Cassandra Pendragon

“If I had known, what I was signing up for, I would have run, the very moment Arthur asked me to leave Boseiju. It’s been nothing but…” I felt a surge of anger rush through my tattoo, followed by a flare of transcendent energies and the unmistakable sounds of an impending fight, echoing through the cabin. Somewhere on deck, something had gone very wrong.

Planks groaned and the temperature spiked. I jumped to my feet, my ears twitching while I tried to make sense of what was going on. Were we being attacked? “Ahri,” I thundered, my voice driving Sylvia to her knees. The poor girl had barely had the time to stand up and now she was flat on her ass again, but I didn’t particularly care. What was going on? A second later, my questions were answered, when a furred body fell past the windows, tails and arms flailing. I could only stare in amazement, while a streak of gold followed behind, wrapping itself around the kitsune. Viyara had caught him, but I still didn’t know, why he had been thrown overboard, in the first place.

Decisively, I grabbed Sylvia’s shoulder and pulled her along. “Come with me. If your men are stupid enough to not heed the warning they just received, we have a real problem. I don’t know what just happened, but if they managed to provoke my wife, there’s no telling what she might do.” I didn’t doubt her restraint, but she had already sent one of them flying, which meant she was brimming with anger. If she let loose, no one would be able to stop her and since we were on a flying hunk of flammable wood, we’d be royally screwed.

I tried to reach out to her, while I dragged Sylvia through the door, but I only encountered a burning wall of anger, tinted with darker shades of doubts and something like self loathing. What, in god’s name, had they done to her? If there was even the sliver of a chance, they had tried to hurt her, being thrown overboard would soon become the least of their worries. My wings manifested again and without a second thought, I pulled Sylvia closer and sped up. It didn’t take us more than a handful of seconds to explode onto deck, the massive gate, protecting the interior of the ship, reduced to so much as splinters, when I charged through, my wings a shimmering armour around us.

Stumbling, I came to a halt, my eyes widening as I took in the scene. Aurelia, her wings unfurled, was trying to hold Ahri back, but she wouldn’t be able to cling on for much longer. She was already being pushed back and just as we arrived, Ahri’s wings materialised and a surge of heat and flames catapulted the vampire away. She was flung through the air until she crashed into the mast, her fangs bared. Snarling, she got back to her feet, her fingers suddenly changing into smouldering, black claws. Like an enraged animal, she hissed and prepared to jump again. Meanwhile, the burning angel took to the air. Her hair reflected the shine of her flames and became a molten corona of light, dancing around her magnificent silhouette. The only time I had seen her like this had been the moment she had found me, staked to Shassa’s statue.

Opposite her, a group of soldiers were cowering in fear, trembling uncontrollably. They stared at her, as if she was an incarnation of their most gruesome nightmare. In their panic, they had dropped their weapons, which were now clattered around them, like discarded junk. The only thing keeping them alive was a slim girl and a silver vixen, who stood between them and the wave of transcendent wrath, ready to drown them in sorrow and fire. Unflinching, Reia and my mom faced my fiancée, arms and tails spread wide. They didn’t budge, their eyes shimmering defiantly, displaying a hell of a lot more courage than the so called comrades of the group, hiding behind Erya and Morgan, off to the side.

“Get out of my way,” Ahri whispered, her voice quiet but carrying with an eerie cadence I knew all too well.

“No,” my sister simply stated and then they all whirled around, as the smaller pieces, the door had turned into, rained down around them.

“What are you doing,” I screamed, rushing forward. Prudently, I had left Sylvia behind.

“Ask them,” Ahri snarled, her fur bristling. “Ask them what they did.” Perplexed, I stopped in the middle of the mess, uncertainty written all across my face. “They meant to take us, use us to force you into complying with whatever their mistress wanted. Not again, never again! They went after Reia! I won’t let that happen! Last night has been enough.” Slowly, I turned to Sylvia. I didn’t bother asking, if Ahri was telling the truth. She’d never lie to me and as angry as she was, there weren’t many things, which could have triggered her like that. A demand, mirroring the pain and helplessness she had had to suffer through last night, would have done the trick, though.

“Did you know,” I asked quietly, my voice thrumming with barely restrained power. “Was this your intent? String me along while you gained an advantage? Tell me!” From the corner of my eye, I saw Reia and my mom glancing at each other, their postures stiff. They knew, that Sylvia’s reply might very well put an end to this little endeavour. Permanently.

Panting, she shook her head. “No. I swear, I didn’t. I’d never…” she turned to her soldiers.

