Crimson Rebirth

Part 26

Smoke.

 That was the first thing Genevieve noticed as they sailed closer to Zenia. Thanks to Kaiju's large size and wingspan, the miles were easily covered in a matter of hours rather than days or weeks. Smoke swirled into the sky, covering up the picturesque blue sky. The closer they got, the worst it seemed, and left Genevieve looking across the islands to figure out which one it came from.

 Her heart ached when she noticed that it was the one that her clan called home. "Oh no...." She barely breathed, directing Kaiju towards the ground.

 The smoke became more suffocating the closer they got to the ground, right up until Kaiju landed. Gene could barely see in front of her, but she knew the clearing, one she used to use to teach the children about magic. Far enough away from the village to NOT destroy it by accident, but close enough that if anything were to happen, more help was only a shout away.

 But not today.

 Nothing but silence filled the air, silence and the crack of flames devouring wood in the distance.

 "No..." She barely breathed, all of that elation during the flight, the joy she felt barely three hours prior melted away, leaving pure, raw fear. The moment her feet touched the ground, she was racing through the trees, not bothering to see if Kaiju was behind her.

 The Starglow flowers, with their five pearly petals, were covered in ash, and the closer her feet carried her to the village, the more she saw dying, their green lights turning black. One by one, they were burning, their petals dropping to the ground like ash-blackened snow. Her feet were coated in a layer of their ash, the smoke clogging up her lungs. But she continued to run.

 She only paused when she reached the outskirts of the village, the once pristine cobblestone streets now reddened with dried blood. The homes and stores were smoldering husks of their former selves, but the worst part was the bodies.

 Oh God and Goddess, the bodies.

 She recognized every single face, silently twisted in mute horror. She could count the broken necks, the puncture wounds, on every single man, woman, and child. Nobody was spared, their blood painting the streets, bodies tossed carelessly to the side. Every single name flooded her mind, and not a single soul was spared, from the elderly Mr. Higgins to the blind, young Marie, her face the only one not shaped in terror. But rather, peaceful acceptance.

 A sob lodged itself in her throat, tears burned in her eyes. And she couldn't tell if it was from smoke or from the sight before her. Or a twisted mix of both. She could feel an icy hand grasp her heart, squeezing it as her feet continued to carry her further.

 Every body she passed, she crouched down to close their eyes.

 She finally paused near the middle of the village, her eyes watching the smoldering remains of the place she called home. Home, the place she was raised, where she played with her brother and father. Where her mother would soothe every injury, no matter how small, with a gentle kiss and even gentler words. Where her grandmother taught her how to be brave, how to hold onto courage in the face of adversity.

 All that remained was a section of burning wood and toppled bricks.

 Her eyes focused on the roses she was always so damn proud of, watching as the flames danced along the petals, letting each rose red petal cascade to the ground, as the flames danced along its surface.

 It turned to ash before it touched the ground. Every single one turned to ash.

 That was the moment that Gene lost strength in her legs, falling to her knees with tears dripping down her cheeks. Her shoulders slumped forward, her hair falling to conceal her face. A single, strangled sob fell from her lips like rain, her arms wrapping around herself as though to piece herself back together again.

And once again, she had managed to forget that Kaiju was there. He had come slower than she did, trying to absorb the scale of the attack while carefully managing his own emotions. But watching how she had ran, and then coming upon her while she had collapsed, it was enough to tear into his heart. But it did not tear into sorrow.

 Rather, it tore into anger.

 He hated watching her collapse into herself, and couldn't help but reach a gentle hand out, crouching down right beside her, and pulling her close.

 At first, Genevieve froze, unsure of what to do with the contact. After all, she had grown used to fighting through grief alone. Having a shoulder to cry on was.... Rather new to her.

 She shrank in his arms, making herself as small as possible, in the hopes that she could become small enough to hide in his hug, hide away from the devastation around her. Hide away from the pain, the heartache that was eating her alive. Use his arms as a physical barrier from the rest of the world.

 He held her ever tighter, careful to not squeeze too hard, but keeping her close to his heart. He wanted nothing more than to provide her the safety she sought, while his mind reeled. This........ This could not go unpunished.

 He could not let this go unpunished. Not as a king, not as a knight. 

 Kaiju could feel Gene shaking like a leaf in his arms, even if she wasn't entirely cognizant of it, and rested his chin on her head, in an attempt to help her calm, even if only slightly. His jaw worked silently, before he finally settled on an idea. Anger burned inside of him, fiercer than any flame, larger than any house.

And it stemmed not only from his sense of justice, but his protectiveness of the woman hiding in his arms. Seeing her breakdown felt a thousand times worse, knowing that she had tried to keep them safe.

 And knowing that tore Gene's heart apart even more, her silent sobs aching her throat, rattling her ribs. The knowledge that she had done what she could to keep them safe, and yet they were still dead.

 And maybe if she had come back sooner, maybe if she hadn't left Zenia, maybe if she went on with that stupid proposal, maybe if she had just.... toughed it out. Maybe they would still be alive. Maybe none of this would've happened to them.

 Part of her hated that thought. If it hadn't happened as it did, she wouldn't have met Kaiju, and something quietly told her that she would've felt like part of her was missing for the rest of her life.

 But.... Did she have a right to such thoughts? Losing her clan by sticking by her gut, wouldn't that have meant that she shouldn't have stuck by those instincts? Didn't that make her a failure as a clan leader?

 Her response was a loud thud of a heavy tail on earth, shaking the ground. Kaiju's arms had left her shoulders, over her head the great beastial head of the dragon named Kaiju. Smoke billowed from his nose, his belly rippling like coals in a bonfire yet to come alive with a fire.

 He lowered his head to Gene.

 Gene looked up at him, tears blurring her green eyes. "Yes?" She asked, her voice impossibly quiet, impossibly small. As small as she had wanted to make herself. Small, to hide from the world.

  Kaiju chuffed, lowering his massive oxbow horns for her.

 Slowly, very slowly, she managed to climb on him, settling just as slow, keeping her head down, though the tears stung her cheeks, and traced lines down her ashen face. Her arms trembled, her legs barely held her weight as she climbed upon him, and once she was settled, she couldn't stop the dry sobs from shaking her body as she curled up as tightly as she could, wanting to continue to be small.

 Kaiju reared his great head back, then his front paws. His wings stretched and beat the air. He inhaled, and a horrifying roar of an enraged Dragon tore through the heavens and shook the mountains.

 Vengeance would be claimed.