemed her healthy enough to work. But what choice did he have? He was just as helpless as she was, at least this way she was no longer a threat to herself and others.
As he feared, the so called treatment had only made things worse. Joanna spent all day laying in bed, drifting between being barely awake and barely asleep. The nightmares grew worse, always the same scene. Always the same dimly lit room she'd been locked in, children being brought onto the lab table. She did her work, and then watched them die, but then a miracle happened, they got back up. The doctor was always happy at first, they weren't dead! But no, even though they moved and made noises, something was wrong, they weren't quite there. They all stood in the corner and silently watched as she kept working, unable to stop her body as silent tears continuously streamed down her cheeks, the smell of decaying corpses filled the air. While they moved and talked, they weren't the same, leftover shells of the people they'd once been.
One random day, she felt more awake than she normally was. The permanent fog over her mind was gone, if only temporarily. Stumbling out of bed, Joanna walked towards the table where she kept her medication. Even if she didn't want to, she dutifully took it every single day, because she did want to get better, if not for herself, then for her brother and for Ardyn. Having shown no signs of suicidal tendencies or depression, she'd been allowed to administer her own medicine. But, today was different. For the first time in a long time, she was thinking clearly, and she was miserable. She hated herself, hated her life, hated everyone and everything in this world. There was nothing worth living for anymore. Finally, that little voice in her head was back.
'Just do it. You know you want to.'
"No, it's the coward's way out. I can't die like this."
'Look at what a pathetic mess you've become. Do you really think your brother loves you? He pities you, that's the only reason why he's putting you through this. You've never been worth as much care and attention as Lunafreya, so he's left you here, in the hands of therapists and drugs. If you two didn't share any DNA or blood, you and I both know he never would've bothered with you, simply tossed you to the side like everyone else. If Luna was going through this, he wouldn't have left her side. He would've went through everything with her, even if it didn't help. The one person you love most, doesn't care about you. And it makes sense, she's the oracle, you're just the bastard tarnishing the family name. You may have magic, you may be well trained and accomplished, but you can never escape what you are, and you're a monster.'
"But the others... what about-"
'What about sweet little Cat? Lovely Lexi? Kind Elizabeth? Ever doting Reese? Have they ever visited you since this began?'
"They saved me. The must care. They're just busy, I-"
'Come now, Cat's probably back with the Glaive, her real family. You could've joined her in Lucis, but you refused. Lexi's run off into Lala land again to do her own thing, and Elizabeth's with her husband, like she should be. They don't have time to be worrying about you, and yet all you do is give them more reason to worry. If you were gone, then they could live a much more carefree and happy life, they wouldn't have to constantly keep an eye out for you.'
"Theresa cares about me. She has a kingdom to run, which is why she hasn't come to visit. She'll miss me, won't she?"
'No, she won't. She sees you as a replacement for her sister, for Evie. You've always known this in the back of your mind. Now that she's back, she has no more use for you. Why else would they leave you behind to do inventory of all things?'
"What about Ardyn?"
'You're a pawn to him. He also hasn't visited you now, has he? He's always loved Aera. You're kidding yourself if you ever thought you were special to him. It's how he acts around everybody, you were just sucked into his charm.'
"No, I-I don't believe it! You're lying!"
'You can lie to everybody, but can you lie to yourself, my dear girl?'
Joanna found herself staring at her own reflection. Her face was gaunt and lifeless, eyes sunken, and skin bordering papery. She'd deteriorated into an absolute mess. No matter what, in the end, she couldn't argue with her own logic. She didn't deserve to continue living while so many others had perished, no, the only reason she had to remain was for those who loved her, which was no one. Picking up the bottle of pills and pouring herself a glass of water. She took them one by one until she'd emptied the bottle. The familiar fogginess descended on her after a few moments, though it was much stronger than usual. Finding it difficult to see where she was going, she tripped over a chair leg and fell, her body barely registering the pain as she hit the floor. Unable to find the strength or will to get up off the ground, Joanna remained where she was, falling into a peaceful slumber, hopefully for the last time.
