The Island of Narid
Chapter 16: Sun Festival Part 2
Well, here it is, the last chapter. Okay, votes:
No, don't make a sequel: 0 votes.
Yes, make a sequel: 3 votes.
so . . . a SEQUEL it is!
Okay here peeps, I know that sometimes I really, really don't like endings because the endings . . . just don't DO it for me, ya know? So I really hope this ending is favorable for you guys.
. . . and SINCE it's the ENDING, I would REALLY appreciate reviews on the story. As a whole, or simply the ending.
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"Chana bella karshti tévo.
Terras bwifo rallie kor.
Sera wo, Sera Chto . . .
"Sera Chto."
Rose stood on the raised dais once more, the platform that overlooked all the people of the island. The last time she was here, she drank blood . . .
The millions of people stood stone still beneath her, moving only their lips to the cold chant. Standing far to the side of her, bound in both the arms and the legs, was Edward. There was a mask covering his eyes--another gagged his mouth. Two islanders held his shoulders as he quivered, and a homunculus stood near, face twisted in a smirk.
"Chana bella"
"Dear lady," Sloth translated slowly, tauntingly.
Rose trembled violently, and tears washed over her cheeks unheeded. She was beyond terrified and hardly heard the chant as Sloth murmured.
"Karshti tévo."
"Foreign blood."
A whimper escaped Rose and a dizziness warbled through her limbs. She felt faint. Ebony waves of hair washed over her shoulder as a homunculus gently strung her arms underneath Rose's, keeping her on her feet or preventing her from fleeing--the purpose was not clear.
"Terras bwifo rallie kor."
"Native heart we adore."
The echoing of the voices in unison and the smooth, languid one of Sloth proved to be too frightening. Rose began to sob, catching her breath in her throat. Her head bowed, and the woman behind was the only think keeping her from collapsing. Drowned only when the crowd spoke, she cried loudly. Somewhere near she heard Ed's intake of breath.
"Sera wo, Sera Chto . . . "
"My Savior, Loved Savior . . . "
"Stop it!" Her voice shrieked from underneath the dark, thick curtain of her hair; her head hung limp. Distantly, as if behind a wall of glass, she heard a boy protest angrily.
"Sera Chto . . . "
Before Edward, the homunculi, and the people of Bloch, but unseen by Rose, whose eyes were now blind even when opened, two men walked onto the dais of the chamber hauling upon their backs two large sealed vats. Upon their foreheads burnt a charcoal-black mark--a churning vine of ebony.
In front of them, when they set the two couldrons on the dais a tall but delicate woman strode forward. At her approach all scaffle of slight footfall vanished; each breath was held. The woman, gowned in golden tresses, raised her thin arms and spoke beneath her light veil.
"Djura ahés' uilio fy z'é."
"All people, listen to me," came Sloth's whispered translation.
"S'i Kuala kanaes si vorsta . . ." 'The Ones have told us the beginning.' ". . . Nar naré kas nlaftu u sfrirü." 'And we will get a conclusion.'
The speech continued on, slow and clear from the lady's gentle mouth. Rose, however terrified, forced her ears to remain open and listen to what would come.
"Our yearnings, our desires, are only a breath away from our lips. This girl," her dark arm gracefully gestured to Rose's bowed form, "this girl is our key to unlocking that invisible barrier between us and our wants. Our Sera Chto.
"Fifty-four years it has taken us to breed and raise our own materials. Fifty-four years has our women labored to create a Sera Chto, to no avail. We needed one that left our island hundreds of years 'fore. We needed her. And she has come. Given to us by our great overlookers. They have brought to us our key: our brilliant Goddess. Our wonderful, cherished Sera Chto. Bow to her--show her your worship."
Sloth dragged Rose forward, in step with the golden-clad lady and released the hold upon her arms. Rose crumpled to a sorry heap upon the smooth stone. Her own rich lavender garment sprayed about her like a fountain; her dark hear, neatly combed, fell over her shoulders and hid her teared face.
"Rose . . . "
Rose's head suddenly raised. Her eyes opened, and she willed for them to see. Through her curtain of dark silk Rose looked at the boy who breathed her name. The cloth gagging and blinding him had been removed. He found her eyes and did not avert. She, however, broke their gaze. One frail, dusky hand rose to her hollowed cheeks and smeared the wetness away. Shakily and as unstable as a newborn filly, she rose to her feet and looked among the multidudinous bodies paying homage.
