This vain planet.

Their line was breaking, Arthur,Skye and Alabaster must have slain whole legions of them,but perhaps so had she.Nevertheless,their line was breaking as well; the higher the sun rose, the more vulnerable their dark army became. The slightest light could scorch a shadow warrior in some brief moments.The time was growing close,when they'd have to face her,when she'd have to face him, when she'd have to rescue Jaxin and Arthur.Alabaster did not have a single drop of blood on him, where she was filthy and sticky with it, he was as pure as fresh snow, ironic given the fact that his thirst was all but satisfied.Wails and cries echoed all around her,but they were falling through now,quieter than before.Too many dead or much too weak to even beg for life,to even remember what life was before this battle, before they faced beasts who wore the skins of men.She saw Arthur plunge his sword into the groin of a man, then slashing and thrusting through him,tearing his body wholly up to his throat.Blood and foul white muccus ran down his neck as his corpse fell to the ground.She stood there,staring at him,her daggers in hand. No matter how hard she looked,there was nothing left for her too see of the boy he had once been. That hurt more than every wound or cut or scar she had acquired, on that day and any other.She felt his presence behind her before he touched her; he hadn't left her side since that man tried to split her skull in half. She turned around to face him, bend her head or the knee, anything for him not to have his mind swayed. But he was not looking at her. He was smirking smuggly, full of false confidence at Eruda who stood dark and eerie a good five meters away. Like himself, she was untouched, and although he had taken part in the bloodbath, it was evident she hadn't moved a single finger. Time lapsed slowly, as if the man forging it had gone on a break to rest his weary bones.As if they were shadows themselves,the others fell around them. Arthur was on her left, so close,yet he felt as distant as he had ever been. Skye and Jaxin closer to each other,so different,yet so similar in their seraphic nature.

The faeries were now hushed, eyes intent on the battle coming to a close. Helen stood in front of the mass of Faeries, her index finger of her right hand on her temple. Feardia had already left them earlier. He had wanted to watch out for Skye-Not that she needed it-and he was disturbed by how much he missed him brethren. He hadn't slain anyone yet. He didn't particularly enjoy the act, as a healer, but neither did he cower from it. He stepped over bodies without looking down to see if they were alive or not. But he could feel it. The end was nigh. Neither force could hold out much longer.

I left the kitchen maids where they were, and climbed back to the library. I opened the door slowly, detesting how even the ancient library's silence was corrupted by the sounds of battle. I took my seat next to the largest window and looked down again. I could watch now without retching, but I retained my disgust and grief at this terrible waste of life. I quickly picked out my friends-noting unhappily that Feardia was nearing the bloodshed.

Eruda's long face was hardened,her features sharp and her mouth erased into a thin line.She stood straight and tall,her eyes black as coal, as night,as death itself creeping right into her very soul.Like Alabaster,she had no trace of battle on her,but while he had fought and slain his foes, it was evident she had steered clear of any intervention.
"Don't be ashamed,my dear. You've got to learn to survive defeat.That's when one develops character."
He crooked his head to the side and grinned, crimson blood glistening at the corners of his lips.
"Victory is of the same price as defeat.You see,you say I'm unforgiveable,otherwise you'd let me be and make use of me once more.The thing is,Eruda,I have never lost a single battle.For years,you have enslaved me and made me obey your every order, had your fun hurting me or thinking you did whenever you pleased. I was your weapon,but now it is time to have a taste of your own sweet."
With a wave of his hand flames encircled them,engaged in a deathly dance,entrapping not only Eruda but the five of them as well.They rose and rose and rose higher above them,until the sky itself seemed to be bleeding red,until the moon turned black.The screams of those who had the misfortune to stand in the fire's path,men and shadows alike, shrieked as their bodies were scorched to bones or dust.Time seemed to slow down then, as Eruda and Alabaster stood petrified facing each other,measuring gazes and power.She watched Arthur enter their mental battle,but she knew he alone would not be powerful enough to stop Eruda.She'd have him dead in a minute,should Alabaster fall.As she watched him, his blade in hand, his eyes such a dark blue,concentrated on his prey,paint struck at her. She tried hard to find the boy he had once been,but there was no trace of him and the realisation hurt her more than any scratch, any scar or any wound she had acquired on that day or any other.She redirected her energy to him,although that would leave her unprotected without wards or magic to save her from Eruda's attacks.Still,if that meant his salvation,then so be it.He didn't take his eyes off Eruda but felt her presence around him.He knew better than to argue with it,though,it would only lead to another distraction.

