Chapter 16

“Mortal Morning”

The glistening morning light shimmered against droplets of rainwater on the lush green plant life on the surface of Endle. Morning songbirds sang all around and let their delicate music echo through the wood of the dense evergreens. A thick blanket of mist was above the wet ground after the night’s cool rain shower, littering the ground with damp fallen pine needles. The end of summer was upon the land and left the morning a little more chilly than usual which would gnaw at the flesh of anyone without a proper coat.

Rays of beaming yellow sunlight broke through the canopy and shined down on Cariphae’s begrimed face as she lay on her side on the cool sandy ground. Her charcoal makeup had run and smudged from the rain and dried blood covered her cheek from the battle. Her hair was dusty and disordered with loose strands falling about with some of the braids coming undone. Her shoulder ached terribly with the pain growing more intense as she stirred from a pitch-black slumber. Her forehead furrowed and her eyes squeezed tight from the sunlight beaming brightly through her eyelids.

Opening her eyes was tough. Her vision was dark and blurred for the first few seconds, but a few blinks cleared up her sight just enough for her to make out her surroundings. An evergreen forest engulfed her, and beautiful growths of tall ferns filled her sight while a clear pink and orange sky twinkled through the canopy. The scent of fresh clean rainwater filled her senses, and the warmth of a low campfire encouraged her to move. Though her body ached terribly, she fought against the pain to slowly sit up and withhold a groan. She was accustomed to pain, but this pain felt far different than what she had grown to know.

Her muscles felt weak and stiff with joints creaking like old wooden planks on an ancient floor, and her lungs burned as if she had breathed in hot ash for hours. In a way, she had. Her throat felt dry and gritty, and the pain in her shoulder spread to her entire back. The weakness she felt was far more prominent than the pain in her shoulder, however, and it alarmed her as she struggled to hold herself up with only her arms. Her legs felt like dead weight and pulling them to position herself in a kneel proved far more difficult than It should’ve. Her head hung low with her neck feeling brittle – struggling to hold the weight of her braided mass of hair that was once flowing and weightless. She had never felt the weight of her hair before, it was like a mass of dense heavy rope soaked with water and soot.

Willing the pain and discomfort away, she focused on the more alarming part of her situation – she was not in Arithmetia anymore. She darted her sore eyes around her and spotted a man in a dirty white coat with tattered fur trim seemingly asleep against a tree with his hands folded on his stomach. His hood covered his face and his dark skin seemed to absorb any light that hit him – making him appear far darker than normal. She didn’t recognize him at first and concluded that her presence on the surface was the result of a clear kidnapping. Or at the least – magic. She blamed the sleeping man against the tree and took another glance around her to see that an ornate dagger was stabbed into the dirt near the campfire along with a makeshift and empty roasting spit positioned over the coals.

She mustered the strength to slowly crawl to the dagger and silently wiggle it free from the sandy ground, arming herself with the weapon while turning back to the sleeping man. With wobbling legs, she forced herself to a pitiful stand – hunched over from the lack of strength. She almost grew dizzy from standing but kept steadfast to hold herself up. Her face contorted into a hateful grimace as the desire for vengeance began to overwhelm her. Whatever this man was up to, she knew he had something to do with the siege on her fortress and therefore damned him to pay with his life. Anger drenched her heart for the lives snuffed out in her forces and the violation of her body.

She quietly approached the sleeping man and gripped the dagger as hard as she could in her hand, planning to swiftly pierce his heart and run as far as she could to get back to her home – to her people. Lifting the blade high with her arm trembling under its own weight, she heard a sudden thud on the ground behind her and the shuffling of branches above her with pine needles raining down on her. The sound made the woman spin around and see a hooded woman far smaller than herself standing by the campfire. Her white hair fell loosely from the hood of her cloak and her purple eyes shined through the soft shadow. She had two dead rabbits strapped to her hip by the back feet but no weapon in her hands.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Quartz warned, showing no immediate threat to the weak queen who held the dagger out in front of her – more than willing to fight for her life even in her fragile state.

“Besides, y’know I was watchin’ ya the whole time, right?” Entity muttered while lifting his hood to have a genuine look at the queen who now seemed a little startled. Cariphae stumbled back a few paces and winced as she reached around to grab the wound on her shoulder with her free hand. She was now more hunched over than before and struggled to keep standing. It took nearly everything she had just to get off the ground.