"No." She said, her voice still scratchy from lack of use. She raised her timbre, "No! I am not holy! I'm no savior! I was once under a similar spell--I was beguiled in a same way until someone wrought out the truth. I am no Sera Chto. I am fake!"
The woman in gold turned to Sloth with bemused eyes. The homunculus smirked before translating. Mirth lit the Bloch woman's features as she murmured a reply.
It came to Rose as, "You have been tested before Sera Chto, when you weren't aware. Your body is what we need. But speak again; we wish to drink your wondrous voice."
Rose stepped back, horrified. The Golden approached her, nearly so close she could feel her breath, and repeated the word.
"Speak. Speak, maiden."
Sudden struggling caught the eyes and ears of the Golden. She turned to a boy fighting greatly with two men holding his arms. The Golden waltzed around Rose and stopped before Edward.
"Who are you, fair-skin?" Came her words spoken through Envy. Not waiting for a reply, Envy spoke for him.
"He is Edward Elric, our talented little alchemist." The one whose name was said thrashed. "He and your Sera Chto are . . . close."
The Golden bent to meet Edward's eyes. "So you will help us? How sweet. Even an outlander like you will aid in our cause by giving us your loved lady. We thank you."
Edward snapped at her when he heard the translation.
She seemed undaunted. "Don't fret, little lost boy. She'll be able to give you anything your heart wants. I'll let you use her first."
Ed's struggling rekindled and he spat foul words at her face. His own was red with contempt.
Envy was slow to translate. "He is honored."
Sloth took firm hold upon Rose's frail wrist and dragged her toward the two giant couldrons. With hard leather, her hands were bound to the handles of each vat. Up close, she could see that on both of the dark sealed bodies of the couldrons was chalked an elaborate web of circles and symbols. Rose was learned enough to know that what her eyes read were transmutation circles--meant distinctly for her. She yanked her wrists, however, that only served to tighten the cords around them.
Edward, still held by the two islanders, took place before her. He had only to glimpse the circles once below him to know what the homunculi and the people of Bloch meant for him to do. His brows knotted and he felt all color drain from his face. His golden eyes looked up and locked with the violet ones of the girl standing his opposite. Her tears were beginning anew.
Two voices spoke--one being the Golden to her people, the other being Sloth to Edward and Rose. "People all, our dreams are to become real! You have given up many loves for this happiness eternal--for years and years. Sing for now that all your lives and those of children to be born will bathe in fine contentment!"
A bright cheer echoed throughout the room. A song formed from their raised voices, a great murmured melody.
Lust walked up to rose, extended her hand to the girl's palms and sliced them through. Rose's blood spread across the seals of the vats. She then cut through the bonds holding Edward's wrists bound. The two men from behind forced his palms to meet in a sharp snap. Ed felt the alchemy within him seethe and shimmer. His eyes were still held by Rose's gaze. He, himself, felt his eyes glass over. Warmth flooded over his cold and pallid cheeks. His wrists were forced to the dark couldrons before any word could escape his lips, and he heard the sharp sound of his alchemy catching on the circle. He then was grabbed and thrown to the side.
The leather cords holding Rose snapped. She lunged away, however the alchemy searched her through her blood and snatched her, pulling her body back. The two couldrons' seals exploded up in a fury--the contents inside wreathed and hissed. The liquid climbed up the sides of its containment and began covering the trembling arm of Rose. She screamed as she felt her blood being dissolved to make way for this invasion. The meat in her hand fell away.
A voice echoed her shriek. A small girl, with coarse and matted dark hair, ran forward from an unknown location and shoved Rose to the hard, polished floor on impact. Hierra rubbed her arm sharply against the edge of the vat. Her skin caught and ripped.
A fury of children's cries were heard throughout the echoing chamber. More young ones, alike in the ages of Hierra, ran from where they sat or stood and climbed up the stairs to the dais. The joined her in freshening their blood. All were weeping, and all had the mark of the vine between their brows. Some swayed, as if in a sickness.
