#thefallenhero

Mirobelle must have said something... Odette had left him a white rose outside his door. A few people had left notes, despite his request to not.

There isn't much more to say.

He dances the rest of the night, mind flickering between who he imagines is dancing with him.

Galene. Isaac. Galene. Isaac. Galene. Isaac.

He wishes he had either of them in his arms. One more time.

Just one more time, to hold someone in his arms and imagine a life with them.

He wishes for it just one more time.

Darks to lights.... he thinks. Darks to lights. That's how Miro always liked organizing them, at least.

Some clothes can't be folded, such as his armor and a couple formal pieces. Achilles doesn't use that as an opportunity to skip out on smoothing and polishing each wrinkle or scuff. By the time the sun sets, he hangs the last of his armor in place within his closet.

All that's left is the helmet he's hidden under his bed.

The red crest causes dust to fly everywhere over the room, which he quickly fans away before sitting at the ever-so-bare workbench.

His mind seems to work at an exhausted jog as he tries to make it look as presentable as possible. He knows exactly how this day will go, and the next day, and the next day, and the day after that.

There won't be a day after that one.

There's a small knock on his door, jolting Achilles from his thoughts. Standing outside his room is Mirobelle.

".. Monsieur, good evening.." she greets, curtsying slightly. Achilles kneels a bit... he's always struggled to see her as any more than a child. She's never seemed to mind though.

"Good evening, Mirobelle. Can I help you with something?"

"I was... um.... well.... I noticed you're acting different than normal, and I wanted to make sure everything is alright...?"

He pauses.

"I didn't believe anyone noticed."

"I notice many things, Monsieur.... the others have as well. They....."

She looks down, voice growing hushed.

"... they believe you're preparing to go. You aren't actually, though.... r-right...?"

Achilles looks into Mirobelle's eyes.... he feels a muted kind of guilt as she looks up at him. He doesn't want to hurt her like this.... but how can he lie to someone who cares like she does? They came all this way to ensure he was okay....

He's not going to forgive himself for this.

".... I'm afraid they're right. I'm getting ready."

Mirobelle flinches as the words leave his mouth.

"... oh...."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"No, no, it is alright, I... I should have expected that....."

She turns away, covering her eyes with her forearm and shakily exhaling. Achilles looks down reluctantly, as neither speaks a word for a while.

"... hey. I want to show you something you might like."

Miro looks up as Achilles opens his door more, inviting her inside. She can't remember the last time she's been inside here, and the smell and lack of use unnerves her.

Achilles brings Mirobelle to the side of the bed, showing them each neatly folded pile of clothes, the line going from dark to light.

"I know you're really careful about organization. And.. I'm not gonna be wearing any of these anymore, so... thought I might as well do your job for you. And yes, pants are on the bottoms of the piles, shirts are on the top."

Mirobelle stares in silence before bringing a hand up to her mouth, choking out a sob. Without warning, she turns and hugs Achilles tightly.

The hug is full of grief and dread... a dread that spreads into Achilles' mind as well. He makes a mental note to not look into her eyes when he goes.

"I know... I'm sorry. It's gonna be okay though, Mirobelle. Got that...?"

"It's gonna be okay."

He turns over on his side, groaning and curling his fist against the rough cobblestone...

... wait... cobblestone?

He blinks a bit, looking around at the greenery surrounding the path he's laid on.

.... huh. I'll be damned, he thinks, laying his head back down on the stone. In front of him is a familiar, empty stone pedestal that looks far too empty for his liking. It's beautiful, but its bareness takes away from the rest of the courtyard he's found himself in.

As if it's missing something.

Whatever, not his problem.

Achilles pulls himself up, swallowing down a gag. He's gotten pretty good at controlling sick feelings in his stomach, even though they still bring out a cold sweat.

Regardless, he starts to make his way back inside, mind drowsy and grim.

The celebration is over, he thinks. Is there anything else I need to do now...?

As nothing comes to mind, a smile crosses his face. A very grim, very hollow, yet oh-so grateful smile.

It's finally going to be over soon.

Odette knocks on his door, trying to not slam their fists against it like most people normally need to in order to grab his attention from in there.

Achilles doesn't open the door. They knock again, a bit louder. This time, the familiar click and creak sound out from the inside as the door opens and light penetrates the shadows inside.