Ravus was on the way to visit his youngest sister, he usually told her ahead of time, but this time he wanted to surprise her, even if it meant quietly sitting by her bedside until she woke up. A part of him didn't mind watching her sleep, she could be a child again with how peaceful she looked, until of course, the horrors of their pasts sank its claws into her. It was a terrifying sight to see her screaming and thrashing around in bed. Knocking lightly on her door, he took the silence to mean that she was still asleep. Twisting the handle and opening it slowly, his blue and purple eyes widened as he took in the sight before him, "Sister!" With a shout, he ran over, dropping to his knees beside her body. Her skin was cold and clammy to the touch, and when he shook her and waved a hand in front of her face to attempt to get her attention, there was no reaction. Taking her pulse, the high commander found it to be much slower than normal. Her heart rate was slow to begin with, from years of training, but this was different, he could barely find her pulse, and it fluttered every now and again, "Joanna, wake up! Please!" The only real response he could get from that was a soft wheezing breath, she was struggling to breathe, and her lips beginning to turn blue.
Remembering what Joanna had done when she'd found Catarina overdosed in her room, he picked his sister up and carried her to the bathroom, running a cold shower to try and shock her awake. Keeping her upright, he carefully forced two fingers down her throat, forcing her to throw up the pills she'd taken. He waited a few minutes, praying that it had been enough, and when she finally began to woke up, the usually stoic man swore he almost cried as he pulled her in for a hug, holding her firmly against his chest, "Astrals... my little wolf, what were you thinking? Don't leave me, sister, please," his voice broke as he held her closer, he couldn't lose her too, it would kill him, absolutely kill him.
Joanna woke up slowly, barely registering how cold she was, and suddenly she was being hugged by... her brother? What had happened? What was he saying to her? Then she remembered. The pain. The guilt. The loneliness. She tried to shove him away, push him off of her, to no avail.
"Let me die, please, just let me die. I don't want to live anymore. Please... please!" She begged quietly, voice raspy, "please, I'm begging you, just let me die. There's nothing for me here."
Ravus froze, and simply clutched his sister tighter. If she truly believed that, then he had failed her as her older brother. A small part of him died at those bone chilling words, "forgive me, sister. I should've never agreed to this, I knew this would do more harm than good, but I thought it would help you. You have my word, I will not leave you alone like this again, just please, please do not say things like that. I beg of you, stay with me. I cannot lose you too."
"Rae..." her favorite childhood nickname for her brother came out as more of a whimper than anything else as she collapsed into his arms, finally sobbing out her pain. Joanna didn't need to tell him for him to understand, she never had, and she couldn't believe she'd tried to hurt him like this. Even as angry, confused, and upset as she was, she should've know that he'd always loved her and never should've second guessed it.
The high commander held his little sister until she'd exhausted herself, letting her cry all she needed until eventually falling asleep in his arms. It broke his heart, she never cried, ever. He'd watched her take beatings from the others in training and simply walk it off, showing up at the next meal like nothing had ever happens. The amount of emotional pain she must've been in was unfathomable to him, utterly. He carried her back to her bed and laid her down, making sure she was warm and comfortable before calling for a doctor to check on her. Now that she was deemed a suicide risk, they removed anything sharp from her room, as well as any medicines that she could overdose on. Then again, the brunette was probably creative enough to come up with some new way to kill herself if she truly put her mind to it, or had some poisons and medicines hidden around her room, but there was no way to prevent that.
For a while, things went back to normal. Joanna, while on lesser dosages of sedatives, seemed to be recovering better now, and having Ravus around all the time seemed to help. She still looked terrible, and nothing short of death, but with the loving support of her brother, and the aid of a very kind therapist, she was doing better, laughing and smiling again. This progress was most noticeable when Chancellor Izunia was around. He'd been visiting before, but it was late at night, and she'd always been asleep when he'd come, now he'd managed to make some time and visit every now and then, and it seemed as if nothing had ever happened.
