Memory and Forgiveness

Immediately After:

“Ah, blood!” Pippa pointed at me. Her ears tilted backward slightly, “Ya got blood on you too! Are ya okay?”

“We had a little disagreement,” I laughed at myself, “that’s all.”

Mina hovered beside me. She took her handkerchief and wiped the blood and sweat away from my brow, “There’s no cut. Good. This isn’t your blood, is it?” I silently shook my head. Her eyes dropped to the blood and fur strewn across the floor, “Oh, god. God, I’m glad you’re both okay.”

“We won,” I muttered. That was the only detail I could muster, not the shape of the fight, nor its conclusion, “I-it’s not his fault. Ms. Snowfox forced him to.”

“Bianca?” Pippa’s tail flicked back and forth, “She was so nice to us.”

Bruno nodded, “She tried to warn us about this before. And, she made me train to control it, too. She knew the DOO was going to force her to do this, but she didn’t stop us from coming here.”

“Did she want this to happen?” Mina breathed slowly.

“Yes,” Bruno clicked his beak, “she’s always wanted me to be best friends with Alice again, like when we were little,” his feathers ruffled as he talked, “she thought this was the only way, I think.”

Pippa ran her hand against the claw marks along the wall, “Did she think this was fair?”

“It’s never been about fair,” I landed quietly on Bruno’s shoulder, letting my legs hang down over the folds of his wing, “if it was, none of this ever would have happened in the first place.”

“If one of you was hurt, I’d have killed her for it,” Mina whispered, “and, I still might.”

“She said she had no choice,” I interjected.

Mina rolled her eyes, “She could just defy the DOO instead of doing exactly what they tell her.”

“The DOO was willing to pull us all into this. They knew the exact room we’d be in, and they sent the one person who could force us to confront that,” Bruno’s talon jittered against the ground. He limped forward, and I couldn’t tell if his leg was broken. “Who knows what they threatened her with. Besides, she was sure we’d be fine.”

“You almost sound content.” Mina pondered. She flew down the hall, “Come on, it’s this way.”

Bruno flicked his wing, blood dripping down his feathers. “I’m doing great.” Pippa put her arm under him and helped him to walk. It would take way too many Dames for him to heal his leg properly. He let out sharp, hissing breaths each time he stepped on it.

“How have you even caught your breath?” My lungs still burned. My wings slumped limply behind me, disinterested in moving at all.

“Even biting myself barely hurt,” he shook his head, “My body feels so strong, almost invincible like that. I don’t know if it’s the curse, or just adrenaline.”

“It has to be the curse,” I leaned against his neck, “I felt plenty of adrenaline.”

“Were you really thinking of killing me?” His feathers ruffled as he talked. He shook, “I guess I was too.”

“You said not to,” I shook my head, “I guess I committed to not at that point.”

“I was inches away from being totally lost,” he dragged himself further down the hall, barely holding himself with Pippa’s support, “next time, go all out.”

Pippa’s tail swished behind her, “Oh, but it wasn’t just Alice being lovey-lovey, right?” She teased, “She wanted to try and save her Dames.”

“Y-yeah…” My shoulders tensed up, “That… That’s right.”

“Stupid,” She giggled, “one lover dramatically dies at the hand of the other! It’s so romantic. You make a terrible Juliet.”

“Pippa, focus on carrying him and not running your mouth,” Mina gritted her teeth.

Pippa’s ears drooped down. She kept walking with her tail slumped against the ground, “She could play Little Red well, too…”

“I thought you stopped writing nursery rhyme fanfiction when you were in third grade,” Bruno snickered.

“What?” Pippa almost dropped him, “I didn’t t-think anyone read that!”

“I-I was making it up. It was just a joke!” Bruno flinched, “I didn’t know you actually wrote something like that.”

“Lots of fairy tales are all about humans for some reason,” Pippa thought back, “Cinderella, Snow White, The Little Mermaid…”

“That one is pretty explicitly not about a human,” I hummed.

“It’s about a beastfolk who wants to be a human. And, it was clearly written by a human too.”

Bruno tilted his head to the side, “And, what about The Three Little Pigs or The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats? There aren’t any humans in those stories at all.”

“Well, yeah,” Pippa clicked her tongue, “but those are meant to be easier to tell little kids. I mean, imagine how a kindergartner would react if you told them a bunch of humans were eaten by a wolf instead of a bunch of goats. Goats are basically meant to be food.”

Mina scoffed, “Mom and Dad never sugarcoated anything. I’ve never heard of any fairy who did. But, Mom also changed Cinderella and Little Red to be fairies instead of humans when she told us.”

“Cinderella died,” I recounted, “The humans at the ball were cruel to her, and then she was caught by a cat. The little glass slipper clattered against the palace floor to be forgotten. Mom told me that version when I was three. Nobody really remembers cat food, not even Prince Charming, she insisted. Snow White died, too, even the kiss of true love couldn’t do anything against poison. The Frog Princess could’t be saved because she had the mind of a frog, and she ate the prince when he tried to kiss her. Mom had a certain sense of humor.”

