Original version posted to twitter 6-10 October 2022. This version has been edited for spelling/grammar/formatting as well as story improvements. Consider this the definitive version.
Long after everything came crashing together and nearly obliterated her, she held onto that memory. One of the few she could keep any grip on.
The Knight lived in a small house by the ruins.
The Ruins were of a bygone age, long since picked clean of anything harmful by scavengers & erosion, and thus a favorite natural playground for the children of the nearby village. Dense pines bordered one side, and the field on the hillside's east face gave a view to the mountains. Often, the knight would come out from her home and watch over the children. Many of the parents of the village felt safer knowing the knight would look over them. The pines were wild and the mountains treacherous, but safety lay where the knight relaxed. The knight gained something from it, too.
"Barely any of them remember the war," she told the postman one day. "Many of them now were born after it ended. At 19 I was already a knight."
She looked out. "They might live without the burdens I carry from it. Only know peace. Someone's got to rebuild the world. I hope it's them. Makes it feel like the weight of my armor's worth it."
It was autumn, with the trees of the foothills aflame with the changing leaves, and corn gone gold and ready for harvest. Today, the children were full of questions. The knight sat in an old beat up Adirondack Chair. She wore high leather boots, beige trousers, leather bracers on her arms, and a flannel blouse halfway buttoned. There was a picnic basket by her side, and a metal flask with a windmill and sunflowers etched one side. Most of the kids kicked a ball around, with makeshift goals in gaps of the ruins. The rest huddled around the chair.
"Are you really a lymnxnm...a lnycyxnz...a...a...a snow cat?" One asked.
The knight laughed. "Lynx. And yes! I am." She pulled an apple from the basket.
"Why's your hair pink?"
"Sometimes people are born with pink hair. I got lucky."
One of the young boys scrunched up his face. "Pink's girly."
"Good thing I'm a girl, then."
"Knights shouldn't be girly."
She snorted. "Yet, here I am. A girly knight. So think again, kid."
"Are you a good knight?" The boy asked.
"They tell me ahm Th' besht." The lynx said through a bite of apple.
"Are you the head knight?"
"They want me to be, but the king says I'm too young."
"You're old tho!" One said.
The knight sat up. "I'm only 26! That's not old!"
the young pup looked down in thought. "You're the best knight...and you're girly..." He looked up, and clenched his fists."...then all knights should be girly!"
The lynx threw her head back and laughed. "It'd do a lot of them good, yeah. You're going places, kid."
Another piped up. "Dad said you live in a ripped torn up house."
"I think he meant 'Victorian'."
"Wassat mean?"
"It's...it's the style, how it looks, what shape they built it. An ancient style of house from where I grew up. They asked me what I wanted. It feels like home."
A teen squirrel stood in the back. "Where are you from, then?"
The lynx smiled and sang:
From The high Plateaus
Where the Sunflowers Grow
And Wind is never still
The gods did cleave
The mountain peaks
For standing 'gainst their will
Oh, cool and stubborn hooommmeeee
"That's a pretty song. Is there more?"
The knight broke a piece off bread from the basket. "Plenty. But there was a time not too long ago where even singing that much was against the law."
"Why are you here? Why not home?" A young turtle asked.
She smiled, but the older ones saw the longing in her eyes. "This is the farthest they'd let me be stationed from the capital."
"Aren't you retired, like nana?"
"No, just not active duty. Still in service to the throne."
"Do you not like the capital?"
The Lynx scrunched up her face in disgust. "No way. Too flat. Too many 'thank you for your service' types. I'd rather be out here until they need me again."
"Auntie says you're a hero."
She snorted. "Sure."
"What was the war like?"
The knight stopped moving. The children before her shifted and shuffled. The knight was silent for a time.
"None of you will ever know what it was like, and I will not tell you. You are lucky. You were born into a world without a war. That may never need it again. Do not ask me about the war."
"I'm sorry for—"
"Let it go." The knight stared at the ground between her legs, hunched over. Her teeth bared a little, then she remembered how young they were, even the teens. They didn't know better. She sighed, Then raised her head up with a smile. "I'm sorry. I think that's enough questions for today. Tell you what, why don't you all go over there, and we'll all play some soccer! Anyone who scores a goal on me gets some food from the basket!"
the kids stared blankly at her. A canine tilted his head.
