Ashes of Revenge

Raven walked into her room with a heavy sigh. Pausing momentarily, she observed that Colt was lying on her bed, and Richard was sitting in a chair next to it.

“Hey,” Raven said as she slowly took a few steps forward.

“Hello,” Colt responded.

“How did tha talk go?” Richard asked.

“Fernando interrupted, but I think I got tha point across.” Richard and Colt nodded. She raised her eyebrow. “Is this an intervention?” She plopped herself down on the bed in front of Colt.

“Not particularly,” Richard said.

“Then what are yeh doin’ in my room?” Raven asked as she leaned back against Colt’s propped up legs.

“We are concerned about yeh.”

Raven groaned. “If I had a livre for every time I’ve heard that, I wouldn’t have to steal.”

Richard leaned back in his chair. “Well, are yeh?”

“I’m perfectly fine.” Raven leaned back her head, placing it on Colt’s knees.

“Yeh don’t look it,” Colt said.

“Neither do yeh,” Raven shot back.

“Raven,” Richard warned. “Ever since tha cave, yeh have acted differently.”

“Define differently.” Raven turned her gaze to the ceiling.

Richard quieted as he observed her pale skin and red-rimmed, zoned out eyes. “Well, for one, yeh look beyond ill.”

Raven sighed.

“Raven,” Colt said, “yeh need to tell us what’s goin’ on.”

“I’m just stressed out an’ tired is oll!” The air grew thick at Raven’s sudden anger. “That an’ I haven’t had a decent drink in a while.” She tried to lighten the mood.

“It’s been a day,” Richard bluntly said.

“Has it been that long?” Raven asked. “I must go then.” She began to sit up.

Colt sat up while he simultaneously grabbed Raven and scooted her back, positioning her between his legs. His arms wrapped around her waist, and her head rested on his chest. Her body grew as tense as stone, but he didn’t let her go.

“If I don’t get to drink,” Colt said, “yeh don’t get to drink.”

Her body relaxed, and she slowly leaned back into his touch, feeling him tense.

“Back on subject,” Richard said.

“Awe, my change of subject didn’t work?”

“No. Now, what happened in tha cave?”

“Nothin’.”

“Yeh say nothin’, but yeh come flyin’ through a wall bein’ chased by Monstros.”

“They found me.”

“An’ Ash?” Colt asked as his grip tightened around her.

“We got separated.” Raven lightly banged her head against Colt’s chest. “Look, nothin’ happened. We need to focus on tha plan instead of me because I’m fine, so please drop it.” The question was annoying the first time and even more annoying the one-hundredth.

“We’re just concerned about yeh,” Richard said, using all his strength to not allow his voice to come out a whimper.

“Raven,” Colt pleaded, his voice that soft whisper that she either loved or hated.

Raven closed her eyes. “Once I ram my sword through tha King and sit on tha throne, I’ll feel better. I just hate it here . . . I hate him . . . I’m confused about Dara an’ Victor.” She opened her eyes. “I want this to be over.” She heavily shrugged. “That’s oll there is to it - I want tha King to be dead at my feet.” Her thumb rubbed against her pointer finger, wishing the ring was there.

Richard saw the movement and decided he was satisfied with her answer, for now. “Where’s yer ring?”

“Hidden,” Raven responded. She sat up her head. “Yeh still have Colt’s ring?”

“Yeah.” Richard held out his hand and grasped between his fingers was Colt’s blue ring.

“He still hasn’t asked for it back?”

“Nah. He’s still scared he’ll lose it.”

Raven chuckled, and Richard faintly smiled as he sat back in his chair. With a twist of his hand, the ring disappeared. Her eyes traveled down to the chain that hung around his neck, which held his ring. Her pointer finger rubbed against her thumb as if she were turning her band around it.

Her body slowly rose as Colt breathed in.

“Is he asleep?” Richard asked. He wasn’t completely surprised; the two were so sleep deprived that occasionally they would be shrouded in exhaustion and pass out.

