Chapter23: Take Two
Ok. Things have not gone entirely to plan! Sure, Daniela has been safely locked away. The rebel Fairies and their allies have successfully taken the castle (and soon the city) from the Mamonon loyalists. And we were even able to rescue Yusha from her prison cell! But I don't think anyone was expecting the empress herself to make an appearance tonight. I really had no idea what she intended to do with me and my friends. But I did know one thing. I sucked at making first impressions.
Eventually, we got back to the subject at hand. Freyja was now sitting on one of the beds with her hands on her lap in a very ladylike manner. "What right do you think you have to interfere with my work!?" She scolded. "Do you see yourself as some hero or saint!?" In all honesty, I was forced into this mess. But I couldn't tell her that. I knew I had to stand my ground and convince her that what she was doing was wrong (somehow….)
"I should ask you the same thing!" I answered loudly. "This is the Fairy Kingdom! Not the demon realm! The Fairy Kingdom!" I stepped forward and loomed over her much like she had done earlier (what comes around, goes around!) "I'm not sure your aware of this. But a good person was killed because of your ambitions. I'm no hero. But at least I'm not some power-hungry tyrant!" (Might've overdone it there mate.)
Freyja flinched a little before looking away. If the saddened expression on her face was any indication, my words had hit her quite hard. "I know" She whispered (what!?) "I know Ceana is dead because of me and…." Her hands suddenly balled up into fists. Her breathing became heavy and her eyes filled with tears. "No!" she shouted, " I am the one responsible for this!" She then rose to her feet and began to circle me as she unleashed her verbal assault.
"But does that justify what you have done!? I am not a monster who intends to enslave or oppress these Fairies! I wish to culturally uplift them! Do you really think manipulating them into revolting will make everything better!?" When her rage peaked, she grabbed me by the collar and pinned me against the wall. "Do you really think you can stop me!?" That scared me a little (a fracking heap!) She was right though. Having read so many books on historical conflicts and battles, I understood war was never a good solution to anything. And starting a full-scale war with a daughter of the Demon Lord could end very badly for everyone. But there was one thing she did not yet understand.
I took a deep breath, and said simply "I have played only a small part in this uprising." Freyja narrowed her eyes and leaned in until our noses were touching (invading personal space!) "What the hell are you talking about? You challenged the Queen, didn't you? And you planned the coup, right?" It was time to come clean. "No, and no." I then placed my hands onto her shoulders and gently pushed her back. She didn't resist (even though it wouldn't have been very hard) and released her grip on me. I then calmly walked over to where Yusha was resting and carefully scooped her up into my hands.
"I wasn't the one who challenged Ceana for her throne." I continued as I held Yusha up to a baffled Lilim. "It was her." Freyja glanced at the unconscious Fairy before returning her gaze to me. "Who is this? Another one of your puppets?" She then flashed me a cruel smile. "Looks like you haven't been taking very good care of her." (You fucking slut of a whore!) "Yusha!" I snarled. "Her name is Yusha! And she is my friend!" I then fell to my knees and held her to my chest. "She….she…." I couldn't hold it in any longer. I began to cry.
It was different to when I had that childish sob fest with Amina in that alley way. This was not out of frustration or anger. My heart was filled with such sadness and fear I had never felt before. Nothing could stop the tears pouring from my eyes as I held my unconscious friend to my heart. At that moment she was everything to me. And I was losing her. "W-what are you doing!?" Freyja asked nervously . "It's my fault….all my fault." I managed to force out.
"Yusha is a lovely little girl….She's loud and bossy….But she unconditionally loved everyone around her….She knew there would be consequences if things went wrong….But she went for it anyway….She put everything on the line for her friends….She put her complete trust in me." I then looked up and met my eye with hers. "And I failed her! I failed everyone!" Blinded by my own tears, I was unable to see what Freyja's reaction was. Not that I really cared anymore.
With what little strength I had left, I forced myself to my feet and placed my precious cargo back onto her bed before falling to the ground. I felt no pain. There wasn't even an impact. It felt as though I had landed on something warm and soft. I didn't know if Freyja could still hear me. But I made one last attempt to save Yusha. "I don't care what happens to me anymore." I whispered to the darkness. "Just save her. Please, save her."
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There was blood on my hands. But something was wrong. These were not my hands. They were big, and dirty. They were covered in scratches and bruises. But the one on the left had a massive scar that went from one end of the palm to the other. But then that image was replaced with others. They were moving so fast I could barely keep up with them. An arrow taking flight. Fire in the sky. A crow on a white flag. Then nothing. In the darkness, I could hear a girl's voice. She was so close I could almost feel her breath. She whispered into my ear. "Why? Why?….WHY!?"
My eyes snapped open and I was back in the real world. I was covered in sweat, panting like a dog. The nightmare was unpleasant (and frequent.) But being awake provided me no comfort. I was still in the cave. Her cave. Kat had her arms wrapped tightly around me as she continued to sleep. Purring like a kitten. This felt wrong. It all did. But I was a long way from the farm. It hurt thinking about it. But this was now my home.