The Forsaken Hero

”From your father? The king of Ornth?” I asked, tilting my head. ”But that’s...good news, isn’t it?”

She let the letter drop, staring at it morosely. ”I was close with him once. An only child, born in their twilight years. They were so proud when I was accepted into Western University, and ecstatic when you freed me from my curse. They’re the ones who approved my engagement with Jarrod.”

”Then what happened?” I asked, a sinking feeling in my stomach.

Her shoulder slumped. ”Alverin. You know what he did to me, what I did, and, well, so did they. So did everyone. That’s why the nobles hate me so much. In Blacksand, here, and...Ornth.”

”But they had to have understood you were cursed! You were forced to do that.”

”If they did, they didn’t care. And normal people wouldn’t understand it, anyway. They just knew I was the princess who abandoned her fiancé in the era of mourning to bed the entire court. Can you imagine how shocked and betrayed they must have felt, seeing their daughter turn into something like that? It was behavior entirely unfitting of a princess.”

”And that letter...?”

She nodded. ”They sent it months before we arrived in Blacksand, intended to reach me in Brithlite. But it caught up in the chaos, and, well...Brithite wasn’t really around by the time it made it to us. Somehow, Elaine found it and passed it on to me.” She clasped a hand to her breast, a shiver in her voice. ”Oh, how I wish she hadn’t.”

Sensing my gaze, Elise bowed her head, pushing the letter across to me. I took it gingerly, smoothing the crinkles out. The ink had bled, seeping in small, dendritic cracks across the yellowed parchment, distorted in the wake of drying tears. More than once, by the look of it. But it was still legible.

The parchment crackled as I read it, collapsing under my tightening grip. When I finished, tears welled up in the corners of my eyes.

”They...they disowned you?” I whispered, my tail curling around my legs.

She gave a small, sad nod. ”A gentle word, from how they phrased it there. But you already read it.”

”But why? How could they do that to you? Their own daughter.”

”Because they weren’t acting as my parents, but my king. And no nation could bear the shame of its nobility acting as I. He stripped me of all titles, powers, and authority. All respect and dignity. I wouldn’t even be fit to set foot on the castle courtyard, much less see or speak to my parents again.”

”I’m sorry,” I said, letting the letter fall. ”I didn’t know.”

”Because I didn’t tell you. I...I knew you’d understand better than anyone, but even thinking about it...” she sniffled, brushing a tear from her eye. ”I just couldn’t. I hoped, maybe, when I saw them again, I could explain, but now...”

”They’re gone.”

She nodded. ”They died thinking of me as a common whore. Worse, maybe.”

”Is this why you were so reluctant to help in the negotiations?”

”Everyone knows it. I’ll always bear that mark, that shame, no matter where I go, or what name I use. What noble could respect another who so brazenly waded through depravity? You saw the way the princess of Blacksand looked at me. And all the elves who openly scorned me.”

”So?” The question came out harsher than I intended, and I hastened to soften it. ”What does that matter?”

”What can I do? Go home to Ornth? To death, ash, and destruction?”

”There are tens of thousands of survivors. They’ll need help rebuilding,” I said. ”They could use a leader.”

She shook her head. ”I’m no leader, especially not to them. Even if I were, they’d never see it. They’d never understand what it was like to suffer under the Heart Crest.”

”Then what about those who would?” I asked softly.

She shivered, gripping her hands in her lap, avoiding my gaze. ”I...I don’t know what you mean.”

”I think you do.”

Her shoulders hunched even more, if that was possible, and she squeezed her eyes shut. ”I can’t do it. I couldn’t go back there.”

”Why not?”

”Because...” She bit her lip, looking up at me pleadingly. ”You couldn’t go back to the Divine Throne, could you? To the inquisitor’s torture chambers.”

I fought a flinch and won, but my tail twitched under my chair.

”I’m sorry, I know that wasn’t fair, but--”

”No.” I shook my head. ”You were right. It’s the same. But Elise, listen to me. I will go back there. I will face them all again. I’m not going to let everything they did to me define me. It’s a part of me now, that’s true. I’ll never look at a knife without flinching or a white cloak without ducking my head. But I’m choosing to be someone more than that. I don’t want to be Xiviyah, the girl who is afraid, but Xiviyah, the girl who learned to smile. I want to share what little light I have, to twinkle like a distant star in the dark sky.”

