Afterlife

It's my fault -Ceris

Abigail stopped in front of a quite a large house. The girl looked back at me and smiled her usual, bright smile.

"Here we are!" She said happily.

My eyes widened, "This is your house?" I ask.

"Mhm! Live here all by myself! Well, I use to live here by myself. Now I have you!" She said.

We walked up to the door, and got out a set of keys, and unlocked the door. We both walked into a very grand Nether styled home. It was much warmer than the outside, which made sense. The walls were nether brick with small accents of cobblestone, and glow stone to give the place some soft light. The floors were mainly dark oak with a fluffy, red rug in the living space, while in the kitchen, the floors looked to be quarts and polished basalt. The furniture was beautifully designed, with carvings engraved into the wooden furniture, while the fabric things looked rather sleek yet comfortable at the same time.

My eyes widened in amazement, yet she looked completely neutral, "Sorry for the mess here and there, I never really excepted anyone to come over today!" She apologized.

"You have no need to apologize Abigail. But are you... sure you're fine with me staying here? If not, I can go-"

She shook her head, "Nonsense! I take in almost anyone who is struggling with housing. I have enough space for quite a few people. And I won't stop helping now!"

I look at the ground, "Okay. If you insist Abigail. Thank you for your generosity." I say, looking up at her.

She pat me on the head, and smiled. "Your room is upstairs, third door on the right. Second door is the bathroom, first is mine. Go make yourself at home." She said with a soft tone.

I nod, and head upstairs to see a small hallway with four doors, and one archway.

Okay, third door. I think to myself, and walk in.

The room was the same style as the downstairs, but this time, the room was lit with only a few, dim, soul lanterns. The soft light was nicer on my eyes considering I lived in a dimension which was primarily dark.

However the room itself looked cozy yet elegant. The dresser and nightstand was dark oak with gold accents, while the bed was a simple twin bed, with the same dark oak framing, and small carvings in the wood. It was beautiful yes, but seeing it all kind of made me feel homesick. And with the homesick feeling, came the guilt of leaving my people behind.

I would rather live in agony if it meant I could help my people again. It's my fault they're in this mess, and I should be the one to get them out of it. This is my faultI thought, letting my thoughts take hold.

I carefully close the door to the room, sit down on the bed and, hold my knees to my chest, and let my thoughts consume me. I thought of everyone in the prison system. The innocent men, women, boys, girls, and everyone in between that were sitting in jail cells being hurt by Naeus.

It's my fault. If I had just surrendered, my people would be alive. I thought.

Tears start to prick my eyes, but after all that happened today... there was nothing I could do to hold them back. I wished I could go back to the End, and help my people. Even if that meant I would have to spend another 300 years fighting. I would've given anything up for them, to protect them from that tyrannical skeleton king.

"Excuse me? Ceris?" Abigail asked, knocking the door. "Sorry to disturb you, but do you want anything special for dinner? Or should I just order a pizza?" She asked kindly.

I wipe the tears from my eyes, and take a few breaths before responding, "O-Order whatever you want... I'm f-fine with- whatever." I say, my voice cracking at the end.

She paused, "Hey, are you alright in there?" The Nether princess asked, sounding rather concerned.

"I'm fine Abigail." I say, as cooler tears started running from my eyes again.

Abby paused again, "May I come in? Or do you want to be alone for a bit?" She asked.

I couldn't stop crying at the moment. I couldn't respond, because I wanted to say I was fine. But no matter how many times I thought it to myself, I kept crying more and more. My people are dying because of me! And I can't do a darn thing to help them! I just want to go home! I don't want to be here.

The doorknob slowly twisted, and the light of the hallway made it into my dark room. Abigail was standing there in a pair of pjs. She looked at me empathetically slowly walked over and climbed next to me on the bed, and hugged me close.

"Take deep breaths. You need to let it out, but just... don't forget to breath." She said drawing little circles on my back with her index finger.

I take a few deep breaths like she had asked me to do, which helped me calm down. I pulled away and looked her in her in her dark brown eyes.

"Do you want to talk about anything?" She asked, her voice so calm and sweet.

Something in me told me I could trust her with this. Abigail was a past ruler too, and has already been so kind to me by letting me stay here with her. Maybe she understands?

"... I let them down. My people. If I had killed Inferious quicker, and had not have been distracted by Vordus... I could've killed him! I could have freed the world of him!" I cried into her shoulder.

"Of who?" She asked.

"Naeus. The new Nether king." I paused, "After practically forcing most of the pigmen into obeying him, he attacked the End! And he no doubtably came after Frostbourne next."

She looked slightly shocked, "H-He did?"

"Yes. He had absorbed the Nether star after you had died, and has done terrible things."

Abigail looked down, "I apologize then Lady Ceris. For all the wrongdoing he has caused to you, your people, and the world."

I snuck my hands in hers and say, "You shouldn't have to apologize for him. You had no part of what he did. It's not your fault."

The Nether princess smiled at me, "And it wasn't yours either!"

That is when I realized what I had said, and sighed, "I really need to learn how to eat my own advice huh?" I ask, lying down on the bed.

She giggled, "Don't worry. We'll learn that together." Abigail said, lying down next to me, falling asleep.

I felt tired myself, especially after my small mental breakdown there. I don't think I could even get up out of this bed, let alone get her back to her room. Thankfully it was wide enough to hold the two of us, but to give us both some room I rolled on my side, so I was facing away from her. But before I could close my eyes, I felt her arms wrap around me.

"Abigail? Are you awake?" I whispered to her, looking behind me. She was fast asleep.

I turned back around since I didn't have much energy to try and wake her up, nor did I want to be alone. So, I let her hug me, while I quickly fell into a deep slumber.