"Who are the real demons? I cannot tell anymore." -
Asmoday,
The Price of Peace.
"That
is good news, why won't you ever die!?"
Shelrair laughed (to
Siberius),
The Price of Peace.
"You want me to call you Mother, mother. You want me to plead for your presence." -
Kyou.
The going down of the sun cast thick shadows from the buildings and the busts, and spun webs upon the brick of the road.
"It was to be morning we left, and yet now sundown. Humans are tedious creatures. But it's funny, we were insanely close to our goal, and all of a sudden we're further apart then before." -
Kyou.
The wheels sliced across bricks and grass as they headed off, following the late afternoon glow - to begin a new chapter of their people, and to end the best so far, for many a century.
The Price of Peace[/i]; story closure of the Organisation.
"Oh, by the way, isn't Asmoday gonna come in and stop McKenzie from telling everyone that Shelly is actually a double-double-crossing insurgent from a cult-cross-secret society who are twisting the words of their religion and also using bribery and blackmail to force their way into the Empire, and were actually the ones who assasainated several of the highest officials and most powerful people in the world, caused havoc and confusion and are lying to everyone in the entire world and also about to attempt to assasainate the Empress and kill thousands of people in the process before then causing themselves to get into a position of immense power and influence, and then attempt to do irreversible damage to everything humanity has achieved by summoning the Demons of beforetime back unto the Earth and thus cause a long and painful series of events that may in fact ultimately end in the destruction and slavery of all humankind as the world knows it, causing their race to be mostly annhilated by otherworldy beings?
'Cause it'd kinda suck for Shelly if he told them." -
Me ((OOC)).
"This time last year I was thinking I'd be dead soon," -
Bowen"Really? That's a pretty sad attitude for a soldier." -
Eleanore.
"Fate does weird things... Come another six months, Empress Eleanore may be dead and gone! Long live Emperor Bowen?" -
Eleanore laughed,
"Hey, that might happen someday!" -
Bowen"Ha! You'll be too busy crying over my grave to rule an Empire!" -
Eleanore.
-
The Price of Peace.
"You are filled with remorse and regrets, but you cannot escape them... They are what we are made of today." -
Asmoday,
The Price of Peace.
His job was to bless them with hope, the truth, the way, and enlighten them.
Yet, here he stood: a liar and a fraud. He was nothing less than the demons he condemned. And his lies would run true through the blood of history, as the truth tainted by one small lie slowly renders the river diseased. - Of
Father McKenzie,
The Price of Peace.
"Ah, the joys of being male." -
EleanoreShe plastered on her smiley face and left the carriage dazzling. - Of
Eleanore.
"Why do you point the gun?
Is it for your family, who'll never be whole again? Then you shoot one of your kin.
Is it for the pride of your nation? Then you shoot down yourself and your brothers, and the person who's fighting for you.
Is it for peace? Ha..! Your President told me himself: The price of peace is bloodshed. If it's peace you want, shoot away.
Then you shoot down all of humanity, and you return to being nothing but the murderer you are." -
Eleanore, to assassin; the "Price of Peace" speech.
"Our gracious Empress has been my prime inspiration." -
Shelrair.
Eleanore swiped at the reciever controls, positioning herself in the pilot's chair ((then crashed it into a mountain)).
"All I remember was a screaming man leaping off a flying vehicle onto another and than telling me
I was being suicidal." -
EleanoreBowen put on his boots in shame.
Instead of a commendation letter, Empress Ryow instead declared it an abomination, and cursed all it's staff and personnal inside. She died a few years later. - History of the Hangyan Castle.
"It's not long now."
Her warm, smooth hand traced through his dark hair and tickled his cold skin.
She smiled at his words, "I know... How do you feel?"
Asmoday didn't reply.
"Then, what are you?"
Shelrair smiled, "A pawn, of course!"
This took him by surprise.
"See, the best thing about a pawn is - they start off weak, and most will eventually die. But! If a pawn, through some miracle, makes it to the end..."
"...They get the power to become whatever they wish."
"Exactly!"
