Battle Of Domion Valley (1)

I awoke to the scent of food. Even depressed people living in a horrible, twisted version of reality still have to eat, I reminded myself.

I notice that its still dark outside as my tent opens and Rose enters. “Ah, you’re awake. That simplifies things. Come, food is ready.”

I feel my lips curl up when I see her. She looks as perfect as usual. “You’re beautiful,” I let slip from my lips.

She blushes ever-so-slightly, “Thank you. The food is good. Come.” She offers me her hand. I take it, and as I rise, I ask her about Dom.

“Domnis is on his way back. He has been taking care of something else, with Knight Nine, and the Record Keeper, Bartholum.”

She leads me to a campfire being tended by Fennis and Mimi. As I approach, Fennis moves and offers me a seat. I raise an eyebrow at his courtesy and take the offered spot anyway. When Mimi hands me a bowl, I thank her, and turn to ask Fennis what this is really about

“You say you know of historical accounts of the Beta? Show me.” He orders.

“First of all, fuck you, Fennis. Second, I couldn't even if I wanted to.”

At that, I throw the contents of my bowl at him. Almost instantly, Mimi appears at my side and takes a swing at me. I reach up in time to stop her fist, and slide mine under her guard, squarely into her bottom rib. I would never have been able to perform such a maneuver if it wasn't for knowing specific weaknesses of Mimi from all of our training together.

The blow was unexpected and drops her to her knees. Not a moment passes before the whole camp is surrounding me as laughter cuts through the tension and catches us all off guard.

“My, to catch Mimelia, how impressive,” Fennis calls out.

He’s standing there, covered in that mushy excuse for food, and laughing fitfully. Eventually, Mimi attempts to raise to her knees, holding her stomach.

“Oh, stop being a pussy,” Fennis mocks, using his foot to push Mimi back over. At this, the entire crowd laughs. A quick glance toward Rose shows she isn’t laughing, and obviously, neither is Mimi.

I explode into fury and storm up to Fennis, sending my fist directly to his stomach. His lungs let out their air as he falls to the ground. Immediately, someone else takes a swing at me. I dodge to the side and land a blow to the side of their face. Gabe, with a furrowed brow, tries to kick me, but he’s slow and uncoordinated so dodging him is easy. It’s when Kagura removes a dagger and rushes toward me I realize exactly what position I’ve put myself in.

Her slash barely misses my face and she blocks my knee as I jab it toward her stomach. She produces another dagger and throws it at me. The pain I feel as it pierces my arm causes me to let down my guard, and she doesn’t miss a beat to slam the hilt of her blade into my stomach. The moment she raises her dagger, aimed for my head, the air chills.

Or perhaps, “chills” is the wrong word. My soul feels like it’s being torn out of me. Everyone around me clearly feels the same, and the crowd all falls to their knees. In the epicenter of it all stands Rose – her eyes have lost their blue color, now reflecting a gray. Her hair braid has torn and her hair floats in the air, fanning around her head. She’s terrifying in her beauty, so much so that I force myself to stand. She seems to be taken aback by my movement and glares at me.

Every step feels like I’m losing a part of me, but I can’t resist the need to push on.

One step, I feel the memories of a birthday with my parents being stripped from me.

Another, I lose out on my memory of the nightmare I had my first night here – not the contents of it, those are safe, but the act of having it… gone.

As I approach her, I feel a wall within my mind fall. I am able, for a moment, to grasp something I did not even know laid within my memories. It hits me with speed, causing the information to play before me like a movie, a blur, too much at once for me to catch all the details. I stood behind the wall, falling to my knees, a voice over me, telling me something.

That is all I am able to gather before my outstretched hands make contact with Rose. “I know you’re upset, but you’re hurting Mimi, and she’s been hurt enough. If you have to kill me for hurting your false Zero, then do so. Leave the others out of it.”

Rose’s aura flickers in waves as it dissipates through me from our connected mouths. The surrounding area begins to regain color and life. The concentration of her power within me tears at my being. The pain is everything and nothing, a cataclysmic mix of contradictions.

Through us, a voice shouts. “No!”

The sword of my ever-watchful guardian, Rei, is brought down between us. I separate our lips before we can be sliced, and the power within me rushes to Rose. She screams as her gray eyes turn bloodshot and grabs her head. She falls to her knees, her mass of hair blanketing her form. To my left stands Rei, or rather, an image of Rei. When our eyes meet, she raises a corner of mouth in recognition before disappearing.

In place of her, stands Fennis. He looks at me with pure rage. “How lucky you are,” he sneers.

“What was that, Fennis?” I scan the surrounding area to see that no one else is standing. “And how are you unscathed?”

“I would ask the same of you, but I care not. Your actions today are telling of your character. You almost started a riot inside my camp.”

“You’re an asshole, you deserved it, and I would do it again.”

Before he could comment, a horn blared in the distance.

“Shit, Kay’s here. That means the Beta aren’t far. This is your fault, girl. Now we have a weakened army. When this is over, I may kill you myself.”

Indignant, I retort, “We both know Rei won’t let you.”

His brow furrows and his glare sends a palpable wave of hatred through the air between us. He grinds his teeth and the audible crunch makes me wince.

Before either of us can speak again, Kay appears from the surrounding woods. She briefly scans the area around us, and instinctually moves in front of Fennis.

“Down, you dog,” he tells her while shoving her to the side.

Kay looks at him, confused, before turning her good eye toward me. I focus on her eye, or more specifically, the patch covering it. My poor Kay, what happened to her?

With a single glance, she confirms what Fennis suspected – the Beta are coming.

“Rose, Mimi-” He reaches down and yanks Mimi up by her arm, sending a sideways glance my way. I’m barely able to hold back my anger… I know it isn’t the time. “You two, rally the entire camp. Rally everyone. We have a speech to give before we die this day.”

Mimi’s lacking energy but gives Fennis a nod. Rose makes no sign of movement, even after he prods her with the tip of his boot. I feel so bad for Rose and want nothing more than to help her.

“Whatever. She’s worthless when you need her. Kay, go with Mimelia.”

Kay nods and assists Mimi as she hobbles to safety. Fennis reaches out and takes my hand. “Come, girl, today we make history.”

Before I can comprehend what is happening, I’m pulled through a crowd of people, and up a stand. Once we are at the top, we stand above enough onlookers to block out the horizon. Fennis drops my hand, and on this day, I feel it more than I ever have before, the disconnect telling me that this is it, this is how my whole world ends.

Fennis approached the edge and spread his arms like a bird of prey. The echoes of the crowd blew through us, their admiration resembling that of a cult for their leader.

At this moment, Fennis is as close to a god as he’ll ever be. He chose this location perfectly; the voices echo and bounce around the mountains across the valley. As Fennis raises one hand and the crowd around us comes to an abrupt silence, he begins his speech. I stand ready to listen to the venom as it coats us all.