“By my authority and the legacy behind my name, I demand to know who you both are!” Cariphae strained through her teeth. Quartz gently reached out to the queen, forcing Cariphae back, and swiped the dagger at the Ensanguined woman. “Stay back!” She tried to yell before wobbling at the knees and nearly toppling over.

“Easy there, battle axe, before ya hurt yourself.” Entity sighed before standing to his feet slowly and stretching his sore shoulders. “Ya still got a fresh wound there.”

“Answer me now! Who are you? I order you to reveal your names!” Cariphae huffed as she still held the dagger as her only perceived means of protecting herself.

“I don’t think ya can give us any orders, babe. Not unless ya think that toothpick is gonna force us to do anything.” Entity smirked as he dusted off his coat. Cariphae looked at her dagger which was indeed useless to the two standing above her. Then again, Cariphae could make any weapon deadly if angered enough.

“Ent, this already looks bad, let’s not make it worse. I am Quartz, once an emissary and herald of the Three Queens of Malice. This is the Entity of shadows.” Quartz introduced flatly, motioning to herself and the sorcerer beside her. “We took you from Lovelacia to save you from Guardian. He commanded the siege.”

A quick examination of the two in closer detail allowed Cariphae to see that Quartz’s choker held a symbol of Sheirun Hau in the dark gem. Seeing Entity’s face clearly sparked a memory from the Red War, especially his eyes and his yellowed glowing teeth. His tattered white cloak was a new feature that she hadn’t seen before.

“Entity? You still live? Your coat, it’s changed.” Cariphae said half-winded and with a scowl.

“Yeah, I stay chic.”

“You need to sit down, Cariphae.” Quartz urged but only got the same scowl from the wounded queen and the dagger pointed at her.

“Be silent, I take no word from an Ensanguined. You wear the crest of Sheirun Hau around your neck.” Cariphae spat and noticed how confused Quartz looked before feeling her choker.

“I swear, I’m no longer allied with them, look!” Quartz then tore off her choker and held it out for the queen to see before tossing it into the campfire, then held up her palms to show no desire for aggression. Cariphae squinted and exchanged glances between the two.

“You said Guardian commanded the siege.” Cariphae asked skeptically.

“He did. He was pretty pissy about gettin’ rejected. He really wanted to marry ya.” Entity spoke up.

“I exempted you after the war and you take me from my own fortress? With an Ensanguined no less! This is how you repay my kindness? Under my leadership, my Valaah army would’ve slaughtered Guardian’s forces. I would’ve had him under my heel. Truly, you are an idiot for separating me from the fiercest army in all of Endle!” She bit at him loudly. Entity pointed at Cariphae out of offense.

“Hey! Don’t act like I’m the bad guy here, I saved your unconscious tit-less ass and hauled it around for miles! I think I deserve a ‘thank you’ here.” Entity crossed his arms.

Cariphae rubbed her eyes and then her temple stressfully. “Take me back. Now.”

“Well I hate to disappoint ya like soggy socks on a Sunday, but I ain’t gonna do that.” Entity sassily looked at his grimy nails and picked at the dirt under them as if disinterested in Cariphae’s demands.

“Guardian was planning to come to Arithmetia after the siege to take you. If you go back now like this, you won’t be able to fight back.” Quartz added.

“That wound ya got there is pretty nasty, and ya won’t have the power to fight that bucket of dick. I mean, ya might get a good slap in there though.”

“What do you mean I won’t have the power? I am merely wounded and clearly drenched. This can be remedied.” Cariphae narrowed her eyes and forced herself into a straight posture, only to wince when she felt something on her shoulder rip and become cold. Her wound began to bleed after she had torn the clotted scab that had formed overnight and felt the warm liquid trickle between her fingers. She pulled her hand back to see her palm covered in crimson blood. Her eyes widened at the sight, as she never had such red blood. It always burned fiery orange and dried black but never red. “What is this? Why do I bleed? Why do I feel so weak?” Cariphae shuttered at the sight of her blood.

Quartz answered quickly and flatly, “You’ve been shot with something…terrible.”

“The siege was a distraction. You were shot with a hexed arrow to turn ya mortal. Or close enough to mortal as ya can be.” Entity added as he looked away in shame.

“No… This cannot be happening! I can’t be mortal! How could this happen?! Who shot me?!” Cariphae sank to her knees and put both her hands over her head in distress while staring into the dirt beneath her, dropping the dagger as she did.

“Cariphae, it was–” Quartz spoke up.

