~Clearsight
Clearsight didn't know what to think. Here she was, prepared to say goodbye to her love, when he walks in and says that he'll change. She knew there was a low probability of her plan working, but this wasn't one of the possible outcomes. She thought that after they brought Whiteout back, then Darkstalker would kill Arctic and she, in turn, had to trap him. She couldn't say she was mad that she didn't have to watch him get buried in rocks from Agate Mountain, but she couldn't say she was happy either. She didn't know this timeline existed; she had no time to study it.
She brought herself out of her thoughts as they landed on the stage. All the NightWings were still watching, and she was glad that she couldn't see Listener or her parents. She noticed the queen standing on one of the balconies.
Clearsight looked at Darkstalker, who seemed to be lost in thought. He looked out at the crowd, and said, "As I said, Arctic the IceWing is guilty of many crimes. What do you think the best approach to dealing with a traitor is?" Clearsight shivered. She saw lots of ways Darkstalker could still kill Arctic, still grow evil and feared. She could only sit and hope that he did the right thing.
There were many replies.
"Kill him!"
"Banish the traitor!"
"Shouldn't the queen be handing out punishment?"
"Banish the IceWing! Kill his tribe! He's part of the reason why we're in this mess!"
Darkstalker looked back at Arctic. "Go back home. Tell Grandmother to stop this war or else we'll raid all the castles." He paused, then said, "And when you're finally dead, tell Mother that I wish I could've been there when she left, to slit your throat the second she took that earring off."
Was it odd that Clearsight was almost reassured by this comment? For a second she thought that Darkstalker had been possessed somehow.
She watched as Arctic flew away, then she walked over to Darkstalker. "My love, wouldn't he not be able to live a normal life? He would be waiting for your command."
"He doesn't deserve any mercy, Clearsight." Darkstalker said. "And it's better if he can't live a normal life."
Suddenly Queen Vigilance landed behind them. They both turned, and Clearsight hurried into a quick bow then got back up again.
"What. Are. You. Doing?" The queen screamed. "Don't act like you own the kingdom, I know your plans." She said to Darkstalker.
"My queen, please—" Clearsight began.
"You're not my top seer anymore, dragonet." Vigilance said dismissively. "You're moving out of the castle and into a home where you can still be useful to me."
"Your Majesty," Darkstalker said, without flinching or bowing, "It wasn't Clearsight's fault. I enchanted her earrings. Don't punish her for my mistake." He paused before adding. "But of course, I can still be useful to you."
Looking up at Vigilance's face, Clearsight began to wonder if there could be no happy ending. Vigilance pointed to the beach, then growled. "Fine. I want you out of my sight until some useful dragon tells me how and when you'll steal my throne. Go live in a cave and get killed by IceWings." She looked at Clearsight. "If you see anything involving him tell me immediately or else both of you will die, invulnerability spell or none." With the amount of hatred visible in her eyes, Clearsight guessed that the queen was already planning the best ways to kill them. She looked toward the crowd of black dragons, most of them ready to go home or to school.
"You are dismissed." The queen said. She turned away and flew back up to her castle, to do who-knows-what who-knows-where. Dragons began flying or walking away in their own directions, and Clearsight followed Darkstalker into the sky.
"On the bright side, you won't be bombarded with requests." Darkstalker said. "And now you can search for Fathom."
"And my parents, Listener, and her parents." Clearsight added.
Darkstalker sighed, "And probably Indigo."
"You mean you didn't kill her?" Clearsight asked. She had known that Darkstalker had done something bad to Indigo, but she often worried he killed her.
"Who do you think I am, my love? A psychopath? I resisted killing my father, and I thought getting rid of Indigo would make Fathom worry less. Moons, his mind never stopped." Darkstalker replied. "But then again, neither does yours. I missed hearing your lovely worried thoughts." They landed near the cave where they had gone that rainy day, and Clearsight sat the bracelet down in the bag that Darkstalker had carried his scroll in.
"Will you be all right here?" She said.
"Yes, yes." Darkstalker said, curling into a ball on the rocky ground. "It'll be tough when high tide comes, but I can figure out a way to make it work."
Clearsight nodded, then turned to leave. She felt guilty leaving him here. He deserved better. Even though in nearly every timeline he kills far too many dragons, he's still her love. She turned back to Darkstalker, and said, "I'll be back in a week or two with Fathom, my parents, Listener, and her parents." And then she flew away.