United Against Hate: Chapter 37

The massive doors to the throne room opened slowly. As expected, it was entirely empty considering they left it that way. Somehow it had avoided the worst of the damage in the attack. There were some dislodged rocks and some cracked glass but that was it.

Badou walked along the carpeted floor and let out a tired breath. He stared at the large black throne and smile. His eyes began to glow a faint white and, on the throne, he could see a faceless shape, leaning on their elbow. They were made of smoke in the rough shape of a person. They had a spiked crown on their head and a cloak that rested along the arms.

The shape stared at him and Badou leaned on his back foot. “So Great Leader. We’re finally here. Where we should have been.”

The shape nodded slowly and held out a hand to him. Badou took a very deep breath and walked toward the shape. He sat down in the shadow of the shape. As he sat, he felt a metal against his forehead. It was subtle but slowly it became solid and real. The metal was cool once it fully formed and he touched the crown now resting there.

He pulled the crown off his head slowly and stared at the black head ornament. Rubbing his thumb over the points and curves, he stared at the red jewels.

“It’s really real.”

“You achieved your goal. After how many years?”

“Too many Weiss. But this is just the beginning,” he set the crown back on his head. “You feel it too, don’t you?”

“I do. But I’m hesitant to admit it.”

“Me too. But I want to be hopeful. For once in our life.

“Then do so your majesty. You’ve earned it.”

“We have to rebuild Noria from the ground up after what Daze did here.”

“And you and your guardians are up to the task?”

“We know they are. We chose them to be at our side and they’ve never let us down.”

The door creaked as it opened further and Badou watched his guardians enter the throne room. One by one, even Cancer and Silva. Not truly his guardians but he trusted them.

“Whoa who died and gave you a crown?” Julie asked grinning.

“It does look a bit strange on your head your majesty,” Miles chuckled.

“It suits you,” Frost chuckled. “But I forgot how terrible a sense of fashion and decor Norian royalty had.”

“Frosty is right,” Roxanne said walking up to him and sitting in his lap purring. “It is a bit much. Especially with the gems. Did you make this yourself?”

“Wow. And these are supposed to be our guardians. Here we thought we’d get some sort of loyalty.”

“Oh we have nothing but loyalty for you Badou,” she said kissing him gently. “But only we can properly tease you.”

“We guess,” Badou rolled his eyes and then looked past them, leaning on his hand as he smiled at the younger two. “And then there’s you two. We wouldn’t have been able to do this without your help. Not even remotely.”

 Silva lowered her head, “You helped us as well your majesty. If not for you, who knows what Daze may have done to us.”

“Same for me,” Cancer said folding his arms.

Badou nodded slowly and motioned toward him, “And we still have our deal, right?”

“What? We just survived a war. No need to make good on that yet.”

“Just know we haven’t forgotten,” Badou said meeting his gaze.

“I know. And I appreciate it.”

Badou looked toward Silva next, “Your grandmothers and the rest. Where are they?”

“Back home. They came at a request from mother. But they’ve done what they needed to do. Having so much of our home, our leaders, and forces away from the castle, isn’t wise. But they’re eagerly waiting for us to all come home as soon as we can.”

“Wary for any last minute tricks.”

“Exactly. Some of our medical people are still around giving as much aid as they can.”

Julie walked over to her and wrapped her arm around her tightly. “Well as far as we’re concerned, you’re one of us.”

“You’re welcome to this side of Arkoria anytime,” Frost added giving her a nod.

“You’re from Reditus right?” Roxanne asked. When Silva nodded, she asked, “Where is that?”

“To the southwest of here. Beyond the desert.”

Frost raised his eyebrows, “I didn’t even think there was much beyond the desert. It couldn’t have been easy on you.”

“My brother, sister, and us made the trip. We’re not eager to go back the way we came.”  She started to say more but something instinctual made her look toward the window. Her eyes narrowed and suddenly the window shattered.

