Chapter 26

Past Burdens

A brisk wind glided across the cool sands of the Jagorii desert. In all visible directions, not a single settlement could be seen. Such was to be expected from the vast deserts. The sun had barely begun to rise, painting a marvelous picture in the morning dusk.

Flint was the first to wake from his slumber. Next to him, Starshine was curled up, relying again on his natural heat to warm herself up. She had exhausted herself using teleport to escape to the point that she pushed herself to the brink of passing out. The nail in the coffin for her was further exerting herself by attempting to heal the joltik to the best of her ability.

After she had collapsed from exhaustion, Flint took heed in carrying her and the joltik to a safe place for the night. He found a large boulder that was cracked at its base. Under the rock was just enough room to house the three.

Flint sat awake feeling uneasy. He wanted nothing more than to leave the dreadful desert and return to Whitestone. The longer the two remained incapacitated, the more his desire to leave grew. It didn't ease his mind, in the slightest, knowing that the Emperor no doubt had search parties out hunting them down. Every second resting provided more time for his forces to draw closer to their position.

Flint wanted to check on the joltik and see how she was doing. As he got up to do so, he felt an arm wrap around him as the body attached to it pulled against his. He locked up as he looked back at Starshine. She was still asleep though her energy had been restored over her slumber.

The growlithe gently lifted her arm from him so he could escape her grasp. Luckily, he wasn't able to disturb her from her sleep. He made his way towards the joltik and tried to find a pulse.

His heart froze.

'No... surely I'm just checking it wrong,' he tried convincing himself. He searched other locations around her body to find a pulse, but the more he found himself unsuccessful, the more he begrudgingly began accepting the scene before him.

His eyes clenched as his claws dug into the sand beneath him. 'How? They managed to kill off everyone on the ship. Everyone except Starshine and I.' He couldn't help but lose hope of returning home.

He felt a paw press against his back, turning to see the concern in Stashine's eyes. "We... tried," she looked down. "That's what matters."

"You told us that we would get out of there alive. You were confident we would all survive."

"There were things outside of my control-"

"You dragged us out in the middle of the ocean! This was out of all of our control. We each had little choice as you sailed us away to our deaths!"

"You can't expect me to have known of the outcomes we faced!" Her voice became rasped, betraying herself from hiding her emotions. "I fought my damn hardest. I did my best to try and protect as many as I could. My apologies if I can't live up to the expectations of some mythical savior you fabricated."

Flint found himself unable to hold eye contact. Instead, he looked down at the sand. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't pin the blame on you. I doubt this entire situation is any less stressful for you than it is for me."

Starshine let out a sigh, "No, you needn't apologize. Maybe you're right. Maybe everyone has been right. It's my responsibility to defend the people of my country. All I did was lead you all to the slaughter. I'm not worthy to bear the crown's weight of responsibility."

"You shouldn't beat yourself up-"

"No, Flint. I fucked up. I failed everyone. No doubt this will cause an uproar in Whitestone. All of these people. They had friends and families. And I just robbed them from life." Tears had begun forming in her eyes. "It's like they never existed. I took them away from those waiting for them at home."

Flint wanted to interject. Comfort her. Tell her things would be okay. But the words never came. And the princess continued berating herself.

"Hell, we didn't even know her name nor the pancham. Do I know anyone who lives in the kingdom who isn't one of my guards?"

"You know Rose and I."

The espeon shook her head. "That's completely different. I only know you because of your escort mission with Aurora. You've only lived within the walls for a brief time. Most of these citizens and soldiers have lived there their entire lives. And I don't know a single one of them by name."

"You're being too hard on yourself. You've been doing your hardest to try and protect your people. And yeah, you probably don't know every single person within your walls, but I'm sure they respect your hard work all the same," Flint said as he reached his paw to her shoulder to console her.

Starshine swatted it away. "Have you even been listening? Since day one, almost everyone has hated me ruling Whitestone. Every day, for the past several years, I've had to wake up knowing I would be making life-changing decisions for this country, all the while, having damn near everyone, not in support of me. I fear for my life sometimes. At any moment, a coup could arise. And I feel the only reason one hasn't yet is because I'm a descendant of the former Queen - someone this country actually respected. I could never be like any of our former leaders. Every decision I made has led to me fucking everything up more and more. I wasn't even supposed to rule!" Starshine threw herself onto the ground, burying her head into the sand with her paws over her head. "That was reserved for my sister... Why did I have to tell her to make her own decisions? Everything would have been fine if I was out of the picture!"