Nothing gold can stay, and eventually both the high commander and the chancellor had to return to work. There was only so much time they could both dedicate to staying with her, even if they could ignore work, it would only bring trouble in the long run.
She tried, she tried so hard to maintain the healthy habits and remain open with the therapist, but eventually she found it to be too difficult to continue being as open as she was without her family nearby. She'd been fighting her own battles her entire life, and grew accustomed to keeping things to herself, more so, she found herself struggling to trust them enough to actually tell them what had happened to her. Knowing that they'd never understand why she'd made the decisions she had hurt more than anything. And if they ever found out about it, she knew they'd think her a monster, and hate her for it.
Pretending that everything was fine was easy enough, especially when her brother and lover visited. She knew the risk of doing so, but ended up growing dependent on those visits to boost her mood, as for those few minutes she was genuinely happy and could let herself forget, or even convince herself that she'd done the right thing.
The one thing that she did let go, was her physical health. Often skipping meals in favor of sleeping or reading, she found herself almost craving the pain of hunger, at least to some extent it would allow her to suffer.
One night, she woke up screaming, clenching her hands in front of her as she sobbed out her pain. Joanna found herself staring at her hands, those damned hands, which did more harm than good. She'd hurt those children with these hands, killed people, broke apart families, and used her magic to cause mass destruction. Having always wanted to help and heal others, her destructive powers and tendencies had always been a sore point. No, she'd never let herself hurt anyone again. Standing, she walked over to her table and quietly rigged up a contraption, a small guillotine. The blade was dulled, but with the acceleration and amount of force, it should be enough to do what needed to be done.
There was no hesitation in her eyes as she placed the middle, ring, and forefinger of her left hand in the three allotted slots. She'd never be able to hurt anyone again, she deserved to pay for everything she'd done. Releasing the rope, lifeless eyes watched as the blade dropped. Amazingly, she registered the warm flow of blood before the pain, bringing her hand up to eye level to examine it, and watching as the thick, red liquid slowly traveled down her hand and her arm. Reaching over to grip the rope with her thumb and pinky, which was admittedly much harder, she repeated the process with her right hand. Adrenaline and crude excitement had pushed the pain away for a while, but now it was finally beginning to set in. It started as a dull throb, before escalating to white, hot agony. Whimpering quietly and biting down hard on her lip to keep from crying out, she walked over to a part of the floor which was uncarpeted, not wanting to clean blood out of the carpet. Grabbing a thick blanket, the brunette wrapped it around herself and took a seat, waiting for the bleeding to cease before she cleaned up.
The Chancellor decided to visit her before work that morning, surprising her and starting the day off on a high note for both of them. Not bothering to knock, he stepped into her room and tilted his head to the side slightly at the sight that greeted him. Amber eyes scanned over the figure sitting on the floor. Joanna was physically stunning, she always had been. Ardyn had always found her fire and spirit to be so much more attractive. Looking at her now, sitting cross legged on the floor with a thick blanket wrapped around her, staring blankly at the floor, he couldn't help but wonder if it was truly the same person. The woman he loved would've never, in a million years, let something like this happen to herself. She was just too damned stubborn to give in, even to herself. Looking at her eyes, the fire was gone, replaced with a pit of hopelessness and despair.
"My dear girl, what have you been up to?" The wine haired man asked as he walked over.
The familiar voice, accompanied by an almost mocking tone, shook her from her stupor. Joanna looked up at him, her face was almost white from blood loss as she met his gaze, "nothing. Just bored."
As he drew closer, a familiar scent filled the air, as it grew steadily thicker with the smell. Metallic... blood? Looking closer, he noticed the dark patches in the blanket, and the dark red spots on the floor, was she hurt? He walked over quickly and tried to pull the blanket away from her, wanting to see where she was injured. Naturally, she tugged the blanket back in place, twisting to try and cover herself.
