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Post by Markus Everglade on Dec 17, 2013 18:41:07 GMT -5
numbing the fire in her gut seemed the best course of action. She knew it wasn’t medical, after all…. “Ross, you can’t really have done that.” Laura lifted her head. That was Markus’s voice and he was outright yelling so loudly that she could hear every word clearly, over the noise of the tavern, her increasing drunkenness and the fact he was somewhere in the hallway. She couldn’t even see him. Naturally, though, the noise of the tavern stopped and everyone stared at where they thought the noise was coming from. “I mean really… I know you’re you, but God damn it man.” Ross answered in a much quieter muffle of noise. Markus responded only with “Gah!” Except he held out the ‘A’ for a long time. She got up, unsteady as someone with a fever, and stepped into the hallway. Laura found them quickly, leaned against the wall and stopped Markus’s fist just before it slammed as hard as it could into the wall with her palm. He instantly drew back dropping his hand and staring at her with horror. “It’s alright, Blue, didn’t feel it.” “But… I just… I don’t like….” Markus made a face. “He doesn’t like hitting you,” Ross supplied helpfully. Markus nodded, but his expression went back to angry as soon as he looked at Ross. The blond looked away quickly. “But it’s okay, man, she’s like a rock.” “What did he do?” Laura asked calmly. “He slept with Maya. Kenetari’s spy,” Markus said flatly. Laura took a long moment to process that. Her head was swimming at this point and she kind of felt like she was swimming too. Without moving. Also, Markus’s fist should have hurt her but it was like her whole body was disturbingly numb. Had the walls always been that particular shade of blue? “Who? The girl who he thought was real in Imperia but we never had proof of it?” “She’s real!” Ross protested. “I mean, I definitely did just do what Markus said I did so I am pretty damn sure she exists!” “And she’s Kenetari?” “Kenetari’s spy. Not Kenetari.” Markus gave her a strange look. Ross grabbed her shoulder, pulled her close and gave her a long sniff. “She’s drunk. Drunk as a dog.” “You’re drunk?” The prince looked shocked. “Have you ever even had a drink before? I’ve never seen you…. God, Laur, you’re barely sixteen for crying-” “How old were you when you started drinking?” Laura shot back. She was suddenly and very unaccountably angry with him. “I don’t think you can judge me.” “I don’t think you should be standing,” he returned calmly. The hallway started spinning. “I guess you would know.” “I really love how she’s not even mad at me,” Ross said cheerfully. Laura rounded on him, pointing her finger. He blinked with surprise. “And you… you… womanizing Carinian son of a bitch. Is there anything female you won’t screw without a moment’s hesitation? Have you no shame? Why would you sleep with Kenetari?” “Kenetari would be one of those people I wouldn’t screw. I slept with Maya. M-A-Y-A. Can you even hear what I’m saying?” “Can you even hear what you’re saying over the sound of your own overbearing arrogance?” Ross opened his mouth and shut it again at that. “Let’s get you up to bed, Laura. Come on.” Markus put a hand on her back to guide her. She pushed his hand back, giving him a glare that seemed to disturb him. “Why are you always touching me?” “What?” He raised an eyebrow, looking confused. “And always looking so confused. What is that about?” “Right now it’s because the words that are coming out of your mouth don’t fit with my knowledge of your personality.” Normally this would have made perfect sense to her. Now it sounded like he was slurring pretty badly and they were very long slurs. She pointed at him instead. Markus waited patiently for her to say something. Laura still couldn’t think of a thing so she kept pointing. “How are we going to get her upstairs like this, carry her?” Ross gave Markus a helpless look.
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Post by Markus Everglade on Dec 17, 2013 18:41:44 GMT -5
To Laura’s surprise, Markus nodded. Then he slipped his arms under her legs and behind her back and lifted her off the ground. The floor boards instantly started churning like waves below her. She moaned and buried her head in his chest. “Make it stop.” “It’s going to be a long time before it stops, Laura.” His voice sounded so strange. She was pretty sure it was because of the sound of the ocean in her ears. Laura held onto him like he was her ship in the storm, Ross’s blond head bobbing vaguely along behind them. Markus turned and said something to Ross. His voice sounded even more muddled, but it was still kind of soothing. She found herself drifting in and out of consciousness and she nestled closer, her eyelids heavy as lead. Before she really knew what was happening, he was lowering her down on the bed in her own room. Markus’s face loomed over her blurrily, his hair looking particularly blue and shiny. Laura reached out and touched it. He started, as though she’d just flicked him in the nose. Then he regained his composure a least a little, after tucking his now mussed hair behind his ear, and asked: “Are you uh… as okay as you can be in the circumstances?” “I’m very, very tired. Also, everything is spinney, your hair is shiny and I’m pretty sure we must be on a boat.” She gave a big yawn. “She’d be adorable if she wasn’t stark raving,” Ross commented. “Do you feel nauseous at all?” Markus asked, trying to keep up his diplomatic smile. “Because you’re going to.” “Ross!” “What? Did you see what she packed away?” “No, I didn’t, I was dancing with my fiancée….” He trailed off, glancing down at her. Laura wanted to touch his hair again, so she did. He sighed loudly. “I promised Rose I’d go back down there when I got all of this figured out. I don’t think I have much of anything figured out, but I’d better go down there anyway. Stay with her for a while, alright Ross?” He left the room muttering something under his breath. Laura rolled onto her side, realizing that she did in fact feel very sick. Ross was as far away from her as he could be while still technically being in the room. She looked up at him, watching his face blur and swim. Then she threw up on the floor. “God damn it, really? As soon as he leaves? You couldn’t have thrown up when he was in the room? He’d clean it if he was here!” Ross moaned. When Markus didn’t seem forthcoming (and Laura was pretty sure he waited for quite some time) he darted out of the room. Laura sighed, lying there and feeling utterly pathetic. The floor was still swimming, but she felt a little better. It seemed like she was on a calm boat now, anyway. She was not used to feeling this… unfocused. If it wasn’t for the horrible side effects, it would be kind of liberating. Well, she thought that now anyway. It would probably be an entirely different story in the morning. It usually, she imagined, probably was. Two maids rushed in, chattering to each other quickly and cheerfully. She couldn’t understand a thing they were saying. Laura covered her ears, trying to block out the humming of their voices. The next she was aware of anything, Ross was beside her head. “You feeling better? You look better.” He didn’t sound particularly sincere. “I kind of have somewhere to be soon so… just let me know when you feel you know. Ready to be alone and all. Just stay on your side so you don’t choke on your own vomit. Nobody wants that.” “You’re quite the charmer, Prince of Everglade,” she slurred at him. “What? Really? Do I look like Markus to you or something? Do you just have Markus vision? You know what, fine. Protect me from your drunkness, like a good body guard.” He let out a heavy sigh. Then he handed her an apple, pressing it into her hand so she wouldn’t drop it. “It will… clean your teeth a little. I bet you feel a little gross, so it should help. Spit it out after you chew it even… never mind, don’t listen to me blather. You probably don’t even know what I’m saying, Blue never did. I’ll get you some water.” Laura found herself left alone again. The maids, after scrubbing the floor lightning fast, had left. She sat up rather painfully. Her stomach was alright now that it had been thoroughly emptied and, though she couldn’t think clearly, her brain was in an acceptable sort of haze. How much had she drunk? Markus was right; she had no tolerance for alcohol. Also, why were the lights so pretty? She gave herself a little slap. Focusing. Focusing would be nice. On what…? Eating the apple. She could do that. Laura proceeded to eat the entire thing, seeds and all, and then sat
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Post by Markus Everglade on Dec 17, 2013 18:44:06 GMT -5
there musing on whether or not apple seeds actually tasted like arsenic and, if they did, could she become Markus’s taste tester? He didn’t have one, after all, and people had been trying to kill him so often lately maybe he needed one. “Hey, you’re sitting up.” Ross looked so relieved. He looked around for the core of the apple, blinked with the realization that it was gone, and handed her the water. She drank it greedily. “Alright. I was going to have you spit that out, but that works too.” He sat next to her again, looking a bit awkward. “You look a bit better. The vomiting does that, I guess. I don’t know, I’ve only really gotten smashed once, so….” “Was that when you banged Lady Pricilla’s grandmother?” Laura asked. She leaned her head on his shoulder. He started with surprise. “Uh… yeah, that was then. That old lady was worth it though. She was-” “No. Not even when I’m wasted.” “Yeah, didn’t think so.” Ross grinned. He tentatively put his arm around her. “You never let me touch you.” “You’re a manwhore.” “Ah, right. Fair enough.” “You’re still one of my best friends ever though. Best ever.” She nodded solemnly. “You too, Laur.” “Are you going to leave me here?” Laura’s voice got quiet. Beside her, he squirmed. “Well… I kind of have somewhere to be eventually.” “A girl?” “A girl.” “Aren’t I a girl?” Laura looked up at him blankly. His face contorted. He seemed to be struggling to answer for a while, but nothing came out. “What? Aren’t I?” “Well… yeah, you’re physically female but you’re….” The room went silent for a long few minutes. There was barely any light now, just a candle on the table in the corner, beside the washbasin. It was barely still burning, a stub of a thing, casting its faintly pathetic light on the brown wall behind it. “You have a crush on my best friend. And he um… yeah. It’s just not… in the guy code. I just think of you as a guy. It helps a lot.” “I’m not Markus’s girl.” “Oh, believe me I know that. I know that, even if you like Markus, you’re pretty much Laura’s girl and that’s great. I really like you as a person, which is weird for me and females. See, as far as I’ve been able to gather, from hundreds of attempts at faking it, romantic love is when you want to screw someone AND actually care about them as a person. The first one I have down flat. The second one I just have for you.” Ross glanced at her nervously. “Don’t think I want to screw you though, because I don’t. I say I want to all the time, but I’m just kidding. Girls don’t really like me after that, not when they find out that’s all I really wanted anyway. If we ever did anything physical, I’d feel like I’d lose you. I don’t want that.” “You do babble when you’re worried,” she teased. “See.” Ross put on his quite rarely used diplomatic smile. “He’s always here. Even when he’s not. I’m glad about that, I am. Markus pretty much saved my life after Will died, you know that. I’m a sane, functional human being because of him. But I really, really want to kiss you. And that… that fucks with my head.” Laura felt like there was something that, under normal circumstances, she could understand. Right now it was impossible. All she knew was that, the first time she had kissed Jack; it had felt kind of like this. Kind of like a “why not?” An “I have a crush on someone else, an impossible one, and I need someone to make me forget it.” She looked up at him. Someone that she cared about. “You want me to kiss you?” “Well, yeah, I am me.” Laura kissed his lips. She didn’t think about it or agonize over the consequences. She just did it. When she pulled back, she felt warm and sleepy. Like someone had wrapped her in a quilt on a cold night. “You… don’t taste bad.” Ross blinked at her. “The stupid apple thing actually worked.” “You suggested it.” She hooked her elbow behind his neck and kissed him again. He feebly tried to push her away and then just responded. Ross was good at this; she’d have to give him that. He did have a lot of practice, after all. Before long he was crouched over her on the bed, his tongue in her mouth. Laura gripped his arms, fingers moving up and down. His skin felt warm, like soup, and his mouth…. She pulled him closer, hands snaking behind his head and entwining in his hair. Laura drew back for air and Ross brushed his lips over her cheek, eyelids, throat, the top of her tunic…. He met her mouth again gently. “I love you.” Laura passed out.