It was clear to Flint that she wasn't directly speaking to him now. He tried his best to comfort her, though all attempts led to Starshine refusing the gestures. All she wanted was to bask in her sadness and vent her frustrations out on herself.

"And then I tried to get out of the picture. All that did was make things worse! Why? Why can I only manage to fuck everything up? I should have just married the damn gabite and shut my damn mouth. I fucking hate these burdens I bear! I hate that I was born into royalty! I hate being alive! I'm so worthless!"

Starshine then outstretched her arm and used the claws of her other to dig into her skin, dragging it downward. She went for a second time, making more trailers in her arm so her veins could cry alongside her. Flint had stepped in this time, just before she could go for a third scratch.

"Stop!" He shouted firmly, forcing her hand away. "I don't want to see you hurt yourself." Flint worked his way into hugging her, putting her two arms far enough apart so she couldn't make more wounds.

"Let me go! I fucking deserve this!" She resulted to digging her claws into Flint's back to try and get him off. Her assault proved futile.

"It's not your fault," Flint said softly while Starshine continued to claw at him.

The longer she was trapped in Flint's embrace, the more she was reminded of how similar it was to when her sister used to comfort her. She buried her teary face into Flint's chest, submitting to the comforting warmth. For the next few minutes, he sat there quietly, hugging her as she continued sobbing.

Starshine sniffled a bit, her tears now having died down, and her wounds having been dried. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, you have a lot you're dealing with, and I could understand how stressful that is. I just don't want to see anyone hurting themselves like that. You are not worthless."

"...Thank you..."

The two sat in their cave for a moment until they eventually parted.

"We should at least give her a proper burial," Starshine spoke. "It's the least we could do."

Flint nodded his head in agreement and began digging. Though not the best hole, it would suffice for the fallen joltik. Starshine lowered her into the grave and the two pulled sand on top of her. Starshine had gathered a few rocks and placed them in a circle over the burial sight.

"I'm sorry that my actions lead to your death... I thank you for your efforts and your continued loyalty, whether it was of your own choosing or if you were just doing your job. Regardless, you're at rest now. And if there truly is life after death, I can only pray you are at peace. A place with no war, no pain, no sorrow. Just peace... The Fourth Light continues to shine brightly. Your death will not be in vain." With that, Starshine had bowed her head in silence.

"I'm thankful she passed in her sleep," Flint added. "Though incapacitated through fighting, it's best to die at rest or quickly than something slow and painful..."

"The sun is getting pretty high. We should continue moving before the search parties catch up."

And so the two ventured further through the fiery desert. The sun proved unrelenting as the sand burned with each step. They were lucky to stumble across one oasis, but other than that, there was no water to keep them going. Sundown eventually approached and the two found another location to hide for the night. Though the desert was blistering hot through the day, the nights were the exact opposite, as the wind chilled them to the bones. Starshine, as usual, had opted to rest near Flint to keep herself warm.

"I never did finish telling you what happened, didn't I?"

"You mean when you ran away?" She nodded. "You don't have to tell me if the events make you uncomfortable."

"I know... I know. But... I feel I need the closure."

And so, Starshine continued her story from after she had ran away.

Iron Frost wasn't the most welcoming of places. The eevee made her way through the snow-covered streets, no one paying her much mind. It had been days since she had last eaten, and the aroma of all of the food stalls constantly mocked her. She had no coin, and her stomach only continued growling as she watched a merchant hand a wrapped loaf of bread to their customer. The customer, a salazzle, turned at met her unintentionally pleading eyes. The lizard grunted and walked away, shaking her head. The merchant, too, met her gaze and shooed her away. Crystal left the scene and begrudgingly walked down a cumbersome alleyway.

Clotheslines wove throughout the narrow passage like a spider's web. She could hear the sounds of families laughing amongst themselves as they enjoyed their supper, conversations of others who decided on small talk, and subtle sounds of others partaking in lewd activities. Needless to say, the walls were paper thin for most households in Iron Frost. The city was the primary source of iron for Mordol, and the profits of the industry were spent more on extravagant parties for the wealthy while commonfolk were instead given bare minimum functioning houses.

Further down the alley, Crystal had found the same bale of hay she had been sleeping in the past week. The bundle was covered in snow, and all that had melted had left the pile damp. She let out a sigh as she crawled back into the soggy mess. Each individual strand sticking to her matted fur.

