Ripples

Salvation I

Includes mentions of past murders and character deaths, and overwhelming guilt

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Emotions are such a curious concept. Like a myriad of spiders, born so small and defenseless, weaving spiderwebs within a person's consciousness. Those children of Ariadne spin threads until thoughts could no longer be found... until memories have been shrouded with emotions so dark that the person could choose to forget them. But a single flame could easily ignite, burning the channels of madness, of forgetfulness-

Claude woke up feeling so helpless.

He looked down at his hands, his fingers trembling violently. The image of Athanasia as she choked, his long fingers around her throat, flashed before his eyes, and he let out a sob, feeling the overwhelming shame rise. That useless man remembered every memory with Diana, the love of his life, but it was nothing compared to losing Athanasia. Oh, the most gorgeous rose of all of Obelia, "to think that I lost her eight times, six of those by my own doing. What madness."

So he cried. Large teardrops falling on his lap, puddling like his shame of killing Athanasia. And it wasn't until his door opened with a bang, revealing Felix, that he stopped.

"Your majesty! Your majesty! Lady Diana succeeded in giving birth to a princess!" Claude looked up at Felix, his tearful eyes wide with surprise until he realized, "I died."

Defenseless against the backlash of the black magic, that with which he used to forget, all that accompanied Claude's memories was his death. Cold and unrelenting, just like what his daughter had gone through after each lifetime. It left him breathless with fear, yet quivering with excitement. He pushed himself off the bed to greet his daughter again, his arms trembled violently with the need to hold her, protect her from death.

When their eyes met, two pairs of sapphires gleaming beneath the moonlight, Claude noted how she did not cry. The silent babe simply stared up at him with the calmest eyes and, quite frankly, it made Claude want to die. The guilt was overwhelming, and so were the memories. However, though his eyes stung from the need to cry, the father could not resist the urge to laugh. Loud and booming laughter filled the hall, like a whisper from hell, a siren's call. The concubines and guards froze, but Athanasia simply stared up at him, never hearing his thoughts. "Anastasius, we are both garbage, afterall."

The undying maiden had expected to wear masks after masks, faking smiles until she could gain Claude's affection and meet Lucas again. She expected to face her father with a broken heart, pretending with all her might that she was alright, even though she was not. All because she loved him, and he didn't know what he had done.

So, when he picked her up and held her close to his chest, Athanasia simply blinked up at him, surprised. And, when he yelled to release the concubines rather than kill them, she opened her mouth and babbled an incoherent, "wao a wu!" ("what the fuck?")

Claude chuckled when he heard her voice, leaning down to press a soft kiss to her head. He held her close, safely in his chest, and the princess nearly cried when she saw how warm his eyes were. He was just like her father before he collapsed, before he lost his memories and their life turned upside down.

"It's okay Athanasia. I know that I've done more than I can ever make up for, but I'll protect you now, even if I have to kill myself," Claude whispered, moving to his palace with his daughter tucked against his chest.

It was then that Athanasia lost it, sobbing loudly into his robes. She remembered her helplessness as she faced each of her deaths, the last few moments filled with resignation and despair. Her heart trembled with excitement the more that she cried, filled with relief that her grim reaper had changed seemingly overnight. "I am happy that we can love each other as father and daughter again."