My Legacies

Bed Time and Tiresome Talks

((⬆⬆Marshall's Mother⬆⬆))
((Marshalls p.o.v))
I grunted.
She may have seemed lighter before, but now that I've carried Lyssa up two flights of stairs, I could feel my knees wobble.
I was at her door, the whorls of blue and black marking it as hers.

I didn't want to tell Amy, but I was so weak. And I hadn't even changed out of my form!
I placed her down on the bed, the burn marks in stark comparison to her pale skin.
I was conscious the whole time she and May got tortured. It was horrible.
Their screams were still there, haunting him and reminding him that it was all his fault.
"Hey."
Her voice was raspy, most likely because of the burns on her throat, most likely because of exhaustion.
I lifted my head up.
I was somehow crouching on the floor, my head cradled in my hands.

"You can sleep there if you want. I can give you" she coughed, a harsh hacking cough. "Some pillows."
She tried to push herself up from the position she was in.
It was painful to watch.
Her arms were so weak, but she still was able to sit up. I was amazed by her strength.
"They're going to scar, aren't they?"
"Pretty cool scars though. You look like some Amazon Queen."
"A 5"3 Amazon Queen. And I don't think I like these. They're going to interfere with some of my magic."
"But what if they're going to be ok?"
"Too many ifs. And you might want to change out of your form. You're wearing out the magic."
She was right. I could feel the pendant warming against my chest.

"Okay, but I'll probably pass out."
"Then I'll set up some pillows. You'll be fine."
"But you won't. You can't even walk without stumbling. You're in pain, and I don't know how to help you."
"I'm fine. I-"
"No, you're not. Stop lying. I can see the pain. It's in your eyes. And its all my fault."
She looked up from the pile of pillows she was rummaging through, and gave me an apologetic gaze.
"It's not your fault. Would you have blamed yourself if Amy or May got taken and we tried to rescue them?"
"Yes. Yes I would have."
"Why? What's going on with you Marshall?"
I sighed. I think it's time I told her what happened.
"Do you really want me to tell you? It's going to make you hate me."
"If it makes you feel better, I'm not going to hate you. And it seems you need to get this off of your chest."
"Okay. Well, I-"
"Hold on. Before you tell me, go back to your normal form. Your wings keep breaking all my stuff."
I coughed awkwardly. I knew my wings were dangerous and large, but I forgot how natural they felt. I usually forgot they were there.
"Oh. Yeah, okay."

As I unformed, a wave of nausea and exhaustion threatened to envelope me, but I resisted the urge to pass out. I had some explaining to do.
"Hey. You okay?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Now let me tell you what happened."
She gestured for me to sit down on the bed with her. She moved herself so she was leaning against the backboard of the bed.
I sighed.
"Okay, so you understand that the thing that tried to kill us all was a piece of my mother. She was such an amazing person. She always looked after me and Ames, and she never treated Amy any different than me. That's what dad loved about her. She was always there for us."
I took a break. It was getting really hard to breathe. But Lyssa needed to hear this.
"One day, she showed me the Mischief pendant. She told me that it was the most important thing she owned. And she gave it to me. But that's not what killed her. When she gave it to me, my father saw the exchange. He knew she would die. You never give up the pendants until the council gives you permission. She got denied, and did it anyway. Once it was clasped onto my neck, she started getting pale. Her skin turned to ice, her eyes fading to black. She became a Forgotten, an insane remnant of the soul, hell-bent on getting another shot at a pendant. She went insane. She tried to attack Amy, and I tackled her from behind. She had somehow grown these hideous claws, and she dug them into my shoulders, ripping me off of her. Dad cast a spell to contain her in the basement, but it wasn't enough. She could still escape through the walls. Dad had tried everything to bring her back, every counter spell and every deal. She was gone."
Lyssa let out a short gasp, but urged me to go on.
"Amy finally had to take her soul to the Next Life. But dad hadn't given up. He thought that because Amy had taken her to the Next, he could summon her back and she would be normal. But he didn't understand. The pendant, it had taken her humanity. Giving it to me, she gave up any chance of an average life, or living at all. She knew the consequences, but she didn't care. My mother is the bravest person I ever knew, and I killed her."
"You didn't. She chose her fate, and you had no say in what she did. She wanted you to have the powers because she saw what you were, what you could be. She saw a hero."
I looked at Lyssa, her sad smile and small frame and burn marks all so small compared to his large form. He suddenly had the urge to hug her, and that's just what he did.
"Thank you. For everything."
"No-Aaah!-Problem. Ouch!"
I hugged her burn marks. Jesus Christ I was hopeless!
"Oh God's! Sorry! Do you, ah, need an-um-sorry!"
She laughed. A pained laugh, but no less.
"It's fine. Now grab these pillows and sleep. You and I both know you wouldn't make it back to your room."
I lived in the attic. Kinda problematic in this sort of situation.
"True."
I placed the pillows and the blankets onto an organized pile on the soft carpet, and got comfortable.
"Night Lyssa. By the way, I really have to come up with a nickname for you. Lyssa is getting annoying."
She snorted.
"Goodnight jackass. Don't let the carpet bugs bite."
"Do those actually exist? Please tell me they don't."
Silence.
"Lyssa, I swear to the gods, tell me if they exist!"
Silence, followed by quiet laughter.
"Of course they don't."
"You little prick!"
"Says you! Now go to sleep before your yelling wakes everyone in the house!"
"You're yelling louder than me! And goodnight!"