Chapter 2
Cassie climbed up the broken section of concrete ahead of her and took a seat letting her legs hang off the edge. It was only a dozen or so feet off the ground, but high enough that when you laid back it felt higher. She put her hands behind her head and did just that lying on her back staring up at the clouds overhead.
"She's not completely wrong you know right?" Cassie asked.
"This is no longer just about winning or losing for me. It's about avenging Attia." Arnette answered who had already been laying here when Cassie found her.
"I understand that. There's nothing wrong at all with wanting to do right by your friend. However, you have other friends who are still here among the living. If avenging Attia means you must fall to overwhelming odds, then that is not a victory. You would not avenge Attia like that, you would become nothing but a martyr." Cassie answered. They laid in silence next to one another for a few minutes just watching the sky.
"You're a great Pandora Cassie. I've always admired you. Why did you get involved in all of this? Didn't you have dreams of your own?" The red haired Pandora asked.
"I do, yes. I've always wanted to be a writer. Nothing would make me happier than to spend my days writing stories for others to enjoy. As for why I joined you all it's really quite simple. I'm flattered that you admire me. Much like you I have people I admire as well. Chiffon Fairchild, Ticy Phenyl, Attia Simmons, Varen Askiligar, and even you Arnette McMillan. When I saw you all in Spireach and got to talk to you and get to know you I found myself drawn into your world. I saw a group of Pandora and Limiters who didn't just fight with one another, they fought for one another. It inspired me and left me with no other feeling than a desire to be part of that world." Cassie answered. She reached her hand over and took hold of Arnette's.
"I know that Elizabeth left to take care of Andre. When she told me about it I felt like I understood her reasoning. I still do to an extent. Andre is very important to her, just like Varen is to me. I would go through hell and back for him and sacrifice anything." Arnette said lacing her fingers with Cassie's.
"Then your anger?" Cassie asked looking over at her.
"Elizabeth has always been calm and intelligent. No matter the situation she never loses her cool. Death itself can be surrounding her and she would not break a sweat. Attia, Ingrid, and myself were very close to her during our years here at West Genetics. Before Varen came we were what you might call the popular crowd. It got to many of our heads and we didn't always treat people with the respect they deserved." She explained.
"Like Varen?" Cassie asked and Arnette nodded.
"Yeah, like Varen. Anyway, we were close and we all looked up to Elizabeth not only because of her stoic nature, but because she was a flawless leader. Her ability to analyze any situation and predict the best outcome was incredible. She was a goddess among commoners to most and we reveled being a small part of that world." Arnette continued.
"You feel she should have shown more emotion earlier." Cassie stated and Arnette nodded.
"She kept her cool when Chiffon died, barely shedding a tear. Attia was tormented for some time after Chiffon's passing. She made great strides to turn back into the girl we all knew and loved. Elizabeth never knew the struggles Attia faced, but they were friends, and she barely seems to care." Arnette said.
"Perhaps she simply deals with things differently? As you said she could not know everything Attia endured." Cassie offered and Arnette shrugged.
"Perhaps. Attia was complex in many ways. More than anyone she probably valued the family nature of our group. It gave her strength and motivated her. To Attia, we weren't just comrades in arms. Nor were we even just friends to her. We were her family…her whole world." Arnette said.
"You said Elizabeth was a great leader. A great leader doesn't always show their emotions. To show emotion means that your decisions could be influenced by those emotions. Leadership dictated by emotion leads to disaster. We don't know what demons she battles with behind closed doors." The teal haired Pandora said.
"Varen has followed his heart from the moment I met him. Even surrounded by all this death and tragedy I now know that what we are doing and what we've done was right. He has sacrificed…more than any of us. No one has endured like he has and I've seen the demons that torment him. For us the dead rest and we can remember them and cry for them. Varen must face them and carry a weight far greater than any of us can imagine. Regardless he has brought us to this point.
She left us for personal reasons while he stayed and bled with us. It's not fair for her to come back and simply act as though her opinion is worth more than his. If what happens here and now is so important to her then she should have been here from the start." Arnette said bitterly. Cassie smiled looking back up.
"I realize something about you now. Arnette McMillan, the Crimson Queen is a strong Pandora. Stronger than she gives herself credit for. Determined, faithful, and vengeful to a fault. Yet, for all the power that resides within you, there is a glaring weakness that can be exploited." Cassie said and Arnette turned her head to look at her.
"A weakness?" Arnette asked and Cassie nodded.
"Varen. You said you would follow him to hell and back. What if he simply led you to hell? What if back was not part of the plan? You are angry at Elizabeth because you feel she is out of line to object to his desires, but let me ask you. Have you consulted with him? What if he agrees with Elizabeth? What if he wants her to lead so that for once he may follow?
I'm very happy you have found love Ms. McMillan. I truly believe you are deserving of it. Varen as well. You're a lovely couple and I pray that your futures are bright and full of happiness. However, do not be blinded by love. Some of the greatest atrocities in mankind's history have been committed in the name of love. Be yourself and walk not the path of Varen Askiligar, but the path of Arnette McMillan. I have no doubt he would walk his path right beside yours." Cassie said and once more Arnette fell silent.
"I love you Cassie Lockheart. I love every single person in our family." Arnette said at last sighing.
