by SunnyJustice » Tue Apr 18, 2017 3:42 pm
The Sanctuary
Gavotte smiled at Jen's approval and at the kiss. He knew Windwoods would enjoy a new Golden Age under their ruling one day. He would be the first male mayor, and Jen would be the first First Lady. It would be a time of new beginnings. Kind of like springtime.
"I'd love to sleep outside," He said as he smiled up at the moon. The soft glow was comforting, and reminded Gavotte that there was always someone watching over them.
"I think with my senses, I have a responsibility to be out here." Gavotte turned back to Jen, still smiling. "I can hear enemies coming and warn the others. It's a win win situation for us."
Rowan smiled bashfully as Xia told him his ability was amazing. He really did love his new sight. Maybe to other people it would be overwhelming, but the light was very comforting for Rowan. He had never been able to sleep without a nightlight back when he had his normal vision.
"That does sound wonderful," He said. "Thank you, Xia."
Rowan waved goodbye as she left. He really was grateful to the demon who blinded him- no, opened his true eyes. Without that attack, he would be more blind than he was now. And he would never be able to gauge or control his power as much. Now he could quite literally see his true potential.
He turned to Lily with a smile. "I really love everyone here."
When Mayne talked about how the food was mixed together, Timpani just burst out laughing. Her voice ended up making the table shake, and she had to stop before she sent plates clattering onto the clean floor. She was really a chip off the old anvil from her mother.
"You're adorable," She told him outright. It was true. Mayne reminded her of a kitten who wanted to catch only the most pure colored mice. If a brown mouse even had a speck of white on its paw, it would be rejected.
He asked her if she wanted anything special, and she furrowed her eyebrows in thought.
"Chocolate?" She blurted the first food that came to mind. Of course it was chocolate, it was a girl's best friend. In Windwoods, the girls were extremely motivated to train hard because of the rewards. Winning the seasonal mud wrestling competition got you an entire chocolate fountain. Timpani won it every year, but she would share the reward with anyone who asked politely. Her fighting partners deserved something good to eat. Unfortunately they were almost all dead now. The others would probably have all the chocolate they could eat in Celestial Tower, though.
She was watching Mayne with an interested expression. Timpani had never tried to cook before. Her attempts always ended up being disastrous, and the products would look like the aftermath of a violent war between Jen and Vulcana. When Timpani threw the horrible remains onto the compost pile, the blackened food would repulse even the worms.
She tried to bait a garden basilisk with her cooking attempt once, and it ended up dying from eating the disgusting 'food'. Timpani was responsible for dealing with those pests since Windwoods didn't want to risk using Jen's fire. It might end up scorching the vegetable gardens. Garden basilisks were smaller than the normal variety, but even more aggressive and territorial. It made sense. Short girls native to Windwoods were extremely violent and murderous. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to compete. They needed to be very tough to maintain their status in the group.
Speaking of short girls, Anna Imani was screaming something about eating an entire steak herself. The Imanis weren't native to Windwoods, nor did Timpani like them very much. She found them to be highly disrespectful. Unfortunately all the Windwoods natives had died except the Tenuto family and Mayne. Timpani honestly wished she knew Mayne better when they all lived together. He was very sweet.
Unfortunately Timpani was stuck with these other people too, and she had to warm up to them. She wasn't the leader, but she was a front-line fighter. She had fought for these teenagers until her death once already- she died saving a girl she didn't even know. That girl ended up dying anyway, but Timpani had stalled the attacker long enough for others to arrive upon the scene. She would do it again when the time came, without hesitation. It would help if she had better opinions of them. That would help her to fight even harder.
"Go ahead," Timpani chuckled and patted Anna on the back. "You love food as much as my mother. Let's see if your appetite matches that."
---
Birvale Beach
Samuel was laughing his head off when he realized Amber was already taking over. Typical Soares. Good thing they had one here, because Sammy was getting a bit too shaky to lead. He was kind of grateful that someone else could take over for now. "Whatever you want, Timekeeper," He said with a wide, toothy grin. "Just don't march us into any Alastair soldiers and we're all good!"
He went over to pick up the unconscious teenagers. He was getting arrogant and thought he could carry both Oliver and Ivana. When he went to pick up Ivana, she opened her eyes.
"Hands off," She commanded tiredly.
Samuel backed up a few steps. Over to the side, Waverly seemed a lot more relaxed after Celeste had given him a hug. Samuel couldn't wait to tease his brother about girls.
"Is Amber alright?" Ivana murmured, and then her eyes landed on her sister. Samuel was relieved Amber was already awake, or else Ivana might have lost her temper.
