The Unexpected

Chapter 8 - Life and Death

Hi again! Here's chapter 8, only 1 chapter left :'( I feel genuinely sad to be leaving this story behind. Warning for chapter 9 - it will change everything you originally thought about this story (or it should do). The story is called 'The Unexpected' for a reason, after all, and the ending is certainly...different... It twists the entire plot... Mwahaha :D

Unedited - Will be edited later (may contain spelling/grammatical mistakes)

Don't forget to Share/Comment/Subscribe!

I hope you enjoy this chapter - let me know what you think! X

*

I blink, and the welling tears fall, clearing my vision slightly, just enough to realise that it is working.

My plan is working.

With Ajax's shouts, Atropos has noticed me. He hesitates for the first time, sword drawn, not quite sure where to aim his attack, who to focus on. If only Ajax would take the advantage he holds over Atropos before it's too late, before my death becomes worthless.

Atropos takes a step towards me, on the attack, a predator circling its prey before it goes in for the kill. Does he think I will turn my dagger on him? I'm no fighter, surely he must know that. I wouldn't stand a chance. Still, he continues to concentrate on me, rather than the real fighter behind him. If Ajax doesn't make his move soon, though, there will be no threat at all - he is frozen, as though part of the ground, unable to break away in his shock.

I wish I could wait, that I could make sure he will make it through this, that he will survive, unscathed. But Atropos is approaching too quickly to wait. He's so close, so uncomfortably close. I can still have the upper hand if I strike first. He doesn't seem to suspect my true plan. I can still win.

Atropos raises his sword, pauses. But I can predict his every move; my senses seem to have become more sensitive with the surge of adrenaline, rushing through my veins. My blood boils with fear, my breathing quickens, my pulse races. And somehow, I can just tell exactly what he is going to do - and I know how to react.

He lunges.

But he is too late. It is all too late. I have made my move.

Blood is staining my delicate white gown, a rapidly spreading explosion of colour. The contrast - red on white - is stark, the harsh reality of my actions impossible to miss. Impossible to avoid, to ignore. Ajax's eyes widen - I didn't know until now that eyes could open so wide - almost as though he didn't quite believe I could go through with it all. But I have. He knows me better than anyone, knows what I would do for him. I'm not just a weak-minded, fragile female. I'm as capable as any man, though maybe in different ways. I won't be ruled by men any longer - my father; the traitor I am promised to, Atropos; no one. They can't tell me what to do, or what to say, or who to love. Not anymore. And if I can save the man I love, I will. Even if it costs me dearly. Even if it costs me my own life. He is worth it.

Pain shoots through me, my lungs burning. Blood spurts from my shredded chest with every beat of my heart, gushing, and showing no signs of slowing. I feel myself go light-headed. There is no going back now. I have already lost too much blood. I feel myself sinking to my knees, and then eventually to the cold ground.

I know this is the end. The beginning of the end.

Ajax, though dazed, manages clumsily to reclaim his sword, somehow, miraculously, going unnoticed by Atropos. My vision fades for a moment, black dots swirling before my eyes. Before it can clear, I hear the metallic slash of a sword. Lost in my personal darkness, I can only hope. Unable to see, I can't help but imagine the thin blade sliding up between a set of ribs - I can only pray for Ajax to be the attacker, and not the victim. I barely notice the screams that pierce the still air.The blackness clears again, though I know I can only be temporary. Soon, the darkness will return, and when it does, it will be forever.

The screams don't last long. The death is quick.

Now I able to see something of the scene that lies before me, though with restricted vision. I exhale sharply in relief to see Ajax still standing, his sword bloody, Atropos' limp, lifeless body at his feet.

Atropos is gone. Turning his attention to me, rather than focusing on Ajax, was his last mistake. And now, my father is safe.

Ajax is safe.

Ajax looks weary, defeated; he shows no signs of victory. His body slumps; the grip on his sword loosens and the bloodied metal clatters to the ground. He winces at the sound, turns away from the body, as though he will forget if he can't see it.

He hurriedly limps over to me - he must have been injured during the duel - and kneels beside me, tears and blood combined on his face, from where he has been cut. Worry. Pain. Desperation. Panic. Despair. All flickering across his features, ageing him. The end is close, only moments away, I can feel it. And the one thing, amongst all of this heightened agony, that I am most aware of? My aching heart. I yearn to be able to reach for him, to hold him, and to comfort him. I want to be able to put a stop to his pain. But I can't, not anymore. No doubt that will become someone else's job - every respectable man is expected to marry. I can't bear the idea of him with another woman, someone new... Someone that isn't me. I always knew we could never be together, but I never stopped hoping. At least we were together until death. My death. It still doesn't feel real, even as I lay dying, taking my final breaths. Everything has happened so quickly, so suddenly, so unexpectedly. Circumstances changed, and ended in death. I find it hard to believe that the Gods could ever possibly wish for so much bloodshed, but I must trust them. They are all I have left now.

I muster all of the strength I have left. There is something I must say, before it is too late, before I can never say it aloud. I have to tell him, it has to come from me, while it still can.

"I'm s-s-sorry. It...was the o-only way. I-" I can feel my breaths growing shallow, the life leaving me. Everything is blurring, the world fading. I desperately try to cling onto the one thing that I am finding so difficult to leave behind, the image that I have engraved into my mind. His face, kind and loving and glorious. But then even that starts to glimmer at the edges, and I can feel a helpless panic growing. I don't want to go. Not yet. I can't leave him. But I have no choice. Matters have been taken out of my hands, out of the hands of all but the Gods. I have to go, willing or not. I must be strong, for him, despite my fear. He doesn't need to know about the fear. "It was m-m-meant to be this w-way. It was my time t-to go. It was...my destiny. Please...don't blame...yourself...I...I..." I have to make it, please give me the strength to say it. "I-I...love...you..."

My eyes flutter shut. I fight to keep them open, but they are so heavy; a strange drowsiness drags me from reality, overpowering me. I can feel the darkness returning, this time for good. I picture his face, his eyes, everything I can remember of him, savouring those last memories, the last images I will ever have of him, the last thoughts I will ever have.

And then I let go.