Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

My head

feels like

under water

heavy blankets

thick wool.

My movements

sluggish

like swimming

in marmalade.

My sight

blurry and

fuzzy at edges.

Voices

muffled

almost

indistinct.

The hand

that held me

warm and wet

firm in grip

tugged me

along

pulling me

through

the thick

invisible

molasses

surrounding me.

My feet

barely able

to keep up

without tripping.

It is a

struggle.

Beyond

the tiny door

is

a narrow

passage

cold dark damp

echoing steps.

Father

ahead

of me

pulled me

by hand

hurriedly.

From darkness

we emerge

to a wide

corridor.

Before us

a man

sword drawn.

My father

lets go

of my hand.

He does not

hesitate.

He surged

forward

The clang

of blades

biting at

each other.

More clangs

More swings

More parries

More ducks

Moving

back and forth.

Then it stopped

with a scream

not my father

the sword wielder

clutches his face.

My father

delivers

what he taught

to me

long ago

the coup

de grace.

The body have yet

to drop to

the floor entirely

as another man

emerged

another weapon

brandished

challenged

my father

who

bent to pick

the dagger

that could have

killed him

and ran forward

meeting

the challenge

head-on.

Not long after

the challenger

was too defeated

and we continued

on and onward.

I followed

behind him

close enough

to not lose him

to hear him

for him

to glance back

and see

I am still

there

but

far enough

to avoid

the fight.

But at every corner

behind every door

a man waits

weapon in hand

sometimes none

yet fight they still

with nothing

but bare fists.

He was like

a storm of

blood and blades.

Carnage incarnate.

I’ve only heard tales

of how vicious

how merciless

men in my family

could be.

But at that moment

I knew those

tales were right.

That was the first

and last time

I’ve seen him truly fight.

Damn my thoughts

broken as shards.

Whatever they gave

me it makes

it hard to think.

He is like a

vengeful god.

Like that statue

I saw long ago

from that far

far-away land.

Land of incense

and great beasts

with large tusks

my father said.

The statue

was that of

some god

no

goddess

wearing

a necklace

of severed

heads

a chain of

agony

around her

neck

a head

severed

in one hand

and wicked

blade

on the other.

Like my father

ahead of me

now dancing

among the dead

corpses

flitting from

one man to

another.

An unbroken

chain of

blood and

screams.

Follow the trail

of bodies

some still

twitching

as they

expire.

Corridors.

So many

corners.

This place

is a maze.

Where are

we going?

How long

until we

are safe?

My father

is

like a knight

fighting his way

clearing the path

paving the way

for me

to tread upon.

Keep me safe.

My father

will keep me safe.

He will not

let any harm

befall me

anymore.

Chapter Text

Easier to think in

longer sentences now.

It was chaos everywhere.

The flames kept spreading.

Cloaked figures running in all directions.

I was mostly ignored

by these panicking figures.

Just keep following her father

and the breadcrumbs he left.

She can see now

that not all the men

that her father slew

looked like the guards

looked like the robed ones

looked like they bore weapons.

She swore one or two of them

are women

what the...

They looked terrified

terror painted

on their face.

Is her father

killing innocents?

Are they even

truly innocent?

To think of

committing a sin

is a sin

unto itself.

If they desired

her death

then are they

truly not complicit

even though they

did not raise the blade

upon her throat?

They killed him.

My best friend.

He was innocent.

He meant them no harm.

Yet they still killed him.

There are

no bystanders here.

No one is

innocent.

Let them receive

their final reward

dealt by my father

Judge Jury

Executioner.

Shed no tear for them.

Have no pity for them.

They deserves it

for what they did

to my friend

to all those

little boys and girls.

They said it as much.

They had done this

every year

like clockwork.

The world would

be a better place

without them.

One of the guards

punched my father

in the face

when he lost his dagger

and his sabre got stuck

embedded in one of the

wooden walls.

His mask cracks

but a part of it

only fell away

when the guard

shoved his face

against a wall.

Yet he still prevails in the end

even if it took longer to finish.

He dug his thumb

deep into the eyes

the same long thumb

that danced on the piano.

He did not even

need to choke him.

I suppose that's

another way to kill a man.

As my father retrieved

his sabre and dagger

he told me

"I am very sorry that

you have to witness that.

try to not dwell too much on it."

Well, gosh, can a girl

forget seeing someone

have their eyes

poked like that?

"We are almost there.

Are you alright?"

"Can't wait to go to back to bed, father"

Then my father turned

faced me with a face

painted with blood.

Almost half of his mask

is gone now

fell off during the fight.

I can see the eyebrows

the eyelids

the eyelashes

the cheek

of the right side

of his face

staring at me

with a mixture

of worry

apprehension

confusion

intrigue

curiosity.

"Why give me that look, dad?

did I say something wrong?"

"My darling child, all of this,

does not make you feel afraid?

not even the slightest?"

"What?

they're just dead or dying people.

They deserved it, for what they did to my love.. I mean friend.

Father, you kept me safe.

I felt safe with you.

What should I fear

when you are with me,

father?"

"My dearest child, this...

How you are still so calm

even after I must have

slain a hundred men

even as I am drenched in blood

and yet

you stood by and watched

and you barely made a sound

you barely show any emotions

all this time?"

"Dead people never scared me.

Remember that day

you caught me playing

in the crypt?"

"Oh. My sweet sweet child."

I moved ahead of him.

I wanted to get out of this place.

