H A Z E

by Bandy

Chapter 40

A contingent of legionaries from the senate-loyal fourth legion holed up in the colosseum to make their final stand. The fighting was desperate and frightening and loud. No matter where in the house Girasole went, she couldn’t escape the sound of clashing swords.

The whole city was cursed. Build a palace to violence, and violence is what you’ll get.

Girasole and Celiah were in the kitchen cooking dinner and trying to appear normal for the girls when they heard hoofsteps on the second floor.

The two mares shared a nervous glance. The girls were all downstairs.

Celiah slowly reached for the knife she kept in her bodice. Girasole picked up the knife she’d been using to chop vegetables. She didn’t know if it was sharp enough to cut a pony, but nonetheless she held it in front of her until her hooves turned white.

The matriarchs watched the stairwell as a single intruder descended. Her fur was a deep shade of blue. Scars like fine lace draped across her flanks. Her once-shaved mane had just started to sprout fuzz. A pearlescent shawl framed her sunken eyes.

The intruder stopped at the edge of the kitchen. Dead silence enveloped the room. Distant sounds of swordfighting rang in the air.

Girasole took a step forward. The blue mare nudged the slip guard from a scabbard on her shoulder and shook her head.

“You can’t intimidate us.” Girasole stepped in front of Celiah. “These ponies are under my protection. Senator Giesu’s protection.”

Celiah whispered, “Wah di rass.” Her face went pale as a shroud. She set the knife down on the kitchen table and started walking towards the intruder.

Girasole blinked. Had Celiah lost her mind?

“You look so much older,” Celiah said. Her hard gaze melted into a soft smile. “I haven’t seen you since... since... wah di rass, since you were half as tall as--.”

Celiah’s knees buckled. The intruder and Girasole rushed to her side at the same time. The standoff disintegrated.

“Bax cova,” Celiah wailed. “All this.. all this...” She wrapped her arms around the intruder and squeezed with all her might. “It’s a miracle. Miracle child, miracle...” Her words disintegrated into sobs.

Girasole pulled back. The gears in her mind spun, connecting the dots, completing the picture. “You’re...”

Blue touched her hoof to Celiah’s lips, imploring her to keep her voice down. Celiah let out a laugh and nudged the hoof away with her nose. “I can’t stay quiet. Look at you.” Her eyes took her in. “You’re so beautiful.”

Blue let Celiah embrace her and cry on her shoulder for a moment longer. Then she helped the older zebra to her hooves. Blue nodded first to Celiah, then to the door.

Celiah understood. She glanced at Girasole. Her face sagged with ten years of undue burdens. “Don’t ask me to do something I can’t, child. I’m an old mare. I’ll slow you down.”

Blue tapped Celiah on the chest, then touched her own. Then she motioned again towards the door. Something changed in Celiah’s eyes. A look Girasole had never seen before spread across the old zebra’s face, a glow that had no start and no end. A glow that came from everywhere all at once.

All at once, Girasole understood what Blue’s gestures meant. “Celiah,” she said in a firm voice, “don’t.”

The zebra went rigid. She looked at Girasole, but didn’t speak.

“You have obligations. And she’s a fugitive. Don’t be hasty.”

All at once, the zebra mare’s eyes ignited. “Don’t be hasty,” she sneered, the long-dead accent slipping into her voice. “Shall I stay forever? Finish dinner? Shall I pirouette?”

Blue stepped between the two mares and slipped her sword out of its sheath. The sight of polished metal made Girasole freeze in her tracks.

Celiah leapt across the kitchen and grabbed a saddlebag. She proceeded to ransack the kitchen, taking everything that could keep without refrigeration spells.

Girasole kept her eyes locked on Blue, doing her best to ignore the glittering sword. “Don’t think this is the first time I’ve had something sharp pointed at me,” she said. “Don’t--”

From downstairs came the sound of young mares giggling. Blue’s eyes flashed to the stairs for a fraction of a second.

Girasole sprang into action. She leapt back to the counter and grabbed her knife. In another instant she had positioned herself between Blue and the stairwell. Her knees ached and her arthritis raged in her joints, but she stood her ground, as fierce and firm as any Derechan legionary. Her eyes were wide. Try, they said.

The standoff lasted all of five seconds. Once it became clear Girasole wouldn’t attack first, Blue sheathed her sword. Together with Celiah, they backed towards the door.

A sudden pang of loneliness pinged through Girasole. She could hear the swords again, the distant wail of metal. “Wait,” she said. “Don’t go.”

Blue stopped.

“I’m sorry,” Girasole said. The knife trembled in her hooves. She gripped it for dear life. Why? What was the point? “I tried to stop him.”

Blue didn’t move. She didn’t even blink.

“He never touched another one of your sisters after you left. I made sure of it.”

Blue nodded slowly. Then she took Celiah’s hoof and left out the front door.

Author's Note:

I've gone ahead and reorganized/split up the final chapter into three parts. That means only three more chapters to go! We're in the home stretch bby

Comments

[hehelover]

This would probably have gone smoother if Blue could tell them that Giesu's dead. Then again, if her tongue hadn't been but off, much of this story wouldn't have happened. At least it didn't go badly.

[Jarvy Jared]

Interesting decision to split the last chapter up - but I suppose this lets us stay with our cast just a little bit longer. Looking forward to reaching the end!