Legend of Parocaav II: Against the Darkness (Rewrite, Complete)

Chapter XV: Island of Shadows

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, and so many other 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 the 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 anyway. 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 so 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 on 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 it will be for 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. Besides that, I know the value of a good drink after a rough day."

"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 the blanket. He chuckles a little and starts to get dressed as well.