Sith Nymph

Agatha was falling, and it was like déjà vu. But this time, instead of Eva, it was she who was falling and dying for real.

She thrashed and flapped her arms, trying desperately to grab onto something, but there was nothing but the cruel air.

Everything seemed to slow down as she fell. She remembered the death of her father before her very eyes, her mother's death, their escape with Aunt Isa, and her previous fall from Eva's clutches.

All of it flashed before her eyes. Anger and sadness filled her, but she also remembered Liam's brown eyes.

She remembered the very first time they met, the day she dragged him to his small tent, the time he woke up, and the moment they saw each other again at Escrima.

She remembered when he saved her, when he saved Aiden, when he first kissed her, and she kissed him back.

The feelings he evoked, the happiness, the love he unraveled. She felt so loved and grateful for being alive because of him and Aiden.

And she would continue living for them no matter what. She would always keep fighting to live, no matter how difficult, for Aiden and Liam, for her family.

Agatha was falling quickly, then suddenly, she wasn't. Confused, she looked down and realized she was floating. Not quite flying but with no direction and no control.

With wide eyes, she tried to move but ended up flying in the opposite direction.

She did not know how to fly. She did not know how to get down.

Agatha tried her best to navigate. Though she wasn't doing a great job, she managed to move her body in the direction she wanted. She thought flying was akin to swimming.

Just as she navigated currents while swimming, she now needed to feel the breeze around her as she flew.

Above her, she saw how the fire was growing as Hiyasmin fought sword-to-sword against trained knights.

Aleca was doing her best to ensure the enemies wouldn't escape to ask for reinforcements.

Leonel was gravely wounded but still fighting the witch. Ryle and the others were charging head-on towards the numerous foes. And Liam, he was fighting, bleeding but still moving.

The majority of the enemies were scattered all over the kingdom, planning to attack like Ludwig suspected. It was a good thing the Fire Fae knights were already marching to fight the rebels.

They still didn't know who they could trust, so King Ludwig asked for help from King Daemond of the Land Kingdom.

As they fought to stay alive, they were also battling outside, trying to cleanse and control the enemy lines. But Agatha was still scared. Not just for themselves but also for the innocent citizens.

What would this battle result in for their lives? Most had already been evacuated to Mr. The Quaint's home, but it wasn't enough to save all. This battle would destroy them, and she did not want that to happen.

But either way, they needed to move, or their enemies would destroy them.

Before Agatha got used to flying, Eva flew in and knocked her over. The impact was so strong that her body went crashing into the wall. The wall shivered, and rocks fell, some landing on her as she fell too.

Agatha groaned as her foot twisted, the pain making her throat feel like it was on fire.

Eva descended and threw her daggers at Agatha. They aimed straight for her heart, but she managed to avoid them in mere seconds, crawling to evade the attacks.

Once no daggers were left, Eva used her power to create more. Water from all over the area flew towards her. She moved her hands and created daggers of ice.

While Eva created her weapons, Agatha treated the wounds on her foot. She was already losing strength but managed to heal herself just in time to see Eva with ten ice daggers floating around her.

"Die!" Eva cried as the daggers moved, aiming at Agatha.

Agatha immediately moved to avoid them, but they kept coming. Each time she dodged a dagger, it crashed into the wall before returning to its original form.

With a simple flick, Eva could recreate the dagger again, and the cycle continued. Agatha ran while the daggers chased her.

She was exhausted, struggling to catch her breath, her legs burning. She couldn't even get near Eva. When the ten daggers attacked simultaneously, she ran again, but she was cornered from all directions.

Sharp, biting cold stone pressed against her back. Her eyes darted from corner to corner, trying to find an escape, but all she could see was fire and men dying.

What attacked her were the sharp daggers and their immense speed. One dagger pierced her arm, and another hit her leg, striking her bones.

"Shit," Agatha bit her lip against the pain.

Eva laughed evilly, the sound echoing around, joy evident in her eyes. She had aged, but her malevolence had not.

Some creatures, as they aged, instead of changing and nearing the light, used their experiences to darken it further.