Eruda's long face was hardened,her features sharp and her mouth erased into a thin line.She stood straight and tall,her eyes black as coal, as night,as death itself creeping right into her very soul.Like Alabaster,she had no trace of battle on her,but while he had fought and slain his foes, it was evident she had steered clear of any intervention.
"Don't be ashamed,my dear. You've got to learn to survive defeat.That's when one develops character."
He crooked his head to the side and grinned, crimson blood glistening at the corners of his lips.
"Victory is of the same price as defeat.You see,you say I'm unforgiveable,otherwise you'd let me be and make use of me once more.The thing is,Eruda,I have never lost a single battle.For years,you have enslaved me and made me obey your every order, had your fun hurting me or thinking you did whenever you pleased. I was your weapon,but now it is time to have a taste of your own sweet."
With a wave of his hand flames encircled them,engaged in a deathly dance,entrapping not only Eruda but the five of them as well.They rose and rose and rose higher above them,until the sky itself seemed to be bleeding red,until the moon turned black.The screams of those who had the misfortune to stand in the fire's path,men and shadows alike, shrieked as their bodies were scorched to bones or dust.Time seemed to slow down then, as Eruda and Alabaster stood petrified facing each other,measuring gazes and power.She watched Arthur enter their mental battle,but she knew he alone would not be powerful enough to stop Eruda.She'd have him dead in a minute,should Alabaster fall.As she watched him, his blade in hand, his eyes such a dark blue,concentrated on his prey,paint struck at her. She tried hard to find the boy he had once been,but there was no trace of him and the realisation hurt her more than any scratch, any scar or any wound she had acquired on that day or any other.She redirected her energy to him,although that would leave her unprotected without wards or magic to save her from Eruda's attacks.Still,if that meant his salvation,then so be it.He didn't take his eyes off Eruda but felt her presence around him.He knew better than to argue with it,though,it would only lead to another distraction.

All of a sudden, a ring of fire rose from the earth. I put my hand to my lips to muffle my gasp, as Jaxin was hidden from my view. He was the person I had been watching at that precise moment. I looked for Skye too, but she must have been within the circle of flames. Feardia was outside the licking flames, looking deeply at it, as if to break it with his eyes. Apparently, he could find no way to look inside as he suddenly roared with frustration. The faeries did not move, or blink an eyelid. Only Helen moved, reestablishing her hold on her staff intently.
I moved closer to the window. There, I could, albeit barely, see into the ring. I could distinguish three people, but their faces were blurred by the heat of the air around them. Three must have been hidden from my view. I bit my lip. Feardia's back was to the Faeries, and all his energy must have been out into hiding his emotions from the faeries, because his face was the most open I had ever seen it. The was fear in his face, a fear that couldn't be for his own safety. You could see it in his eyes, it was a fear for a loved one.