“Yeah, shockingly.” Raven side smiled; the small movement increased her headache and made her nauseous. “I’m gonna go get some fresh air.” Raven slowly removed Colt’s arms from around her waist and scooted off the bed.

“Do yeh care if I come?” Richard asked.

“Nah, come on.” Raven opened the door.

Richard stood up from the chair and walked out of the room, leaving Colt passed out on Raven’s bed.

They walked side by side, but she was still leading the way to the stairs. For the first time in days, they weren’t talking about their plan, or problems, or what they would do, and they didn’t know what to do with themselves.

“How was yer day?” Raven asked.

Richard stifled an air-filled laugh. “Yeh know how my day was.” He shook his head in a friendly manner. “Yeh were there tha entire time.”

“So it was amazin’?”

“No, it was terrible.” She swung at his arm, but he grabbed her hand before she made contact. “Nice try.”

She pulled her hand out of his. “I hate yeh.”

“That’s impossible.”

She gave him a raised eyebrow.

“I’m a likable guy.”

“Whatever helps yeh sleep at night.”

He chuckled.

Turning to the left, Raven ascended spiral stone stairs, Richard closely following. The higher she got, the more the air seemed to suffocate her.

One hand landed on the door while the other grasped the handle. She threw it open, and a cold, refreshing breeze fell upon her face. Raven breathed in profoundly and filled her lungs with the beautifully fresh air.

Richard ascended shortly after and felt awoken as the night air brushed against his skin.

They were standing on top of one of the guard walls that Knights patrolled. A Knight was stationed in every corner, and torches lit enough of the area for them to be able to see.

Raven gazed out to the harbor, where poorly lit docks and boats were. She remembered being a child and watching the boats come and go for hours, loading, and unloading crops. But, now, it seemed as though the water trade had decreased drastically. It looked as though the entire Kingdom had fallen into a suffering pit.

Looking away from the harbor, she stepped up onto one of the lower parts of the battlement. They walked, her going up and then down.

Looking up, Richard noticed Raven’s face had regained some color. Her mood swings and physical appearance was truly a mystery to him, and he felt terrible for not being able to find the source and kill it.

Raven, though looking ahead, could feel Richard’s eyes looming on her.

“Yeh wanna know what I like in every Kingdom?” Raven asked, trying to get Richard to stop focusing on her appearance.

“What?” Richard gave in and asked, despite knowing what she was doing.

“Tha night skies.”

Richard looked up and observed what she was talking about. The sky was a dark soot blue, but little lights twinkled throughout it. Richard had to admit it was beautifully dark, and it was the one constants throughout the Kingdoms.

“It just sits there,” Raven mumbled to herself. “It doesn’t judge yeh for yer species an’ it doesn’t do anythin’ wrong to anyone. It doesn’t care about bloodlines or thrones or money or power.”

Richard looked at her.

“I wish we could be like that,” Raven admitted. “I wish any of us weren’t dealt tha cards we have.”

“But other cards that have been gifted to us are more than generous.”

“Do yeh think they equal out?” Raven mumbled.

“No, I don’t think anythin’ will ever equal out, but that’s life.”

“I guess that’s a fair assumption.”

“It is a fair assumption. I’m twice as old as yeh; I know how this works.”

“Are yeh tryin’ to be wise now?”

“Raven, I am wise.”

Raven rolled her eyes before both of their gazes lifted to the sky again. “What do yeh think is up there?”

“Nothin’ that’s down here,” Richard grumbled.

“What makes yeh say that?”

“As yeh said, it’s too pretty up there to have any of us.” They weren’t naive; they knew they were far from being good people, but it always seemed like someone was worse than them.

“Yeah. . . . I wish there was someplace we could go to escape this bloody crap show.” Raven leaped from one pillar to the other.

“Yeah, that would be nice.”

“I wish we weren’t here . . . in this Kingdom.”

Richard looked up at her. “Tha King?” he asked. Both Colt and Richard knew why she hated the King, and due to the reasons, they hated the King as well.

