READ THIS! This is sadly the last chapter of Fight or Die. Follow for the updates on the sequel.
- Moon
It's done. The war is over. The queens are dead. We are free.
I'm not even supposed to die for many years now. Something tells me I should celebrate right?
Not a chance. Not with him gone.
I walked back to camp in silence. We were all silent. Even our inner thoughts were quiet.
About halfway through our walk back to camp Darkstalker left to go do something. I didn't bother asking what.
We where on the edge of the forest when I finally broke.
"He's gone." I sob leaning into Qibli. He just wraps his arms around me and silently cries.
"How did I let this happen? How did I not see it coming? He didn't deserve that." I whispered through my tears.
"I know. I know Moon. It was his choice though. Don't hate yourself for it." Qibli soothed sadly.
I wiped my eyes. "We need to get back." I say. Again we proceeded to head back to camp.
We were walking towards our tent when someone ran up to us.
My heart sank.
Glory.
She catches sight of us and runs up to us. Immediately I am engulfed in a hug. "I'm glad to see both of you guys." she says joyfully.
I stare at the ground. Qibli gives her a pitiful expression. "Where's Deathbringer? I haven't seen him come back yet?" she asks casually.
I take in a sharp breath. "He's not coming back." I whisper. Glory looks at me like I'm joking.
"Yeah right. Seriously where is he?" she asks. I shake my head.
"He was stabbed." Qibli says quietly. She is silent for a moment just searching our faces for any trace of a joke.
Eventually she comes to the conclusion we aren't lying.
"He's dead?" Glory whispers in disbelief. It takes all my emotional strength to not break infront of her. I slowly nod.
Her eyes fill with tears. "I need to go." Glory decides before rushing away towards a tent.
I feel horrible. I know how she feels. It's the worst pain I've ever experienced. Losing the person you thought you had forever with.
I walk with my head down towards the middle of base where Darkstalker stands.
I stand next to him.
"We have lost many brave soldiers in this battle. But I am honored to announce, both queens are dead. And the war is officially over." he announces.
Everyone cheers. "For anyone who lost somebody important to you, I am dearly sorry. I've witnessed many deaths, but now we all know they died for a purpose. It wasn't pointless. May we remember them forever." Darkstalker finishes.
Everyone looks at me. I gulp. "You may think that we are just spouting crap about our fallen soldiers. Like they don't matter. Like we don't know ehat you are going through. So before your thkughts go any further. Just today I have lost my brother, Deathbringer Star, in battle. He died saving me from Queen Snowfall. Some may celebrate. But for the rest of us. I hope we are able to grieve in peace." and with that I walked off stage and towards my tent.
- Qibli
It's been a month since the end of the war. Moon and I have been living in the Sandwing palace. Except this time with guards.
Slowly I open the door to the astronamy room. Moon sits silently staring into the night sky through the glass.
Her face is flushed with tears. I haven't heard her utter a single word since the day he died.
Slowly I sit next to her and hand her some food. She takes it without a word and places it next to her.
Gingerly she leans into me. I wrap my arms around her softly.
"It's going to be ok Moon. One day, your pain will not heal, but numb. You will learn to live on." I tell her while running my hands through her hair.
"Just think about what he would've wanted for you. Or what you would've wanted for him if the roles were reversed." I soothe.
I kissed her head lightly. "I'm going to head to sleep. I love you, see you tomorrow." I whisper, before standing up and walking towards the door.
"Wait," a small soft voice squeaks. I turn around and see her gorgeous green eyes looking at me.
"Thank you Qibli. For being here for me. I love you too." she squeaks. I walk over to her and give her a soft kiss on the lips.
"Are you tired?" I ask noticing the bags under her eyes. She nods. "C'mon baby. Let's go to sleep." I urge.
Slowly she stands up and walks with me to her room. "Wake me up if you need anything." I say as she lies down in her bed.
I kiss her forehead and lay down in my own bed across the room.
Slowly I fall asleep.
I wake up to screaming about five hours later. My eyes fly open and I immediately rush to Moon.
This happens every night. Her nightmares are terrifying.
She awakes with a jolt and looks around wildly. "Hey, look at me Moon. Calm down you're ok. It was just a dream." I say softly. She starts to relax.
"I can't sleep." Moon squeaks. "Distract me so I don't fall asleep again." she adds.
"Uh- do you want to live in the Sand Kingdom for a while. Or move somewhere else?" I ask quickly.
"No offense, but somewhere new. Not the Nightwing village, or here, or Pantala. Maybe like a meadow somewhere in Pyrrhia." she replies.
