As I walk towards the giant door fear starts to fill my heart. I shake after each step, sweat trickles down my face, and my breathing becomes hefty, it feels like I am a baby facing down a wonderbeast.
There are many people in this room who could kill me as I am currently, and there is nothing I can do about it, yet they are all bowing in the face of the monster I am walking towards. The fear is so much, so intense that I stop walking and start to panic.
I could die, right now my life will could truly come to an end, my father, Orb, no one can save me. I will have accomplished nothing in my life, all I will have done is cause pain to others.
But worse than that, if I was to die right now what would change for anybody? Willow and Orb will cry, but they will both swallow their sadness like they have done in the past for everyone’s benefit. Buloke will become the leader of the village, and even Suzuka will definitely make more friends, even my master will find more students.
What have I even done with my life?
Tears flow from my eyes and as they do, the quaking voice says, “I care not for the words of children, so I will carry out your execution.”
Willow screams, “WAIT! Do you think such a thing like this is fair, not even these mighty warriors in this room dare to raise their heads against you but you would think she would be able to.”
“Yet despite being the weakest person in the room by far, you just did.”
Willow is silent and I am still standing in one place shaking and crying. “I will give you a choice to make this fair then, if one of you kills yourself, I will completely protect the other for the rest of their life.”
Willow says, “You bastard!”
“What is the problem? If you love your wife so much lay down your life for her, and if this girl is so much of a coward that she can’t face me she can simply kill herself to protect you.”
I start to cry even more and say, “I hate this, I hate this so much. This fear, these thoughts, myself, I just wish I didn’t have to do any of this, I wish more than anyone I was dead right now.”
I start to walk forward, “So I refuse to still be in the same spot as such a weakling for even one more moment.”
Full of tears I walk towards the door, and say, “Maple Rian leader of the village of Aplos, I am here today to speak to you Grand Druid Senán.”
His quaking voice says, “Thank you for your effort since this will make it easier to do this.”
Through one of the walls a giant arm bursts through, the arm is so big that with his hand he could pick up and through Willow the 2nd like a toy, even his fingernail could crush me into a dush. It’s furry, and bloody, beastlike but human at the same time.
He swings his hand towards me at such a fast speed that the wind pressure causes destruction and blows away large portions of the area behind me, but I use my legacy to decrease my body's speed so much that I don’t move away from the spot I am standing.
His hand moved towards me so fast, that I can’t even react, all I can do is brace myself for my inevitable death. But as the hand comes towards me I feel something gentle touch my face.
One of his fingers is gently caressing my face, if he were to use more force this finger could crush my entire body, but even though this hand is massive it is controlled perfectly.
In a far gentler voice, he says, “Blood really is hard to run from.” Then in his normal quaking voice, he says, “Please chief of Aplos please forgive me for my rudeness.”
Olc says, “You don’t need to apologize to someone like her.”
“My status doesn’t excuse my actions, or do you believe that having a high enough rank means you no longer have to show respect to others.”
Olc in a cowardly voice says, “Sorry.”
Pulling his hand away from me, he says, “Now please would you tell me why you are here?”
I pause for a moment as I think what information, I should and shouldn’t tell.
“I see the hesitation in your eyes, so Here me now Maple Rian, because on all of the lives of the Tuatha Dé Dannan, I promise you that no information you say to us will be used against you, and your safety will be assured as long as you are here. So please tell me, has the outside world truly frozen over?”
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With no hesitation in my mind, I say, “No, only the continent of Victoria was frozen over, the rest of the world has gone on fine.”
The beastkin behind me starts to mumble as the information strikes them all, but then Senán asks, “How are you here then.”
“Someone I know has the ability to move the snow and is resistant to the cold, he is the only one in the history of humanity who has such an ability, and recently we have started to make a home for ourselves on the upper parts of Vicotria.”
“I see this is starting to make sense. I assume this boy is a legacy?”
“Yes, he is.”
In a serious tone, he asks, “Does this body have some silver hair and one gold eye?”
Surprised, I say, “Yes he does, have you met him already.”
“No, I haven’t, just an educated guess. Considering your confusion, I would make a guess that the boy somehow found out about this place and went it and you followed after him, which is what I saw falling from the sky.”
“Yes, that would be rather accurate.” How good is this man’s eyesight this place is extremely far from where we fell though.
“I see this is rather joyous news that humanity has survived for the last 2000 years.”
Amadán says, “Isn’t this rather alarming news? This would mean that the rest of civilization spent the last 2000 years developing.”
