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Chapter XXXVII - The Merciful and the Merciless

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The earth stopped spinning and the leaves stopped rustling as Heart of the Flame burst out of the castle doors. Almost as if an eclipse were occurring, darkness fell over the land all at once, and sounds of the harrowing night followed. It was a mix of dark and day. Flames and smoke, and rain and mist.

Claudius's legs moved before he had even commanded them to do so. It was like treading through water; he couldn't run fast enough. He pushed past all of the furniture and everything in his way until reaching the entrance doors—which were now sprung wide open.

There were no sounds, and yet everything rang, like the Grandfather Clock in the hallway that hadn't been fixed in years. Flames rose around him, and the land became yellow, but the rain poured down over it and instead turned the land a fuming, sickening green.

And all the while his thoughts were: My Athena, my Athena, my Athena….

If there were one time in his life where he wished he could be a dragon, it was now.

But then, out of the wall of flames surrounding the castle, a lone gray figure leaped. It found its way out of Hell and into the forest, climbing on surrounding trees. Milly.

Heart of the Flame patted down her flames, causing them to collapse along with the rain. She tossed her head about and about, looking all throughout the woods. She snarled and grunted and growled—and with each step, her lizard skin tensed, ready to pounce, to strike.

Rustling in the trees.

The dragon slid her claws into the dirt, digging and then retracting, back-and-forth. Her tail curled back-and-forth across the ground. She hunkered down and crept closer to the forest.

Claudius's daze faltered. He shook his head until he awoke. Horror spread across his face, like watching the End of the World. The red-yellow sky reflected in his eyes, going down and down.

He whispered at first, "Athena," until stumbling, after which, he grew louder. "Athena," but then finally he yelled and his stomach lurched over and over again: "Athena! Athena! Athena! Run, Athena!" Like someone had kicked his legs in, he collapsed.

Heart of the Flame growled and tore her head around for two seconds. She snorted at Claudius's weakness.

Panting, Milly climbed higher into one of the trees.

Her ears pricking the other direction, the dragon regained focus and went after the cat.

But the forest was dark and deep, like the depths of the ocean. It had ravines, trenches, crevices. Heart of the Flame turned her body in on itself, squeezing all of her muscles together until they contorted into another four-legged—albeit much smaller—creature.

A white cat streaked out of the fog like lightning. She was short-haired, with a neat, curled tail—but despite her neat appearance, aggression and hunger were the main things coursing through her body. Heart of the Flame gripped onto the bark of the nearest tree, using her muscles to pull herself higher and higher until she reached the top of the tree, where all of the surrounding land and coastline became visible. She watched the treetops for any movement in any tree nearby.

The cat's red, rabid eyes flashed like fire. A bushy gray tail flowed out of a bird's nest at the top of another tree.

Heart of the Flame transformed into a squirrel; she hopped onto the next tree with ease, leaping from branch to branch.

Milly tucked her tail in.

Right before reaching her destination, Heart of the Flame caught onto a strong, sturdy branch. She stood tall, leaning up on two legs and balancing with her bushy squirrel tail. Her black beady eyes bore into Athena's soul. Suddenly, Heart of the Flame grew a couple of metres taller, lengthening into the thin, pale woman Athena knew.

"I know you can hear me, little girl," the woman spat, saliva streaking onto the trees. "I did kind of like you, so let's just get this over with."

Silence.

"Am I just going to have to reach into that hole and pull you out myself? Hmm?" Heart of the Flame sang.

Milly hissed, howled, leaped out of the hole, and then pounced onto the woman. She clawed at Heart of the Flame's gaunt face, leaving gashes of blood trailing all over the trees and forest floor.

And then, floating. Falling. Milly's tail whipped about in circles as she flew in mid-air, before landing on a pillow of dead, crinkly leaves and snow. Nine lives, she thought to herself.

Heart of the Flame wiped the blood away, slinging it onto the bark. "So that's how the game is to be played." She transformed again into the cat, this time her eyes redder than before—gushing with blood. Just as Athena had done, she landed on the ground.

Milly tore away, sprinting through the forest.

The white cat wasn't far behind.

They flew over brooks, boulders, fallen trees, thorns, and heaping piles of snow. Milly ran faster than she ever had before, pushing deeper into the thicket. Briars caught her fur, leaving open wounds on the sides of her body. Drums beat in her head and the crows in the sky caw-cawed.

Heart of the Flame locked in on her target. Ready. Aim. Fire. Faster and faster she went. Eventually, she transformed into a horse: a bright white, snowy mare. Her hooves sunk into the ground. She caught up, getting closer and closer. Heart of the Flame almost had Milly by her horse teeth when—

Milly disappeared.

The white horse kept going. It was as if Milly had fallen off the face of the earth. And before she could catch herself, Heart of the Flame fell down a hill, tumbling over and over again on herself. Toppling and then flopping at the end of the hill, the mare gritted her teeth. Pain coursed through her body. Her limbs shook as she picked herself back up, one leg at a time.

Milly lied just ahead at the foot of another tree, before climbing up it. Her mouth was wide open; she panted and her fur stood straight up.

Limping as she walked, Heart of the Flame made headway toward the next tree. She leaned her tall neck up and her ears turned and listened for Milly's sounds. Her tail whipped back-and-forth. Mustering up all of the strength she had left in her veins, Heart of the Flame transformed into a cat. She climbed up the base of the tree, fell half-way, and then climbed up it again. This time, she made it to the next branch, where she leaped up to a bird's nest and rested in its soft twine. Her breath slowed.

The tree began to shake as Milly climbed higher; it swayed with her. It was one of the tallest trees they had yet to face.

