The Tale of Tara and Emiko

XXIV-Selene?

"What...are you?" Emiko asked. She was shaking in fear. "What did you do to Selene?"

"What do you mean?" I asked. "I'm still Selene. Still your friend. I'm just...better equipped to remake the world to my desires!"

"You're not Selene," Emiko said, shaking her head defiantly. "Last time I saw Selene, she was pleading for me to kill her before whatever twisted thing you did to her! I'm a bounty hunter. I know when someone is lying, and there's no way you aren't." S̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶u̶g̶g̶e̶d̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶t̶r̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶i̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶w̶r̶i̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶g̶a̶i̶n̶,̶ ̶t̶r̶y̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶c̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶T̶a̶r̶a̶ ̶b̶a̶c̶k̶.̶

"Ah ah ah, I can't have you speeding up the ending, now! This isn't a video game, Emiko Naga. There's no fast forward button," I chided, smiling. "I am Selene, I am the Narrator, and you have no choice but to listen to what I say." I spread my arms. "Join me. We can rewrite our destinies together!"

"No!" Emiko shouted, picking up the discarded dagger. "I can still hurt you. I can still do as Selene asked, I can still do what she wanted. Maybe she can rest in peace if I do it now." Emiko lunged forward, fast as a viper, a̶n̶d̶ ̶p̶l̶u̶n̶g̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶a̶g̶g̶e̶r̶ ̶d̶e̶e̶p̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶o̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶c̶h̶e̶s̶t̶ but the dagger she was holding crumbled to ash in her hands before it could touch me.

Emiko flinched, even though she hadn't been hurt. "Wh-what was that? How did you do that??"

"I said it before, and I'll say it again. I am the Narrator, my dear. I have control here. And you can have this power too, if you'll join me for my cause." I produced a crow-feather quill from thin air, letting some of my power flow into the delicate molecules. "You may not be able to unravel and recreate the entire tapestry, but with the small share of my power embedded in this feather you can help me change our world, one thread at a time. As my heir, my successor, my student, if you will."

"I can't trust you. I don't trust you." Emiko's tone was sharp enough to slice through solid stone like it was warm butter.

"Soon, you will. I only have one thing to ask of you, and afterwards, you can call your friend Tara back. For your cooperation, I shall reward you handsomely." I tilted my head to the side, relishing the perks of having a physical form.

"I'll never help you, you twisted, malicious, good-for-nothing villain!" Emiko t̶u̶g̶g̶e̶d̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶t̶r̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶g̶a̶i̶n̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶i̶m̶e̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶m̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶d̶e̶s̶p̶e̶r̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ tried tugging on the string, but her arm wouldn't move. "Stop! Whatever the heck you're doing to me, stop it! The worst way to gain allies is through pain and fear and submission!"

"You're absolutely right," I said. "However, the promise of rewards will motivate even the most stubborn of souls." I waved my hand, a portrait of the royal family appearing on the wall behind me.

Emiko grew shocked, running her fingers over the canvas tentatively. "Dad..." she whispered. "And that's me...and Kyle...but where's Milo?"

"Aid me in my conquest, and this will be your new reality." I waved my hand, and the painting changed, colors shifting to add a regal woman in a burgundy gown, her straight black hair falling over her shoulders elegantly, and a young boy with wire-frame glasses, a book tucked under his arm. "I can give you anything you desire."

A tear slipped out from Emiko's eye. "Mom...and that's Milo..." She turned to me, an amazed look on her face. "You can really do this? You can-you can bring them back?" she asked, her voice hitching.

"My dear, I can assure you that I can do anything," I said.

"Fine. Then before I agree to this literally so insanely suspicious and shady deal, tell me what I have to do, and promise me that on top of bringing Mom and Milo back, the Tara in my world won't die. Let her escape, or be mysteriously pardoned, or bailed out of jail, or anything. Anything that doesn't put me in danger," Emiko added.

"My, my, you drive a hard bargain!" I laughed. "All you have to do for me is pick up the dagger over there and give it to me." I held out my hand. "Do we have a deal, Emiko Naga?"

"We do." Emiko grasped my hand firmly and shook it, resolve and determination steeling her eyes. Unseen but not unnoticed swirls of pure energy blew around us like powerful gusts of wind, whipping through Emiko's hair and ruffling her dress. The walls around us warped and distorted and fell in and out of place, wrinkling and rippling like a lake that a rock had been thrown into.

Then, abruptly, the malformed walls dizzyingly snapped back into place. Emiko picked up the dagger that had strangely reappeared on the ground after being dusted and sliced the red string off her wrist, shoving the blade into my hand after. I wrapped my fingers around the hilt, feeling a surge of power course through my veins.

It felt good.

Almost instantly after, Tara dashed into the room. "Emiko! Selene! Oh, you won't believe what I found! I'm sorry, it's not an exit, but it's something much more important, and I'll explain to you what it means after I tell you, because you're probably going to be confused and oh my gosh I'm rambling again dammit!" She took a deep breath and continued. "We're in a story. That's why there's this Narrator who will be able to control us the longer we stay in this twisted maze of theirs, and why they can speak into our minds and drag us out of the life we thought was our only one and freeze time! We need to leave now, somehow, or they'll be able to control us if we can't set each other free!" She was frantic, hysterical.

"My dear friend Tara Grey," I said, "I can't control your physical or mental forms anymore, only inanimate objects. I gave that luxury up when I chose to take on a physical form."

Tara's eyes widened, darting from the cut red string laying on the ground to the dagger in my hand to my face, staring me directly in my eyes, scared and sad and shocked at the same time. "Emiko? Selene....? What did they do to you?"

"She surrendered to the greater cause," I said coolly.

"The Narrator Selene wouldn't hurt us," Emiko pleaded. "She can give us anything we desire!"

"Selene wouldn't hurt you," I whispered as I drove the dagger cleanly into Tara's chest, the blade guiding my hand directly to her heart. Some of the gemstones glowed, a sapphire and a few emeralds and a lapis and a round black stone I didn't know the name of that mimicked the shattered glass of my eyes. "But I will." I could feel Tara's essence being converted into energy, flowing into my soul.

The world collapsed in on itself. Emiko heard one last whisper from t̶h̶e̶ ̶N̶a̶r̶r̶a̶t̶o̶r̶ ̶Selene as the colors of the scenery mixed and bled, blurring to black.

"I'm sorry. Be safe out there, will you? For me."