“Is it true? Did one of you brainless idiots really try to lay a finger on them?” When they didn’t respond, their panicked gazes still stuck to the hovering menace before them, she hollered: “answer me! Is she telling the truth?” From the sidelines, one of the kitsune, one of those, who had recognised me, suddenly cried out:

“It is.” He spun to face me. “Princess, most of us didn’t know. We’d never raise our hands against you or yours, you must believe me!” He bowed formally, his hands crossed above his heart. “Please, we’re…” he fell silent, when a looming shadow sent specks of golden light dancing over the deck, accompanied by a bloodcurdling roar. In a display of splendour and might, Viyara appeared above the prow, her maw opened wide to allow a glaring wave of silvery flames to spill forth. In her paw, the soldier, she had saved, was curled up into a shivering ball of misery.

“Fools,” her telepathic outpour pushed the kitsune to the ground. “If you valued your lives, don’t move a muscle.” With a crash, that made the whole ship tremble, she landed behind my girl, like a gargantuan, sparkling shadow, showcasing the real strength, the winged kitsune was hiding.

My wings flared and I vanished in a shower of sparks, reappearing right in front of Ahri, our faces no more than a handspan apart. I reached out to her, with my hand and my mind, and this time, she didn’t wall herself off. She welcomed me and allowed the memories of the last few minutes to flow through our connection, while her slender fingers caressingly enveloped my own. She was hot to the touch, but her fires didn’t harm me, the flames dancing around and between us, mimicking the constant stream of thoughts and emotions we exchanged.

After I had left them, my friends had stuck together in a tight group, keeping their distance and eyeing the kitsune soldiers curiously. The warriors had done the same and gradually, the tension had evaporated until someone had called Ahri by name, pushing through the crowd. It had been a palace guard on Boseiju, someone we had regularly come across, back then. They had struck up a conversation and bit by bit, the others had joined in. Except for a militant group of troublemakers, who had kept their distance, muttering and whispering in hushed tones.

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Nobody had minded them and slowly, inconspicuously, they had closed in. In the middle of a sentence, Ahri had heard Reia scream, the girl suddenly surrounded by a group of armoured, weapon bearing men, who had tried to push her along. Before she had been able to do more than open her mouth to protest, someone had struck Ahri’s head with the pommel of a sword. A grave mistake. She hadn’t collapsed, the gentle tap not even enough to cause much discomfort, but instead she had whirled around, reflexively catching the weapon. With a twist, she had thrown the culprit overboard, which had prompted his allies to draw their knifes and point them at my sister.

With callous disregard for the consequences, Ahri had flooded her body with energy and had allowed the bottled up storm to break free, just barely suppressing the ravenous flames her powers had wanted to invoke. A thought had been enough to isolate the misguided zealots. If it hadn’t been for Reia and my mom, who had immediately gotten in between her and the group, she would have incinerate the lot of them, then and there. As it was, she was still dead set on reducing them to ash and memories, but my appearance had returned a modicum of calm to her frothing mind. They wouldn’t get away unscathed, but she had already broken free of the bloody fog, their actions had filled her with.

Confusedly, she blinked, when she realised that we were already hovering close to a hundred metres above the ship. I had carried us higher and higher, afraid her flames might devour more than she was planning on. While her gaze cleared, I swiftly kissed her lips and smiled crookedly.

“Thank you,” I breathed, “but I think that’s enough, don’t you agree?” She shook her head like a dog, trying to clear its ears. The heat, rolling off of her in palpable waves gradually diminished, while she stared into my eyes, lost somewhere in her own world. I had already suspected, that she wasn’t dealing with her ordeal as easily as she had claimed, but I hadn’t thought it possible for her to explode like that, the first chance she’d get. Not to say I didn’t appreciate her actions, but beating the hell out of one or two would have been more than enough to settle the matter, in a far less dangerous manner. This kind of stunt was more my thing, really, than it was hers.

The harsh lines around her mouth softened and the deadly sparks in her eyes dimmed, until she seemed more scared than anything else. Without warning, she wrapped her tails and arms around me, nearly strangling me in the process. A hoarse cough, closer to a sob, escaped her and the next second, she was crying in earnest, her steaming tears drenching my dress. I held her tight, while we still rose through the sky, the ship reduced to a speck of colour below us.

“It’s alright, I’m with you, we’re not in danger,” I whispered. “Reia’s safe. You protected her.”

“Cassy? Why… gods, I’m sorry.” She was shaking, now. “What have I done?”

“Nothing bad, nothing wrong and probably still less than I would have, had I been there. Still, we should probably try to not burn the last bridge. Will you dive down there and put the fear of god in them again, if I let go of you?”