She buried her face in a paw. "Right, you folk call it football. FOOTBALL! LET'S GO PLAY FOOTBALL!"
All the kids cheered, and ran off to join the others. Only two stayed behind, the squirrel and a small kitten. The Knight leaned forward in her chair.
"What is it, dear?"
"My mom is 27. She had me. Do...do you have a kid?"
The Lynx smiled, and shook her head. "The armor makes it so you can't have kids. Not that I wanted to but....oh no, what's wrong?"
The child teared up. "so if I wanna be a knight, I can't have kids?"
The kid started crying. The Lynx looked up at the older teen. "Who told her that kids come from people? Who told her she should have kids? What the ffffffforgetaboutit?"
The squirrel shrugged, just as bewildered. The knight brought the young cat close and hugged her as she wept. The knight nodded to the squirrel in the direction of the other kids, who were watching.
"It's fine, she's fine, don't worry," the teen said. "Keep playing. We'll be there soon."
Eventually the tears slowed. Finally, the Lynx let the kitten go, and brought a curled finger under the child's chin, tilting her head up to make eye contact.
"Sweet young thing. You don't need to choose now."
"I...I don't?"
The Lynx smiled. "You have your whole life ahead of you, you know that? I became a night because I had to. Because there was a war. Because the world was ending and the only way to stop it was to get up and fight. I didn't get to choose. Didn't realize I could. But the war is over. There may not be a war again, not for a long time. And you could be a mother, and then become a knight! Maybe when you get older you'll realize you don't want to have kids, or that you don't want to be a knight! We change as we age and learn. And not all knights wear the armor. Some never even pick up a sword. So take time. Enjoy life. Enjoy being a kid, being young, soaking up the world around you like a sponge and spraying it back out at every adult in earshot like you've been squeezed. You'e got a whole life ahead of you. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
The kitten looked up. "I want to be like you! Brave and strong and kind!"
The Knight chuckled. "You don't want to be like me."
"She does," the teenager said. She gestured toward the children playing. "All of them do."
"And you?"
"You said the armor makes you sterile?"
"It does. It has to do with how we power them. Exposure to it has some minor effects. That's the biggest one."
The squirrel's eyes went wide. "But I thought that it wa—"
The lynx smiled, put a finger to her lips, and winked. The squirrel nodded. She put a hand on her hip and one to her chin. "Anyway, I think I could make peace with that."
The lynx shook her head. "All so enamored of me. None of you have seen me in armor, or even pick up a sword."
"I've seen you at the caber toss. I've seen you sprint. And all these kids know, even if they don't know how to say it, that you treat them like people when adults don't."
"No one gave me that courtesy 'til I wielded a weapon."
The squirrel waved a hand. "So you get it."
The knight sighed. There was no helping it, was there? "I....just be sure that's what you actually want. Can't go back. Some people realize too late. I was sure. Still am. But you never know when the right boy will come along. Or the right girl."
The kitten looked worried. "My mom says girls aren't allowed to like other girls."
The Knight frowned and leaned back in her chair, grabbing her flask without looking. "Your mother sounds like the king." She unscrewed the cap.
The squirrel said, "My mother says that in an age of rocket ships and towers that scrape the skies there shouldn’t be any kings."
"Ah, but that's treason." The knight turned her head to the side, and took a swig from the flask. Then she saw the panic in the teen's eyes, and quickly turned back. "Listen, she's absolutely right, without question. If you take nothing else from us talking, take that."
She held out the flask. The teen looked at it, then back to her. The knight wiped the rim off, and offered it again. "Mineral water. From a spring up the mountain. I go and fetch it myself with a big barrel. I don't drink."
The squirrel took a sip, then a swig. "Wow, that's good."
"You should taste it cold. I keep the barrel in the deep cellar, with a tap up to the kitchen."
"I...I'd like that."
The lynx smiled and shook her head, taking the flask back. "I'll bet you would. How old are you?"