"Rawse! Dana Ed t'u gviares! Chuvuyachni!" Hierra's voice carried on in a series of screams as the cerulean liquid, alike to the stones found in Winry's cave, ate her flesh and blood. Hierra thrust her arms into both of the vats, willing it to devour her. The other children followed suit, sobbing in pain. Within seconds the liquid had covered their faces, choking them as they screamed. The thick paste failed to drip from them, though, but drenched them as if wet. Hierra's body fell limply forward, drowning in dark cyan water.
Rose, with one arm clutching her bruised hip, crawled over towards the children and their murderor. Ed was quick to reach her, however, and took hold of her shoulders even as she struggled against him. Her hand reached for the children.
"They can't . . . " The pair of words were spoken both by Rose and by Lust. The homunuculus's eyes were oddly distant, and wrinkles formed beneath the pearly dark hue of her lashes. Her lips quivered.
"Envy!"
The man spoken of darted forward, joined by the boy Wrath and his 'mother'. They fell to the sides of the vats and attempted to wrench the children from where they hung limply over the sides. Their figures draped gently, but could not be dislodged. In rebuke, the cyan liquid lashed out at the homunculi intruders and knocked them away. Nearly in an arm-like fashion, the blue substance formed a tendril and sped toward Rose, still caught in the lure of her chosen blood.
Edward brought up his mechanical arm just before the seeking arm found the girl beneath him. The liquid hugged around the automail metal and inspected it. It whipped away, and abruptly met contact with one of the men that had held Edward's arms. It took solid hold upon his skin and drained him of his lifeblood. All souls bearing the mark of the vine screamed, attempting to run from the room. The whole chamber fell into a state of panic. The blue killer sought only those who bore its mark and devoured them, drinking in what they unwillingly offered.
Ed hauled Rose to her feet and dragged her to the side of the room, for she was clutching her face and shrieking, no less sane than any else whose minds emptied. Her arm still glowed cyan where the liquid wound and it throbbed painfully.
"No! You can't go!" The sharp voice of Envy roared. He ran towards them, hindered slightly by the panicking crowd.
"Rose, stand up! Get up and move!" Ed hissed in her ears, prying her fingers from her face. She clutched at his hands and tried to haul herself up to her legs with hardly a thought.
The floor beneath them quaked suddenly, as it had in the cave when she and Winry trespassed. Cracks of blue shown through the polished stone and broke its solid into a mass of crumbling dust. The children and the vats fell in, as well as the Golden and the homunculi. Envy made a mad grab for Rose, clutching a part of her hair before falling. Edward yanked the girl to him and pressed her against his chest, rolling from the crumbling center floor. In a thin, but tall collumned hallway, he forced Rose upon her feet and dragged her behind him as he sprinted. With a half-senile mind she bucked her legs into motion, falling in step behind Edward.
Another loud rumble echoed in their ears, however it had not the same magnitude as the first. Nothing had fallen, though the walls had shaken. It had stopped the moment it began. Edward recognized when the second short quake began anew, what provoked them. He whispered a few words, unheard over all the noise. When they came to the intersection between the hallways, the door to the side of them popped undone in a lick of flames. It lay burning upon the floor.
The man whose figure stood in the doorway looked at them with a hardened, perspired face. A woman, near his age, came out from behind him, a loaded gun held tight in her hands. Her pasty complexion almost paled more when she saw Edward and Rose.
For a slight moment they could only stare at one another, not believing that they had stumbled upon one another. At the building's next quake, they sprang into action. Mustang was shouting orders to Ed and Riza, however only barely could they be heard.
The group ran back hallways lined with a trail of thin flame that didn't surpass the thickness of a fingernail. They reached a passage that clicked within Edward's memory: the hoards of people crammed in cages and crates on the sides of the walls. None stood behind bars there now. Surely they had all been executed for the sake of the ceremony. He shuddered, but with all that was happening no one cared to ask.
At last they came to the elevator where Hierra led Edward inside the cursed place. Roy pushed everyone hastily inside before entering himself, and pulling on the lever. Painfully sluggish, the floor rose to meet the troubled air of outside. Here, the rest of the island fared no better; it seemed as the very cords in the base of the ground were unraveling.
"To the left!" Mustang roared. The others followed without question.