"Leave it, Ardyn. I'm fine, I'm not hurt," she protested uselessly.
The chancellor ignored her, finally managing to ease the blanket away from her, his eyes widened at the sight before him. What had she done, "What were you thinking?" He cried in near outrage as he quickly used the blanket to press on her wounds, slowing the blood flow, "Joanna... my dear girl. What have you done to yourself?" He knew better than anyone how much she loved to tinker with things, build and design machinery, and most importantly, use her medical skills to help others. Now... now she would be lucky if she could survive.
"No... stop," the girl almost whined, trying to pull away from him. She was embarrassed that he was seeing her in this condition, and more importantly, she didn't feel she was worthy of his help, "Leave me be. I deserve to suffer. I hurt them, Ardy. I've hurt so many people... now I can't. Let it go, please. I deserve this. I'm a monster, and monsters deserve to suffer."
"Enough of this!" The wine-haired man snapped, gripping her wrists tightly so that he could properly bandage them. He would still need to bring in a doctor to tend to her, and make sure she could recover, but there was nothing he or anyone else could do about her hands, they were ruined for good. It wasn't the fact that she was injured that upset him, he knew how stubborn she could be, and knew how much pain she'd endured, she'd pull through. No, it was her words, she'd lost all her sense of self, whatever had happened was still haunting her, and killing her slowly from the inside. He'd never let anyone speak poorly of her, least of all herself, "Listen to me, you are no monster. Acknowledge those you've hurt, but remember the ones you've saved, my dear. How many have you helped? How many lives have you saved? Do you even know?"
Joanna violently flinched away from him and shook her head, too lost in her own thoughts to even comprehend what he was saying. The girl had lost a lot of her blood, most of the blanket was already soaked in it. Naturally, she still struggled against the stronger man, trying to make her point through whimpered protests and whines of pain. Eventually, she gave up and slumped against him, barely conscious.
The imperial chancellor swept her into his arms and carried her to bed, making sure she was comfortable while sending for a doctor to come and see to her. He remained with her while she was tended to, knowing full well what the final verdict would be. Fortunately the girl's skills did not necessarily require her hands, she was well trained as a strategist, investigator, and an intelligence officer, so she wouldn't be entirely worthless to the empire, and would likely still be kept around. However, it didn't mean that it didn't hurt, learning that the poor girl wouldn't be able to really do anything without some form of assistance. While prosthetics were possible, he doubted she would accept them, especially since she'd willingly maimed herself to begin with. He also knew that Ravus wouldn't be happy to learn of this, if anything, the man would blame himself for not noticing the signs sooner, though how could anyone notice, while she kept everything hidden to herself, carrying her burdens without the aid of others.
"Chancellor?" The doctor's voice shook the man from his thoughts, "the Lieutenant is in a coma, she's lost too much blood. She may yet wake up, but at this point, perhaps it would be more merciful to-"
"Absolutely not. The next person to suggest such a thing will learn the meaning of regret," he growled, "leave."
As the weeks progressed, Joanna's condition only worsened. Having to be kept on multiple machines in order to allow her body to even function properly, meant that her physical health deteriorated further. While always considered to be lean, she'd become practically a walking skeleton with some skin attached, as was the risk of being kept on an all liquid diet for long periods of time. The doctors also carefully monitored her brain activity, while reassuring at first, it seemed she was getting closer and closer to entering a vegetative state, from which there was no return. Ravus and Ardyn stayed with her as much as they could, reading the newspaper aloud, talking about the days events, and reminiscing on childhood memories. It didn't really do much, but it allowed the pair some hope, perhaps something they said would miraculously wake her from her slumber.
