Regal Of All

Chapter XVIII

There was screaming. Broken screams of agony shattered the air, they filled the hollow cave; the cave as hollow as a soul. The misery and pain stretched up and clawed around the heart like a net, the tighter the net was the more heartache the heart suffered. This one in particular was stretched taunt. Pins of guilt that stabbed the heart, again and again until the heart was so shredded that there was no use in poking it anymore. Misery grabbed at the very existence of this one being, seeping into its cracks and hollowing it out from the core out. Pain and torment crashed in waves through the brain, wallowing the soul in a flood of regret, disappointment. The screams of pain and pleas of ignorance and begging for mercy of the gods on the poor soul drowned out all other sounds. It rang like a church bell, full of solemn mourn heard loud and clear; shaking the rocks themselves up above and the screams made the earth tremble. They were my screams.

I was punching the wall with my good hand, hating everything- especially myself. I'd led her to this fate, she was dead because of me. I had this crazy idea that sounded so gratifying I'd glorified it so that my two closest friends would follow me into this ridiculous death-trap. I didn't even get a goodbye, not that I would even know what to say: Hey Acacia, thank you for being so cool and I hope you will remember the good memories. See you in the next world, if that's where you go. Is that it?! Suddenly I was not only furious with myself but I hardened every piece of my that I could into a sharp coldness that turned bitter, hot like molten lava. And it rushed into my veins, setting fire to my blood which made my heart thud and my mind race even more. I stopped screaming and began weakly pounding the floor with my left hand, ignoring the shocks of pain that numbed my broken wrist. If I couldn't hurt the rest of the world in vengeance for taking a friend of mine, than I at least wanted this. To try and match the bodily pain I tried to feel on the outside to the despair that whirling within me like a hurricane, but nothing in this moment could ever compare. I stopped it all and covered my salty-wet face with my grimy hands and cried into them, collapsing to my knees and bowing down to reality, accepting it. Then, sliding down to bury my head to my arms as I laid on my left side, all my energy having been sapped from my body to leave me with only fatigue. This hurt even more; I mourned the loss of a dear friend and loyal soldier. 

She was crying. As my own crying gently subsided as I laid crippling on the floor, heart-wrenching sobs of grief ricocheted off the walls coming from her. Her shoulders shook from a sorrow that cut deep, down to the core. Precious tears dripped from her hazel eyes that splashed silently  to the ground, her crying was very quiet. I wondered what her thoughts were, but I know I shall never ask. Her head was buried in her arms as she weeped in loss of tragedy, tears made salty streaks on her cheeks. Seeing a friend cry triggered another wave of tears to flood my own eyes, which ran down my face in a flood. I hated seeing her upset, all of a sudden I didn't blame myself, but the kingdom for bringing us to this. One dead, one upset, one shattered. She wept on for another minute. They were Lea's cries.

Onyx flew in just then. He said to us (to me but I translated for Lea) after we partially pieced ourselves back together, that he wished he could have help but he needed to create a convincing distraction to keep the "other more loyal, fellow dragons" at bay so that they wouldn't toast us. He saw our comrade lying lifelessly on the ground, half covered by Ignis's head, and became very empathetic. I got teary and Lea grew misty-eyed again as we sat cross-legged when he folded his wing around us and blew a puff of smoke at us to dry our tears.

"Oh gracious, Onyx, you are such a nice dragon. Just so good to us," I whimpered, it was difficult for me to even form a sentence. Lea nodded in agreement. Of course, mistress. You have suffered a loss like no other. Cry just this once, then be strong afterwards, tears are only okay for so long, was his reply.

He proceeded to tell us in order to cleanse this wretched place and free Ignis's soul from this god-forsaken land he must be burned. Onyx did the honors. A long stream of fire tickled at the red hide, matching in color; I watched as he burned quickly. Ignis, the once great dragon, lay in a heap of flesh torn by his greatest enemy and burned by his own kind that he had deceived into following his harsh orders. It was a pitiful and grotesque sight, of betrayal through weakness and greed. What a shame, was my last thought, but I myself am not sure what triggered me to think it. Leonora, Onyx and I bowed in respect because although he was cruel in his doings, he was a once living creature that deserved respect.

I burst through the thick fog into the black night, emerging from the cave, into the world where the charred sky glittered with diamonds in the shivering air. Back into this world where everything was how it should be and right, but still was almost always wrong. I pushed the thought away.

"At least she was well-liked, Acacia I mean." Lea said as we stood outside the cave, Onyx was doing something in it, we waited patiently.

"Yeah, everybody loved her."

"She's a hero, you know."

"Yeah." I couldn't elaborate even if I wanted to.

Lea looked at me. "Now what?"

I thought for a moment. "We have to tell people. Anyway, today's the last day of the Games. At dawn tomorrow it's over."

"Who should we tell first?"

Without hesitation, "Alyn and Tristan."

She nodded in agreement. "We can have Onyx fly us around to see if we can find them."

Speaking of which he appeared from the cave with Acacia in his mouth, who he delicately dropped at our feet. It would be punishable if you leave her body here, he said. A shudder ran through me, how am I supposed to touch her (not even her, but her lifeless figure) if I can barely look in her direction. 

I said aloud, "It's shocking to me, almost incomprehensible. That she went from all this something, to nothing. She was alive, this something," I paused to try and figure out how to word my thought, "and now that's all gone, straight down to the nothing of a corpse."

"And you know how people say they look prettier or more peaceful when they're dead, that's so not true. They're just cold and- dead. Nothing more, that's all." Lea said.

With that, we were left with the task of somehow figuring out how to get Acacia's body (along with ourselves) off this mountain safely on Onyx.