Insurmountable favour

Uninterrupted, Amelia stood. Casting a kind smile at Perses, he blinked, unsure of how to respond. There was no explanation, no outburst from Perses, as the stillness of the ocean remained undisturbed. This peaceful requite continued for some time until a lone voice rose.

"Amelia, you can't leave."

A frail, feeble voice interrupted the calm of the raft. Standing to her feet, she fought the urge to turn and face Amelia. A strain of obedience persisted in her stance, but her words continued as she faced the ocean with a shaky tone.

"No, no. You said that you'd stay with me. Back then, that's what you said when they tried to kill me. You said that you'd protect me, like we were family. 

Resistant to Asteria's words, Amelia looked at her feet with a familiar smile. Though Asteria could not turn and look for herself, Amelia smiled. Approaching her back, Amelia affectionately embraced the smaller girl from behind.

"I always will. But right now, I'll pass that responsibility on to my brother. We all have people back there... in a sense and it could take me a while to come back. But, I know, that you're the one who showed me, to help others, even if they don't want it."

Asteria's face wrinkled in confusion. A look of distrust aimed towards the head rested on her shoulder revealed itself. However, slowly, that stalemate wore away at Asteria. The defiance in her eyes dimmed as Amelia's bright green eyes dispelled her grievances. Not a word more needed to be shared as Asteria lowered herself into a defeated slouch.

Remnants of conflict resided in Amelia's emerald-sharp eyes as she turned to face Perses. Standing alone on the raft, she looked down at Perses, squinting her eyes. 

"You didn't notice, did you Perses. Look at it again."

Obeying Amelia's composed words, he paused, then looked back once more. Immediately, he was greeted with sunken, hollow eyes that captured him. Not even the castle was within range, yet Perses could make out the focused gleam of those empty sockets as it stared directly at him. 

"It's not after the kingdom Perses. It's after us... Do you understand what that means?"

Perses couldn't help but gulp as he tore his eyes away from the leering behemoth. Greeting Amelia's cold, calm eyes head-on, he shook his head nervously. Unfazed, as if it was a simple matter, she spoke. 

"It means that thing will chase us. There is no running. There is likely no hiding. And I imagine no one can stop it."

Tenser than ever before, Perses digested the meaning behind her words as he was afflicted with a cold, sharp feeling. But Amelia was different; with an arrogant grin, she spoke. 

"Except me, obviously."

Silenced by her ardent claim, Perses felt relief. There wasn't any guilt. He was not hesitant about refusing such a generous offer. But even he had his doubts. Uncertainty clawed at him as he attempted to read her expression. 

"But, why do all this for me? You already rescued me, so why?"

For once, Amelia's collected, confident facade slipped as she turned away, scratching her head. With a nervous grin, she eyed his reaction nervously. 

"Hahahaha, ah, um well. I just want what's good for you. That's really all there is to it."

Expelling her nerves with a bashful laugh, a green aura started to circle around her embarrassed figure. Amelia finally tore her flustered gaze away from Perses as the raft dipped, overburdened by the rising pressure. Before it could be capsized, she jumped from the safe confines towards the water. One last yell sounded as she touched the water's surface without turning back. 

"Listen to Asteria Perses. Protect her."

Before her foot could sink and be swallowed by the grand pool of water, a second leg struck forward. Then another, then another. Leaping forth tenaciously, her feet kicked off the water's surface as she ran. Unimpeded by the nature of the water, she trespassed across the ocean's exterior, disregarding its hold on her. Her speeding figure soon turned into a blur.

There was no time to marvel at her boastful demonstration as water erupted from the surface. Scattered across their surroundings, the water's spume obscured Perse's vision entirely. As the mist started to settle, she was gone; within his sight, only an incredible gleam of light could be seen thundering across the distant ocean surface. 

"Just like that. She's gone."

Despite the two other members inhabiting the raft, there was no response, and the atmosphere sank. No matter how flashy her exit or how bright her smile was, Amelia's absence left a dreadful silence amongst the group. The tranquillity of it all, the quiet, the bickering and the novelty of 'escape' from the dread of the kingdom. It was now nowhere to be found.

"What do we do now."

Perses spoke again. He had no idea why he felt compelled to. Perhaps the silence of the two girls spurred him, too. Regardless, his words were met with an empty quiet. There was no one to take charge, no one with the confidence to discuss, and so, they simply remained adrift. 