Ravus, of course, blamed himself for not being there for his little sister while she clearly needed him. As usual, his place in the Empire had pushed him away from his family, resulting in both of them being hurt in some way. He prayed nightly to be given another chance, to stand up to the Emperor and do right by his sister, by his family. They should've never stayed in Niflheim, it had been hell for both of them. He regretted not leaving while they could, or at least fighting back the way Lunafreya did. If the Astrals granted him another chance, he swore he would stand by her, and stay with her as long as she needed. The empire had changed them both, forcing them to both become emotionless shells. While Joanna had never truly struggled to express herself and her emotions in private, he had, and he'd hurt her on more occasions than he'd care to count. No, if she woke up, then he would show her what she meant to him, and make sure she knew just how much he loved and cared for her. Especially after hearing what Ardyn had told him, he would personally make sure she never felt that way again, even if he didn't exactly know how as of yet. The high commander clearly still saw her as the little girl she'd been in Tenebrae, even if she didn't remember. Sweet, innocent, and kind, a child without a care in the world. What would he give to be able to take the pain from her, to allow her such blissful ignorance again.
Whilst Ravus and Ardyn dealt with Joanna's condition head on, Theresa, Elizabeth, Lexi, and Cat had taken a vastly different approach. Once they'd found their cousin and made sure she was safe with her brother, they set about finding the woman who'd done this to her, hellbent on revenge. No one, and they meant no one, laid a hand on her and got away with it, ever. Finding Ivaka was surprisingly easy, she didn't tried to hide from them, and actually made her position known, clearly luring them into a trap. Nonetheless, it was a trap that the four gladly walked into.
"Well then, Sisters. So glad you could make it," the redhead smirked as she spoke, spreading her arms out in an inviting gesture.
Theresa's eyes narrowed, the cold steel in her gaze giving away her anger towards the woman before her. Her own twin of all people. She'd forgiven much of her sister's past misdemeanors, and even turned a blind eye when she'd nearly killed Cat (which was later rectified when she realized her mistake). But this was one thing she could never, ever forgive. No one hurt Joanna, not like this. The girl was the youngest of them, and therefore the most doted upon. It wasn't that they didn't love each other, quite the opposite really, as they'd found more bonding experiences by raising her together, but a mutual desire to protect their own that fueled their flames. If any of them had been hurt like this, they would've raised hell to get revenge.
"You have much to speak for, Sister," surprisingly enough, it was Catarina who spoke up first. Being related to Joanna by blood brought the pair closer, and being closest in age had made them a truly deadly pair, "and many sins to repent."
Ivaka only smiled in that infuriating manner that she knew they hated, "and that is why I am here, my dear, dear Catarina. I am here to repent, as you so say. The die has been cast, all that happens now, is out of our hands. The game is over, I've won."
"Won? Thou hadst lost thine mind if thy doth believe thee to be the winner," Alexandria's anger was evident, simply by the fact that she had slipped back into the common English spoken when she was a child. No one commented on it of course, slipping into different tongues and languages was a normal occurrence for them, especially with the number of languages they each spoke.
The redhead shook her head, more than a little amused, they still didn't understand. She opened her mouth to explain, but gasped instead, as the tip of a sword could be seen through her chest. Elizabeth had had more than enough and slipped behind her while they were distracted, stabbing her through the heart with an enchanted blade. Killing their 'sister' instantly.
"And so falls Evie, the light within the dark," the brunette spoke, sarcasm dripping from her voice.
"Come. We have more important matters to attend to. We've wasted more than enough time on the filth of the Earth," Theresa spoke, turning and walking away. She didn't even bother sparing a second glance at her sister, it wasn't worth it.
The four vanished into nothing, reappearing seconds later in Joanna's room.
Ravus immediately drew his sword to face the newcomers, but upon recognizing them, put his sword away. Shaking his head, he sat back down and crossed his arms, angry at them for letting this happen. He didn't blame them for not coming sooner, but he couldn't help but feel that this could've been prevented had they been more careful with his sister. And of course, they agreed with him.
