Eidel- A Novella

Epilogue: Everyone Sins Once

Ten years later...

A mysterious, cloaked woman walked down the dungeon corridor.

"I'd like to see the prisoner," the woman said simply.

"I'm sorry, milady, but the Queen said-" The woman took down her hood, revealing her face. The guard looked embarrassed and stepped out of the way. "My apologizes, Your Majesty."

"It's fine. Just don't tell the princess. Or that Prince Maximus, the suitor. I'd like to break his heart myself," she said, a grin on her face. He nodded, seeming completely serious. She put her hood back up.

"Understood." She entered the final hallway. The hall where they kept only their most dangerous prisoners. In fact, there was only one man who fit this description well enough to be kept in such a place. 

"Hello, Alicia." Jacob was standing up, making marks on the walls. "Have you come to save me from my eternal trap of boredom?"

Alicia took down her hood once more and snorted. "Save you? I was the one to tell them to put you in there."

"Okay, Your Queenliness. So freedom isn't an option for now. Are you here about a death sentence?"

"No! God dammit, Jacob, why do you have to turn everything so cynical?"

"You get that way after ten years in solitary confinement." He finally faced her. "So, what is this about then? I know that queens don't usually check in with their prisoners."

"How did you know that I was queen?"

"Being in here, you get to listen to a lot of guard gossip. I was looking for the next piece of Larry cheating on Beatrice, but I heard you were queen, which was even better." He grinned at her. "I mean, I was cracking up to hear that you took over. Are you at least doing a better job than Schlau?"

"Saying that she had rebellions every Tuesday, I would say so." Behind all his sarcasm, she could see he was in anguishing pain. She looked him up and down, noticing scars down his flesh. "Jacob, what have you-"

"It's the only way to make them stop. Even for just a moment," he said.

"Oh my god, Jacob. Who? You're the only fucking person here!"

"Their voices," he said simply. 

"Who?" she repeated.

"Mother. Father. You, even. Anyone who once even showed me a shred of compassion. Not that you care anymore." He looked away, staring at the wall. He had made designs across it with his handcuffs. Different people, though she did recognize a picture of her and of one of the boys at the Exams. Chris, she believed his name was.

"Damn. How long have you been hearing voices?"

"Ever since I found out how Mom and Dad died. Schlau's demonic deeds caused them to die without her batting an eye. That's... Why I had to kill her. To avenge them. No matter how many corpses I would pile up in the process."

"I see... Well, you do know you're not in here for actually killing Schlau, right?"

"Huh?"

"You're in here for how brutally you killed her and all those guards. Seeing that display, we had to keep you locked up for the safe of the public. We're actually grateful that you killed Schlau, as it gave us the chance to be free."

"Until another tyrant comes along," he growled. His hands were out of his cuffs somehow now, and he was holding the bars. "Give me one reason I shouldn't just kill you now." His hand slid around her neck. 

"Lauren."

"Who?"

"Our daughter."

"What?"

She sighed. "That night ten years ago... I found out a few weeks after that I was pregnant. You have a healthy daughter. That's one of the reasons I came. To bring you these." She handed him some pictures. She showed him through each of them, pointing out the different people.

"A... Daughter?" He still seemed unable to grasp the concept. His hands were by his side now. "What kind of father does that make me?" He chuckled to himself. "Wait, I already know that answer. The damned kind." He looked at her in the eyes. "We're all fucking dammed. All of us. Don't matter who you are or if think you've done anything wrong. Everyone sins at least once."

"So, we're all on the path to damnation according to your cynic brain of yours?"

"It doesn't seem like there could be any other options."

"Well, I refuse to believe that. For my sake and our daughter's."

He closed his eyes. "You're naïve, you know that?"

"That may be. But I've killed, but I refuse to believe I can't atone to my sins."

"Atone." He chuckled at this.

"There's one last thing. I was going through Schlau's office when I found some notes about a place called Earth."

"Read 'em already."

"Well, then you'll know what I'm getting at."

"You're crazy. If we left a place like that to come here, there had to be a good reason. Whether it be war or conditions becoming unlivable, there had to be an explanation for why we would live such a place." 

"There are two things I'd love to see before the day I die: Earth and a starry night."

"Good luck with that." He turned away and put the cuffs back on. "I'll be waiting for you."

"Good-bye, Jacob."

"Good-bye."

And with that, she departed from the chamber. But Jacob knew she'd be back.

He just knew it.