Chapter Fourteen: Betrayal
Rosalyn hurt. Everywhere. And she meant everywhere. It was like someone had grabbed a jackhammer and gone at it across her entire body. A voice spoke up brokenly, barely pushing through her thoughts.
"-aslyn…wake…."
She groaned, not wanting to open her eyes.
"Rosalyn!" A distant voice called.
She cracked open her eyes, seeing Ari's concerned face. Her eyes burned, and it hurt just to blink.
"Are you okay? I didn't have enough energy to cast revive…"He passed his hands in front of her, and she felt his healing magic kick in.
Some of her wounds were quickly patched, but she felt exhausted nonetheless. She sat up, supporting herself on her elbows.
"Where's…Did you see…what about everyone else?" Wow, she hurt a lot…Rosalyn found it hard to think straight, let alone get a coherent sentence out.
"They're on the other side of the rockslide, but everyone's answered back, except Linda." His green eyes were worried.
Rosalyn straightened up, leaning against the wall. "Where's Linda?"
"No one has seen her. Epros is distraught." Ari continued. "Coracinus can't shapeshift to look for her, he's too tired. Whatever Stan did to him-"his voice cracked. "Really hurt him."
Rosalyn nodded, staring at the sky. It looked…distant. Like how the stars look at night. Black clouds drifted across, but she couldn't tell if it was the Rising Rain clouds or just smoke.
"We're on some kind of ledge, not all the way down like we could have been." The boy looked at the pile of rocks on the surface. "Turns out, it's just you, me, and Epros on this side of the rockslide."
Epros was leaning against the rocks, eyes closed, arms crossed, and a card twirling lazily like a leaf falling from a tree beside him.
"Is he-"Rosalyn asked, concerned.
"Yeah. He's okay. Just tired."
"…What about you?"
Ari shrugged, smiling bravely. "What about me?"
"Are you okay?"
He was about to answer when he almost blacked out, eye lids lowering. She caught him before he fell, but then he tried to stand up again.
"Get some rest. I'm going to look for a way out." Rosalyn gently pushed him down, trying to get the poor boy to sleep. He sighed, scratching his hair.
"I don't know why Stan-"
"I don't either. When I saw him…" Rosalyn's throat clenched.
The Watcher was right. He really was. Why did I let that dirty, no good, lying Evil King steal my heart!?
Rosalyn felt like someone had stabbed her. Then burned her heart for good measure. Anger flared up faster than it ever had, like only he could make it, inside her.
"He has no reason good enough for this, Ari! None!" She glared, clenching her fist.
Ari shook his head slowly. "He might have a reason-"
"No. He doesn't. I'm going to do my job for now on." Darkness clouded Rosalyn's heart. No, she absolutely would not forgive the Evil King.
Let…him…die! The words roared in her mind.
She would do it herself! That…that….that dog would regret ever breaking her heart!
"Rosalyn, before you go anywhere…" Ari pointed to her parasol, completely unharmed on the ground. It was a cheery blotch of pink against the grey. "Take that with you."
"Why?" She snarled, glaring at him. The dark fire was burning her up, so very different from the warm glow she usually felt…
"Your shadow." His tired voice was tinged with humor, his green eyes as calm as ever.
She looked down, stunned, to see her shadow was bright pink. She snatched her parasol off the ground, hand fitting around the familiar handle. Somehow, that woman from the Island had got her old parasol back. That special parasol that hid her shadow…
She got to her feet, ignoring the pain scorching her entire body that Ari's quick refreshing spell couldn't fix.
"I'm going to find Stan." She informed him, who just shook his head.
"You can't, absolutely can't. You're too weak."
Rosalyn's yellow eyes flashed. "I don't take orders from you!"
These words, these thoughts, they weren't her own…But she didn't stop them.
"Rosalyn, be careful! The Infectus-"Ari warned.
"I don't care! Maybe with the help of the Infectus I can have the heart to kill him!" She turned around, ignoring the tears streaking down her face, and set off down the rocky valley…
***
All she could think of was Stan…
He appeared around the corner, grinning hugely.
