Bitter Revenge

Chapter 35

(Stella King's POV)

Warning!

The story shared by the witch Council lady made a wide grin cross my face. I knew Fiona had a big heart, but I'd go as far to say she had a heart of gold... even if her heart doesn't technically beat. She protected two little kids from an abusive mother, that's honorable. But that doesn't erase the mistake that was left behind, 2 witnesses. There was whispering among the Council, it seemed they were pretty evenly split on the issue. After a moment, they called for a recess to think through the decision a little more. Fiona was led to the backstage and I immediately jumped up to join her. When I saw her sipping water while Scarlet spoke with her, I could feel a swell of pride in my heart.

"Don't be so gullible Stella. Why must you be so soft?" My aunt just had to ruin the mood. I turned to her, already bored of our arguments. "Auntie, grow up. It's the 21st century, we're not at war anymore. Vampires, werewolves, and witches could all be allies now. But it's people like you that prevent us from reaching that place. Besides, sorry to break the news to you, but you're a little bit, sort of, kind of totally crazily obsessed with revenge." She scrunched her nose in distaste, which honestly just made me sad at her ignorance and stubbornness. "What would Astelle think? Knowing her daughter was standing up for the offspring of the Priestess that ordered her death."

The sheer fury that reached my bones at the mention of my mother from my aunt was enough to melt the ground beneath my feet. "She'd be proud that I have a spine to stand up for what I believe in. Instead of being a spineless clone that follows tradition blindly." I didn't even sit around waiting for her response, I walked off towards Fiona. I think she saw and heard the encounter because the smirk on her face was that smirk that was annoyingly smug to others, but I knew she was smug because I defended her. "Hey Fiona, how're you feeling about all of this?"

"Honestly, just fine. If they decide a punishment is suitable, I'll just deal with it. But I doubt they'll just kill me, seeing as I'm not 'killing material' as Scarlet puts it." I sighed in relief at knowing she was calm about this whole thing, seeing as I'm not. "Oh! Right! I wanted to give this to you... or well, back to you." I handed her the bag with the 2 items I'd specifically brought for her. She raised her scarred eyebrow at me and reached inside, only to pull out her red beanie. The smile on her face was probably the most bright and childish smile I've ever witnessed on her face. "My beanie! I was wondering where you were." She immediately put it on and reached inside again.

This time around, she pulled out her wallet, with her pictures in perfect condition. Her smile was sadder, filled with more longing than happiness. "I'm sorry, I definitely peeped." I giggled softly, remembering how different she used to look. And now looking back at it, how different her parents looked too. She didn't look bad at all, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy her rough and tumble appearance. "You're good. I don't mind." She pulled out one of the pictures and both me and Scarlet peeked over her shoulder to look at it. It was specifically her and her sister. "Aww, I forgot what you looked like as a kid. Man, time has not been your friend." Scarlet joked, causing Fiona to jab her with her elbow.

"I have to ask, what does the stitching on the inside of your beanie mean?" I turned to Fiona, seeing her facial expression reveal nothing about my question. I'd noticed that on the inside of the cherry red beanie, was white stitching of what I imagined were Japanese letters. "Oh, that's just my Dad. He stitched his name and my middle name onto the beanie, it was my 13th birthday gift." She took off her beanie to reveal the names and showed us both which was her name and which was her Dad's name.

The moment of serenity was broken when both Fiona and Scarlet quickly turned to look in a different direction. I don't know what happened but I felt a push. I think Fiona pushed me. I blinked my eyes open and stars winked in front them, feeling the headache start to radiate from the back of my head. I turned to look at the commotion, and that's when the ringing in my ears ceased to hear Scarlet scream. "What have you done?!" Scarlet cradled a short body in her arms, and when I leaned my head to the side to see what exactly had happened– the sight of a relatively big iron stake covered in crimson blood met my eyes, but the body it was lodged into was perfectly quiet. Fiona?

I looked away and at the culprit, my aunt standing a couple feet away. She threw an iron stake at Fiona, and her first reaction was to protect me. A burning fury settled in my heart, squeezing my heart so tight that tears sprung to my eyes. The hatred I felt in that moment towards Au- Beatrix was enough to stand me up onto my feet and launch me at her. I gripped her shoulders for dear life and the impact of my push caused the curtain of the stage to separate and allow us back onto the main stage. The fact that she remained on her feet annoyed me, so I grabbed the nape of her neck and turned to the side, using my leg to trip her and rotated so she'd fall on her back. The Council and Queen Valerie turned to look at the commotion and that's when I spoke.

"How stupid are you to attack someone in the holiest place known to our species? How stupid are you to attack someone I care so deeply about? How dare you?!?" I grabbed the collar of her shirt and hefted her up, swinging my fist down until my knuckles made contact with her cheek. Before I could swing again, Queen Valerie grabbed my arm and pulled me back, hissing in my ear, "What are you doing?! Violence is forbidden here!" I heaved for breath, the red film over my eyes hadn't let up. Adrenaline made me want to fight Queen Valerie until Scarlet peaked her head through the curtain, crimson stained her face and shirt and pants. Her face was white as a ghost, and her hazel/yellow eyes were red- not just from anger but from the tears pouring down her face. It all reminded me of the true matter at hand. Fiona.

I ripped my arm free and ran backstage, where a small, familiar body sat limp. I knelt next to her, finally taking in the sight at its fullest. The iron stake was lodged through her chest, peaking over the right side of her torso. A jacket was wrapped tightly over her shoulder like a sling, with the iron spike having torn a hole in the back of it. I assume the jacket was to create pressure and stop the bleeding. I looked at her face, the area I'd most been avoiding. Her eyes were calmly closed, as if the most perfect dream was occurring right behind them. Blood had been pouring out of her mouth a moment prior, seeing as it wasn't anymore but the trails remained. I gently ran my finger down her cheek, but her eyes didn't flutter at the contact. That's when I really got scared.