by SunnyJustice » Sat May 13, 2017 4:26 pm
Parliament Building
Alastair didn't care about the blood. He didn't even care that he was killing a child. He had already murdered many children viciously simply because they interfered with his plans, through expressing thoughts that he believed might be harmful to his position. Things like how Alastair wasn't a good leader. How everyone would be better off without him. How he killed everyone who got in his way.
As he made his way forward towards the girl, he realized something. Those thoughts weren't harmful to his position. Say what they might, words alone could not simply dethrone him. Those teenagers' opinions hurt nothing but Alastair's heart, because they spoke the truth. He did not want to accept the truth.
He would have to face the guilt of everything he had done.
Alastair found it difficult to meet Amelia's eyes this time. His anger had drained away, and he felt only a deep heartache. He saw some part of himself reflected in the wounded girl's green gaze that seemed to pierce into his soul. Or at least, the gaping hole inside him that used to contain a soul.
He took a breath and kicked his sword away from her. He raised the blade he held, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He hated this girl, this traitorous coward. Yet he just couldn't finish her off. Alastair grit his teeth in fury at himself. What was wrong with him?
Against his own wishes, he threw Amelia's sword across the room. He didn't look away from the girl, despite hearing the noise of metal clashing against stone.
"Amelia," Alastair said with surprising calmness. He placed both hands on the winged girl's face, firmly tilting it so she was facing him. "That is enough."
"What am I doing?" He thought confusedly. This was not Agatha's influence; Agatha would have done quite the opposite. In fact, she would have reduced this girl to unrecognizable remains by now. Alastair could have killed gruesomely in the past, but something had changed in him. Those days were over.
"You fought well. Besides Solara, no one else has managed to hit me." He raised his wounded arm and smiled sadly, unsure of what emotion he was feeling. Some sort of remorse and longing. It was almost like he missed his old rival and archenemy. In fact, he knew exactly what he was doing now. It was exactly what she would do.
Well, not exactly.
This wouldn't erase Amelia's blame, just like nothing could erase Alastair's blame. She was still a traitor. He was still a murderer. Not even the noblest of gestures could undo what they did. There would be no forgiveness.
But he could at least understand. Maybe they weren't so different in the end.
"It's over now," He told her without a trace of anger. "Do you have any last words?"
Alastair would understand if there was nothing to say, but maybe she did have something to get off her chest. No one else would hear her final words, no one else would come for her. No matter what she said.
... But somehow he felt compelled to listen.
---
Birvale Beach
"I missed your cookies more than I missed you," Samuel laughed. There were tears in his eyes, Ivana could easily see from here. "I'm just kidding."
Ivana was holding herself back from slapping these petty teenagers in rage. She could not believe they underestimated the Timekeepers' intelligence enough to disobey them and ruin an elaborate plan. Of course, she simply stood there with a patient smile. Since she was standing somewhat apart from the rest of the group, she didn't feel the need to respond to Vivien. She simply bowed her head at Annora.
"I have been well, Mrs. Aguado," Ivana said politely. She smiled and shook her head as she apologized about the horrible state of the cabin. "I understand completely. The situation does sound very tough."
She chuckled at Amber when she suggested moving on. Ivana nodded in agreement, sure that the plan was being changed somehow. "I agree. I personally love sports, but I am a little afraid of swimming. Watching you swim might help me overcome my fear, Mrs. Aguado."
Ivana actually wasn't scared of swimming at all. She wouldn't short-circuit like her father, even though everyone thought she would. Ivana pretended like she was terrified of water, and her classmates made a big joke of it. But the real joke was on them. Ivana knew when the time came, she could out-swim most of them.
Solara was silent this whole time. Ivana could sense something wrong. As much as she disliked the Celestial Couple with the bad first impression they made on her, she was beginning to sympathize a little.
"... Let's keep going," Solara finally said, gently placing a hand on Amber's head. There was a moment of silence from the stoic old woman before she removed her hand, descended the porch, and continued on walking. Her movements seemed just a bit slower than normal. She didn't seem to want to move too far away; Ivana knew the Queen was waiting to protect them in case anything happened.
"Of course, Your Majesty. I can't wait to reach the Sanctuary," Ivana said obediently. She bowed her head and walked after Solara, gesturing with her head for the others to come.