"Another day and still no luck finding a job..." She mumbled to herself. "Like anyone would hire a child. Gah! What was I thinking? Yeah, let me just run away with no real plan or money. What a great fricking idea. God, I'm stupid." Her monologuing was cut off by another grumble from her belly. She clutched it and looked into the night sky through the entrance of the hay. 'I really need to figure something else out. If I can't find anything for me here, then I'll have no choice but to go back home. I can't let that happen.'

An idea wormed its way into her head, one that conflicted with her morals. 'No, I couldn't do that.' But her hunger convinced her otherwise. 'maybe just this one time...'

She then waited until it was further in the night, late enough when shops would be closed and people would be at home, asleep. She left the bale of hay and walked through the main streets, eventually stumbling across a bakery. The building was completely vacant and Crystal ensured to stay hidden as guards made routine patrols through the streets. She first tried the door, which, of course, was locked. She then tried a few of the windows, all to no avail. Lastly, she checked the back door. The door opened slightly but halted before opening much further. She looked up and found a stop-lock all the while the scent of fresh-baked goods penetrated her nostrils. She didn't know any special attacks so she resorted to the only thing she knew how to do. The eevee got a good distance from the door and charged into it at a decent speed, tackling the door head-on. The door stood firm. She repeated the prosses a second time, this time breaking the chain with a loud snap. She froze, anticipating the worst, but when nothing seemed to happen, she made her way to the bakery.

She made her way to a table that was topped with wrapped bread, the only problem was that the top of the table was just barely out of her reach. She saw a stack of bakeware next to the table and decided to use them as leverage. She was unaware, however, of just how flimsy the pile was, for when she jumped on top of them, they immediately collapsed into a cascade of banging pots, pans, and sheet pans. She too had collapsed onto the floor and heard footsteps already making their way down the stairs. In a panic, she got up to her feet and sprinted to the door. Before she could reach it, it slammed in front of her.

"You're not going anywhere, you petty thief!" Shouted a masculine voice from behind her. She turned around to see a grumpig, his hands radiating mystical energy that he had used to shut the door. "Do you know what we do to thieves in this city?" He said, grabbing a butcher's knife as he walked closer to Crystal.

"Please," she whimpered, "I only wanted a small loaf, I'm starving and have nowhere to go."

"Irrelevant, I can't just let you go without teaching you a lesson." He then grabbed her by both of her forepaws and laid them on a wooden counter. "I'll give you the choice on which I'll cut off."

"You can't do this, I'm just a child,' she pleaded.

"Choose one or I'll take both!"

"That won't be necessary, friend," a new voice spoke.

The startled grumpig turned and faced a honchcrow standing in the doorway. "How did you- Who are you, another thief, huh? The mastermind training this eevee in your wicked ways?"

"Not exactly," He said, shifting his one good eye to Crystal, his other eye being completely white. "I'm the caretaker for her."

Crystal was confused but stayed silent. The grumpig on the other hand pointed his knife at the bird. "Is that so? She was just telling me how she was starving and has no place to go. If you're her caretaker, it sounds like you're doing a horrible job."

"She's from the orphanage, I just adopted her today and she's a bit apprehensive about having a new caretaker." The pig raised a questioning eyebrow. "I'm just trying to give her a better life, you know how poorly the orphanage takes care of kids here. They'd rather use their government funding to purchase booze and cheap pleasure so as to take their minds off of the kids."

"Still, she's a thief, they always learn at a young age."

"Yes, I assure you she will be reprimanded accordingly for her actions. Now, how about we leave this all behind us, the honchkrow said with an offer of a pouch that jingled with some coins."

With a grunt, the grumpig set the knife down on the table and snatched the bag. "Fine, just be gone, the two of you."

"Of course, of course. Come along now, Crystal." The eevee was petrified for a bit. Did she know the honchkrow? Regardless, she reluctantly complied and followed him out of the bakery.

"And a small suggestion, my friend," he said with a pause at the door, "I'd invest in some actual locks in the future to prevent such things like this in the future."

The honchkrow and eevee had then walked away from the establishment. It wasn't until they were much further away that Crystal had decided to speak up.

"Who are you?"

"Hmm? Me?" Crystal looked around, seeing nobody else she could possibly be referring to, and nodded her head. "Heh, the actual answer to that is pretty complicated. In short, I keep a watchful eye on people and try to keep them out of danger."