But Heart of the Flame was not about to let this opportunity go. She jumped down from the bird's nest and landed on all fours on the ground. She shapeshifted into a dragon, opened her mighty jaws, and clenched onto the base of the tree, slowly heating it up with direct flames. The tree withstood the flames for a while, but after a few minutes went by, it began to give way. Flames spewed out of her mouth left and right, causing mini-fires in every direction. The tree's base cracked as she heated it up to soaring temperatures, and the sound echoed all across the forest like cannon fire.

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Sir Claudius ransacked his potion room. He sifted through cabinet after cabinet, searching. But what would work against her…?

He didn't want to kill her, he didn't want to immobilize her….

Nothing….

He sunk his fingers into his sweaty black locks. He closed his eyes, wincing and biting down on his tongue.

But then, out of the corner of his eye, a silvery safe. Drawing nearer to it, Sir Claudius laid one finger onto the lock. A bright red gleam of light tore out.

It must be done….

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The top of the tree swayed as though a great storm were blowing it back-and-forth. Milly hung on for dear life; she sunk her claws deep into its bark, so deep that she touched one of the rings.

And below, the dragon continued to send blazes out of her lungs. It scorched all around the base of the tree, even touching its roots. The crack that had formed grew larger until finally, the tree snapped.

At first, the falling was slow. The forest was silent and everything died. But then, it leaned over to one side and broke branches off of several other trees as it came tumbling down.

Milly let go. She landed on her back this time, which knocked the breath out of her. The tree cascaded down on top of her and the world turned a deathly black.

Heart of the Flame lit forest fires all around, shrieking in triumph. But just when her heart filled with delight, another roar came from behind her.

She picked one leg up at a time, the ground shaking beneath her dragon feet.

Sir Claudius launched a fiery red potion at her. The glass vile broke onto her scaly skin, dripping down and intermixing with her blood. Her scales retracted, smoothed over by the liquid wiping them away. Her face contorted, turning paler as she turned human again. A dragon roar soon became a woman's scream.

Dragging his feet along the ground and heaving over, Claudius reached the fallen tree. "Athena!" he called, scrambling around in the debris. He threw away stones and branches and ashes. "Athena, please!" His eyes shot across the tree, searching for some silvery fur in the midst of brown and black ash. A lump welled in his throat, rising and rising. It was just more flame. Flame like it had always been. But then, instead of coming out of his mouth, it came out of his eyes…. Wet tears streamed down his face.

He had never cried before. Rivers put out the fire burning inside of him.

"Athena… No…." he cried, his knees buckling until he sank to the ground.

Behind him, a stirring. Heart of the Flame rose on two legs instead of four.

She held her two hands out in front of her and sneered. "What have you done to me, you monster?!" she shrieked.

Claudius bolted around, picking himself up in the process. His face contorted into a wretched position; truly, a monster. He marched straight toward Heart of the Flame, his arms swinging and his feet stomping into the dry, bare dirt.

She caved in on herself and tried to flee before he grabbed her by the arms, forcing her to stay. His voice hoarse and wild, he spoke, "I gave you mercy. I turned you human for a mere few days so that you would not attack the one person that I love. I could have killed you." He shook her and Heart of the Flame's head bobbed up-and-down. "I could have killed you!" Claudius cleared his throat, coughing on her. "But I didn't," he said. "Instead I used the potion intended for me in my last hours on you...." His pupils dilated and fire sprouted in his eyes. The black of night and the blazing heat of the sun were both there, contrasted there in his terrible, awful face. "There is nothing in this world left for me now, so don't think I will mate with you just because Athena is gone. I never want to see you again. Leave, or I will kill you."

Claudius released his grip on her, one muscle at a time. She fell to the ground, like sinking into the ocean, her legs giving way. The man stared into her eyes, firm. She shivered under his gaze, naked and in the open. Heart of the Flame looked back-and-forth between his thundering eyes and the opening through the thicket behind her.

Claudius turned around as the woman scurried away like the animal she was. He dragged his feet through the snow before falling at the tree. With everything that was left in him, the man pushed the log over onto its side. But…

Athena wasn't….

"My God! I didn't think she would ever leave," came a shaky, shattered laugh.

Claudius whipped around, and his face spread wide.

"Hello, darling," Athena said, perching on a nearby rock. She wobbled to slide off of it and then landed on her feet.

"Athena. Athena!" he yelped, draining his last bit of energy as he sprinted to the girl. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into the tightest hug he'd ever given.

"Oh, this is so improper!" Athena called, mimicking her Aunt Helena's accent.

"Oh… OH!" Claudius's face flushed as he took in her bare form. He turned away, took off his cloak, and held it out to her.

Athena draped it around herself, making sure to cover every last inch of her body.

The man turned about again once she was done. "I don't understand…" he said.

She giggled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Don't you know cats have nine lives, silly?" she said.

Claudius let out a cough, then a laugh. The wrinkles around his eyes tightened and firmed, and his facial features became normal again as he took in her sweet face. "Oh, Athena… I'm just so glad you're alive." He wiped away another tear.

"Barely." She pushed him away. "If there hadn't been a foxhole right where I landed when the tree fell on top of me, I would not be here right now."

"So, that's how you survived?"

She nodded. "You have a bit of explaining to do, too, Claudius." Her face turned serious.

Claudius breathed out a sigh of relief, then a sigh of tension. "All in due time, Athena. For now, I just want to get you home and well." He ran his hand over her neck, which was covered in thorns and scrapes.

Athena leaned into his hand and took hold of it. "Thank you, for saving my life."

"And you mine."

They smiled, interlocking gazes. The flames of his eyes had calmed and the deep blue rivers returned. Her lighter, silvery eyes—like wisps—assured him that everything would be alright.