Raven nodded.

“Did I ever tell yeh about my pa?” Richard asked, trying to get Raven’s brain off the King. He was willing to push aside all the corpses and blood-splattered weapons in the worst parts of his mind to help.

“I know of him.” She cleared her throat. “I know he slapped yeh around.”

“If it weren’t for my pa, I wouldn’t be as good a fighter I am today or accomplished what I have. . . . But he had a hard backhand.”

Raven looked down on him and saw his usual stern set face.

“It was never senseless per se. It was only when we would spar.” Richard’s free hand rubbed against his jaw at the memory. “I remember one time I was tired an’ I asked him to stop.” He cleared his throat. “He yelled at me and told me that wouldn’t matter in a fight. . . . He hit me with his staff until I couldn’t stand.”

Silence fell between the two.

“He taught yeh how to fight?” Raven said, redirecting the conversation. She could tell he was only talking about it to get her mind off of the King, and she hated that he was doing this. Hated that he was reliving hard memories to help her.

“He trained me how to survive. Everyday oll day, he would drag me outside an’ make me fight him. He rarely held back either, but . . . it was for tha best.” Richard almost sounded unsure.

Raven remembered him sparring with her and Colt. “Is that why yeh hate goin’ oll out with me an’ Colt?”

“Yeah. . . . Tha last thing I wanna do is be my pa to yeh two.” He paused shortly. “I hate yellin’ or gettin’ rough with yeh.” His voice was almost shaking, remembering how he had done just that a few times within the past few days.

“It’s fine. I deserve it.”

“I don’t care. If either yeh or Colt thought I would hit yeh. . . .” he trailed off as he looked down at his scarred knuckles. “I don’t think I could forgive myself.”

“If it makes up for anythin’ yer far better than tha King an’ I know Colt feels tha same way. We both know yeh would never hurt us.”

What Richard was going to say disappeared, and he stayed silent for a second. “Thanks,” he said as he looked down, not trusting himself to meet Raven’s eyes. “It um-” he cleared his throat. “-It means a lot to me.”

Raven looked away from him too, not knowing how to cope with Richard, the semi stern, always business-like person in the group, sharing these thoughts with her.

Their gazes slowly drifted back up to the pure, beautiful sky.

“Do yeh remember when I was younger an’ yeh used to fly me around?” Raven smiled.

Richard laughed. “Yeah.”

“I wish I was a Farian so I could fly away an’ not have to stay on the ground. . . . Just leave.”

Richard opened his mouth a few times as he searched for something to say. “Yeh don’t wanna be a Farian.”

Raven looked down at him.

“Yer body is forever marked with what yeh are an’ there’s no hidin’ it; at least not oll of it.”

They fell into silence as Raven thought. Though she was a Mundus, she was forever marked by the fire that had taken her life.

“But flyin’ is fun.” Richard jumped up on the platform in front of Raven, halting her. He outstretched his arm towards the drop-off.

“Yeh sure?” Raven asked.

“Yeah.”

They both smirked.

Raven turned her back to the drop-off and teetered on the edge, half her feet on the stone. She pushed off, flipping backward and falling towards the ground face first. Her stomach dropped, and she felt the need to close her eyes and look away from the earth she would soon strike, but she refused. The welcomed adrenaline began to course through her body again. Closer and closer, she got before, suddenly, arms wrapped around her waist and stomach, and she flew forward.

With a strong flap of Richard’s wings, they shot up and away from the tree line.

Forcefully pushing Death and anything associated with him to the back of her head, Raven breathed in, feeling as the wind enjoyably hit her skin; one of the only times she didn’t mind anything touching her burns.

Richard flew up more before he began to glide.

Raven looked down at the Mundus Kingdom and surprisingly found it beautiful. A real smile fell upon her face, and for once on this entire excursion, she wasn’t worried about anything.

Richard smiled, sensing her own happiness and somehow knowing she was smiling. He felt relieved she was still capable of doing so; that they were both capable of doing so.

