by SunnyJustice » Mon Jan 09, 2017 2:15 am
Rowan was speechless. He hadn't been expecting Gwen to react like that. He would have mistaken this for a dream, except his vision was still aglow with a wondrous array of lights. All these lights, at the center a melody of green and violet, intertwined with the glow from the sky and the trees... this was what Rowan imagined heaven to look like. A place where nobody would ever have to fear the dark, because there would always be light.
"Thank you," he whispered, simply listening with overwhelming gratitude as she spoke. His hand was no longer trembling, and he just let it rest on Gwen's cheek. This was not what he had done to the redheaded guard. Rowan would not kill Gwen, he would never kill Gwen.
"I promise the same for you," he said and linked his pinky finger with hers. "Whenever you feel the darkness, I'll be here to bring you back to the light."
Relieved beyond belief, he pulled Gwen into his arms and held her like a teddy bear. Now that neither of them were tortured by either guilt nor darkness, Rowan felt himself growing drowsy. He wished he could fall asleep in Lily's arms again, but Gwen was a trusted friend he could hug too. He felt safe here, safe and warm. Seeing this place, seeing the sun in all its glory with his new vision... it gave Rowan renewed resolve to help bring light back to his country. To turn Hesenia away from the dark place it had become. Rowan knew it could be so much more.
"INSOLENT YOUTH!" Cadence roared as she stormed through the front door. She hadn't found those ridiculous teenagers who thought they could just murder her villagers and survive. Of course, the bodies were also missing. The teenagers hadn't disposed of the bodies, instead a couple adult soldiers who stalked them had. It was like Alastair had predicted someone in the village had Gwen's power. Just like during the big battle itself.
Obviously Cadence had violently murdered those soldiers, by making their heads explode with her telekinesis. She never found out their powers since they didn't really fight back. Probably Alastair would have done worse to them if he saw their faces again. Cadence hated that delinquent. Alastair's mother had obviously not hit him enough.
Ignoring the blood splattered on her, she smashed through the remains of the front door. The door itself was completely destroyed, now she was just breaking the wooden frame surrounding it. "WHO IS UP THERE?" she roared, pointing upstairs. "IS ANYONE DESECRATING MY HOME?!"
"I'm Gavotte," the brunette responded to the new boy. "Mayor Cadence's son. I've heard about you."
He kept a careful eye on Rowan and Gwen. Because of Gavotte's power, he would easily be able to notice the subtlest changes in the two teenagers. On a normal day in the village, his father would be healing and Gavotte would be helping. He was great at spotting anything that was out of the ordinary.
Cyprian, of course, was too dense to look at the scenery. He was just focused tightly on walking ahead, although he did realize Jaai was... crying? Cyprian frowned and was about to ask, but then Jaai explained. The boy nodded in understanding. Of course she was a great actor.
"Alright. Got it. I'll just act normal, so my mom doesn't pick up on anything... she might act super stupid, but she can see right through you." Cyprian scowled, thinking of his parents. Oh how he wanted to beat them both up.
---
Extra: "Drunk On Sunshine"
Five years ago...
Ah, Tacet loved dinnertime. It was his favorite meal of the day. Every morning he would rise with the sun, and climb onto the roof for breakfast. Second breakfast came a few hours later, then lunch. But his favorite meal had always been dinner. Tacet loved to lie in the warm glow of the setting sun, staring into its life-giving light.
Today was the winter solstice, and his meals were shorter than usual. He had decided to lie on the roof all day long. Since he lived in Windwoods, the weather was always perfect and temperate. it was ideal for a man who was mostly plant.
"Tacet!" his wife's familiar shrieking voice snapped him out of his trance.
"Yes, my sweet?" Tacet murmured, his mind still in a dreamlike haze. He looked over the edge of his roof, making eye contact with his furious spouse. Her blonde hair was rising in the air as her telekinesis went awry.
"You've been cheating on me with Solara all day long!" Cadence roared. "Get down here and spend time with your family!"