Ardyn looked over at the commotion, but said nothing. Though he couldn't help but look over at Elizabeth. It had been a long while since he'd seen Aera's little sister, he had to wonder if she remembered it all, the pain and the suffering that they'd endured these past years.
Sighing quietly, Elizabeth walked over and placed a gentle hand on both men's shoulders, giving them a reassuring squeeze. They were here to help now, even if they should've come sooner, they knew they couldn't risk it. Better late than never.
Alexandria took a seat in a nearby chair, just content on watching. She didn't trust her voice to cooperate, nor herself to keep from breaking down as well. She and Joanna had constantly competed for the title of "least amount of control over emotions", and the blonde didn't think letting all the doubt and fear out now would be beneficial for anyone.
Cat slowly walked over to the bed, and took her cousin's hand... well, what remained of it. Annoyingly enough, she could feel the pinpricks of tears in her eyes. Blinking them down, she leaned in and gently pressed a kiss against the younger girl's forehead. Absentmindedly brushing the dark strands away from her face, she shook her head, "forgive me, little one. I failed you."
"No. I did," Theresa finally spoke up, having kept silent this entire time, "the die was cast years ago, when Ivaka first betrayed us. And yet I let it go. It should've never come to this. Had I dealt with her then, Joanna would've never gotten involved, she never would've even gotten a chance to hurt her. Much less use her against us." The blonde knew that this was technically her fault. Her sister felt betrayed by her, and in turn hurt their cousin to get back at her.
"Nay, this is on all of us. When Catarina was attacked, we all let it go, turned a blind eye because we loved Evie. We've been turning a blind eye to her actions the entire time. This blame, isn't just on your shoulders, sister," Elizabeth's words, while soothing, did little to their desired effect. She knew Theresa would continue to carry the blame for this, single handedly, but it was the least she could do to try. The other two hastily agreed, showing their support.
"Enough of the blame game. Let's do what we came to do," Cat tried to smile lightly, the Glaive was always the one to get them out of the depth of darkness.
Nodding, Theresa stepped forwards and gently rested a hand on Joanna's forehead. Leaning down, she exhaled slowly, letting her magic flow in the form of air between the two. It didn't take long for Joanna to wake up, and frantically look around. The girl could tell there was a lot of people in the room, though seeing who it was, made her relax, they would help her.
"Kill me. Please..." her weak voice begged. She was absolutely miserable, she'd just wanted to die, and yet her attempts had been foiled time and time again, "Please... just kill me. Have mercy. End this."
Ardyn, hearing these words, was suddenly thrown into the past. Wheat blonde locks and carefree laughter flittered through his memory before the anguish of losing one of the only people he'd ever loved, to his brother no less. He could hear his heart pounding, no, he couldn't lose her. He couldn't lose someone else, not like this. A lone tear slipped down his cheek, the sight of her like this would haunt him for years to come. Elizabeth, seeing Ardyn's reaction, gently wrapped him in a one armed hug. She'd witnessed what happened with Aera, and knew that it affected him as much as it did her.
Ravus closed his eyes, willing his tears away. It was one thing for him to come across her almost dead body, it was another entirely for him to hear his little sister begging for death. How much pain was she in in order to consider death a mercy from this world? Even a slow and agonizing one. Silently, he felt the tears he didn't even realize he'd been holding back fall. He'd watched his innocent little sister lose her smile, descend into near madness, try to kill herself, cut her own fingers off, fall into a coma so deep that only magic could wake her up, and now beg for them to end her. The high commander didn't know what to do. He'd begged for a second chance, and now that he was confront with it, was completely at a loss for words. Standing, he walked over and laid down beside her, gently pulling her into his arms and pressing a kiss to the top of her head, "please... please stop saying this, sister. Please get better."