"Are you... a guardian angel?"

The honchkrow let out a laugh. "We'll go with that. All that's important is that you're out of harm's way for now. What I'm really here for is to tell you to return to Whitestone."

Crystal's ears fell and her brows furred. "I should have known father would send some sort of guard to bring me back. I'm not going back there."

"Oh? I'll have you know I have no relation to your father's guard nor his army. I'm an independent worker. Let's just say I'm trying to make certain pieces fall correctly into place. If you don't return to Whitestone, horrible things are going to happen."

"And how exactly would you know that?"

The honchkrow fiddled with a necklace befit with a shard of some blue gem. "I have certain methods of gathering information. At a cost, of course. How about this, I'll give you some food and a place to rest for the night, and you'll go to Whitestone, as thanks for saving you just earlier."

"Forget it! I'm not going back just so I can be forced to marry that gabite."

"That's a shame. I suppose I can leave you here. I mean, I'm sure you can handle yourself in the city. Of course, no female child has ever been hired in Iron Frost since laborious jobs are mainly left for males. I guess you'll have to survive on begging or stealing to make ends meet. And I guess the wet hay bale will grow on you in due time. Since you have already made up your mind, I'll get out of your hair."

And the honchkrow began walking away. He made a bit of a point to her. She was starving and there was no chance she would ever be able to make money. She hated the thought of returning home, but the thought of a warm bed and fresh meals every day was enough to make her rethink her decision.

"Wait..." The honchkrow stopped and waited for her to continue. She lowered her head. "I'll go back..."

The honchkrow kept his promise, providing her with a bed and meal for the night. Crystal kept her end of the deal the next morning and began her journey back to Whitestone. It had taken roughly two days, but she could see the gates to her home city in view now. She trudged her way to the entrance where she was met by two guards.

"Traveler, we'll need to see your-" The sok stopped themselves once the eevee appeared more clear to him. "Princess?" They then turned to the neighboring stoutland. "Send a message to the castle to inform the return of Princess Crystal."

With a bark, the stoutland made its way back to the castle.

"Princess, we're happy you're alive and safe. Please, you mustn't be seen in your condition. We've made accommodations in the barracks. I ask for you to wait there until an escort arrives for you."

Crystal gave a melancholic nod as she passed them and made her way to the barracks. Inside, she was provided another meal and spent time in the bathhouse. Eventually, some medics made their way to her, checking her vitals and for any acquired diseases. After she was cleared, she then sat in her room, waiting for her escorts. Another ten minutes had passed until a newcomer made their way into her room and, with quick speed, pounced on her.

"Oh Crystal, I'm so glad to see you again!" The voice of her older sister exclaimed.

Crystal struggled under the hug but returned it nonetheless. "I'm glad to see you too... Spectrum?"

She was taken aback. The older eevee she had always known looked nothing like her old self. The brown and cream fur was now replaced with black fur and yellow rings.

"Right, hehe, I evolved since you left. I go by Midnight now, still a little on the fence with the name, but it's a placement holder for now." The two shared a brief laugh. "Where even were you? I was so worried about you, worried that something might have happened."

Crystal's ears lowered. "I had the bright idea of going to Iron Frost. I thought I could make a living there and start a new life. But... it was awful. I nearly starved, no one cared how much trouble I was in. A man almost chopped my arms off," She said with tears beginning to form.

"You're back now and safe with me. And I'm glad you're back," her sister replied with a half smile.

"So how did you evolve? And when?"

"I evolved a couple of days ago, as for how..." a slight blush appeared across her face. "I...was wrong about Prince Scalibur, and, well, I slept with him that night."

"Spectrum!"

"Shh, not so loud, and it's Midnight now."

"I thought you said you didn't like him."

"Yeah, and, well, I saw I misjudged him. He made me feel comfortable with being who I am. He makes me feel safe and he's got his future well planned out."

"What about all of that talk of him wanting you to be a glaceon?"

"We talked about it and he admitted to being selfish with his thought. He said he would support any decision I made and he's been supportive of it since I evolved."

"But still, you clearly don't love him if you turned into an umbreon and not a sylveon. What if he's just telling you what you want to hear to guarantee he can tie the knot with you."

Now Midnight lowered her ears. "Honestly, I thought out of all of the people who would support me it would have been you. I'm happy now, and that's what is important to me. But I don't want to focus on that right now. I want to spend time with my sister."