"And I love you Arnette McMillan. That love is exactly the answer to your question of why I wanted to join you all. It makes me happy to know I've earned it." The teal haired Pandora smiled squeezing Arnette's hand.
"Alright, enough of this sappiness. I'll start crying again and I'd like a break from crying." Arnette said laughing.
"There will be more tears Arnette. Just remember that there will be an equal amount of smiles if we stay together. Friends can sometimes be temporary, but family is eternity." Cassie said and Arnette shook her head looking over at the Pandora beside her.
"I hate how smart you are. Just like Elizabeth." Arnette joked elbowing Cassie in the ribs. She curled up laughing holding her side where Arnette had elbowed her.
Ticy pulled the flap of the tent back and walked inside. The tent that functioned as their home for now. She ran a hand through her hair brushing part of it back behind her ear before she walked past a few of the beds. She came to one and stopped waiting a few breaths before sitting down next to Elizabeth who was hunched over with her face in her hands. She looked over at Ticy sniffling and wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve.
"Did I ever tell you about the conversation Chiffon had with me about you?" Ticy asked looking over at Elizabeth. Her eyes were red and much like the time after Chevalier had tortured her she looked weak and frail. This time, however, was far deeper.
"No." The blonde Pandora answered quickly. Ticy nodded and scooted back on the bed so she was fully sitting on it comfortably.
"That Elizabeth Mably is a stuck up over privileged bully who hides behind her posse of thugs." Ticy said trying to mimic Chiffon's voice. Elizabeth swallowed and nodded her head slowly.
"All true." She said quietly.
"She should be the student body president, not me." Ticy continued and Elizabeth turned towards her.
"What?" The blonde haired Pandora asked.
"She hides herself beneath a suit of armor designed to make everyone believe she is unshakable. She demands perfection and a certain eliteness to this school, because she holds herself to that standard. I can see under all that though. I know in my heart that someday that woman will be something more. She will realize that she can be something more and mark my words Ticy Phenyl when she sees it, she will take it. Because it is not me who is the strongest Pandora of West Genetics. That title belongs to Elizabeth Mably." Ticy said looking at Elizabeth and meeting her gaze.
"Chiffon…said all that?" Elizabeth asked incredulously. Ticy nodded looking down at the floor between her feet.
"She did. Long before she ever met Varen. Chiffon always saw you as a Pandora that others wanted to follow. Although she didn't always like your attitude or how you and your group treated others she never questioned your leadership." Ticy said.
"If only she could see me now right? My friends either hate me or are dead, and I'm sitting here sulking alone." Elizabeth said laughing at herself.
"At some point in everyone's life they have to hit rock bottom. No one is exempt from that. All we can do is fight to delay it. I believe that it is in those moments that we evolve. Well…actually I believe in those moments you have a choice to evolve, or curl up and die." Ticy said.
"That's a little dark." Elizabeth commented.
"Yes, but true nonetheless. You see, when Chiffon died I felt like how you look right now. That was my rock bottom. The world looked dark to me. There was no light or purpose anymore. I felt as though the very essence of my being had been stripped away leaving me empty. In the moment I hadn't realized it, but I was choosing to curl up and die.
It wasn't until we saved Amelia and found ourselves living amongst the people of Varen's hometown. The people of Kipswitch treated us as family. Everyone worked together towards common goals and supported each other. It was there I saw the first rays of light, and I began to live once more. I saw that not only did I rely on others to support me, but they in turn needed me too. I wasn't alone. No matter what challenge lay ahead I knew that I would never be alone." Ticy explained.
"I've always thought Varen was a good man. Trusted him, and found him intriguing. His plan to meet Chevalier head on is suicide. You are the vice president of West Genetics student body and Chiffon Fairchild's best friend. You aren't suicidal or prone to rash action so I ask you now Ticy Phenyl…will you follow him?" Elizabeth asked and Ticy stood and kneeled down in front of Elizabeth. She reached forward and held her face staring her in the eyes.
"I will. Live or die I will follow him. Chiffon trusted in him so I will do the same. No matter the odds, or how impossible the task may seem. I know that if we stay together everything will be alright. Divided we will most certainly fall, but together? There is no force in this world that will move us." She answered. Elizabeth breathed heavily understanding that it wasn't just Arnette who had changed. Every one of the Nightingales had matured. In the short months since she had left to take care of Andre their lives had forced them to become older.
"I wish I could be that woman Chiffon thought I was. You all have grown far larger than I." Elizabeth smiled bitterly still looking Ticy in the eyes.
"I have faith that Chiffon's opinion would not change even if she saw you now. Knowing her she probably made that statement fully aware that someday you would come to this point." Ticy said letting go of Elizabeth's face and sitting next to her once more.
"Do you really think we can win?" Elizabeth asked after a moment of silence. Ticy looked over and smiled at her.
"Logically speaking? No…but you and I both know that there are those among us who are hardly logical. I've learned to not think about the odds anymore. When we're together miracles tend to happen." Ticy answered and Elizabeth nodded and laughed lightly.
"Yeah, that is true. Will you stay with me for a bit longer?" Elizabeth asked.
"I'll stay with you for as long as you want." Ticy answered as Elizabeth rested her head on Ticy's shoulder.