One of the children ran up to them. "Miss M! Miss M! Someone kicked a ball into the goal and it fell down into the ruins!"
The Knight stood. "Don't worry about it. See that blanket over there? There's some extra balls under there. I'll go fish the other one out later!"
She turned to the kitten. "You okay?"
"I think so. I'm not supposed to talk about what you said, right?"
The knight squatted down to eye level. "About your mother and the king? No. But talk about your future. To anyone who'll listen and everyone who won't. You got that?"
"Yeah!"
"Alright! Get out there!"
The child ran off, tripped, got back up, and joined in the game. The squirrel came up next to the knight.
"So how many soccer balls are down there?"
"Hey now, I do occasionally get some of them back..."
The girl looked at her.
"...but at least a dozen."
They stood watching the kids play a while.
"18, by the way."
"You look younger."
"And I'm tired of hearing it."
"Why do you come out to play, then?"
"Who watches them when you aren't here, do you think? All these broken ships? The pines? The Mountain?"
The sound of a solid kick. Cheering. The knight folded her arms across her chest, then brought a hand up & pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Listen, I could get you into the page program with a word but you have to finish your schooling."
"Already have."
"Well, look at you." The knight sighed, and her shoulders slumped. "We'd need your parents' permission. When do you turn 19?"
"The spring. And parent. My dad's been missing a long time. Just gone one day."
"If he's anything like your mother, I might know why but I don't want to think about it." The knight looked over at her. "Are you really done with school?"
"The principal told me I was a truant and I'd never graduate, so I finished early just to spite him."
The knight smiled, and looked back to the game. "They'd like you back home."
"I'd like to see your home."
"Maybe one day you can. It's a long ride, but that time flies. I miss it. So much."
"Maybe even your home here."
The lynx raised an eyebrow. The squirrel bit her lip, then said, "I want to know you. Get to know you better. See you without all the armor on."
"I'm not wearing any now."
"You....you know what I mean."
The lynx looked at her, then turned away and swore. She opened her mouth several times to speak, but couldn't find the words. Finally, the knight took a deep breath. Best not to leave any doubt.
"No."
The squirrel jumped. "But-"
"You've become too enamored of me. You cannot separate feelings of adoration for what I am from who I am."
"Don't treat me like a child!"
The lynx laughed & raised the flask to her lips. "people fall into that trap if they're 14 or they're 40."
"I don't care! If you weren't a knight, I'd still feel this way. Or are you too loyal to the throne?"
The lynx stopped mid-swig. "Watch it."
"Try me. I don't care who thinks it is wrong. Damn what the king says. Damn him. Damn the King!" The lynx threw the flask to the ground and grabbed the sleeve of the squirrel. "To hell and even further. I promise you one day I'll put him to the sword and send him there myself, but I am eight years your senior and you are Only. Just. A legal. Adult. Do you understand? There are lines I will not cross and that is very firmly one of them. You are too young, and I too old. I know that itch. That fire. That feeling when you realize the one who sends your heart aflutter is also a lesbian or at least into girls enough that there's a chance, but there are those who hate us for what we are and they will say us even having this conversation is me corrupting you. Abusing youth. They treat anyone not of age as property until it's convenient not to. 18 you may be, but even now they see you as a child and they weaponize anything they can against us. I will protect you, and your mother, from any harm. I will vouch for you. Take you to the capital. train you. I will turn this entire world into a crucible and forge you into such a legendary and accomplished knight that all of them will forget I even won the war...but you and I will not be intimate as you wish to be before you are at least a few years past legal drinking age, and likely not even after that. Do. You. Understand. Me?"
The teen nodded, crying quietly. The knight let her go, and scooped the flask off the ground. She left the squirrel where she was, turning away so that her own tears of anger & frustration wouldn't show. She bent over the picnic basket with one hand on the chair for support, trying to stifle the sobs she felt brewing.
The squirrel suddenly spoke. "Do you feel that?"
"What?"
"The air shifted. Something's...not right. it's coming from underground." The girl's whole body tensed.