I smile softly. "Like my vision?" I guess. Moon blushes and nods softly. She looks at rhe ground a moment sadly.
"Thinking about him?" I ask. A single tear falls from her eye. I reach out and wipe the tear from her pale face.
"It's ok Moon. I understand. Just know you're not alone. You have me and I have you. Come here." I soothe. She crawls into my arms.
I held her gently, and run my fingers through her hair. This was one thing I loved about Moon.
She didn't like weakness, but wasn't afraid to show it. I also love that we have eachother's backs. When I go through a hard time she is there for me, vice versa with her.
For now, I am going to be the caring boyfriend that she can go to when needed, because that is what she needs right now.
I rested my head on hers. I hear here silently cry.
I just shush her and hold her tightly. "I miss him so much." she cries. I nod. "I know. We all miss him. It's ok baby." I soothe.
She sniffs. I untangle her hair gently. I hate that she is hurting. All I want is for her to be ok again.
The last she was completely ok was before any of this had started. Before she turned 16 and was sent away to the academy. I want her to find that peace that she had.
Part of me wonders if she can. Back then she had both parents, Deathbringer, and a normal life. Most of all she didn't have me. Me being someone who can cause her so much pain.
Now she has one parent who has flaked and no one knows where he is. No Deathbringer. Nearly all of her friends are dead. Her life is far from normal.
So many losses, how do you heal from that? I think the answer is she can't, getting used to the pain is something she can do.
But fully healing may be impossible. But I will try my best to help her heal. I will try anything.
"*"
- Moon
My mind fills with opposites. Loss and life. The loss of my brother. And the life of my brother.
Two opposites, yet both are equally important. My mind swirls with memories.
The day we went traveling into the woods and got lost. We spent a full night in the shelter we built until someone had come and found us.
It was scary, but looking back it was also fun. I remember when Deathbringer and I would walk to the market and trade rare fruits every Sunday.
I remember when he left for the Rainwings. And when I saw him again for the first time again. Or when I found out we were siblings.
I recalled the darker moments too. When I had to leave him for Pantala. Or the very last memory.
All I can think is the past. But all I can feel is the present. He was one of my ride or dies. But the amount of pain I'm feeling is nothing compared to what Glory is going through.
Deathbringer was her Qibli. I know what that loss feels like. I still wake up some mornings screaming thinking he was gone.
Glory is so alone right now. She lives in the Sand Kingdom too. She plans to stick with us. Rainwing village isn't a home to her. A home is wherever anyone she cares about is.
We are the last two she cares about. So if we move to a meadow in the middle of nowhere, she will be nearby.
I'm not mad at that though, Glory is currently other than Qibli my oldest friend. Crazy right. But she knew Deathbringer in ways I didn't.
Different connection. Lately we have besn sharing stories about him. Ones from my childhood. Ones from the rainforest and him as a bodyguard.
Or when I was in Pantala. It helps us both cope. I do think I am getting better. Last time I felt this pain, I didn't have anyone to help me get through it.
I trusted Darkstalker, but he didn't know Qibli. It wasn't what I needed. Now I have Qibli to help me cope. And Glory.
Us three depend on eachother to get through the rough times. It has been half a year since his death.
Pyrrhia is at peace. Pantala is at peace. The world is healing.
Two months ago Qibli and I moved to a house on the edge of Skywing. No one is near our house. It's about a ten minute walk to a trading center which is the only time we have to go to the village.
Our cottage is tucked behind alot of trees and right by a pond. We found it one day while exploring.
It was a big house. Two stories, six bedrooms, four bathrooms, and living room and a kitchen. Too big for the three of us, but it was exactly what we wanted.
We needed a house with more than two rooms though. Turns out, Glory was pregnant when Deathbringer had died.
She hadn't known. And was so joyful and heartbroken.
Glory now does have something of Deathbringer's. But it's just more of a reminder he's gone.
We are like one big odd family. Qibli, Glory, my unborn niece, and me.
We've been through heartbreak, loss, grief, and so much more. But now I think we are going to be ok.
As long as we have eachother we can do it.
Originally it was fight or die. Technically it's still true. Those we still fight die. But now we can live. Life isn't just black and white.
There are grey spots too. And we thrive in the grey.
I was chosen to fight, then destined to die. I outwitted both. So here I stand not fighting and not dead.
Our paths are clear, peace has finally come.
But this is just the first chapter of the story.
Fight or Die is officially over. I really hoped you enjoyed this story as much as I loved writing it. Thank you for reading. <3
And soon there will be a sequel, so follow for updates. Again thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed. 1999 words.