Chronicles of Love and War

Chapter 4

"It's all right," Zelda's bony hands ran their fingers through Bea's hair, gently sweeping it from her ears and face. "It's all over, now...you're here again, and we're together. The way it should be."

Bea's own hand squeezed the mug of tea so tightly it was bound to shatter and cut her flesh. She set it on the nightstand so that would not happen, and she buried her face into her hands.

"No, Zelda," Bea muttered, her voice coming out broken. "It's not over – its not over...you know its not." She lifted her head back up to look at her sister, her eyes still burning with overwhelmed tears of grief. "Are...are you sure it was all of them? There has to be...there has to be at least one survivor besides me!" Although, she realized bitterly, not even she had survived.

Zelda sighed, moving down to sit beside her sister on the bed. "You did not see what I saw, because those vermin had already taken your life. Your whole team, from what I can tell, is either dead, or they've fled. It's only you." When she heard Bea let out a shaky breath, her heart ached again and, and she wrapped her arms around her. "I know this is difficult, Beatrice..."

"Don't call me that!" Bea snapped, startling Zelda. There was a pause, and Bea just let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry..." she wiped at her eyes, sniffling. "You brought me back – can you do the same for them?"

"I'm afraid not," Zelda shook her head. "I used the Anubis Eye to resurrect you, and it can only resurrect one person at a time with a large amount of magic. Not only that, but the remains of the deceased must be present for the process to be successful. I only collected your remains from the scene; I did not collect your friends' remains. I have no idea where they are buried, if they are buried at all. I apologize."

Bea's head fell back into her hands again, and she made a quiet, anguished sound. Zelda gently dried her sister's tears with a tissue from a box on the nightstand and embraced her again.

All that filled the room was silence as the two sisters held one another. Bea's grief shifted into rage, and after a moment, she whispered, "I want blood."

"I know," Zelda affirmed. "And we will both get it. Trust me, sister – those rats at Mann Co. will pay dearly for what happened to you. I'm not just referring to the mercenaries: Mr. Hale, that Administrator, and everyone else who is now working there will bear the brunt of our wrath."

Bea lifted her head, visibly confused. "What are you going to do?"

"Oh, trust me," Zelda hummed. "I've got everything under control. For now..." she stood up, going to the dressing drawers and pulling out a fresh set of clothes. "Here, I bought some clothing for you. Get dressed, and I will settle you in before we get started on anything."

Bea accepted the clothes, getting up off the bed. "All right..." as she smoothed the clothes out, she looked back up at her sister. "I hope you know what you're doing,"

"I do," Zelda affirmed, stepping out of the room and closing the door behind her.

The sun shone on in the sky, having little else to do.

Olivia reached over and carefully arranged a handful of daisies into Lucy's braids. "See?" she sat back to admire her work. "Don't they look nice?"

Lucy took a moment to run her fingers over her braid, examining the flowers. "Oh, they do!" she agreed cheerfully.

"Pyro taught me that," Olivia smiled, turning around to look at Pyro, who was standing nearby. "Its fun, right?"

Pyro agreed with a mutter before digging into a tiny bag and handing out tiny candies to Lucy and Olivia. At that moment, Merasmus called out from a few feet away, "Lucy! What is in your hair?"