The Ride of Hope

Mordred

I ran as fast as I could, my legs and lungs burning. The air felt so good. I was free once more. I could do whatever I want. I. Was. Free. Twang.

I slid to a stop, barely dodging three arrows that slammed into the ground right in front of me. Ice spread out of the points, turning the ground into an icy deathtrap. Whipping my head around, I saw the Hunter, bow raised towards the sky, arrows nocked and ready to fire. He was riding a horse towards me.

I raised my hand, ready to cast a spell at a moment's notice. Calmly, the Hunter rode up to me and began circling me like wolf in front of a wounded prey. I tensed up.

The icy stalemate continued, the hooves crunching against the ice.

"Just do something already, you little shit!" I muttered through my clenched teeth.

"Good, you're still in control." The horse stopped in front of me, the Hunter directly staring at me. His bow was now lowered, the magic slowly fading away from the arrows.

Slinging the bow back over his shoulder, he stuck out one hand. I grabbed it and he pulled me onto the horse. He let out a long exhale. "Take this as a sign of change."

With that, he picked up the reins and the horse began barreling towards the capital.

Through the gates, down the streets, never stopping, rushing through the cool night air, free. I leaned back in the horse, eyes closed, feeling every moment of the ride. I had been locked away too long. I was finally in control of my body. Hope. That's right. This is hope I am feeling. I had forgotten it.

Persephone

"I'm sorry." Sobs filled the room. Ophelia, sat on the ground, crying. Crono hovered nearby, unsure of what to do. He was just watching.

The world had ended, the townspeople scattered. We were holed up in our house. My family preparing for the worst.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Ophelia did not stop crying.

"It's not your fault," I tried consoling her.

"But it is!" She lashed out, tears streaming down her face. "I promised to protect you all."

She sat back down, rubbing her face with her brand new uniform. The day the world ended should have been her happiest day. The day she finally became a guard of the town. A warrior. But now, she ran away and was the only one left. I could she the guilt crowding her face. I sat next to her, giving her my silent support. Crono also slumped to the floor next to me. And we stared up at the ceiling. My mother came into the room, backpacks firmly clutched in one hand.

"You guys ok?" She was trying so hard to act normal. Forced smile, forced normalcy. But we all could tell, we all knew. We were all afraid.

"Yes," I replied quietly. Crono nodded and Ophelia just kept crying.

"Come on, let's go to the kitchen, I made some snacks for you all." Her voice trembled.

We all got up and entered the kitchen. There It stood. Motionless and expressionless. A skiés thanátou.

Solskin

I began to doubt Savah's definition of soon. It had been almost 2 weeks without incident. Sure, occasionally, we were attacked by some lowly Three Kings gang member. However, with the three royal soldiers Savah gave us, we were fine. In fact, there was an influx of prisoners for questioning. But, nothing came from it. No one knew where the Hunter was? Who he was? Or even who is in charge of the Three Kings gang. All we got were baseless rumors like how the Emperor was behind it all.

We were getting nowhere. It was so frustrating. I sat through endless researching sessions, anger and rage slowly building up. Every morning, right before each session, I was at the training yards. Hacking. Slashing. Bashing. Destroying. Venting all of my pent up emotions.

Kill. I will kill them all. What other purpose do I have? What other reason do I have to live? Revenge. I will avenge Mordred. I will get back at Xavier for betraying us all.

Until then, I hacked and slashed away. Today was a particularly bad day. I could feel my emotions gathering on my sword and it began to glow red. Red with anger. My sword slammed into the wooden block. The emotions discharged, sending splinters flying everywhere.

I waited for the curse to kick in, the negative effect coming into play. I looked down. The ground around me was turning red, oozing a strange slime that burned the bottom of my boots. How fitting. This is my anger raging on the world around me.

??????

Mordred was laughing behind me. It was a joyous sound. How long ago was it will I heard that type of sound.

I brought my attention back to the road. Zigzagging through the town until we finally reached our final destination. A small, comfortable home on the edge of the shopping district.

I got off the horse and helped Mordred down who was still laughing, drunk with freedom.

"Where are we?"

"A safe house I have. Don't worry, Astaroth doesn't know about this one yet."

He nodded, relief spreading over his face.

"Your friends are fine. They are working with the army to bring down the three kings gang. I won't be making a move yet, or ever."

Again, he nodded with relief.

"Stay hidden."