The portal closed, clouds wafting in just as Wren and Ladislaya stumbled into it. Ladislaya was coughing up fits of smoke from her dragon-breath. Wren gave a sudden sneeze as she closed her hand around her neck to ensure the locket was still safely in her hands.
Jake had woken up; he was now slumping against the wall, eyes half-open. Wren grasped the locket and pulled it. The delicate chain hung around her fingers and she could see the faint reflection of herself in the glowing green surface of the locket.
She sat down on the bed, her mind reeling. She couldn't think of anything else but Nicaea's voice, still echoing through her head like a bullet that was coming, but never stroke.
I didn't need to frame anybody ...
and I killed them!
The face of fright ...
This is where you die, Wren.
This is where you die.
This is where you die.
Her mind was a kaleidoscope of thoughts, of the same five words dancing around madly in her head.
This is where you die.
'Wren,' Ladislaya's voice said gently from somewhere in the corner.
This is where you die.
Wren felt a hand touch her shoulder and pat it gently. She clutched the locket so tightly her knuckles turned white.
'Wren, this was what we expected ...' Ladislaya's voice was wavering, Wren's vision was blurry as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat.
This is where you die.
You die.
you die.
Wren stood up suddenly, realising she was shaking head to foot. Ladislaya didn't stop her.
'Wren ...'
'Stop,' the words escaped her mouth before she knew it. Her voice was surprisingly steady. 'Stop. I'm done with this. I'm out, I want out.'
Ladislaya was shaking her head.
'I could've killed her!' shouted Wren. Looking back now, she didn't understand why she hadn't. Why she didn't. Nicaea had been at her power for one glorious second - why hadn't she plunged that dagger into her, where it belonged?
'Wren!'
'Why didn't I?' Wren cursed herself. Cursed herself for listening to Jake. She could've had Nicaea's blood on her hands and then it would all be over.
But the world would know her either as a hero or a villain.
'Did you get it?' Jake hiccoughed from the corner. Wren hurled around. 'What?'
'L-locket.'
'What's wrong with him?' Ladislaya asked anxiously.
'He froze time back there,' Wren told her. 'Apparently, freezing time takes a toll on him' She looked at the intricate locket. 'Yeah, I got it, mate. Nothing to worry about.'
Jake held up a finger, indicating Wren something. 'Water,' he croaked.
'Water - on it,' Wren said hastily, pulling in all the moist particles around them from the air and forming them into a liquid. She waved them into an empty glass and handed it to Jake, who drank greedily.
Ladislaya walked over to Wren, examining the locket. 'This was what she wanted,' she breathed, and by she, Wren knew Ladislaya meant Nicaea. Wren nodded.
'She wanted it not only to erase her memory but to shape it into a weapon that could kill me,' Wren said, glancing down at the innocent locket. Green swirls whirled around it as decoration. Wren turned it around.
'How do you open it?' Ladislaya whispered.
Wren looked at her. 'I don't know, but it's not like we need to open it.'
Ladislaya angled her face to look into Wren's eyes. 'So you're saying destroy it?'
'Destroy it,' Wren said without hesitation.
'Here, right now?'
Wren thought about it for a while - now was a more tempting idea, it was safer. But she shook her head.
'No. We're bringing it back to the Palace first then we destroy it. I want to let Odyssey see. I want to let her know that I wasn't wandering around aimlessly as she'd put it.'
Ladislaya nodded. 'Back to Argonian we go.'
The sound of retching came from the corner. Wren and Ladislaya flinched. Jake groaned.
'Before that, can the both of you help me get to the washroom first? I kind of can't walk.'
Writer's note: Uhh...vote button, anybody? <3