-Break-
With Bricriu walking in front of me and Nero surrounded by his guards, he led them through the doors they entered.
Nero faces is without life, and without thought, because any single idea he would have in this moment would be the end of him.
Φ And I stare at him not knowing what I should say or do. I rack my brain, I think of something to say, but as I do the taste returns to my mouth and I stop talking to not vomit where I stand.
I still feel her, in my mouth. Stuck between the piey teeth. The teeth that she told me made my smile bright.
I shake as I think about what I have down, but then on my head, I feel Nero pce his hand on me.
Staring at him, I see that his expression hasn’t ged, and he isn’t even looking at me, but still, he is using his hand to e. Even like that he still cares for me.
Right now, I o be strong as well.
As we all exit, Bricriu says, “Well this has been quite fun spending time with you guys over the years, but that’s over now.”
Bricriu men then grab me and Nero. “What is going on?”
“Oh, my men will simply be taking you both to your nesites.”
“We both already have one.”
“Not anymore, from now on it will be pletely dismantled. You see I have insider information that you guys have not only beeira special treatment but have been spiring and I am bringing ao that.”
Looking at Nero, I see him making nle as the beastkin takes him, so I say, “We haven’t done anything.”
“You lie, but it really isn’t my problem anymore. Because I am doh this pntation, the faces you two gave me today have been the best this little projeine could ever produce, so I am done.
I won’t be returning, and all the special protes I have given to you two and my other trophies will be removed. Bye, bye, sves.” Turning his head to the right, he says, “Let’s go my partner.”
From a side I wasn’t able to see, a man walks up to Bricriu and then looks at me.
Seeing him my body pletely stops, and I say, “Dónal?”
He looks at me, and says, “Traitor.” Then with Bricriu, he walks away.
Words Mariana told me after we reuwo days ago py in my mind.
“You did all of that to save Dónal!” I said with surprise.
“Shhh, it has to be kept a secret because if Nero knows what I just did he would be angry with me.”
Jumping with joy at Dónal safety, I ask, “Why did you help him, I thought you didn’t like him.”
Jittery she says, “It is because of you idiot. He is your family, and you’re my family so I just decided to help.”
Hugging Mariana with Blu in my hands, I say, “I love you!”
Hugging me back, she says, “I do love Nero more, but I love you too!”
Staring at the ground, I uood how Bricriu knew so much, I uood why he brought us out here, I uood why Mariana was taken, and I uood why Dónal was angry. I uood everything was my fault.
So the tears I had been trying to hold back just burst forth.
Bricriu stops, and says, “I ’t believe I almost fot to give you this.”
Quickly moving towards Nero, he takes out something from his pocket and pnts it on Nero's head, then he walks away saying, “This is yours isn’t it.”
On top of Nero’s head, was Mariana's flower with his blood on it.
When it ced some of its petals had fallen off, and upon seeing this Nero whose expression had all but frozen, instantly cracked aarted to cry profusely.
As he cried no one would believe this man in front of me was anythihan a child. Even when Jupio cries she doesn’t look so pitiful.
Seeing him looking like this makes me shake, so I say, “Nero I am sorry, Nero I am sorry.”
But he doesn’t read just cries, and as this tinues both me and Nero are dragged away far from each other.
-Break-
Two days ago
Location: Dónal room
Φ Gripping tightly to his b, Dónal says, “That ’t be true,”
“Oh, but it is. Your precious Charles nning to escape with his new family and leave you to suffer punishment.”
“He wouldn’t do that.”
“But we have quite a bit of proof given agement with them today that they were pnning to escape. Due to the back-to-back events of Samhain and the flooding of the moat, not to mention the plete ck of security they had and all of the packed items they had, I am all but certain that they inteo leave today.”
“But if they did that he knows I would get punished, and Charles wouldn’t let that happen.”
“Think then Dónal has Charles showcased any behaviour retly that would e off as a final goodbye.”
He pauses in front of me, so I say, “Let me guess did he ask retly if you could make sure no guards came to the campsite.”
“….”
“You see, you ’t deny it because the truth of the matter is that he was only using yo-.”
“NO! I raised him, I love him and he loves me. He is my son, he would never betray me for those humans.”
“Of course, he would, because at the end of the day, humans will alick those simir to them above all, and the kindness he showed you is yet another lie from humanity.
It was never about you as a person, it was just about the human finding something to use to validate its emotions, onething else was able to do that you were thrown away like trash.”
Shaken and full of fear, Dónal says, “That ’t be true because if it is, I wouldn’t be able to go on living.”
“Then if your life has no use to you, let me have it.”
Staring at me, Dónal asks, “What use could my life have to you?”
“You see the other beastkin that where they are far too self-tred to remember the voice they heard calling out to them, but you’re not the same .”
Uanding what I am about to ask, Dónal says, “I don’t remember,” While looking away from me.
Moving my face closer, I say, “But at least remember my words right now. You owe those humans nothing, all you have done is sacrifice for them ahey were all so ready to toss you into hell for their own be.
