Everybody Has A Price

Thank You

Everything I did and everywhere I went, Dianite would be there. He would give me anything I didn't have but needed. Even if it was as easy to get as dirt. At first it was helpful, but eventually, it got annoying. It took the joy out of building. Initially, I had assumed he gave me supplies just because I was his follower. He gave Tom plenty of stuff when he asked, but I never asked for the stuff he gave. So, I just thought that him giving me stuff was just a 'sorry for your loss' kind of thing. But, there was so much stuff. Some of it was incredibly rare and expensive to make. I was starting to believe that the gifts were meaning a little bit more than what I thought.

The others teased me playfully when I was around them with something new from Dianite. I, of course, laughed with them, not thinking any truth to it.

"Dianite totally has a thing for you!" they teased.

"Dianite wants you to be more than a follower of his!" they laughed.

"Dianite is your new Tom," they joked.

I always laughed with them. It was never serious. Well, we never thought it was serious.

A blood moon was slowly rising. That was bad. I was over a thousand blocks away from the Fortress where I left my spectre key. Mobs spawned all around me. Creepers. Skeletons. Zombies. Endermen. I heard the hiss of a creeper ready to blow. I flew up as fast as I could, but the creeper still blew up, making me lurch forward into a tree. I tried to fly again, but it hurt too much. I had to fight the mobs. The only weapon I had on me was a weak rapier. I couldn't kill them fast enough, so I found myself completely surrounded. I prepared myself to feel the pain of the mobs attacking me.

Lightning struck, killing all the surrounding mobs. A weapon was left on the ground. It was absolutely marvelous. 'The Price of Betrayal' was engraved on the blade. And, of course, a small tag was on the handle.

'Love, Dianite'

Dianite had saved my life. How could I ever repay him?

"I was worried about you, boyo." I laughed with joy, hearing Dianite's voice. I turned to the god and hugged him. He was taken aback at first, but he returned the gesture. "We might want to get out of here before we get ourselves into anymore trouble," he said stroking my hair. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have an extreme fear of death. It was only amplified by how close I was to death. It seemed that nobody I knew was too worried about death anymore. Tears streamed down my face and onto Dianite's shoulder.

Dianite had teleported us to the Fortess, the hug remaining unbroken. Dianite continued to stroke my hair. "It will never have to be that close again, Sparklez. Not with that weapon."

"Thank you, Dianite." The tears stopped falling, but my face was still red. I broke the hug, finally. I looked at Dianite, seeing a few stray tears of his. Why was he crying?

"It breaks my heart, seeing you scared and upset." I stared at the ground for a few moments, causing a silence to form. "Turn around." My eyes shot up to meet his.

"What? Why?" He looked so calm while I probably looked like an absolute mess.

"Just do it," he demanded, and so I did. I heard his footsteps come closer until they were right behind me. Dianite placed a hand on by broken wing, making me wince and squeal at the pain. "Poor boy,' he said, sympathetically. "I'll try to heal it, but I can't promise anything." I whimpered when he held the broken wing in his hands. Warmth flowed through my body, and the pain subsided. He hesitated for a moment but eventually removed his hands.

"Try to flap them a few times now," Dianite commanded. I followed the orders and flapped my wings. My face lit up with glee as my body raised without pain. "Better?" he laughed. He smiled at me with something like... admiration? It was that same gaze Tom gave me when I wasn't looking. Tom had been gone for a little over a month, but I still remembered that gaze clearly.