Legend of Parocaav II: Against the Darkness (rough draft)

Chapter XXXVI: Roku's Regret

Sitting all alone in a small guest room, is Roku. She is curled up on the bed, weeping into her knees. Images of the dead bodies laying among the rubble flash in her mind. Sounds of celebration and cheering echoes from outside the room. These noises only make her feel even more guilt. How can they celebrate when so many were killed because of her? She cries even harder as she lies down in the bed.

She has never felt this way before, or at least not to this extent. Roku has never been thrilled with the idea of ending one's life, even those of her enemies. This is a much worse feeling. She cannot help but feel regret, anger towards herself, guilt, shame, so many emotions it makes her head spin. Roku starts to wish she did not make Drayk leave her to her thoughts. Now more than ever, she needs him to be at her side.

Roku slowly stands up and starts to pace back and forth in the room. She lets out a heavy sigh as she tries to hold back the tears. There's a small clock in the room that she keeps glancing at. Roku wipes her eyes dry and sits down in chair in front of a small desk. Once she sits down, she begins to sift through a book about the history of the Resistance. Story after story, she reads through it till the end. She finds it remarkable how far they've come.

They might be on the verge of extinction, but they keep managing to escape the darkness' hold. The people have always held onto the light, no matter how grim their future looks. Roku cannot comprehend their determination, not anymore anyways. The Resistance has lost more, to a Bringer of Hope. Someone who is supposed to be saving them, has killed some of them. This thought brings tears back to eyes as she stands up to start pacing again.

The more that Roku thinks about what happened, the more she hates herself. At this point, she is doubting that she will be able to continue on their quest at all. Crito would be disappointed in her if he were still alive. This thought brings more tears to her eyes but she tries to think of something else. Drayk. Even with all the guilt and betrayal she is feeling now, she knows she will feel worse if she lets him down too. Roku sighs once more and lies back down in the bed.

"What do I do?" Roku whispers to herself while glancing back at the clock, "I.... need...."

A light knock on the door breaks her train of thought. She wipes away any remaining tears from her face and walks over to answer it. On the other side of the door, is Drayk with a smile on his face and a bottle of whiskey. Roku cracks a small smile while allowing him to enter the room. Drayk sets the bottle down and turns to face Roku. He kisses her as he pulls her over to the bed. She blushes slightly and turns away for a moment. The sound of liquid pouring makes her turn back around. The Bringers start to drink and make idle smalltalk. Drayk smiles knowing this will help take her mind off of things, even if just for a short time.

The next morning ~

Light shines in through the window. It slowly works its way up the bed and lights up the entire room. Drayk opens one eye to confirm daybreak. He looks over at Roku, who is sleeping peacefully on his chest. He kisses her on the forehead to wake her up. Roku opens her eyes with a smile on her face. She sits up and covers herself with her blanket.

"Good morning my sweet," Drayk says with a soothing tone.

"Good morning Drayk. Thank you for coming to see me. You have no idea how much that meant to me," Roku tells him, "I don't know what I would have done had you not come to me."

"I knew I should never have left your side, especially for so long. I figured you needed me after staying cooped up here for so long by yourself."

"I love you Drayk."

Roku kisses Drayk softly on the lips before standing up. She keeps a hold of the blanket to keep herself covered as she gets dressed. Drayk smiles at her while he watches her fight her clothes under blanket. He chuckles a little and starts to get dressed as well.

"I love you too, Roku."

A few hours later ~

Roku walks over to Drayk, who's sitting down at a small dining table. She joins him and takes a sip from a glass of water. Her eyes are locked onto Drayk as she takes another sip and her face flushes a little red. He smiles back at her while reaching for his cup.

"You doing better?" Drayk asks.

"I am, yes. Thank you Drayk. I'll be ready to head out after lunch. I know we need to head to the downtown area to speak with everyone," Roku says, "I still don't know how I am going to face all those people."

"They don't blame you, they have been telling me to let you know they are greatful for your help and saving them."

"I killed some of them though."

"They don't see it that way. Even they know it was accident, and besides that.... you saved us all."

"I froze up.... you were the one who defeated Grimm."

"I wouldn't have even been alive if you didn't save me. You did save my life, and everyone else's. I unlocked a better understanding of my own potential because of you."

"Thank you Drayk. I needed to hear that."

Once the Bringers of Hope have finished eating, they head out of the small, quaint restaurant. They walk down the street, through town, all the way down to where there is a large group of people. Thousands of people have gathered around a small, handcrafted stage. Tao is up in front talking to the people, awaiting the Bringers. Drayk and Roku walk up in front of the people, surprised to see the turnout. Every remaining Resistance member has come to listen to the words of their saviors. The crowd sits in silence, waiting for their encouragement. Waiting to know that despite everything, the Bringers will rise victorious.