𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕖𝕤 ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝔸𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝔸 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕞

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟽

Peony slammed her book shut, rising to her feet. She found herself looking toward Ethereal for confirmation that the enderman's words were true as if she could hardly believe it. The End Cities are under attack. She gently ran her fingers over the smooth handle of her sword as if she was prepared to leap into a fight.

But she had never fought against endermen before. Her mother had, but even she admitted to Peony that the fights had proved to be difficult.

But if it weren't for her, I wouldn't be here right now. She thought, remembering the single ender pearl she had left over. She was supposed to only use them in case of an emergency, and although she wouldn't count going to the End to get revenge on a phantom only to not even accomplish that task, as an emergency, she felt that instance was just as important. If she hadn't followed Ethereal into a realm completely different from the world she was used to living in, she never would have found out that after so many years she spent plotting her revenge, the phantom hadn't murdered her mother in cold blood after all. She never would have met Elude either, the overly positive and optimistic enderman that she had grown to enjoy, despite the times she could get annoyed by the enderman's endless rants or questions.

"Under attack?" Elude echoed. "What should we do?"

"I'm afraid that isn't of your concern." Blink answered. She stepped toward Elude, taking her hand and squeezing it tightly. "You, Peony, and Ethereal need to get out of here, you understand?"

"But I... I can help!" She replied. But Blink shook her head.

"No, Elude. Get back to the Overworld!" The enderman told her firmly, then her voice softened. "I don't want you getting hurt out there. You're our guest, remember? Let the Cities fight its own battles."

"But what about you?" Elude asked, her voice full of so much sorrow, it was heartbreaking even for Peony to hear. "What if you get hurt?"

There was a pause between them before Blink finally spoke up. "I knew the risks I would have to take when I decided to join the army for the Cities." She replied. "But you'd better survive whatever challenges you may face in the Nether, alright?"

Elude didn't say anything, she only nodded in reply. Blink slowly released her grip on the enderman's hand, both of their purplish gazes full of anguish.

They trudged out of the small dorm that they had spent the night in. Even with a battle on the horizon, it was still as peaceful as ever. She spotted tall black soldiers as they gathered in formation, preparing themselves for the fight ahead of them. Blink took one last look at Elude before turning away and joining them.

Peony felt something touch her shoulder, startling her for just a moment. She spun around to meet familiar hazel eyes. She felt herself stiffen.

It was Fern, and although she knew she shouldn't stay angry at him, she could hardly help it. How was she expected to forgive him so easily for what he had done to her and Lilac? He abandoned his own family. He abandoned her.

She didn't have to look toward Ethereal to know that he was staring her down with his bright green eyes. She let out a sigh, remembering his words.

You should give him a chance. Maybe he isn't as bad as you think he is.

Regardless of that thought, his next words still came out harsher than she meant. "What do you want?"

"Lurk wanted me to escort you back to the Overworld." He replied, gesturing for the three creatures to follow him. Peony let out an annoyed sigh. Of course, Lurk told Fern to escort them of all humans in the End. She wondered if the empress had purposefully selected him to accompany them as if she knew of their relationship with one another. "Hey, Peony?" He asked as they continued toward the same portal that had initially taken them to the Cities. Her only answer was silence, but despite that, he continued. "I'm sorry for what I did to you and Lilac," he began, his voice quivering just slightly. "I regret everything I did, and I shouldn't have left both of you to fend for yourselves. I know I don't deserve it, but I hope you can forgive me."

Peony didn't answer for a few seconds. What was she supposed to reply to him with? Was she supposed to say something like, 'Oh that's okay I totally forgive you, daddy!' and make herself look like a complete idiot?

Finally, she gathered the courage to answer him. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have been so rude when we first met." She lifted her brown eyes to look at Fern, to look at her father, ignoring the urge to avoid his gaze as she had been for so long. "Perhaps we can start over and forget what happened between us?"

"Yes, I'd like that." He paused for just a moment as if pondering what he would say next. At last, he cleared his throat. "Hi there. I'm Fern, you're father."

Father. The phrase still seemed so unfamiliar to her, but rather than feeling anger and resentment toward the word, she felt an oddly comforting feeling wash over her instead. "And I'm Peony, your daughter." She was so tempted to say, 'Lilac's daughter' instead, but she didn't. As much as she missed her mother, she had to accept the hard truth that she was gone. But at least she had the opportunity to begin a relationship with her father, despite his past mistakes. She hadn't forgiven him completely, but she took Ethereal's advice. She was willing to give him a chance.

It didn't seem long until they glimpsed the line of enderman soldiers who were marching away from the portal that led them there. The line of enderman soldiers who were off to attack the cities.

"You know you can stay here," Fern told Peony. "You can live with all of the other humans! You won't have to spend all your life hiding from everything. You and Lilac."

It wasn't until he said that when Peony remembered that he didn't know about what happened to Lilac. "I'm sorry, but..." she took in a deep breath, bracing herself for what his reaction would be to her next words. "Lilac's gone."

His embouchure showed a variety of different emotions as they all seemed to hit him at once. Surprise, grief, and most of all, regret. "G-Gone?" He stammered, barely able to utter the words as if he could hardly believe it was true. "But how? If there was anything I knew about Lilac, it was that nothing could overtake her."

Peony didn't have an answer for him, because even she didn't know what events led to her mother's demise. She once also thought that nothing could ever defeat her mother. There was a long moment of silence that followed them up until they finally reached the portal.

"Please, Peony. Stay here, where you'll be safe." Fern pleaded. "Then, I won't have to worry about you."

She looked back at her father, then toward Elude and Ethereal, the two creatures who had gradually became her friends. The two creatures she knew would need her during their journey into the Nether.

"I'm sorry, Fern, but I'm going with my friends." She replied.

"And you won't have to worry either. If she was able to survive her entire life in the Overworld without getting caught, she can survive the Nether." Ethereal told him. "She also has us to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." Peony gave him an annoyed glare at that remark, narrowing her brown eyes at him.

He watched as they each left one by one. First, Elude went, with Ethereal soaring after her, until finally, it was her turn. "I'll come back, I promise." She vowed to her father.

"You'd better." He replied, still looking worried for the future ahead of her. "I love you, Peony."

Now that was where she crossed the line. The was no way she was saying that back. She hadn't gotten that far yet. So, instead, they shared a hug before she pulled away, retrieving her last ender pearl from her leather pack. With a final nod of farewell to Fern, she tossed the glistening green eye into the bedrock capsule, and with that, she was gone.