Raythor spent his ascent up the stairs hating himself. It wasn’t an unusual turn of events, but it was for a different reason than all the other times. It was time to say goodbye, he knew that. He should have been gone weeks ago. It was his own stupid fault for staying this long and for getting this attached. If someone died, if he’d started to…. He had to leave and it had to be tonight. No looking back. “Greetings, Raythor,” Blade said. He raised his dark head from his paws, yawning. The rooms weren’t much the kind one was meant to spend a great deal of time in- just two beds and a table with a washbasin. There was a window though, with actual glass. That was nice. “How was your human ritual?” “Just wonderful,” Raythor said shortly. He snapped his fingers and Thunder jumped up on his bed. Raythor had listed himself as rooming with his “two black dogs” as a way for Blade to get to sleep inside. Since the inn keeper really did not want to know what his customers did in their rooms at night, there was little risk of getting caught. “Thunder, stay.” He turned his head to look in Blade’s direction, taking his bag from the floor. “I’m taking a walk.” “Enjoy your solitude. I do mine,” Blade said, resting his head on his paws again. Just as Raythor turned, he added, “You are going to hurt a lot of people.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “You are leaving, are you not?” “I’m doing what I have to. Tell Anella to keep the dog. I can’t take care of him anymore; he’ll come back for Juliet. He never listens to me.” “Are you sure you want to do this?” “That’s irrelevant.” “But do you want to?” “That has nothing-” “You are not answering the question.” “Blade, I don’t see why-” “Do you want to?” “Asking me over and over-” “Answer the question.” “Stop, it has nothing-” “Your desire is going to mean everything.” “For the love of-” “Just answer me.” “No.” The tone of Raythor’s voice raised, just a fraction. The blackness room seemed to close around him, his frustration boiling over. He balled his fist, letting out all the air in his lungs. “No I don’t want to leave but hurting Dash is not an option. I don’t trust myself not to.” “So no goodbye?” Blade tilted his head in canine confusion. “She’s passed out and it has to be tonight.” “So you can tell her anything you want to.” He lowered his head again. Raythor considered, briefly, going back and giving Blade a good swift kick in the ribs but that really wouldn’t be productive so he went down the hallway instead. When he got to Juliet’s room he just door there for a minute, just staring. It was probably locked. He checked it. It was. He picked it quickly, trying not to feel too much like a stalker. He ended up reassuring himself that he was a thief. Thieves did this kind of thing. “Dash? You awake?” Raythor stepped into the pitch black room, hands splayed so that he didn’t run into anything. There was a slight shifting noise but no answer. He was damn lucky she didn’t have a roommate. Guessing the basic layout was the same as his own room, he found his way to Juliet’s side. The moon moved from behind the clouds, lighting up her face. Juliet eyes twitched but didn’t open. Raythor knew she wouldn’t wake up; he’d tried before when she was like this to
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Post by Markus Everglade on Dec 17, 2013 18:44:47 GMT -5
no effect. She did look pretty though, he supposed. Beautiful, even. Then again, she always did. She had a very classic face, logically speaking. “I know you can’t hear me- I wish that you could, even though you’d argue me into the ground- but I came to say goodbye. You had to know I would run eventually, you aren’t stupid and you aren’t naïve. Now you’re safe here, with all these people, and I can go. I’ve stayed too long as it is. So… goodbye.” He felt very awkward. For a split second, part of him wanted her to wake up and tell him not to go. Demand why he was there and call him a freak of nature. He pushed the thought away. Raythor dug in his bag and took out something wrapped in cloth, leaving it on her table. Do you want to? He smirked, leaning down and slipping the necklace she always wore off her neck and putting it around his neck. “If you can catch me, this is yours but,” he bent a quickly kissed her cheek, pulling away before he could feel anything, “there are things I can never tell you.”
Juliet woke up with a pounding headache. She swore, sat up and swore again louder. It was still dark out. Why the hell was she awake? She never woke up this early after she’d had even a drop to drink. Tiredly, she groped for her necklace. She grabbed air. Juliet checked down her shirt and then all around her bed. It wasn’t there. Where…? “Raythor,” she said numbly. There was a wrapped bundle on the table, and it was a rag she recognized as his. Juliet unwrapped it quickly. The moon was out, she didn’t have much time if he had really…. A gold belt lay among the cloth, decorated with straight black lines that looked like castle walls. Leaving something behind for what he has stolen. She smiled weakly. Raythor wasn’t coming back. It was when that thought made her cry that it happened. Juliet closed her eyes and the headache intensified, her whole body glowing blue. It was happening now, somewhere probably happening to him too, though he wouldn’t understand it. Raythor had kissed her beneath a full moon and taken her necklace. He was the person she cared about most in the world. She was trapped as a human forever.
“That’s the one you’re supposed to kill?” David asked, leaning on his bow. They were both crouched down and David’s bow had one end in the dirt, the other precariously supporting his elbow. Jason nodded grimly. “That’s her. I wonder why she’s outside this late.” “She’s being an easy mark. I could pick her off from here, Jayce. If you can’t-” “No,” Jason cut him off. He already felt the weighted mantle of self-loathing on his shoulders. “Kenetari is going to make sure the wound came from my sword or my powers. I have to slit her throat.” He got up, bracing himself. “Hey… I know you’re doing this for me, to save Kira and… thank you. If there was anything-” “You would do the same for me.” Jason shook his head. He made it a few feet before someone else appeared. He dropped down again immediately. “Anella? What are you doing out here?” A skinny, dark haired boy Jason had seen a few times before stepped toward his mark. “I just finished feeding Ranier,” Anella said. She tilted her head, her hair drooping on one side. She looked like a little dog. A little silver dog. Jason didn’t want to kill that. “Why, are you going somewhere? You have your….” Her expression became sad. Jason was going to have to slit the throat of a sad puppy now. He was a terrible person. “You’re leaving us.” “I have no choice,” skinny boy said. He lowered his eyes. “What do you mean?” “It’s… complicated.” Skinny boy sighed. “I have time to listen, Raythor,” Anella assured. “Anella….” He tried to walk around her but she easily matched his movements. “At least give me some kind of excuse. Please.” “The truth is that if I get attached to anyone, people get hurt and I… I’m starting to care about all of you.” Raythor tried to get around her again. Anella stepped in front of him and Raythor stopped abruptly, seeming unwilling to touch her. “Why would we get hurt?” “I can’t tell you that,” he said firmly. Anella didn’t budge. Jason was, admittedly, beginning to enjoy himself. Having observed Anella for several weeks, he knew she was shy and easily gave in but now she was standing up for herself, and in force. “I told you, Raythor,” she took a step closer, “who you are now is what matters to me. Not what you’re running from.” “If I told you why I’m running you would just as soon kill me as look at me,” he returned. “You don’t know that.” “You have no idea who I really am. Just… let me go. Forget me; it’s for the best for you and for Dash.” “If you really think I’m going to hate you, then why would I listen to you now?” “That’s barely even an argument.” Raythor rolled his eyes. “Now come on, let me go.” “No.” “Dear God, why can no one just make this easy for me?” “Because you aren’t alone. Not anymore,” Anella said softly. Her expression got even sadder. “There are a lot of us who care about you. Not just Dash.” “Anella….” “You aren’t really listening to me.” Her face bunched in frustration. Jason realized, blankly, that she wasn’t stuttering. He glanced up at the moon, round above their heads, and started to wonder. He had noticed a bit of a pattern…. “I don’t know what you expect me to say. We’ve all known each other for what… a little under a month? It may have been a long one and… maybe we all know each other more than we should, thanks to everything that’s been happening but… I’m nothing to you. I’m nothing to them. I hurt the people I care about.” “You’re not nothing. Don’t say that. You’ve helped a lot of people and you’ve asked for nothing in return. I just… I want you to let someone help you for a change. Whether or not it’s me doesn’t matter. Just… someone.” “You don’t know what you’re saying,” Raythor said firmly. He started trying to go around her again and she blocked him, again.
