I didn't fall, never even thought I would. The air caught me, and I flew, gazing down at the burning ground. For a second I felt the strangest feeling - regret. Regret that so many people would die in the fire - probably, many already had. Then I remembered that many more would be saved because I didn't give in, didn't allow the Burning Bride to gain followers again. Eris was not at full power, and hopefully, she never will be.
I put this out here as a warning not to let chains wrap themselves around you, never feel tempted by power.
I spend my days flying off of the earth, gracing the air, only returning to land to get things to eat, or to rest under the sky.
Oh, and one more thing. If you ever hear noises coming from your roof, do not be alarmed, for that just means I have briefly landed, taking a break from my home high above the world.
The End.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Decision Point, Part V
Father launched a flurry of punches at the Burning Bride, his skin blistering each time he made contact. But he wasn't deterred - the beatdown continued, Father never letting up. Finally, he tossed Eris to the side, blood running in streams.
For some reason, I expected Eris to be dead - Father's punches had left deep wounds, as if he had cut her with knives. However, Eris just laughed again and slowly got off of the ground.
"He reminds me of how Ferratus was - we fought constantly, both of us spilling an equal amount of blood... In fact, that's how we met, that's how I turned from the Flickering Woman to the Burning Bride. We met and we fought, our raging battle creating the Great Fire of London. At the end he ripped out my heart and I chained him to a rock. Of course, after this there was nothing we could do but wed each other.
"I admit, I had to force your father into this role - he was much too good a man... Luckily he was bound by chains over his wife, and over you, the daughter he felt cheated out of time with. Before you came here I told him everything I was about to do. Then, I took his rage and made it burn brighter, and knocked him out so I'd have time to talk to you. His anger shall be used to free my husband."
Eris walked over to Father and pushed him to the ground. Then, while standing over him, in a soft tone of voice that didn't suit her, Eris said, "Surge, Bruta."
Steam rolled off of my father's skin, which was red and covered with welts from the Burning Bride's flames. My father roared with rage and suddenly a man wearing a suit made of raging, stormy clouds burst out of him, like a reptile shedding its skin. Blood pooled at this brute's feet, and he writhed with pain and anger. For a fraction of a second I thought I could see a tangle of incorporeal chains wrapped around him...
Softly, Eris said, "Ferratus, his fetters freshly forged."
In a voice strikingly similar to my father's, Ferratus said, "You told me that I would be free of my chains!"
"I didn't create these. They are there because of yourself, not me. But you can move. Together we can sweep a wave of fire, rage, and chaos across the world."
Eris turned to me, and a forced myself to look her in the eyes despite my revulsion. "It is time, Misery. I can tell you everything. You can live through this day. I could give you your father back. Just shake my hand."
The Burning Bride offered her right hand to me, the one with the coal-studded ring on it. That's when I knew what to do.
I reached for the hand, and for a second I saw triumph glint in Eris's eyes. Triumph that vanished once I forcibly pulled the ring off of its finger and put it onto mine.
I felt a burning sensation inside my stomach, but I didn't doubt my plan for a second. If I died, I would be free regardless. If I didn't...
Suddenly, the burning stopped, and I smiled.
"What- h-h-how did you-" Eris stuttered, appearing utterly bewildered.
Patiently, I explained. "Ferratus is currently wrapped by incorporeal chains - the chains that nearly everyone is bound by. He was probably always bound by these - you just made them physical, at the end of your fight. I'm willing to bet that Ferratus made this ring by taking one of his chains and melting it down. Both the ring and the chains are made of iron. Now, this ring, being forged by fire and these kinds of chains, has to have inherited some strange qualities. Now, the explanation is long, so allow me to summarize.
"The ring can only be worn by those free of chains, by those who aren't bound.
"Face it, Eris. I've won. Now, move out of my way."
Defiantly, she said, "No. I don't take orders from lesser beings."
I made an exaggerated sigh. "Well, in that case...
"Eat flax, bitch!"
My fist slammed into Eris before she could react, and then she was flying off the roof.
I stood there, watching, as Eris fell into the flames burning in the streets below.
Ferratus made one last, feeble attempt to make me give in. "Child, where will you go? How will you escape? The streets are burning. You can't possibly survive them."
I didn't bother to look at him. "One who is free of chains cannot be bound to the ground."
I jumped off the roof.
For some reason, I expected Eris to be dead - Father's punches had left deep wounds, as if he had cut her with knives. However, Eris just laughed again and slowly got off of the ground.
"He reminds me of how Ferratus was - we fought constantly, both of us spilling an equal amount of blood... In fact, that's how we met, that's how I turned from the Flickering Woman to the Burning Bride. We met and we fought, our raging battle creating the Great Fire of London. At the end he ripped out my heart and I chained him to a rock. Of course, after this there was nothing we could do but wed each other.