The knight stood. "No, I don—"
A couple of the kids started screaming. The ground shook. From deep below, there came a deafening roar. A Beast of War.
"get the children to safety."
The squirrel turned in time to see the Lynx pulling the Clarent greatsword, blade wide and long, from betwixt the air with her left hand. The knight held her right arm out, fingers splayed, and her tower shield materialized upon it. The older children had already ushered most of the younger ones under the broad wing of a Vulture-class cruiser half-buried at the far end of the ruins.
The knight looked over her shoulder. "You never told me your name."
The squirrel stood up straight. "Vanessa, milady."
The Knight nodded. "Vanessa, we are standing on an ancient fleet junkyard. When this thing breaches the surface, all the old ships and structures are going to buckle under its weight. Watch the young ones. Some may not keep their balance. Now's the time to prove your mettle."
The knight brought her shield to her chest, and held the sword vertically before it. Armor unfolded from the back of the shield, clamping on to her torso, and sent creeping out across the rest of her body rivers of metallic liquid. She flicked the Clarent Greatsword downard in a diagonal arc, and the armor took shape. Rosegold plating, which gave the knights their name. Chain mesh and glowing strips between them. The vents on the back and the legs, warping the air with heat. Still, the knight wore no helm.
The ground tore before her. A giant machine, covered in white ceramic plates & dull rusted steel, broke through to the surface. It looked like a large cat, but easily stood 12m at the shoulder. Spikes adorned its shoulders, and the dessicated corpse of a knight hung from one. It roared again, and the shredded remains of a soccer ball could be seen between the blades in the creature's mouth. Old weapon mounts were rusted out and broken off or inoperable, and one of the rear legs was missing too much to function. It suddenly went still.
Vanessa shouted from the back. "Why did it stop moving? What IS that thing?"
"A Beast of War, it's called. During some war centuries ago an empire dropped these on the planet to rampage and cause as much damage as possible. They ran out of power eventually and went dormant. Honestly this is most of what the Rose Knights are doing these days, dealing with them when something shakes them loose and they boot up." The knight cocked her head. Grinding sounds. Twitching muscle cables. "It's running a system diagnostic, trying to assess damage."
The squirrel fidgeted. "What if it realizes it can't function and self-destructs?"
"You'd think that, but they've been down here 4-500 years. They barely have enough core power to self-sustain, they can't overload them, and their munitions are spent or ruined."
"So what do we do?"
The Lynx raised her sword, pointing it at the liger's head. "I am Miranda of the Rose Knight Power Armor Brigade. Stand down, kneel, and you will be spared."
The beast looked down, and roared.
"Yeaaaaaaaaaah didn't think so." The knight raised her shield.
"Has...has that ever worked?"
The knight shrugged. "It did once....out of about 5600. Worth a try."
"No other choice then."
"You wanted to see me with no armor," the knight's grin turned feral. "but let me show you what I'm like when it's on."
A rusted artillery turret ground as it turned and fired a shell at where the knight had been standing. It burrowed into the earth with a heavy thud. The next round met the edge of a glowing Clarent, and cleaved in half, tearing the soil on either side behind it. The knight leapt into the air, jets in the calves firing. A battle cry and a slash, and the turret hit the ground. The severed loading mechanism spilled dead shells out like a bleeding wound. Another turret attempted to turn, but there was only the sound of crunching rust. The knight landed astride the mech's back, burying her sword in it. The Beast wailed, bucking hard. The Lynx lost her footing, pulling Clarent loose as she fell. The beast bent a leg, sending her tumbling towards the shoulder spikes. She twisted her torso & raised her shield. The shield deflected impalement, but slid & caught between them. She tried to let go of it, but her arm was pinned to it by another spine, and she dangled precariously. She looked into the eyes of the dead knight, still clutching his lance.
Clarent glowed. "Sorry, comrade."
The greatsword's blade sang as it sliced through the dead knight's body and all of the spikes. She spun in the air—knights, after all, always land on their feet—and struck a pose as she hit the ground. She stood up proud, then yelped and jumped as a spike nearly hit her. The Liger roared and tried to slam a massive bladed paw down upon her. She rolled deftly out of the way, laughing as the spikes tore through the paw, and the dead body was crushed.