"You're right, I'm sorry. I hope everything works out for you two." Another thing still bugged her, though. "So what's to happen with me now? With the gabite and everything?"

Midnight turned her gaze away, not wanting to meet Crystal's eyes. "Father is pushing for this alliance, now knowing you're back, he's going to try and rush the marriage. I want to get your mind away from it as much as possible until then."

Another week had now passed, and Crystal sat in front of a mirror while Midnight brushed her fur. Now approaching in the reflection was an elderly leafeon, Crystal's mother.

"Oh, Crystal, you look just as beautiful as the day you were born."

"Thank you, mother," Crystal replied forcing a smile so as not to appear rude to her. Her mother and Midnight were the only members of her family she truly cared about.

"Aaaand, just for the occasion, I felt the time was right for me to pass down to you what was passed down to me by my mother." The leafeon opened a decorative wardrobe to pull out an elegant, white dress to be worn by quadrupeds. "Go ahead, put it on."

"Mother, I... I don't know what to say... I don't even think I deserve to wear this, should it not go to Midnight?"

"Nonsense, dear. You're the first to marry, so you have earned the right to wear this. Just remember to pass it on to your daughter in the future, yes?"

Crystal didn't want to correct her mother to inform her that gabite and eevee were not compatible for offspring. "Of course, mother."

The leafeon beamed a smile. "Well, go on."

Crystal delicately put the dress on, holding her breath. She made sure to be extra cautious so as not to accidentally tear or stain the dress somehow. She had no idea how old the dress must have been, but it was clearly important to her mother if she had been keeping it untouched for the past however many years. After fitting it on, she looked again at herself in the mirror from many different angles. She admired the intricate woven designs throughout it all.

The queen had sat down and put her paws over her mouth. "It looks absolutely perfect on you. If only your grandmother were alive to see how much you've grown."

Crystal returned a bashful smile to her mother. She then felt Midnight placing a paw on her shoulder. "Hey, no matter what happens after today, I know you have a bright future. You're a smart person and you have a good head between your shoulders. Show this world how brightly you shine, my little star."

A knock sounded on the door. "You're highness, is Princess Crystal ready."

"She is, I will walk her out shortly." The leafeon turned back to Crystal, a slightly saddened look in her eyes. "Your father said he couldn't make it. So I'll be walking you down the aisle."

'Trust me, mom, that's more of a blessing than anything.'

The three then made their way out of the room and toward the main hall of the cathedral. The doors were opened and the Queen walked Crystal steadily down the aisle. The crowd stood up and bowed in her direction. Crystal made eye contact with the gabite who returned her gaze with a smile and a formal nod of his head. Once on stage, the gabite held out a hand towards her, which she took. Willow, a gardevoir, was the officiator of their marriage. As she read from her book, Crystal zoned out all sounds as she stared at the gabite and thought to herself.

'Is this really it? All my preaching of living a normal life and working to earn my keep in this world. Was it all in vain? I tried to live a normal life but I was tossed to the side in Iron Frost. And because I was born a female, I have no choice in my future when it comes to growing up through royalty. They always taught us that we were born equal at a young age, but I see no equals where I stand. You're either born wealthy or poor, born to evolve into multiple things or nothing at all, born strong or weak.'

"Prince Sernoth, do you take Princess Crystal to be your lawfully wedded bride?"

"I do"

'Everything is just chance and fate in my eyes, there is no controlling the violent ocean that is life. You either swim hard enough to just barely survive or you give up through fatigue and are swallowed by its ravenous waves.'

"And Princess Crystal, do you take Prince Sernoth to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

'...And it constantly feels like I'm the latter.'

"I do..."

"Then with the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Sernoth then met his lips with Crystal's as the two shared their first kiss.

"May your marriage strengthen our alliance and bring further prosperity to our lands."

Crystal fought everything inside herself so as not to shed a tear. Regardless of the facade she held up, she only felt a void inside her.

"And may your marriage last for years to come. Until death, shall you part."

"Wait, wait wait," Flint interrupted in disbelief, "you went through with the marriage?"

"Yes, I'm getting there though. I thought I'd follow along with my sister, thought that maybe I, too, was wrong about the Prince. I was reminded of just how wrong I was. He wanted to do more than tie the knot that night."

Later, after the events of the wedding, Prince Sernoth lead Crystal back to her room and closed the door behind them. Forcefully, she was thrown atop her bed, the gabite quick to follow.