"I admit, I had to force your father into this role - he was much too good a man... Luckily he was bound by chains over his wife, and over you, the daughter he felt cheated out of time with. Before you came here I told him everything I was about to do. Then, I took his rage and made it burn brighter, and knocked him out so I'd have time to talk to you. His anger shall be used to free my husband."
Eris walked over to Father and pushed him to the ground. Then, while standing over him, in a soft tone of voice that didn't suit her, Eris said, "Surge, Bruta."
Steam rolled off of my father's skin, which was red and covered with welts from the Burning Bride's flames. My father roared with rage and suddenly a man wearing a suit made of raging, stormy clouds burst out of him, like a reptile shedding its skin. Blood pooled at this brute's feet, and he writhed with pain and anger. For a fraction of a second I thought I could see a tangle of incorporeal chains wrapped around him...
Softly, Eris said, "Ferratus, his fetters freshly forged."
In a voice strikingly similar to my father's, Ferratus said, "You told me that I would be free of my chains!"
"I didn't create these. They are there because of yourself, not me. But you can move. Together we can sweep a wave of fire, rage, and chaos across the world."
Eris turned to me, and a forced myself to look her in the eyes despite my revulsion. "It is time, Misery. I can tell you everything. You can live through this day. I could give you your father back. Just shake my hand."
The Burning Bride offered her right hand to me, the one with the coal-studded ring on it. That's when I knew what to do.
I reached for the hand, and for a second I saw triumph glint in Eris's eyes. Triumph that vanished once I forcibly pulled the ring off of its finger and put it onto mine.
I felt a burning sensation inside my stomach, but I didn't doubt my plan for a second. If I died, I would be free regardless. If I didn't...
Suddenly, the burning stopped, and I smiled.
"What- h-h-how did you-" Eris stuttered, appearing utterly bewildered.
Patiently, I explained. "Ferratus is currently wrapped by incorporeal chains - the chains that nearly everyone is bound by. He was probably always bound by these - you just made them physical, at the end of your fight. I'm willing to bet that Ferratus made this ring by taking one of his chains and melting it down. Both the ring and the chains are made of iron. Now, this ring, being forged by fire and these kinds of chains, has to have inherited some strange qualities. Now, the explanation is long, so allow me to summarize.
"The ring can only be worn by those free of chains, by those who aren't bound.
"Face it, Eris. I've won. Now, move out of my way."
Defiantly, she said, "No. I don't take orders from lesser beings."
I made an exaggerated sigh. "Well, in that case...
"Eat flax, bitch!"
My fist slammed into Eris before she could react, and then she was flying off the roof.
I stood there, watching, as Eris fell into the flames burning in the streets below.
Ferratus made one last, feeble attempt to make me give in. "Child, where will you go? How will you escape? The streets are burning. You can't possibly survive them."
I didn't bother to look at him. "One who is free of chains cannot be bound to the ground."
I jumped off the roof.
Decision Point, Part IV
Eris - no, the Burning Bride - laughed a high, cold laugh, a roaring sound that seemed to echo, rebounding, repeating...
Her presence was nearly obscured by the smoke rising from her blazing dress and veil.
"You- you're a monster!" I shouted in shock. I'd always thought Eris was a bit creepy, but this went farther than I thought she would go. Everything was planned, my moves scripted, as though I was just a puppet in another person's play.
"Am I? Am I a monster for wanting to be powerful again? Can't you remember, Misery? Can't you remember school? You dreamed of one day being the controller, being lone in command and creating chaos around you. We are alike in many ways. If I'm a monster... then you are too."
"No!" I cried out, revolted at the notion. "No. I'm not. We may be alike, but I'm not willing to go this far. At least, not anymore.
"I don't want to be in power anymore. Not now that I've seen what it can lead people to.
"And you were wrong, what you said about me not regretting what could have been - I do regret it. But that doesn't hold me back. I don't let it become a chain. I look to the future, which I know is uncertain and not set in stone. I look forward to happier days when I'm upset, when I'm sad, when I'm angry.
"That's what makes me different from you. You don't try to change what you see - you simply try to force that outcome. You are a pawn, a slave of certainty. You see anyone who tries to change what the future brings as an obstacle to climb over. That's what makes you a monster, that's what makes us different. You avoid the chains by making them. I avoid the chains by truly being free."
Eris appeared rather taken aback by this. But then, she smiled again. "Oh, but I have an ace in the hole. I think that not everything that you think is here is actually here."
That's when I noticed what was missing from the scene - what I had expected but forgotten as soon as I had spotted Eris.
"Father! Where is he? What have you done with him?!"
Eris shrugged. "Oh, I haven't done anything, other than knocking him out and leaving him at the bottom of the stairs. Don't worry about his safety - I'm sure he's woken up already. In fact, he should arrive up here right... now."
