Playing with Fire [COMPLETED]

21 ~ the village's fate

I stare at Pain, as Rune and I face her, her murderous gaze locked on us. She smiles, kicking Ruin in the side. He cries out, the blade she stuck in him is now embedded further into his side. Pain grins at me, seeing me even behind Rune and his massive wings.

"Hiding now, are we?"

I step around Rune, and he draws his axes. He looks at me. "Please, be careful, Elorha."

"Yes, wouldn't want you to break a nail. Would we?"

"Fuck off, bitch," I growl, drawing my dagger I was given.

"What are you going to do with that, girl?" Pain asks, laughing. "You are weak, princess. A girl with no power. No home. No love. No life."

I feel anguish setting in, and Pain grins. She raises her arms up, then brings them down to her sides hard. The ground trembles and then, a horde of creatures, twisted beings all shrieking and screaming out their agony appear behind her. She laughs again.

"We are outnumbered," Rune mutters.

"And outmatched." Pain grins.

There's a crack, and then, Pain lunges forward, slamming into Rune, stabbing him in the stomach. He roars, and stabs her in the shoulder with his axes. She cries out, and silvery blood pours from her wounds. She laughs in Rune's face, and he snarls, yanking his weapons free of her body.

I run up behind them, and strike Pain in the back, where her neck meets her back. She screams, and energy pulses through her body, so much that I can feel it. I gasp, and she turns, as best she can, to look at me.

"You are nothing. Worse than nothing, girl. You have no hope! And I relished in burning that stupid village to the ground. That's right, girl. Your nameless village is now nothing but ash. And you are without a home, and without a way to be remembered."

I feel rage burning inside me, brighter and hotter than any kind of anguish she inflicted upon me. I scream in this burning rage, and those rose gold flames burst from my body like a starburst of sheer force.

Pain screams, and I find myself loving the unholy sounds that burst from her lips. She made me and my family, my home, my people, suffer. She killed so many people just because she fucking felt like it. And now .... I'm going to make this Demonic entity wish she'd never been forged.

Pain throws me off her, and I hit the snow, temporarily blacking out. When I come to seconds later, I hear a weakened scream that devolves into a battle cry. I lift my head up, and watch as Farrin picks up my fallen dagger and plunges it into Pain's throat.

A weakened gurgle comes from Pain as Farrin leans forward and snarls in her face.  "You come to my home. You kill my entire fucking family. You destroy my whole village. Killing thousands. And now, you try to kill my fucking sister! You try to kill me! You .... are .... nothing. A demon of nothing, one that will die, and will be forgotten by even your fucking family. You are nothing.... a speck of dust on the ass of the world. You are weak. Pathetic. And I... am ... enjoying... killing .... you."

Farrin rips the blade from Pain's throat, then slashes her in the chest. Over and over again, she stabs Pain. Farrin then sinks to her knees, and I run to her side, catching her before she can fall.

Rune comes over, carrying his Lord over his shoulders. He scoops Farrin into his arms, holding her against his massive chest. He looks to me.  "Hold onto me and her, and do not let go."

I nod, and then, we are kneeling in the infirmary. Rune lays Farrin down and then lets Ruin rest on a nearby cot.

I stay in the infirmary with them for days upon days. Ruin heals long before Farrin. She comes in and out of consciousness.

When Ruin comes in one day, he does not move from the doorway. He just watches me, silently.

Not sure how much time has passed, I finally look to him. His gaze is soft, and he looks sadder than I have ever seen him. But it is not for Pain's death. It is for what has happened to me and my family.

"I know how you feel," he says softly.  "You .... blame me for your family's deaths. And for that of your village."

I don't say anything, I just.... exist.

"Exie, I'm sorry. I'm so.... so sorry. But I know that nothing is going to make your pain melt, nothing will make it right. But I .... I want you to know, that you're always welcome here. You always have a home with me. And ... even if you do not want to live here, I can help you find a home. No matter what happens next, you're always welcome here."

I nod, but my movements are wooden. Broken. Disjointed.

"Exie, is this .... is this goodbye?"

"I don't know," I whisper.  "After she heals, I.... I will figure things out from there. But right now, I just want to be with her. I'm sorry, Ruin. But I.... I need to be alone."

"You needn't apologize."

He leaves then, and I just sit there beside my sister... and do not speak or move. For a long, long time.