Snippet #2761554

Miriam was almost dozing off in her seat when a high-heeled boot parted the fabric of the tent. Quinn had returned from her meeting, her messy, low bun pinned back up into place and wrapped with braids. Her attire was near identical to the second dress she had lost to a blade, with the addition of navy blue accompanying the black. Her face was the only thing that hadn’t been rejuvenated. Her eyes were just as heavy and tired as they had been before coming out of that room.

A clay cup of some herbal smelling liquid was clutched in both of her gloved hands, her pink umbrella hooked over her elbow. Olive eyes scanned past Miriam and the other woman in the tent with them to rest on Linde with complete apathy.

“Miriam,” she said, then with hesitation, “... High Priestess Emon.” The spindly, scarred woman in white robes narrowed her yellow-green eyes. “May I please be alone with her?”

The High Priestess turned her head to Linde then nodded, her stern features failing to soften as she glided over. “I’ll grant you this, Maiden,” she said, the disdain in that title subtle – but Quinn knew it. She ducked her head slightly in a bow to the woman.

“You needn’t call me that,” she murmured quietly, feeling the judging gaze fall upon her head.

“Shall I call you child?” the woman replied evenly. Her eyes narrowed once more and Quinn knew that she could smell Luca’s pipe on her dress. She passed Quinn to the tent’s exit, her narrow chin raised. “I am not so bitter a woman, Maiden. Welcome home.”

Quinn didn’t raise her head, not until Miriam moved past her – that was when one hand shot out to grab Miriam’s wrist. She looked over her shoulder to lock glares.

“You may access the bar again,” she informed her, “But do not show off your abilities here without my permission. They don’t need to know just yet, and...” she glanced away from Miriam with a little grumble, “... I don’t want to make a habit of convincing people to forgive you for property damage.”

“Sure,” Miriam snapped, “As soon as you keep YOUR people in line. It was the big Sharahan bitch that started this, not me!"

Quinn’s eyes shut, her hand around Miriam’s wrist squeezing slightly. “Miriam... please,” she said in a tired voice, “You’re one of my people now, are you not?”

“For now.”

Miriam snatched her arm back and burst out of the tent, leaving Quinn’s own arm lingering after her. “You’re... welcome,” she said quietly to no one, balling her hand into a fist and bringing it back to her, adding an uncertain, “... comrade.”

She waited until she heard no more footsteps outside before she moved over to Linde’s bed, sitting in the seat Miriam took beside it and setting down the warm cup on the bedside table. Then she just stared down at her.

Quinn hadn’t been that drunk when she had danced with this woman. Enough to make her think that it was a wonderful idea and that they were best friends and nothing terrible was ever going to happen, yes, but not... not enough that anything was blurry. She still remembered the steps, the way Linde’s body moved – and the way her own body moved away from the woman’s. Stepping away, Linde chasing, the strength Quinn felt in her as she guided their... dance...

It should have been a happier memory, at the least bittersweet. But now, all she could think was how her body was manipulated so easily by the hands of her killer.
Her killer, who was presently wounded, sleeping, and human before her.

Quinn’s fingers trailed slowly up her thigh, her fingertips just grazing against the gun barrel. She shivered. It was the same guilty, exciting feeling a child felt when doing something against their parent’s wishes. Or the feeling of standing from a high place, with the thought to jump, just to see what would happen. Entertaining the thought of having a gun to Linde’s temple, knowing that right now, she could be stronger than her, was enough. Her hand dropped from her thigh and hung down, while her head moved forward to rest on the bed besides Linde’s arm.

Stupid, petty Ottavia. What were you thinking?

Linde's slumber had been blissful until this point. Her relaxed, peaceful features slowly contorted with a softly wrinkled brow as Miriam snapped at Quinn and raised her voice, rousing Linde from her sleep and bringing her back to conscious reality.

Her eyes did not open, but her mind was awake. She could hear the final words of Quinn's exchange with Miriam, and the sounds of Quinn sitting, setting her herbal drink down, and running her finger along her leg before letting it sink to her side as she rested her head on the bedside near Linde's arm.

Inwardly, Linde was pained by this gesture. She didn't know what Quinn had been doing or why she stopped, but when Quinn's head came to rest by her arm Linde was unable to hold back the emotion of Quinn's ability to be so vulnerable with her by choice after what they had been through.

A single tear formed in the corner of her eye and dropped down her cheek as her arm gently bumped Quinn's head.

Quinn stiffened when she felt the bump, jolting her head up to see Linde’s wet brown eyes gazing down at her. She immediately straightened back up into her seat.