"Yes, my dove." Tacet smiled as he slid off the roof. He landed gracefully on both feet, his strength and agility enhanced after almost a full day of photosynthesizing.
"I can't believe the amount of time you spent with the other woman today," Cadence snapped as she pointed towards the sun. She would constantly berate Tacet for his time sunbathing. The village had personally been blessed by Queen Solara herself, which had irritated Cadence from the start. Tacet needed to photosynthesize, but Cadence considered it to be adultery because that was Solara's light.
Tacet chuckled. "I'll come inside."
"You better." Cadence grabbed him by the collar, a normal thing for her to do, and dragged him into the house. She walked him over to the couch, and Tacet was half expecting her to chain him there, but she just left.
"Gavotte already made dinner, and you missed it!" she nagged before disappearing down the hall. "I'm getting the kids. We're going to watch a movie together, as a family. You can forget about sunbathing for supper!"
With a warm chuckle, Tacet leaned back on the couch. Soon Cadence was back with the teenagers, and they put on Home Alone 2. Of course, Cadence kept on pinching Tacet to keep him awake. By the time it was over, the sun had already set. Tacet felt uncomfortable coldness starting to seep through his veins as he watched the end credits. He turned to look at Cadence, who squinted and stared into his eyes.
"What's wrong with you?" she snapped. "Your eyes are turning yellow."
Tacet chuckled, despite the cold feeling growing worse. "Could you hug me?"
Cadence seemed surprised at this request, but she shrugged and put her arms around him. Tacet leaned against her shoulder and he was out cold in a second.
When he woke up, he was lying in his bed. Cadence was nowhere to be seen, but the window was open and the moon shone outside. It was past midnight, Tacet could feel it. A perk of his photosynthesis involved being able to tell relative time, since he needed to know exactly when the sun would rise.
It was a few seconds before the pain hit. It ran in his veins like ice, making him feel completely exhausted and helpless. He bit his lip and endured it, but the pain kept worsening and it didn't show any signs of relenting.
"Cadence?" Tacet called out with forced calm. He didn't know how much longer he could bear this. Darkness pressed at the corners of his vision, and the cold was closing in on his slowing heart. He could hardly breathe -- it felt like a weight was on his chest, growing heavier by the second.
"We're here!" Cadence shouted.
Heavy footsteps pounded up the stairs, then Cadence burst into the room, dragging a much taller guest. There was no mistaking Queen Solara herself. Her very presence, here in this room -- Tacet couldn't help but stare in awe. He noticed the glare Cadence gave him, but he simply couldn't look away. Solara's eyes were opened, a rare sight, and Tacet naturally yearned to gaze into them. She approached and sat on the bed, as Cadence looked on with her fists clenched. It was only then that she made direct eye contact with Tacet.
All the pain stopped then, as warmth melted the ice in his veins. The weight was lifted off his chest and he felt as light as a feather. He was locked in her warm, bright gaze, which others found impossible to look at, but he found it impossible to look away. This was what he desperately needed.
"Such lovely eyes," he whispered drowsily as he stared into the light. "You have the most wonderful eyes."
"Get your photosynthesis over with," Cadence snapped.
"Shh," Solara murmured in her deep, calm voice. Tacet couldn't tell whether she was talking to him, or to Cadence. Either way, she was actually here in this room, actually talking to them, and actually saving his life. He could just cry.
Solara gently brushed her hand across his cheek, and he sighed in contentment. It took him a moment to realize he had actually been crying from happiness, and she had wiped his tears.
"You're so warm," Tacet murmured. "Thank you... thank you for coming here."
"All in a day's work." Solara smiled, but it never reached her eyes. Not many people could notice this, because no normal people could look directly into those blindingly bright eyes.
"Shut up," Cadence snapped.
Solara chuckled. Tacet simply lay there, completely relaxed and comforted as he gazed deeply into her eyes. Eventually he began to drift off to sleep.
"Nighty night, sunshine, sweetie," Tacet whispered sleepily.
The last thing he heard was his wife's furious voice. "Have you been drinking?!"
Of course, he had. He was drunk on sunshine.