Not Part of the Deal

Chapter 23 ~ Bittersweet Victors

TWO MORE CHAPTERS LEFT! Happy reading and don't forget to VOTE and COMMENT! 

                   ~Britski

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When we entered the ballroom again, everything was much quieter, minus the sobs of the wounded and grieving.  Their leader gone from this world, the stuffed animals, dolls, and other toys had regained their inanimate composure's.  Still, Easton's evil faeries fought on, blinded by rage and the evil that had corrupted them.

"Easton is dead! Victory for the Princess!" Westley announced as loudly as possible.  Our righteous fighters seemed to gain a second wave of strength and began to take down their enemies one by one.

Soon enough only a handful of Easton's men remained standing.  Upon seeing their companion's bodies littered upon the ground, they turned tail and ran, racing toward the roof and the freedom it promised. 

We chased them all the way to ensure that they wouldn't return.  When they finally did reach the roof, they were greeted by  nearly half the city, all carrying various weapons.  Seeing no escape, one man decided to end his own life, not wanting his skin to taste the blade of an enemy.  His friends, if in fact that was what they were, chose a different path.

As if moving with one mind, they leaped off the side of the gardened roof and soared into the distance. The silence that had engulfed us all ended as the tension dissolved into wild applause.

It was finished and we had come out as the victors!

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Former fighters grouped themselves into cleaning crews, each one assigned a different task by none other that the wonderful Laura, who had proved herself to be a very valuable leader in a time of such great trouble.  Westley had one of his men start and compile a list to take down all the names of those who had fought, intending to award everyone with a medal of honor or some sort.

I was like a shadow to Westley, holding his hand as he walked about the medic area healing everyone he could.  Edmund had been beyond saving by this point, and his body, along with others, was wrapped neatly in rolls of black cotton and moved to a room being used as a temporary morgue.   Over 300 faeries had been killed, and among them was Ester.

While Westley and I had been defeating Easton, one of the toys had broken through the chain of protectors into the hospital area.  It had smashed her against a wall and her frail body hadn't been able to hold on.  I cursed myself for not being there to protect her, but I couldn't cry.  It was as if my body had gone numb.  I was in shock.

Eliza and her mother knelt by Ester's body, wailing at the lost of their family member.  If I could've cried, i would have.  Ester was like a grandmother to me and it didn't seem fair that I'd only been able to know her for such a short time.

Christopher rushed to Eliza's side upon seeing her, and threw his arms around her.  She sobbed loudly into his shoulder as he whispered comforting sentiments into her ear.

"Nadia, it wasn't your fault," Westley reminded me, placing a soothing hand on the small of my back.  I shook my head and drew him into an embrace.

How could such a thing have happened? Of all the people to die, why did it have to be her?

And where had the King and Queen been during all of this? Had they cowardly his when their subjects needed them most? I definitely held no respect for them any longer and longed for the day when Westley would be king.