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Post by Markus Everglade on Dec 17, 2013 18:47:06 GMT -5
“I would if you would tell me.” “You aren’t going to want to hear it.” “I don’t give a damn.” For a long time, there was silence and Raythor stared at her with his version of genuine surprise. Jason readied his dagger, composing himself again. Make this quick, he told himself. It doesn’t matter if Raythor sees you, he’s just a thief, they’ll probably blame him. “My name isn’t Raythor Carpenter,” Raythor said finally. Jason jerked his head back up. The dark haired boy was very carefully watching Anella’s face. “It’s….” He let out a sigh. “It’s Raythor Karian. I’m the Karian Killer.” “The… t-the l-little b-boy w-who…?” Anella’s voice started to falter. “Yeah. The little boy in the story who killed his parents. He’s sixteen now.” His eyes dropped again. “And he’s… I’m… really sorry you had to find out at all.” “W-why?” She’d started shaking, almost imperceptibly. “You’re not… y-you’ve n-never hurt m-me. You c-couldn’t h-hurt a-anyone o-outside o-of b-battle, you’re n-not l-like that. You c-can’t be.” “This is no excuse but… I don’t remember killing them. I loved them, I know I did, I have these snatches of memory and then… nothing.” Raythor hit the side of his leg, hard. Was he trying to physically kill his emotion, Jason wondered? “Everything before I woke up on the floor covered in blood… theirs, mine… is a blur. There was a mirror frame behind me, with broken glass all over the ground and….” He shook his head. “I-if you d-don’t r-remember i-it… m-maybe you d-didn’t d-do it.” “There has to be a reason I feel this guilty. Why all of Caltha knows I killed them and is trying to kill me for it. I am the Karian Killer and all that implies. I have been for as long as I can remember. Just… a monster parents use to frighten their children to behave. Like all the rest of Caltha’s murderers.” “But you don’t know that.” “And I don’t matter.” Anella was silent for a moment. Then she stepped forward, very loosely hugging him. She was still shaking but, even though he didn’t move a muscle, she didn’t let go. “Yes y-you d-do. Please s-stop s-saying t-that. P-please. Don’t l-leave. L-let u-us h-help you.” “Don’t do this. I’m dangerous and I’m not worth it. Just let me go, walk back inside, and forget you ever saw me. It’s better for everyone,” he said firmly. “Is that what you really think?” Kenetari stepped from the forest, her eyes focused completely on Raythor. Jason shivered involuntarily. He didn’t think there were too many things quite as terrifying as being stuck in the forest with a serial killer and his sister. He was pretty sure his sister was still scarier though. Raythor just looked like he wanted to have a breakdown but wasn’t letting himself. “That is so pathetic. The great and terrible Karian Killer can’t even kill a useless nothing like this girl.” “You,” Raythor’s voice darkened. He moved Anella out of the way- gently, as though she were made of glass- and drew his sword. “What the hell do you want?” “I want you. Jason, take the girl with us. We’ll deal with her later.” “Of course.” Jason stood and headed straight for Anella. His heart was beating furiously fast and he was so focused he didn’t even see Raythor move. Raythor’s blade cut through his dark and tunic, barely grazing his skin. Jason retaliated, cutting deep into Raythor’s sword arm. If Jason was expecting a scream, he wasn’t about to get one. Raythor just moved, striking back quickly, their swords pushing hard against each other. “Step aside and we won’t hurt you.” “Touch her and I will kill you,” Raythor replied calmly. “W-we’re not g-going anywhere,” Anella agreed. She was standing beside him, her sword raised. “And she means it; I’ve been trying to make her move.” “Jason, take them out quickly,” Kenetari said without much interest. “Dead or alive, Ken?” Jason said. He started breathing in deeply, feeling energy gather. Raythor and Anella’s eyes met his, and then widened in unison. “Alive. For now.” “Done and done.” Their eyes got even wider as his irises, he knew, started glowing purple. Around them the wind started up and blew his hair away from his usually covered eye.
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Post by Markus Everglade on Dec 17, 2013 18:48:38 GMT -5
He stepped back, raising his hand, and drawing in more air. Raythor tried attacking him again and he lazily pulled up an energy shield, knocking him back. Jason raised his hand over his head and sent one orange tinged energy blast Raythor’s way. Raythor shot back, his feet dragging through the snow covered ground, his back and head smacking hard into a tree. He managed to stay conscious for a few seconds before he dropped his sword and fell over. Anella seemed unable to decide if she was going to help him or try and fight back. Jason flipped her up into the air before she could decide, ramming her face into the dirt. She struggled up again and Jason started raising her again. Kenetari grabbed his wrist. “Leave her awake. It doesn’t matter.” “Fine.” Jason left her levitating, walking over to disarm her. He moved her back onto her feet, shifting her arms behind her back and pulling a rope from his cloak to tie them there. “Think I cracked his skull. Do you care?” “He’ll live,” Kenetari said dismissively. “W-what?” Anella started thrashing again. Jason grabbed her bound wrists and pulled her toward him, his lips by her ear. “Listen, silver princess, I was supposed to kill you tonight and now I don’t have to. So don’t fight this and keep yourself alive, please. I’ve never had to kill people with my sword and I don’t want to start now.” “You s-seemed perfectly w-willing t-to k-kill u-us with m-magic, e-elementi,” she snapped at him. The word hit him like a slap in the face. Jason swallowed. He knew what he was, but he did not like that word, he never had. “Look, you and your little group seem to have figured out that we’re trying to take over Laina but it’s for the best. Ian is a weak king, and he comes from a weak family. Say what you will about my family, but we are not weak. We can lead Laina better than he can and I will make sure that we do. We’ll make Laina what it used to be, not some cheap pawn of Dragoon’s might.” “W-what does k-killing u-us h-have to do w-with a-all o-of t-that? Can’t you j-just l-let u-us go?” “He’s nothing, Anella, but you’re dangerous. You have no idea how dangerous.” “I d-don-t-” “We don’t have time for this, Jason. Let’s go.” Kenetari motioned back into the woods. Jason nodded. He refused to answer Anella again.
Chapter Sixteen
Holding On
Considering Markus was one of the only people without a terrible hangover that morning, he really shouldn’t have jumped quite as high as he did at the sudden appearance of Mercury. After all, he had randomly appeared the first time and Markus was used to elementists now. Mercury was certainly looking at him skeptically. Markus pushed up onto his hands rather awkwardly. “Uh… hello. Sorry I don’t expect visitors when I’m sleeping, so I’m improperly prepared for company.” “You look stunning,” Mercury said sarcastically. Markus’s eyes darted around the room. Everything was blue again. That was fine, he could handle that. He was a little concerned by the fact Ross had never come in the room last night, though. His bed was still perfectly made and Markus was pretty sure Ross didn’t know how to make a bed. “Something concerning you?” “Well, other than the fact you seem to have stopped time again with the power of blue, my friend is missing. Rose kept me out late last night, and I just kind of passed out when I-” “I would like you to take a look at my face of caring.” Mercury adopted the most bland, boring expression Markus had ever seen. “Right.’ Markus faked a smile. “So, what do you want?” “That’s the spirit. It’s time for your second test.” “I don’t think asking me one question actually counted as a first test.” “I’m sorry, which one of us is covered in blue scales? When it’s you, you can decide what the test is.” “I really don’t know how that’s a qualification.” “Why are we having this conversation, Markus?” “I have no idea.” “I’m going to need you to follow me.” Mercury started walking out of the room. Markus did his best to find clothes that would make him look at least vaguely presentable and shoved his feet in his boots. Mercury was already all the way at the other end of the hallway by the time Markus actually followed him. He didn’t seem to care much. “Where are we going?” Markus asked, catching his breath. The inn didn’t look all that much better in the light of day. He was starting to miss colors that weren’t brown. Or blue, technically it was blue right now. “You don’t recognize the number?” The elementist stood, looking pointedly up at the door in front of him. “Did she not tell it to you?” “Laura’s room.” Markus let out a sigh. “Look, I’m not-” “Come along.” Mercury’s eyes flashed and the door opened. Markus waited a second; not wanting to give in to what he thought was coming. Then, deciding he didn’t have a choice if he wanted time to start again, he gave in. The room was, at first, too dark for him to see much of anything. Someone had drawn the curtains, and there was just a thin sliver of light leading to the empty bed at the other side of the room. Who had Laura’s roommate been? Was she gone too? Where were his friends? His eyes drifted to the other side of the room, focusing on the shadow shapes until they made sense to his brains. Markus swallowed hard. There were two people in that bed. The two people he was missing. Ross’s arm was curled around Laura’s midriff, her back against his chest. Both were sleeping soundly, looking perfectly natural. Markus felt his chest constrict and he looked away. “I… I didn’t know they were….” “Hm.” Mercury just nodded. “I see.” “You see?” He stared at him, trying to make his brain function. All he really wanted to do was scream, but that wasn’t going to help anyone. He should be happy for them, as long as they were happy. He was happy. He was pretty sure he was smiling anyway. Probably. “I guess I see too. Guess I should have before.” “Oh Swift….” Mercury rammed his head into the bedpost. “Yes, you see what you see. But what else do you see? What else happened last night?” Markus repressed the urge to say something negative to Mercury and focused on a spot on the ground, so he could think. What else could he see? What else was there to see? It was just them, wasn’t it? And what kind of question was “what else happened last night?” He’d been with Rose for hours and hours, running around doing nothing in particular and pretending to teach her to dance, even though she already knew and- And Rose had slept with that spy and Markus had yelled at him. So loudly that Laura had heard and come in very, very drunk. If Ross had slept with that spy, that probably meant he was going to see her again. Markus had kind of suspected she’d been in that supply closet, hiding in the back, anyway. There was no way Ross would want to stay with Laura unless she made some move toward him. Which she may have done… if she was wasted. “They’re not together.” “Oh, my, good job Markus. You used your brain,” Mercury said with sarcastic glee. “Do go on.” “Uh… I don’t know. I bet she really won’t remember in the morning, I know I never did. I almost uh… not important, really not important. The point is what I’m seeing actually means nothing, not yet anyway.” “I’m not sure I can count that as a pass, but I suppose I will. You lose all of your free hints though.” “I wasn’t aware I was even entitled to those, so fine.” “It’s going to be a long road to get you to where I want you to be.” Mercury shook his head. “Well, come along. We have more to see before I release you.” “This is exactly how I wanted to start my day.” “Better than a hangover, isn’t it?” “I haven’t touched a drink in a long time,” he returned shortly. “I didn’t know that was a sore spot.”