“It was a soldier. We tried to stop him.” Entity interrupted, gaining a shocked but disappointed look from Quartz. Entity gave an intense glare at the Ensanguined as a warning to speak no more.

“Did you truly come to help me, Entity? Are you genuinely an ally I can trust?” Cariphae asked shakily as she looked at the two standing above her.

“Yeah. I want Guardian and the Queens of Malice to pay for this shit as much as you do.” Entity replied.

“All their lies will come to light, eventually.” Quartz added while glaring at Entity.

“If what you say is true, then war has been declared. I must be returned to my people, they’ll die without me! Agatha cannot fight in battle or even hold a blade and Amdusias will need my knowledge and guidance.” Cariphae fell forward slowly and put her forehead to the ground in anguish, knowing well that many innocents would die, including her most beloved friend.

“I wish we could, but it’s safer up here where we can take you to someone who can help you.” Quartz winced at the tragic tone of the queen’s voice.

“I am the Queen of Arithmetia and I demand you take me back at once!” Cariphae ordered. “You know nothing of what is best! I am the only warlord who knows how to counter all of Guardian’s strategies!”

“And I’m the one who knows exactly what’s gonna happen if ya set foot in Arithmetia. Spoiler alert, good ol’ Guardian is gonna be waitin’ for ya with a ball and chain and a ragin’ hard-on. Ya ain’t goin’ back and if ya wanna be of any use to your people, ya best be shuttin’ the fuck up and listenin’ to us.” Entity snapped back and pointed to his own chest.

The grieving queen threw the dagger in her hand at Entity the moment he gave her an order in such a tone, which he was quick enough to dodge. “Fuck!”

The queen regained her composure and stood to her feet with both fists balled tightly. Though in pain and weak, the rage inside fueled her just enough like coals in a cold forge threatening to reignite.

“Watch how you speak to me, Entity. I may be wounded and mortal, but I am still demanding of respect. Do not speak to me as if I am some weathered tavern thot. All of Endle knows who I am and what I am capable of.” Cariphae warned, which only made the sorcerer step closer to her at such a challenging statement.

“Titles, titles, titles. Wonder if your people will still worship ya when they see that ya can’t even lift that obnoxiously huge and tacky sword ya keep as a trophy. I bet you’re too scared to use it too.” Entity spat. It was very shocking for the man when a fist came barreling against his nose so hard that it broke and knocked him to the sand.

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“You deserved that.” Quartz lifted an eyebrow as she watched Entity grab his bleeding nose and scramble to his feet.

“Ya broke it, you bitch!” Entity wailed as he tilted his head back while pinching the bridge of his bent nose.

“I’m finished with this useless conversation. All it has done is waste time. Either you take me to Arithmetia, or I will go alone. Stop me and I will break something else.” Cariphae threatened.

“I’m not fuckin’ takin’ ya back there dammit!” Entity cracked his nose back into place and wiped the blood on his sleeve. “I’m takin’ ya to Captain O’Dweller. You can be his problem then.”

“Captain O’Dweller?” Cariphae softened her look and looked quizzically at the two.

“He’s the only one I can imagine who could help ya and get your stubborn warmongering ass outta my hair.” Entity huffed.

“He could get you further away from Guardian and possibly break the hex within you.” Quartz reasoned.

“I’m half tempted to allow Guardian to find us and behead this madman.” Cariphae snarled as she pointed to Entity. He looked very insulted.

“Oh, go tighten your corset and suffocate, bitch.” Entity snapped back and returned to his spot by the tree to sit. Quartz let out a frustrated sigh and watched Cariphae sit by the fire quietly to seethe. She still held her bleeding wound and winced at the sharp throbbing deep in her flesh.

Quartz knelt beside her and reached into a side pack on her belt to reveal the green herbs she had foraged earlier. They were pine needles and roots that held a strong aroma. Quartz took them and held them out for Cariphae to see.

“Don’t let him get to you. He may be an asshole, but his heart is in the right place.” She reassured but Cariphae didn’t spare a look at the young Ensanguined or the herbs in her hand.

“What do you intend to do with those?” Cariphae asked half-interested as she stared back at the ground.

“If you’ll allow me to, they will help with that wound.” Quartz positioned herself behind the wounded queen to examine the messy – yet appetizing – bloody hole on her back and turned her head to Entity.

“Hey, toss me your flask.” She called to the sorcerer who simply lifted a brow.

