Inheritance

Part 2. Chapter 29: Drowning in Compassion

Taylor walked down the dark hall and followed the sound of the mysterious sobbing.

It almost seemed to echo; it seemed to be right in her sensitive fairy ears. Following the sound led her down the stairs and into a large hall with a yellow pattern in the shape of the sun emboldened on the otherwise black floor.

Her rosy eyes scanned the room—looking for the culprit that was making the noise.

The whole room was enshadowed in grim, dark red lighting. Outside, she heard the whipping and howling of a violent wind, but it did nothing to muffle the sounds of the sobbing.

Her eyes zeroed in on the small, sobbing form of Maruka, hugging his knees in the corner of the hall.

Taylor smirked and leaned on one hip. Sweet revenge. That's what he gets for locking up my powers!

Taylor realized now was a good time to try and figure out if there were a way out of the contract. She straightened her nightgown and approached the black-eyed man with a confident stride.

He didn't even see her coming; his eyes were buried in his knees.

She stopped in front of him with her hands planted on her hips--looking down her nose at him. She was about to taunt him, but he lifted his black eyes and revealed sorrowful tears streaming down his cheeks. He wiped them with embarrassment and asked, "oh, the Arrozan girl. What are you doing u-up?"

The smirk melted from Taylor's face when she looked at Maruka's sad eyes.

The pair gazed at each other silently for a moment, and suddenly, Taylor found empathy overwhelming her; in fact, she was swallowed by it.

And Eory surfaced instead.

The fairy knelt and looked the sobbing Maruka in the eyes. "What's wrong?"

Maruka siffled and laughed bitterly. "Y-you don't have to pretend to be compassionate, girl. I know you couldn't care less about me."

Eory crossed his arms across his knees and smiled brightly. "Actually... I'm... Not Taylor."

Maruka cocked his head to the side with a raised eyebrow and an incredulous smile. "You can't f-fool me with such nonsense. You have the same voice and face as Taylor—you must be Taylor. I wish I could say I was sorry about inhibiting your powers, but I'm not."

Eory's chuckle caught the selkie by surprise. "Actually, I'm pretty happy you inhibited them. I don't feel like such a danger to everyone now... I'm pretty worthless without my powers."

Maruka looked at the fairy's face searchingly. "...Who are y-you?"

Eory plopped down and crossed his legs with a warm smile. "My name is Eory. I... I made a lot of mistakes, which is why I thought it was best for me to go here."

Maruka shook his head with a thoughtful look on his face. "Y-you seem sincere, b-but there can't be two people in one body."

You stupid fool! Taylor practically screamed in his head. Get him to tell you about the contract!

"There's... A little known fact about fairies..." Eory said, scratching his cheek and reaching for back into both his own and Taylor's memories. "We aren't really born male or female. Our genders are shaped by how we're treated—what people call us—which hormones our parents put in our hair from their own as babies. But if it doesn't get solidified early on in our lives, it can change very easily. My mother decided she wanted a boy instead of a girl when I turned six, so she made me into one, but then..."

Eory explained it all through a pained lump in his throat, and Maruka listened with fascination. Maruka's eyes went from wet to dry as he listened to Eory's tale, and at the end of it, he merely said, "it's a little hard to believe... But I can honestly say I-I-I don't feel like I'm talking to the same person I was earlier today. I think there must be some truth to it."

Maruka looked down and could almost feel Eory's pain as the fairy recounted his tale. "I don't see why you felt the need to punish yourself; it seems like you were acting in self-defense. I feel like I should release you from the contract i-if... There were a way, that is. Y-you don't belong here. You're a good person."

Eory was stunned. "You think so...?"

"Of course. You were locked in that tower your whole life and you wanted to make a good-faith effort to show you were not a threat to the world. You did nothing wrong; it was the king w-who b-betrayed your trust... And Pollyanna." Maruka replied sincerely. He laughed in a moment. "Here I am moping around about nothing, and yet you've been treated like a criminal all your life and you've done nothing wrong. Keeping you locked in that tower was beyond cruel."

Eory leaned his chin on his palms and replied with a frown. "To be honest, I kind of miss that tower..."

Maruka nearly laughed because he was so surprised. "You must be joking. What's there to miss in a prison like that?"

Eory nearly went beet-red with embarrassment when he realized how ignorant and silly the statement sounded. He must think I'm stupid...

"I don't know... A lot of things. It was really safe in there and predictable, too. I had someone who loved me in there. All I've done is mess up out here and... Nobody likes me; nobody will even give me a chance to show I have something to offer this world—but I suppose they have a right. I killed so many soldiers in the king's regiment, and Pollyanna did, too; All we do is leave a trail of bodies behind us wherever we go."

Maruka lowered his eyes and realized what a warped view this poor fairy had of himself. He seems so kind and yet he doesn't realize just how kind he is. The human king was clearly in the wrong.

"If it weren't for Taylor, I-I would take that bracelet off your wrist." Maruka decided with a bright smile, standing up and dusting off his night robe. "But she's too dangerous to do that."

Eory nodded sadly and rose to his own feet. "I understand..."

"I'm sorry. All I did was blabber about myself when I approached you to ask why you were crying. What's wrong?" Eory asked gently.

Maruka couldn't meet the fairy's eyes as he answered, "someone... Someone is hurting me. I-I'm a P-prisoner."

"A prisoner?" Eory repeated.

Maruka nodded. "It's my own fault... There's nothing you can do to help, but it was so kind of you to try."

Eory could see the weight of something immeasurably heavy weighing on Maruka's shoulders, and he knew that he wasn't willing to tell him what it was. Eory clasped his hands in front of him and said meekly, "well... If you ever want to tell me, I'll be here to listen."

Eory turned on his heel—wishing to go back to bed—but Maruka called out to him. "You said you love art, right?"

Eory turned around and nodded eagerly.

"There's a room I've been wanting to paint. I'd love if you could help me sometime." Maruka suggested.

"I'd like that, too!" Eory agreed cheerfully.

Eory began climbing the stairs back to his quarters. Taylor resurfaced during the climb and she shook with anger. "You didn't ask him how to get out of the contract. You're going to get us all killed."

I'm not going to manipulate him. I told you; I'm happy being here and doing the right thing. Eory answered.

Taylor smirked. "I can hear your innermost thoughts. I know that deep down you were thinking you might be able to convince him to tell you the way out."

Eory went silent, and Taylor was happy to have shut him up.