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Post by Markus Everglade on Dec 17, 2013 18:50:39 GMT -5
“I doubt you would care if you did know, but… I got through that, alright? I don’t need people reminding me what I used to be life. I don’t need to be told how much of a fuck up I was.” Markus didn’t realize how loud his voice had gotten. Mercury’s ears were perked up and he was, if anything, smirking. Thinking about what Laura has said last night, being around the bar, his wedding drawing closer… his wedding… pretty much all he could think about was drinking again and God damn, he wasn’t going to be that much of a disappointment. Not again. “You swore.” Now Mercury really sounded amused. “Fuck,” he said. They went into the hallway- Markus slammed the door behind them- and the elementist’s eyes glowed again. A glass, full to the brim of amber liquid, appeared in his hand. “I feel like you consider this to be in your head somehow. You really aren’t this irascible when I’m not this around.” “You really rub me the wrong way.” “Do I… or does what she said?” “Does that fucking matter?” He refused to even look at the glass. He would not be able to resist, if he did. Markus could already smell the stupid thing. “This is the second time I’ve ever met you and already I know you drive me insane.” “Physically, I suppose. Perhaps the third for that. But I’m kind of in your blood- not your father, I reiterate- so you’ve probably heard my voice for a long time, in your head. Shula says that she had before, certainly.” Markus suddenly realized why he had the incredible urge to punch Mercury. It was kind of a freeing thought. Hearing that nagging, unrecognizable voice in his head out loud made him very angry. It was usually only there when he was about to fall asleep or, now, when he was using his magic but… it had always been there. It had been, he realized blankly, what had woken him up that night Kenetari had appeared outside his door. “Ah. And Shula is….” “Your Shula, yes. I laughed for days about that.” “Thanks.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I should… tell them both what happened, shouldn’t I? With her?” “I’ve always thought so.” He bobbed his head approvingly. The glass in Markus’s hand disappeared. “That one you passed on your own. I suggest you go back to your room and get at least another hour of sleep. You’re going to need it.” “Fair enough, voice in my head. Fair enough.”
****
Ross woke up to find the spot next to him empty. He didn’t know if this was a good or a bad thing. He was still in between deciding this when he spotted Laura sitting on the floor, beside the edge of the bed. She looked calm enough, but she always looked calm. Her legs were pulled inward; toward her chest, knees pointed at the ceiling, an arm around them almost protectively, and her other hand was holding a cup of what smelled quite a bit like strong coffee. Ross sat up, his owns legs crossed, and looked down at her. “Good morning.” “Here.” Laura held out the cup to him, still not looking at him. “Thanks.” It was coffee. Thank the heavens. “So… how are you?” “I’m fine. I’ve already ascertained that we most likely didn’t have intercourse.” Now she looked at him. For conformation, he guessed. “No, we didn’t.” He gave her a little nod for good measure. “Can you tell me what did happen last night then? I only have… rather blurred images in my head.” “Well, Markus was um… yelling about something-” “Alright, you did something wrong. You may skip that if you wish.” “Great. You got really wasted, and started insulting Markus and I, so we took you up stairs. He did the carrying, of course, because for whatever reason he has more muscles in his arms than I do, despite the fact I’m an archer-” “Yes yes, your arm muscles are wonderful too, continue please.” “Well, Markus left us alone and asked that I take care of you.” “I see where this accident is about to lead.”
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Post by Markus Everglade on Dec 17, 2013 18:56:10 GMT -5
“Yeah… well, you threw up, it was cleaned up, you washed your mouth and you um… started kissing me?” He winced, drawing further away from her. If she didn’t neuter him, it would be a miracle. “I was the one who kissed you?” Her voice was very quiet. “Yes, you were. A lot of times,” Ross said solemnly. “And then we platonically slept together.” “I see.” Laura’s teeth sunk into her lip. “Listen, Ross… how seriously are you taking all of this?” “As seriously as I usually take relationships, why do you ask?” “Then you didn’t say you loved me?” She looked at him again. “I didn’t mean it.” He shrugged his shoulders. “That’s pretty much my favorite of all lines, actually. It almost always works.” “You’re a thingy.” She smiled. “So we’re good?” “We’re good, Rocelin.” “Great.” He smiled too, with relief. “For a second there I thought you were going to try and ‘Jack’ me.” “I have standards.” She rolled her eyes, getting to her feet. “Besides, I really don’t have to marry. I’m not a noble, and I can become an elite and marry my job.” “You wanna go elite?” “Don’t you?” Laura looked at him curiously. Ross took a moment to think about that. Honestly, he didn’t have any life plans after becoming a knight. He’d kind of just been thinking that he’d stay Markus’s body guard for the rest of his life. That would be fun. He enjoyed getting paid for it. “I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it. Wow.” He encased her in a finger frame. “Laura Glasswater, elite of Everglade. It has a nice ring to it.” “It does.” She put her hand up to her temple, swaying slightly. “Dear God, never again.” “You’d… barely see Markus. Me, probably, but him? Rarely.” “I know.” “Ah… alright. I get it. Well… yeah that uh… that makes sense.” He took a minute to feel incredibly awkward. “Should we uh… tell Markus about all this?” “If we do, I’ll tell him. I instigated it after all. But… this was my being drunk and kissing you and you being you and responding to my advances. It’s not really a big deal, no one’s feelings got hurt after all. And I’m sorry about this whole thing.” “Hey, don’t be. I never make a beautiful girl apologize for spending the night with me.” Laura shook her head. “You are good at those lines.” “Really? Thank you, that’s actually pretty flattering coming from you.” “Yeah, you’re so welcome. I suppose we should tell Markus about this, anyway… just so it doesn’t come up later in some weird way. I feel like this is something that would. As for telling the other soldiers, don’t even think about it. I’ll do the same thing to you that I will if you ever tell Markus… the other thing. Understand me?” “Of course I do.” Ross put his hand on her cheek overdramatically. “I love you.” “You’re not quite that good.” “Damn it. I’ll work on it.” “I wouldn’t bother.” She slipped out of the room. After she left, and Ross realized that there would be absolutely no repercussions for any of this, he allowed himself to celebrate. A maid gave him a very strange look as she passed by and saw him dancing by himself.
Bruce had been the easy one to deal with. Kenetari had brought him up here, to her library, to “speak with him.” Let him think she didn’t know about his betrayal. He’d figured it out fairly quickly, though, long before she’d had to say anything. She glanced at the chair in front of her, where his body still was. The shackles on its arms were stained with dried blood from Bruce’s struggling wrists. He hadn’t, to his credit, struggled until the end. Bruce has walked in here, under his own power, expression scared but body not shaking. Suitably brave for her tastes. Bruce hadn’t even flinched when she had told him the real reason he was here. Didn’t protest as she clamped down his wrists and whispered how his family would be alright, because of his death, directly in his ear. She’d laced her fingers through his as she’d cut his skin, watching the thin stream go down his cheek. Because he hadn’t asked how she knew what he’d done, she hadn’t cut him much. It was barely ten minutes before she’d sunk the dagger into his gut, twisted- that was when he’d struggled and cut up his wrists- then withdrew it and slit his throat. The second traitor, the waitress who really hadn’t given Rea’s group, had been harder because she was such a disappointment. She’d screamed the entire time and all Kenetari had done was threaten her and slit her throat quickly. Kenetari had no patience for girls like Candis. She’d probably kill any others who even tried to join her service with that name. Because of the useless waitress, both deaths had taken under half an hour and that was disappointing. There was no reason for Maya to be looking at her like that, with such horror. She had been the one to tell Kenetari that Bruce and the girl had spoken to Rea’s group. Didn’t that mean Maya would be interested in the punishment? She didn’t seem to be, against all logic. Maya was just backing into the book case as far as she could, her legs still furiously moving even though she had stopped doing so quite a long time again. There was such a look of horror on her face. “Did you seduce Rainbird as I asked?” Kenetari wiped the blood from her sword with the edge of her tunic. Maya didn’t answer, though she did seem to have her mouth open now. Kenetari rolled her eyes. “I recommend you get back to work. This whole section of time is very critical to us.” “Why did you do that?” Maya managed finally. “How could you… why…?” Kenetari was trying to think up some sort of answer for that ridiculous question when she heard footsteps in the hallway. She smiled. Jason was coming. This, she expected, would be a memorable fight. Jason was an excellent opponent and this would be a furiously battle. This room was set up for combat, after all, though his powers might prove a difficulty. It was just the desk, though, and the bookcases. Not to mention Bruce and his chair. The room was square, darkly colored, medium sized. There would be no easy escape if he began trying to find one. It would be a test of her brother’s skill to stay alive. “Who’s outside?” Maya demanded, with a very loud swallow.
