Intertwined fate

Chapter 42

Soon, the carnage battle had come to an end. What is left behind is a grief silence that enveloped the mansion, and the remaining residents. The sky above could no longer shed tears for the heinous scene it witnessed on the whole, for it is turned into a somber tone, to mourn for the fallen ones with utter respect.

The place where they belonged, more or less, had become a remnant of the past. The blurry mist of smoke has already dissolved, revealing ashes and debris along the way. A few brick walls that have struggled to survive now stand tall alone, becoming the only evidence of the mansion's existence... Of their home. To the familiar garden that shone brightly in people's hearts. Eradicated. The sound of vultures from afar joining in the sorrowful moment then comes with the footsteps from the forest. They are none other than the mansion's children. At a ponderous pace, once again re-united around Ceil and Reid. Protecting them from behind, was Axl. In scared hands, he had saved all of them in the nick of time. "What are you doing here, Axl?" Reid, coldly cautious, "Is this still not enough to destroy us?" He mocked. Contrary to his expectations, Axl lowered his gaze in silence. There was no trace of the Axl he met just a few days ago... A completely different person. "I understand you won't trust me. But I'm here of my own free will." The dark eyes, for the first time, glittered with light, even if it was just a glimpse. Yet, to a shattered heart, this effort is nothing but sand in the desert. "Go away, I don't want to kill before them." Turning his back, Reid leaves, leaving behind the lonely man.

Time will ease the pain, they said. But for Cecil, the girl who can not shed any drop of pearls there. Will her heart be able to heal itself? And for Reid, despite the emotionless and brave mask he puts on each day, a fractured soul is inevitable. Will he finally be at ease? The warm hand of Sheritre caresses the frozen shoulder, certainly waking Cecil to life, yet comforting her somehow.

Resting at last under the leaves of the oak trees, two people she loved the most. "May they be embraced in the loving arms of God". That is what both of the survivors hope for, at the very least. Standing from afar is Reid, still as a statue, his eyes fixed on the grave of Lily. Perhaps that glance had borne all the unexplainable thoughts. The lonely graves are now completed. The strained eyes can not be swelling anymore, let alone the emptiness in their minds. Slowly. With her hands, she sends her lover away, making him a comfortable bed one last time. The dirt covered her hands, causing burns on her fingertips, but none of that mattered. Axl, quietly bowing before those who have passed away.

Leaving the white lilies, they said their final farewell.

The two no longer felt pain, till this very moment they stood before the lonely graves in the middle of nowhere. For the first time, the piercing pain couldn't outweigh the emptiness. As if a hollow hole had formed inside, so large that it had devoured all the emotions. Lifeless corpses creeping from day to day throughout the rest of their lives, will they be? "What are we going to do next?" A nurse speaks out in a concerned tone, breaking the agonizing silence. How simple that question is, but why is it so hard to even answer? For a moment, it felt like years had passed. What should they do? What could they do? There was no one able to tell the right answers. But deep down, they couldn't give up. From ashes, let there be a new home, built from their hands and grief.

All of a sudden, Axl kneels before them. Sorrowful and guilty, he appears. "I not worthy to ask for forgiveness", he excruciating, " But before throwing me away, killing me... please, hear this story of mine." Reid was in no mood for the story. Preparing to kill, he chooses just to get Cecil's cold hand resting on his shoulder. A compromise sign. Astonished, he couldn't believe she would act like that, to hear those little lies again. Glancing at him, the green eyes, which used to be filled with the sun but are now dyed in the color of midnight, ask for a favor. She wants to catch this thin string of hope... even if it's a lie.

In kneeling, he told, the story of his life.

Born in winter, the child of loneliness. Growing up in the orphanage, that place was never his home. Even those days were the last bit of peacefulness left in his days. Sold to the Sylvester family, he and the rest were trained to be killers. For a child who never had the chance to hold a pen, a warm assuring hand, now forced to carry the dirty duty. For those poor children, only death awaits them if they fail. Each day in the cycle of killing, those innocent hands are soon soaked in blood. The weak sense of light, in the end, leaves his eyes in the darkness. Kill and kill. His life goes on till now, pushing his mind to the edge of sanity. Until...

"It was you and this place that made me realize the hell I lived in." That's right, injured from the battle they had, he was separated from Arioch. Alone in the forest with death hanging on his head, all the little happy memories in his life nourished the devastated soul. He envies him, for he has loved ones to protect, for he has awakened him from the depths of sin. He envies those who lived here, to have a home he never had. Struggled to fight for his life, but this time... he won't make the same mistakes. This time, he knows who to kill.

"Please let me do the right thing, for the first time in my pathetic life."

From Reid's behind, Cecil approaches Axl. "I couldn't prove whether your story is true or not." She pulled a blade. The knife was coldly pointed at him. So that's it... Closing his eyes, he wished for a quick death. "But, I choose to trust you." To everyone's surprise, a strand of hair is all she takes. "With this, I take away the old sinful Axl, and return to the new man he is now." The next thing he knew, some of them started to follow Cecil. Every strand they take, the narrow distance between his madness old self. The tears he thought had vanished, bitterly falling down. Being the only person left, Reid comes with complex emotions. Will he be able to forgive? Just by saving a few of them, kneeling here telling lies and hoping he would be like them? No...His heart, his mind are not full of warmth and forgiveness like theirs. Standing before him in the piercing cold, Reid throws the knife away.

"You want me to forgive?" He looks down at Axl, "Then earn my trust."

Indeed the answer from Reid. Nodding, his eyes filled with determination, "I will do whatever it takes." Exchanging gazes, the clock of fate has turned, tying the two in its path. In agreement, they go to that faraway North, to take him back him. "Will you join us, Cecil?", Reid turns to the girl. Yet she shook her head lightly in a dreary smile. She wants to stay, with them, with him till the end. Respecting her choice, Axl bows before her, the dark eyes hinting at sadness, "I pray for your safety, wherever you are." Sheritre sobbed, bowing at Reid with a weak smile, "Thank you for everything. Though the journey ahead is indeed challenging, I'm confident you will find what you truly cherish." To the forest, they go. The only faded image of home left is her crimson hair flying bitterly in the wind, hand in hand with a silver eyes girl. With trembling hands, they hold all the children.

Who knew what fate had in store for them?

Will they succeed?

What matters most, they must move forward.

...

The royal guards barged the cell open, and the prisoner stumbled hard before its hands were tied, escorting it to the place where perhaps only God knows.

Oh, the prisoner

Sing the song of terror

Be still, no one can save you

Why try to fight it?

Thorns and desperate

Will you be the next?

The gaze of the eyes ignites the flames of Hell, despite being dragged from the humid cells to the throne room. Physical pains remain insignificant. At last, an unwavering mind and a heart of steel will shine through the darkest of nights. The resentful spirit is burning with all its might, and in those navy eyes, will there be silver bullets escaping? He's arrived. The golden doors open, welcoming the King to reside calmly on the throne. The prisoner was then forced to kneel before the King by the swarm of guards before having his chin raised. The prisoner had a chance to look up close at this distance, but he saw another man. The man... the lost boy, a dear friend, the one who had spent quite some time back then, at the mansion. A gasp escaped, he was completely shocked, as if all the hopes and memories of that man had now vanished into thin air. It is none other than... Alderic. But how. The poor prisoner pondered...He was betrayed. 

Why? Anyone but him?