Inheritance

Chapter 25: No Good

Pollyanna and Eory waited outside the outer wall while Kori went in alone to see the king. He sat on the grassy and snowy earth a few inches away from where she leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.

Eory shuddered and didn't dare meet her gaze. His mind was stuck fearfully in the moment when she had grabbed him by the collar and held him two feet above the ground. He was afraid that she might hurt him, but doubly afraid that she didn't like him when that was one of the only things he wanted.

More than that, what Kori had told him earlier was relentlessly repeating in his mind.

She was just as bad as your parents.

Even though the thought kept shooting through his mind like sharp pain, Eory couldn't let himself believe it. Pollyanna's image may not have been matching up to the woman who Kori had told him stories about, but he was sure she must still be the same one.

Are you insane? She told you the truth and you're just going to ignore it? This woman is just as bad as us.The woman snickered at him.

Eory was stuck in his thoughts and no other thing existed while he was. He woodenly petted Gershom who sat in lap with nervous fingers as a war continued being waged in his mind.

In a moment, however, he began sniffling.

I ruined everything. She hates me. Eory thought to himself. All because I wanted to be good... I can't blame her for hating me. I put her life on the line too, after all.

Pollyanna's angry grimace soon faded into a sincere frown as she listened to his sniffling. A feeling she hadn't felt in the longest time overwhelmed her for a moment as she listened to his pathetic sniveling. She couldn't put her finger on it, she just knew she felt sorry for the poor young man who was so new to the world.

She sat down next to him with one leg pulled up to her chest and the other stretched out in front of her. "Why are you crying?"

He looked to his left—away from her—so she couldn't see his tears. "Because you hate me..."

"I don't hate you, Eory. It's just that it's my job to protect you and you're making that job very difficult..." Pollyanna explained calmly.

Eory chewed his arm furiously. "You hate me. You think I'm a sniveling coward."

Pollyanna looked up at the gray sky and crossed her arms. "You are a coward, but that doesn't mean I should have treated you that way. Why should it bother you even if I did hate you? I am your sword and I must do as you say."

Eory took a deep breath and then he finally turned his head and faced her. "You're not just a sword. I respect you and appreciate everything you've done for my family... You're my hero."

Pollyanna laughed aloud. "Hero? Is that what the waif told you about me? Eory, I told you. There are only the weak and the strong and those who devour both. I'm just as dirty as anybody else. I have killed and—"

Eory clapped his hands over his ears and sniffled. "I won't hear it! You're good and kind and protected my family out of the goodness of your heart! You protected innocents from monsters such as dragons and prevented my family from killing far more than they otherwise would have!"

She's no good just like us. No wonder you like her. The woman snieered.

Pollyanna was shocked at his outburst. He has lived in a tower all his life, after all. She looked down at her feet and then glanced at her charge. She felt incredibly sorry about bullying him earlier until she recalled a moment of her own weakness with a shudder.

She wept hideously and she let him take her into his arms.

"Stop sniveling like a damned woman!" Pollyanna suddenly yelled.

Eory met her gaze and held Gershom closer. To his own surprise and hers, he calmly said, "you're a woman..."

Pollyanna avoided the need she had to take him in her arms and soothe him. Only women need to be coddled and taken into someone's arms. I will never stoop so low again.

Eory turned away from her again and continued weeping in fear and soul-crushing disappointment that perhaps she was not the woman he wanted her to be.

She has to be. I know she is! She has just forgotten herself because... Because...

"Eory. I suggest we run away right now. If you go in there and get killed, I'm going to die, too. Can you live with that?" Pollyanna asked, appealing to his naïve nature.

Eory wiped his eyes and replied, "I can live with it. If I die, the world will be rid of one more evil person. If I live, then I will have proved myself good-hearted and deserving of a peaceful life. If you want to go, I will order you away, but I suppose it will do you no good since your life is tied to mine."