I'm little more to her than a large doll.
Like always, she lifts me into her arms to fly through the chasm, soaring through the giant mushrooms and massive roses to the far side of it. Diving low, she swoops through a grand archway into a magnificent and colossal underground cathedral that she carved out of one solid slab of granite. This is her home. A castle much larger than mine.
In the cozy dining hall, she sets me down in her lavish seat at the table's head and then anchors the chain to it with curse magic. "One moment, little rose. I'll go and get it. I won't be long. I promise."
With a kiss on my head, she slinks away and disappears.
Oh. This is odd.
It's the first we've been apart since she removed me from the dungeons. I sit up and scan around for some means of escaping this accursed chain, but there's nothing even remotely helpful or much of anything within reach. Aside from silverware, that is. Perhaps a fork tong bent just right could pick a lock, but there is no lock anywhere on this infernal thing.
Damn it. Thwarted again. So much for that.
I sit back in the chair and let my wings go limp, trying again to relax. Goddess, this fucking chain. There's just nothing I can do against it. What would it even take to break something like this? Another Primarch Legend's radiance, I assume. Not a chance that's happening. The Fell was right, nobody is coming to save me. Least of all any member of the Goddess's chosen inner circle. I am trapped. Completely, totally, inescapably trapped.
Four days late, it's just now starting to sink in.
I'm trapped. I'm never going home.
The thought brings tears to my eyes.
I don't want to cry but it's happening anyway. My heart aches so deeply it's causing me to crumble. My castle, my bed, my chambers, my skyland, my pets, my friends, the damnable sun… It's all gone. I can never get it back. I'm going to die down here, I just know it. I'm going to die and nobody will ever know what happened to me. I'm going to vanish. Disappear. It will be as though I never existed in the first place. And nobody will ever find a single trace of me.
As if anyone would even care to look.
I think of Hilde, but the thought shatters in an instant. No, this is to her benefit. If I'm not around anymore, she won't have to keep pretending we're not friends when she's around the Valorant. Soon enough, without all the reminders of the fact I exist, they'll all forget me. And the blemish on Hilde's noble reputation will fade away.
Just like me.
It hurts. I knew all along I was only ever tolerated up there, but at least there was the benefit of the doubt and a handful of kind, genuine draconids who were good to me. But now, down here, it's so fucking clear that there isn't a soul above who gives a shit whether I live or die. Nobody's going to fight for me. Nobody's going to demand answers. Nobody's going to even… fucking… look for me…
I'm taken by sorrow. This is it. My doom.
I am unequivocally damned to the Hells.
The sound of a soft gasp carries. The Fell returns with a tray in hand, but sets it aside right away to sit with me and whisper her poisonous comforts. "No, no, no, sweet little Crimson… What wounds you so? And how might I destroy it for you? Come here, poor thing…"
She sits down and holds me in her lap, but I push against her as I sob and weep and writhe in my anguish. No, no, I don't want her near me, I don't want her to comfort me, I don't want her to dote on me, or bathe me, or feed me. It's her fault. It's all her fault. She has chained me to this fate and she will never let me free of it. It's her fault. It's her fault.
Then she starts quietly singing to me.
"Come now, little nestling, you can spread your wings and fly. It matters not if you need to try and try and try. However many tries, one day you'll touch the sky, and there I will be waiting to welcome you up high."
I hate that it's a children's song.
I hate that the premise is now impossible.
I hate that I can never touch the sky again.
I hate that it's helping regardless.
"So come now, little fledgling, there's so much to be explored. Up there with the clouds, you can see so much more. Oceans, seas, and shores, mountains, plains, and moors, I will show you everything I'm sure you'd adore."
Clenching my jaw and sniveling my last, I take a breath.
And then I sing the last verse with her.
"So come now, little fledgling, won't you spread your wings with me? Together, side by side, we can go where you please. So happy you will be, overjoyed with thrill and glee, and anywhere you go, you will always be free…"
Our voices trail off and the library falls silent.
She hums with pleasure and holds me a little tighter, using the back of a claw to wipe away the last of my tears. "That's better. Much better. My darling little Crimson. How much heartache you carry… And how much heartache you endure, without revealing the least of it. Unbent. Unbroken. Unyielding. I'm very pleased… You showed yourself to me."