“No, I won’t, but could you still not let go of me? I…” she snivelled and buried her face in the nape of my neck. “I just need you to hold me for a while. Please.” I caressingly slung my tails around her waist and pulled her closer, until our bodies were flush against one another. Silently, we hung between heaven and earth, like two lost birds, unsure of how to return to the nest.

“For as long as you want me to.” I felt her tension evaporate, her deep breaths hot on my skin.

“We might be stuck here for a while, then,” she mumbled. “Gods, I didn’t think I’d turn out to be like this. I don’t know even know why, but when they pulled their weapons, I just felt like…” she hesitated, struggling with her words. I kissed her again and said:

“No need to explain, least of all to me. You could have told me sooner, though. I want to know what’s going on with you.” I hadn’t meant to sound reproachful, but she still took it that way.

“I didn’t know,” she hastily explained, her eyes brimming with tears. “I honestly didn’t. I… of course I would have… I was fine after I’ve slept by your side. I thought I had… I’m not trying to push you away, I never would!” By the Great Fox, she really was a mess. I’d never have thought for a second, she’d intentionally keep me at arms length.

“Ahri, believe me, I know. All I meant is… you don’t have to pretend or lie to yourself for my sake. Whether you’re an invincible immortal or a hurt girl, I’ll love you just the same. You’ve comforted me, you’ve held me and yet… why can’t you ever show any form of weakness?”

“Because I’m here to protect you, not the other way around,” she whispered. “For longer than I can remember, you’ve kept me safe, you’ve fought my battles. Even when you died, your last act was to spare me… you deserve more.” I grinned wryly and patted her head, touched and amused.

“I guess we’re both hopeless, aren’t we? Truth be told, I’ve also been hiding a few things from you. I’ve always told myself, that it’s mainly because there was never a chance to bring it up, but I guess I simply wanted to figure out a solution, beforehand.” Carefully, I shifted her around until our tattoos touched. “Not anymore.” My next words reached her telepathically, while I offered her access to every part of my mind. “From now on, we’ll share our burdens, all of them. That is, if you want to.” For a moment, she seemed starstruck, but quickly enough, a watery, tremulous smile spread across her face, as I felt her presence slowly slip through our connection.

“I’d love to.” The last thing I felt were her lips on mine and then, the world shattered. Our memories combined and the final barriers between us were engulfed in silver and crimson flames.

The next… minutes or hours, I didn’t know, were hard to describe. I was still me but I also wasn’t, it was like I was carrying a breathing, living talisman in my chest, a warming presence, a manifestation of everything I loved and together, we soared through the scenes of our past, our minds wrapped around each other like Ying and Yang. Together, we relived what I had learned about the ring, about our legacy, Amazeroth’s trickery, the seal he had placed on her and the war we had fought against our siblings, long before I had taken up arms again. We saw the death of Ancalagon and our assault on the Silver City, my transformation in front of its gates and my plans to return the ring to Amazeroth and seal the source again, whatever it was.

I showed her my encounter with the Broken Wheel, my doubts about not having at least tried to rush after the Emperor, the very moment he had fled. I didn’t hide my fears, that every death that followed was essentially my fault, since I had chosen to stay behind, having failed to put an end to it all, then and there. And lastly, we again listened to her, to Aurora, explaining, that our lives had been entwined, long before the universe had even been born. Again, I heard her words, comforting and hopeful, a reassurance that I’d reach the source, since I had already changed it once before. I had refused to kill her and had broken the viscous cycle of eternal death, we had been born into. Just as I felt hers, Ahri was aware of my own emotions. Even back then, I wouldn’t have been able to go on, if it hadn’t been for her, her courage and her support.

In exchange, she took me along on her journey, from the moment she had died during her first hunt to the very moment she had nearly incinerated Arthur’s ship. She didn’t hide her growing unease, as we saw time pass, her feelings of inadequacy, as my powers gradually changed and began to rival, even overshadow hers. She wasn’t envious, she was only afraid that she couldn’t fulfil what she had set out to do: keep me safe. It had finally come crashing down last night, when she had been imprisoned and all their hopes had hinged on my return.

When I had set her free, she had been elated, her joy drowning out the lingering regret, the self loathing she had unconsciously carried with her. And then, when Reia had been threatened once again, she had snapped. Her anger, her frustration, her fear, had finally found an outlet and the poor group of kitsune had come within a hair’s width of being consumed by a transcendent storm of fury and flame. Now, she was even more shaken than before, shaken and ashamed.