"I can't... I've tried so hard Rae... I just... I can't!" The young brunette cried, curling herself into her brother's arms and crying against his chest. Her sobs and occasional helpless wails were like knives to everyone's hearts, they all hated seeing her like this. Suffering. Joanna had tried to get better, really and truly tried for their sakes. But no matter what she did, it just wasn't good enough to erase the image of what she'd done.
Closing her eyes, the assassin queen considered her options. She didn't want to watch her cousin like this, knowing it would only grow to be worse. Huffing out a breath, she knew there was only one method she could try.
"Joanna, my sweet girl. Close your eyes, I'm going to make this better. I just need you to trust me," she spoke gently, placing a hand over the brunettes eyes. She could feel the slight shaking, as Joanna suppressed her sobs in order to obey her cousin. Inwardly, Theresa felt a small bubble of pride, Joanna had always followed her orders and trusted her with her life. She'd loved her, when most immediately saw the monster that the queen had become, the girl had seen the pain that had made the monster, and helped her through it. Brushing aside those bittersweet memories, the blonde closed her eyes and concentrated, mouthing the words of the spell to herself. The soft glow underneath her hand brightened and then dimmed. Shortly after, Joanna's body vanished into nothing.
"Sister-"
Alexandria was cut off by Ravus' angered cry, "what have you done?"
"Erased her memory, of all of us. Of everything. I gave her a new life, in a land free of pain and suffering. She may live the rest of her days in ignorant bliss, and die having lived a full and happy life. You always wanted to bring her back to the times of your youth, where her smile wasn't one forged of strength pushing through pain, but of genuine happiness, of innocence. Now, it may come to be. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do about her hands, as what is taken can only be returned by that who took it in the first place, but at least she will be safe," Theresa knew that the others would be enraged by this, but she also knew that it was the only real choice they had. Joanna was suffering, and there was no way to make her forget an isolated event.
The room fell silent, no one said anything. No one could find the words to say. Deep down they all knew that she was right, to some extent. But they didn't want to accept it. No one did.
Eventually Ravus stood and stormed out. He'd lost the last of his family, even if she was technically alive, he couldn't see her. Couldn't protect her. Couldn't be with her. And he didn't know if that was worse or better. Sure, he'd have Cat, but it wasn't the same. Especially since Catarina always acted so much older than she was, more like a mother figure than a true cousin.
They all ended up going their separate ways. Elizabeth returned to her kingdom and husband. Alexandria vanished from the known realm and lived her usual carefree life. Catarina struggled to balance time between her family and the glaive. Theresa went back to her kingdom, and ruled as she normally did, with and iron, yet merciful, fist. Ravus and Ardyn both worked towards their personal goal in the Empire. The latter trying to bring down the Caelum line, while the former struggled with finding his sense of self, unsure where his loyalties aligned.
Joanna had made a life for herself as a strategist, field specialist, and intelligence officer in a federal agency, doing the good she'd always hoped to do. Without knowledge of the death and destruction she'd cause.
Unbeknownst to her, the others still watched her. Whether it be following her around, or simply watching through security cameras. Every now and then one of them would bump into her, on accident of course, if only to hear her voice again. They all loved and missed her, even if they knew they could never tell her who she was and make her remember, they could at least use their powers to occasionally make them feel better. Theresa even took photos and sent them to Ravus and Ardyn, just to let them know that Joanna was safe and happy.
This had been Ivaka's end game all along. She hadn't intended to kill the girl, but rather to push her to the breaking point. The redhead knew her sister well enough to know that she would never just leave the poor thing to suffer, but would rather give her a new life away from the pain. In turn, the others would all mourn the loss of a dear friend, while being helpless but to watch as they were forgotten. Nothing more than a shadow passing through. In this action alone, she had destroyed them.
Theresa understood this, and had always feared this to be the outcome, even if she never shared it with the others. She'd been hesitant for years now to act, for fear that it would push the inevitable date closer. But in her silence, she had only allowed it to happen, and thoroughly regretted it. The die had been cast, and there was nothing she could do about it.