A Shattered Confession:Part Seven

     Sylvana’s eyes widened as she realized what the eyrie had come here for. He had to have his blade unsheathed and thrown her axe in front of her for a good reason.

     “Who are you, really?” Sylvana asked, her eyes now narrowed.

     “I am just like you - a shattered blade.” The eyrie’s voice was eerily calm, but nonetheless unsettling

     Sylvana said nothing, not fully understanding what the eyrie was implying.

     “I will admit, you have the courage to face your guilt. I will commend you there.” A brief look of respect crossed the eyrie’s face.

     “You must know there is more to your axe that you acknowledge. Do you desire the truth?”

     “He’s gone because of me.” Sylvana shook her head stubbornly. “Sir Aldrid, countless knights of Meridell, even my own comrades during the war - all gone. Dead. Because of me.” She felt her heart sink further, and she pondered for a brief moment if she could even go on living with so much guilt and shame. But the eyrie was unmoved as he pointed his sword at Sylvana’s forehead.

     “Pick up your axe.”

     Sylvana could feel her breaths hitch. He couldn’t surely ask her that, after what had transpired at the courtroom. But she could also hear an impatient growl, a growl that surely wasn’t hers.

     “Grab your axe, and fight me. Face your crimes, you monster.”

     The eyrie then stabbed his blade into the ground, and a tremor exploded under his feet, knocking back the court benches and splitting the ground nearly in half. With his sheer power, Sylvana realized he wasn’t giving her a choice whether or not to fight. She was going to fight him no matter what. Her arm shaking, she reached for her axe, bracing herself as the eyrie charged her. Before his sword could slash her throat, Sylvana raised her axe in a blocking position, the sword clashing against the sturdy handle. She could feel her entire body shake as the eyrie pressed harder against the hilt of her axe.

     Clenching his sword, the eyrie glared hard into Sylvana’s eyes. A festering emotion unlike Sylvana had ever seen burned in his yellow eyes. She found herself wondering just what it was as she spoke.

     “You must know...that he lied during the trial,” she spat, to which Elijah’s head emerged out slightly only to withdraw behind the table. “He never brought it to Sir Aldrid. I brought it to him myself.”

     The eyrie scoffed haughtily. “What truth is there to your words?”

     Hearing his words coupled with his tone made Sylvana clench her teeth, and her fangs finally protruded from underneath her lips. But at the same time, her heart dunk deeper upon remembering that fateful day. Despite her darigan color and her unusual weapon, Sir Aldrid did not judge her for her past actions or the guilt she had carried for so long. Her eyes locked with the eyrie as she tried to ignore the growing emotional and mental torment.

     “Why did you come here? Why are you forcing us to fight such a meaningless fight?”

     At her words, the runes on her axe glowed, illuminating the room with a purple light. Distorted shadows cast themselves on the wall as the eyrie raised his sword again, only to slash once, then twice at the axe’s handle.

     “You wanted death to claim you,” the eyrie spoke. “So I came to personally ensure your demise.”

     “What?!” Sylvana blinked, and the eyrie slashed again and again, until one powerful strike knocked the axe out of Sylvana’s hands. The force of the blow was enough to send her stumbling backwards until she fell on her rear, a sharp pain tearing across her face. Her axe flew upwards and landed blade-first behind the eyrie, letting out a hum of dark magic as its runes glowed brighter.

     When Sylvana removed her hand from her face, dark red had plastered the inside of her palm. Though unsure at first, this was proof enough that this eyrie was intent on taking her life. Sylvana found herself unable to take her eyes off of her hand until the silver edge of the eyrie’s sword pointed right at her head. When she looked up, the eyrie’s eyes were filled with barely repressed resentment.

     “I came to get revenge for my master, Sir Aldrid.” The eyrie clenched his teeth as he raised his blade, which was further illuminated by the full moon. “So say goodbye, darigan.”

     Sylvana clenched her fangs as well, and her voice arose without thinking.

     “So do it, then.”

     The eyrie remained motionless as he continued to glare at the darigan kyrii before him, the reason for Sir Aldrid’s end. So he swung down, but his blade did not pierce Sylvana - only the ground at her feet. But another tremor split the ground, causing Sylvana’s entire body to shake as she stared at the eyrie incredulously. What in Fyora’s name was he-?!

     Another fracture split beneath her feet as the ground started to shift around Sylvana’s buried axe. The eyrie then plunged his sword his deeper, and a chunk of earth protruded from underneath the axe, sending it flying towards the hidden figure behind the table, the one person Sylvana hoped the eyrie wouldn’t see. Once the axe spun violently towards the ogrin, she immediately flashed back to that day in Sir Aldrid’s training grounds.

     “NO!” She turned around with an extended claw, despite being unable to stop the flying weapon and being unable to stop a repeat of what happened before.

     Just as the axe’s blade was to hit Elijah, a sharp pillar of stone extended up from the floor, halting the weapon’s path as blade hit stone. Sylvana gasped, turning to the eyrie. One hand was extended out as well, which clenched into a fist. The stone pillar immediately shattered to the ground as did the axe, which clattered to the stone ground.

     “Your resolve is strong, despite your mistakes,” the eyrie sighed as the grip on his sword loosened.

     Sylvana stumbled to run towards the ogrin and embraced him in a tight hug. Relief flooded her senses, knowing that at the very least, one of the few people in Neopia who still cared for her was unharmed.

     “You were telling the truth,” the eyrie said with understanding as he walked close to the pair, picking up the fallen axe. “Though Sir Aldrid is gone, it was not your intention to end his life.”

     “I’m sorry,” Sylvana cried, hugging Elijah close tighter. “I’m so sorry…” The moment she spoke, all of the guilt she had been harboring for the past several years came pouring out.