"What do you want?" She snapped, walking right past him down the streets of Madril.
"Happy Valentine's Day." He smirked, handing her a bouquet of red roses.
She took them, smiling. "Wow, Stanley! They're beautiful!"
"The best for you." He had laughed, but his eyes had shone with honesty, for once.
She blinked away the tears, rubbing at her eyes. He could be so sweet sometimes, but then…Even their arguments were fun.
Stan snarled, grabbing her hand.
"Am I not allowed to have any fun?" He demanded.
"Of course not! Especially since your 'fun' means burning people!"
"At least I know how to have fun, you washbowl Hero!"
"Of course I know how to have fun! We're having it right now." She smirked, turning around and leaving a confused Stan behind.
These memories and more chased their tails around in her mind, then left. Once they departed, her thoughts were set on two things.
One, to find Stan.
Two, she had to…
She paused, clutching her parasol, staring at the far away sky.
"Stanley, why did you…" She wiped away the tears again. She hated crying, she hadn't cried since her childhood. The sensation left her empty inside, but strangely refreshed. She could do this.
She actually closed her parasol, tying it to her back. She started climbing the side of the ridges, ignoring any birds or insects that fluttered away. Far in the distance a rumbling could be heard, the faint rumbling of the Rising Rain clouds.
Nothing to do, nothing but climb…and climb….and know he will be up there when she meets the top.
Finally, exhausted, Rosalyn pulled herself onto another ridge. She stared up at the now much closer cliff top, only another ten minutes of climbing…
She looked at her hands, grateful for the fingerless gloves, or else she would have blood all over them by now. Ari was right; she was rushing into this…Oh well. She was grateful for the calluses that formed on her fingers due to years of holding a sword, or it'd be even more painful.
Rosalyn cocked her head to the side, thinking. She seemed to get a mysterious, Light based power when fighting Stan. It was liked her Hero power just activated whenever she fought him, like that time with Beiloune. It was a special power that she couldn't just call up anytime, just when she needed it…
She cracked her knuckles, climbing the wall again…
***
Rosalyn had rested for a while after climbing the cliff face. Ari and the others hadn't fallen that far down, thank God for that cliff ledge that had stopped them from falling into the even deeper nadir. It wasn't called the Highlands for nothing!
The smoke had long since stopped, the village nothing but charred rubble now. Rosalyn hoped the villagers had escaped, but with Stan after them…
What had caused this? Did Stan get brainwashed by Addonexus or something?
Possible, actually.
Rosalyn kept walking, parasol out, and boots clicking across the stones. No sign of anyone, except for a lone circling bird too high up for her to see the species.
The sun had risen, bathing the mountainous territory in golden light. Everything it touched glowed, and Rosalyn sighed, fingering her pointed ears.
The dark fire had vanished now, nothing but the icy orb deep inside her that held her Ice powers was active. She kept walking until she reached Utopia Corridor, the pathway between the World Library and the Highland Village.
And there, standing on the stones, back to her, was Stan.
She walked forward, pulling her rapier out.
"Stanley."
He had his hands in his pockets, humming to himself. "Yes, Rosy?"
"Don't call me that! What were you thinking?!"
Stan turned to face her, yellow eyes gleaming. "I was thinking quite clearly, woman. The question is, are you?"
"What are you talking about, you fake Evil being?"
"We can't win. We have absolutely no chance. I just got a nice little show of what the Necomortis can do, and even if we could get the Spiritus, what makes you think Beiloune would let us…?"
"We have to try. Besides, he wouldn't let anything happen to his precious Marlene."
Stan sighed. "You know what we have to do, right?"
"I know."
"It's our final battle, Rosalyn. But I'm going to win this time. No voice recorder to save you!"
Stan jumped forward, a bolt of dark energy crackling in his hands, and Rosalyn pointed her rapier at the former Evil King she had once called her friend.
***
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