"No," I croak, glaring into those malevolent eyes that see nothing. "No. I faltered in my composure, and you happened to see it. That's all. I haven't shown you a damn thing. And I never will, you monster."
Her deceitful warmth fades to frigid gray.
"You've stolen the sky from me, demon. Bound me in chains and ripped my freedom away. For a malevolent fiend like you to be singing a song like that… It's nothing short of preposterous. Dissonant. Callous. How fucking dare you? I'm crying because of you! You did this! You are the cause of my misery! And everyone else's, across every realm of existence! How many people you've annihilated, how many good things you've destroyed, how much better the world would be without you in it, you fucking wretch! You are the one who tears draconids' wings off and damns them to a life on the ground! You are the one who slaughters people by the millions for no other reason than because you can! You are the one who betrayed the Goddess and tried to usurp Her rightful place in the Solaris! You are the reason I was summoned to Avi to begin with! You are the reason I'm here, locked up, under the dirt, buried in the Hells, with no chance, hope, or even possibility of escape! You are the reason I will never see the sun again or feel its warmth on my wings, the reason I will never again touch the clouds with thrill and glee, the reason I will never be able to go home to my castle and my pets ever again! It's your fault! You did this to me! Those tears fell because of you! You defile me. You enslave me. You pretend to be kind to me. You lie to my face about taking care of me! You don't care about me! You don't care about anything! You're a beast, a charlatan, a deceiver, a savage, and a ruthless, merciless, coldhearted killer! I hate you. Oh, by the Goddess, I hate you. I fucking hate you. Umbra."
The stab lands and the quiet lingers.
I feel better now. I feel so much better.
The Fell slowly remains motionless for some time, empty eyes gazing toward the crackling fireplace. Her voice even softer than usual, she whispers, "You descended to Avi. You cast back the Overgrowth. You banished my Wretched to the Hells. My forces are vanquished. And I have been defeated, for the time being. The world is saved. And you, the savior. Glory unto Crimson. You return with triumph. Victory, in the Goddess's name."
I don't know what she's saying. I don't understand. She moves her hand so I retreat, going cold with fear. With another sharp tug on the chain, she wins. Her claws go for my throat. I hold my breath.
This is it. She's going to kill me. This is it.
When her grip constricts, something snaps.
The metal collar around my neck falls into my lap.
The Fell stands up from under me, drops me back into the seat, and rakes her claws through the air, slashing open a black tear in the fabric of existence which quickly fills in with the view of an ocean shore at dawn. With that, the Fallen Queen turns and walks away, her red and black tail trailing behind her before she disappears from sight. Gone. Like smoke.
I'm left sitting on the velvet chair with the collar between my legs and the chain in my hands. The accursed runes are cold and dark. This is now nothing more than a bunch of useless metal. There is nothing stopping me from escaping through the portal.
I find myself hesitating. What if this is a trick? A test? A deception? The portal appears innocuous, but it could go somewhere else entirely. There's no way to know if it's safe or not.
Tightening my grasp on the chain, I take a breath.
It's that or this. And I hate this. Every part of it.
But where did she go? She simply vanished.
Is that it? That's all? Just like that, it's over?
Glancing around like I'm in danger of being ambushed, I slip down off the chair and stand, fluttering my wings and swishing my tail. Maybe this is it. She let me go. She released me. I'm free.
I'm free.
I'm about to bolt for the portal when I notice something. The first edition copy of The Luminous. It's on the tray. It's seditious. It's fake. It's nothing but lies. Drakeshit. But I haven't finished reading it. And I want to take it.
I steal the book, stowing it in my pocket.
With one final glance around to make sure the Fell isn't about to ambush and murder me, I make a dash for the portal and dive through it headfirst. Somersaulting through the landing, I hop back upright as the portal shuts behind me. I've found myself on that very same beach that was visible through it. The sun. The sun. The glorious sun. Sea. Salt spray. Sand. Gulls. Everything.
I toss my head back and laugh, dropping onto my back in the sand just to feel the sun's vibrant rays warm my skin and my sprawling wings. It's euphoric. It's exquisite. I'm free, I'm free, I'm free.
To think! All I had to do was snap at her!
So much for the ferocious and deadly Fell!
A few harsh words and she gave right up!
Magnificent. Wonderful. It's just wonderful.
With joyous tears in my eyes, I take flight.
To the Heavens I ascend. I'm going home.