##############

A quiet creaking sound echoed within the giant chamber as she opened the grand door anxiously. The throne room was coated with rubble. Thick tears appeared on the roof as the ground was littered with the remains. It was as if giants had rampaged within. Even the slight gleams of blood that glistened throughout the dark, cold room were hidden by the destruction of it all. 

Towards the rear of the room, blinking lightly, she saw his eyes open drearily to the slightest glimmer of light. Lantern in hand, she apprehensively forced the large outline of the throne room's door further with but a single hand. Entering stiffly, she leered at the one sitting above the broken throne's rubble. 

"Wh... what."

For he was not alone. 

Without a throne to be seated on, she gazed at the surroundings that cushioned and embraced the lone man. All around him, matte black fur that blended with the shadows rested gently against his figure. Their gigantic black bodies settled and surrounded the man supporting him as he awoke. 

"Ah, Helena. Apologies, it seems I fell asleep. I'm a little spent, you see. Please understand, that I will need a bit longer to rest.

Most noticeably, one creature, smaller than the others, lay its head across his legs and lap peacefully. Its enormous snout breathed in and out steadily as its eyelids twitched ever so slightly.

Distracted by the slight movements of the docile, disorientatingly large creature, she lost her voice. But a sense of severe urgency escaped her lips. She ripped her helmet off her head as her astute yet desperate black pupils locked onto Machia. He squinted in surprise, seeing her real face for the first instance as he watched her lips quiver. 

"What! What are you doing! It's here, it's here right now! How do you not know... it's here? Why weren't you scouting, just hurry-"

Feverent terror warped her elegant features as she yelled at the man. Despite noticing the man's unfazed stare, she prepared to continue yelling, to urge him to act quickly. But his calm demeanour distracted her, and she realized yelling would get her nowhere. Choking on her words, she waited for him to respond with a pained glare. 

"...Has the message to not look at the fiend been spread."

Rejecting her heartfelt scream, he asked a shrewd question of his own. 

"Well, yes, but not everyone listened, too many have died already, and I can't even. I can't even."

Collapsing to her knees in a display of helplessness, she breathed heavily, making it appear that she was out of breath. The man noticed this, and so he sighed as he caressed the sleeping creature on his lap as if he didn't want to waste his breath. 

"...can't even look at it? Yes, I was afraid of that. Afraid that only we, Blessed, would be able to face it. And, now, I'm the only one left. As you should already be aware, if I rush things here, if I strike now, and if I lose. Then, everyone will die."

Removing an affectionate glance away from the creatures nestled in his lap, he looked at Helena, translating the meaning behind her displeased gaze instantly. 

"You rushed here so desperately that you didn't consider evacuating the residents to the inner walls, I assume. 

"You!... It's your faul-"

Helena's furious expression faltered. She tried her best to grit her teeth to yell. But her eyes squinted with shame as she avoided his judgful gaze. Sat calmly atop the rubble that remained of the throne, he spoke with an even tone as he looked down on the knight.

"Do you see where I'm sitting now?"

Helena ignored his rambling. She knew very well where he was sat without meeting his condescending gaze. 

"A broken throne, a kingdom on the verge of collapse. I'm not in a position where I can make mistakes like those before me. Just now, your actions they did not encompass the greater good. Your spite, your desperation for your family, I understand it well."

As he monologued to the increasingly agitated woman, he gestured down at her with his hand.

"As you are down there, it is fine. But I can't afford to do the same. As broken as the kingdom might be, it's all I have left now. I will do everything in my power to protect it, so please do what I say. Gather the residents, then bring them inside."

Convincing, concise and quick, Machia spoke. He left no room for disagreement. The hand he used to gesture seemed shaky. No longer fooled by the even determined tone of the man, the woman scoffed. With heavy steps, she turned away from the shrewd man as she marched towards the exit of the real throne room. 

The enormous door's huge frame slammed behind her with a deafening "whack" as it was riddled with cracks. Yet the stallion's eyes remained closed, at peace with everything it lay on its master's comforting figure. But its serene disposition was taken from it. Far away, a grand distance away, it heard a noise. As its eyelid receded, a single white pupil gazed at the throne room's wall. 

The calm Machia looked down on it, trying to ascertain what it was that it had noticed. The sounds of clashing soon entered his ears. There was nothing that could be easily discerned, outside of the sheer volume that continued to soar. The ruined structure of the castle started to shake, then crumble as Machia's tired eyes squinted.

"...Amelia."