Vora leaned against the wall, playing with the braid in her fingers, snot and tears muddying her face. She looked at photographs on Maive's nightstand of their adventure at Cathedral Mall. Next to them was a cup of tea, still full, beaming from the sun.
Her tea was always special. It had a rainbow color to it that Vora thought was pretty. This time that she looked at it, Vora recognized the rainbow from elsewhere. Yes, the same rainbow color as that medicine in their shop.
Vora straightened and scowled. Maive drank that tea for a long time. She started getting ill around the same time Vora noticed that tea. Vora hated herself for not putting the pieces together. She felt Maive’s pain and was too incompetent to save her friend. The one who served that tea every time was…
Vora left the room, snapping the door behind her. Outside were Maive’s parents, brother, Albeit, and some staff.
"She's gone. I'm sorry," Vora said sadly while sliding past.
She heard the sobs of Sabastian behind her, with Albeit trying to comfort him. The parents also mourned in a quieter fashion, as well as some staff.
Vora used the eternal braid to tie her hair back. She lifted her skirt, and from her scarred thigh, she pulled the Fallite knife from its sheathe. Her brows were crushed, and she bit her lip. Vora burst into the main hall with a bang. All the servants paused with confusion, holding objects defensively.
Flash, who dusted a windowsill, peered over in time for a sharp blue streak to lodge into her leg and leak brass blood that seeped into her uniform and solidified into rust. She grunted and grabbed her leg in pain.
An enraged Vora screamed, "I'm going to kill you, bitch!”
Flash cautiously removed the knife and tossed it aside. "You need to leave this estate. Now," she stated firmly.
"How long?! How long have you been a monster?!"
Flash vanished and reappeared behind Vora, blowing light objects into the air from where she traveled. She restrained the livid woman by her arms. Albeit and the Ornas came in, confused and scared.
"What are you two doing?” Albeit asked roughly.
"Flash murdered Maive. She’s been poisoning her for years.”
"Poisoned?” Albeit tried to be reasonable. “Vora, I know it's hard to cope right now. You are still in shock, reaching for an excuse. Flash didn’t poison Maive. No one was at fault.”
Vora didn't bother accounting for anyone believing her. It didn’t even matter if Flash admitted her guilt. She would kill her.
Vora broke from the hold by flipping backward over Flash, dislocating and relocating her arms. She swiftly snapped Flash’s neck with her thighs, hurdled off her body, and went for her knife with the time she had just bought.
Many servants fled the room, screaming about a Dowser. The Ornas were quickly escorted out for their safety. Albeit remained with a few guards with drawn revolvers, lugers, and MP40s around the room.
"Do not fire upon Mrs. Bekkan. She’s had a rough time of it and is hysterical. Just calm down, Vora. We can discuss this for as long as you need. I'm old and experienced loss…"
You're a sweet old man, Albeit, Vora thought.
She reached for the knife as Flash regenerated, leaped, and stomped down at Vora’s location, decimating the surrounding floor. Vora evaded it while securing her weapon. Flash grabbed Vora by the throat, and at the same time, Vora had her tip against Flash’s ivory neck.
"You don’t know how lucky you are,” Vora said through her teeth. “This wouldn’t even be a fight years ago, just unusual cruelty.”
"I'm not letting you waste nearly sixty years of work," Flash whispered coldly, her golden eyes flaring. “I’d disembowel you right now if not for sweet Albeit."
"It's all about him then? Did you kill Maive because of your sick, creepy crush?" Vora smartly accused.
"Stop, both of you,” Albeit demanded. “Separate this instant!”
Vora gashed the Chime across the chest for the split moment that Flash backed off. Flash’s arms were consumed by scarlet lightning, and she swung at Vora blindingly fast. Vora, however, evaded every attack based on instinct earned in skirmishes.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
"Sir, this girl is a heretic and a danger to others. She needs to be nullified,” Flash suggested to Albeit coldly.
"Flash, no," Albeit responded. “You’ve known Vora for years. She’s no heretic.”
"She’ll kill whoever, no matter how long she’s known you. You’re all so arrogant,” Vora sneered. “How did you get away with it so long?"
"She's been doing it for years," said a maid offside, filled with shame. "There was nothing we could do about Lady Maive or any of her atrocities. She threatened my family. I had no choice but to keep quiet."
One of the bodyguards added, "I’m sorry, Albeit. It’s true. She’s a demon. She broke my finger for knocking over a vase. She’s hurt others worse for less, and she covers it up.”
Many others joined in with their experiences about the cold monster known as Flash. All the aggressive words wore at Flash's nerves, and she exploded and spat.
"Shut up! All of your lives are worthless. You can't do anything right. You're burdens to Albeit!” Flash screamed, her body engulfed in golden electricity, which struck and singed the roof.