Senán laughs then says, “Don’t worry, I am sure that the world outside of here is barely more advanced than us, change isn’t something that comes easy to humanity.”
After he ceases his laughter, he asks, “Maple Rian, are you descended from a man by the name of Magnolia.”
My head jolts up and I say, “Yes he was the founder of my village, but how would you know that name?”
“Because Magnolia was a member of the Tuatha Dé Dannan or a beastkin as you humans would put it.”
Shocked, I say, “You must be joking.”
“I assure you what I speak is the truth. Magnolia was also one of the only people who would have known we were down here, so it is rather fateful that one of the first people to find us would be Magnolia’s descendent.”
“May I ask you what was your relationship with Magnolia?”
With the softest voice he has used today, he says, “Someone whose forgiveness I will ever be able to obtain, the second in my life.”
I simply stand there shocked that a man whose voice was so powerful could sound so weak.
“Thank you for answering my questions Maple Rian, both you and your husband will be kept in our protection, and I swear to you we will find your other friend who you are looking for.”
“Thank you!”
“Now ministers, make sure to treat her will all the respect you would me, I won’t tolerate any disobedience. Now draw your blood and make a geas to me.”
Suddenly behind me all of the ministers cut their stomachs and then drenched in blood they say, “On our pride, on our bloodlines, on the teachings of Danu, each of us solemnly swear to this pack, this uniting of souls, to this Geas, and my everything that stems from us rot and wither if we fail.”
Each of them then gets up and starts to walk away, and as they do I run towards Willow. Before I get close to him I turn and face Senán saying, “Thank you!”
“No need for that, I am just happy you are alive.”
Confused, I say, “Umm, I will try my best to continue that, thank you.”
-Break-
Later that night
Location: Abbán’s house
Φ An image all too familiar to me plays out in front of me, the image of my mother's body burnt to a crisp.
Her skin was dark like the night sky but was as soft as the clouds in the sky, her smile was bright which always made me feel better whenever I saw it, her soul which I could feel every single day had faded completely.
This person who once gave me a life full of joy has disappeared, this person is nothing more than rotting flesh, this person is a husk that can only ever deteriorate and the fact my mom is that scares me to no end.
Opening my eyes some tears fall down them, so I turn my head to the right, and when I do I see Suzuka’s face looking directly at mine. So I instantly punch her right in the face out of shock.
She holds her hands over her face, and says, “OUCH!”
Frightened, I say, “I knew you were a creepy girl but trying to touch me in my sleep, truly you are putrid.”
“I wasn’t trying to do that? And the first thing you do when you see a girl's face next to yours is punch it!? you’re a failure of a man.”
“If you didn’t want to get punched you should learn not to attack people in their sleep!”
Still holding her face in pain, she says, “I wasn’t trying to attack you, idiot, I was trying to help!” Then she points at me.
Looking around me, I notice that of the three tails she has currently two of them are wrapped around my body, though as I notice this she pulls them back and wraps her body in them.
Aggressively, I say, “Why were you touching me with your tails.”
Rolled up in a ball with her tails surrounding her, she says, “Because you looked like you were having a hard time, and I know friendly spirit energy makes the body feel better, so I was trying to help but no more idiot!”
“Well, you should mind your own business you fool!”
In a quiet tone, Suzuka says, “You mumble Mom, and I know what it feels like to miss your parents.”
I feel foolish at my previous insults, so I say, “Hey tell me abo-.”
But before I finish, she says, “BUT YOUR PARENTS ARE PROBABLY HAPPY YOU AREN’T AROUND ANYMORE!”
“YOU BITCH!”
Jumping her we both suddenly start to fight, and she gets my arm in a lock and starts to stretch it out, “APOLOGIZE TO ME!”
This is bad, if this goes on any longer she really will take off my arm. I need a way to make her docile right now or I forgo this arm. Wait a minute why is she even mad at me in the first place, ever since we met she has always been picking fights against me.
Suddenly a memory of our first conversations appears in my mind, so I say, “SUZUKA DO YOU WANT TO BE MY FRIEND.”
She suddenly lets go of my arm, and backs up, then acting shy, she says, “Are you serious.”
Seeing this I am so disgusted, that I say, “Urgh no.”
Putting on her mask, she tries to attack me again. “Do you think you can mess with a maiden's heart and get away with it!”
But before she reaches me something moves past the both of us. “Suzuka was that you.”
She shakes her head no.
Both of us put our backs against each other’s, and then she says, “Iancu there is something else in this room with us.”