With bloody hands, Agatha pulled the knife from her leg. When the daggers attacked again, she ducked, jumped, and ran to avoid their deadly tips.

But because of her wounds that had yet to heal, she was running slow. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.

"Just give up, you fool," Eva's voice echoed. "This is where you die!"

The icy daggers began to attack again, real and spectral, coming from every direction—left, right, front, and behind. They were everywhere.

Agatha couldn't help but close her eyes. If this was the end, she didn't want her last vision to be of Eva's sinister smile. She didn't want to see the satisfaction in Eva's eyes. She wanted to live. She wanted to experience life without hiding and running. She wanted to be alive. But if this was truly the end meant for her, then she wanted to die with pride, at least.

If this was the end, she wanted to see Liam. She wanted to see him one last time. But she knew she couldn't. So, with the time she had left, Agatha pictured the last time she saw him, fighting marvelously just a few meters away from her.

Agatha waited for the daggers to hit her, but the pain she anticipated never came. Instead, she was embraced by a coldness that slowly warmed up, and darkness was chased away by light. Confused, she slowly opened her eyes, but Eva was no longer in front of her.

She looked around and realized she wasn't on the high ground where she was moments ago with Eva. Instead, Liam was in front of her, battling five knights at once.

"Aggie…" he called out, panting heavily.

Liam swiftly defeated his opponents with kicks and punches, then hurried over to her.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, his eyes filled with concern.

Liam's jaw was set, a different kind of fire burning in his eyes that she had never seen before. He looked lethal, deadly, dangerous.

Before Agatha could answer, a man in a blue uniform swung his sword. Liam pushed her aside gently, taking the blow on his arm. He charged forward, forcing the enemies to retreat.

Agatha wanted to help Liam, but before she could move, arrows flew toward her. She had no weapons, yet surprisingly, the arrows didn't harm her. Like earlier, she vanished from where she stood.

Now, she found herself beside Hiyasmin. Agatha didn't know how it happened, but Hiyasmin didn't seem surprised to see her magically appear out of nowhere.

Suddenly, Agatha vanished again, and again, and again. She did it so many times she felt dizzy. Her knees weakened, and lacking strength, she knelt in a corner while everyone fought for their lives.

Wiping sweat from her forehead, she suddenly remembered what Liam had done before. When he searched for her in the forest, he had suddenly hugged her and brought her to the palace gate.

Agatha had no time to dwell on it because Eva spotted her. An army of floating daggers pursued her relentlessly. She vanished, reappearing on Eva's back.

When Eva turned to face her, Agatha delivered a powerful punch to her jaw. The daggers moved, but she flashed away from their reach. She still wasn't sure how she did it, but she was grateful it saved her.

The daggers continued to chase her, but she vanished again and reappeared in front of Eva. Surprised by the attack, Eva couldn't stop Agatha from grabbing her by the throat.

"This is for my father," Agatha gritted out, tightening her grip.

She drove her knee into Eva's stomach. "That's for my mother," she continued, delivering a powerful slap to Eva's cheek. "And this is for Auntie Isa…"

Agatha summoned all her strength, slamming Eva's body to the ground. Despite Eva's thrashing and turning, Agatha held her still.

Eva's sharp nails scratched Agatha's hands, drawing blood, but she didn't release her. Eva weakly summoned her dagger, and with her remaining strength, commanded it.

One by one, the daggers buried themselves in Agatha's back. Though made of water, they felt like metal. She coughed blood, pain resonating through her, making her tremble.

Agatha was losing strength, but she couldn't give up now, not with Eva subdued beneath her. She didn't want to be a killer. She didn't want her hands stained with blood.

"Surrender, and we will put you on trial," Agatha said between gasps.

She tightened her hold on Eva, ensuring she couldn't retaliate, glaring at her with all the hatred she could muster. Agatha met Eva's gaze head-on.

If Eva hated her, Agatha loathed her in return, with everything she had. But still, she didn't want to become like them. She couldn't.

