Legacy

10. Acceptance

Lance liked to think he was a good person. Sure, he messed up sometimes, but he always had the right intentions. Like that time he snuck out and robbed a market place despite his father clearly telling him not to. There had been a food shortage, and people were starving to death. He had just been trying to help them. And then there was that time he almost got Carlo arrested because he had revealed himself to Ladon soldiers during a heist, but it was because they were threatening to hurt a little girl. The world seemed to move in slow motion for a few seconds. Was he the good guy? He thought back to the look of disgust on Raina's face as she had realized he was a Luciano. He thought back to the countless his deaths his family responsible for, and even though they were his enemies, they had families too. If he died, would anyone even miss him? Or would the world be a better place without him?

Colors flashed across his vision as the world flew past him. He jolted up before flying forward, the hard ground coming to meet him. Lance lifted his chin. His head was throbbing, and his vision was distorted. His chest heaved, and he grabbed a fistful of soil and watched as it sifted through his fingers. They made it.

He glanced back at Raina behind him. She was gasping for air, staring at the sky, muttering obscenities under her breath. She was shaking.

Lance burst into a fit of laughter. They actually made it. He spotted the soldiers on the other side of the cavern.

Lance raised his arm in an obscene gesture. "Suck on this you-"

"Lance!" Raina had recovered from panic attack, although she still looked like she might pass out. She took a deep breath, and while she tried to give Lance a look of disapproval, her mouth spread into a wide grin. Lance fell to the ground next to her, and they laughed until their ribs hurt, screaming across the cavern until Drake, the only remaining soldier, gave them one last look of contempt and followed his men.

"Wow, we just did that," said Raina. "Wow."
"I have to say princess, you were pretty awesome back there. You're a lot tougher than I thought you'd be."

"You too! I didn't even see you snatch that sword from Drake." Raina's face dropped as she spotted the sword on the ground a few away. Antonio's face flashed through her mind, and her heart dropped. Lance followed her gaze, the happy atmosphere draining away.

"Raina," he spoke softly, "I'm sorry."

Raina sniffed, blinking back tears. She slowly rose to her feet and grunted as she pulled the handle off the ground. Her arms shook under the weight. If she hadn't been so exhausted, she might have been able to carry it. The most she could manage at the moment was to drag it behind her. Lance went to help her, but Raina turned herself away from him.

"We should probably get going." Her voice wavered. "Antonio's probably waiting for us."

"Raina." Lance bit his lip, not sure how to go about his next words.

"What?" Raina's voice trembled, but her eyes burned, a warning telling him to choose his next words carefully. The thing was, Lance never listened to warnings.

"It's just that I'm not sure if Antonio will be waiting."

"He will. I know he will."

Lance pushed his hands into his pockets and stared at the ground awkwardly. The dirt still stained his skin from when he had buried Antonio that morning. He knew he could argue with Raina all night, he could make her cry, he could show her his corpse, but none of it would convince her. He knew because his father had tried the same tactics on him. *

The memory had been burned into his brain, and it only seemed to haunt him more than ever in that moment. It had been raining, just like it had been today. The smoke burned his nostrils as his brother dragged him through the back allies. They had to leave her behind. He could remember his father pinning him against the wall, forcing him to stop his screaming and crying. After all, Luciano's didn't cry. He could still see his father's face at her funeral. He didn't show a shred of emotion, his face like stone. Lance had wondered if he had ever cared about her at all. If he was really the good man he had always promised he was.