"Your city is the most beautiful piece of the world to me." -
Eleanore, of Hangyakunin.
"Everyone on board is going to die." - Provocateur.
She told herself it was a bad dream, and that's all.
Bowen screamed; "I can't keep pulling you, let's go!"
"This isn't real!"
"Then prove it's not a nightmare! Keep moving!!"
The ship around them, still connected to the Ashrose, lit up and shook like a child's coin-operated ride gone wrong.
Eleanore's head slammed against the desk in front of her. Her blood sprayed across the panel, and Bowen, in the chaos, didn't care whether she was dead or alive.
The maidservant - the sole maidservant of the tour - was told her role was purely decorational. She was to be seen, not heard. She was an accessory, not a tool to be used.
She wiped the tears from her blurry eyes, seeing, as she did, a rich, red substance drip from her face.
"
Locked" stated the message on the screen.
They locked it? That was silly. What good is an emergency ship when it can't even be used?She tapped the button to unlock.
"There we are."
Her hair rippled in the wind, and the blood on her forehead gurgled down and splattered the rest of her body.
She saw the little ship below disappear from view, and stumbled over to the railing on the side, and watched as the Ashrose - in all its magnificence- slowly began to tip.
It would be recorded as perhaps the biggest tragedy in the history of airship disasters for centuries to come. And, most importantly - it was the death of an era. The death of a promised era of hope, salvation, peace and celebration.
Maybe they'd won. Whoever they were.
Shelrair stumbled as she ran. She slipped and landed with a thud on her side. Grimacing, she kicked off her heels, regained herself and ran on.
Siberius had only just awoke when his door was pried open, and the High Officer caught his eye.
"Your Majesty... I'm afraid I have some.. Terrible news."
The sheets were paper thin. The smell of old wood lingered in the air, and the song of a lonely bird whistled through the silence.
Just like home.
If she dared open her eyes, she'd realise she was somewhere else.
Eleanore ran down the long, wide road; barefoot, barely dressed, hair wild, suitcase in tow - filled with stolen clothes.
He stared at her tears, reflecting the orange afternoon sun in the silver of their reflection, "...I don't know."
She gave him a moment, "...They're tears of happiness!"
-
Bowen and
Eleanore.
"I'm free." -
Eleanore.
"Change your name, change your clothes; nothing changes between
us." -
Bowen"Then come with me." -
Eleanore"Where?"
"Eleanore Harvery is dead."
She turned.
"Then who are you!?"
"...Who wants to know?"
Bowen grit his teeth.
There was a little breeze, and some autumn leaves tore from the tree and landed just beyond the strange pair. One facing away, the other staring at his partner's feet, hoping they'd turn back to him. But part of him knew they wouldn't.
"Bowen. Vizier to the Empress of Immestrial."
"Then, Sir Vizier... I guess this is goodbye."
The quiet road mocked them both as life went on around them, yet the two of them stood frozen in time. A mother duck and her babies crossed to the small pond over to the right of them both.
She peered after the family, making their way down into the cool water in the late afternoon. He stared down at the ground.
His arms crossed over her chest. They stood there, still, in that embrace, for some time.
Until the bond was broken, they shared the same mutual love.
But when she broke free, she was a different person. And she walked along the grass of the pond, eyeing the orange sun reflected lovingly in the water there, leaving him behind
In the warm, late Autumn's afternoon.
-
The Price of Peace[/url], final post.
Inside the room was Herald Greene. Blood.
"Wait until Shelrair hears about this!"
Ursula turned around and stared at the man.
"Fuck Shelrair."
The sunlight crept in through the shattered windows, the mangled bodies stretching on for the entire hallway. Ursula kneeled down and delicately lifted one girls' head, her body was generally intact from the explosion.
She closed her eyes and took her hair off of her face.
"Thank you," She whispered into her ear, before kissing her forehead.
"I've destroyed my entire lifetime in less than one day." -
Ursula.
"You believe that people meet by accident? Someone as deep as you? No, people meet for a reason, to learn...to love...to live." -
Violet Rose.
-
The Price of Peace, Epilogue.
