Only Human: Before and After

Chapter 139: Lannister Fleet

I'd like to thank my commentors! I look forward to reading them after every post, and they help me understand the reader's perspective. A shout out to my commentors on the last chapter:

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-Lucinda Croft

Change of POV

I carefully watched my Amorita. She had danced around me, and even with how she was trying desperately to prove that she was wrong for me, I still found her beautiful. Her honey eyes shone as bright as the moon, and her auburn hair glistened in the light of the elven crystals I used to illuminate the lake and gazebo.

I knew that she was smart, yet I still was floored with how well she argued her point. It was an idea that no one dared entertain. Angels and demons. That was the war we inherited from our ancestors. You chose a side and you aligned yourself with species or other beings that chose the same side. Anyone on the other side was our enemy, and we were to despise our enemies. Those that proved loyal and useful were awarded by their patron, be it angel or demon. It was a tale as old as time, and a truth that was accepted as fact, but June asked why. She wanted to know why we were being used in this battle that really had nothing to do with us After Realm beings, and truthfully I had no idea.

When my destined one suggested that the angels would destroy the After Realm when we first met, I thought it was naïve paranoia. Now that I knew June, I knew that she was level-headed and calculating with everything but herself. There was a bitter taste of betrayal at the thought that the angels my fellow unicorns and myself admired and emulated were acting in self-interest, but I couldn't deny that I have seen angels do this before. An angel will abandon a host in the heat of battle to preserve themselves. They hold a strict hierarchy where the most angelic remain at the top, and the least stay at the bottom. They did not forgive or give second chances. Their obsession with virginity was proof of this. Unicorns were not much different, and even I was of the same opinion not too long ago. Everything was always dismissed as an act towards the greater good. Looking at the big picture and dismissing the small hurtful actions along the way.

That wasn't June. June showed compassion and forgiveness for all beings. Werewolves, vampires, dryads, their demonic to angelic ratio meant nothing to her. She was righteous and believed in fair treatment above all else, and was only angry with those who wronged her. Even that anger could be assuaged if the person who caused it showed true repentance. She was angelic in all the right places, and yet went against the angels in all the right places as well. If she were not my Amorita, I may never have opened myself to the possibility that the angels could be wrong.

She was right. We After Realm species may not always get along—I will never befriend a mermaid—but we coexist in this balanced world. It is the Before Realm species that are meddling and upsetting that balance. June is suggesting that neither angels nor demons should win this battle. Instead, they just needed to be kept in check. After careful consideration, I agreed. I would be going against my fellow unicorns, my queen, the AFC, and my closest friends, but I would be doing the right thing while standing beside my Amorita. A noble cause with my noble love. Nothing could be knightlier.