Eight Intertwined

190 - Play

Primrose did her best to tune out her suddenly noisy thoughts as she started up the next set of stairs, but it was much easier said than done. The theater was silent save for the loud echoing of voices, and Primrose could unfortunately hear the lines vaguely through the walls. The details were lost on her because of the thick stones surrounding her, but Primrose knew that her stage counterpart was witnessing unspeakable horrors at that moment. She wished she could have said she was entirely disinterested in watching it play out, but she knew better than to declare that so confidently. 

The fact of the matter was that Primrose almost wanted to see what Simeon had put together. It was a mockery of her life, and yet, she had done worse things to desecrate her own name over the years. She had pursued a revenge quest that she did not believe in for a decade, and even if it had kept her alive, it hadn't truly allowed her to live. Now, Primrose felt as if she had broken out of it, but she wasn't entirely free. The fact that Simeon was still bothering her was proof of that. 

Primrose hated that she was letting him bother her... But was she really letting him do anything? Simeon did what he wanted, and he took what he wanted from those around him too. Primrose was one of his victims, but she was undoubtedly not the first nor the last. Simeon was more than happy to remind her of every horrible thing she had ever endured, and Primrose couldn't even fully protest it. She knew better than to think she was there because of her desire for revenge, but she couldn't call her intentions fully pure either. Saying that she had a new purpose in Noblecourt was different from facing Simeon's twisted theatrics in Everhold, and Primrose didn't know how she was supposed to keep herself confident and stalwart in the face of it all. 

"You alright, Prim?"

No, that wasn't true. Primrose knew exactly how to keep herself upright, and her friends were the strings that kept her puppet bones from caving in on themselves. She glanced over at the sound of Alfyn's voice, and she somehow managed to make out the concern in his eyes despite the darkness of the corridor. The firelight from Ophilia's lantern cast a grim shadow across his face, and Primrose knew he only looked that dark in part because of the lack of lighting. "Yes," Primrose somehow managed to say. "Sorry."

"Shucks, Prim. You don't need to apologize to me," Alfyn assured her. He raised a hand, hesitating before he let it fall on her shoulder. He gave her all the time in the world to jolt away if she didn't want to be touched, but Primrose didn't force his hand off her skin. Instead, she melted against the touch, wishing she could let that warmth carry her to a future she would always fear she did not deserve. "You're always chargin' forward even on your worst days... But you don't need to do that. All of us are here for you, and if you need us, I want you to say so."

"I need you," Primrose said without missing a beat. "I need all of you here. I... I know it's embarrassing to have to watch everything Simeon is doing with my life, but... I need you here. If I was doing this alone, I never would have made it this far, and--"

"What Simeon is doin' ain't embarrassin' to us, Prim," Alfyn reiterated. She didn't know how he could be so patient in the face of such brazen self-destruction. It was no wonder Therion was so fond of him. It was no wonder Primrose had learned to be too. "We want to be able to help you, and we'll do that however we can."

"Thank you," Primrose murmured. She could feel a fresh wave of tears rising in her eyes, but she fought them down with as much force as she could muster. It was a failing effort, and she knew it, but she refused to let herself cry until after Simeon was dead. Once she had torn the breath from his lungs, Primrose could sob for joy and grief all she wanted. "I... I'm ready. I want to stop him. Will you help me?"

"You don't need to ask at all," Alfyn replied quickly. He didn't reach for his axe on account of not wanting to accidentally strike one of the other travelers with it, but his fingers twitched with the promise of violence the instant Simeon showed his face. "We'll see him defeated no matter what it takes. You're in good hands."