im saying bye now.

YOU DON'T THINK YOU NEED THIS NOW BUT YOU WILL SOON: I AM UPDATING ANOTHER CHAPTER, AFTER THIS ONE. I AM UPDATING ANOTHER CHAPTER. AFTER THAT THAT'S IT. THIS IS A VERY SHORT STORY. i said that in the first author's note, right? most likely next week. maybe not. ill be on my way back from disney. if not friday first thing saturday. this and the next are a continuation.

btw im on my way to disney now, thats how much I love y'all, possibly making my family late to update tlo

but ill be gone a whole week. which is hilarious because we're driving to baltimore to get on the plane. heh. ill probably remember eighty different things about this story that i was supposed to put in

but as for the matter of farewell for this story i just wanna say thanks. regulars, pop-ins, question askers, big theory makers that ill be torturing right whose name is elle, those true, those not. its been more a huge journey for me because this is the first time im implementing my newly unearthed style in rapid succession and its very tiring and very fun. i got to take a look at what really gets across (and be verrrry unclear :P). and got to create a real, literal theme. and that's kinda big for me because all ive been able to say about my multichapters is "believe in urself" with disney channel/justice clothes wearer hearts and smiley faces all around and uncapitilized titles. i felt like i had a motive with each decision. felt maybe just a little bit like a real author who inflicts pain on her subjects and never apologizes

ill be doing some oneshots. after this. i have about a billion i wanna write. i do have another very short multichapter in mind but ive got everything BUT my lovely end-kicker and im very much resisting the urge to post the first chapter and leave it for a year. so im gonna try to find some kinda climax on the way to maryland because that's one of my strongest places for story forming.

okeee well then. hope you liked it. couldnt be more proud to say that im actually kinda proud of this mc

I FEEL LIKE I NEED TO SAY THIS EVEN THOUGH I THINK YOU KNOW IT…THIS IS NOT A SMUT CHAPTER, THIS IS NOT A SMUT CHAPTERRR, BLAME THE CREATORS OF LATIN FOR THIS NUMBERRR

and now, a reminder…as of isw, all my plotpoints are planned long before and have something to do with it all…

i am so sorry. see?

This chapter is rated T+.

the lie of the fair
sex: nox

That night

In the night, they've found the exit. It's been hidden away, all those years, by another door. Through that and down some tiny platforms stacked on top of each other and there's a window.

So that's where the Veritans watch for revenge, Amaranda smirks. Well then. Liar.

The window is on an angle, leaning toward the two girls and out. It's clouded and rusty, with a chain from the left side of it dangling dangling dangling. Jesamae pokes it.

"This'll have to change," she says. "Soon."

"Okay," Amaranda says, only taking that information for what it's worth at that moment. All that has to do with the barracks will quickly slip away and all there will be is Amaranda and Jesamae. Maybe they can even call each other different names.

She tries to pry the window open with her hands but they aren't strong enough. The chain brushes against her palm and she sees now, what to do. Waving Jesamae to stay back, she heaves the chain, her fingers feeling the burn afterward. A creak. Tiptoeing back, Amaranda dodges the window falling forward, hanging by threads on the bottom side.

Amaranda can see something, through the gap, that is new. Seeing this more she grabs Jesa's hand and lifts her up onto the ground of the new world, never taking her eyes off the little one, and pushing herself up as well. Collecting herself as she stands up. Stepping away from the window.

This air, it's new, boundless. Spinning around she sees the…outside, of her barracks, their barracks, is brownish bricks. And there's more. Surrounding her, all of the same. Except... directly in front of her, there's a gap, a gap from the bottom to the top, the ground to the sky, she realizes.

She creeps forward, the cold (This is cold, she can feel now) drawing her, and it's the best feeling she's ever felt. All the pain hides for a little while and she feels special, dangerous, something…tugging at her…something at the pit of her stomach…

Impulse is telling her to take off that ring and she does. And when it drops to the ground the wind starts, and this is the power that's she's had all before, but bigger, and better, and realer. A push. Pull.

Is this was Amari felt…it's perfect and wonderful.

"They are pretty and new," Jesamae says, looking up. Amaranda points her eyes to the very top of the sky and there are the lights, the flickering lights, burning, staying. An almost black sky. "It's probably lovely to be there."

"Yeah, well don't float away from me," Amaranda warns. "It's probably great out there, but we gotta see."

"You won't see anything."

And they turn around. Sursum is standing footsteps away.

Her hand is in their direction. Her hand was law, it was the voice of why and how. Not revealing much, but giving just enough to keep you questioning. Now, there's nothing more innocent than what's been heard before, because now that hand is death.

"No," Amaranda says. She has no power over us.

No, not Sursum. She's lost her bonds. "We're not in your power anymore, Annalisa," she says. "So just let us leave."

"How could I ever do that," Annalisa says coolly. There's nothing in her hand but it feels so harmful.

"Amanda, I don't like this!" Amaranda sees Jesa's ring has slipped off too and she looks like she knows much more. A sensory overload? Cannot happen now.

"I've been keeping you brats in that miserable place for too long." It's like she's outside of the whole thing. "You're way too dangerous to keep in there."

"We've always been there," Amaranda's getting scared. "It's never been different."

"It would be much better if it was different. It was okay when you were there because you were young and didn't understand how to do it. But when she came and you got so old you both knew how to push the terror away," She gestures to Jesamae with her hand and it lingers in that direction. "And that's way too strong."

"No," the pusher can scream now. "Don't!"

So that's how it's been. Amaranda and Jesamae could rise above Annalisa's horrible reign. Annalisa's power….to make other people feel.

But the two with refusals' powers were suppressed. Now that they're free…how do you control it all...

The thought occurs. "You're not even a Fairlie," Amaranda says.

"Always been and always will, but at least I'm back to where I'm supposed to be," Annalisa answers. She sneers. "The Veritans will bring large change, and I know that."

"We don't need change, we need to get better!" She then feels the imminent need to protect, defend all those tossing and turning inside that building. "We've been hurt way too much. One more…that'll kill us."

"Amanda, no." The shortened name again. Amaranda turns the right, the little girl next to her, shaking her blonde head, her eyes wide. There's something in her Amaranda's never seen before. "You have no idea…of their powers…"

Annalisa's words make Amaranda feel dead, with no power needed. "Kill you? That's exactly what I'm trying to do."

And her hand twists. Jesamae drops. Amarnada lets out a terrible refusal and she pushes out her hands and Annalisa almost looks sorry but there's no time for sorry and Amaranda throws out her hand and that flings Annalisa back and there's a thump and a crack and a smack and no more sound but Amaranda doesn't need to look.

She's on her knees next to Jesamae, squeezing her hand to breaking, repeating as to make it better, "Don't leave me. Don't leave me. Don't leave me, you can't!"

Jesamae's lying on the ground, quickly losing light, but the lingering motion even after her breathing is almost gone is her finger lazily twirling around the pool of crimson covering her stomach.

"Red…" she says. "Such a pretty color."

Her finger drops.