The two stand nearly face to face as he looks up at them and slowly blinks, expression void as ever. Odette crosses their arms.

"Yume's garden is missing. She is distraught and currently looking everywhere for it.... And you, as you were the last to accompany her. Hexe destroyed the garden, yes?"

He nods.

"Do you know where it is?"

Achilles hesitates before opening up the door more and stepping aside.

Odette steps into the room; this is probably their third least favorite room, given the tower it's in and how closely it resembles the dungeon. His bed looks like it's been made but slept on top of for years. There's dust covering the few pieces of furniture, and the chandelier above is shattered.

The only true source of is the candle on the desk, which flickers gently and reveals flashes of green and pink to Odette. Their eyes widen in surprise.

"After Hexe destroyed it, I figured perhaps I still could fix it for Yume. I used to do that a lot, in the real world," he mutters, walking over to his chair and sitting down. Odette reluctantly follows, the uneven, rocky ground serving awfully for their balance.

Achilles uses a spoon to shovel some dirt up, before placing one of the mini trees back into place and packing the dirt back around it. He covers the patch with a little moss, making sure it fades well into the rest of the ground.... Odette can see sections of the wall where he scraped the moss from.

The two sit in silence as Achilles continues to work... Odette hasn't seen him engage in anything like this since before Hexe, and even then they're sure that back then he would have laughed it off as 'childish' or 'unimportant.'

"Are you just going to watch or are you going to yell at me for what I said to Yume?"

"That was my initial idea, yes. But yelling has never really had an effect on you. By now I am plenty sure you know what you did was wrong and are ashamed."

Achilles nods, a bitter undertone washing through his blank face as Odette sits on the bed..... they note that compared to their own, it feels like wood.

"Truly, I just.... I simply do not understand, and I doubt anyone in this kingdom could. Just because she has the understanding of an adult does not mean you can vent to her as one, she is still a child."

Another silent nod.

"You have been unwilling to tell most about this, in fact as far as I know she and maybe 'her' are the only ones who know. Hexe found out by incident, if I remember correctly. Yet you turn around and tell the one member of the kingdom who you absolutely should NOT be telling any of that stuff! What were you thinking, unloading such weight on a child?"

"........"

"Well???"

"I didn't realize what I did until she left. I got lost in my mind, in the words. It's not an excuse, I understand that, but once I started, I...... I couldn't stop myself."

Odette looks out at the blocked out window, covered by bricks that don't match the rest of the interior.

"I think she heard it as well."

"..... heard what?"

"The sounds."

"What sounds?"

"The sounds of the crash."

As soon as the word 'crash' leaves his mouth, Odette's ears prick to something distant and hollow..... screaming. No.... squealing?

"What was that?" They look around frantically, confused.

"That was one of the sounds," Achilles replies, staring at the almost finished garden in front of him. He sets down his tools and faces Odette.

Odette feels a shiver run down their spine. They hadn't heard a sound like that since they were young...... what was it again, what was it.....

Suddenly they realize.

Tires.

"..... Achilles. Tell me what happened. Tell me now."

"You'll hear all the sounds as well. You won't look at me the same way. It's not pretty."

"I often attempt to refrain from talking about this, but I have experienced many harsh trials in my life, Achilles, that I would say have brought me resilience to hearing of most things. I do not take pride in that, per say, but I know if no one else can listen know, I certainly can. Perhaps it would help you-"

He gives them a skeptical, annoyed glance.

".... alright, maybe it would not help... but it would ensure you are not carrying such a burden fully alone. Someone would understand a bit more."

He's quiet for a long, long time. Odette holds their breath, both hoping and dreading to know this information. Maybe it's much worse than they thought.

"... I don't know where to start."

Their heart skips as they simultaneously sigh a breath of relief. This is actually going to happen.

Achilles speaks up again before Odette can. "You had a family, correct?"

".... I did, yes."

He closes his eyes. "I was getting ready to start one with my wife."

".... you had a wife?"

Achilles nods and looks up at the ceiling, leaning back in his chair. "... Galene. We met at college, and she was my tutor at first. I always was working through life, quickly, feeling like I had to do something.... but not with Galene. The silent moments in each others' company were worth more than the world, more than the galaxy, more than every star in the night sky. Her company settled the waves of thoughts crashing into my mind into calm, elegant seas that were still hardly comparable to her grace and tranquil nature."

