ᴀʀᴄᴀɴᴇ ᴡᴀʀ ━━━ᴛᴀʟᴇꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴀʀᴄᴀᴅɪᴀ

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟎𝟑

ᴀʀᴄᴀɴᴇ ᴡᴀʀ ━━━━━━𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟎𝟑

THAT WAS TOO DAMN CLOSE. Whatever energy Kaylee had pulled from her reserves drained from her as the cracks resealed into an impenetrable fortress. If Kaylee were to close her eyes, she would be right back in those woods at that moment. Brains tend to ward off moments of their life they don't want to relive. Kaylee would never have that luxury. 

The way the corpse seemed to writhe in the shadows as the day came to an end ━curling its deadened fingers around Galbatorix's ankles. Chaining him, claiming him. In the dying light of the tired sun the eyes ━whatever was left ━seemed to be rekindled, embers of a dying star. The piercing shriek that followed had Kaylee grasping her ears, clawing them off. Branches collapsed in the snow not far off and Kaylee

 had her lips pressed to the stone in a desperate intimacy as she fought to regain control of her deprived lungs. A thousand tiny blades cut in with a single intake, a thousand more jarred her spine on exhale. An inkling of acknowledgment was given to the drool that collected in the space between her parted lips, concerned at retaining the bile that threatened to escape. A trickle of saliva pressed against the flesh of her cheek as her head tilted to her right, brushed off with an act of disgust. 

"Kaylee, we did it!" We? 

Brows scrunched, she looked at her companion with utter exasperation. No, I did it. You were too preoccupied with playing the part of a drunkard. There is no 'we', there never was. Her voice whispered the accusation. Bitter resentment blossomed in her bones, mere echoes of her lonesome heart. Never did she utter these grievances to another, it was a complicated issue. Old rivalries were not worth the cost, this precious bond between them too great to lose. 

So she kept quiet, nodding along with the words Willow spoke, false as they were. She was tired. Too tired to care enough to piece together the events that transpired within the last hours of daylight. 

Galbatorix had yet to make a snide remark over their most recent excursion. Not out loud (she was no fool, though most thought she was a self-centered person, she was, a small percent) would she voice her worry, harassed for the rest of her live-long prosperous years by said boy. That was why Willow was put on this god━forsaken earth. 

Willow placed a hand on his shoulder, which seemed to snap him out of whatever trance he was in. He seemed to examine the stone (plain now that the entrance was sealed) with extreme care before he allowed Willow to lead him away. Kaylee urged herself not to push them down the stairs as they snailed their way to it. 

She much preferred the version of events where she stayed in the world above. There she had power at her fingertips, summoned with a mere thought. Here she had none, a weak access to it when pushed. If you are so powerful, why could not summon even a single flame from your palm eh, drained by a mere chill of frost? She sneered at the doubt that crept in with that observation.

The sole reason that when she wandered, she returned: the hearthstone. Its wealth pulsed in vines that ran in a multitude of different colored shades throughout the s̶t̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶p̶r̶i̶s̶o̶n̶ market. Though it should not have surprised her, it managed to find a new method in which to play with her heartstrings. 

As they crossed the threshold into the caverns, Willow wandered off. The simple ease that fused Willow into the normality of the troll lifestyle evaded both Kaylee and Galbatorix, cut off as they were. 

"Die now Gali, and there will be hell to pay." Galbatorix was apathetic to her idle threat. Vendel. Kaylee needed to get Galbatorix to the elder. He could fix him, help her. He could use the hearthstone (only he and Willow know how to use it in proper form, technique. It has evaded Kaylee, chained, blindfolded.) to heal him and sever the thing that has her brother. 

She wouldn't be helpless then, maybe.

She should have known he would be waiting for them. Still, indignation marred relief when he stood there, hands clasped around his abnormally carved staff, an irritated manner indicated with a creased brow. 

This was a picnic for me too, old troll, welcome to the circus. 

The quip was on her tongue, she held it in. She needed him to help her. One jab wasn't worth it. Was it? Take no risks, her voice echoed earlier. She was such a hypocrite. She needed to get out, to collect her thought, come up with a lie to cover their tracks. A fucking miracle was what they needed.

The relief at seeing her pillow and blankets outweighed the stab of guilt that plagued her l̶u̶m̶p̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶c̶o̶a̶l̶ heart as she dumped his dead weight onto Vendel's examination table. (Abandoned, no. He was in hands of a good troll, albeit neutral in appearance.)

Conversations turned to whispers, her footfalls a rhythmic thump thump, thump thump to match her heavy pace. 

Pants turned to screams. She wanted to cover her ears. She had too. Her grip faltered once, twice. Their weight would snap her into sense; she would hold on tighter. Kaylee whimpered, then resolved herself, willed muscles to push past limits not yet reached. The flames licked in her mind, reminding with their hot breath and burning scent that they were there. And they wanted out. Fear stayed her course. 

Will or survival, the will to survive, the choice is made. 

A flash of green came into her peripheral. She wanted to scream. Scream at the green to stay away, to save them from the pain, safe. No sound came. Her screams fell on deaf ears. Ears torn from grief and misery. A need for justice, for a cause that served no purpose. Screams echoed through the caverns. The earth trembled. 

A chain severed, a blindfold torn.

━━━━━━

Chapter 03 is up, only 2 months after Chapter 02. I count that as a win in my book. 

Thank you all so much for reading, have a lovely day/night! :)

Lana.