“Oh hell no, ya ain’t gonna use the last of it for–” Entity went to argue until Quartz scowled with her eyes flashing bright crimson.

“Damn it, Entity, just toss me the flask or you’ll get a broken nose twice in one day!” Quartz raised her voice and held out her hand, getting the sorcerer to silence himself and reach into his pocket with a mumbling growl.

“Women…” He rolled his eyes and tossed the flask to her, and she was quick to twist open the cap. “This will sting.” She warned the queen who only closed her eyes.

“Let it sting, then.” She sighed. Quartz poured a small amount of liquid onto Cariphae’s wound to wash away the dried blood and it did indeed sting worse than any Arithmetian hornet. Cariphae contorted her face to withstand the pain but didn’t flinch or pull away. Quartz then put a few pine needles and a chunk of the root in her mouth to chew it until it became a paste-like consistency and spat it onto her fingertips carefully.

“Ensanguined saliva is an anticoagulant. You will bleed but it will help keep infection away. Our mouths cleanse the blood before we drink it. Human blood can be lousy with diseases.” Quartz informed as she mushed the paste into the deep hole in Cariphae’s shoulder.

“I understand the Ensanguined well. I lived with your race for quite a while.” Cariphae mumbled a little as she tried not to focus on the discomfort.

“Beside Virgoth, yes?” Quartz asked with a look of disdain in her eyes. Cariphae hesitated to respond. “He told me about you before you killed him, you know.” Quartz added with a tilt of her head. Cariphae felt a pain much deeper than her wound when Quartz made mention of it and clenched her fist tightly.

“You called him your ‘beloved’. Were you another one of his consorts?” Cariphae asked softly.

“He was my father.” Quartz corrected as she bit an end of cloth off her cloak and tore a long strip from it.

“I did not know he bared children with his brides.” Cariphae scrutinized. Quartz began to wrap Cariphae’s wound a little less carefully at the statement while Entity listened closely to their conversation. “Gh-… I meant it with honesty. He would not have borne any children during a war; everyone knew that.” Cariphae added.

“I’m his daughter through bond, not blood.” Quartz corrected.

“I am sorry for the loss of your father. He was beloved by many.” Cariphae genuinely apologized but the kind gesture did not move Quartz.

“Not by you. I dreamt every day that I would get a chance to kill you in his name before I saw the corruption of my leaders. Do you know what he told me?” Quartz tightened the knot of the makeshift bandage before standing to take the rabbit carcasses off her belt and prep to clean them. Each one had a distinct bloody bite mark on its neck.

“I’d rather not know.” The queen muttered.

“Too painful I imagine to hear that he never really wanted you dead. Must be hard to live as a murderer.”

“I suppose it is.”

“Why didn’t you spare him?”

Cariphae didn’t lift her head for it felt as if the guilt weighed it down more than any boulder could. She put her hand to her chest and took a deep breath as if she wanted to speak but she couldn’t find the words to explain herself. There were never any right words to explain or describe the pain. Entity’s scowl softened as he found himself eager to hear the queen’s point of view. A solid minute passed before anyone said a word.

“Love creates hate stronger than reason.” Cariphae could only say so much at that moment before silence gripped her throat. Quartz was also silent, and the answer was barely enough to satisfy her curiosity, but it did not quell the anger and internal resentment she held for the queen. The Ensanguined woman silently left Cariphae to sit at the other side of the fire and began to skin the rabbits. Entity looked down at his lap and couldn’t help but sympathize with the queen.

While Quartz quickly prepared the rabbits for a morning meal, Cariphae sat by the fire and stared into the black and red coals. Entity also sat silently but his eyes never left Cariphae. The sorcerer studied the woman while he pulled out a cigarette from his silver box. He was beginning to run low with only three cigarettes left which made him slump against the tree in dismay. He lit it with a match and took a few breaths before speaking up.

“How do ya know of the Captain?” He asked the pitiful queen which made her slightly lift her head from her knees.

“How do you?” Cariphae countered sorely.

“I asked first.” Entity scoffed. “Your lanky buddy with the… things,” he paused and wiggled his fingers at Cariphae to mimic tendrils as he tried to describe Agatha, “told me to take ya’ to the guy.”

“Agatha allowed you to take me?” Cariphae squinted her eye at the sorcerer who put the cigarette between his lips.

“That’s her name? Pfft. Again, I’m askin’ questions, not the other way around, toots, but yeah, she did.” Entity answered.