Then something happened. Eruda seemed to stumble and lose her concentration, giving them the advantage they needed. Arthur lunged forward but Alabaster signaled for him to fall back. An eerie grin flowered on his lips, and he expanded his tendrils more,digging into her mind. Eruda's body shook violently as he approached her with eager strides. Alienor's chest was heaving up and down in anxiety. Something seemed wrong.It shouldn't have been so easy; a few thriumphant and prideful words, a bit of silence and then death. And those terrible seconds she knew, were harder than anything else she had undergone. Alabaster stood over Eruda, as if the weaker she became,the more she shrunk.
"Shame for it to end like this. I had expected you to put up a bigger fight. It is true,then, that it is harmful and dangerous to underestimate your opponents; Almost as much as to overestimate them."
He would finish her with his own hands. Turn her dainty,pale neck and snap it in two. She knew. He would use no weapon,no magic, no mental game. His own flesh and bones. But as he leaned in, there was the slightest flicker of movement. Her hand, her own, small and human hand, tore through his chest. Time stood still. Alabaster didn't seem to understand what had happened. Surprise, disbelief, anger even, then pain. It all passed in waves through his eyes. His breath hardened and when her fingers pressed tightly, he produced a sound between choking and an agonised scream.
It was her turn to smile.
"Why,Alabaster,my dear,seems the common jape was untrue. You do have a heart. And it is not even made of stone! How utterly, dispicably sweet."
She crushed it beneath her fingers and raised him higher, streams of his black blood,shining silver in the moonlight running down her arm.
"You made one mistake; You thought you were irreplaceable. However..." Another convulsion of her skeleton-like fingers.He screamed as if they were talons,instead. "I can kill any bug who desires to claim my power.Time to finish this celebration.I trust we all had our fun."
She didn't have time to think,to stop and take a breath,to look around her.She couldn't weigh her chances, she couldn't count the possible losses.She removed the wards around Arthur as she moved out of distance and leapt on Eruda.Her dagger in hand sliced through the air as she bared her fangs to dip into her flesh.
She overestimated herself.
Eruda's hand shot through the air and she crashed into the ground. The woman pulled her hand out of his body and licked her fingers one by one, a sinister glow in her eyes. With that same hand he grasped her by the neck and raised her body above the ground, her feet swinging,kicking the air as her grip tightened. She produced ice blades which melted. She clawed at her skin and even bit down on her hand. And when Arthur tried to run to her salvation, she was grateful Skye produced hard,black roots to bind him to his place. His protection had been but her sole purpose.
"Alabaster's little slave." Something shone in Eruda's left hand.A blade.A long,thin, razor-sharp sword.She plunged it through her chest.When Alienor screamed,Alabaster made a feeble attempt to rise. "Pitiful.Weak." The second one was impaled through her neck.Her blood painted Eruda's face in crimson."What could have possibly led you to sacrifise yourself for him? Mhm? Was it loyalty?" Alabaster slid a hand in his shirt,coughing muccus and blood."Maybe fear? Need for glory? Profit?" The third blade nailed her heart."Ah.So,it was love.Too bad it can't wash the iron off steel,isn't it,little girl?"
Her lips formed a silent scream,but she could make no sound. Her body spasmed beneath her fingers and the weight of shadows.
"Don't you know he can't ever love you? Don't you know he's a monster?"
And Alabaster indeed broke her neck. He turned it and snapped it and even tore the head off her shoulders. She could see it all through blur and colours and shades,for the world was darkening around her. She knew his teeth dipped deep into the corpse's flesh.Arthur was screaming her name.Somewhere, at some other place, a girl with green eyes and a boy with golden hair were exchanging words of love and trust and playing with swords. In some other life, they might have been happy. In some other life, she might have been that girl. But there was no more life for her.
The last thing she saw before the world around her was lost, was the colour of blood and a pair of eyes, dark brown eyes, looking down at her, glistening with tears.

Faye saw then, through the flames and waves of blistering heat, Alabaster stalking towards a suddenly crippled Eruda. She pressed herself to the window, watching him without blinking. This was it. She hoped, oh so prayed that this was it. Alabaster would get hat he wanted yet again, and people would stop suffering.

But it was not so. Eruda, jerked her hand up without warning, ripping through Alabaster's proud, arrogant chest. Although Faye couldn't hear her words, Faye knew that Eruda had been feigning her lack of power. She was just as strong as always was, and she was going to win. Faye's spirit sank. Feardia would survive, at least. With his family. But her.. She doubted it, unless she was turned into something like the creatures downstairs, afraid of the light, but prey of the dark. Skye, death, or worse. Arthur, Alienor... Her fate would be the worse, Faye thought, sick at heart. She wasn't surprised to see Alienor try save Alabaster, but she was wholly unprepared to see what Eruda did to her. Faye's eyes flickered to Feardia, expecting him to be mad with the screams. But he was standing as still as his brethren, watching the fire intently. He must know Skye's screams well enough about to worry, Faye observed. Although it was the most inappropriate time,, she giggled. Then she hated herself for laughing when Alienor was being butchered before her eyes. She shut her mouth and once more pressed herself to the window.

..Everything had changed within a second. The fire, gone. Alienor was on the ground, Eruda's broken corpse discarded several feet away. Alabaster held Alienor's limp body to him, as gentle as she had ever seen him. Just proof Jesus was in all souls, dark or light. Feardia was approaching cautiously, as he was most likely unsure about what had happened. His eyes darted everywhere, taking in everything. Instead of going near Alienor as Faye hoped, he moved in the slow direction of Skye, relief beginning to paint his face.