He smiles, such a lovesick yet heartbroken grin filling his face. "The day we got married, I sobbed at the altar, watching her walk down the aisle with that shy, loving grin that I always wanted to be the cause of. I wanted to give everything to her, and I worshipped the very ground she walked on and the air she breathed. No amount of words in any language could describe her and the peace she brought to my life."

Odette looks up at the shattered chandelier as Achilles describes Galene..... he talks with more pure love and emotion than he had ever once expressed. She can almost feel that calm presence he spoke so highly of, easing the room around them.

His smile grows more.

"And then...... we found out we were expecting."

Odette's eyes light up, forgetting the heaviness of the situation for a moment. "You were going to have a child?!"

Achilles chuckles, thinking back on the memory fondly.

"I was about your age, 32. Seeing the test and Galene's smile was the second greatest day of my life.... doctors said it would be a miracle if she would be able to have a child. Our praises to the heavens and gods above that day were endless. We were going to be parents. I was going to be a father."

Odette feels their smile grow.... he was married. And a to-be father.

....

Was.

His smile starts to fade. Odette hears something in their ears again.... the low, nostalgic hum of a car.... followed by some faded voices.

"We learned we were going to have a girl... me, Galene, and her sister Maharene, all in the ultrasound room. Maharene was more like me. She was loud and confident and oh so protective of her sister.... a fighter. Never afraid to speak her mind... we fought sometimes, but she ended up being my best friend."

They nod slightly as one of the voices grow clear.

"@;#>@^×, keep your eyes on the road!"

"We were driving home from the clinic where we learned our baby's gender... and I was talking with my friends. They wanted to meet up for drinks and games at our favorite bar that night."

"Were you... calling them?"

"No.... texting."

Odette felt their blood run cold. They had forgotten what texting was until that point.... and also the horrors of what happened when people texted and drove.

They suddenly realize what must have happened. Suddenly, knowing this doesn't feel like such a good idea anymore.

A flash of green passes by in Odette's vision, as Achilles closes his eyes. He barely seems to realize they're there anymore, just talking to no one in particular.

"Texting while driving was the one habit Galene couldn't get me to fix, I thought I was a natural. Maharene nearly slapped the phone out of my hand that day. Galene stopped her but kept telling me to get off the phone. I didn't. I kept trying to make plans with my friends."

Odette blinks slowly, and the vision of a car interior down a road fills their mind. The voices are louder and clearer.

"@;#>@^×, get off the damn phone, you almost hit that lady!!!"

"Please, you can message them when you get home, just- please- get off the phone!"

"And I didn't."

The pleading gets louder, as well as the sounds of the car.... Odette feels their breath escape them and mind grow dizzy. They feel like they can't open their eyes, and every direction looks wrong and distorted. Somewhere in the distance, they hear Hexe's taunting laughter.

"I didn't see the intersection. And I didn't notice the red light as I typed out my message."

"HONEY- PLEASE!!!"

"@;#>@^× PAY FUCKING ATTENTION!!!"

Odette sees the shape of a large pickup truck appear from the right side of the vision.... it appears so fast they hardly have time to react.

"@;#>@^×!!!!"

*CRASH*

......

.....

....

...

..

.

Odette gasps as the vision vanishes, not realizing they were blocking their right side. It ended right as the truck made contact.... right as the crash rang out. It looked so real. It sounded so real. It felt so real.

Hexe cackles loudly from afar, a bitter sound added to the ringing in their ears. They look over to see Achilles staring straight ahead at the wall, tears rolling down his horrified face.

"The next thing I see is Galene with half her head missing, and her stomach burst open.... something with one of the truck parts stabbed right through her. Her lap was a mess of guts and what I assumed was Halia..... for once, I didn't recognize her."

His voice is low and dry, as if forcing his vocal cords to work.

"I killed everyone in that crash. The driver.... Maharene... Galene and our daughter. Everyone. I was the only one who lived. And I spent half our savings trying to save any one of them.... but they were all dead on impact."

"It led to prison for 8 years. During that time, everyone in our hometown learned of what happened. I lost everything. Everyone left me. My family. My friends. My job. The rest of our savings. Everything and everyone."

Achilles looks down, voice catching on a sob as he stares at his hands.

"They told me to stop. They told me to put it away. It was only a 20-minute drive, I could have waited. But I didn't. I didn't listen."