“I met the Captain briefly in my garden. He warned me of Guardian.” Cariphae reached to her throbbing wrapped wound at the mention of Guardian, as the wound felt like it was caused by something otherworldly.

“That’s all y’know of him?” Entity pushed on with his questioning while Quartz brought him a very well-cooked rabbit tied to a short stick.

“He possesses magic of his own. He knew things that no one like himself should’ve known. I intended to meet him here on the surface with my General on this very day.” Cariphae explained which made Entity rub his chin and fiddle with his goatee.

“Anything else?” He asked.

“Should there be more I should know?” She asked back curiously, which made Entity shake his head and pull the cigarette from his mouth to exhale a large plume of smoke.

“How to find him? That’d be useful knowledge.” Entity licked his dry lips and picked up the cooked rabbit before taking a bite out of the hard stringy flesh.

“He said to stand by the sea and wait for him. No particular location was mentioned.” Cariphae replied while watching Quartz bring the other rabbit to her – still steaming. The queen held up her hand and refused the rabbit.

“I think you should eat.” Quartz urged.

“I prefer not to eat that.” Cariphae quietly declined and made Quartz scowl.

“So wait, let me get this straight. Ya claim ya know all this shit and ya act like you’re so damn smart, but you were gonna come to the surface with only your General with no real direction or clear meet-up point just cause’ some hot silver man in a pirate hat with magic told ya to? Ya just took his word for it?” Entity scratched his head with a smirk.

“It’s a lot more complicated than that.” Cariphae growled.

“But that is the situation in a nutshell, eh?” Entity wagged his finger with his smirk growing bigger.

“If it satisfies your need to feel like you’re smarter than you look, then yes.” She rolled her eyes.

“Hey, I’ll take that. Blind faith.” He shrugged and devoured the overcooked rabbit in his hands sloppily like a mongrel dog.

“You both are making my head hurt.” Quartz grumbled and placed the other cooked rabbit on a fern leaf, then pushed it in front of Cariphae. “You won’t get any stronger if you don’t eat.” The Ensanguined held a point, for Cariphae knew that she had lost too much blood and all her strength. Refusing to eat would be foolish, even if meat was unappetizing.

“I mean no offense, but I do not eat meat. It is not a food we consume in Arithmetia.” Cariphae sighed as she looked at the steaming browned flesh that made her feel slightly nauseous.

“Well, ya ain’t gonna be dinin’ with a bunch’a cows and pigs for a while, your ever-so-spoiled majesty, so ya better eat what ya can.” Entity chuckled with a mouth full of tough rabbit meat. “After this, we press onto the sea and hope ol’ silver-skin finds us. It’s only a few miles away, maybe just a mile; even you can walk that far.” Entity grinned as he went back and forth between eating and smoking his cigarette until there was nothing left of either.

Cariphae looked disgusted by the steaming animal on a stick and slowly brought it to her teeth to take what was barely a nibble. It was tasteless, stringy, and tough, but her body craved any strength it could get, and she managed to force the small meal down with some effort. She felt her stomach warm from the small amount of sustenance and felt an instant surge of energy fill her muscles. She was not used to eating as it wasn’t really a necessity for her until now. Despite the lack of flavor and tenderness, she continued to eat and progressively took larger bites to soothe the discomfort of hunger and weakness.

“I need to know more of what happened. If my Valaah are to stand any chance at survival, I need any and all information so that I may relay it to any allies I have left. There are many tribes in the Unclaimed Lands who value their ancestors’ alliances to me.” Cariphae spoke lowly as she tossed the rabbit remains into the firepit to burn. Entity wiped his mouth clean and stood to dust off his pants.

“Well, Cari-bear, there’s a good number of em’ still around but not as many as there used to be. Guardian’s been in Nacre’s bed for a while, I know that. He’s been lettin’ the Ensanguined pretty much do what they want as long as they don’t suck on humans too much. Well, the humans that ally with Ensanguined, that is. All the others are pretty much free game. He’s mainly been rampaging in villages of different races and species and sendin’ off survivors to slave camps to build more human-Ensanguined settlements called Socius Simuls, but everyone calls em’ Sosims. There’s always some Ensanguined Lord or Earl there to pick out who they want to ship em’ off to Sheirun Hau or Faemira for blood sustenance.” Entity explained and saw a disgusted scowl wash over Cariphae’s face.

“He is tasked by Endle itself to protect the human race and the entire surface. He would sacrifice them to the Ensanguined? They’re his people.” Cariphae asked in disbelief.