Skye stood still, unmoved by Arthur's screams and curses as he was threatening her if she didn't free him to run to his little almost-corpse of a lover.
"Oh,please.Someone shut him up. If our dear head-vampire resurrected her once I'm sure he can do it again,even with a discount."
Jaxin, that foolish joke of an angel had tried to pass through the fire wall Alabaster had raised while trying to fend off Eruda's men.Now he was lying a good twenty meters away, trying to heal himself and stop his river of silver blood, blissfully unaware of the events around him. Angels do not make good heroes. They are not meant to fight. They are meant to give commands, have others carry them out and then receive the glory, not try to win it themselves. Too much gore isn't too agreeable with an angel. Alabaster,however...that she had not expected. He'd always declare that whore was nothing to him but a powerful tool- so much for power- but now there he was, with that look in his eyes that made the hair at the back of her neck rise. It was the look of a grieving man, a man who was just a stitch away from insanity; given Alabaster's instability and ruthlessness she would have chosen to steer clear as quickly and queitly as possible but Arthur just would not shut his mouth. He slid his hands under her knees and back and lifted her up in his arms. Her head dropped to her right, a small trail of blood jewelled her placid skin. So lovely,even when perished. It made Skye want to retch.Alabaster walked inside the castle with blank eyes and ashen-coloured skin and unstable steps. Now was the time. If Alabaster came to his senses too soon, that'd be their only chance.She was relieved to find Feardia on her side when she turned around.
"Enjoyed the massacre?" she asked, the black trails on her skin slowly receding."I sure did. Be a dear and go tell Jaxin to grab Faye and say farewell. Time is running short."

Faye was missing someone... Where was Jaxin? She moved her neck anxiously, but she couldn't see him. He couldnt have disappeared, he was in the ring of fire earlier! She was beginning to dread the worst, when Alabaster stood up with Alienor in his arms. Then she saw in his shadow, her brother. He was injured, she could see, but he seemed stable enough. Her legs suddenly wanted to give out, as if her gut wrenching worry had been the only thing holding her up.

She sent a quick prayer up to God. He was clearly the reason her loved ones were alive. All of them. But she still felt the pain of a thousands deaths on the battlefield. She picked up her skirts and turned away from the window. Now was the time for the water. She would demand Feardia help her attend to the dying and the ones that they could salvage. She skipped down the stairs. The buckets were where she wanted them. She picked up two and bent over with their weight. Grimacing, she let one down and gripped the one left with both hands. She pushed the great doors open with her back, and the dreary hall was flooded with watery dawn light, yet it barely broke the gloom as if the hall refused to affected.

She faced the battlefield, her eyes half closed from the brightness. Her sight came back only in time to see Alabster rushing towards her, Alienor in his hands. She only managed to throw herself out of the way before he passed her into the hall. The door slammed behind them as if to keep out everyone but his master. Unfortunately, in her hurry to get out of Alabster's way the bucket tipped over her, soaking her gown and wings. Droplets of water fell from her waterproof wings, but the water rapidly sank to her skin, chilling her in the Dawn's light breeze. Too afraid to go in after the mad man, she pushed herself up and walked towards Feardia and the others. She pushed herself to walk faster an normal, despite her bothersome corset. As soon as she reached the edge of the battlefield. She couldn't continue. The ground around her was littered with bodies of fallen warriors, fallen fathers, fallen sons, fallen children. She couldn't quite breathe, and it had nothing to do with her corset. Two bodies away, a young man was choking on his own blood, and it gurgled from a gash in his throat. Kneeling next to him, she ripped one of the bottles from her waist and tipped a drop of its mixture into one of the poor creatures open wounds, into his veins. It took only a few moments before his body convulsed violently for the last time, and stilled. She slipped her hands over his eyes and closed them. Quitely, she murmured the Last Rites into his ear, begging God to forgive his sins, and that he be granted into Heaven. 'Amen.' She finished, unable to keep her tears in. Once upon a time, his mother held him as he cried. Once upon a time, he created mirth amongst his friends, he created tears, perhaps he held a girl. Most probably, she wouldn't see his face again, for Faye couldn't think of anyone caring enough to send the bodies home before they decayed. Rubbing her tears away with fingers stained red, she pushed herself up again. She stopped every now and then to administer the poison on people she knew Feardia couldn't save, or those he wouldn't be able to save in time. Sooner they she could have believed, every one of her four bottles were emptied, even though she never used more than two drops. She forced herself not to look down, but walked towards the others, not much closer than when she started. Upon seeing Jaxin and his pure white wings, something terrible occurred to Faye. Something that made her stop again, something that made her trembling knees almost give in again.

