The Forgotten Light

31. Fairlight

She swore that if she touched any weapon, it would only be to use it on herself. She would never kill another human being. That would blight everything she had tried to do for them up to that point. She was giving, not taking.

"Ivy?"

If it were Invicta with her in the arena, she wouldn't hesitate for even a second. She would have fought with all her might, until she was out of breath, using everything she had. 

Everything.

"Fairlight."

She lifted her gaze from above her hands to look in the darkness at Kendra, who appeared from nowhere next to her on her mattress.

"You can't sleep?" asked the doctor.

She couldn't since she was awakened by a terrible dream. A nightmare in which she killed everyone, saving her life. And then that terrifying sense of guilt, a shattered conscience and a heart clenched by a sharp hoop, making her wish that the next beat would be her last. She couldn't cope with what she had just done.

But after all, it wasn't her or her intentions. No. She would never save her own life if the price were to be the lives of others. The innocent. The defenseless. The terrified. Those in the doldrums. Without a shadow of living hope.

Kendra sighed quietly and rested her head on Fairlight's shoulder, tickling her with her short hair. "I know what Adam said, and I know it's true. If we are a family, we shouldn't stand against each other and try to win life. It's cruel what Invicta force us to do."

Fairlight continued to remain silent, staring at the sleeping people around her. Which of them was going to stand with her in the arena in a few hours? She was guilty of the death of one of the Beings, but the rest? They would be drawn as if it were some kind of deadly lottery.

"Whatever happens there, whatever you have to do...," Kendra continued in a hushed voice.

Fairlight closed her eyes, waiting for her friend's words, not expecting her to say, "Please be a wonder-worker. Survive."

***

Kendra was the last person she saw. She thought she would meet the rest of her friends at breakfast. She hoped she would say something to each of them again, comfort them, hug them, thank them for being there for her.

But she didn't even get to say goodbye to them.

At dawn, the white-haired Invicta appeared before her. She was awake, so she saw him approaching, tucking his sword behind his belt and pulling out a black sack. She just closed her eyes and didn't even move a muscle when he threw it over her head. Then he grabbed her under the arm and dragged her to the exit. The guard didn't care if she ducked her head when necessary or lifted her legs higher to avoid an obstacle. He let her fall and bump against the walls, only to then tug at her loose top and growl demeaning insults at her.

She didn't know where the arena was located, she had never seen it. Soon, however, she began to surmise. The Invicta led her through the courtyard, opened several heavy, creaking doors, and then she felt uneven stone stairs under the thin soles of her shoes. They were very narrow and steep. The Being led her in front of him, and Fairlight tried not to lose her balance, supporting herself with her free hand on the cliff beside her. They were descending endlessly, and the lower they went, the more deafening the noise of the ocean became. She could hear huge waves crashing against the cliff somewhere far away and the troublous rumble echoing among the clouds.

When they reached the beach, they were hit by a strong breeze from the ocean. It was hard for her to walk through the sand, and she tried not to lose her loose shoes in it, especially when Invicta literally dragged her behind him. He was making his way through the wind straight toward the water, until he suddenly stopped and steered her sharply to the left. Without a word, he guided her up several wooden steps. Chains sounded, Fairlight guessed that a gate was rising right in front of her. Behind it they finally stood on a level surface strewn with sand.