Icy Inferno (Troyler AU)

⋙ Epilogue

One life
Two children
Three time
Four dreaming
Five senses
Six words:
I found my treasure in you
6 Words ~ Wretch 32

Troye

Love. It's an old story, yet it remains ever new. For every person it's different, but so entirely the same: the warmth and tingles nothing else can replicate; the arguments and fights that are always worth it; the eternal connection that can never die.

For us, life moved on. Time streamed by as we stood beside each other. We'd endured so much together, it would be impossible to leave it at that. Some say you shouldn't stay with your first love, that you're reckless for doing so. Sometimes I could see why they said that. But I never for a second felt like that was an option for us. And luckily he didn't either.

Not long after the storming of the confinement, we were taken to a government conference room, to sign a treaty and deal out justice. The room was populated with faces I'd had flashed in my own face for years. Politicians from every corner of the globe, crowded into one room as they came to confront the damages from the past few years. The whole session was led by a women, once the countries leading judge and now the acting president. That day, she was trying to deal with all the mess around us. Tyler and I were there to give our accounts of the days, and explain our roles in it all.

I recalled little from that day. There was shouting, calming, screaming, calming, yelling, calming... on and on. It grew tiresome to be a part of. After a while, a hand was raised  by the judge, and judgements were given. I didn't remember many - most of the people I'd never met before, and I never met again. But I remembered those of people I knew. Like Connor.

She stared coldly at him for the longest time, readjusting her glasses and checking the notes in front her one last time before she spoke. "In all honesty I'm not sure what to make of you. You fell in love with the wrong man, who you felt compelled to help in any way, such as befriending his brother and almost killing him. Several times. And then you turned your coat to help the side you were avidly against at one point... it's very... odd."

She shuffled through her papers; Connor gulped.

"You've lied to many. Including yourself. Perhaps it's time for you to face the truth, to live without deceit for a while."

"That's a dream I can't have-"

"Ah but it is. You are prohibited from having any sort of career in espionage in this country."

On and on she went, listing what he couldn't do any more, and gave advice on his future. Connor seemed shocked, then confused, then relieved. I'd been expecting a harsher sentence, but I can say truthfully say I was thankful it wasn't so. 

Whenever I reached that part of my memory, Tyler always reminded me of Korey's fate.

"What you've done is, despite everything, forgiveable. You are near the centre of this mess, having direct knowledge of every horror that went on. However, any person in your situation may have been led down the same road. It's difficult to overcome the influence of childhood. You are not blame. Not entirely, at least. You were manipulated - that we know - but some acts were of your own doing. You cannot be welcomed back into this society with open arms."

Korey nodded, tearing up and tearing apart. "I get it. I'll leave this blue neighbourhood and return when-... when it's right too."

And for once he was true to his word - sort of. Korey and Connor left not long after the treaty was signed. They didn't say where they were going - they just had to get away from the scars they'd left. They went off to find a better purpose, together. I hoped they would succeed. And maybe they did.