She was a murderer.



Feardia nodded to Skye. But before he could move away, he had to touch her. Just to make sure that she really was unharmed. He touched a darked piece of flesh before the black receded, leaving her skin clear again. "I'll do at then," he said, assured that she was fine. He pulled his arm back and turned away to go talk to the angel, still on the ground. Feardia couldn't help but feel as if Jaxin was weak.

It had been a cold day.Joshua was busy with Arthur, both having to attend some council of their fathers, in order to learn how to become just lords. Alienor had the title, but no lands or holdfasts and nobody invited her to such occasions, especially since she had refused to be a maid for Joshua's sister and persisted to be his squire instead. They had laughed in her face and then Orrin patted her head in a gesture of fatherly love.As always, she was wandering in the woods, the wind causing her hair to fall into her eyes. A thin,long blade made of timber in hand. She would slice through the air and try defensive moves and sparring until her fingers were full of calluses.The sun had begun to sink when she heard a rustling. Certain it'd be Joshua,she didn't flinch towards her self-made 'weapon' but stayed still, her eyes following the flow of the river.
"Tell me, m'lord, how would you like to be king?" she asked in a mocking villager accent.
"Who says I am not one already?"
Her head whipped around. Startled, she eyed Eric playing with a string of rope in his hands.
"Oh.It's you." the leaves rustled again and Max emerged behind him."And your most faithful dog,I see."
Max was truly Eric's dog.Following his every order and looking up at him as if he were a god. Alienor thought he might even chew his food for him if Eric was too bored for that.
"My,my.Ally,but you look a treat in the moonlight." he almost sang.
She stood up annoyed,throwing leaves and grass off her clothes."It's not moonlight yet,Max. Stop reciting works you don't understand."
She turned around to pick up her 'sword' and froze when she didn't find it on the ground,but in the hands of Petyr,Max's older brother. That one was truly a jewel. He was stockier and bigger than both Max and Eric and always loved to fondle young girls at the market or terrorize farmers. Of course,being high-born granted him the advantage of never having to answer for his actions to anyone.
"Interesting." he said,turning the blade around in his fingers."Who are you going to poke with it?"
"Whoever needs to be poked with something hard once in a while.Would you like me to show you?" she asked,reaching to grab it and free it from his grip but the moment she lay her fingers on its wooden surface, he yanked it and pulled them both close together.
"You are a bit too mouthy for a servant,aren't you? Haven't they taught you respect at Storm's?"
His other hand slipped into her bodice,but before he could advance, a well placed kick landed onto his groin. Petyr grunted and let go of her momentarily.But they had encircled her and she was trapped between those three.Max sighed.
"Seems like it.And since Eric is the only one of the Storm household currently present, he will decide how it would be best for us to teach her the appropriate respect she needs to show."
Eric wrapped the rope around his fingertips and held it out for her to see."I shall."
He nodded and Petyr grabbed her by her shoulders and pushed her towards a tree.
"Oh,so terrified.You're going to tie me up to a trunk and leave me here a few hours. As if I've never been in the woods at nighttime before."
Petyr pushed her arms savegely behind the trunk, injuring the skin as it touched the rough wooden surface.She waited patiently,standing straight, her eyes looking at everything but them.So,when the first stone hit her, she released a startled cry.
"Want to taste the stone?" Eric asked.He didn't expect an answer.
The first had struck her chest,but the second hit her face.
"Nobody will come to your aid, Ally." Max said mockingly."As if anyone would care.Not even your own family did.And we all know Joshua merely wants to fuck you."
They didn't cease in time as she had hoped.Soon enough, a trail of blood ran down her face,her arms,her legs. Her stomach hurt but the clothes protected the soft skin there.She bit her own lips bloody, determined not to let them have the satisfaction to hear her cry out.
"Hey,we may as well have our fun with her,right?" Petyr said, his hand in his pants already.And that did terrify her. She knew she'd suffer in his hands,in all their hands but what would happen if they got her with child? No.No,that couldn't happen,she'd be thrown out and disgraced,she-
Eric shook his head,thoughtful."We can't.Let's not go that far. Give her a couple years and then you're free to let your horse fuck her for all I care.But not now."
She couldn't tell how much time had passed.It could have been seconds or minutes or hours,but she never knew.And just when she thought it'd end,when Max untied her hands,she was wrong.Her wrists were bleeding,bruised by the rope. Someone grabbed her by her hair and pulled her across the forest canopy to the edge of the river.
"Have you learned enough respect now, wench?"
With all the strength she had left, she spit a mixture of blood and saliva on his face.He wiped his cheek with disgust and then he sunk her head into the water. She didn't have time to think it wouldn't be wise to protest or spend her energy on fighting.She didn't last long. Her mouth opened,her lungs longing for air but it wouldn't come. He held her down not matter how wildly she squirmed. When he finally let her breathe it wasn't for more than a few seconds.Then her head was in the water again. And again.Until she could no longer resist,until she could no longer play brave, until when he let her out, she screamed.