She was stuck in the chest by a beam of white light. It nearly picked her off the ground. She gasped holding herself as she fell to the ground and everyone jumped to their feet crying out her name. For a long moment, she couldn’t breathe. She curled up nearly double, pressing her head against the ground.

“Silva! What’s going on?” Titanya shouted in her head.

“I. Don’t. Know.”

She gasped clawing at her chest and then just as quickly as whatever happened happened, it was over. Her eyes widened and she was barely aware of what everyone else was saying All she knew was that she felt fantastic. She felt energy coursing through her.

Silva first stared down at her hands wondering if she’d been hurt but she was fine. She looked at her clothes and there wasn’t even a mark on her. She looked at the others as they gathered around her. “We’re okay. We don’t know what happened just now but. We’re okay.”

“Silva,” Miles said softly. “Your eyes.”

“What about them?” she asked confused.

“They’re white.”

Her eyes widened and she reached out quickly, telekinetically picking up a piece of broken glass. As she looked at her reflection, Miles was right. Her eyes were bright, brilliant, white. But as she looked at them, they started to change colors until they settled on green. She gasped dropping the glass.

Silva looked around at them and looked at Miles, “What color. What color are our eyes now?”

“Yellow.” She looked at Cancer but he nodded.

“What’s going on? Is this a bad thing?” Julie asked.

“No. We don’t think it is,” Badou said softly.

The former faerie pressed her hands together and closed them. She could feel Titanya in her head. She could feel a bit of the worry of the demon, but more than that, beyond the demon, she felt complete. “Titanya. I can feel. Something. Something that wasn’t there before.”

“I. Feel it too,” they said and blinked slowly. “It feels. Warm. Like. Like your una.”

Silve held her hands out. A ball of light appeared in her palms and she watched it grow and grow. It kept going until finally it went too big, nearly filled the room, and popped. It showered them all in glittering white particles. The Norians watched the particles fall like stars around them.

“Pretty,” Cancer mumbled.

“What’s the occasion for this?” Julie asked.

But Silva looked at the stars and she felt a few tears roll down her face. Her legs wobbled but she didn’t fall. She kept her footing and wiped her eyes clean as she laughed. “We. We have it. We did it.”

“What did you do?” Frost asked.

“We’re a faerie. Not just having our magic back. Look,” she conjured another ball and it was whiter than the first. She closed it in her hand tightly and held her hand to her chest. “We can understand it.”

“Thought you couldn’t do it. That it only went to one child.”

“That’s what we thought. But it’s here. We can feel it. This is different.” She held her hand to her chest trying to find the words. “A barrier is just gone. It’s like it suddenly all makes sense.”

“He’s really gone then,” Badou whispered getting everyone’s attention.

“What do you mean?” Sofie asked looking at the king of Noria.

It had been an unspoken pact, an understanding that something had happened, and they were afraid if they acknowledged it, it would unravel. Despite the nil unraveling, despite the demon disappearing, despite everything.

Badou got off his throne and stood in front of her, “That day in Xye. Daze stole what made you a faerie from you. Stole it and absorbed it into that sword. But if Daze is really gone and his sword is broken. Then everything he stole is being released. You getting back your magic is proof of that.”

“Does that mean. Other things taken can return?” Cancer asked softly and Badou met his gaze realizing the implication.

“We’ll have to find out.”

“But,” she looked at her hands again her eyes shifting to green. “Why can we use it now when before we couldn’t?”

“No idea,” Badou shrugged and glanced at the guardians. “Do you have any ideas?”

The guardians all shrugged together but Frost raised his hand, “It’s a long shot but. You mentioned that your grandmother suggested you could be a late bloomer. Well Daze is a mage who’s manipulated time for who knows how long. So what if the magic he stole from you aged? What if your faerie magic ‘grew up’ while it was in his possession to the point where it awakened naturally upon returning to you.”