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Post by Markus Everglade on Dec 17, 2013 18:57:58 GMT -5
The door opened, and Maya flinched. Jason, cloak less but still in black, appeared in the rectangle of light that resulted. His strange eyes were hard, filled with hatred in a way she had only seen once from him before. The black handle of a sword was already held in his hand. Oh, he did not intend to back down. Excellent. “Did you need something from me, Jason?” The mocking in Kenetari’s voice changed the hatred in his eyes to pure murder. “You know exactly why I’m here, Kenetari. And you’re laughing at it.” The rippling rage in his tone made her smile again. His eyes were on the body now, and they closed slowly as he realized he was too late. They went back to her. “You promised no one would get hurt if I killed the girl. We have her; I’m executing her tonight just like you asked. You broke your promise,” Jason snapped. Kenetari shrugged. “Bruce was a traitor. He gave information to our prey. You know I couldn’t leave him breathing.” “What I know is that we succeeded last night despite whatever Bruce told them and now a man is dead.” “A traitor is a traitor.” “That traitor was my friend.” “You don’t take over a country without blood on your hands.” “Ken, I don’t think we should have to keep making choices like… this. Like Charity. Like torturing our friends to death,” Jason’s voice lowered even more. Maya watched him with a very fixed stare. “I agree the king is weak and should be removed, and that our father is far more capable to rule Laina in his stead. But what are we doing with Rea’s group, to our own people? It’s not right. If it keeps up, I’m not sure I can keep believing in what our family is doing.” “You can’t believe in what our family is doing?” Kenetari shook her head. “Oh Jason… after all the things you’ve done at my command, all the times you’ve used your powers and your name for our gain… this is what makes you back away? The death of someone who turned against us?” “What makes me back away is that, even after all these years, you still refer to everyone you kill as ‘someone’,” he returned. “You know my powers, Ken- I had to watch him die. Every second. I could barely fucking move and you probably didn’t even think about that. Didn’t think about what you were doing to your own brother, didn’t hesitate for a second. You sure as hell didn’t think about what you were doing to Bruce.” “And you didn’t hesitate to try and kill that perfectly innocent girl,” she said flatly. “I’m not like you.” “I’m just waiting for you to articulate how exactly you’re different.” “Because I feel guilty.” “Guilty.” Kenetari took a step towards him. Maya flinched from the corner. “You feel guilt in politics; you end up with nothing, if you’re lucky, and dead if you’re not. If I felt anything as ridiculous as guilt I would still be nothing, not a duke’s daughter on the verge of becoming queen.” “What are you talking about?” Jason’s sword wavered in his hand. “You’re a Whitestar, even if you’re illegitimate that… shouldn’t matter… not if you’re Sabbath Whitestar’s daughter.” “You still haven’t guessed, have you? Who I really arm?” “You’re my bitch of a sister,” he said through gritted teeth. “Oh Jason.” She grabbed his shoulder and pulled him forward; putting her mouth against his ear just like she had done to Bruce. Again, she told the truth, though this time it was a truth she hadn’t spoken in almost ten years. Jason was perfectly silent for what felt like a long time, not moving a single muscle. Then, shaking, he stabbed his sword at her. It was a weak attack and she blocked it easily. Jason attempted to overpower her, his eyes beginning to glow. Kenetari jerked her knee up into his gut, suddenly reminded of Everglade, and moved her sword against his throat. Jason reacted quickly, stabbing her through the side. They both froze. This was the first time the Whitestar siblings had drawn blood from each other. Kenetari lowered her head, listening to the sound of Jason’s breathing. His sword pulled from her body slowly, causing another shot of pain. Her long hair mingled with the wound, stinging faintly. So he wouldn’t use his magic. If he did, he could kill her easily. He wasn’t even trying. Kenetari cut across his chest, stomach and shoulders, her blade moving so fast Jason could barely respond. He started striking back but she’d already wounded him too heavily. He dropped to his knees, voluntarily releasing hold of his sword. He seemed on the edge of tears, his body shaking like a beaten dog. Kenetari bent, tucking a strand of hair behind her brother’s ear. She’d been waiting such a long time to tell him this.
****
Markus found the rest of the group in a state of shock in the inn’s sitting room when he finally woke up that morning. As soon as he stepped across the threshold, Ross’s head raised and lowered. The blond didn’t look like he’d even really seen him. “Laur, what’s going on?” Markus blinked. Laura looked up at him with a weak little smile. “Anella’s gone, and-” “They’re dead,” Maria said, staring at him accusingly. “Who?” Markus prompted, his stomach sinking. It wasn’t hard to tell that a good seven people were missing. “All of them,” Kylara snapped. She got up and took hold of her collar, glaring into his face. Immediately, Laura and Ross got up and drew their bows, aiming them at Kylara’s back. “Because I let you live, you stupid selfish son of a bitch. It was what Ashlin wanted but she was wrong about a lot of things. What the hell was I thinking?” “Ky-” Maria tried to interrupt. “Shut up!” Her voice got harsher. “The Wildflowers, Prince Markus. I failed to kill you and our employer massacred all of them.” “Ashlin chose this, Ky, not him. She put all of us in danger and she chose to lose to him. This is not his fault and it isn’t yours-” “If he was dead, wouldn’t none of this have happened?” Kylara cut her off again.
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Post by Markus Everglade on Dec 17, 2013 19:04:04 GMT -5
“We don’t know that. Kenetari probably would have killed them all anyway, just as she tried to have us killed.” “All I know is I gave up a chance to save everyone I care about to keep this boy alive. This stupid boy who doesn’t care about anything but looking nice, keeping every one of his hairs in place and denying his lust for his own servant so he can make his father just proud enough not to hate him. Thank God I didn’t slit his throat when I had the chance.” “Ross, let me kill her,” Laura said. Ross opened his mouth but couldn’t seem to think of anything to say. That was a first. Markus pushed Kylara away and stood before her, feet firmly planted. He pulled down the collar of his tunic, so he could reveal a clean shot of his neck. “If you think killing me will solve anything, go ahead. You spared my life so I’m giving you the chance to take it.” “Markus, what in the hell?” Ross burst. “You’re going to pull this?” Kylara smirked. “Really?” She drew a knife and placed it against his neck. “I kill people for a living, pretty boy. What makes you think I would hesitate to kill you?” “Because, for some reason, you hesitated before. You, the hardened killer, had the chance to end my life and you didn’t do it. Yes, the second time you intended to but not by your own hand. You left it up to someone else. If you ever really, truly thought that my death would solve your problems I would have been six feet under roughly an hour after we met. Am I wrong?” She lowered her knife and shoved his collar back into place. “Fuck you.” “How do you know that they’re dead?” “I can show you. Whether or not I want to is up for debate. You might not be worth dirtying my sword but you really aren’t worth dealing with beyond necessary, two to three word conversations either.” “There’s a sharp object I’d really like to introduce you to and for once, it’s not in my pants,” Ross snapped. “Ross, I think you should probably have that looked at,” Laura commented. “Role of person in the room not clouded by their emotions is so open right now,” Maria said dryly. “Kylara, I understand that the only reason you’ve continued to accompany the group is because you and my brother have the same goal: to take out that woman. Shouldn’t you then share with him every bit of useful information you have? I understand that the information you gather last night hasn’t even been communicated.” Ketra crossed her legs, fingers laced around her knee, eyebrows raised. Markus was really glad that expression wasn’t, for once, aimed at him. Rose sat beside her, looking confused in an irritated way. Where, where were the others? Alive, dead? Anella was gone… gone where? Why was no one really telling him anything at all? Markus put his fake smile back on and kept waiting. “Just him,” Kylara said finally. “Come with me.” “No way, he is not going anywhere alone with you, psycho. You’re almost as crazy and Kenetari-” Ross started. Kylara launched her fist at him, stopping it just before his face. He didn’t flinch. “I may be a coward but you are not going to stop me from doing my job, ‘sweetheart’.” “Fine, you useless whore. The archer girl and Maria come with me. Then it’s even.” “Maria’s fucking magic-” “So am I,” Markus cut him off, way more confidently than he felt. “Neither of them touches a hair on his head, Ross. I promise you.” Laura squeezed Ross’s hand. Ross opened his mouth then shut it again and just nodded. Kylara started walking and Maria, Laura and Markus followed. She led them upstairs, to her own room, and stopped in the doorway. Markus stared down at a bed intently for the second time that day. This time, there were little rocks scattered all over it, three glowing the rest black. “Ashlin was a Light trace blood, and somewhat of an empath because of it. She imbued these stones with the essence of each Wildflowers life-force. If we die… they go out. And, this morning, when I woke up… they were all dark.” “Oh.” Markus let the air drain out of lungs. He… hadn’t really wanted to believe her before. After all, if there wasn’t a pile of bodies lying in front of him, why should he believe that people Kylara had sent to another country were dead? Markus glanced at Laura.