Feardia sauntered over to Jaxin. He stood over the Angel's trembling form, uncompassionate. "Get up. You've got to go and get ready to leave. That includes convincing Faye to leave... Use your authority as a true angel if you must, even if it upsets her to be reminded that she's Fallen." He didn't offer his hand.

Feardia gave up on trying to talk to Jaxin. He was unresponsive, still trembling on the ground. He turned on his heel and strode towards the middle of the field where Faye was kneeling. He wondered what she had done during the battle and what she was doing now. Maybe she was praying, he thought in disgust. A bit late for that now.
Approaching her, he slowed down. Her face was absolutely blank; eyes dead, face bloodless. He felt concern for her although he hated it. If he were to care about Faye, he would spend every moment of every day doing so. She wasn’t made for this world. “Faye?” His voice was soft and cautious. “Faye, you shouldn’t have come out. You know you’re not used to all this gore.”
She looked up at him, eyes unseeing. “Feardia?”
“Come, Faye. We’re leaving this place. You won’t ever have to see this again. C--”
He stopped talking and looked her up and down. For the first time, he had noticed the empty vials at her waist. Glancing at her face, he slipped one out of their holds and sniffed it. He looked at her again, but now for the first time as if he was really seeing her. “Faye?”
“Yes?” She replied, emotionless.
“This vial used to hold poison. So did all those at your waist, I dare suppose. But now they’re empty.”
“And?”
“What did you do?” Horror was growing in his chest. Death and murder didn’t bother him. But that Faye could lose her innocence, that this wretched place was capable of tearing even the most untainted of consciences, was appalling. She may have been irritating, but she was a breath of fresh, clean air at times.
“They were in pain. Unable to be saved. So I prayed for them and ended their life.” The words were spoken as if they were foreign and she didn’t understand the meaning of them. The only sign of distress were her hands; her nails were dug deeply into the flesh of her thighs. Feardia didn’t know what to say to her, for the first time in his life.
“It.. you did well, Faye. Come now. It’s time to go. We went through this before, remember? You’re coming with us.” He took hold of her arms and pulled her up.
“Don’t speak to me like a child.” Emotion flared on her face in the form of a flush. “I’m not going.” She ripped her arms away from him.
“What?” He was dumbfounded. It made absolutely no sense that she didn’t want to go with them. Fair enough, she had never joined in on their conversations of their escape, but never had she made any inclination that she wasn’t going to join them. The idea was ridiculous. She simply couldn't protect herself alone, not to mention survive by herself in Alabaster's castle. "What are you messing at, Faye?" He demanded, confusion quickly turning to anger.
"I can't leave." She replied, her eyebrows set resolutely. 
"You can't not leave. You were welcomed here as a guest of a Faerie Prince. Now that exact Faerie Prince is stealing away one of Alabaster's most prized warriors. You're not even significant enough to be punished for my actions, but you certainly won't be welcome. If you're lucky, you won't die for quite a while. But that innocence face of yours is simply too tempting for the occupants of this place. Besides that, you have a tendency to be annoying. Especially if you attempt to interact with Alienor. She's lost to us, Faye, since before we met her, since she stumbled upon this black land. Coming here was her downfall, and staying here will be yours. You'll die one day, alone and unnoticed except for the rats who will feed off your flesh. Your body will rot in a forgotten room, in a forgotten corridor, not grieved for by a single soul. If someone comes across your bones one day, they'll throw them to the dogs, and not even the dogs will want to eat from them. Is that all worth whatever idiotic reason you have for staying?"
"That..image you painted so well won't happen, Feardia. Go without me. Be happy. Make Skye happy."
"So this is what it's about? Your foolish infatuation with me? You can't stand to see me with her? You stupid child."
"That's not it." She leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Goodbye, friend. Bade my farewell to Skye too. But I am to stay here."
"...Please, Faye."
"Thank you, Feardia, for your concern, but you can't change my mind."
Feardia withdrew his outstretched arm. "This is not out of concern." He said, sounding furious. "Do you know how many pains I've been through to save your worthless hide? The inconveniences I've endured with the role of your guardian thrust upon my unconsenting shoulders? I've protected you from my family, forgiven you for putting Skye's life on the line when you betrayed us... And now you want to throw it all away? Damn you."
"I'm already damned," she said softly. "I'll be fine. Trust me. Now go. Be lighthearted knowing I am no longer your burden. Spent your time protected you lovely other half instead. I will keep you in my prayers."
Feardia scoffed. "You'll need more than prayers, dear. You'll need a miracle. You have no other protector. Even Jaxin will leave you. He's going, didn't you know?"
"He.. But he's Alienor's protector."
"And like I said, she's gone beyond his help. Besides, Helen will be a frequent visitor. It isn't wise for any type of angel to be alone with her in a castle laden with torture equipment."
Feardia imagined that if her face could get any paler, it would have then. "..I'm sorry."
Without a word, he turned away and left her. Faye felt terrible that their parting was so full of bitterness and misunderstanding, but unlike him, she knew it wouldn't be her last.

