The Above

-Twenty Three-

The sun had risen and set three times. Three days of walking, three days since being captured; three days since Kaseko had died. We had been marching through the forest with minimal breaks and very little sleep. While the others had managed to dream well, all I was haunted with was the image of Kaseko still fighting with a hole in her chest, still defending her home even to the death. And I had failed her.

"Hey, Eralyn," Atlaster whispered, his shoulder brushing mine. He had been my comfort for the past few days. He was one of the only things keeping me going. That, and the thought of revenge. "I don't know if you'll want to talk to me, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm still here." I gazed up at him and mustered up a small, weak smile before resting my head on his shoulder. He had lost her, too.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled. He seemed surprised at my words, perhaps due to the meaning, or maybe because that was the first thing I had spoken since being captured. "She shouldn't have had to die. I was distracted, and if I had just helped her, we wouldn't be here."

"It's not your fault, Eralyn," he told me firmly. I moved away from his touch and averted my gaze, shaking my head.

"I don't need you to lie to me for comfort, Atlaster. I appreciate your attempts, but I know what I did." He looked at me, almost hurt that I would think that way. Under the shade of his lashes, I could barely see his eyes, but I knew that they held pain. Pain that he masked underneath that calm, strong facade that I wish he would simply discard and allow himself to embrace that mournful feeling rather than denying it.

"I'm not lying to you. It's not your fault. She... She would've died either way. Against all of them," —he gestured towards the guards around us— "We never had a chance. It was a losing fight, but that doesn't mean that you killed her. It's not your fault."

I didn't even realize that I had been crying until warm tears dripped down my neck and onto my threadbare garments.

"How are we supposed to reach the Above now? How are we meant to defeat the Shadow King? What do we do?"

"Well," he began, raising his cuffed hands to gesture upwards. I hadn't even noticed the looming city, nor the grand castle that dominated the sky. "I'm fairly sure we will be given a chance to defeat the King. And if he has what we need, well... I'm positive things will work out in our favor."

I was silent for a moment before I raised my voice to speak, "Do you really think we'll be alright?"

"Yeah," he assured me, gently bumping my shoulder, and a small laugh escaped my lips; I sound I hadn't expected to hear this close to Kaseko's death . "I do."

- >><< -

The Tenebris faction was far nicer than I had anticipated. Regardless of the corrupt ruler, I was quite impressed by the people's societal structure. Much unlike what I had grown up surrounded by, there were no slums here. Even the citizens on the outskirts seemed content with their lives, healthy children dancing in circles outside of their well-constructed houses.

While many snarled at us and spit on the ground we walked, a few merely smiled and waved, as if they couldn't see the battalion that guarded us. It seemed so different here, and I wasn't even sure if that was a bad thing. For such a horrible leader, I expected the faction to at least somewhat resemble that.

"Is it just me, or is this nothing like what I expected?" Atlaster whispered to me.

I scoffed and nodded my head, mumbling back, "For someone with this much money and power, I didn't really expect him to spend it on his people. It's almost weirdly considerate." He scoffed and muttered his agreement. Calyx had seemed to eavesdrop on the conversation, and it appeared that he decided it was his right as a general to give input about his faction.