"Our Substitute Queen here is just great," Samuel laughed and patted Amber on the shoulder. "She says we should keep moving and everyone agrees."
"Let's go then... but where is Solara?" Ivana sat up.
"Uhh... she'll be back as soon as she can." Samuel guiltily put his hands behind his back. He felt like he could have done better than stabbing her in the throat with a branch. He hoped she wouldn't be angry.
He heard an unfamiliar woman's voice behind him, and turned to see a strange lady about his same height. Samuel immediately took a step forward challengingly. She was wearing clothes that only Alastair's Parliament could afford these days. He narrowed his eyes at her.
"If you're looking for easy pickings, today's not your lucky day."
---
Capital City
Cyprian kind of felt bad that everyone was giving them a wide berth. He wasn't trying to intimidate them. He really just felt bad in general, and he scowled at the civilians who cut around them. This seemed to make them avoid them even more, and Cyprian stopped because he felt mean.
He saw Jaai's grin when an old building came into view. Cyprian relaxed a little. It didn't seem completely ruined like the pizza store in town. Unfortunately when they went inside, the stench was worse than he could have ever imagined. Cyprian had excellent night vision, and when his eyes landed on the rotting meat, he instinctively took a step back. Jaai seemed to notice the source of the horrible smell too, since she used her power to encase the decaying meats with ice.
"Let's get out of here," Cyprian snarled. He couldn't believe this. Alastair had even ruined innocent places in their everyday life. He was no leader; even a tyrannical overlord wouldn't do this to his own civilization. It was almost like...
It was almost like Alastair had given up on Hesenia, and allowed chaos and anarchy to consume every corner.
---
Parliament Building
Alastair was so angry that he could have erupted like Vulcana. If he had Solara's powers, all of Hesenia would already be destroyed right now. It was a good thing he did not have Solara's powers.
Now that daughter of two disgraces was mocking him. Threatening him. He was getting blind with his anger, and her last comment made him assume she would start justifying herself.
"Tell it to the Judge," He snarled at her like a rabid wolf. "And by that, I mean Judge Zelkova."
With that, he charged in a blind rage. He would rip apart this girl with his bare hands. He didn't care she was armed, so was he. Alastair had his strength. If this kid thought she could rebel against him so disrespectfully, she could think again. She would have lots of time in the Underworld to think about her actions.
---
The Underworld
Agatha was just cackling in delight as she listened to all Solara's weaknesses. It was just hilarious to imagine that disgusting traitor's daughter losing everything. Agatha was furious whenever she saw that horrid piece of garbage. Solara was forever a reminder that Juniper didn't fully belong to Agatha.
She could not stand the sun, but she couldn't escape from the sun's light in Hesenia. Even at night, the moon still glowed with light reflected from the sun. Even worse, the plants that fed off the sun's energy didn't die every night. Agatha got enraged just looking at those reminders that Solara was always watching.
"You want despair? I think the Sanctuary itself should become that source of despair, eh?" Agatha snickered. "You're already there, kiddo. I'll be there very, very soon. Then so will the Hothead. Then we strike."
She smiled like a fox and slapped Regina on the back.
"Partners."
---
Cilan's Memories
Cilan's throat felt tight with tears. He had always hated secrets, and this made him even more upset. He would probably have snuck out and followed Amber if he knew where she was going. She wasn't the only one with a need to protect. Cilan was his mother's son after all.
"I'll always be your prince. I'm going to b-be a good boy so I can be king one day," Cilan told Amber, managing to look her in the eyes. He felt Clove shake his shoulders.
"You are all disgraces," She teased. "I'm going to be Queen just like mom. I'm older, and besides you're a boy."
"I'm a g-good boy," Cilan insisted. He looked up at his sister when Amber started teasing her.
"Wow. I'm sooo scared." Clove rolled her eyes and almost threw Cilan to the side. She wrapped her arms around Amber tightly, then made a gesture of pretending to snap her neck.
"I told you I'm just like mom," Clove egotistically announced, smirking. Cilan caught the slight twitch in her expression, and he figured it out. Despite Clotilda's actual feelings, she was being silly and nonchalant to try to cheer him up. It made him realize how much he really loved his sister.
When Amber turned to hug Cilantro next, he clung to her for dear life. Cilan always grew painfully attached to the protectors in his life. Amber leaving was like taking away a part of him. He had stopped trembling, and he could look Amber in the eyes as she wiped away his tears.
"Always," The boy echoed as Amber's lips touched his cheek. Then she was leaving and Cilan had to clasp his hands behind his back, or he would be reaching out for her. He rhythmetically stroked the small metal bird's head with his finger, like the simple motion was the only thing stopping him from crying out.