So do not be afraid to do the same for them, because a single day of your life isn’t worth all of their lifetimes put together. Remember you are a member of the red branch, you are a Fuinseog.”
Spurred by my words, Dónal says, “The voice was-.”
Present day
Location: Bricriu carriage
Sitting across from me, Dónal asks, “What will happen to them now?”
“Do you think they would ask the same questions about you in the opposite situation?”
“You’re right,” Dónal says l his head.
“Don’t look sad, because from now on the rest of your life truly begins so grasp it and move forward. You will never o bow your head to someone below you ever again.”
Still looking down, Dónal smiles and says, “I look forward to it.”
A new life is set out in stone for you Fuinseog, but for the rest of my formerly precious pets, all that awaits is hell, far worse than any you have known.
-Break-
Sometime ter
Location: írassnd
Φ Beside me rows, and rows of men and women stand pig the seeds out of the flowers, and as we do Beastkin behind us screams, “WORK FASTER.”
With a whip in hand, he strikes the backs, of some people and says, “Hurry up, I have a debt to repay.”
The screams of the people he hits are so loud and sorrowful that I ’t help but look. However, when I poke my head out to look, I am hit in the face.
“If you got time to look you got time to work.” He stops and stares at me, and says, “You were one of Bricriu's special little brats, I see why you would be so pigheaded. But he no longer cares about a single one of you sves.”
Hittih his whip, he says, “So, you, better, lower, your, head, or, die!”
He takes joy i of hitting me, but unlike everyone else I am able to deal with the pain so I should be the one who takes it.
A Beastkin walking up beside me, says, “Stop.”
“Why?”
“This little brat is strohan others, so hitting him is pointless. If you want to do some real damage against him, there is this dead-eyed boy who does actually get hurt.”
“I see.”
I scream, “PLEASE DON’T HURT NERO.”
But then I am kicked in the face by one of the beastkin, and fall to the ground.
Then he says, “Look he is injured now.”
“Ehh, so he stopped doing whatever was keeping his body safe.”
“Hit me all you want, just leave Nero alone.”
“You have it your way then,” The beastkin says before it starts to whip me.
-Break-
Φ With markings all over my body, from the whipping a walk bay hut with all of the other people, and all tired from the day's work we head into our hut.
Yet unlike before with Mariana ahere is no order we all simply just throw our bodies down and lie down with people falling on top of each other.
As I y on the floor tired people throw their bodies over me, this keeps happening till I start tle to breathe so I move some of them out of the way so I at least find air. I struggle to sleep like this but the tiredness ing over my body wins over in the end.
-Break-
Woken up by the beastkiart to leave our hut, but as we do I look inside and see some people colpsed on the ground, so I rush bad che the people, and say, “Wake up we have to go.”
But as I touch them, I say, “They are dead.”
Someone behind me says, “They suffocated, leave them.”
“But we have to-.”
“We have to do nothing because if we don’t ght noill die deaths much less peaceful than this.”
I stop for a moment over the bodies then I run out of the room to join everyone.
-Break-
Sometime ter
We were forced to work incessantly, without a iween, with less food than I have ever had to work with before. The life I was currently living was in worse than the life I had before I met Nero, it felt like hell without any source of light.
The only soce I had each day was when I returo the campsite, but one day even that came to an end.
Location: Campsite
“Hey human,” I hear as I see something thrown at me.
Notig what it is, I catch her, and say, “Jupio?”
One of the beastkin who threw her, says, “She is your responsibility now.”
“What do you mean she has parents!”
“And they are dead, so we simply gave her to the person who would know her.”
“That ’t be.”
“Well, it is so deal with it.”
“But how am I supposed to work with her.”
“Do what the woman did and work with her strapped to your body, stop being annoying and fuck off.”
“But what about her food.”
“Not my business, ask someone who cares!”
As the beastkin walks away, all I do is stare at the g Jupio. So I walk into the hut with her.
I y down against the wall like everyone else, and after a few seds of being i and crowded room, Jupio started to cry. This small a from her sends a cascade of shouts towards me to quiet her down, with some even throwing things at me.
But I ighem. Still, sleep is the only good thing in these men's lives, so me robbing that from them causes many to get angered and stand up in front of me.
“Shut her up or we will make you.”
“I know I am being unfair, but she is struggling too so please just make do.”
As I say this the men start to raise their fists to prepare to strike me, so I use my body as a shell to defend her from the beating the men, and as I do I stare down at her face, and smile.
Still taking blows, I start to feel pain throughout my back. It seems my ck of food and sleep has been affeg my trol over the flowy stuff, so even these men's light punches hurt.
The noise and pained expression start to make, Jupio cry worse, but then as this tinues, I start to hear a voice, it is Sandra's voice.
As I y there fused, I remembered that Blu has been flying over me since I got him from the forest. Is he g Sandra’s voice for us?
Even though the men haven’t ceased hitting me, Jupio in front of me starts to smile back towards me. I don’t know what to do or what to even think anymore, but defending her I something I definitely have enough power to do.
This resolve kept me going for some time until another ge in my fate came.
When the new lord arrived.
