The infirmary was a pale, and sterile place. The smell of herbs, and concoctions hanging heavy in the air. Merva stood outside, her eyes glued to Hero's Sleeping form.
She didn't want things to go this far, but here she was somehow. She turned to leave, but the voices reminded her, of his pain, of the way he had been hurt.
She felt anger surge, unlike she had ever felt before. It wanted to be released.
Her eyes narrowed her, her anger focusing on Hero. He was the one who had hurt him. She remembered the look of mockery on his face, as Zeus had struggled.
"No. I don't want to do this."
She pleaded trying to fight it off.
The air seemed to ripple around her, her anger taking on a life of its own.
Her lips curled into a cold calculating smile. She reached out with her power, weaving a subtle spell that settled into Hero's skin like a dark whisper.
The plague took hold of his body, spreading through his veins, sowing seeds of decay and suffering. She watched as he woke up, screaming in pain. A part of her felt justified, and the other guilty. She hid, watching the healers as they rushed in, and she then slipped away.
The next day, Merva watched Zeus from afar, her eyes fixed on him as he walked through the crowded hallway.
Whispers swirled around the school, speculations, and gossips flowing like water. Hero had gotten a plague, Zeus won but had still been beaten, who had exerted revenge?
She felt a pang, but it was too late now.
As he approached, Merva's heart picked up pace. She didn't move, just waited, her face a mask.
He stopped before her, eyes locked on hers. Without a word, they walked off together into the open air towards the gazebo, their steps unhurried.
When they sat, there was space between, but not distance.
"How are you feeling now?"
"Better," he said. "Just a little bit tired."
She nodded, her eyes lowering as if checking something only she could see.
"I tried to come see you three days ago, your servants said you were not there."
"I was at my cousins house."
The wind passed through the gazebo, carrying voices from far away.
He smiled faintly. "I heard the Fury match yesterday was...interesting."
She looked up at him smiling. "It was. You should have seen it."
"Really?"
"Yes." She answered cheerfully. "It was a very funny sight. They were trying not to get themselves hurt, and ended up just chasing each other. The scribes, and authorities got angry and insisted they begin to fight, but it wouldn't work."
She began laughing. '"When one tried to land a hit, the other used his power to hang in the air." She went on, and he interjected timely, adding to the conversation.
The afternoon stretched on quietly, the kind of time that didn't ask to be noticed. The conversation moving from amusing events in the school to ordinary things about their daily lives.
The sun shifted slowly, light spilling into the gazebo in uneven stripes.
She grew quieter, her speech irregular.
He noticed it, the way her enthusiasm was gone, the way her answers shortened, the way her shoulders sagged.
"I haven't been sleeping much." She added, absentmindedly, sighing softly.
Before he could respond, she leaned, just enough for her head to rest at the edge of his shoulder. Not fully against him, as though giving him the chance to pull away.
He breached the space between them carefully, his body relaxing into her touch. He let his shoulder become a pillow, and she feelt her tension melt away at the warmth of his presence.
The sun crept lower, its glare slipping past the edges of the gazebo, landing across her face. Without thinking, he shifted angling himself to shield her. With a gentle hand, he guided her head into the crook of his neck, tucking her in.
"Thank you." She murmured
She yawned, her eyes shut. Already drifting away.
He used his free hand and picked up a scroll to read.
Her breathing evened out.
The rain was pouring.
In her dreams these days it was always raining.
She was a little girl again, barefoot, and breathless, running through a forest drowned in endless downpour, running away from her family castle that was her prison.
The ground beneath her feet was sleek, and treacherous, mud and leaves conspiring to throw her off her feet with every step.
Branches clawed at her skin as she ran, lungs burning, heart pounding so much she thought it would give her away. She swiped at the tears and snot all over her face, lost and wondering where to go.
Everything was clouded in darkness. It pressed in from all sides, thick and suffocating, swallowing everything with it.
She heard the sounds of boots snapping twigs, coats slicing through the rain, voices angry. They were coming to get her.
Her grand father, her nursemaid, and guards. Chasing her through the forest.
Panicking, she slipped into the shadows, pressing herself against a towering tree. She curled inwards, hands clutched to her chest as tears fell down freely, mingling with the rain.
Drip... Drip... Drip.
Then silence.
She looked up in fear, at the presence that hovered above her.
Breath caught in her throat, when a man stepped from the darkness and gently raised an umbrella over her head. The rain no longer touched her.
"Child" he said softly, his voice like a lullaby she had forgotten. "How have you been?"
She stood ready to run, but he smiled.
"Don't be afraid," he continued. "I am helping you, this is the only place where I can help you."
Something about him felt familiar, safe. She studied his face, and when her eyes met his, her breath stilled.
They were the same. Deep, luminous purple.
Same purple iris, same dark rim, the dark pupils like twin voids staring back.
"Yours too," he said gently, almost in wonder. "It looks beautiful on you."
She smiled without knowing why. An ethereal, fragile smile, and he smiled back.
"Come," he said stretching out his hand to her. "Let me take you away from here."
And she took it.
The shadows parted for them as they went, drawing them deeper, further from the sounds of pursuit. Darkness wrapped around her like silk, not cruel, not sharp.
"These shadows will not hurt you," he told her. "They cannot. You are one of them. You belong here too."
She felt happy then. Safe.
Oblivious.
Until she noticed.
His grip had weakened.
She looked up, and her heart broke.
He was fading.
Darkness clung to him, tearing at his form. Black blood spilled like ink into the rain, dissolving into the ground as unseen forces struck him again and again.
His edges blurred, his body thinning, unravelling into shadows, but still he held her hand guiding her.
"W...what?" She sobbed, her small voice barely carrying. "What's happening? Why are you disappearing?"
She tried pulling him towards her, tears soaking her sleeves.
"Look at me. Please." She sobbed
He turned to her, his face fading, his voice only a whisper.
"They cannot hurt me. They will not hurt me."
But they already had.
Most of him was gone now, nothing but shadow and fading light. His fingers loosened, trembling.
"This is the only time I can see you." He murmured sadly. "The only time I can be with you, and help you."
And then he was gone.
Tears burst out of her eyes, her mouth opening in a wail.
She heard whispers calling behind her and kept quiet.
Queen.
Queen.
Queen.
She turned and saw her mother. Suspended in the air, unmoving, eyes closed. she was frozen.
Everything was destroyed, everything lay in ruins.
Their Queen lay in a pepertual state. Neither alive, nor dead.
"Mother." she called, running after her.
"Mother."
But the closer she came, the more her mother drifted away, slipping through her grasp like a memory.
Voices called to her, asking her to save her mother, but she couldn't.
She fell on her young knees, unconsolable.
They had been taken from her.
She felt a hand on her face and gasped, waking up with a violet jerk.
Heart racing, breath shallow.
Everything was gone.
"It's alright." Zeus said holding her back. "It was just a nightmare."
He dropped the handkerchief in his hands beside him, and drew gentle circles around her back to calm her down.
Her shoulders relaxed, her breathing evened out.
She noticed a servant waiting by the gazebo, and looked at Zeus in confusion.
"Ah. You mean him?" He looked at the man in front of them. "He came to get me. So I told him to wait till you woke up, but he wouldn't sit. Says he doesn't want to get us in trouble."
She nodded, slightly embarrassed.
"Have I been out for too long?" She asked him quietly.
"No. He came while I was cleaning your tears, and then you woke up."
She stood up suddenly.
"So...You should get going now, I guess."
He nodded in agreement. "I should."
She looked up at him a smile on her face. "I am happy that you came today."
They embraced.
"So am I." He said letting her go.
She watched him walk away, the dream still fresh on her mind.