Odette feels sick to their stomach. They don't have a good response.... how does one even go about responding to such a thing?

"I think she left me in the afterlife.... I don't feel Galene around me anymore. The silence is just.... silence. No comfort. No love. Just a deafening reminder of what I did. Only reason I didn't kill myself and join her was because it all felt too.... easy. I didn't deserve to see my family again like that. I couldn't."

Odette swallows back a cry and whispers, barely audible.

"... how did you... end up here then? You didn't remember anything when you got here, right?"

Achilles somewhat realizes Odette is still listening. He's a bit surprised they're still there.

"No. I heard that one of my coworkers, who died a while back, his son had taken this job and gone missing... heard sketchy things about that company, figured it was time to die and I'd let them choose how to do it. Not like anyone would care if I disappeared. So I went in, faked some things, got the job."

"The day they put the headset on, I was on some pills that fuck with memory for a bit. Guess it fucked with the headset too.... 'cause I was back to how I was. And I couldn't remember a damn thing."

Odette nods. They remember how Achilles used to be..... bold, brave, loud, confident, cocky... some would even say a bit insufferable. He still played his role of "hero" perfectly, helping people however they needed and not resting until the job was complete. He and Icia shared that sentiment with each other.

"How did you remember...? Was it because of Hexe?"

"No. Dunite."

Odette's quiet for a moment.

".... Dunite?"

"I was curious to know. Everyone was talking about their old lives and... I couldn't remember any of mine. So I asked if she could do something about it.... she could. And she did. Remembering everything all at once was probably worse than any punishment Hexe could dish out."

"I've tried every way under the sun to undo that spell. You've seen the extremes I've resorted to." He stares at his wrists, faded scars along the length of his forearms. "Though, now that you know, can you really blame me...? You'd want to die too if you were forever subjected to remembering the worst mistake of your life, over and over, every minute of every day. You stop fearing seeing your victims in heaven and just want to go to your punishment in hell."

Achilles stares ahead, tears falling onto the greenery of the garden. All the emotion is completely overwhelming him, talking about such an event in depth after so long of keeping silent.

"Every day... every hour... every minute.... every second. I just remember it all and ask myself why. Why didn't I listen...? Why did I think it'd be fine...?"

"Why did I do it....?"

Odette says nothing.

Achilles adds the finishing touches to the restored garden. "Look... I'm not sorry for hiding this, but I am sorry for letting it spiral into this. Yume didn't deserve to hear all of that..... neither did you, although you were persistent. I wish you weren't, It doesn't benefit anyone in any way..... though, I suppose someone understanding a little more makes this kingdom feel a little more like something of a home again. A little less foreign and cold.... even if that's really all this place is now.

"......."

He picks up the garden and turns in Odette's direction without looking up at them. "You should probably bring this back to Yume now...... she didn't deserve to hear all of that. She's a child. Doesn't matter her maturity.... I shouldn't have told her any of that, and I'm hoping this can serve as something of an apology to her. She'll probably know that it was me. She always knows."

He finally looks up at Odette. They're staring at him with the widest, most heartbroken eyes he's ever seen on another person, face stained with blackish tears that soak into their shaking hands folded in their lap. They shake as they swallow a little, trying to hide the sheer devastation on their face. It's a sight that catches Achilles very, very off guard.

"..... Ode...?"

They glance away and wipe their tears with a hand, taking a few shaky breaths and nodding.

"... I'm alright."

"... No, you're not. Don't hide it. No one is okay just... hearing all that. Especially when they see and hear exactly what I'm talking about."

They look back up at him, fresh tears taking their place down their face. Achilles gives them a grief-filled smile. A smile of no happiness, no joy.... simply hollow, dead, unending pain and grief.

"..... I'm so sorry, Achilles. I'm so sorry for you and your wife and y-your daughter and...." They try to continue before their voice catches on a sob, and Achilles holds up a hand.

He shakes his head. "Be sorry for them.... not for me. It's my burden. This is...." He lowers his head, tears lightly plinking against the stone ground. "This is my fault, and my consequence. It doesn't make up for what I did... but if I can't get them back, what's the point of trying to make it better....? It won't get better. I've accepted that. You should, too... being sad over me won't make a difference. Just gives you one more thing to worry about."