The dead knight's lance went flying, and landed at Vanessa's feet.
The lynx turned the momentum of her dodge into a two-handed thrust, driving deep into the other foreleg. She redirected all the power to her arms and Clarent, heaving upwards at a sharp angle and sent chunks flying. Metal groaned, and the Beast began to tilt. The mech tried to adjust, fumbling to shift from a limb that no longer existed, but the rear leg was too damaged to take the weight. The sound of snapping muscle cables & rending sinew cords filled the air. The knight stood, stepped & turned as the beast slammed to its side. The liger's mouth opened, and a massive maul on a cable fired out. The knight parried it with her shield, then placed her sword hand upon the shield's top and slammed it like a spade into the cable, snapping it. The machine screamed as it retracted. She left the shield behind. She did not take her eyes from her quarry as she took her greatsword in both hands.
"Tell the younger ones to look away."
Noise, from below.
No—
The ground lurched, and the lynx struggled to keep her footing.
Nnonononononono
The rumbling stopped. She turned to where the children were, wild eyed and ears pinned back.
"RUN!"
The ruins gave way. Her armor soaked the fall, but she could not prevent herself from being pinned by rubble. At a quick glance, she had fallen 30m, the Beast about 20, and the place where the children had been sheltering had barely moved at all, but a few were hanging on to the edge. The older kids pulled themselves & the younger ones up, but the small canine who had asked about girly knights could not keep his grip and fell. The ground was not far down, but it was steep, and he slid toward the beast below. The lynx twisted & pulled, but couldn't break free. The boy stopped tumbling. Still moving, which was good, but within eyeshot of the Beast. She shoved and shoved, but the rubble wouldn't budge. She watched in horror as the damaged machine turned its head, found a target, raised its spike-riddled paw high into the air...
There was a flash of neon green light, and the paw collided with something long and solid. Vanessa stood beneath it, bracing the dead knight's lance with both hands.
"YOU WILL NOT HARM HIM."
One hand on the hilt, one bracing further up the shaft. That had to hurt. The sheer energy output alone could kill weaker people. The squirrel tilted the lance, and the metal paw slammed into the ground safely behind her. She reared back and thrust the lance, pinning the paw to the ground. Her right hand was dripping blood, but she grabbed the boy and dashed up the hill, dropping in safety.
The knight saw her chance. In an explosion of debris, the knight flew high into the air, leg and back jets full thrust, then spun and gripped Clarent with both hands. A guillotine drop, one to finish this once and for all. Sever the neck and the beast would stop moving. The remaining turret strained against itself, then snapped, swinging to point at her, bent but functional enough. It tore itself apart firing one last shell.
Any lesser knight would have a hole in their chest, but Miranda was impossibly quick. She deflected the shell with a swing of the sword, and went spinning. This time, her armor could not soak the impact of such a chaotic landing. She lay on her back, wind knocked out of her. Her pride hurt more than her chest, but she was satisfied. It could not attack at range any longer, and by the time she could stand again, she would finish the beast for good.
But she was not the only combatant afield. The teen slid back down the incline, with the children watching from the rim. The knight tried to draw breath to tell her to disengage, but could not. The squirrel strode to the lance, singular in purpose. the wind picked up, ruffling waves into her skirt. The machine eyed her with malice. Her face did not move. She strode forward, ripped the lance from the paw. Her backstep was graceful, quick. Each dodge or parry of the limb was followed with jabbing ripostes between plates. each stab brought the snapping of cables, and each swing of the giant metal forepaw less accurate and with less strength. Finally, with a crack, the plating at the shoulder split, and the limb fell limp while giant servos turned the joint uselessly. The Liger wailed. Vanessa paced down the length of the beast, stopping midway down the chest. She turned and nodded.
The children screamed. The beast had coiled its rusted tail, and swung it at its assailant. She tilted her head and leaned back. It sailed by her, smashing itself on the ruins. The beast gave a noise that could have been a whimper. It clawed at the ground with its one remaining leg, helpless.