Feardia returned to where Skye was standing, in the middle of the scorched circle Alabaster had left. She was completely back to herself now, no trace of the black tendrils that had enveloped her skin only minutes before. Arthur was near, still forced to kneel within the confines of the thick vines she had created. He was still struggling, although Feardia supposed that he knew it was fruitless at this point. Feardia almost felt sorry for him. He could imagine what it felt like to watch his lover been carried off by another. He just didn’t imagine himself being stopped by flowery. The upsides of being a Faerie, he thought wryly.
“We’re going. Now. We can’t wait for him to tire himself out.” He breathed in deeply. The smell of burnt grass did nothing to hide the pungent stench of burnt flesh. He didn’t enjoy it. Death, no matter if it was only humans who were dealt it, was not amusing. “Faye isn’t coming, Skye. She won’t explain herself, and she isn’t delirious. She’s attached to this place. Look, there she is. Bidding farewell to her brother.” He made a sound at the back of his throat. “It doesn’t matter. It shouldn’t, anyway.”

Faye approached Jaxin slowly. She didn’t know if she could face him. Feardia was hard enough. He hadn’t been quick enough to hide how horrified her actions had made him. But to look Jaxin in the eye and know that she.. She had always thought that someday, she would be forgiven. That if she lived a good life on Earth, they would accept her back eventually. But now it could never happen. And she didn’t think that even Jaxin could still accept her after what she had done. The guilt was overwhelming, but she didn’t understand. She didn’t understand how she could feel so evil about a deed done with merciful intent. She clenched her fists into the material of her dress. It had become stiff in areas where the bloodstains had dried.
He had stanched his own wounds, at least, but he looked exhausted. Grey shadows underlined his eyes, making him look at least a decade older. Ash stained his hair and face, dulling the brilliance of his wings. She knelt carefully next to him. “Brother?” She reached out to brush her fingers against his cheekbones. She knew she was far older than him, but he had always seemed wiser than her, and purer. The type of angel little girls prayed to. “I’m so glad you’re alive, brother. I thought-I...I wasn’t.. it didn’t look like you’d survive at some points. I was frightened. I c-couldn’t even trust in the Lord’s will. But you’re alive.. more or less.”

Jaxin's eyes were blank, as if they were made of glass. Somewhere, far away, he could hear Faye's voice, calling to him. And yet, there he was still, with the battle cries all around him and the dried blood on his hands, the souls of the innocent slipping right through his fingers.
The lives he had taken.
"Brother." he heard her say again. Faye, he thought, it is only Faye. Slowly, tantalisingly, he detached himself from the massacre and the screams, the pain flowing all around him. Jaxin's eyes became clear with colour again as he blinked at her. It was only for a brief moment, however, before he embraced her in his arms.
"I am so glad you stayed out of this..." he whispered, careful not to press too tightly on her own dark wings. "You are not meant for the sights of death and agony, Faye." Absent-mindedly he noticed the red patches of blood on her dress. "What happened to you, my Sister? Were you...please tell me you were not injured? We must call on Feardia for this. I could heal you myself if the wound is not fatal...come, Sister. Let me see."