”Maybe you’re braver than me,” she whispered.

”Maybe, but I don’t think so. You’ve always been mocked and harassed, even before we met. You’re the ’Golden Princess,’ Remember? But you were strong and cheerful. You were a friend to me when no one else was.”

She risked a small smile. ”I almost forgot about that.” Her smile faded. ”Alverin used to call me that. His Golden Princess.”

”And I ask again. So what? I don’t mean to be dismissive, but that’s what Korra used to tell me, when she dragged me from the darkness I was in in Heartland. What does it matter what happened? All you can do is choose what you do next. Not what happens next, for that belongs to fate, but which path you’re going to follow.”

”I...I follow you,” she said, glancing up at me.

I shook my head. ”That’s not enough. I’m leaving, Elise. I’ve a war to fight. My own shadows to face. Isn’t it time you faced yours?”

Her gaze strayed, landing on another rumpled scroll on the desk. She rested her hand on it, took a breath, and drew it toward her.

”What’s that?” I asked.

”Prince Benjamin’s just like you. He thinks I should go north, too. Though I’ve a feeling he’s invested for a different reason altogether. Here, look. It’s a survey report of the lands north of the Empire. The ambassadors from Blacksand brought it with them a few days ago, when they finally arrived in Sylvarus. Turns out you were right, and church forces had accosted them.”

I scanned it for a second before putting it down, giving her a helpless smile. She chuckled, taking it back.

”Sorry, I forget you didn’t grow up studying census and economic reports. Basically, every supply line and official power has collapsed. The Empire’s scouts couldn’t reach all the way to Heartland, but rumors and gossip in the surviving towns claim it’s no better off than Brithlite. Powerful fifth and sixth-level monsters roam the wilderness, and local warlords have snapped up whatever they can keep with their swords. The strong take from the weak and lose to the stronger. Brithlite itself has completely collapsed. I couldn’t even call it a civil war at this point. There are like five different factions vying for control of the resources. But no one’s planting crops, no one’s rebuilding.”

”No one has hope,” I finished.

”There’s no stability, no reason to. No star in the sky, as you would put it.” She studied my face, sighing at what she found there. ”You don’t look surprised. I suppose you’ve seen all this.”

I could only nod. ”It’s only going to get worse as the demons leave for the southern continent. They mostly ignore the human populations, finding them too weak to bother with, but they keep the monsters in check. There are hundreds of forgotten creatures sealed away and hiding across the land, like the Lava Dragons beneath the caldera. Few are as strong, but they’re dangerous all the same. Once the hordes move on, nothing will stop them from ravaging the land. With no one to keep them in check, not even the major cities will be able to last.”

”That’s...grim. Benjamin didn’t mention that,” she said, letting the scroll slip between her fingers. She sat back heavily, a weary look on her face. ”But what could I do? Would anyone even listen to me?”

”The people there know you in a way the survivors of Ornth don’t. They know you fought for them against Alverin and that you were the first enslaved by the Heart Crest. You see it as a weakness, as a badge of shame, but I don’t think that’s true. I think you can be a star if you try. You’ll show them they can have hope, that the shackles of the past need not keep them from the future. And, well, you’ll have something no one else will have.”

I scratched my cheek, smiling sheepishly.

She raised an eyebrow. ”And that is? Because without you, I don’t feel like I have anything.”

”The Last Light Company.”

She stared at me, a look of confusion crossing her face. ”I’m not sure I follow.”

”Aerion showed it better than anyone, didn’t he? You don’t need to have the respect of the nobles or the credibility of a bloodline to lead. You just have to have the sharpest sword. And Elise, if you ask it, I’ll give you a blade stronger than any other on the northern continent. One that’s conquered the Risen, Circle, and even an arbiter. One that’s faced the heavens and hells themselves, and came out the victor. If you wish, I’ll give you my army.”