"There was no hesitation with him, no sense of patience. I knew almost immediately that he only desired one thing out of the marriage. He only followed along to guarantee he could bed a woman, the whole alliance thing was just to please his father."

Crystal was face down on her bed and soon felt the weight of the gabite fall above her, his hands now exploring her hips.

"How about we get this thing off to make it easier?" He said. His claws began to curl, nearly threatening to tear into the fabric.

"You will not lay a scratch on this dress."

"Shut up," he replied, pushing her face down into the pillows.

Crystal was able to struggle enough out of his grasp and jumped up to face him, her claws beginning to dig into the mattress. "If I am to comply with your disgusting interests, you must meet my conditions first."

Sernoth growled. "Fine, just be quick about it."

Crystal hopped off her bed and made her way to the wardrobe. With a sigh, she began undressing, all the while, the gabite examining her figure.

"There, it's off. Now get in bed."

"Second condition," Crystal replied while hopping in her bed, "I'm only doing this face-to-face." With that, she laid down on her back, so as to face the gabite.

"Fine, fine, whatever. Let's just get this done with."

"Third condition, this... this is my first time, so-" She was interrupted as a winged claw forced her mouth shut.

"Enough conditions. You're lucky I was nice enough to comply with your earlier ones, but I'm your husband now. I'm in charge of this relationship, and as my wife, you will provide and support my needs when I need them."

"Eventually it all just piled up. The gabite was an asshole with clear intentions. I could just feel this... boiling feeling inside of me."

"You know, I heard about your attempts to run away," Sernoth spoke as his other blade glided gently from her chin down to her chest. "And you're quite disobedient. You're a problem child all around." His claw then made its way down to her stomach and continued down slowly. "After some more time with me, I'm sure I'll break you of these habits and behaviors."

Crystal's brows furrowed, small tears forming in the corner of her eyes. She raised a paw to meet the gabite's chest. He gave a sly smile at the gesture. Crystal then moved her paw further up, until it met his neck.

"I don't know what came over me, but..."

Crystal then unsheathed her claws and dragged them from one side of his neck to the other, tearing deep into his flesh. Sernoth let out a surprised gasp that came out gargled. A cascade of blood poured from his wounds, painting Crystal's face a deep red.

"...I snapped... I killed him just before he could do anything to me."

Flint sat silently in shock, listening to her story.

"Everything went to shit after that... It was my sister who first found out. I still remember the shock and horror on her face. Earlier that day was the last time we shared a happy moment. Azrith later found out, declaring Whitestone an enemy of Trithix. Mother stopped talking to me. And then he returned home." A small shiver erupted from Starshine's body. "Tenebris wasn't happy, of course. He was hostile to both my sister and I. He hated my sister for evolving into an umbreon, and later killed her. He then did horrible things to me, which you could probably piece together from what Razor said to me earlier. Afterward, he abandoned Whitestone, calling Zerith his new home. It was just mother and I then. She fell sick a few months later, a sickness that would eventually claim her. And from that point on, I since became the Monarch of Mardol.

"All that hate I told you about, it's because everyone blames me for what happened. For the war, both Jagorii and Zerith are led by people who hate me because of one action. My people blame me for the death of my mother and my sister, who would have been heir to the throne. And for over the past few years, this is the reality I've had to live in. Having no one but Mystic on my side. Though the apprehension from others has died slowly over the years."

"That sounds just selfish of them all."

Starshine's ears perked up as she turned to look at Flint. "Do you really think that?"

"I mean, yeah, If anything this is Tenebris' fault. You were forced into a marriage. He created so much conflict in your family from the sounds of it. And what are people expecting? To just let the scummy gabite take advantage of you while you sit obediently and do what you're told? It's bullshit."

Starshine's eyes met the ground. "I wish others could see it as easily as you do."

Flint bit his lip before letting out a sigh. "Listen, you were upfront and honest with me, so, I feel I should be with you as well."

"What do you mean?"

"About what's been troubling me, you said you could notice an emotional imbalance within me." The espeon sat silently, giving him her full attention.

"I'll give you an abridged version. It pretty much started back in my tribe out in Ashmond. There was this female growlithe, Adara. A zangoose tried to have his way with her. I stepped up and managed to save her but at the cost of killing the zangoose. Anytime I see blood, I can think of nothing more than the rancid taste of it in my mouth, staring at the lifeless eyes of the zangoose as his blood dripped from my mouth...