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Post by Markus Everglade on Dec 17, 2013 19:05:24 GMT -5
She still looked incredibly skeptical. “How, exactly, do you tell those apart? Who are the three left?” “When you touch them, you see that person in your head.” Maria dropped one into Laura’s palm. Laura raised an eyebrow, but nodded. “That is… was… Nora. The three left are Kylara, Lila and myself.” “Lila?” “Our other best friend. I think you might understand the concept.” “And they might very well be torturing her as we speak. We find Kenetari and we find her as soon as possible.” Kylara’s teeth were gritted. Laura still didn’t look particularly impressed. Markus took the stone from her. The dark haired girl, Nora, flashed before his mind. Her head was bowed, eyes lowered but darting up. He tried to capture Laura’s skepticism- after all, this was a memory of the one time he’d met her- and then the image shifted several more times. Nora fighting, Nora sleeping, Nora talking and laughing. Things and expressions he had never seen and, with his hazy memory of her, couldn’t really have fully imagined. This was like a picture in his head. His fingers closed over the stone and he closed his eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” “Markus, have you taken a moment to think everything about the two of them might be a lie?” Laura gave Kylara and Maria icy stares. “They work for a woman called the illusionist. What if everything they’ve done, everything they’ve said it a lie meant to bring us right before Kenetari’s feet?” “Really?” Kylara looked completely disgusted. “You’re right, it’s completely unreasonable to assume two people who tried to kill my best friend two to three times might be lying to him. I’m a ridiculous human being. Maybe I’d be a little more apt to believe you if any of your actions so far made any sense at all.” “We did exactly what Kenetari told us to do, to the letter, until the moment I was captured. Don’t you try and pin any of this shit on me.”
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Post by Markus Everglade on Dec 17, 2013 19:08:05 GMT -5
“What, and you just want me to trust you? You’ve emotionally manipulated Markus since the moment he saw you and you could probably keep doing it. He forgives, Kylara, but I don’t.” “Is that a threat, midget?” “Do you think I’m scared of you? In the slightest?” “I think you’re a stupidly overconfident child.” Laura didn’t answer, but her mouth set in a line. The bow, still in her hand, rose very slightly. She could probably shoot Kylara in the leg at this angle, but she wouldn’t. “Markus, please don’t tell me you believe all of this.” “I honestly have no idea what to believe anymore,” Markus told her quietly. The stone was still in his hand, cold against his sweating palm, still sending images of someone he’d only briefly met through his head. An illusion. “Every last choice I’ve made on this journey has been wrong, and it’s has had near deadly consequences.” “Well I’m not going to argue with that,” Kylara said dryly. “I’m sure willing to give you one more chance to be useful.” “Only because it benefits you.” Laura toyed with the string of her bow. “Why doesn’t one of you go ahead and cry? I’m sure that would convince him.” This was only going to get worse from here. Markus took a deep breath. “Laura, you’re probably right. We’re probably about to walk directly into a trap. The thing is, Anella is still missing and it seems like she isn’t the only one. We can’t leave innocent people alone out there when all of this is going on, whether or not Kylara is-” “Full of shit?” “You can say it like that, yes.” “I would also be full of shit in this scenario.” Maria raised her hand. Laura threw a glare at her. “You’re right, Anella isn’t the only one.” Juliet came into the room, supporting Gabriel. The blacksmith looked… ruffled. His hair was every which way, his clothes torn, blood was welling on his bent knee. Markus got the feeling this was going to be another one of those days. “Gabriel came back earlier this morning, having narrowly escaped Kenetari’s forces. They have Queen Rea and her knights and I’m fairly sure they have Anella and Raythor as well. He tried to leave last night.” “You’re sure he was taken? That Anella’s with him?” Markus refocused on Juliet entirely. Maybe if the subject shifted, Laura and Kylara would stop glaring at each other in the background. “You did say ‘tried’.” “I said tried because I think they took him as he was leaving. There were signs of a struggle in the snow. I can’t tell how many people are involved, but it was definitely multiple people and someone was definitely dragged away.” “Doesn’t the little thief sound like she knows what she’s talking about.” Kylara rolled her eyes. Markus turned to look at her, his very fakest smile on his face. “If you really want to fool me for the third time, you’re probably going to want to be a little nicer to my friends. Now Laura, Laura can handle it and she’ll probably beat you up for it but I don’t know Juliet as well yet and I really don’t want you hurting her feelings. Is that clear?” “Great, now the least threatening person in the room is going to have a go at me. Fantastic. I didn’t think this day could get better, but oh was I wrong. And you know what? You obviously don’t know me either if you think your diplomatic, effeminate face or your stupid, worthless title is going to intimidate me.” “I know more about you than I think you do.” “Please. One of us is trained to gather information, the other to-” “Lie?” The smile didn’t change at all. Kylara looked a little taken aback at that. “I’ll admit, I really should have guessed the first time, when you didn’t kill me, when you so cheerfully took my money that you were lying to me. I should have guessed it when you waited until I was injured in the battle at Rea’s castle to help me but I didn’t. I’m too trusting. I always have been and it’s always gotten me into trouble. I haven’t learned to lie as well as I should have but I do seem to have you convinced that I’d be willing to listen to any word that comes out of your mouth.” Bluff, bluff, bluff. Keep that shocked expression on her face, Markus. Yelling is not going to work and insults aren’t going to work. If you want her on your side for this next fight, and you’re going to need every sword you can get if Kenetari has really taken Anella and the others. “You’re a trained killer. A spy. A liar, just like me. You’ve never even given me Maria’s last name, but that’s fine because I know it already. I’ve known it for a while.” “Really?” She was actually listening to him now. He was slipping a little, he knew that, but he had gained ground at least. “Just before the Carinian war, there were terrible burnings of supposedly rebellious peasants in Caltha. You asked me how I felt about them and the truth is I was devastated. It was one of the main reasons I went to war because I couldn’t do anything directly. I memorized the list of victims, though. Repeated them to myself every time I couldn’t handle it on the battle field. One of them was named Rowan Waterwind.” Maria sharply drew in breath. Markus had guessed right. “I really think it’s sweet that you’ve been fighting at your sister in laws side all this time, Maria Waterwind.” The room stayed quiet, everyone but Gabriel staring at him. Markus wasn’t sure how this was going at all now. “Now, a month ago I helped Maria get you back from a very dangerous place, Kylara. It was a trap, it was a test and myself and my friends could easily have died. Well here we are again, with our situations almost reversed. I need your help so if you’re really with me, help me now. Help yourself keep the last three Wildflowers lit.” “Someone else knew his name,” Maria said softly. Kylara glanced at her then clenched her fist. “Nice heroic speech. You get the other idiots ready. Maria and I will be out in a minute.” “Of course.” He nodded and turned to leave. Laura and the others, all smiling at him, followed after.
