2024 Story Collection

Reborn To Give The Villain a Redemption Arc II

"We need to get out of here," she turns, looking out the hole in the door. "The guards will come for their rounds soon."

She walks up to him, her face completely hidden in shadows. She was brilliant and far too smart for the life set out for her. The only reason he was in this place was because of her help. How they could underestimate her abilities after such a feat? They are truly foolish.

If she was willing to give him a chance to prove himself, he would make sure gave her the same.

"And how exactly do you plan on getting us out-" he flinches when her cold hand touches the bare skin of his chest. He doesn't quite know what she does, but a moment later, he's kneeling on the ground, his hands and feet free.

He looks up at her in disbelief. "How did you do that?"

"I died," she says with a fake smile. He realized then that she wasn't anything like what people thought. She was a woman made of layers of secrets. He had just seen a new layer and all he wanted to do was peel back more until the real Jane was exposed. It was a feeling so deep and raw that it pushed the monster within him to the surface, trying to claw its way out.

She snaps him back from his thought by pulling him up off the ground. He barely has a moment to steady himself before she steps through the cell wall, pulling him after her. He closes his eyes, bracing for impact, but it doesn't come.

"Hurry, follow me." She says. His eyes snap open. She stands next to him in an extremely narrow space. He is pinned between the walls.

He's suddenly back in that truck, bound, his mouth covered. He and his brother could barely breathe in the small space. They had trusted the maid when she led them into the gardens. They were children, and she had taken advantage of their want to help her. He begins to panic. He would have his revenge.

He feels someone squeeze his hand, and he's back in the narrow space of between the walls. He looks down at Jane, who stands beside him. She smiles warmly at him before turning away.

She keeps hold of his hand as they shimmy their way down the long, narrow space. It felt like the space went on forever.

"You couldn't have chosen a better way out?" he snaps, his breathing still uneven.

"If you don't shut up," she snaps, turning back to look at him, venom seeping from her words, "I will cut out your tongue. You can write down your orders as king."

She was vicious, cruel, and deadly. Another layer.

His mind was filled with thoughts as they continued down the corridor. That was until he looked up and noticed a room of sorts only 10 or so feet away from them.

Jane steps out into the strange halls. He follows, looking around at the strange series of hallways. The walls looked to be made from human bones. It sent a shiver down his spine.

"Where are we?" he asks, turning back around to face Jane.

"The Catacombs of The People of Feldspar." she says, walking down a hall to the left of where they exited.

He once again follows her deeper into the maze of catacombs.

"The People of Feldspar? That sounds familiar," he says, trying to place the name.

"It should sound familiar." He looks at her curious, she rolls her eyes at him before explaining further. "That was the name of this kingdom before your grandfather slaughtered its leaders and made it his own. They sealed off all the entrances to the catacombs. They punished those who refused to accept him as their new king by trapping them down here to die."

"I have a hard time believing such a thing. Don't you think I would've heard of-" before he could finish his sentence, she pointed to a pair of skeletons on the ground next to where they stood. They held eachother, still.

"Look," her voice cracks as she speaks. "She was pregnant."

He looks down at the couple again, for a moment trying to make sense of what bones were what. When he sees the baby's skeleton inside the space in the mother's stomach, he turns away and vomits all the contents of his stomach. He feels Jane's had on his back, rubbing small circles with her fingers.

"I can't believe he would-how could he do this?" his voice cracks, making him realize his position. He quickly straightens up, avoiding the family on the ground, and clears his throat. Jane removes her hand.

"Everyone has monstrous urges," she explains. "Some who can get away with it act on those monstrous urges."

"I've done monstrous things," he says. "But even I would never do that. That is more than monstrous, that is evil."

"You have a moral line you will not cross," she says, leading him down the corridor once again. "Not everyone has those lines."

Does she?

They pass many more skeletons as they navigate the catacombs, and with each one, Sean feels the weight get heavier and heavier.

His grandfather had always favored his brother, even though Sean was the obvious choice as king. Could it be that his grandfather had seen the same thing in his brother that he saw in himself? Is that why he saw Sean as weak, because he wouldn't cross that line? Would his brother?

"Do you feel responsible for them?" She asks after a while. "It wasn't your doing."

He stays silent. It felt like it was. He had fought hard for thing kingdom and had he won, he still would've never known of all this if it hadn't been for Jane. Could he really have been a good king if he had missed all this? These people, they deserved better.

To be continued...

February 24, 2024