“You’re awake,” she stated, then glanced over at the cup and took it into her hands to offer it to Linde. “I understand that you can’t eat solids after surgery, but, you haven’t eaten anything since that fight. You’re the doctor. Can you drink this now?”


The corners of Linde's mouth curled into a weak smile.

"Thank you." She said softly.

She eased herself up into a half-seated position, took the cup, and sipped at it for a few seconds before letting it come to rest in her lap.

"... Miriam didn't seem too grateful for being allowed back in the bar." She said quietly.

Quinn had withdrawn into a crossed arms, crossed legs position. She tossed her head away at Linde’s comment, bothered that she had been awake to witness that.

“It’s a shit dive,” she dismissed.

Linde offered a weak chuckle.

"Seems Miriam has a lot to learn about how to control her temper and thank people when they do her a kindness."[color] She said.

She looked up at Quinn.

[color=#6363ff]"You're still here, so may I presume there is something you would like to speak with me about?" She asked.

Quinn drew in a little further, defensive. “I’m still here because I haven’t said goodbye yet!” she retorted, then went back to fuming silence for a moment, before blurting, “I came here to check on you and I’m still checking on you. There’s nothing to talk about.”

Linde's smile softened slightly as she looked down at the cup in her lap.

"... I'm sorry." She said after a few seconds.

Quinn looked at her apprehensively for a moment, before glancing away. “You didn’t kill him, but he won’t be back for a long while,” she murmured, “You did enough.”

Linde's smile faded.

"That's not why I'm apologizing, Quinn." She said quietly.

Quinn froze.

Linde took a deep breath, which became a bit wheezy at the end, before letting it out on a soft sigh as she looked over at Quinn.

"I'm apologizing... Because I've been horrible." She said softly.

Tears started welling in her eyes as she spoke.

"Threatening a child... Threatening your life... I've been little but trouble for you since this all started back in Cre' Est." She said, her lower lip quivering towards the end of her sentence with tears now flowing freely.

"The Red-Eyed Demon tasked me with protecting you all, and I've done the opposite. I've caused strife, confusion, and discontent." She whimpered.

"I've never been more ashamed of myself than the course of these last few days before Ven arrived. Reflecting on my behavior. On my words. The things I've said and done to and around you and the others... They're unforgivable." She whimpered, her head tilting down towards her lap.

Linde broke down, dropping the cup and its contents into her lap and burying her face in her hands.

"I let this happen!" She cried.

"I knew I was changing, but I let it happen anyway!" She continued, shaking her head.

"Three long years following by his side, seeing and doing things I'd never have imagined myself capable of. Horrifying and unspeakable things..." She whimpered.

Her head lowered further, her hands nearly touching her now damp lap as the cup rolled off her leg to the floor. Her sobs and gasps grew weaker, and her breathing slowly came under control.

"Before all of this, I was a dignified doctor in Cre' Est serving my community with pride. People looked at me with a smile and hope, knowing I would do all I could to save them, their loved ones, or their friends from any and all pain and misery. They were proud of me. I was proud of myself." She cried softly.

"Children. Adults. The elderly. Everyone trusted me. Everyone smiled at me. If you told any of them I advocated torturing a child for information, they'd have called you insane." She said quietly, lifting her now soaking wet face from her hands.

"... I let this happen to myself... I allowed myself to change, all for his sake." She said softly.

She turned her head and looked at Quinn as her lower lip quivered.

"I'm sorry... Quinn... I'm so sorry!" She gasped through her tears.

Quinn couldn’t say anything. Wearing her apathetic mask, she watched Linde cry, completely still. Suddenly, there was a weight sharing Linde’s mattress, and the sobbing woman looked up to see that Quinn had moved from her seat. She sat facing off the side of the bed, her head turned to look at Linde in line with her shoulder. They locked eyes for a moment, then Quinn did something she had been itching to do for a long time coming.

She raised her left hand, and slapped the doctor.

It was a quick, sharp strike across Linde’s cheek, sudden and stinging. Quinn's emotionless gaze did not flinch, not even when she saw Linde’s weak smile.

“... A slap well deserved,” she uttered, continuing to shed her tears, “Th-”
Linde did not get to finish that thought, not before Quinn cupped her face with the same hand that had struck her and forced Linde to look her way. Quinn’s gloved palm rubbed at Linde’s eyes, battling to wipe away the endless stream of tears.

