TWs: mentions of drowning, mentions of alcohol, death, murder, swearing
***
Cleo woke up.
Where am I?, they wondered, and then they remembered itchy rope and suffocating water and drowning; dying. She put a hand to her chest, expecting to feel nothing there.
Thu-thump. Thu-thump.
Cleo pulled her hand back in panic. If she'd died, why did she still have a heartbeat?
Some shouting started outside before Cleo had the time to ponder anything. They walked out to the porch of the house (Their porch? Their house? How did this all work?) and watched as people marched by, rallying in the streets with pitchforks and wooden pikes. "DOWN WITH THE KING," they shouted in relative unison, "DOWN WITH FOOLISH KING REN!"
Cleo may not have been alive, and she may not have known who King Ren was, but she was all for taking part in a rebellion.
They slipped into the crowd.
***
It turned out that Cleo was now in a small town in the mountains called Dogwarts. The town, along with many others littering the nearby mountain slopes, was part of a kingdom known as Red Winter, ruled by Ren, the Red King. The people were protesting because the king had, in a bid to end inflation, forced everyone in Red Winter to get rid of their currency (diamonds). In their place, he'd installed emeralds, which were much less valuable. Sure, he'd succeeded in getting rid of inflation, but now goods from other kingdoms were much more costly because everyone else used diamonds.
Also, apparently, the king was going insane or something. Cleo didn't know how factual that claim was, but they didn't really care. Their motive for helping the rebellion was just that it was fun to rebel.
One night, while sitting in the local tavern, trying to glean some more information about where she was by listening to the conversation of a group drinking nearby, Cleo was approached by the bubbly man who always seemed to lead the rallies in Dogwarts. "Hey, wanna help my friends and me break into the Crastle in a few nights?"
Cleo looked him up and down. He wasn't holding alcohol, didn't seem to be drunk, and sounded completely serious. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Yeah, everyone's been talking about overthrowing the king, but nobody's actually doing it, so we're gonna go and do it."
"And you think I'd want to join why?"
The man gave Cleo a stare that seemed to go right through them. They shivered. "I have a feeling that you need to be there. Y'know, for the stars to align and everything."
"What are you even talking about?" Cleo asked. "You aren't drunk, are you? You don't seem it, but you talk like you are."
The man giggled. "Oh, no, of course not!"
"I'll be honest with you, that wasn't very convincing."
"I promise I'm not drunk." said the man. "Anyways, you gonna join us?"
Cleo shrugged. "I mean, sure, I don't have anything better to do."
The man smiled. "Perfect! C'mon, c'mon, the group is gathering to strategize soon! We can't be late!"
"You better not be dragging me off to my death," Cleo muttered as the man grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the tavern and into the cold night air.
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The Lives (And Deaths) of Cleo | MCYT Short Story
Fanfiction"Alright," said Scar, "it's been nice knowing you." "Likewise." There was searing pain in Cleo's chest and a few frantic seconds of gasping for air, and then nothing. They were dead . . . and then they woke up. --- Cleo lives and dies and lives agai...