Silva’s eyes turned blue and she thought about what he said. She looked at her fingers and saw the small dots of light appear slowly and nodded, “That. That could be true. We have dragon blood in us. No faerie dragon hybrids have ever existed. And with the way dragons age, maybe it affected how our faerie magic would emerge. Maybe even how it was inherited. Half to us, half to Sofia. Oh Sofia. The things we’ve said and done to you.”

“What’s done is done,” Cancer said softly. She glanced at him and they shared a smile. “What will you all do now?”

Badou looked toward the broken window and scratched his head, “First of all repair the window.” They chuckled at that and he smiled. “But honestly the first thing we have to do is purge Daze’s cult from Noria. Root them out, their experiments, and any damage they’ve caused. After that. Healing our people. We don’t know where Noria is going to go but it has to be better.”

One by one his guardians nodded and Badou spread his arms, “We were serious before. We couldn’t have done this without either of you, not just the help from your people, but without your help. Period. You are welcome here anytime. And if you need anything that Noria can provide, we will provide it.”

“We’ll remember your majesty,” Silva said nodding toward him.

“We’ve got friends across the way,” Cancer mused.

They all turned as a heavy knock sounded on the throne room doors. A soldier stood and immediately bowed lowering her head, “Forgive me for intruding your majesty.”

“It’s fine. What’s going on?”

“We’ve seen a portal opening up within the walls of the city. What course of action should we take?”

“A portal? Think we have more trouble?” Julie asked.

“Can’t be too careful,” Miles said then looked at Badou. “What do you say?”

Badou got off his throne, “Let’s go see who’s coming to say hello.”

They made their way out of the citadel and onto the walls. Sure enough, there was a portal. One of their mages greeted them. “I know not what that is but,” he said looking back at the light. “I believe it originates from the Free City.”

“Definitely not a threat,” Alison said as she stepped through and leaned forward. “We are tired though. It’s been a long day.”

“Alison?” Cancer raised his eyebrows. “What are you doing here?”

“Bringing a friend. We think,” Alison said and looked back toward the portal and watched as the tall woman stepped through. She looked identical to Roxanne, except longer hair, taller, and more muscular. She was wearing old clothes and had a black cloak around her shoulders. But her ears flicked and her tail swished as she took a deep breath of the air.

“Noria,” she whispered. “Home again. Never thought that would happen.”

One by one they adorned their masks for the barest of a second, their demons looking at the woman in front of them and then they faded again. She wasn’t a demon and the fact that Alison brought her meant she wasn’t some sort of illusion or magic.

Roxanne was the first to walk forward her eyes huge, “Is that really you Regina?”

She kept going until she stood in front of her, looking up at her older sister. Regina stared at her, her lips slowly curving into a smile, “You look good Roxie.”

“You look alive Reggie,” she said reaching out to her. Regina stepped forward and pressed her forehead against her own. They both purred in one rumbling noise before the pair stepped away. “How? Actually. We don’t care how. You’re here. You’re home.”

“I am,” she turned slowly and her eyes widened as Badou stared at her dumbstruck.

Regina saw the crown that rested on his head and grinned. She stalked over to him before kneeling in front of Badou, one fist and knee against the ground while lowering her head. “Your majesty. Sorry I wasn’t here to help you achieve the crown. But I am here now. Make use of me as you will.”

Badou shook his head and bent down taking her shoulders, “Stand up. Stand up.” He helped her up and she did that slowly until she stood over him. “Our first guardian. Our right hand.” He hugged her tightly and shut his eyes. “God we’ve missed you Reggie.”

“Missed you too runt,” she hugged him back.

“Hey that’s king to you.” He said against her shoulder.

“King runt it is,” she replied and they were crowded by the others quickly. All trying to hug and greet their friend who they thought was gone forever.

Cancer and Silva stood to the side watching with Alison. Cancer turned away finally and glanced at Alison, “Where did she come from?”