“Don’t cry,” she urged firmly, “Not for a reason like this.” Her thumb wiped under Linde’s lashes, her glove now wet with tears. She hadn’t succeeded in stopping them, only in rubbing the skin around Linde’s eyes red. “The moment you cry for your own weaknesses is the moment you become nothing but them.”

She released Linde, settling her hands on her lap and turning her lowered head from her, her blonde bangs shielding her face. “What you have done, is done. Don’t stop walking.” Her fingers curled around her skirt fabric, “But... if you truly regret your decisions this much... you’re walking the wrong way.”

Linde was not expecting the slap, but as it came she could not help but smile and say how she deserved it. She wanted to continue speaking, but Quinn stopped her and rubbed away her tears. It was a touching gesture, and after Quinn finished speaking, Linde's head dropped. Her eyes closed. And her hands fell back into her lap.

"...... Quinn..." She said weakly.

"Could you please hand me my pack?" She asked.

Quinn rose from the bed and walked over to the entrance of the tent where Linde's personal effects were all on a stool. Some of them were outside the pack, the doctors having had to go through her items to find a few things to help them along given their own dwindling supplies. Quinn replaced each item into the pack as best she could, and delivered it to Linde, placing it on the edge of the bed next to herself as she sat back down to observe and listen.
Linde reached for the pack, still with her eyes closed, and reached inside. After her hand sifted through for a few seconds, she brought her hand back out and held up three darts in the palm of her hand for Quinn to see.

"Take them." She said quietly.

Quinn's brow furrowed.

"What are these?" She asked.

Linde's head turned slightly allowing Quinn to see the corner of Linde's left eye from under her bangs.

"...... You once asked me if I would be willing to sacrifice thousands of lives to save the Demon's during Roda I'l Lousta... My answer..." She began, with new tears now leaking from her eyes.

She lifted her right hand out of the pack carrying a fourth dart with a red coat of pain along its body complete with a special leather protective cover over the tip, and placed it into Quinn's hand beside the other three. As the dart left her hand and dropped into Quinn's, she let escape a sob combined with a whimper, as if letting go of it came with extraordinary pain.

With the dart now in Quinn's hand, Linde's head tilted back down.

[b][color=#6363ff]"My answer... Now lies in the palm of your hand." She said quietly.

Quinn stared into her palm at the red dart in stunned silence. Her eyes slowly widened as she comprehended...

"This is," she began, then swallowed, "This can?" She looked to Linde for confirmation, and at the sight of the woman's defeated posture, Quinn knew. She shot up from her seat. Her other hand grasped the fist that clutched the darts and they rested against her brow as she gasped, sounding desperate for air, like she had finally been lifted from water. The quick, shallow breaths that followed made her shoulders shudder. "Oh my Gods," she whispered, "Oh my Gods, there is a way! Miss Almna!" She practically shouted as she twisted around to look at her, beaming with overwhelming joy and relief. When she caught a glimpse of Linde's expression, however, that smile faded fast. "You... Why would you just... let me believe that you would... In what possible way could that have benefitted anybody?! You absolute moron!"

With a huff, she looked down at the dart in her hand once more, smiled briefly, then her emotions shut back off.

"... Is this trust or guilt, Miss Almna?"

Linde's head was still down and tears still dripped from her unseen eyes behind her bangs, but at the corners of her mouth curled a smile.

"It is trust, Quinn. As much trust as I can bestow upon someone else in this world." She said quietly.

She finally lifted her head and looked at Quinn, that weak smile still on her face.

"I love him, Quinn... I have since the day he saved my life those many years ago." She admitted.

She closed her eyes, but remained still in her posture.

"That day, I was stabbed in the back by Te'i Sai. It shredded my lung, opened my heart, and severed my abdominal aorta. I was going to die. There were no doubts about that. But... Call it fate. Call it chance. Call it whatever you want... He would not let me die." She said.

She opened her eyes, tears still flowing.
"Shadow can separate the Demon from his body for brief period of time, but doing so puts a severe strain on him as the Demon has half his soul. Without a complete soul, the body withers and dies. He surrendered the Demon to me to save my life, and worked as fast as he could to surgically repair whatever damage he could manage before he finally passed out and the Demon returned to him. Without that transfer of the Demon's spirit and regenerative power, I would not be here today." She said.

She blinked and wiped the tears from her eyes, her smile calming and becoming more genuine.

"He is not nearly as dark, selfish, or aggressive as people think he is, Quinn. His actions may speak to the contrary, but you have not seen his heart yet. Not like I have. He nearly gave his life to save mine, proving that even he, a being corrupted by a Demon's presence, could and would willingly make the ultimate sacrifice for a life not his own... And that's why I fell in love with him." She said.

