Ruin and Revival

Chapter 58: All I Could Do Was Watch

AXEL

We were dragged out of the forest, chained to horses like worthless slaves. Arika's head had hung low, her luscious hair covering her features, her emotions. I had failed her so, so horribly. I had been the one to drag her into this. And all I could do was watch as those vile men forced her down, cuffing her wrists and ankles as she screamed in defiance.

We now stood in front of the palace, Frieda's troops destroying everything in sight as she plowed her way through my beloved empire and all I could do was watch and hear the screams of mothers for their children. No one was prepared for the Rising Star to capture me, the most powerful man on earth. And neither were you.

Death followed wherever that heartless woman went, her soldiers unleashing the deadly gloves onto the innocent and those who dared to fight back. How had I never noticed the immense power The Rising Star had managed to harness right under my nose will always be a mystery. They showed us off like trophies, objects to gape at. We were chained to the top of the dark carriage, forced onto our knees as a sign of even the Imperator's submission. Arika tugged at her chain furiously with each death, with each slaughter until her wrists became raw. But it was no use as the helpless met their untimely ends at the hands of a cruel uprising. An uprising I could only watch, in chains, completely powerless to stop. Bri surveys the catastrophe around us with tears streaming down her face, unable to wipe them as millions of the people I was supposed to protect perished. But all I could do was watch.

Frieda gestured the cameras to be focused on us. We are now chained to a wooden platform on a balcony of the palace that overlooked the entire empire. It was once a place of inspiration, of words that could unite, of speeches that could turn the tides of war. But now I could only watch the crowd, filled with the faces of so many different people, all unified in their terror and their rage.

"Well, well, well. Even the best fall. People of Aquaria. Your beloved Imperator is actually just a foolish boy. You cannot entrust the power that comes with the ability to control water to a mere teenage boy. This era is over. It is time we become something bigger, stronger. No longer will we confine ourselves to this continent nor will we try to make peace with every country. The only way to save this planet is to destroy all other countries and rebuild atop the ashes, like the rebirth of a star. We must conquer the world." The crowd goes silent. All I can do is watch as soldiers shot down whoever dared to shout words of opposition to Frieda, to The Rising Star. The deaths would never end and I was naive to think I could finally end them.

"The first step is executing this man, along with the rest of his allies." I feel a rough boot on my back, pushing me forward.

"But the honor of killing Axel Mendez is not mine, but Diana's as a tribute to Australia and their wise alliance with The Rising Star." My head shoots up for the first time, my heart pounding in my chest. Dianna stands quietly behind us, her hair tied up in a regal bun as her quivering hands grip a garnished sword. I bristle, wanting to rip every limb off of her.

"However, these two lovely young ladies will be just as satisfying." I twist my head back violently, my sanity no longer there, replaced by animalistic, primal desperation that shakes one to the very core.

"NO! PLEASE! Torture me, do whatever you want to me, but do not kill them!" I beg, literally on my knees, in chains, as any dignity I ever had goes down the drain. Dammit, dammit all! A small voice rings from the crowd, clear and firm.

"Screw The Rising Star!" All I can do is watch as the corpse of the little girl who had enough courage to say her thoughts is dragged out mere seconds later.

"Look at him, reduced into a sniveling coward." Frieda runs her slender hand through my hair, as if to taunt me, to revel in my defeat. She lets go, swaggering over to Arika but those empty pits of hers never lose my stare.

"Your lover will go first. Any last words? " Frieda holds an ornamented dagger to Arika's throat. Her eyes glint in raw fear, but she still wore that face of defiance. I thrash violently against my restraints, but it is no use. No, no, no, no, no, no.

"No, please kill me first!" Bri struggles fiercely, her blue eyes shining in desperation.

"Bri, Axel, stop it! Stop it! Look at me." I twist to watch her, to look into her beautiful eyes for the last time.

"Bri, you are my best friend. You got me through my hardest times and made me a better person. I wish," She takes a deep breath, "I got to see you get married, see your dreams come true but just know you are one of the best people I have met and I can die knowing no one else will find friendship like ours. Never lose your fire and your righteousness because you are one of a kind." Bri stifles her sobs, her shoulders shaking.

"And Axel. At first, I thought I could never care for you. But you are so selfless, so strong, so raw. You are what humanity should be, you gave me faith, hope for this wretched world. You are everything good and right. I wish I got to grow old with you, to rebuild this world with you, to find your daughter, to even raise children of our own. I love you-" Her voice cracks and that line utterly shatters me.

"So, so much. NEVER LET ANYONE BRING YOU DOWN!" Arika shouts at the top of her lungs as Frieda raises her dagger. I roar her name, hoping it would delay that accursed blade. But all I can do is watch as it continues to come down.

A hand stops Frieda's.

Dianna's tears stain her face as she looks directly at me before throwing me the keys to my chains and her sword. Fight for what is yours.

"What the hell are you doing?" Frieda snarls furiously at Dianna. Arika's eyes remain wide as she witnesses the betrayal that saves her life.

"I see something good in them, better than the future you promise us, Frieda. Love will always prevail fear!" My hands fumble with the keys but I finally manage to break free at my wrists. I do the same with my ankles.

It is too late as Frieda plunges her blade into Dianna. All I can do is watch as the Princess who salvaged my mistakes and saved everything I cared for collapses onto the platform, staining the wood red. I bellow in an outrage I had never experienced before, charging at Frieda before she could react.

"This is for Dianna of Redwood, who gave her life for the greater good, for not being afraid to believe!" My blade clashes with Frieda's and the ring could be heard throughout the world. The crowd goes ballistic, chanting my name. Frieda's soldiers release their bullets on them as chaos ensues.

"You will never win. You watched as I conquered your capital. Australia has control of your army, your gloves. They are capturing the other cities as we speak." Frieda spits onto my face. New determination sparks inside of me.

"No, I may not be able to take what is mine now. But I will one day. And you will be the one who should be the most terrified." Out of the corner of the eye, I see Arika and Bri free themselves, frantically gesturing towards me. I parry Frieda's strikes, her blow astonishingly strong for a woman of her stature. She stumbles back at the might of my final blow and I seize that moment to escape. I look back at Dianna's body, at the crowd, at the camera's one last time.

"I PROMISE I WILL COME BACK FOR YOU AQUARIA. AND WHEN THAT DAY COMES, NO ONE ELSE WILL EVER BRING ME DOWN AGAIN!" Arika's words ring in my mind as I shout a promise I may not be able to keep. But the genuine love that burns in Arika's eyes as she extends her hand is enough for me to go on. Because although I had watched everything I had worked so tirelessly to gain, my kingdom, my power, my people, unfold before my very eyes until it seemed like I was left with nothing, I had not lost her.

And that was something.