"Th...the neck. The neck, you have to s...sever the neck...you can't..." the lynx gasped.
The squirrel was too far away, or couldn't hear her, or didn't care. Vanessa drew her left arm back, hilt in hand, and splayed the fingers of her right, gliding them along the length of the lance's shaft. Arm fully cocked, She gave a bloody scream, and the lance glowed with a sickly green light, whisping off the spear.
She drove it deep.
There was a deafening noise, digital and full of static. A blast of bright blue energy blew out and away from the mortal wound, past the vanquisher. The beast went limp, and the light from the eyes and mouth went dark. It was dead. The Knight strained to lift her head. She could see the teenager struggling to pull her arm from the mech. Stuck, but alive.
"Oh thank the saints."
She let her head fall back to the ground as the children cheered. She took a few breaths, then rolled over and pushed herself up. She clutched at her ribs with her off hand as she staggered toward the machine, dragging Clarent behind her.
"Miss...Milady Miranda, I need help."
"I'll be right there, but first..."
She stopped at the neck of the beast. She took the Clarent Greatsword in both hands, and raised it high above her head. Solemnly, she cleaved the thick machine in one blow. She leaned on the head to roll it away from the body. She set her weapon down & dug her arm inside. With a twist and a crunch, she freed her arm, holding a long metallic block the size of a breadbox. A worthy prize, but not hers. Vanessa's. Incredible. She held out her arm. Pink smoke coalesced around it, and solidified into a lantern-like object with claws on the bottom. She took it by the top handle, and let the claw attach itself to the metal block.
"Unbelievable. Let's check on her." She walked to the smaller woman.
The squirrel smiled nervously. "My...arm is stuck."
Miranda nodded. "We'll get it out. But first, your right hand."
Vanessa held it out. Miranda took it firmly but gently, flipping it over and back. A scar, horizontal, just below the knuckles and wrapping through the indent of the palm, all the way around, an inch wide.
"You severed your hand."
The teen stared at her, mouth agape.
"I...I didn't even feel it. I mean, it hurt when I touched the spear, but..."
The knight nodded. "The energy severed it and brought it back in the same moment. Not uncommon for new users, unaware of how the weapons work. Though, you know, most don't shake it off Immediately."
The squirrel looked down, pulling her hand back suddenly. "I know it was dangerous, I'm sorry. I've never even picked up a weapon before, but if I hadn't—"
"you WHAT?"
"What?" The teen panicked.
"You've never even held a weapon??"
"does...does a scalpel count?"
the knight turned away, putting a hand on her hip. "Unreal." She bit her tongue and shook her head, smiling.
"I'm sorry." The squirrel said.
The lynx crossed her arms. "And here I was going to ask who your instructor was, because I've never seen lance footwork like that."
Vanessa scratched the back of her neck. "I just...did what came naturally. Is it really that big a deal?"
"Listen, I never want to sing my own praises, but one of the reasons I'm considered the greatest living knights is because I fight these things alone and live." She unfolded her arms, slapping an armored hand on the belly of the mech. "Even ones as decrepit as this one have killed at least 100 knights. No one has EVER slain one without armor in recorded history. Not once. Not even me. And you? You pick up a Rhongomyniad for the first time—a weapon notoriously harder to wield than its cousin the Longinus—stance up like it's nothing, and Kill a Beast of War alone, the hard way, in suede boots and an autumn dress."
Vanessa blushed. "Maybe it was a fluke."
Miranda rolled her eyes. "Right. A Fluke. Sure. And I'm the king's secret daughter." She relaxed and sighed. "Even if it was a fluke, which it wasn't, you picked up a Knight's weapon. You pierced a core. You are something more now."
"So like the armor...?"
"Probably can't have kids now, no." The knight held up the lantern device. "But once I pull the core from the Liger and put it in here, you will have earned yourself full power armor, and never want for anything again."
"I'm not sure I'm ready."
"Well, the secret's as good as out. You're a hero."
"What do you mean?"
The knight pointed to the children at the top of the slope. "You know how kids are. They are literally never gonna shut up about what they just saw."
