Crowns and Guns.

Goodwill (part 3)

I carefully open the cell, and look at John, sitting inside. He looks to be sleeping, propped against the prison wall. I walk inside the cell and whisper to him.

"John, wake up, you are pardoned."

He slowly opens his eyes and seems to process what I just said.

"What did you say? Did the commander pardon me?"

I laugh. "In a way." Point at the badge on my upper arm. "I am the commander now. I pardoned you."

Surprisingly, he hangs his head and looks down. "You shouldn't have."

"You can thank me later." I grab his hand, trying to get him on his feet, but he won't budge.

He shakes his head. "No, I am serious. You should not have pardoned me. I deserve to be here."

"Come on," I say. Upstairs there is heat and clean water. You can wash yourself and wear new, clean clothes. You shouldn't waste away here."

He shakes his head again. "No, leave me here."

I stamp my feet on the ground. "No. This is bullshit. You only stole the crown to save my life. And you probably saved the world by doing so, 'cause if someone else had gotten their hands on it, they would have taken over the elves and probably the humans too."

He shakes his head. "I have done things, Skye. If you would know, then you would probably never speak to me again, and let me rot here, just as I deserve."

I clench my jaw and go sit down in the cell across from him. "Are you talking about the pact of flesh?"

He looks up at me, with tears in his eyes. "What do you know about the fact of flesh?"

I shrug. "My history book says it is an ancient pact between two tribes of elves."

He raises an eyebrow. "And you know better."

I nod. "It wasn't between elves. It is a recent pact between elves and humans. You oversaw the negotiations for it. It is the main reason the elves are turned into bloodthirsty monsters today."

He tilts his head and looks down again. "I didn't just oversaw it, I wrote the pact. It was my idea. I created it."

My jaw drops. "Why?"

He pulls his blanket up, covering part of his face. "Cause I wanted glory. I just defeated a fearsome enemy. I wanted to bask in it."

"What do you mean, you defeated them?"

He nods. "When humanity made a portal to the elven planet, we noticed it was way richer in resources, and way more fertile than our lands. So we established a city on the exit of the portal, on the planet. The lands were so fertile that any building we built was covered in vegetation in no time. Hence we called it the Overgrown City."

I crossed my arms. "Wait, the Overgrown City used to be elven lands?"

He smiles. "Just like the base you were standing in."

"And you helped found the city?"

He shakes his head. "They brought me on later. Things slowly escalated, and smaller conflicts with the elves grew into an all-out war. Humanity didn't do well. the elves were faster, stronger, and better magic users. And besides, we were fighting on their terrain. We didn't stand a chance against them on the battlefield. Even tho our magitech was way more advanced, we lost battle after battle. So, we were talking about leaving. Going back to our own planet."

"But we didn't leave," I say.

"We did not. Back then I was an interrogator for the army. I was tasked with interrogating elves. And I learned something."

I lean back against the wall. "You learned about the parley."

He smiles. "Exactly. After each battle we lost, the generals would send me to talk to the leader of the elves. Make deals. State surrender conditions. I was very good at tricking the elves. They made lots of concessions. I made lots of concessions too, by the way, don't get me wrong, but humans are not magically bound to follow them. We can break them with ease. Hence it didn't matter."

I narrow my eyes. "So you lied and cheated your way to victory."

He shrugs. "All is fair is love and war."

I sigh. "Just tell me about the pact."

He lowers his gaze and uncomfortably shifts back and forth. "My victories earned me lots of promotions, and by the time the elves were ready to surrender, I was a general. I wanted to humiliate the elves, so I personally wrote up the pact of flesh."

I feel my heart pounding in my head. While the room seems to spin. So it was his fault. He turned the elves into the bloodthirsty monsters that killed most of humanity. That killed my parents.

He shrugs, "I was overzealous. I didn't realise the loopholes I had created. If I would have put more thought into the pact, I might have prevented all of this. Then we would have exterminated the elves by now."

I smash my fists on the concrete floor. "Are you kidding me? That is what you are feeling guilty about? Not proofreading the pact?"

He leans back. "Yes, of course, what else should I have done differently?"

I snap. "I dunno!" I shout. "Maybe made an actual peace deal instead? One that benefited both sides? A pact that gave the elves more options than either finding loopholes or starving to death."

He shrugs. "During the war, at one point we gave them the option to equally divide the lands between us and them and they declined."

"Of course, they declined!" I yell "The land used to be all theirs. They should have to give up all of it in exchange for peace."

He sighs. "Skye, I know you are upset. But I need you to understand. There will never be peace between humans and elves. There cannot be peace. Elves are not people. They are vermin. They are flesh-eating monsters, that hunt people."

I stand up and kick at him. "You made them that way."

He shakes his head. "They always have been monsters. Have you seen them? Their large teeth, their black eyes, their giant claws with deadly toxins? Hell, they admitted themselves they are incapable of love."

I shake my head. "They are capable of love, they just express it differently."

He laughs while shaking his head. "Spending time with that elf really messed you up, Skye."

I cross my arms. "He has a name. His name is Star. And by talking to him, I made way more progress towards peace with the elves than you ever did. Hell, he saved June's life. He didn't have to. But he chose to anyway. He is capable of empathy and love. "

He scoffs. "You are young and naive, Skye. Soon you will realise there is no chance of peace. You will realise."

"We are done talking." I step outside of the cell and throw the door shut with a giant bang. "Have fun rotting away in your cell for the rest of your days. We are done."

He stands up and grabs the bars. "Wait, Skye. Didn't you pardon me?"

I shake my head. "You set yourself you didn't want to be set free, that you deserve to be here. Well, I didn't think I would say this but, I agree. I hope you rot away. You deserve it for making that horrible pact."

He looks down. "Without the pact, I wouldn't have had the crown to trade for your life. You would have died."

I kick against the door. "Star wouldn't have killed my parents and kidnapped me if it wasn't for you!"

He sits back down with his back away from me. "You are lost, Skye. That elf planted ideas in your head. I pray that you will see the light again."