The faster we move

the faster I can rest.

My father stopped me on my tracks

a hand on my shoulder.

"I need a moment to rest my tired knees"

"Father, the castle is on fire!

We have to hurry!"

"Just half a minute, my dear.

I need to catch my breath

while the smoke isn't the heaviest here"

I sat next to him,

then I hugged him.

He smelled coppery

tangy

blood and sweat.

Proof that he is still human.

Whatever strength

he was possessed with

just now

it had ran out

fled him

and now he’s slowly

coming down to

mortality.

Chapter Text

"Father,

all I ask,

is that please

never leave me alone again."

"I promise

I shall not.”

He grabbed my hand

upturned my palm.

“My child,

I want you to have this”

He drew his revolver

from his chest holster

and placed it

upon my palm.

“Father,

wouldn’t you need

it more than I do?”

“I... do not want you

to remain unarmed,

without something

to defend yourself,

in case I...”

“Father,

please don’t say that!

We’ll make it.

We’ll get out of here,

alive.

We’ll survive,

just like you did

with all those wars

you had fought.

Promise me, Father,

please.”

“I promise,

but only if you carry this”

“I will, father”

I opened my palm

felt the grip of the gun

pressing upon my palm

heavy and solid

strangely

comforting weight.

It was warm.

“There is only one bullet left inside it,

do not waste it”

“I understand, Father”

Chapter Text

I can see the massive doorway

just beyond the door of this hallway.

The fires had circled the sides

walls of wood covered in flames.

The air is thick with smoke here.

My father saw something behind him.

He immediately grabbed me and ducked.

A shot rang.

I fell to the floor,

dusty dirty carpet greeting my face.

When I looked up,

my father was already back upright

and facing toward where we came.

I looked back and saw

the man who is architect of my sorrows

the man who told them to kill him

striding out of the smoke and flames

like the Devil emerging from Hell.

"Never have I've foreseen such a betrayal...

from you the least!"

"Know that I would do most things for you.

But there are only a few things in this World

that I would never give up.

My daughter is one of them.”

“I can say, I am truly disappointed.

You were my most promising pupil,

my most talented apprentice”

“All that you have to offer,

to teach,

I would never trade my own daughter for it!”

“Not even the opportunity..

to learn how to talk to your departed wife again?

To see her once more?

To bring her back?”

“My daughter... is all I have left of her!

I can’t bear to lose her too...”

“You know that this path you had vowed to tread on,

it is a path that requires sacrifice.”

“But at what cost?

When the price is too much to bear?”

“The greater the sacrifice,

the greater the reward.

Your daughter’s would have granted you

power beyond what I had promised you.

You were so readily willing to present her yourself

not so long ago..”

”I.. do not know what possessed me to do so.

But know this,

for I would never let anything harm my daughter!

Even from myself!"

“As much as I would admire your resolve,

unfortunately both of you are standing on my way.

And after the chaotic mess you had brought upon us

I simply cannot let the both of you live”

I was about to raise the revolver.

This man will kill us both if I do not do anything about it

but my father stopped me with his hand.

He gave me one last glance.

A tear of blood

no, a stream of blood

ran down the left side of his face.

Another rouge line descending

marred his already-weary face.

That sadness palpable

the look of farewell.

He knew

that if I were to have a chance to survive this,

he would not be able to walk out of this alive.

After all, men like him

never back down from a fight

never run with their tails tucked behind.

It would be oh so easy

to carry away me

and make a run for it.

But,

he would never do that.

he would never betray

the values he won medals for.

He knows

his time has come to an end.

He has sealed his own fate.

He pulled me behind him

shielding me with his body.

“So be it” he said

with finality.

Chapter Text

And so he did the one thing

he is always damn famous for.

He charged toward the man with reckless abandon,

banking on the fact

that the man would be such a lousy shot

that he would not be able to hit anything vital,

much less a headshot.

A bullet pierced his lungs

but it did not deter him

another grazed his thighs

but that did nothing to impede him

from his final Calvary charge,

unmounted as it may be.

And thus the man

who brought a knife to a gunfight

prevails

as he jammed the blade

deep into the heart

of his opponent.

The man who was

responsible

for those terrible deaths

fell on his knees

clutching his chest

as my father

withdrew the blade

from his chest.

The man who knelt

was saying something

but I could not hear from this distance.

Then he stopped.

I watched

as my father made his way back to me

limping

clutching his chest

trying to stem the bleeding

from the bullets

that punctured his lungs

using his sabre as a crutch.

Fresh blood still dripping

from the sabre.

I could have ran ahead, but I did make him

promise to never leave me again

and I will not leave him either.

And so I ran toward him.

“My child, you should have ran!”

“I cannot just leave you here all alone, father!”

I tried to support him

help him walk.

Toward our goal.

The safety beyond

the embers encroaching.

Chapter Text

Hi everyone.

I just want to let y'all know, I did a terrible mess with the comment moderations and such.

So, every comment you all have made so far, if any of you did in the first place, is basically gone.

It's bit complicated explaining how and why, but basically, none of the comments ever got sent to me for approval. I've fixed the issue (hopefully it works this time).

Therefore, I would really appreciate if those of you who commented my work can re-submit your comments, so that I could see them and know what you all think. I am really curious as to whether any of you want me to post the bonus chapters or even reveal past events leading up to the story.

I am so sorry for messing this up. I really do want your comments.

Also, thank you for giving my story-poem a read :)

-LadyLacrimosa