Albeit didn’t lower his strong composure from Flash’s outcry. “What they say true?” After silence from Flash, he tightened up his tie. “I see. You killed Lady Maive. In the cruelest of ways. I’ve known you since I was a child, and you betrayed me.”
“I didn’t betray you. I’ve always been on your side, Albeit.” She palmed her heart. “I love you. But everyone else uses you. That princess deserved her suffering the most. But look how good I took care of her. Tending to her every need. That’s what I’ll do for you when you are unable to take care of yourself.”
“She deserved it?” Vora snarled. She examined her knife, trying to figure out how it worked. Her father said it was special.
“You are a monster,” Albeit said clearly.
“No. But I’m not. I love you.” Flash goggled and fell to her knees.
“You didn’t do anything for me. I thought you were a sweet, loyal friend. No. You killed someone I love and threatened those I look after. Have you been doing this all my life? I don’t care if you’re a Chime; you’re lesser than human.”
“You can’t be saying this,” Flash begged. “You can’t!”
“Don’t let Flash leave,” Albeit ordered. “She can’t divine-step, but she’s quick. Vora, this old man only asks you—”
“Naturally,” Vora responded before his sentence was finalized. She turned a knob on her knife, and gears began whirring and ticking. “I’m far better than she’ll ever be.”
Flash stood and turned to Vora. “This is your fault.”
Flash blurred to her opponent and aimed to blast a hole in Vora’s chest. Vora leaped over and buried her knife into Flash’s back. The clicking stopped, and the knife blade exploded, sending the handle flying. A rusted crater was in Flash’s back, and hovering around her were floating, blue pieces of Fallite.
“She just wouldn’t die,” Flash growled. “She just wouldn’t die,” she repeated.
Flash blasted Vora with lightning, scorching everything it hit. Vora ran behind decorative metal poles, and they grounded the attack. Vora grabbed the handle and squeezed it, and the shards returned to her, piercing everything along the way. Flash’s body was perforated, and her uniform was shredded.
“I’ll kill you!” Flash screeched weakly.
Flash dashed around the room like a rubber ball, and she shot a crack of lightning at Vora every time she paused to change directions. Vora wasn't as fast as Flash without Eoa, but she was more intelligent, predicting everywhere she went. She evaded the lightning and slashed to her right. At the moment of her swing, Vora would have struck air, but partway through, Flash appeared there to attack. The Chime was cut across the chest and slowed down due to the overwhelming rust she had accumulated.
Vora flipped over the Chime, drove her knife into the top of Flash’s brown treads, then slammed her heel into the hilt, pounding the knife entirely into Flash's skull. The Chime fell over, dead.
After Albeit confirmed it was safe, he went to Vora, who panted harshly with sweat. Her eyes were wild, glaring at Flash’s body. He put a hand on Vora’s shoulder, which caused her to flinch. Albeit avoided looking at the corpse as it hurt him in ways he would not express.
Vora sobbed. “I could have saved her. If only I wasn’t so stupid.”
“It wasn’t your fault, Vora. You’re a good woman.” Albeit pulled her away from the body and said, “The blame falls upon me, and I shall repent. I no longer deserve to serve the Orna family. I thank you for this. From how it sounds, I don’t believe anyone here will reveal these events.”
“I can’t trust that to be true. Word will get out that Vora Bekkan is a Dowser. If I stay, I will cause problems for my family. I’m not coming back to O’Landra.”
“I understand, Lady Vora.”
“What are you going to do?” Vora asked after a pause, wiping her red face.
“I don’t know. Travel, I suppose. Retirement is overdue.”
“Reconnect with your daughter while you’re at it.”
“How do you—Maive… It’s about time I face her again.” Albeit bowed to Vora, and so did everyone else whose life was threatened by the Chime maid. “Farewell, Vora Bekkan.”
“Goodbye, Albeit.”
Vora walked off the estate and vanished from the Orna’s lives.
***
After visiting with her preferably unaware parents for the last time in a while, Vora stopped at Vastil Bridge before leaving O’Landra. She hopped out of her HC, walked the bridge halfway, and peered over the edge into the river.
This place was where she officially first interacted with Darcie. They got into a fight immediately after Darcie badmouthed Vora's choice of candy.
Vastil Bridge was also the spot where Maive and Darcie declared they were a couple, to which Vora responded, “I’ve known that since before you were dating.”
The violet-haired woman pulled a cloth baggy of shattered hard candy from her dress. Vora tossed the shards of sugar onto her tongue and sucked on the juices.
She thought this might be her fault for freeing herself of her magic and abandoning her power. If she didn’t fracture her soul and suffered the full force of Eoa, could she have saved Maive and Darcie—and Mr. Crowdon, for that matter? She’d never know. All she could do was live for them now and carry them along in her life as the eternal braid in her hair.