The Aftermath

The smoke and haze hung heavily in the sky.

The bloody Queen drew heavy breaths as she studied the scene before her. Lifeless bodies of peasants, criminals, guards, royalty, and fae were slumped together among the blood stained cobblestones. The elegant townhouses in High Court Circle were illuminated red and yellow; smoke billowing from their windows.

As she stood on the castle steps she could see the rest of the poor and rundown kingdom. Her attention went to the north docks and she could see the beautiful battle of elements; ships set on fire as they swayed atop of the bay. She watched in silence as every town on the island burned down. Her sensitive ears listened to the screams of citizens begging for mercy, and smiled.

She leaned her sword against the stone railing and winced. A wound that was forgotten finally made itself known. She cautiously brought her hand to the cut and drew a sharp breath when two fingers fit perfectly into the deep gash, how was she still conscience?

“You will need to get that checked out,” a deep voice came from behind her. Immediately she relaxed. The voice was a comforting sound that could make her feel calm in any situation.

“I’m just surprised I haven’t passed out yet,” she said as she walked to stand next to the fae warrior. He bent over her and studied the wound. As he studied the injury his face stayed stone cold, making no sign of how bad it actually was. When he was finished he straightened himself and shrugged his shoulders.

“Any human would have passed out or died from that, but it’s your mix of elf and fae blood. You should be fine for a little bit longer, but need to seek attention.” He looked straight ahead at the kingdom’s destruction. His eyes looked upon the aftermath. There was a long silence between them, and then he finally turned to her, “You can be taught to heal it when your training is complete.”

She nodded to agree and said, “Is that all you have to say right now?”

His eyes narrowed as he studied her face. He was trying to read her mind but did not prevail, “What do you want me to say, isn’t this what you wanted?”

“It is, but I can’t help but feel as if some innocent people were hurt,” she whispered.

The warrior placed a hand on her shoulder, the only affection he had ever shown her in the months they had been acquainted. “War can have it’s best intentions, but innocent beings are always hurt in the confines of war my Queen.”

A tear ran down her cheek, “This was the place where the lands dumped the criminals, those who hurt others. This was a land that was doomed. I wanted to make it better, start with a clean slate...”

“You did, everyone and everything is destroyed” He cut her off. She looked at the destruction before her. As Queen she wanted a new land, a safe haven. She assumed the only way to do so was to massacre the evil that lived on the island. Now that it was done, she felt as if she made a mistake, one she couldn’t take back.

They stood in silence for what felt like hours. Once again it was broken by the fae warrior. He touched her shoulder once again and this time pointed to the sky without saying a word. She brought her eyes to where his finger directed.

The clouds began to make a vortex, sucking in the smoke and air. To the Queen it looked as it the heavens were calling all the souls into the clouds, to take them away from the Hell she had created.

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