Ivana hated obeying someone who was of lower intellect than herself. She knew Amber knew this, too. But Annora didn't know this at all. Only Amber, and perhaps Solara, would realize Ivana was acting out of character.
After she was back in the sand, Ivana turned her head back to keep an eye on everyone.
"Come on mom!" Samuel said. "Come on Waverly. I wonder if dad's at the Sanctuary?"
Waverly just smiled, blinking hard before pulling forward on Samuel's sleeve. Ivana could see a shade of doubt in his eyes. Maybe it was about their father. Maybe it was about Annora. Ivana hoped it was both; best not to get their hopes up. They were living in dangerous times, and the real war had not yet come.
But the tension in the air said it would arrive soon enough.
---
Celestial Tower
Clotilda listened intently. She really loved learning about the Soare family, because she loved them. Of course Jonah was her favorite, she had always had a soft spot for the cute nerd since she was young. She still had notebooks with little hearts and "J. Soare" written in the margins. There was this one rough doodle with herself wearing a dapper suit. By her side was Jonah. Wearing a wedding dress.
Hopefully Alastair's people burned that one. Clove had kind of determined that Jonah would look weird in a dress. He wasn't one of the Windwoods boys. Once when she was twelve, Clotilda got frustrated since she didn't know how to admit her feelings. She lay in bed and just thought about what her 'type' even was. As cute as Windwoods boys seemed, Clove couldn't picture herself ending up with one. It would just be a boring life. To contrast, she didn't like any of the normal Capital City crew like Cyprian or those other arrogant weirdos.
She realized she wanted a relationship where they could both protect each other. Unfortunately, that realization didn't come until years later. Not until she lay dying from a bloody fight, after taking down the assassin that plotted to murder the Soares. Only when she was bleeding out alone, did she realize the value of fighting together.
If she was a phoenix, she would never repeat her mistake.
"I never knew your family had a history with the armies. Why am I not surprised?" Clotilda laughed, since she herself had no military background and no training. That was part of the reason why she couldn't beat up the other Soares. The other part of the reason, well, Clove loved them too much. They were like a second family to her. Sometimes she even loved them more than she loved her own family. Back before the Sunset Rebellion, Clove would often turn to Kelly's advice instead of her own mother's. She had probably called Kelly 'mom' more than she called Solara 'mom'.
She blushed like she had Solara's fever when Jonah kissed her forehead. "That's an easy question. Since Juniper offered us a second chance, well, I've decided I won't be stupid this time. I've always wanted to join an army, but not Ondine's because they fight alone. I'm tired of fighting alone because of what happened last time."
She wrinkled up her nose, remembering the vicious attack that cost her life. Clotilda could have made better choices, but she didn't want to get her mother involved in any way. There was a rumor that traitors had rigged up a sprinkler system in the Parliament. Clove didn't often get along with Solara, but she felt the need to protect her parents anyway.
"So I'll join an army if you do. I want to fight together. What's that wolf pack thing your family always says?"
---
[Nobody else has responded to Sanctuary posts for a week. It's time to start the nightmares! Note: Everyone at the Sanctuary is affected, and will pass out if they're still awake. People away from the Sanctuary (Amber, Alastair, etc.) will not be affected. The nightmares consist of your character's worst fear. All characters except Silas (and some of my characters) will be able to escape this curse.]
The Sanctuary...?
It was a nice night outside. It was neither too warm, nor too chilly. Timpani took her time looking around. People were just falling asleep outside without a care. Indoors, there were many people already asleep. Timpani had passed them as they went through the house to get outside. Rowan and Lily were on the couch. The adults had gone upstairs after dinner, but Luno didn't follow them. He was probably supervising everyone from somewhere.
There was only one tree in the clearing, but the trunk was very wide. They were going to the opposite side of Jennifer and Gavotte. Timpani waved at the pair in greeting, not sure if they were asleep.
She tried not to laugh when they sat down and Mayne brandished the frying pan, then suggested being used as a pillow. Timpani ended up chuckling quietly at the thought. But it was a good thought.
"Tell me if I'm crushing you," She said as she lay her head in Mayne's lap. He was a comfortable pillow, not too bony and not hard with muscle either. It was perfect.
She closed her eyes, wondering why she didn't think of this sooner. She drifted off to sleep with a smile.
That smile didn't last.
The nightmare was about to begin for everyone.