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Post by Markus Everglade on Dec 17, 2013 19:08:25 GMT -5
****
Anella had spent the night alternating between fitful slumber against the stone wall of her cell and waiting for Raythor to wake up. Because there was literally nothing in the room with them, she’d had to rest his head on her lap. In any other situation, this would have kept her blushing on a fairly constant basis but all she was now was… tired. Very, very tired. The things she’d done last night, what she’d said, were things she wouldn’t have been able to imagine a month ago. That… that didn’t matter either. All that did was getting both of them out of here alive. “Anella?” Raythor blinked up at her hazily. He didn’t seem to know where he was. Anella swallowed, hoping he hadn’t gotten another concussion. “What happened?” He moved his hand to brush his head and touched her leg instead. Raythor sat up fast. “Sorry.” “It’s f-fine. We… K-Kenetari tried t-to t-take m-me and-” “And I told you I was a serial killer.” He looked ready to start cursing. “Well… we have to get you out of here, as quickly as possible. I bet Kenetari is going to ritually execute us or something.” “W-what a-about y-you?” “You remember I killed my parents in cold blood, right?” “Y-you don’t,” she pointed out softly. “Does that make a difference?” She stayed silent for a minute. Despite all this time, she really hadn’t thought about that question. Hadn’t really wanted to face it. Anella nodded. “Y-yes. To m-me, y-yes.” “Not to me. I can’t forgive myself.” “Y-you owe m-me.” “What?” “For c-carrying you. Y-you owe m-me a favor.” “Cashing in before the store closes?” Raythor asked sarcastically. Anella actually took that as a good sign. “I w-want you t-to h-help me e-escape. I-if we live, w-we’re even.” “What if we don’t?” Anella shrugged, shaking her head. “H-have any i-ideas?” “Any idea how many guards we have outside that door?” He stood up, wavering a little. “I’m n-not sure.” Anella stood too, folding her hands against her chest. Raythor didn’t look good. They needed to get him to a healer, needed to let him rest but that wasn’t going to be possible. Not for a while at least. She extended a hand out to him. He flinched. She pulled her hand back, something in her sinking just a little. “They b-blindfolded m-me on the w-way d-down here. I r-really c-can’t say w-where w-we are.” Raythor scanned the stone box around them. “Not really too many indicators either. The door is wood, though. Given time we could break it. The problem is, I’m not sure we have time.” “C-can you p-pick the l-lock?” “I’m not sure why type it is. I need a tool either way, and if there are guards I kind of doubt they’re going to sit back and let me pick it. It would probably make enough noise for them to hear.” “So w-we need to k-know i-if there a-are g-guards, m-most of all?” “Well, yeah, but-” Anella opened her mouth and screamed at the top of her lungs. Raythor, bewildered, didn’t move a muscle. A chorus of voices erupted outside and Anella realized that they were arguing over who had to go in. They were scared of Raythor. Anella met his eyes, willing him to understand what she was about to do. The door finally opened and a guard came in, sword in hand. Four or five were behind him in the hallway, hands at their hilts. The man in the room glanced at Raythor nervously. “Why did you scream, girl?” “H-he…. H-he w-woke u-up and h-he is a… a s-serial k-killer… I-I’m a-alone w-with a s-serial k-killer….” Anella threw in a sniff she hoped wasn’t too theatrical. “He try to hurt you?” “H-he’s g-going to, I-I k-know h-he i-is.” “I’m a crazy f**ker.” Raythor gave the guard a very disturbing version of his half grin. The guard looked very uneasy, only half turning his head to converse with the other guards. “What do we do? Should we move her? She’ll keep screaming if we don’t….” “Only ‘til she dies,” Raythor said conversationally. “They always stop screaming after that, it’s my favorite part.” “We should move her. She wants to kill this one herself, both of them,” one of the guards in the hallway said. “Well, we have to ask her where to put her. If it’s somewhere she doesn’t like, she’ll detach our heads from our bodies,” another chimed in. “One of you go tell her then,” the guard in the room snapped back. “I’ll stay here and make sure neither of them kills the other one. That door stays open and the rest of you stay put, swords out.” The guard at the back of the group quickly left. Five sets of eyes stayed staring at Anella and Raythor. Kenetari coming down here or the two of them being separated was not a good way for this to go. Anella had to think of something, or hope that Raythor did. Fighting was out of the question. They were unarmed, Raythor was still hurt and she was sleep deprived. They’d only end up worse off than they were if they tried. So what were they supposed to do now? “You all seem pretty scared of Kenetari.” Raythor crossed his arms. “I can see why, she did put a tiger in a cage didn’t she?” “Tiger has no claws.” The guard aimed his sword at Raythor. Raythor put up his hands, mockingly implying surrender. “Hey, no need to get so anxious. I’m an unarmed man here. I was only going after the one without the weapons; I have a very specific way of doing things. You know, while people are sleeping. With a knife. Really gets everywhere if you get the right vein in the neck.” He moved his thumb to tap his neck. The guard was beginning to look physically ill. “Sorry, am I bothering you? People always look at me like that, it’s weird.” Raythor glanced at Anella. She met his eyes and, very slowly, they started moving closer to each other. “Now, I’m really not picky about who I go after when those criteria are met. I mean, obviously I did in my own parents so pretty much anyone’s fair game but I really prefer to know the victim. I knew them really well and I kind of get nostalgia from my first kill, you know?” He put his arm around Anella’s waist. Even though she’d been expecting it, she shivered. “The same thing kind of goes for knives- I don’t actually need them but they really just feel so right in my hands.” “Hey, now don’t do anything stupid.” The guard’s eyes had widened to a ridiculous degree. “If you kill her Kenetari’s going to kill all of us.” “Wow, I don’t remember the part where I gave a damn. Did I miss it?” Raythor started guiding her toward the door. The guard was completely frozen. Anella wondered if she should start faking distressed noises. She settled on a distressed face instead. They started sliding past the guards who seemed too terrified to do anything. Anella was slightly fascinated by it. They
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Post by Markus Everglade on Dec 17, 2013 19:11:17 GMT -5
were armed, after all. They could just stab him in the leg or something- or did they think he was going to snap her neck before they could? By the expressions on their faces, she was guessing that’s probably what they were thinking. This was working, for now, but they were going to hit stairs or a dead end eventually and that was going to be a very serious problem. There was also the very real possibility there would soon be guards behind them and…. Raythor stopped. Yep. There was someone behind them. “Hello, boys.” Maya smiled at all of them. “Kenetari sent me down here to take of this personally, didn’t she Charles?” Her hand was on the shoulder of the guard who had run upstairs. He nodded numbly. “So why don’t you turn around and go back to your post? These two are my problem now.” “I really don’t think you should be left alone with the Karian killer,” the guard who had been in Anella and Raythor’s cell said doubtfully. “Yeah, I’m still probably going to kill her,” Raythor agreed. “I’m kind of just waiting for the right atmosphere, I am all about atmosphere.” Maya put her hand on his shoulder and Raythor, admirably, didn’t flinch. “You don’t want to do that. You want to let her go.” Raythor let her go. Anella looked at him with concern and he just looked confused. Visibly confused. Anella swallowed hard. “Charles, please subdue Miss Nightheart. I have the Karian Killer under control.” “Apparently you do.” The guard shook his head. “I’m sorry, I forgot about your magic. Say hello to Kenetari for us. That always makes her less likely to kill us next time we do something she doesn’t like.” “Will do.” She nodded, watching them go. Then she put her hand back on Charles’s shoulder. “Listen, Raythor, I’ve had a very, very bad day and the last person who was actually nice to me was you. So I’m going to let you and Stutters go. He isn’t going to tell anyone, so don’t worry about that.” “What did you just do to my head?” Raythor asked. “You know the Prince? How he has powers?” “I actually wasn’t aware of that.” “Right then. Well, I have the same sort of powers. I’d let you know how they work but then you’d use that against me later. So get out of here before I change my mind.” “You are not doing this because I danced with you.” Raythor’s voice went back to its normal flatness. “No, I’m doing this because Kenetari wants you and her more than anything and I’m taking that away from her.” “That makes much more sense. Come on Anella, there was a window back there. We’re jumping out of it.”
“Where are we even going?” Ross asked, in a very loud whisper. The assassins, who were leading, looked back at him disapprovingly. Juliet was behind them, with Ketra and Blade. Then it was the three of them, Laura, Markus and Ross, with Rose holding up the stubborn Gabriel. He hadn’t let them leave him behind. Laura supposed she respected that, if it were Markus who were missing she wouldn’t let any sort of injury stop her from trying to find him. “We’re following Thunder. If a dog can’t find its master, I don’t know who can,” Markus said. “I think Juliet explained it.” “But was I listening? I can’t remember.” “I’m going to need you to focus, Ross.” “Why? We don’t even know what we’re doing, really.” “That’s why, because we’re so lost already. Anything we could see could be the clue we need.” “Well, what did Maria learn last night?” Laura asked. “They weren’t exactly communicative with either of us, Markus.” “She told me that Kenetari is trying to get some sort of hold on all six countries, to get to Laina and that she’s been luring all of us here. I guess that entails sending all the countries heirs on missions like this, and we’re too pigheaded to tell our parents about any of this.” Markus grimaced. “Which is probably true.” “Going to write Audrion, Markus?” “As soon as I can get to it….” “Hey.” Maria stopped, beckoning them all over to her. “We’ve got blood. It’s dried, so probably from last night. We’ve also got at least three sets of footprints and a drag line.” “Just like I said. Anyone who was bleeding that much probably needed a drag line,” Juliet agreed. “I believe those are my queen’s footprints,” Gabriel said patiently. He knelt, pointing at the snow. “She has custom soles, with flowers. This print bears those marks.” “Then this is the queen and her knights little crime scene, not Raythor and Anella’s,” Maria said. “Or they’re all together.” Juliet helped Gabriel back up, and Rose took up helping him again. Rose already looked a little long suffering. Laura had found her dislike for her had lessened considerably since last night. After all, Laura disliked her for being the one who was going to get to take her place as the person closest to Markus, not for anything the princess had done. “It would be easier if all of our marks were in the same place.” Maria shrugged. Laura shivered a little at her slip into her profession’s terminology. “But I don’t think we should just assume that. We don’t even know if Kenetari has Raythor and Anella. Markus absently put his cloak around Laura’s shoulders. “Hey, for once I remembered but you didn’t. The difference is you’re going to freeze, and I’m not.” “Your powers irritate me so,” she returned. “Not as much as they’re going to irritate my father.” He smiled and turned back to Maria. “Then we should split into two groups.” “I assume you’re going to pick them, Prince of Competence?” Kylara rolled her eyes for roughly the thousandth time that morning. “Well, we’ll need at least one archer, one sword user and a magic user for each group,” he ignored her, “so Laura, Maria, Juliet, Gabriel and I will search on the assumption that they’re all together. Kylara, Ketra, Blade, Rose and Ross can go after the queen only, because we know that she’s missing and that this is her trail. Does that work for you?” “I guess so,” Kylara sighed. “Aye aye, captain.” Ross saluted with two fingers. “Look after them, Ross,” Markus said, with note of seriousness. Ross nodded. “Well, all of you, we’re searching for more footprints. Keep up or I leave you behind,” Kylara ordered. She and the four members of her new group followed, leaving Laura and hers behind. “So we get the dog then? That’s pretty lucky.” Maria knelt to pet Thunder’s head. He stuck out his tongue and looked blissfully happy. “He’s doing a really good job tracking as loudly as he possibly can, aren’t you sweetie?” His head jerked up and he started running. “Alright then, I guess there goes our lead.” “Or possibly a rabbit,” Juliet returned. Laura was pretty sure they were just arguing with each other for the sake of arguing now. This was doubtlessly going to give her a headache, or would if she didn’t have a terrible one already from her hangover. She looked back at the dog. She didn’t want to think about last night. She was fine with it, but she did not want to think about it. “Laura.” Markus gripped her shoulder. “I don’t think we’re alone.” He started scanning the trees. She stopped, drawing her bow. “Where?” “Up!” Maria pulled the confused Gabriel down. Laura stepped in front of Markus protectively just as an arrow hit the ground in front of them. She shot back, hitting and felling one of the men in the trees. The man next to him returned fire and an arrow hurtled to her face. She sucked in breath, ready to die. She didn’t. The light around her seemed to have hardened into a solid object: a shield. “Sorry you had to find out this way, guys,” Juliet said. The arrow hit the ground. The remaining five men in the tree immediately refocused on her. Her eyes glowed and Laura numbly watched the shield widen. She let her muscles take over and she and Maria, who had stood back up and was using a combination of blue magic and knives, took out the remaining archers. “Thank you for saving my life,” Laura offered.
