S҉h҉a҉t҉t҉e҉r҉e҉d҉ But Alive (Rainimator Story)

Chapter 14

Now it was just the few of them standing at the castle entrance. By 'them', I mean Patrick, Rain, Daryll, Dexter, Azura and Astra. Rain was the first to break the silence.

"I knew it. I was right not to trust you!"

"Yeah, well who was the one who went and saved you?" Astra snapped, her purple eyes flashing.

"Astra... you lied to us!" Patrick finally burst out.

"You traitor." His voice was frosty, eyes cold. No... The last person who said that... Nonono...

"NO! I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Astra sobbed, tears streaming down her face as Patrick took a step back in slight shock. Her blurry gaze rested on him, but she didn't see Patrick. Instead, she saw a certain grey/blonde haired woman with orange eyes.

It's too much... Too much! Everything is blurring, spinning, all the voices and everything- mixing together.

Argh! It's too stuffy here. What are the rest doing? Her mind was jumping rapidly from one train of thought to another.

Daryll reached out carefully, but then flinched back. Who knew what her reaction would be... But she was shaking, trembling like a leaf. Yet none of them knew what to do. They could only watch soundlessly as Astra suddenly vanished in a shower of particles.

"... Are we really going to exile her?" Azura's question was quiet, disbelieving. Patrick's face was shadowed with guilt, perhaps he shouldn't have released everything so quickly. 

"I...don't know." Doubt weighed down his words as he sighed heavily.

Frostbourne Meeting Room :

"...What do you propose now?" Theo asked cautiously. 

"It's simple," Ceris got straight to the point, yet in a... one would say... quiet and controlled manner. To be precise, the word was... diplomatic. Theo had to give it to her, Ceris had changed much from what the legends told of her.

"Rain- That is his name, am I correct?"

Theo nodded, and she continued, "Rain has tamed the dragon. The Ender Dragon's will is for me and my subordinates to obey. It appears that a truce is what the Dragon wishes for."

"A truce? How are you sure that you will not go back on your words?" His tone was cutting, though nothing the Matriarch had not expected.

"... Let me put it this way. Herobrine has severely crippled your forces, the Frostbourne are not really in a position to refuse this treaty, am I wrong to say this?" Having dealt with many situations such as this, it was with practised ease that Ceris could pick the suitable words for this one.

Theo paused, clearly conflicted.

He could, on one hand, trust the Enderwatchers, but this could not guarantee that they did not go back on their words.

On the other hand... Ceris was right. Herobrine was far too powerful for them to handle alone. He could only hope that they would stay true to their word.

"Very well, I shall accept the truce, it would... benefit us both."

"We are feared by many, and people may speak badly of us- but I promise that we do not harbour ill will." Ceris spoke sincerely, she had seen right through him.

Although it was somewhat... unnerving, it was still comforting. Theo simply gave her a curt nod.

"Then this matter is settled."

"Indeed so. Your acceptance of the treaty is much appreciated. We shall not waste more of your time, Grandmaster," Vordus said. With that, the Enderwatchers turned to leave.

"Ah... about Astra..." Ceris mused, looking back at Theo. "If you are going to exile her, then I think it best for her to return with us."

"Astra...? She's staying. She has proved to be a warrior we can trust, she did, after all, attempt to stop the conflict earlier. That sort of courage is... hard to come by," Theo replied evenly.

"Courage... There is a rather thin line between that and stupidity." Ceris cast him a side glance, her lips pressed into a thin line. Clearly, she was not too pleased by Astra's actions.

"Fair enough," Theo commented. After all, what else did he have to say to Ceris' big brain smart comment? Nevertheless, the three watchers soon left, and Theo felt he could relax once more. To be in the presence of those three, who radiated a certain aura of power, was definitely rather stifling.

Once the Enderwatchers had left, Patrick sought out his mentor.

"...My lord."

The grandmaster nodded slightly, yet he was still troubled.

"Is Astra being exiled?" The question burst out of Patrick before he could suppress it, and his eyes widened.

"No. She's staying. Regardless of what the rest say, she has proven herself one of us." Theo answered directly, and Patrick nodded. Rain would be rather disgruntled about this, but hopefully he would, in due time, realise how formidable Astra could be.

"What of the Enderwatchers?" Patrick frowned, there was a certain grudge within him, the End having attacked them so suddenly and killed some Frostbourne soldiers.

"A truce has been settled. We currently have... peaceful ties with them." An unspoken for now hung in the air.

"You really think they will trick us? Ceris doesn't seem like that kind," Patrick muttered. Based on what he had observed, Ceris did not appear to be the sort to lie. Especially not about things like these.

"Ceris is... hard to read," was all he received as an explanation. Ser Theo obviously had more things on his mind now. As Patrick readied himself to leave, Theo called after him.

"Astra is not to participate in activities outside of Dreadfort. At this point, we really cannot afford to take chances."

House arrest for Astra it was, then. Until how long... Well, that was up to Theo to decide.

And so the aftermath has occurred... I did like writing the interaction between Theo and Ceris tho ahaha- I'm so sorry for not updating so long! Motivation is funny these days... Anyways thanks for putting up with the slow updates lol. Hope everyone enjoyed reading this! Don't forget to like, comment and follow! Have a great day/night wherever you are :D

~Lightningstar out