Tyranny: Onwards

Chapter 113- Fallen

The greens have become blues in the darkness which warps about the air and attempts to stick to the gentle deer of the meadow. Its large dark eyes shine perfectly, flicking its tail every now and again, it is a lovely female, sometimes perking her ears or swishing them. We watch silent and patient, immersed by its purity. The pale coat is of summer, not thick for winter, its pale brown coat seems to glow. Each hoof is patiently and purposefully placed with a beautiful silence.

Few flowers sprout about, a clump of vibrant Poppies here and a few clumps of daisies and snapdragons there. The river goes about its business still. 

BAM

Out of nowhere, without warning, the skull splits open and an enormous spider squeezes out to eat a passing bird. Blood splatters from the split and the cruel crunch horrifies my ears and my mind leaps with a bought of insanity. I gasp without realization, but Phoenix shoves a hand over my mouth and slides his eyes over to me without turning his head, putting a finger to his lips to quiet me.

The bright glint from his half shut eyes catches me before he looks back at the horrific scene. It seems however, that the deer is not dead; but, this cannot be, and my mind goes wild for any sort of explanation, trying to set flame to each memory frame.

I don't want to remember, I don't want to have nor keep this terribly frightful sight at all. Now I really wish there was a furnace in my mind, yet then again how could I then learn or relate? There's a reason for each of my memories, it's reckless to trash any of them. But right now, I just need to imagine I could use Kol to eliminate this.

A shiver goes down my spine as the horror remains curdling inside me. No matter how much blood and gore I've seen or been unfortunate enough to inflict, this is a different situation.

I cried over each life I took. I'm the reason for too many fatherless, motherless, or parentless children, I'm the cause for lasting grief and anger in so many lives. Now each time I acted and obeyed a cruel order, flashes in my mind, I relive it and experience all of it again, covering my ears I try to drown out the crying and the screaming, the crunching bones or the sound of tearing flesh.

Tears fill my eyes from my own frustration and anger, my looming fear and anxiety, just wishing it to stop, but it's in my mind and there is no escape, no distraction from this pain I've hidden away.

Phoenix sets a soft and kind hand on my head in acknowledgement, but I dare not try to look into his loving face with the nightmares of my past in my own eyes, feeling it might defile him or chase him away, though I also doubt these. The conflict is enough to keep me shivering  and curled up. These memories and actions of my past, they are who I am, they are me, all of me. And is there any way to prevent, stop, or avoid this consuming power?

Now I want to scream and cry, let the held back tears flow, but despite this strong urge, this want to cry, when I try to release them, they refuse to move and fall to the Earth. Why? I cannot pinpoint what this is, I simply want the tears to leave their scars and blend back.

I want to escape myself, but there is no way to do that.

"I'll be back soon, just wait here for me," Phoenix says softly and tucks a lock of hair behind my ear before he is suddenly gone, the powerful and sturdy presence I had not before realized is now gone.

With a lost sensation I peer over the bushes and know what he is doing, suddenly he holds a blue gleaming sword, hair swishing with his own wind, eyes not visible, he shoots forward and the blade goes clean into the animals chest, him standing  in a lunge, shoulder to should with the deer. He removes the blade cleanly and blood strings about it. Phoenix slides the beast to the ground caringly and removes the spider in a mere few minutes, then he sits with closed eyes.

Suddenly, grasses and flowers melt atop the deer body and a beautiful bouquet grows on top.

Still I am horrified having watched the ugly spider burst out of the deer head with blood to snatch the life of a bird also.

Then Phoenix zips across the river and back to my side. The voices return and the insanity with it.

"Hey," his hand on my shoulder and calm eyes set on my tentative ones, "it's okay to cry and to hurt, when you break, I'll make sure to keep all the pieces and provide you with the glue, but you are the one you must put the pieces together." He says and his forehead rests on mine, peace flows through me, the darkness is vanquished and no more does any of it seem to matter to me.

The only thing is, that my eyes droop and are quite weary now. I hear the clanking and rustling of metals as a swords sheath but realize I do not have one myself, so it must be his. I feel him pick me up, one arm under my knees and the other caressing me with firm, soft, care.

His hair is dark and I think has turned black in the night, each step he takes the sheath rattles, his eyes sparkle, his hair moves in the air, and his aura sinks deeper and quieter into my mind until all is quiet and tranquil and the demons become gentle hands of silk. Somehow he feels so young and wise, not one to waste his words, more like Aegis.

The peace laps me up eventually and tugs me away to nice area of dreamless sleep without disturbance.

"I trust you," are the last words off my lips and of my tongue.