Learning to be Strong Alone // Jeraphina Fanfiction

Chapter IV: The Mortem River

"I stood alone,
mouth agape.
Hurt-filled tears
dripping down, my face...

...............

[Suicide warning]

Seraphina's POV

"JOHN, NO!!"

.

.

.

"Soo . . . What's John been up to?"

I looked to William's questioning face, "Nothing much. Just destroying hierarchies, beating up the royals, and betraying his friends. The norm," I simply stated with a comfortable shrug of my clothed shoulders.

William grabbed at his checks with one hand-catching his nose and rubbing out the disappointment as he went. He sighed, and moved his hand away, "Oh god. All the royals?"

I nodded as my hands became clasped behind my back, "He started with the weakest of them, and then eventually went up to a god-tier, a high-tier, and two elite-tiers."

My feet jumped over a tree stump in the ground, landing in a big pile of leaves when I came back down.

William raised his head and looked at me, disbelief straining the look present on his face, "A-at the same time?" he asked, sceptical if I was lying to him or not.

I nodded once more, creating a bit of a bounce in my step, "At the same time."

His face slowly contorted from one of disbelief to thought-understanding. "Were you the god-tier he bet up? Is that what you meant by 'betrayed friend'?" he asked, feeling as if he finally understood.

"No. My ability got stolen before he bet everyone up," I said, far too calm and collected for what I was saying.

There was a few seconds of silence before William finally comprehended what I had said, "YOU LOST YOUR ABILITY!?" he yelled, shocked that that was even possible

"A group of people came and injected a special liquid into me. It made me go unconscious and I lost my ability. At first, we thought it was temporary..." I paused, "but now we're starting to think that it might permanent."

William lifted a hand to drag it through his slightly ruffled hair, "Oh, wow . . . I-I'm sorry, Sera."

"It's fine, I'm getting used to it," I said as I shrugged my shoulders, skipping over a rock and into a small puddle.

He wistfully chuckled, swinging his hand back down to his side, "That doesn't make it any better. If anything, that makes it worse."

"Some people—you, for example, live like this every day. It isn't exactly horrible." I sighed, "And if you really want to know what I meant by a betrayed friend, I can tell you . . . at some point."

William looked at me with wide eyes and his ears near-physically perked.

"John told me we were in this together. He said we were cripples, together. He said we would handle our problems, together."

I continued, "When I saw him fighting as 'The Joker', I recognised his stance, his moves, everything . . . as he was the one that taught me them to help protect myself from the horrors that is, well, society."

William stopped us in our tracks by placing a hand on my shoulder, "Sorry to interrupt, Sera. But who is this 'Joker' you're talking about."

"Short answer: your son," I stated, tilting my head to the side, "Slightly longer answer: John wore a black mask and went around the school, beating random students senseless."