One of the them hollered down. "Are you okay?"
"We're fine! We're fine. Just give us a moment." The knight yelled back. She turned to face the younger woman, putting her hands on her hips. "What are we going to do with you, I wonder?"
"Well, for starters," the teen said, biting her lip, "I would very much like my arm back."
The knight looked at the girl, then to her arm, buried almost to the shoulder inside ceramic & metal that looked warped & swirled like freshly melted chocolate, then back to the girl sheepishly.
"Sorry. Got caught up in the moment."
The knight pulled Clarent from the air. The greatsword glowed. "Keep very still, then pull. On 3. 1....2....3!"
Miranda sliced upward. Vanessa pulled back. Both fell to the ground as the plate split. No less than 3 dozen soccer balls spilled out. Scorched, battered, some halved, some still skewered by Rhongomyniad. They looked at the balls, then each other. After a moment, they burst out laughing. The kids began to clamber down the slope. The two of them wiped tears from their eyes, still giggling.
Miranda looked at Vanessa, smiling in the Autumn sun. She saw nothing but admiration.
Something flickered across the Lynx's vision, like the turning of a page.
The lynx blinked.
Vanessa was still. The kids were still. Nothing moved. Frozen in place.
The page flicked again. Vanessa later that day.
Again. Vanessa meeting her at the train to the capital.
Like pages in a flipbook, memories of Vanessa flickered before her. As a page. As a squire. As a knight. As a leader. As a friend. As a friend. As a young adult. As a grown woman. As a fierce warrior. As someone still tender despite it all.
As the one she had come to love.
please
Flip.
Please I beg you
Flip flip flip flip flip
Pleas let me stay a little longer.
Flip flip flip flip flip flip flipflipflipflipflipflipthwssshhshshshshshshsh
Flip flip flip please flip flip flip
Flip flip flip don't flip flip flip
Flip flip flip let flip flip flip
Flip flip flip me flip flip flip
Flip flip flip lose flip flip flip
Flip flip flip her flip flip flip
Flip flip flip again flip flip flip
The images faded to sketches, and noise came from all around. So fast a blur, every universe that had smashed into her in that fateful moment and cast her adrift every sound every feeling every absence every thing every where all at once no break a thousand lives as one she never even knew if Vanessa had lived through it as it had slammed every possible existence into one space she neverknewanythinganymoreshehaddriftedforsolonghowdidshebreakfreehowdoyoufilteryourswlfoutofyourswlfffifyoucantseparateyuorselfendlessendlessendlessendlessendlesse
a single sketch of two hands and a plate slowly emerged from the noise. She was here. The present. Mostly whole again. She looked at the knife and fork in her hand, the strawberry lemonade next to her, and the steaming skillet of food, sausage, onions, peppers, potatoes, cheese.
She dug in. Delicious. Reward for a hard day's work.
She worked at a diner now. As a waitress and a cook. A simple life. It was not her home, no, but this reality was strangely easy to condense herself in. A land of pink glasses and grey dragons and underground labs. She'd sworn herself to the overlord, after the two years of compressing herself into a single reality, after she remembered she was a knight and that could not change. It was a formality, really. For a Dominion, Toronto had no real kings, few gods, and fewer masters. She liked it here. She was unknown. No one asked her to fight giants. No one asked her to be queen. The most anyone asked was where their order was and whether she had "DMs". There was still war here, but it felt somehow more peaceful than home, even still. She looked out the window of the diner, out into the ever-growing desk pool at KDARC's center. Andréa probably knew. Jane had at least an inkling. Lex knew everything, but that was Lex. The kangaroo had suffered a fate not unlike her own, yet distinct enough. It was rare for KDARC to be this still, even as late as it was, but she had the Denny's to herself and that was enough. She took a swig of her lemonade.
She thought about Vanessa.
Her love must have survived. She had to. She was amazing. Unparalleled. Mia chewed on a bit of potato. Vanessa had never stopped looking up to her.
"Those who look up to us," a fellow knight had said once, "Often continue to do so, even as they blow past & leave us in the dust."
She dropped the utensils and brought her paws to her face, sobbing.