"Anyway, Adara and I eventually fell smitten with each other, an emotional connection I quickly attained after we... fornicated that night-"

"Flint, you can say sex, I'm not going to judge you. We're both adults here."

"R-right...so our feelings developed for each other after that. And, well... I grew addicted to sex. It was constantly on my mind and I wanted it almost every time of every day. Those feelings controlled me. I became a slave to this addiction and... I kinda pressured Adara into doing it more. Eventually, my father found out, he's the bastard I blame for the addiction. My father was the head of my tribe and he shunned our actions since we hadn't gone through the initiation to become arcanine. He then forbade Adara and I to see each other until afterward.

"But, as addictions would have it, that didn't stop us. I constantly went out of my way to find her again just so we could have more sex whenever we could." Flint let out a long sigh. "A few weeks passed and when I went to visit her again... I was greeted by her lifeless body on the floor, a note next to her." Flint could feel a lump in his throat. "She had taken her life, and her note contained an apology. She apologized for taking her life but blamed my constant desire for sex. Apparently, every time we had sex, it was a constant reminder to her of what the zangoose could have done. She never spoke about it, but she wrote that she could only see the face of the zangoose while we engaged in our activities. Usually, addictions only damage the one who is addicted, I never could have imagined how much damage it could do to someone else."

Flint clenched his eyes shut from the poignant memories, fighting back his emotions. He then felt Starshine's arms wrap around him. The gesture alone almost made him lose his composure.

"I'm sorry for what happened... And I'm sorry for harming myself earlier, I could see how that would bring up unwanted memories."

"You don't need to apologize. Just please... keep your distance." Flint then tried to break from her embrace.

"Listen, I understand that you'd think I'd be afraid near you, but I want to comfort you. Just like you comforted me. It's not your fault, you never knew."

"Regardless, I shouldn't have been having sex with her without being initiated. But..." He hesitated, "there's one more thing I'm keeping from you... it's why you should keep your distance and why these emotional imbalances have been appearing when I'm around you."

Starshine then met his gaze. "I can be understanding."

Flint broke his gaze and stared at the sand, clinching his eyes again. "You-I..." He then met her gaze again. "I can't help but remember her when I look at you, you remind me so much of her in some ways. I'm terrified that I'm going to repeat my past actions. I've never actively pursued a relationship since because I don't want my addictions to take control..."

Starshine stared silently at him, trying to read his expression. She then embraced him again and spoke, "We're both carrying our own past burdens but... maybe we can help each other better ourselves from who we were or what we were labeled as. Once we get out of this alive, we'll help each other out. One step at a time."

Nervously, Flint returned the hug, eventually leading to them falling asleep in each other's embrace.

The next morning was just as uneventful as the rest of their journey through the desert, but they eventually found the entrance to a dungeon.

"That's a good sign," Starshine spoke.

"Really? A dungeon? Is this really our best option right now?"

"Look, it beats standing out under the pressing heat of the sun. It could also buy us some time from Azrith's impeding pursuit to find us. Plus," she said, pointing to her nose, "I can smell salt in the air. We're getting close to the shoreline. I'm fairly certain this dungeon will get us closer to the rendezvous point."

"Alright, alright. Just lead the way."

And so the two made their way into the dungeon. As the sun's light began to fade behind them, Flint's flashback began to end. His memories had now caught up to where he was now as well as the predicament he was last in.

...

Flint sat in the dimness of the dungeon he and Starshine were exploring. The golem before him still emanated a continuous, dark energy around itself all the while charging up its final attack. The white, conflicting energy swirled into the cracks of the rocky creature. Starshine was still unconscious, the golem's previous attack clearly doing a number on her. Flint's breathing had picked up and his eyes darted from left to right. There was nothing he could do. Nowhere he could escape.

Now at the climax of charging up, the golem let out a rumbling roar before stomping into the ground, its body lighting up in a deadly explosion. A ferocious sound filled the room followed by a billowing pillar of smoke. From the smoke, a limp body flew from the cataclysmic attack. The growlithe's body tumbled across the ground before skidding to a halt. His bones were broken in many unnatural angles. His entire lower half was maimed by the explosion. His upper half was charred, chunks of flesh had torn off, revealing the bloody tissue underneath. A steady stream of blood drooled from his mouth as Flint's now lifeless eyes stared off into the empty room.

Aaaand after 26 chapters, we're caught up from the Prologue left off. Now the real story begins.