There was a clattering on the stairs behind me, and then my father, his eyes burning red, charged out and dived at the Burning Bride.
Her presence was nearly obscured by the smoke rising from her blazing dress and veil.
"You- you're a monster!" I shouted in shock. I'd always thought Eris was a bit creepy, but this went farther than I thought she would go. Everything was planned, my moves scripted, as though I was just a puppet in another person's play.
"Am I? Am I a monster for wanting to be powerful again? Can't you remember, Misery? Can't you remember school? You dreamed of one day being the controller, being lone in command and creating chaos around you. We are alike in many ways. If I'm a monster... then you are too."
"No!" I cried out, revolted at the notion. "No. I'm not. We may be alike, but I'm not willing to go this far. At least, not anymore.
"I don't want to be in power anymore. Not now that I've seen what it can lead people to.
"And you were wrong, what you said about me not regretting what could have been - I do regret it. But that doesn't hold me back. I don't let it become a chain. I look to the future, which I know is uncertain and not set in stone. I look forward to happier days when I'm upset, when I'm sad, when I'm angry.
"That's what makes me different from you. You don't try to change what you see - you simply try to force that outcome. You are a pawn, a slave of certainty. You see anyone who tries to change what the future brings as an obstacle to climb over. That's what makes you a monster, that's what makes us different. You avoid the chains by making them. I avoid the chains by truly being free."
Eris appeared rather taken aback by this. But then, she smiled again. "Oh, but I have an ace in the hole. I think that not everything that you think is here is actually here."
That's when I noticed what was missing from the scene - what I had expected but forgotten as soon as I had spotted Eris.
"Father! Where is he? What have you done with him?!"
Eris shrugged. "Oh, I haven't done anything, other than knocking him out and leaving him at the bottom of the stairs. Don't worry about his safety - I'm sure he's woken up already. In fact, he should arrive up here right... now."
There was a clattering on the stairs behind me, and then my father, his eyes burning red, charged out and dived at the Burning Bride.
Decision Point, Part III
"I've heard that name before!" I exclaimed without thinking. "In the-"
"-in the email you received, yes," Eris said impatiently. "I would know. I am the one who sent it to you."
My mouth said, "What?" but my mind didn't doubt this - it was as if something I'd always known subconsciously had surfaced to the front of my mind, and I couldn't do anything but acknowledge it.
"I didn't write it - it was a chain letter originally created by my husband. I simply passed it on to you. I had told him what would happen in the future and he inscribed it on the slab he was chained to.
"You see, Misery, we are all bound by chains - some are just more physical than most. The past has a tendency to reach out into the future and strangle us. Events repeat in our minds, memories that never quite die... Many of us are captives of grief. However... not you.
"Misery, I admit you have always been a mystery to me - you don't grieve your mother's death, don't regret what could have been... you are truly free.
"But how? How could you do that? I have pondered this over and over again, searching for an answer. Many people would have broken by this point, and yet you haven't.
"Oh, don't look so surprised. I haven't been fooled by your act - you're about as breakable as a diamond. That's not a compliment. That's just the truth.
"I foresaw this day, far in the past, before you were born. I saw that you would be perfect to place me back into power.
"And so, I created a plan. I met with you long ago, on that day when the sun's rays shone... The moment I first told you my name I wrapped a mental chain around you, a small one - you wouldn't believe how much of my strength it took to do that. This chain ensured that when I sent you the email in the future you'd know what it meant, at the back of your mind. This, combined with your... ah, defiant nature, made it so you would ignore the warning, though you knew what it meant. That, plus something else...
"Then, I went to your father and made him propose to me. Afterwards I caused you to get yourself fired from your last job. I hear your erstwhile boss is trying to get the police to go after you. Fortunately for you they don't believe that you were able to cause that amount of damage.
"This wasn't a random act of cruelty on my part - I did it so that you wouldn't have to be weighed down by your job in later days.
"Before you got fired, I made your father invite you over to his house. I wanted to meet you again, take you to the Caves of Luminescence. There, as I'm sure you remember, I explained everything to you.
"Misery, you might hide it from everyone, but I know you like power. You adore it, you get giddy whenever you have the upper hand. Of course you would - poor little Misery, bullied for her name, her odd way of thinking, her rough voice and accent... Never in control, always pushed around by others... Now desperate to be powerful, for once...
"On the day you got fired for the final time, I didn't make you throw that desk through the window. I just gave you anger and the strength to act on it, and you did the rest. I knew that you'd be tempted, at least subconsciously. I sowed the seeds, as it were.
"Now we're here, on this roof, the streets beginning to burn below us...
"But perhaps you're about to decline me. Perhaps you don't feel the reward will be great enough... Or perhaps you think you can win this battle.
