The Way We Fall

Chapter 41 (Roche)

They sat in a clearing, perched upon logs placed in a circle. In the center of their little circle of gathering, the object of power sat, glowing eerily. Roche could feel the powerful waves of inkblood rolling off of it.

It was an effort to keep her dinner down.

No one seemed to want to talk. They all just stared at the object with varying degrees of horror. All of them except Finn.

He kept his forest green eyes locked on her. His face was utterly unreadable.

Roche's throat tightened. What had he seen her do during his test?

They sat in absolute silence for an eternity, lost in the mires of their own tests. Roche stared at the object of power laid to rest on a stump they'd found. Roche stood, leaving the royals to talk while she foraged for a few plants. She only managed a handful of vegetables that she washed off in a stream. She couldn't risk anything else, not when she didn't know enough about the plants in these forests. The line between poisonous and edible was a dangerous one to tread.

Roche returned and used a jagged rock to slice up the vegetables. Her meagre herbs made for a fine, Faultless stew. She handed out bowls to the pensive royals, who still sat upon their logs. The food seemed to rouse them slightly. Roche took a bowl for herself last, eating the last scraps. She watched the colour leech back into their pale faces. Their eyes seemed to focus.

After a bout of chewing, Finn was the first to break the silence.

"So... what are we going to do?" he rasped. He noticeably avoided Roche's gaze. Roche tried to not let that sting. Tigris leaned back, placing her empty bowl at her feet.

"We must destroy that object." Tigris tore her gaze away from the object of power, "It truly is wicked." She shivered noticeably.

"Was that... was that what you saw during your test?" Aodh asked, his voice still hoarse. He looked drawn, like he didn't even have the energy to make a jab at Roche. Tigris nodded wearily, the blood draining from her face yet again.

"It enacts the will of the person who holds it. But it will cater to your every whim." Tigris' eyes went unfocused, "Every slight whim. It cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of the Faultless Kingdom's enemies. Whoever destroys it must be absolutely certain they have the mental fortitude to wield it."

Roche watched Aodh and Finn blanch at the sight of Tigris' sudden meekness. Tigris' cat-like green eyes seemed to focus as they flicked between them. "Is that not what you two faced?" she asked hesitantly. Aodh's throat bobbed.

"No," he answered, too quietly. Tigris leaned forward.

"Did you receive a warning as well?" the princess pressed. Roche leaned back.

"A warning?" she repeated, glancing between the royals who were nodding, "You got warnings?"

"What was your test? And how the hell did you pass?" Aodh asked, somewhat bitterly. But his voice held none of its usual venom. Roche felt bile creep up her throat as her mind retreated to the memory of fire and nothingness. She stared into the embers of the fire she'd used to cook the stew, flinching as one of the charred bits of wood seemed to glow brighter.

"The object of power was still spreading the curse. I had the choice to destroy it. And I did." she summarized as succinctly as she could. Her voice sounded hollow to her own ears. Aodh snorted.

"Of course you got the easy test," he muttered. Roche's temper flared.

"It wasn't as easy as you think," she gritted out, "The only way to destroy it was to destroy myself."