“I remember seeing the movies the first time,” Mina laughed, “Edward found them at the library and showed them to us. I thought they were so ridiculous.”

“Somehow, Mom’s version of things is worse than actual magic,” I shrugged.

“Not much…” Bruno chirped.

Pippa’s ears turned slightly. “What about Prometheus? What does your mom say happened to him?”

“That’s not exactly a fairy tale,” Bruno’s wing twitched as he reached for a door handle. Pippa grabbed it for him, pulling it open.

Pippa yawned, “What’s the difference? A guy does something magical, then something cool happens. What was it, an eagle slurps up his intestines every morning!” Her fangs hung over her lower lips as she made a cheesy smile.

“I’m surprised that wasn’t my mom’s favorite,” Mina laughed to herself, “what was it?”

“Hansel and Gretel,” I said. Mina led us into a long, concrete hallway. Artificial, white light burned across the room from overhead. The hall turned around a corner at a right angle in the distance. As we approached, white paws padded forward and Ms. Snowfox stopped in front of us.

Mina flew directly toward her, “What did you do?”

Ms. Snowfox’s head perked up, her eyes leveled past Mina. As she saw Bruno she sighed sadly, her body lowered and her tail curled up below her. Then, her eyes caught me. She quickly stood up and straightened herself out, “My direction was to try and stop you. I tried. I’m free of those orders now.”

“Free?” I asked, “Why didn’t you just ignore them, then?”

“You don’t know the kinds of things President Dreammaker is capable of,” her snout wrinkled up. “When she came to find me after you all annoyed her at Site 91, she branded me with a curse. I had complete free will except for one action described in the brand. That was causing Bruno to turn if I ever encountered him while he was outside of Maple. Such a simple, little curse. I didn’t think much of it until you all suddenly thought about leaving. She knew you’d be here as soon as she met you that day.”

Pippa’s tail slumped against the ground. She knelt over and reached her hand out for Ms. Snowfox, “She said she was a very observant woman.”

“I’m not sure how to quantify her,” Ms. Snowfox let Pippa pet her head, “she is more than a woman. I don’t know what she can do with me if I confront her, myself. I can clear the way for you if it comes to that.”

I watched her, “What about my mother?”

“If she’s alive, she’s here somewhere. You’ve figured that out. The DOO knows you’ve figured that out. If they don’t want the representative to be found, it is time to assume the worst.”

Mina looked between Bruno and me, “They’re worn down. Can you take them out. I’ll find my mother.”

“I told you I’d be there to help you save her,” Bruno shook his head.

“You’re in no condition to go on,” Ms. Snowfox, “be honest, Bruno.”

“I never was in any condition to come at all,” he whispered, “I lost control when I transformed. You said I shouldn’t come if I wasn’t in complete control, but I had to go on. I have to go on.”

“I’m staying,” I said firmly.

Mina flew closer to Bruno, “You can’t walk. If there’s another fight, you’ll just be slowing us down.” I flew off his shoulder, hovering before him. I hadn’t taken time to really understand his condition.

Bruno had torn himself apart to distract the monster from pursuing me. His white wing was an unblemished red. His shirt was shredded to pieces. His leg was bent out of shape, long tooth marks scratching through it almost to the bone. A trail of blood followed his footsteps. One of his talons was slashed and bloodied across the top.

I landed on top of his beak, my legs dangling off the side of it. I scooched across it and leaned into his forehead. I kissed him between his feathers, then I picked myself up, flying again. “Bruno, the worst is behind us. Go.”

“I promised you,” He stumbled forward, his leg nearly giving out below him. His voice whimpered, “I promised to save your mother.”

Mina hovered beside him, “I told you that if you saved my mother I’d consider forgiving you. There’s nothing left to consider. Get out of here with your feathers still attached.”

“I…” He looked down at Ms. Snowfox, then again to me. He sniffled, his eyes welling up with tears, “Okay… Alice, I’ll see you when this all is done.” He nodded to Pippa, “I’m going to need you to keep carrying me.”

Pippa blinked, “W-wait, I’m being sent off, too then?”

“I’ll go with you two,” Ms. Snowfox walked up to them, “the DOO won’t stop you if I’m bringing you back to California.”

“I don’t wanna go… I don’t wanna go…” Pippa’s shoulders slumped over, “Mina…”

“He needs you to protect him, now.” Mina shook her head. “Pippa, you’re the best friend I could ask for. I wish I could have you with me all the way. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” She blathered, “Ya promise?”

Mina forced a nod. Ms. Snowfox watched her quietly. She nudged the back of Pippa’s leg with her head, “Come on, let’s leave them to it.” She led Pippa and Bruno forward as they trudged around the corner.