He offers them a hand, and after a few seconds, they take it and stand uneasily. Achilles carefully places the fixed garden in their arms.

"Bring this to Yume.... she'll appreciate it."

"... what about you?"

"I'll do what I always do. Like I said, talking about this doesn't make it better for me. Just makes the memories a bit louder," he replies.

They nod and look down at the garden.... it looks good as new. Even the fish are alright and happy.

".... are you going to be alright?"

".... in due time, yes. Will you...?"

"I suppose as okay as I can be." He still has tears slowly rolling down his face. "Go see Yume now.... she's probably looking for you. And one more thing.... please don't tell anyone. This is one bit of gossip I don't want getting to Mirobelle and the twins."

They nod slightly; not that they would even think of letting such a private, horrifying secret reach anyone else's ears. After a few seconds, Odette sets the garden on the bed and approaches Achilles, pulling him into a hug.

He noticeable freezes in their arms as a choked sob escapes their lips.... the hug only lasts a few seconds before they pull back and attempt to smile at him.... it's more like a grimace.

".... farewell for now, Achilles. T-thank you for this talk... I... I hope to see you again soon."

They pick up the garden once more and walk out of the room, desperately trying to stop their tears as the light from the hallway almost blinds them.

Achilles just stares at the open door for a few seconds before looking down at the ground.

A small chuckle escapes his mouth.

It turns into heavy laughter.

And then melts into agonizing, mournful sobs as he falls to his knees, the blunt force of memories whaling on his mind.

(I'm sorry... I'm sorry..... I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so fucking sorry....)

Achilles continues to wail out for his lost family, alone in his room, wishing for nothing more than to undo what was done or pay the cost for it with his life.

A price he will never be able to pay.

Really? Well, how long has it been since you've seen the beach?

-@gumball-m4chine

kingdom characters, you’re doing great, we all adore you, you’re doing a wonderful job even despite your circumstances, you’re all lovely people no matter what Hexe says. Keep it up!

except you, Slyn.

Oh- I... your kind words are very much appreciated...

Hah, thanks pal! We do our best!

Hehehehe, thanks!

... thank you- that's really nice of you to say-

He's blushing, hehe.

SHUSH!!!

Oh- merci, thank you...! We do try our hardest around the castle...

..... thanks?

The dungeon doors opening. Slyn looked up, shielding his eyes from the light. He hadn't moved from the spot Icia left him in, too exhausted and and grieved to try and get familiar with his prison.

A familiar voice pierced the air.

"I'm assuming Icia told you everything."

He bared his teeth, glaring at Achilles' silhouette.

"She didn't need to tell me shit. I saw it all."

"Then you saw how Hexe was finally killed. And how Ramiro was killed along with her."

"SHUT UP. STOP... TALKING ABOUT IT."

There's a moment of silence, only filled by stifled cries from the smaller of the men.

"Look, Slyn. I'm not here to scold you. Icia's already done that, and she'll do it more... so will everyone else. I'm just here to say bye."

Slyn paused.

"... what?"

"Raina's removing everyone's curses. Which means by the time you're freed, if you ever are, I'll be gone."

Achilles' voice was almost grateful, knowing he'd be gone soon. "I just have one question, though.... for years, you made it clear I didn't matter. And then suddenly, you seemed to care these last few weeks.... at least, more than before. Why?"

"None of your fucking business, I don't."

"Are you sure that's how you want this goodbye to go?"

".............. I don't care about you," Slyn whispered, turning away.

Achilles sighed. "I never thought I'd admit this. But you're a really terrible liar when you're miserable. But fine."

"Guess this is goodbye, then. Enjoy rotting for everything you did to the kingdom. I hope you regret it all." He got up and turned to leave.

".... I hope you reunite with your wife and daughter."

Achilles paused. Of course. It was Slyn who heard that conversation with Odette. Of course it was fucking Slyn.

..... but the slight hints of sympathy now made sense at least.

".... Yeah. I can't wait to see them again."

".... Good luck, Slyn. With whatever becomes of you."

Achilles left, and the dungeon closed once again. Slyn curled up on the ground in misery.

[New tags below]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Man... end of an era.

Until Achilles passes, he will be open for asks. Once he does, this blog will mainly be Slyn.

Here are yalls tags until the new pinned post is made:

Asks: #askthefallen

Achilles RP: #thefallenhero

Slyn RP: #slitheringredemption