Envenheim 182

The year had passed so cheerfully, as I wrote before, and I am sorry I have not been writing consistently, my diary. I shall report the good and happy things that have happened this year, my diary!

Terry was going strong with that lovely peasant girl he had met at the ball, Paul was outgoing and more talkative than usual, Meridi was her usual odd, but charming self when I saw her, and Paris was the happiest I had ever seen him. I was the happiest I had been in a long time, too.

How content I was to spend many a day with the people of Nui who were quickly becoming family. How amazing it was to see moths and humans begin to trust each other so much that humans began to take them everywhere in public. How wonderful it was to have lovely days where I could just lie on Paris’ chest and sleep with him in the garden.

Nui was made into the warm place I had once remembered it being.

Sometimes, I would still get very sad when I thought of Caerwyn and my family.

I remembered each and every one of my family’s faces so well. Sometimes I felt like I was still a child, and when I woke up, Gerta and Kieran and Mother and Father would all be there to greet me. That was how much Nui was beginning to feel like home again, and when I realized my family was gone, I would feel a sinking sadness in my stomach.

And Caerwyn. Poor Caerwyn. He had broken his vows for that kiss. I wanted so badly to run away with him. I loved him with all my heart, but I had to stay where I could do the most good. I would never forget his sweetness and I would always love him for being the one man in the world who cared enough to rescue me. On somedays, I would pine for him endlessly, and I would force myself to find Paris and seek refuge from my desires in his arms.

Terry, of course, was ever my finest friend and my true platonic love. Paris and Caerwyn could abandon me, but Terry promised he’d follow me to hell and back again.

“Once you become on of the Queen’s Faithful, you never go back!” Terry announced proudly.

There was no boy sweeter in the whole world.

Terry told me that, at night, Meridi was helping him learn how to trigger his powers. He informed me that Meridi had had yet another dream where Hypthos instructed her more about the kind of powers Terry had.

“He can heal anyone but himself, but he cannot heal wounds that are too old, and he cannot regrow severed limbs. Hypthos also told me that he has more magic that can be used to harm others, but he does not know how Terry can activate it.” Meridi told me one night when I visited her. “I’ll keep trying to teach him.”

And the day finally came when I was brave enough to ask Paris to free the slaves. I said to him while we were lying under the blue sky in the garden, “Paris, doesn’t Nui feel like family?”

He nodded. “It does.”

“Don’t you think it feels wrong to keep family as slaves?” I asked him dazedly.

There was a long pause, and he finally said, “it does. Shall we free your people, my dear?”

I rolled on top of him and nodded vigorously. “We should.”

And that very day, against the wishes of his advisors, he announced that the moths of Nui were free. Many of them chose to stay as servants to their human masters because it was now the life they knew, but some of them chose to do other things like opening up their own shops. Tensions were high at first, of course, and I had to mediate often between humans and moths to make sure things transitioned smoothly, but otherwise, we were met with almost no resistance. Moths and humans remained grand friends in Nui.

And everything was beautiful, until it wasn’t.

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Nobody expected, least of all me, nor was prepared for what happened next in Nui. As I am locked away, I have nothing better to do than recount the horrible events leading up to my current, heartbreaking situation.

King Torr and Peter marched with an army that dwarfed Nui’s into the city unannounced.

Torr said to Paris with the blackest eyes I had ever seen, “I heard you freed your slaves… It appears I made a mistake when I gave Nui to you. I will take it back forcefully if necessary, and you know Ironwall will decimate a tiny kingdom like Nui. You’d better just give it to us.”

Paris was speechless. I clung to him fearfully.

“Oh yes, and we’re taking your Catalydd and your pretty wife as well. Peter wants her.” King Torr nodded to Peter and the tall man seized my arm roughly. Terry, who was standing with us unsheathed his blade and stabbed the first soldier who engaged him effortlessly but was overcome easily when a dozen more knight engaged him.

I screamed and kicked Peter while I reached out to Paris and tried to escape the tight hold he had around my stomach. “Rally the knights Paris! You can’t just throw all our hard work away!”

He was paralyzed with fear as he always was around his family. He looked at me desperately with tears stinging his eyes but could say nothing.

I screwed my eyes shut and spat in a fearful rage. “You’re a fucking coward!”

Peter hauled me and Terry away, and the last thing I saw of Paris was him falling to his knees in heartbreak, hanging his head.