//------------------------------// // Contrite // Story: Binding of Isaac: Beyond // by IAmNotSmartest //------------------------------// *Luna crashed awake the moment the light faded. She stumbled to her fours from the limp trance she’d held up until that point, heart racing. She’d just been outright evicted from his mind. And she wasn’t entirely sure how. She used a spell, but not an escape spell. The raging child… she wasn’t sure he had ever touched her. The only other thing that occurred was that chest, then the flash. A power great enough to expel her from her domain… such a power was, as much of her experiences with Isaac, unprecedented. Nothing about him added up, nothing made sense, he was an anomaly, but… He was not a danger. Her suspicions had led her astray. All that effort to find evidence of his folly had led to yet another of her own. He had been innocent- strange, but blameless for what had transpired. She- the protector of innocent lives- had persecuted, threatened, and nearly murdered him. And only on the fallacious suspicion she held, that she may be saving others. She only hurt more. Isaac was not the monster. And yet she had only made it clearer she was. Once again she had failed to protect the peace. How badly she had failed. Her dearth of compassion left her bereft of all but obsession. To protect her kind, she had ignored his plight. How wretched she felt. How hollow. She snapped her attention away from her own mind. No. She would not yield to self pity. Luna walked over to the window. Dawn streamed in, but even the light of her sister’s sun was unable to relieve her of the shame clutching her heart. This abject depravity was well deserved, but Luna could not simply let it be suppressed in tense silence. She knew this lesson well. Enough. She breathed, in, out. In, out. She would make amends, The Night Princess vowed silently. She would find a way to make it up to the boy. Somehow. Her thoughts drifted to the treasure chest that had opened. All the children had been incredibly adamant that she not get near it- and it was quite obvious something had happened when she did. Not only that, but it wasn’t as if the children were worried for the box- rather, it almost had come off as them being afraid for her. The raging child had mentioned her presence widening the gate. Had the chest itself been a danger, the gate he spoke of? Had she been in danger by nearing it? Mortified, she began to consider what else may pass through, if the last beast was but a glimpse of what may come. If larger creatures, more dangerous ones arrived- what then? She may have committed far worse of a crime than she had imagined. She may have not only fallen on false suspicions, but now endangered her ponies again. So many would fall, so many would suffer, and it would all be her doing, her fault, her failings, her crimes- The Princess stopped. Stopped cold. Focused on nothing. Steeled herself. She could not afford to be weak. To give into her fears of failings. Not now. Not ever. Luna gave a frustrated sigh, and turned back to her study. Too headstrong, she had been. Too arrogant. She should have complied, asked the children, sought information through trust, not defiance. She knew not how she could speak to them again; she would not dare return in such a fashion. As she began tidying the resulting mess her collapse had caused, she considered alternatives. Perhaps she could inquire of them through Isaac himself. If they had been of the same mind once, he may know of the chest they had been guarding. Assuming he would talk to her once she admitted her unwarranted invasion of his mind. She paused. Should she tell him? Anyone? Would it be wise? It would serve only to demonize herself, and sow distrust and disdain among her friends. And she could not be certain that the child would forgive her. She wouldn’t, in his position. But how else could she learn more of the danger to come? No. She could not reveal her indiscretion. The only effects would be negative, and likely outweigh the lottery that is the chance he knows anything. They had said he’d not spoken with them in some time- perhaps he knew not of them anymore. Whatever may come of it, she would handle it. She must. It was her duty to protect the innocent, and she needed to correct her errors on her own. Luna slotted the final book into it’s place on the shelf, and left her study to complete her final duties of her night.