“We don’t know. When we fought Daze, we broke his sword. And magic started flying in every direction. One of those came here,” she glanced at Silva and watched her eyes shift for the barest of a moment to a different color. Alison smiled at her. “But after everything was gone, this woman appeared from the last of it. She was adamant about where Badou was and if he was okay. So after we got things tabled on our end, we brought her here.”

“Daze really tore a lot of people apart,” Silva said narrowing her eyes. “Families. Friends. Everyone. All for some selfish goal.”

“That he did. But we survived. And now we pick up the pieces. Speaking of. We know your family is looking forward to seeing you again. Do you want to come back with us?”

Silva’s eyes widened, turning a whitish green, and then looked back toward the Norians. But Cancer smiled putting a hand to her shoulder.  “Go. They’ll understand.”

Flashing him a smile and her eyes turning white she took a step forward and hugged him tightly. “Don’t forget what we talked about.”

That made him smile, “When things settle down, I’ll make sure we can go to Xye. Just give me a heads up first.”

“We will.” She took a step back and looked back toward the Norians. She managed to catch Mile’s eye for a moment and gave him a small wave. He waved back and then she looked at Alison. “We’re ready.”

The two of them stepped through the portal and it closed behind them. Cancer sighed as the magic disappeared but before he even had a chance to really feel her loss, another portal opened up startling him. He was definitely not sure what to expect from this one.

But then he felt the energy spark on the air almost like an instinct in his head. He took a step back slowly and watched as the Zodiac walked through. Cancer smiled brightly at seeing his family again but then he saw his mother and brother walking with his father between them.

“Dad?” Cancer questioned.

“Hey son.”

Cancer walked to him quickly and hugged him tightly. Pisces grunted and laughed as he hugged him back. “I’m sorry dad. I. I couldn’t do anything to help you. I couldn’t stop him.”

“Cancer please,” Pisces pushed him back gently so that he could look at him properly. “You didn’t do anything wrong. We did the best that we could with what we had.”

“But-“

“No buts,” he said and met his eyes. “You did the best you could Cancer. And I couldn’t be more proud of you.” Pisces nodded again but looked toward the Norians who had cut short their reunion for the new company.

Leo glared at the group that had gone from being the enemies that had taken her son and husband away to uneasy allies. Once upon a time she had swore to kill them for taking him from her. And yet here he was alive again. And she didn’t know how she felt toward them.

Leo walked forward slowly and Badou did the same stepping past his guardians until they stood near one another. “I won’t lie and say I’ve forgiven you for the hurt you’ve caused us. The damage that you’ve done. If things didn’t work out, we’d be having a very different conversation.”

He met her eyes and could see the muted fire in them, “You’re just like Regina. We think you two could be friends at the detriment to the rest of us.” But he shook his head and held out his hand. “Your son helped us retake our home. Saved my life. And for that we owe him. Him and you. We told him this and we’ll tell you the same, if you or Nerodala needs anything. You can count Noria an ally.”

“If we find ourselves in trouble, we’ll remember that,” Leo took his hand and shook it slowly.  “But for now, we’re going home.”

“We can help you do that,” Badou pulled his pocket watch forward. “It may have been something Daze used to track us but now that he’s gone, our demons can use them for travel. And we’ve been all over the place.”

Leo raised an eyebrow looking at the small device. Cancer walked toward his mother and gave her a short nod. “We can trust it.”

“Alright Cancer.”

Badou took a step back and the black armor formed over his arm, the mask over half his face. Tapping the button on the watch three times, he turned and thrust his hand forward creating the portal. The magic inside of it was black as the mask he wore, but the aura from it was cool like the night sky.

“Until we meet again,” Cancer said one more time before walking away.

The other Zodiac waved or acknowledged them as they passed through the portal. It closed behind them with a soft whisper of wind. Badou put the watch back into his pocket and looked at his guardians. “Alright everyone. We survived. But no rest for the wicked. We have work to do.”

They nodded and lowered their heads to him, “Yes your majesty.”