Fallon cradles me in his chest, smoothing down my hair. And I turn to adjust into a more comfortable position.
She continues to stare at me, and I gauge her reactions as best as I can. It seems as though we have turned this battle into a staring match.
"How precious is this. You two are lovers."
I tilt my head, keeping a composed expression despite the pain raging through my body. Fallon grips onto me tighter, and I brush a hand down his arm.
"Were not you and King Maximus lovers, as well?"
The words feel like they are getting ripped out of my throat, but the livid expression on her face currently is worth it.
A moment passes before she laughs propitiously.
"Oh no. You had got it all wrong, Ardele. We were never equals; you see. He has summoned me here so that he can serve me. Only one who is as foolish as he could be desperate enough to summon an ancient creature."
I wiggle myself out of Fallon's arms.
"Indeed. He has traded his own soul with your own to summon you. Why? Who would do such a thing?"
She clicks her tongue at me. "To live forever. He was going to die soon. But he found a spell through my fellow dark witches to summon me back into this awful world. It is a disturbing world, but it is mine nonetheless."
What people would do to achieve their selfish desires is a shame. It a shame. Gritting my teeth, I straighten myself up, my sword in my hand, glowing with passion.
"This world is not yours. It was never yours and will never be yours."
Charging towards her, she whips her hand forward, and the dragon comes barreling down.
My comrades come in from either side, and together we attack the massive dragon. The shape shifter breathes fire onto some, and on others he completely steps on.
Fallon throws me a dagger, and I swiftly swing it into the dragon's eye. The dragon recoils, and some martyr warriors slide under the dragon to attack it in its most vulnerable spot.
The stomach. The dragon comes crashing down, dead, killing over twenty warriors beneath it's large body.
The spell of ash and burnt flesh fills the room, and I finally turn to Eaverslaina. It is time to end this. Now. I scream as I lunge towards her.
She deserves a more horrible death than the simple one I will be giving her. She dodges the blade of my sword, and she punches me in the gut.
Crying out, I flip myself over, before magically flinging some pieces of debris at her. The sharp edges nicks her skin as she is not wearing any armor, but she looks unbothered by the situation going on at hand.
I place a box spell on us, and it is both a blessing and a curse. She cannot get out, and I as well.
She recognizes the spell and merely grins when she puts a hand out to the boundaries. Pins and needles attack my body, and I crumble to the ground.
Fallon and very few surviving warriors pound on the invisible box, and I continue to thrash on the floor. She is sucking out the mana from the spell.
The box spell is like an extension of my body, and it essentially feels as though she is cutting off a limb. I throw a dagger at her, and she dodges, continuing to leisurely stroll around the perimeter.
The boundaries comes crashing down, and I cannot move. I have no energy left in my body.
I glance up at the bright blue sky that shines through the cracks of the ceiling. What a severe contradiction.
The most gorgeous day, when the most dreadful event occurred. I close my eyes and breakdown when hear the efforts of my comrades. The harsh shouts of agony, the screams piercing through the air, slices me deep.
I cannot do anything. I will have to sit and watch as they die for my weakness. But I cannot. I can't watch them die like that. Maybe that makes me a coward.
But I will not sit and watch the creatures who laid down their lives for me, because they believed. In a new world. In their kingdom. In their leaders. In me.
My falcon is struck down, and I feel it immediately. The little thread I had with my spirit creature was savagely cut. Screaming, I twist my head side to side. I cannot. I cannot bear this any longer.
Finding rage, unexplainable, deep in veins, I cry out when I push myself up. She will not get away with this. I will not let her.
I am instantly shoved back down again, weighted by gravity. The smell of thick mana is in the air. She has placed a gravity spell that can only keep me grounded.
The painful wails of many are drilling into my head, and I pound my fists on the marble floor. NO. No. I will not have this. I place my forehead on the cool surface, and I feel tears swimming up to the surface. I cannot have this.
Dragging myself towards her, her lips are curved in an amused manner as she watches my desperate actions.
The bodies of my comrades litter the floor, and I push past through. I pray for a good travel to their final destination, as they have all died honorably.
When I finally fully raise my head to find her amidst all the bodies, my heart stops.
Her black skirt flutters around her in an effortless motion, her grin twisting into my gut when pushes the blade deeper into his sternum.
Fallon shudders, blood continuing to spill out him, and I helpless to do anything. No, no, no. Please.
Crawling on the floor further, the weight of the gravity spell keeping me glued to the ground, I grit my teeth. Please not him.
My sword is dead weight and disappears from my lack of mana. She has sucked all the life out of my comrades and she... she is about to take Fallon's as well.
Tears well up in my eyes, and I close my eyes, laying my cheek on the cool marble floor. I love you. I love you. Please don't leave me.
I have failed. I have failed everybody. I had only brought calamity to the people I trusted. The people I cared about. The people I loved.
I was never destined to be a leader. I have always fallen short. And I will again. I pray that Coralie decided to wait out with her medical team.
She couldn't save anyone now. She might as well save herself with the time left. The time is drawing closer. She is destined to reign, but I won't let her. I can't let her. I can feel my heartbeat start to slow, and Eaverslaina crows.
"Do not die yet, Ardele. You have yet to experience the ultimate finale."
She splays her hands out over Fallon's battered body, and I cry out when I pray a finale spell.
A spell that will either alter the course of time, or a spell that will be wasted on a mere girl.
A white light blasts through the room. The booming noise so loud, it causes everything in its wake to tremble.
The bright light eats up the whole room, feeding into my soul. All time stops. Frozen. It is finally still.
There is finally peace.