***

Richard softly planted their feet onto the roof.

They had been flying through the village and surrounding area for a long time, neither knowing exactly how long. The sky was still dark, but soon orange and pink would invade it.

“I remember why we stopped flyin’,” Richard said.

As he said the words, Raven could feel the knots of hair on her head, and she remembered too. Running her fingers through her tangles, she sighed as loud as possible. “It was fun, though,” Raven admitted.

“I agree. . . . I’m glad we were able to do this.”

“As am I.”

They went back down the stairs and to the hallway with their bedrooms. Opening Raven’s door, they saw Colt was still asleep in her bed.

Raven’s lips slightly parted as she saw Death standing over Colt. Death’s hands were behind his back, and a smile was on his face. “He looks so peaceful,” he commented.

“I’ll sleep in Colt’s room,” Raven said, trying to make her voice as normal as possible.

Richard sensed the small shake in her tone, but he couldn’t determine what was even causing it. “Raven.”

Raven looked at him and assumed he was once again going to ask what was wrong. Instead, he reached out his hand. She placed her hand in his, and he gently kissed it - the one contact she was comfortable with. He faintly lowered his body into a half bow. She did the same before she rose.

Surprisingly, Raven hugged Richard in a soft, awkward hug. But he was quick to embrace back.

When they released, Raven waved, turned around, and walked into Colt’s empty room.

Richard walked into her room to take off Colt’s over-shirt and boots.

Raven closed the door and saw Death standing next to the bed. She ran her fingers through her almost detangled hair.

“Was it fun?”

Raven ignored him.

“Did I do something to upset you?” he asked.

She continued to ignore him. Maybe if she gave him the silent treatment, he would go away.

Death jumped up, and his feet found their way to the wall next to her. “Come, come, my dear, don’t ignore me; it’s impolite.” He tilted his head to the side and invaded her head with the voices.

Raven breathed out in pain, feeling as though her skull would split in two. The voices screamed louder.

The voices stopped, increasing her migraine with sudden, sharp silence.

He smiled.

“Now, was it fun?”

She swallowed. “Yeah.”

“I’m glad, my dear.”

Raven made eye contact with him.

“The King comes back soon!” he exclaimed.

Raven looked down at the bed.

“Don’t be like that, my dear.” He appeared crouched onto the bedpost.

Raven sat on the bed and faced Death.

“Are you excited to see your dad?” he asked.

“No, I’m not excited to see tha King.”

“You don’t have to be, because I’m excited for you! Our deal is almost in motion!”

Raven glared at him. “Yeh won’t hurt ’em.” It wasn’t a question.

“As I said, my dear, I’m a being of my word.” Raven stared at him, and he raised his hand with a sigh. “I will not lay a finger on them,” he promised.

Slowly, he reached over, and his cold fingers grasped her jaw. “That is if you keep your end of the deal and do what you promised.” His voice lost the happy, slightly hyper edge it usually had.

“I’m a person of my word,” Raven said.

Death smiled, and his thumb moved up and down her burns before his hand departed.

Raven sat up and removed her over-shirt, happy to finally get the green off her. Kicking off her boots, she sat crisscrossed. “Do yeh give Colt nightmares?”

Death looked at her as he leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest and feet still on the post. He looked more than amused by the question. “What makes you ask that?”

“After I died an’ yeh brought me back, yeh took away my ability to really sleep. Colt was almost killed in his Kingdom, and he has nightmares too.” She remembered the rugged scar he had shown her on his stomach, now not so sure he hadn’t died.

Death shrugged. “Maybe . . . maybe not. Any other random questions you wish to get off your chest?”

“Is there anythin’ else I could do?”

“No, my dear. The deal that we made is final.”

Raven nodded.

“No other questions?” His hand tilted up her face to look at him.

“No.”

“Ok, my dear, get some rest.”

Raven’s eyes rolled into the back of her head, and her body became limp, falling back onto the mattress.

Death snapped, and the oil lamp extinguished itself, plunging her room into darkness.

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