Blood and Apples: An Annora Park Novel: Book One

Chapter Forty-One: Mindfully Mended, Beautifully Broken

    I'm standing in an honest to God dungeon. This isn't like Branuel Or De A'lanuel's throne room—cold, sinister, dark, creepy and dungeon-like, no, this is an actual dungeon dungeon. Instruments of torture line the walls along with hanging manacles and chains. I take everything in, and continue to pet Bento, taking comfort in his soft purrs and warm body.
"Uhmmm...we are soooo not there yet, big baddie king," I mutter, but then I see it, as my eyes adjust to the dim light, there's a thin mattress in the far corner. I walk slowly over and sure enough laying on the mattress covered in nothing but a thin shift is the bitch healer Amira. She looks horrific, and it takes everything in me not to flinch at her appearance. The flesh on her face is gone in patches, and her thin shift is stained with blood, some new some old. And her once glorious, lustrous, long hair has been shorn, until it's now nothing but a layer of peach fuzz against her scalp.
"Amira has agreed..." Branuel Or De A'lanuel purrs, "...she has agreed to heal you, and reverse what she has done to you."
"Uhmmm yeah, that would be good, really good..." I look at him, my eyes I know swimming with concern I can't mask. "Is she...uh...is she up for this?"
   "She has no choice in the matter," Chamuel said coldly.
"I am perfectly capable of healing you, slut thu," she spits out, her voice hoarse and raspy.
My eyes pop open and I look back to her. "Who the fuck are you calling a slut, you slut!"
"Oooohhhh Amira, Amira...it seems that Yuriel's tender care, and mine have not taken the insolence out of you...but do not worry, once you have healed my midnight queen, we will relieve you of your suffering...permanently...actually that job will be for my midnight queen, since your actions harmed her, she has precedence over me, to mete out justice. Go to her my beautiful queen," and I see how even those few words shoot daggers through her heart. Even now, lying like this, she loves him. It makes my hatred ebb and leak out a bit...for how is it not possible to pity such a pitiful creature?
    I walk over to the thin palette and kneel down.
"Tha gràin agam ort leis a h-uile snàithleach a th 'annam. Bidh mi a 'dèanamh seo airson an duine as fheàrr leam. Bidh mi a 'dèanamh seo oir tha fios agam gum feum mi. Ach tha mi gad bhrath."
The words come easily to my mind; I hate you. I do this for the man that I love. I do this for I know I must. But I detest you.
I laugh and snort. "Right back atcha bitch! I hate you too, with a burning passion and fire that scorches my soul. You have about destroyed my best friend and you've made me a blubbering mess on more than one occasion. And that IS NOT ME! So yeah, I hate you. Now fucking fix me and then we don't ever have to see one another again," And I notice that with my last words she blanches going completely white and scarily pale.
"Lean over, I must put my hands on you."
"Yeah you said that last time you bitch, and look what fucking happened."
"Do you, or do you not wish to be fixed?"
I sigh, and lean over, and Amira puts both hands on my chest, I'm instantly seared by soaring burning heat. It spreads violently throughout my body and causes me to stumble back on a gasp.
"Are you all right, my darling one?" Branuel Or De A'lanuel gently cradles me in his arms, and I watch as tears course down Amira's face.
I search inside me for the stone...for the pain...for the hopelessness and anger that has raged within me for days and find that it's no longer there. I take a deep breath, and smile a genuine smile. "I...I...I think I am, Branuel," I murmur.
"Oh, my midnight queen," He wraps his arms around me and then suddenly something is being pressed into my hands. I look down to see the cold metal of a dagger in my lap. I blink, and blink again.
"What?" I say, confused.
"It is as I said. You are healed, it is your kill for it is you who was wounded and so grievously treated so ill."
"Wait...I'm sorry...are you telling me you want me to kill her, like right now? Like as she's lying there...looking like, like, that?"
"How does what she looks like have anything do with getting your justice."
I swallow and shake my head. I move out of his embrace and turn in his arms so I can stare into his eyes. "Branuel, I can't just kill her."
"Of course you can. I will even let you keep whichever parts you wish. You may gift them to your War Lak for his collection. Although I must say, from what I have seen, his collection is already very impressive."
"No. No Branuel, it would be murder?"
"You've murdered many times before?"
    How to get him to understand? It's true there were moments where I wished she was dead. Times where the pain was so great and the grief so strong that I wished her six feet under...but those moments had always passed. She was a sad, pathetic, pitiful thing, and I didn't kill sad, pathetic pitiful things in cold blood. Hell this girl couldn't defend herself and even if she was strong enough to, I wasn't sure she would even be able to, it didn't look like she had ever picked up a blade before in her life.
"Branuel I've murdered when justice has called for it."
"Justice calls for it. She harmed you. She hurt you. Were you not torn up about your human sheep partner?"
    I let that human sheep phrase slide because I had to get him to understand before he decided to take matters out of my hand and just do it himself.
"Yes, I was really upset about Garrett. But now that I'm better, Garrett will be better too, won't he?" I look toward Amira and she's nodding.
"Whoever was effected through you will go back to how they were before the spell was put upon you." She says quietly, tears still coursing down her shredded face.
I nod. I thought so, I turn back to Branuel. "Okay so this wouldn't be justice, Branuel, this would simply be murder, and I don't do cold-blooded murder."
Branuel's mouth drops open, and when I cast a quick look over at Amira, she too is staring, eyes shot wide and mouth dropped wide open,
"You would give up your justice."
"Again, not justice, murder, cold blooded murder. Yes, I will not kill her, Branuel. It looks as if she has suffered enough."
"Not nearly enough for what she wrought upon you!" He shouts and both Amira and I flinch. He's really pissed. "NOT NEARLY ENOUGH! She brought you to your knees, my beautiful strong, resilient queen, she brought you to your knees.  And she..." His eyes swirl dangerously, angrily, "...she tried to tear us apart.  She tried to sever our bonds, my beloved midnight queen.  How am I supposed to allow that to pass? My people would see me as weak."
   "No, Branuel," I take his hands in mine.  "You said that this was my kill.  That I took precedent over you.  And I choose to grant her mercy.  Showing mercy isn't a weakness Branuel, it is a strength, for think how hard it is to show mercy in the face of such hatred and horror wrought against you." I bring his hands to my lips and kiss his knuckles. He seems to startle at the tender gesture and then a giant smile crosses his face.
"That...that...is surprisingly lovely..."
I smile. "What? A kiss to your hand?"
"Yes, so soft...sweet...tender. I do none of these things, mo bhanrigh làidir meadhan-oidhche. I am none of these things, and I have never thought such...softness would, move me. And yet here you are, placing sweet kisses upon my hands and I'm ready to give you the world if you ask it of me."
   I smile at him,  "I don't want the world, I merely wish you to allow me to gift her, her life."
   Branuel sighs.  "Know that I would do this for no one else, mo bhanrigh làidir meadhan-oidhche, only for you, just for you.  And now..." Branuel glares at Amira... "...Amira you owe her a debt."
   Amira is still crying but there is a fire in her eyes, an angry fire.  She nods her head slightly.  "I know, Branuel, I mean...my king." She then turns those fire lit eyes to me.  "I still hate you.  But I do owe you a debt, my...queen," And it's like she swallowed battery acid to get the words out.
   "No listen you don't—"
   "—YES!" Branuel says strongly.  "In this you have no choice my darling midnight queen.  For the gift you have given her, she owes you a debt, a life debt.  She is indebted to you for the remainder of her life, and she will also never be able to do you any more harm, she physically shall not be able to.  A life debt is binding.  She is in essence, yours."
   I'm not sure I like the sound of that.  "Uhmmm I'm not really into slavery, Branuel."
   "It can be whatever you choose it to be.  If you choose slavery, slavery it shall be.  If you choose to call her in at at time of your need, she MUST come immediately, it is part of her life debt."
   "Okay the second option sounds much much better to me," I say, and swallow.  "Yeah, I don't need a...uh...slave."
   "I believe it is no less than she deserves for what she did to you, but if you have no wish for her servitude, than you shall not have it."
   I nod.  "Okay, listen, can we get outta here.  I wanna check up on the guys and well...I don't really want to spend anymore time in here."
   "Do you see my king...she will never understand your needs..." Amira murmurs.
Sheesh, even in this state she was still TRYING.
   "Just shut the fuck up, bitch.  Listen I saved your fucking life, so the least you could do is be quiet and show some fucking gratitude."
   "I..." Amira swallows, "I...I...am grateful for my life.  But I told you, my...my..." and her face takes on a look of great distaste, "...my queen...I do not like you.  I will never like you.  And I shall forever believe you will not be able to satisfy or make our King happy."
   I snort.  "Well I'm going to love proving you wrong, bitch," I grab Branuel's hand and pull him up.  "Now let's get outta here, frankly the company stinks."
   "Quite right, my midnight queen, quite right," And we disappear.