She reached for Quinn's hands which still gripped the darts, taking them gently in her own and placing her other on top of them.

"I love him... I will always love him... And it is because of my love that it was supposed to be me who ended his life if it came down to it. The burden would be mine to bear, and mine alone. I know him now better than anyone, and I would know when the time was right to end it permanently via the red dart, or simply put him out with the others." She said.
(Still going, hold up)
"I have halted Roda I'l Lousta three times in the past. Twice just two years ago, and once the year I met him, using these darts here." She said, pointing to those not marked in red.

"You will have roughly ten seconds of vulnerability where Shadow and the Demon wrestle for control. During those ten seconds, both are occupied and cannot react to the outside world... It is then that you must strike. These three darts will induce a comatose-like state, rendering his body unusable. Without a usable vessel, the Demon's power vents to the outside world via the black aura you've seen before. During that time, Roda I'l Lousta will be active. Once the aura dissipates completely, leaving not so much as a shred left hovering above his body... You will have stopped the rampage and Shadow will return to his normal self." She said.
She closed her eyes once again.

"It was supposed to be me... Shadow's goal is to save this continent from the tyrannical wrath of Te'i Sai. If you thought Egruus was bad, Te'i Sai is infinitely worse. And what's worse than that? They don't even know that this is their agenda. Their orders are disguised as orders of peace and balance, and so they willingly become the monstrous combatants they are today for a purpose they don't even realize is guiding their every move." She said, opening her eyes and looking up at Quinn.

"Quinn... Please... Promise me that you will use the comatose darts before reaching for that which will kill him. So long as even one of them pierces his flesh before the true Demon takes control, you will have stopped Roda I'l Lousta."

Her face became desperate and her grip on Quinn's hands tightened with fresh tears flowing once more.

"Please Quinn....... Promise me... You can stop Roda I'l Lousta without killing him... Please... Let that be enough." She begged.

Quinn listened to everything Linde had to say with deadly intensity. Her brow nearly shot off her face when Linde declared her love for the... Demon, however.

And then, as Linde continued to speak, it all made sense, and Quinn felt incredibly, irredeemably oblivious. But this discovery was dwarfed by every next word.

At the end, as she begged Quinn to not kill him, Quinn's piercing gaze flickered bright with a passion.

"Killing the demon," she stressed through gritted teeth, "Was always going to be my last resort." She leaned closer, caught up in the elation of this moment, "Know that it will always be a possibility, but trust that I will not take his life without exhausting every possible option. He is important to me too." She caught her words, face going red and contorting with horror, "In a very different, professional way!" She pulled back from Linde, sitting on her chair as she clutched the darts to her chest like precious treasure.
"... But," she spoke up again, as the excitement was dying down once more. Suspicion's clawed hand raked down her back, "I don't understand." Her hands fell down on her lap, facing upwards on her lap, the darts displayed upon them. "It was supposed to be you? You have another of these darts for yourself, yes?" ... Her expression. That was a...

"Why are you doing this?" Quinn demanded, voice soft but laced with urgency, "This is more than a display of trust, Miss Almna. I won't - I can't believe that you trust me this much. For how long had you carried this notion, that it must be you? To just - just pass the duty to me? I haven't done enough to make... To make you trust me this... Much..." She shook her head violently before glaring Linde through, demanding answers. "What is happening here, Miss Almna?"

Linde's desperate face relaxed into a relieved sigh of contentment when Quinn said that killing him was always a last resort, and that he was important to Quinn as well despite her immediate protest that it was professional and not personal.

Linde's head dipped, almost as if bowing in gratitude, before she looked back up to Quinn with soft, almost apologetic eyes.

"Despite our differences, I have always trusted you Quinn." She said gently.

Linde relaxed back into her seated position and set her hands in her lap, keeping her eyes on Quinn the whole time.

"Trusting you has been far easier than trusting him. Even after he saved me, it took a while for me to process what happened fully and learn to trust and love him." She said softly.

She closed her eyes.

"He entrusted me with the secret to killing him, but out of love I created a way to simply subdue him. And these secrets, and the responsibility which comes with them, I now pass to you..."

In the corner of her left eye, a single tear fell.

"Quinn... I am..." She began, opening her eyes with that same apologetic smile.

"I have... Decided to return home... To Cre' Est." She said after a few long seconds of silence.

Things went quiet for Quinn.