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Post by Markus Everglade on Dec 17, 2013 19:17:54 GMT -5
“Any friend of the prince is a friend of mine.” Juliet smiled. “If those were Kenetari’s men, we must be somewhere she doesn’t want us to be. Everyone agree we should keep going?” “Sounds good,” Maria said, with a little forced hostility. She seemed to have warmed up to Juliet the second she saw her using magic. Well, Maria was turning out to be far from alone in the elementist department anyway. Or maybe Juliet was a “trace blood” or an “elementi” or some such other nonsense. It didn’t really matter. Juliet had saved her life. The blonde moved to help Gabriel up. “Are you still alright?” “I’m fine.” He was looking increasingly bewildered. Laura hoped that Kenetari’s men hadn’t hit him on the head. “Shall we continue on our way? It appears that Thunder has waited for us.” The black dog stood between the trees, his tail wagging furiously. He kept looking over his shoulder and then at Juliet. They started toward him, now all scanning the trees as best they could. “Laura, are you alright?” Markus asked. Laura realized that now he was the one who was shaking. “You almost just….” “I’m untouched, nothing to worry about.” “You almost just died for me.” “My job is to protect you and, if necessary, die for you.” “It shouldn’t be like that. You’re my best friend, Laur, if Juliet-” “Everglade comes first, doesn’t it?” Laura asked pointedly. Very reluctantly, he nodded. “Then don’t worry about it. We just have to keep moving.”
Chapter Seventeen
Atonement
Raythor had never been happier to see trees. Anella could go into the forest and run away, escape everything he’d dragged her into. Of course, the archers up in those trees waiting to kill them were kind of a downer but one he could deal with. After all, the Karian Killer card had worked before, with a dash of luck. Maybe he could try that again, but he couldn’t fathom why they wouldn’t just shoot him on sight. Maybe scream as they did so. Of course, maybe Anella could escape while they were filling him with holes so this could become a solid plan. He decided to go for it. “Hey, you cowardly sons of bitches.” Raythor walked forward, forcing a smirk and bracing himself. “Did you become archers because holding a sword was just too heavy for you?” “Raythor, w-what…?” “Hold your fire.” Kenetari, her hand raised to dismiss her men, stood in front of him. “These two are mine.” “Bring it on,” Raythor responded blankly. He shifted into a fighting stance. Maybe he could punch her to death before she stabbed his guts out or ordered all those trained snipers he’d just insulted to shoot him in the face. Oh yeah, that was likely. “Oh Raythor, did you really think I let you go so easily? I’m not as wasteful as that.” “I wasn’t aware you let us get anywhere.” His vision was starting to spot again. He really wished he could stop experiencing terrible head trauma; it was really not good for his coordination. Or ability to see. Or walk in a straight line. “I thought the point of dungeons was to keep people in them.” Behind him, he heard Anella make a little sound of surprise. “She p-put u-us t-together… l-left u-us w-with the C-Calthan guards… h-had M-Maya t-turn t-them b-back a-and l-let u-us g-go… Raythor, I-I think s-she-” “Planned this? Very good, little mouse,” Kenetari said. “If you didn’t make it this far, there was no point in facing an unworthy opponent. But you’re everything I thought you were, Raythor. Catch.” She threw him a sheathed sword. He grabbed it, only nearly missing. Screw you, impaired coordination, he thought. He was pretty sure that was that last thing he was going to be able to do right today. “Pallas, heal what you can for me.” “Yes, of course.” A meek, colorless light elementist trotted up to her side. Raythor watched the diamond on Pallas’s forehead light up. Suddenly, the pounding in his head reduced drastically and all the little cuts and bruises he’d gotten disappeared entirely. “Now you’re ready, Raythor. I’ve been waiting to kill you personally for such a long time.” She drew her sword. “Why do you give a damn about me?” Raythor asked. He needed yet another new idea. There were not a lot of ways he could see to squeeze out of this situation. Right now all he could do was fight, try and win and try again to get Anella out of her alive. Human shield was sounding pretty viable. “You really don’t remember me, do you?” Kenetari shook her head. She took a step forward. “Only from the last charming conversation we had and you seem so much more stable since then… wait, no you don’t. Sorry, I got confused. I get hit in the head a lot.” This, for some reason, made her laugh. “Oh Raythor, if only you knew what you just said. Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter. Let’s end this.” Kenetari sent her sword swinging at his head, so quickly he barely managed to block. His own blade came dangerously close to his face, suspended above his nose. She moved her sword back and slashed at him over and over, leaving him on the very shaky defensive. Raythor didn’t have time to watch her movements, couldn’t establish a pattern. There was no sort of opening for him to do so. Beads of sweat started trickling down his face but Kenetari seemed completely unaffected. Everything he did, she seemed able to predict and to make doing so easy. Raythor supposed he would go down fighting. At least now he had saved more lives than he had taken nine years ago, at least attempted to atone for what he’d done. Sure, maybe Anella would have to watch his probably gruesome death but she could move on from that. The adrenaline would help her run faster. He kind of hoped she’d already started running; actually, there was no way anyway was bothering looking at her when there was some really great death coming up. He was almost excited about it himself. The sword flew from his hand, snapping his wrist back with it. Kenetari pushed him to the ground, pressing the point of her sword to his throat. She had the strangest look on her face, one tinged with an emotion he couldn’t identify. “P-please n-no….” Anella begged, trying to raise her voice. Raythor half grinned a little bigger than usual, peering up into the face of his angel of death. “Before he dies I want you to know the truth,” Kenetari said evenly. “The truth of what?” Raythor asked dully. She should get this over with; there was nothing she could say that would actually matter. “The truth of nine years ago.” “Oh, there’s the surprise of the century- I’m the Karian Killer, I killed my parents. It’s a charming story but I don’t think I have time to tell it right now. Sorry about that one.” “You haven’t changed at all, Raythor. I have. Really, I was never theirs, Raythor,” she said. She seemed to be staring through him now, not at him. “I was born their first child but I renounced that life when the one I was meant for came to find me. They’ve been gone a long time and I’m Sabbath’s daughter now. Where I’ve belonged since the day I was born.” “I’m going to humor you here- who the hell are you talking about?” “Kari and Hector. My birth parents.” “I really don’t understand what that has to do with me.” “You don’t understand?” Kenetari was practically shouting at him now. “You don’t know their first names of your own parents, Kari and Hector Karian? How could you go so long, thinking you killed them, and not even know their names?” “That… that isn’t possible, I’m an only child.” Raythor shook his head numbly. “And you remember that, do you?” “I don’t remember much of anything before they were killed,” he told her flatly. “Why are you fucking with my head?” His brain was working so slowly. What had she even said? That she was Kari and Hector’s first born, making her Raythor’s…. “Come on, Raythor,” Kenetari’s voice stung at his ears, “say my name….” “Vera,” Raythor heard himself say. In that single word, in her name, there was everything. His parents lay in their bed, throats cut and red soaking everything in sight. He hadn’t been able to move from the room for a long time, his trembling hands dripping with blood and his body paralyzed with fear. The nightmare that had brought him to their chamber had become real and no matter what he did nothing seemed to what him up. Raythor made himself back up, out of that horrible room, bare feet squelching over the engorged floor as he moved. He screamed her name, starting to shake. It felt like hours before she came, her dark silhouette reflected in his mother’s mirror. “Vera,” Raythor whimpered. He turned and wrapped his arms around his sister’s waist. She shoved him off, her cold eyes boring into him. He swallowed hard. “Should I kill him too?” She asked, eyes fixed on a point behind him. There was a silence and Raythor could hear his heart pounding in his chest. He knew she would do it, without a second thought. “Of course.” He watched, terrified, as she raised a black dagger and pulled her arm back. Raythor, his eyes drying out and unblinking and his breathing manic, protectively crossed his arms over his face. Vera merely attacked the arm in front, ripping into his kin and leaving deep cuts behind. She kept him retreating until his back was up against the mirror. “Go ahead, Raythor,” Vera taunted, “cry like you always do.” He shook his head, already so blinded by tears that he could barely see her face. He wouldn’t make a sound. Her teeth barred furiously and she raised her dagger again, beginning to stab the point through his wrist. Raythor cried out, striking out his uninjured hand and knocking her weapon to the ground. She made a sound of frustration and reached her arm out. Raythor got a clear view of her hate filled face before she wound her fingers through his hair, digging her nails into his scalp. Before he knew what was happening, she was bashing his head into the glass. Raythor felt an intense stab of pain and his vision blinked in and out. Shards of glass flew past him and hit the ground. His body felt like it was screaming at him in a nightmare pitch but he wouldn’t make a sound. Not again, he refused to make her happy. Vera cracked his skull into the mirror over and over until he had lost consciousness, driven into the dark by pain and overwhelming blood loss. Then, he was sure that he, like his parents, would not wake up again. Really, that Raythor, the seven year old who knew he was innocent, never had. The Karian Killer had woken up in his place and that person had always wished that he hadn’t woken up at all.
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