“The guy may be unkillable, but he seems to think that he needs the bloodsuckers’ help in gettin’ ya under his thumb. He’s killed more than his fair share of innocent people. Pretty much wiped out anything he’s seen as an inconvenience. I don’t think humans are really that important to him.” Entity shrugged solemnly.

“The Queens of Malice have bargained cooperation with him to spare themselves. Nacre seems to be the closest to him and holds no fear of him the way Ceresei and Alana do. The soldiers who attacked Lovelacia were from Faemira, not Destillion.” Quartz chimed in and began to snuff out the fire by kicking the coals about and throwing sand over the pit to try and conceal it.

“Then why have them dressed in Destillion’s colors?” Cariphae asked confusedly.

“To send a message. Maybe even call dibs on Arithmetia once you were out of the picture. Nacre is a conceded and greedy little bitch; I wouldn’t put it passed her to let the world know she was responsible for taking down the almighty Arithmetian Queen.” Entity speculated.

“The entire point was to render you weak enough for Guardian to take you. In return, he was going to reward Arithmetia and the Valaah to the Queens for food and a sunless realm. From there, I think they would take the entire surface and enslave everyone.” Quartz added.

“What benefit is that to Guardian?” Cariphae asked.

“He just wants you. He’s willing to burn everything down just to have you.” Quartz responded. “I’d imagine an entire realm of Ensanguined who are afraid of him and yet willing to worship him with his queen in chains sounds like a dream come true for a monster as twisted as he is.”

“Why me? Why cause all of this for me?” Cariphae looked at her dirtied and bloody palms.

“Because you’re the only one he fears.” Entity answered and prompted Cariphae to look up at the sorcerer.

“He has nothing to fear; he is immortal with the power of wrath and lightning at his fingertips,” Cariphae argued, “there is nothing that can kill him.”

“Ya still don’t remember.” Entity chuckled and knelt on the ground to get to Cariphae’s eye level. Her eyes were filled with confusion and a misdirected anger that he could tell was eating at her.

“What don’t I remember?” She asked.

“I can’t answer everything but trust me when I say this. If anyone has a chance at killin’ bright-eyes with or without fire, I know it’s you. I ain’t an honorable man and I sure as fuck ain’t a brave warrior who lives by a knight’s code, but I know that if you’re alive and out of his reach, we got a chance to stop the killin’ and start the rebuildin’.” Entity let his eyes fall to his sword’s handle and gently gripped it. The pommel glowed brightly when he did and filled his head with Heron’s sweet and soothing voice, and he slid his sword a few inches from its sheath. Cariphae eyed the glistening pommel carefully and could hear what sounded like a faint song emanating from the stone. Somehow she could hear it while Quartz couldn’t.

Quartz watched quietly as Entity seemed to be opening up to the Queen. She didn’t understand how it was so easy for the man to speak gently to a fearsome living legend as if he had known her as more than just a queen. Even she was curious as to what he knew. He had spoken highly of her since the moment they met and defended her in every conversation he had about her despite their recent confrontation, and now he was knelt to her level and offering inspiring words to an otherwise broken woman. Quartz knew that deep down, Entity cared more than he liked to admit.

“And what do you intend to accomplish then, Entity? Is it freedom for others you want? Or is it freedom for yourself?” Cariphae looked deeply into Entity’s eyes to try and see what lay behind them.

“I think both.” Entity honestly answered as he glanced away for a second.

“You will not accomplish both. Freedom comes at a price.” Cariphae said.

“What? Ya think I plan on dyin’ or somethin’?” Entity smugly grinned but it fell when Cariphae shook her head at such ignorance.

“Dying is freedom; it’s living to guard that freedom that is the prison.” She looked away and struggled to stand to her feet. Entity watched the woman wobble and nearly fall back to her knees and decided to catch her by her arm to hold her up.

Shocked by his help, she looked wide-eyed at his hand that held her up and managed to hold her balance. The two locked eyes silently and he let go when he was confident that she could remain standing on her own. Though his words were strange, his eyes told a different story that she couldn’t make out. It seemed as if both Entity and the Captain were withholding more information than they were claiming to have, and once again there was not much she could do to get it other than follow their advice. Her intuition was strong enough to keep her calm and understand that despite Entity’s and Quartz’s unusual interactions, they were on her side. There was little to argue about with such little time to act.

“Well, maybe we won’t need to guard it when bright-eyes bites the dust.” Entity smirked.

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