"Let me put this into perspective. I see your cause has no fire... Well, why don't you take a look at mine?"
Eris's dress burst into flames.
"-in the email you received, yes," Eris said impatiently. "I would know. I am the one who sent it to you."
My mouth said, "What?" but my mind didn't doubt this - it was as if something I'd always known subconsciously had surfaced to the front of my mind, and I couldn't do anything but acknowledge it.
"I didn't write it - it was a chain letter originally created by my husband. I simply passed it on to you. I had told him what would happen in the future and he inscribed it on the slab he was chained to.
"You see, Misery, we are all bound by chains - some are just more physical than most. The past has a tendency to reach out into the future and strangle us. Events repeat in our minds, memories that never quite die... Many of us are captives of grief. However... not you.
"Misery, I admit you have always been a mystery to me - you don't grieve your mother's death, don't regret what could have been... you are truly free.
"But how? How could you do that? I have pondered this over and over again, searching for an answer. Many people would have broken by this point, and yet you haven't.
"Oh, don't look so surprised. I haven't been fooled by your act - you're about as breakable as a diamond. That's not a compliment. That's just the truth.
"I foresaw this day, far in the past, before you were born. I saw that you would be perfect to place me back into power.
"And so, I created a plan. I met with you long ago, on that day when the sun's rays shone... The moment I first told you my name I wrapped a mental chain around you, a small one - you wouldn't believe how much of my strength it took to do that. This chain ensured that when I sent you the email in the future you'd know what it meant, at the back of your mind. This, combined with your... ah, defiant nature, made it so you would ignore the warning, though you knew what it meant. That, plus something else...
"Then, I went to your father and made him propose to me. Afterwards I caused you to get yourself fired from your last job. I hear your erstwhile boss is trying to get the police to go after you. Fortunately for you they don't believe that you were able to cause that amount of damage.
"This wasn't a random act of cruelty on my part - I did it so that you wouldn't have to be weighed down by your job in later days.
"Before you got fired, I made your father invite you over to his house. I wanted to meet you again, take you to the Caves of Luminescence. There, as I'm sure you remember, I explained everything to you.
"Misery, you might hide it from everyone, but I know you like power. You adore it, you get giddy whenever you have the upper hand. Of course you would - poor little Misery, bullied for her name, her odd way of thinking, her rough voice and accent... Never in control, always pushed around by others... Now desperate to be powerful, for once...
"On the day you got fired for the final time, I didn't make you throw that desk through the window. I just gave you anger and the strength to act on it, and you did the rest. I knew that you'd be tempted, at least subconsciously. I sowed the seeds, as it were.
"Now we're here, on this roof, the streets beginning to burn below us...
"But perhaps you're about to decline me. Perhaps you don't feel the reward will be great enough... Or perhaps you think you can win this battle.
"Let me put this into perspective. I see your cause has no fire... Well, why don't you take a look at mine?"
Eris's dress burst into flames.
Decision Point, Part II
I stepped out onto the stairs, black as night, moaning under my every step. I climbed and climbed up the red brick building, determination conveyed in every action I made.
Finally I reached the roof, coughing as wisps of smog curled around my nostrils, covering my eyes, which were already starting to burn and tear up. I moved out into the open, and only then did I dare move my hands away.
The roof was stained with oil and ash, fire still burning in some parts of it. Long, steel pipes emerged from the ground along with a great brick chimney, smoke issuing from every opening. Wrapped around whatever it could get a hold on were iron chains, rusted but strong. They clinked against the roof in the hot breeze. The red morning sun beat down on me in the orange sky, sweat starting to bead my forehead.
And in the center of the roof was Eris, dressed in a white veil and dress, appearing as if she was ready for a wedding. One of her gloved hands pushed the veil away from her face, and I immediately noticed that her eyes were bright orange, and her pupils were much smaller than they should be.
"Hello, Misery," Eris said with a catlike smile, gesturing to her surroundings, "and welcome to the Grove of Fetters."
Finally I reached the roof, coughing as wisps of smog curled around my nostrils, covering my eyes, which were already starting to burn and tear up. I moved out into the open, and only then did I dare move my hands away.
The roof was stained with oil and ash, fire still burning in some parts of it. Long, steel pipes emerged from the ground along with a great brick chimney, smoke issuing from every opening. Wrapped around whatever it could get a hold on were iron chains, rusted but strong. They clinked against the roof in the hot breeze. The red morning sun beat down on me in the orange sky, sweat starting to bead my forehead.
And in the center of the roof was Eris, dressed in a white veil and dress, appearing as if she was ready for a wedding. One of her gloved hands pushed the veil away from her face, and I immediately noticed that her eyes were bright orange, and her pupils were much smaller than they should be.
"Hello, Misery," Eris said with a catlike smile, gesturing to her surroundings, "and welcome to the Grove of Fetters."
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