Fate/Curadh Beag

Chapter 14: Guilt By Association

FATE/CURADH BEAG

"Little Champion"

Chapter 14: Guilt By Association

With the combined chaos of battle against an impossible opponent and the destruction of Sgaradh now safely in the past, Connla could finally take a moment to relax her frayed nerves and think about everything that just happened. The brief sense of calm was immediately replaced with intense sorrow and confusion. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Scotland as it shrunk further and further into the cloudy distance. The trauma of everything she just went through blanked her mind, and she couldn't think about much else other than Cuchulainn's twisted face as he saw the thumb ring glowing.

Back when she was first brought to the Land of Shadows, she asked Scathach why the ring would glow strangely like that. Several years later, when she felt her pupil was mature enough to understand, she finally explained what the significance of it was - it represented the bond between parent and child, acting as proof of their lineage. It was what gave Connla some hope that her father was still alive somewhere out there. It provided her with the drive to continue her brutal training, wanting so much to show him what she could do, and that he would be proud of her. Perhaps, in some morbid way, she wanted to destroy the Tree of Emptiness for that very reason. Saving other timelines was nice and all, but she really needed a personal stake in all of this, and she figured it would be her way to get her father to notice her.

Now, though? All of those feelings were being viciously uprooted and stomped on one by one.

Connla didn't know what to believe in anymore. She had found her father in the worst way imaginable – as an enemy of humanity who destroyed the rest of the world, and was hell-bent on bringing the Celtic Isles to ruin as well. How could she possibly be the offspring of someone so monstrous? What did she do to deserve this? The mere thought made her want to puke up all of her internal organs.

Then again, perhaps it finally explained why Scathach absolutely refused to talk about her father whenever the discussion came up. Connla had asked the question so many times, and Scathach would either sidestep the discussion or say she was too busy to talk about it. It got to a point that she eventually just gave up and quietly mused about it during her free time, sometimes writing her thoughts in a secret diary she kept.

Connla never knew it, but Scathach did feel guilty for leaving her niece ignorant about the truth. However, it was for her own good. The poor girl's mind would collapse if she knew her father had mutated into a false god capable of ending entire civilizations. Scathach's greatest desire was that Connla completed her duty without ever meeting Cuchulainn, but she knew that would be just a fantasy. Cuchulainn would never ignore someone trying to go after the Tree of Emptiness, which he was bound to as the Lostbelt's king. The only question was whether or not the ring would shine to indicate their blood ties.

If Scathach were still alive, she would be just as devastated by this result as Connla was.

As Connla stared with an empty gaze at the greying skies, Liath Macha gently trotted around her, then kneeled beside her and nuzzled his face against her. She barely acknowledged his presence, but did hold him close so she had something to support herself with. Fir and Fial likewise crawled up next to her and saw her vapid expression.

"Connwa..." Fial whimpered sadly.

"Are you okay?" Fir asked in a worried tone.

Connla's lip quivered as she mumbled, "I'm... fine..."

That didn't convince the twins whatsoever. Fergus witnessed this, and after looking Connla over to make sure she wasn't injured, he asked them, "Could you two look after her for a bit? We adults need to talk about some important things."