"O-okay," Eva croaked weakly. "F-fine…"

"Eva had murdered both of Agatha's parents. She was responsible for what happened to Auntie Isa. She had made Agatha's life miserable, but Agatha couldn't bring herself to kill her.

She couldn't. They needed to follow the path of justice. She knew it was difficult, but she couldn't let the circumstances turn her into one of them. She needed to stand firm in what she believed, and she believed that killing wasn't the solution.

It might satisfy her anger, but it wouldn't mend her broken soul. It wouldn't bring her parents back.

So, despite the pain, despite the thirst and hunger for revenge and justice, Agatha let Eva go.

But as soon as Agatha's hand released Eva, she attacked with her power.

"You nymph," Eva screamed. "Die!"

A whirlwind of water, five times Agatha's height, sucked her in. She tried to swim, but something held her feet. Looking down, she saw water shaped oddly, stringing around to drown her. It resembled an octopus with hundreds of water tentacles.

Agatha kicked and pulled, but she couldn't break free. Her attacks passed through it without effect. It was strong, and Agatha was losing consciousness. Chains of water snaked around her wrists and neck, holding her tight. She couldn't breathe. She kept wriggling, resisting, but she was still drowning.

In the darkness, Agatha realized she wasn't ready to die yet. Not yet. She hadn't told Liam everything. She hadn't given Aiden the life he deserved. Most importantly, she hadn't given her parents the justice they deserved.

No one knew yet how and why they had died. And, most of all, she hadn't truly lived herself. All her life, Agatha had hidden away, so determined to keep others alive that she had forgotten to live.

She forgot to dream.

With the remaining strength she had, Agatha gathered her courage. She felt the water around her, the cool sensation surprising her. Instead of dragging her down to death, the water Eva had attacked her with only made Agatha stronger.

It healed her wounds. She needed to bury her fears so she could breathe, even in the midst of drowning.

With tentative movements, Agatha inhaled. When she didn't drown, she exhaled. Then she greedily breathed in, restoring her strength. When she moved, it was with ease, the fear she had felt earlier no longer visible.

Agatha swam, kicking against the octopus-shaped water. This time, the water responded to her, helping her fight it. That was when she felt the change. It was no longer Eva controlling the water, but herself.

Agatha saw the stunned look on Eva's face. She rose swiftly and ran, trying to escape, but using the water she had conjured, Agatha attacked. Summoning her strength and imagination, she fashioned a rope from water and bound Eva. But as Eva was also a Water Fae, she soon escaped the water rope.

However, Agatha was already beside her. As Eva ran, Agatha kicked her in the back and delivered a ruthless slap to her jaw.

"I gave you a choice," Agatha said. "I showed mercy even though you don't deserve it. And this is how you repay me?"

"Do you really think I would let you live?" Eva screamed, still attacking.

But Agatha didn't back down either.

Eva scoffed. "You think I would let this kingdom live, thinking my husband is a traitor? No. After I kill you, I will burn you all to your deaths!"

Agatha wanted to unleash her power and kill Eva, but the echo in the cave would harm the others. But if she focused enough, if she directed her voice towards Eva, perhaps she could succeed. But could she really kill her? Should she take that risk?

"And I will start by beheading your stupid King Liam and that monstrous, stupid Ravager boy!" Eva laughed, seeing terror in Agatha's eyes.

All the pain surged within her. She saw red. How dare Eva threaten the people she loved? How dare she? Logic and principles be damned—no one would hurt the people she loved as long as she was alive.

"Why are you so afraid that a mere nymph would be your Queen?" Agatha whispered menacingly, summoning water to bind Eva's hands and feet.

Eva struggled to free her limbs, but Agatha was already before her. With determined steps, she held Eva's face still.

"Then witness and understand what a Sith Nymph can do, and why she will be your Queen," Agatha grinned.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and shouted. Everything went still.

From deep within her stomach, up through her throat, out of her mouth, her venomous voice erupted. It was like a treacherous serpent, hissing at everything in its path, attacking until it tasted blood—Eva's blood.

The voice she had feared to use, the part of her she had hidden away, Agatha released it, directing it at Eva. As her voice faded to silence, Eva's body fell lifeless.