“... No..."

“No. Linde, don’t you dare.”

“You have the responsibility of protecting us,” she said in a low, furious voice, “From the Demon as much as Te’i Sai. Linde, do not run away. I can’t control him.” She stuck out her hand with the darts, “I can’t waste one of these whenever he harms somebody on our side!” She gestured wildly to the tent’s entrance, “And Miriam’s current state is not one that would grant her victory over a Master Assassin! I am not so stupid that I am blind to your worth! Even now, at your weakest!”

Linde's smile never wavered as she watched Quinn with her tearstained face.

"... I failed you, Quinn." She said quietly.

She looked down at her lap, her hands sitting there with her fingers gently interlaced together.

"I failed all of you. And..."

Her eyes closed.

"I failed him." She concluded.

She opened her eyes and looked at Quinn.

"He asked me to protect you all. And I failed... My usefulness has run its course, and it's time for me to step away with what little dignity I have left." She said softly.

As she spoke her voice was calm, confident, and filled with an almost ethereal sense of self awareness.

"Quinn... You are a strong woman with even stronger character. You don't need someone like me who is having trouble identifying who she even is anymore." She said.

As before, one tear fell from her left eye.

"You need to surround yourself with people who know who they are, what they represent, and who are willing to lay down their lives for a good cause regardless of other priorities they may hold in life such as blind love." She said.

"I'm sorry, Quinn... But it is time for me to leave." She concluded.

The tremble in Quinn’s hands finally stilled, but her firm resistance did not leave her gaze. But even so... she clenched her fist around the darts, and nodded. She could not comprehend Linde’s alien reasoning, but, she understood that she was a woman who had made up her mind. That much, she could recognize in her. With a deep breath, she snatched up her umbrella and began to take slow, deliberate steps towards the tent’s exit, pausing when she reached it.

“Linde Xe’ Almna,” she said, turning to look over her shoulder to give Linde one final glare, “You have to stop crying.”

Then she left.

Linde's tears silently flowed freely as Quinn exited the tent.

"... Good-bye... Quinn." She whispered.

The tent's entry flaps settled down and stilled, and all that remained in that tent was a note tacked to the pillow where Linde once rested her head. A note addressed to the Maiden of Revolution, which read the following:

To my dear Maiden of Revolution, and to my comrades in arms whom I was fortunate to meet along the way...
It brings me no joy to part company with you in such a way, but I realized not so very long ago that I lost something very important in the time I've spent with the Red-Eyed Demon. I have chosen to make my way home to Cre' Est in hopes of rediscovering what I lost, and regaining the identity I left behind.

My Maiden, you are a strong woman of even stronger character. I am proud to have spent time with you despite our differences. And though I leave your company, I do so by leaving behind two gifts.

My first gift is the gift of the Red-Eyed Demon's preferred name. It may not sound like a gift, but it is name given to him by the first person ever to trust him and treat him like a real human being. That name, is "Kyero." If you address him by this name at any time, he will instantly recall the memories he holds of this individual and calm himself if he is upset, as well as be more likely to tell you things he otherwise would prefer to keep secret. He cannot maintain an aggressive or deceitful mindset if this name is spoken aloud.

Secondly, I refuse to depart without leaving you in even more capable hands than my own. By the time you read this, I will have sent word of your quest to two of my closest friends who have also spent time with the Red-Eyed Demon. The first individual is called Taira, the Silver-Haired Goddess of Triveila who is empowered by the serum and has been so even longer than I have. The second individual is called Drake, a private and powerful mercenary of the people of Gweynura who is almost as large as Sieg, but every bit as strong and capable in combat... But who has a much less aggressive and duel-oriented temperament.

Both of them are every bit the warrior I am as individuals, and together work so well that you will never find a better tag-team despite Drake not being empowered by the serum. May they serve you well in my stead.
... And one more thing.

If we ever meet again, my Maiden... I will not remember you.

Once I reach home I will employ an ancient technique applying pressure to key points on my skull to wipe my memory of all that has transpired over the last two months or so of my life. I will forget meeting you and all the others. I will forget advocating torturing the boy. And I will forget leaving you with the tools to subdue and, if necessary, kill the man I love.

I will leave myself a note reminding myself that I have lost something important. And if we do meet again, may haps by the grace of the Gods, you may see me for who I was before I met the Red-Eyed Demon. Someone worthy of your trust and respect. Someone who has regained her humanity, her sense of right and wrong, and her heart.

Thank you for everything, my Maiden.

~ Linde Xe' Almna