Miss Midnight

Epilogue: Only You

Epilogue: Only You

Charlotte's final words echoed in Aquamarine's mind. They looped over and over like a broken record. That was the only thing he allowed to give himself credit for. At least he had given his Master some solace before he took her life. The worst thing was, while Charlotte shivered and cried, suffering in her death throes as he swallowed her whole...he enjoyed it. He took great pleasure in savoring her last moments, even as his soul wailed in despair. He was a Changeling, after all. There was no controlling his instincts. Despite his undying devotion to his Master, under the surface...he remained a beast. He was caught between a bizarre median of pleasure and pain...and that memory constantly haunted him.

Even now, he couldn't describe why he felt so different about Miss Midnight. Over the centuries, he had cut down innumerable humans like threshes of wheat. He devoured many of the past witches he served without a shred of remorse. Yes, they were often Witches of Dark, and several of them were cruel and wicked, but still...any of them could have very well been Charlotte Sakura.

He had heard rumors, that when Changelings or other fairies spent enough time among humans, their odd traits would thin out, to the point where even the fairy would forget that he or she was not human. Unfortunately for him, his beastly nature brimming just below the surface constantly reminded him of what he was. He supposed that his time with the witch had given him some semblance of a soul.

He wandered through the shattered streets of Tobari City, alone. Saki hadn't kept his promise. He blamed Aqua for what happened to Miss Midnight...and he vanished into the Otherworld. Not that Aqua was complaining. He had never been particularly fond of the loud-mouthed Sugardancer. He cared for Charlotte just as much as Saki did, and for him to act like that...it was just childish. Aqua had no tolerance for childish people. It was somewhat ironic, since Charlotte had been very childish herself...but that didn't matter to him.

The Changeling hung his head, his shoes shuffling against the cracked concrete with every step he took. After casting that spell with Charlotte, then stealing her life only minutes later,

his energy was spent. He lost his monstrous visage, reverting back to his diminiutive form as a butler in a tattered tailcoat. Despite that, his mere appearance sang out above the sea of destruction. He gained sharp looks from passersby.

He strode past a mother and child. "I saw it, Mommy!" the boy said. "Before the earthquake stopped, there was a witch flying in the sky! She had really pretty wings and a big wand! She saved us from the monster!"

"That's lovely, Honey," the mother replied, doing a terrible job of pretending to take her son seriously. "You have a good imagination, huh?"

Of course. Anything that humans couldn't prove through science or some other means, they shot it down as fantasy, a fiction that only unknowing children would believe. Aqua wondered if the boy possessed the Sight. If he did, that child was sure to inherit a life of misery, just as his own witch did. Despair was the only fate that awaited magic users in this world.

He passed by the ruins of Hope's Peak Hospital, where all of the patients were in the process of being transferred to the neighboring Kotobuki City. He noticed a silver-haired woman with the same scent as Miss Patissiere. Miyu had vaguely told him about Mariko Takahashi's mother, how the girl gave up her own life just to heal her. Aside from her hair, there was no sign that she had even been ill to begin with. She walked around and even helped carry supplies without a hint of fatigue. At least Mariko got her wish. He wondered when her mother would finally realized that her daughter had vanished into thin air. Or, to be correct, burned to ash. Just like Kirsten, Miyu, and Charlotte...she would forever be considered a missing person.

It wasn't their fault that they didn't have the Sight, or didn't know that witches existed, but still...he couldn't help but see all of these people as ungrateful. They thought it was an earthquake or some other nonsense, without knowing a thing about everyone who died to save them. At last, the conversation with Kirsten Oriko he overheard made sense. Soon, it would be as though none of this had ever happened. Charlotte Sakura would be forgotten by everyone, even her own parents.

He should have stopped her. He should have done more to protect her. But if he had...would it have changed anything? He clutched at his chest. Aqua could still sense Charlotte stirring within him. But in a couple days, his body would fully claim her soul, and that too would be no more.

An array of fairies stalked the streets, oblivious to the blind public. Pixies, elves, and even goblins shrunk away from the Changeling in fear. Of course, the seeds of his infamous reputation had been sown across the Otherworld. That was all he would ever be known as- a monster.

Even though Merope had been defeated, there would still be darkness and curses. The world could never be saved from an endless loop of sadness and hatred. After all, it was human emotion that created the gods...and the demons. It was the origin of everything. But even so, it was the place his Master fought to protect.

Aquamarine reached the rural, disheveled outskirts of the city, where he strode into the sea of trees known as Bramblethorn Forest. He raised his hand, his clawed fingernails shining a lurid purple. The space around him shifted and distorted, the fabric of space-time bending as the apparent realm was torn open, creating a direct path to the Otherworld. He glanced down at the cracked Brooch of Spells pinned to his breast pocket and continued on, taking Charlotte Sakura with him.

"Do not be afraid, Master. I will never forget you. With this, we will never be apart. From now on...you are not alone."

The End...

September 21st, 2018.

25-15-21 1-18-5 14-15-20 1-12-15-14-5

Copyright (C) Alexandria Francetic 2018