Rose could not find footing between the brush. Her bare feet constantly was torn by some thornbush, and she tripped over every rise in the land. It was if she couldn't see. She and Edward were falling behind the others.
"Mustang! She can't keep up!"
Roy whipped his head around, stopping only for a brief breath before coming back to him and Rose. One of his solid arms came under Rose's shoulders, and the other around her knees. He hoisted her up off the earth and carried her as he ran. If his pace hindered any, it could not be seen.
"There's a coast very near to here." Riza panted, beside Edward.
"It makes no difference--the whole island's about to collapse in on itself. Whether we're by the sea won't change anything."
"It will if we have a boat."
"You mean--?" Edward's voice caught within his throat. Had someone finally come?! "Who . . . ?"
"Havok, Breda, and Fallman came by boat half-led by worry for our jobs and for ourselves." She heaved a relieved sigh. "We refused to leave without you and Mustang without hesitation left us to find you. I had to follow."
The trees cleared in a matter of minutes. There, a rocky coastline met them. The boat was a ways away from shoreline, wisely not daring to meet the rocks. Two small rowboats were made ready for their return; Winry sat in one, crying out to them, and Maria in the other. They waved them over hurredly.
The two escapees and the pair of rescuers made their way toward the boats and sloshed through the knee-high water that lay between them. Roy placed Rose inside Winry's boat as gently as he could manage in small time. He was about to enter himself when Edward declared:
"She goes with me."
Mustang shook his head, however complied. He and Riza entered Maria's tiny ship and took to the oars without pause.
"You found Rose." Winry breathed, her eyes wide and watery. Tears flooded over he flushed skin. "And you both made it out."
Upon reaching the large rescue vessel, the small boats were raised up to the deck. Mustang, Riza, and Maria hurried out and made to help the others from their boat. Winry exited first, followed by Edward whose hand clasped Rose's. However, she couldn't climb out of the boat. When he prodded her, she shook her head in slight embarassment.
"I can't see."
"This has happened before." Mustang informed as he lifted Rose onto deck. "It's happened in the military often. More often than you know. She just needs to calm down."
Edward led Rose to one of the chairs and sat her down, himself taking a seat next to him. Two arms suddenly wrapped around his shoulders, hugging him tight. Winry released him soon, to envelop Rose in a trembling embrace.
"I was so worried." She mumbled, still bubbling through tears.
"Brother!" Al cried, also taking the boy into his arms.
Winry gasped. "What happened to your arm?" Her gaze met Rose's empty arm, now uncovered by her lavender sleeve. It still warbled in a marble of blues and whites. It seemed hollow as a fragile shell, and Rose could not move it. Winry gently brushed her fingers by it but Rose cried out and jerked it away.
"Just wait! Leave us be for a moment!" Ed cried, tearing away from his brother. Obediantly, the two left them.
"Will we make it before a wave comes up?" Mustang asked dubiously.
Havok, who had come to stand beside him, shook his head. "It'll come before we reach another beach, that's sure. But this vessel's pretty sturdy. It should hold."
Mustang sighed, his shoulders falling in a slump. He leaned on the railing, looking out as the island behind him quaked and shuddered.
Beyond his sight, great multitudes of people slowly sank drowning into the sea. Some of them unrecognizable from the caving in of the room, others preserved by the blue liquid crystalized by the cold ocean's wake. Hierra's body, among others, slowly fell deeper into the sea, unliving.
"We made it. It's okay now, Rose. We're alive." Edward murmured in a strangely soft voice. He held Rose's unharmed hand in both his own. None of the awkwardness had entered his actions or expression now that had been when he attempted to comfort her before.
"We're alive. And we'll keep going, right? We'll keep moving forward, okay?"
"Hierra--everyone . . . " Her voice breathed.
"Don't worry. Just calm down. It's okay--we'll keep going. They chose to save you, they want you to live." He enveloped her in a long, gentle embrace, oblivious or not caring to notice to the many eyes turned toward him. Beneath him, he felt her breath steady. They parted slowly and their eyes met.
Hers looked at his, focused and no longer slurred.
"See? It's okay."
She nodded, and for the first time in an unbearable long while, her soft pink lips stretched into a smile.