Bruno looked back at me. He stopped just long enough to speak, “Be twice as perfect as you were against me.” Mina and I watched them disappear down the hall. I took a deep breath. I wanted to call out after him, but I did not.

“Pippa has that keycard, how can we open the doors now?” I thought about the terminals.

Mina pulled it out of her pocket. It was a fraction of the size it once was, “I used shrinking magic on it. She was opening every single door we came by when we were looking for you and Bruno. I needed to hold onto it.”

“They must be going back to the stairs,” I muttered, “are we also going that way?”

Mina shook her head, “We may as well see what’s on this level, first.”

“Nothing. Where we came in, it was just a bunch of furniture thrown about. It was a trap.”

“You don’t set a trap where you don’t care about people going,” Mina interjected. We flew down the hall until we found a metal door with a terminal beside it. This was just the first one that we could open.

The terminal beeped as we presented the card, and the door clicked open. Cold air slowly washed out of the room. A light flicked on automatically. The room was blank and white. It looked like a dentist’s office. There was a long, white chair that bent backward with metal tools on a white desk beside it. A harsh lamp flashed down at the chair. “This place keeps getting weirder,” I shivered. The room’s air conditioner raced. An old, bulky computer monitor watched from the corner of the room.

Mina landed on the little, white desk. She rubbed her hands together. “A scalpel, shears, pliers,” she counted out the objects around her, “syringes. These are surgical tools. But, why here?”

“Maybe their agents get hurt.”

“Come on,” Mina flicked her hair, “they’re the DOO. They can just send them to actual hospitals with better tools.”

“Right,” I flew beside her, stopping in front of one of the syringes. I used my whole body to lift it up. What had once been a sheen on its metal tip had become maroon and chalky. “So, what’s this thing for, then?”

“Rusty, probably used. Don’t poke yourself with it,” Mina eyed it. “A used syringe? Why not throw it out? The DOO must be able to afford fresh syringes.”

I carefully set the syringe down, then flew to the computer. The monitor wasn’t plugged into anything, and the dusty tower on the ground below had a large dent in its side. I doubted it could be turned on, even if it had a cord attached to it. The tiny vibrations of me landing on the desk shook the monitor an imperceptible amount and its display flashed to life in a line of green characters ticking across the screen one by one. I looked around its side again to confirm it definitely wasn’t plugged into anything.

The characters continued appearing in a slow order: Good evening. Press any key to continue. I looked around, but there was no keyboard. The letters disappeared as soon as I thought about the keyboard, and more started popping up one and a time: Alice Sparrowbane. Ledoric’s Institute for Callow Heroes (LICH) student. Do you have clearance to use this terminal?

“Is there a keyboard somewhere in here?” I turned to ask Mina.

“What?” She kept examining the medical tools. “I don’t see one.” The monitor displayed the words we spoke aloud in white characters. It flashed for a second, then more bright green letters appeared across its black background.

Unrecognized input. Response required. Enter ‘Y’ or ‘N’

“Yes?” I said quizzically. I knew that I almost definitely didn’t have clearance for anything around here. I needed a stolen keycard to even get into this room. The monitor flashed again.

Processing Request… Access granted by Dir. Archstar. Terminal open.

“What can you do?” I asked the computer.

Unrecognized command. For help, please enter ‘help’ or ‘?’ remember that commands are case sensitive.

“Help?” I shrugged. I didn’t know how to speak a question mark, much less to be worried about whether I was speaking in uppercase or lowercase.

For help with a specific command, please enter ‘help [command]’

“God you’re useless,” I said under my breath. I waited for it to pick up my complaint, but it didn’t. I scratched the back of my head, “tell me about Lady Sparrowbane.”

A green cursor flickered on a blank screen. Nothing printed, and it just sat still for a long moment. I took a deep breath. This is a classified file. Would you like to Proceed? Y/N.

“Yes.”

TOP SECRET:

Representative Lady Sparrowbane.

Arcana Party. California 19th District.

The head non-magical researcher in various magical experiments. Being held for theft of documents related to the breaking of the Veil. Attempted to illegally revive a shut-down research project. Maintained in DOO Site 1 within the 13th basement floor. Visitation only with the confirmation of Dir. Archstar, Sec. Sharp, Pres. Dreammaker. Another message appeared in red letters below it.

Are you satisfied now, Alice? I stayed silent as more letters materialized below it.

I was hoping that boy would kill you again. You were running like a chicken. If you weren’t so pitiful, I’d find you boring to watch instead of amusing.

“Who are you?” I asked the computer. My words appeared in white on the screen. They sat there blinking until the cursor jumped down a line, flashing in red.

I am the hero. I am the Seraph of justice and strength, glue protecting order in a world driving itself to chaos. I am the last thing you want to contend with. Go home silently, and I will let you leave.