   "So yup, no need to worry about us.  We just hung out in this creepy hall singing songs from Labyrinth," Walker says with a grin.
   I roll my eyes.  "You so did not sing songs from Labyrinth."
   Walker nods, "Oh baby girl, I so did.  I had to try teach those two, but I have to say, they weren't as into it as I had hoped."
   I laugh so hard.  Just the thought of the three of them singing David Bowie's Labyrinth songs had me in stitches.  "Can't believe I missed that! Sounds like you had a lot more fun than I did, though, trust me."
   "But..." Terrenel looks hopefully, "You were successful, my beautiful one?"
   I nod shyly.  "Yes.  I, we, were successful.  Nasty little healer took away the spell.  No more horrible heaviness in my chest." I put my hand over my heart and smile.  "I feel good, in fact, I feel better than good.  I feel better than I have in days."  I look at all of them.  "Now we really need to get back to Earth.  I need to check on Garrrett, no, no, stop not because I have any feelings for him.  I just need to make sure he's no longer coo-coo for coco puffs, ya know..."
   "He was coo-coo for you, not coco puffs, darling girl," Walker says, smirking.
   I sigh.  "Well, I need to make sure he's back in his right mind.  And," I gulp, "I need to know if we can still work together.  Because well...if we can't, that's going to open up a whole  n'other barrel of monkeys."
   "Why would you open a barrel of monkeys? Are they pets?" Terrenel asks.  And I laugh.
   "No, it's just an expression, just means things will be more difficult for me.  So come on, Portal us back home so I can get this shit sorted out.  Plus, we have to figure out who is helping your nephew, Branuel."
   "We will, my midnight queen.  They cannot hide forever."
   I didn't want to say it, but even just one more day that they hid was too many in my book.  No! We needed to stop this, and we needed to stop it NOW!.