will you be my legacy? - linhiana (the legacies series 2)

10

hours passed, in a blur of questions & answers & reasoning & retaliation. biana wasn't sure, but she thought maybe she was winning. just maybe. & even though the hope was small, & delicate, & a word or two from emery's lips could crush it forever, it was still there, warming biana from the inside. & that would have to be enough.

her throat hurt. they had taken a few breaks, linh bringing moisture from the air into sweet, clear, untainted water for biana to indulge in, but speaking loudly enough for all of the lost cities to hear her was taking its toll. the heat was, too, & biana wished she could vanish for a few moments, let the heat & noise & pain pass her by. but there wasn't time for that. maybe there would never be.

but linh had conjured a cloak made of water to rest on biana's shoulders, & a tiara to soothe her head, masking the sweat on her curly, now-somewhat-frizzy hair. that helped with the heat, & hearing linh speak cured all of the noise from biana's head. the pain, biana would have to endure.

they were finished speaking, now. they were finished answering questions. the council would come to a decision.

all biana wanted to do was sit down.

the council draws to a close, emery said, his booming voice rich, velvety, &... dissatisfied? biana prayed it wasn't her dehydrated brain conjuring up a mirage of sorts. but she didn't think it was.

the crowd rumbled, thousands upon thousands of voices combining to become one robotic hum. the supportive & the hateful mixed, so no words could be made out. there was something kind of beautiful in that, biana thought. a metaphor. she was too goddamn drained to figure out what it was.

the crowd quieted, & emery opened his mouth again. biana prepared herself for unhappiness. for a resounding loss. oh god, what if it was a tie? they couldn't change the system on a tie. fuck. to come this close, only for it to be six to six? she suddenly knew in her bones that that was what had happened. the left crowd would celebrate its almost-victory, drag her home & keep her in chains & all of this would have been for nothing. oh god. oh god. there was no way she had convinced over six councillors. there was only one way for this to end.

emery spoke, but biana couldn't listen. the only thing she could focus on was the pit in her stomach. to come this far, & lose... it was excruciating.

linh screamed. biana could feel water splashing her back. a part of her wanted to kiss linh, to comfort her, but then the selfish part of her clamored for someone to comfort her. she could feel her heart, beating steadily in her feet. she closed her eyes, & let the light of day pass through her.

biana vanished. but it didn't matter. she knew with certainty that she had been practically invisible the whole time.

she could hear cheers from the crowd, & indecipherable chanting. these people, celebrating her failure. it was disgusting. but she could hear booing too, & wailing, & protests. she tried to let that comfort her. those rough, furious voices? they belonged to elves who cared about her.

but the problem was, the voices that were cheering, whooping? some of those elves cared about her too. & it was so easy to get mixed up, when you couldn't tell where to draw the line.

biana flickered into sight, & was hit by a bone-crushing hug. she blinked her water-specked eyelashes confusedly. linh?

& then linh's lips met hers, & she kissed her back, firm & despairing. she felt like crying, but that would come later. for now, she had to stand strong.

bi, linh stammered, voice strangely high-pitched. bi, we won! we won!

we... won? confused, biana peeled back from her girlfriend's embrace, glancing at the crowd. just as she'd heard, elves were cheering & protested.

she'd simply mixed up which sound came from which side.

rainbows were swaying through the air. della was crying, pride radiating from her. next to her, the triplets were screaming, biana! linh! at the top of their lungs.

& now biana truly began to cry, chest heaving with sobs as she looked around in wonder. oh my god. we did it.

seven to five, linh responded, & then she screamed again & jumped up & down.

fitz was standing in the crowd, somewhere. alden, too. maybe they were booing, voices harsh. but it didn't matter. della was cheering, & somewhere in the distance, keefe & tam were kissing, not caring who stared at them. & linh. linh was standing beside biana.

biana knew without a doubt that people cared about her.

she knew without a doubt that this, right here, was her legacy.

so she let it wash over her. she blinked out of sight, & then she didn't. she stood strong & tall, & scarily visible.

biana smiled.

a/n: aah i loved writing this! thank you all for reading, & if you maybe recommended 'the legacies series' to a friend or two, that would mean the world to me. i can't believe it's over! there will be a bonus chapter in fitz's (gayass) perspective, but aside from that, 'will you be my legacy?' is complete! don't forget to vote & comment, as always. this is your last chance to guess the title of the fedex book (hint: it has 'legacy' in the title), because it will be announced either this weekend or next week. thank you all for reading my stories! y'all are great. have an amazing day

xx ref