     “I came to him and begged for his help,” she explained, her voice quivering. “I-I thought that of all people, he could…b-but…”

     “He tried,” the eyrie said. “But if there is one thing no one can destroy or fix, it’s our past mistakes.”

     It was now that Sylvana saw what the eyrie had been carrying - the ghosts of his past mistakes. She could see a haunted look in his eyes, as if the guilt of his own mistakes continued to torment him. Now she understood what he said earlier, that he was a shattered blade, just like her.

     “Sir Aldrid was my master. Though I understand he was a more than capable warrior, it is my duty as a knight to keep watch over him. If I had stayed in Meridell that day, maybe I could have…” Though his voice trailed off, he clenched his fist, the split floor below him slowly shifting to combine into a single floor once again.

     “No. What’s done is done. In the end, Sir Aldrid is gone not because of you, but rather, me.”

     “Gremas?” Elijah lifted his head to look at the eyrie. “It must have taken incredible courage to admit your fault in the incident. You are truly an honorable warrior.”

     Gremas shook his head again. “No such honor lies within me. My mistake was the start of many other mistakes on my part. I suppose it is only a fitting punishment.”

     The sound of shuffling footsteps and pebbles quickly followed Gremas’ declaration. The shadow of the judge entered the room, walking past Sylvana and Elijah, only stopping when she was face-to-face with Gremas.

     “Accepting your fault in the incident, Gremas? Very good. Peace will come to you if you continue down this path.”

     Gremas looked initially confused, but then he took an anxious step forward. “What is to happen to me on this path? What must I do next?”

     The judge was silent as she stepped away, only to turn around and look at the eyrie one last time.

     “The next step is forgiving yourself.”

     Sylvana watched the eyrie silently, but closely. His beak quivered like he wanted to say something, but it was clear he was struggling to say the words that could potentially free him from the torment his mistakes brought him. Though Sylvana had managed to free herself from her virulent guilt, could Gremas do the same and relieve himself of his pain?

     Though she was anticipating an answer, Sylvana never received one, as Gremas slowly turned around and headed for the door. When he reached for the doorway, he extended his wings, and with a mighty flap, the eyrie was gone, having taken flight into the night.

     - - - - - - - - -

     The sun was barely visible over the Meridell hills, but the courtroom was already buzzing with activity once again. The crowds had since returned, filling the stands, while the magistrates had already taken their seats once again. Sylvana had taken her place at the stand, but now with a fresh scar running across the bridge of her nose which ended near her left cheek. Even though her cuffs were off, she still felt imprisoned. Soon, her future would be decided, and she had the impending feeling that it would mean spending the rest of her life in the darkest of dungeons, far below Meridell Castle.

     “Upon further examination of the evidence presented and consulting with King Skarl, Kayla, and the castle elders, the darigan will now face sentencing for her crimes,” the kougra judge spoke.

     Sylvana lowered her head slightly. She could see Elijah and Arya hold each other closely out of the corner of her eyes.

     “Though an imprisonment in the castle dungeons is easy, it does little to heal the wounds you’ve inflicted on this land.”

     Grunts and nods of agreement surged throughout the crowd, and Sylvana noticed that those who were livid with her the day before were missing.

     “Instead, we, the Council of Meridell seek to give Sylvana a much harsher, longer punishment to fix all that she has done to this kingdom.”

     The kougra reached for her gavel, and Sylvana winced, holding her breath to hear what worse punishment the judge had in store.

     “The Council of Meridell hereby sentence Sylvana Gawain to hard labor,” the kougra announced. “This punishment is effective starting tomorrow, starting on the farm of Mr. and Mrs. Gawain.”

     Countless gasps filled the courtroom, including Sylvana.

     “The Council also seeks for Sylvana to make reparations to all of the families and homes destroyed during the second Meridell-Darigan War.”

     The zafara magistrate stood up. “Do you accept these terms, darigan?”

     Sylvana’s head glanced up only to find everyone’s eyes fixed on her. She inhaled, slowly realizing the question being asked to her. Despite her horrible crimes, the Council of Meridell was forgiving her. She looked among the crowd, and her past memories resurfaced. But unlike the day before, the ghosts she saw weren’t tormenting her endlessly or continually reminding her of her mistakes - they were just standing, staring inquisitively. For the first time, she did not look away from them.

     Sylvana finally lifted her head, and spoke, realizing that the clear voice that answered was indeed her own. “I do.”

     “Very well,” the kougra spoke. “This concludes the sentencing of Sylvana Gawain. The court is now dismissed.” She raised and slammed her gavel down for the last time. The second the gavel was raised, Elijah and Arya sprinted forward, wrapping their arms around the kyrii in a hug. She felt them lean into her, and she leaned forward in their embrace back.

     “Sylvana,” she heard Elijah whisper. “You are home now, my daughter.”

     Beside the ogrin, tears fell freely from Arya’s eyes, onto Sylvana’s tunic. “Let’s go home.”

     “Mother, Father…” Tears started to form in Sylvana’s eyes once again, but she blinked them away as she hugged the ogrin and blumaroo close to her. Past them, Sylvana could still see the ghosts, and she knew the reason they had not left her. Her mind tracked back to what Gremas said, how she could never fix her past mistakes. They would stay with her for the rest of her life.

     Now, she was given a second chance, by the very land that she had nearly destroyed all those years ago. It was a chance she was not going to waste, and deep down, Sylvana knew it would be quite the task, trying to find the peace that had long evaded her.

     But she wasn't alone. She had her adoptive parents, two neopets who still cared for and loved her despite everything. They helped her regain her will to live then. They helped her then, and Sylvana was sure they would stand by her side no matter what would amass against her.

     Peace would come to her, whether it was soon or a lifetime away. But for now, Sylvana was content working on the farms of her parents once again.

     The End.