"You think you can threaten me, shorty?" Clotilda shouted as Amber retreated. "Just wait until I outgrow my mother and become seven feet tall! You'll regret what you said!"
Cilan just watched silently as Amber turned the corner.
"I know it's tough, but the Soares have to be safe." Clotilda said firmly once she had gone. She pulled Cilan inside and slammed the door, then clenched her fists. Cilan noticed she was doing it to prevent her hands from shaking.
"Clove," was all Cilan could manage to say before he began sobbing. He fell to his knees and cried like a small child. It wasn't pretty- terrible heaving sobs that made his entire body shake violently.
He heard a voice that seemed far away. "Cilan."
His sister's hands gripped his shoulders very roughly. "Cilan."
Slap!
"Cilantro Solstice Adamson!" Clotilda's voice was like a knife. He immediately stopped crying and looked up at his sister. Her eyes were furious, almost blinding with their intensity. She seemed to gradually calm down though.
"I know how much Amber means to you. She's my friend too." Clove was half snarling. "For her sake, for all their sake, you can't let this ruin you. Do you know why Mother named you Solstice?"
Cilan slowly shook his head. Tears still streamed down his cheeks and his breathing came shakily.
"The solstices are extremes. One is the longest day, the other is the shortest day. But no matter how long the day is, the sun still sets that evening. No matter how long the night is, the sun still rises the next morning." Clove's voice was calm now, but her hands were shaking more than before. "You have to go on no matter what happens."
"Don't you miss them too, Clo-"
She grabbed his shirt collar and slammed him against the wall. "You don't think I disgracing miss them? You think it's easy for me to say goodbye?"
Cilan felt ashamed of the way he worded that, and he dropped his gaze. "N-no."
Clove looked like she was about to punch him out, and Cilan braced himself in anticipation. Much to his surprise, she grabbed him in her arms instead and hugged him tightly. He nestled himself in her embrace, still cradling the tiny bird in his hands, tucking the precious keepsake to his heart.
"My middle name is Aurora. Two opposing things- the sun's energy and the night- can make something beautiful." Clotilda whispered in his ear. "But this name isn't right for me. Not like yours will fit you."
"What are you saying?" Cilan asked her quietly.
"I'm not the perfect combination of my parents. I'm not the perfect queen." Clove pulled back and looked him in the eyes. "Amber is everything I'm not. She should be named Aurora for the same reason I shouldn't. She will make a wonderful queen for you one day."
Cilan's heart sank even further, if that was possible. He felt the broken halves shatter into millions of tiny pieces that not even Vulcana Steele could forge back together. "Clove..."
"Cilan." She had one hand on the doorknob, and she was talking quietly but quickly. "There are traitors somewhere in this building, planning to kill the Soares. I'm going to buy them some time."
"No, let me do it." His small voice was insistent, but Clove almost threw him back against the wall.
"Don't tell anyone because Mother will get involved. They set traps somewhere in the building. Cold water sprinklers." Clotilda's voice was firm. Cilan knew he couldn't take cold water, and he knew Clove knew too. She could withstand even freezing water though. Everyone was sure she was the second-ever ice phoenix, but she hadn't reached the age to begin the Daybreak Ceremony. She hadn't gone through her first revival yet.
"Clove-" He reached for her hand, but she slapped it away. He could tell by the look in her eyes that she knew roughly what he was thinking. Clove really took after Luno.
"You haven't reached the Daybreak Ceremony either." She threw his arm down roughly. "If anything happens to you, Amber's protecting you will have been for nothing. Take this."
She dropped something cold in his free hand, then turned the doorknob.
"Clove, no-"
"Don't follow me." She ordered as she stepped out into the hallways. "I love you, Cilan."
The door closed, and he immediately reached for the doorknob to open it again. It wouldn't budge. Clove must have taken precautions even earlier, and changed the lock so it locked from outside. He furiously pounded on the door with all his might, but no footsteps approached. The hallways were silent. Nobody would be able to hear him from too far away either, with the sheer amount of vegetation growing on every wall. Curse these soundproof hallways...
Eventually Cilan was too exhausted to continue fighting, and he just slumped against the door, all his energy spent. He looked at the object in his right hand. It was Clotilda's best throwing knife, the lucky one she never actually used for fighting. She mostly just showed it off during power show-and-tell. She had screamed at Cilan when he reached for it before, and she wouldn't let anyone touch it. Not even Queen Solara. For Clove to give Cilan her favorite possession meant...
... No...
Cilan's mind was drifting. He was too tired to even lift his head anymore. Before passing out from exhaustion, he managed to form a final clear thought.
I forgot to tell my sister I loved her.