The Magicians Guild although worse for wear, stood strong. The Empire's combined army camped closer to the edge of the city. Though both sides were wary of the other, a cease fire had been settled. We had Ronalt to thank for that. It was the reason he was late to the battle against Lara. During the night as the Empire's second army came to join, he and a few select elites went on a mission to kidnap the army's general as well as the influential nobles among them. With the new hostages the Empire couldn't renew their assualt so easily and the combat was halted giving us enough time to set Lara free. There was a lot that needed to be done. Both sides were still very much hostile with the other but now Lara had been freed, the Empire sat in the tighter position. The Kingdom's armies already sitting past their borders waiting. All that however was for later, as no sooner did we arrive inside the safety of the Guild we collapsed to rest.
Taylor, Lara and Marley slept in a room together while the rest of us took another. Despite how tired I was, I couldn't sleep well and soon found myself wondering outside the room. It was dark outside and the distant light of the Empire's camp could still be seen. The sound of a door creaking open caused me to turn around.
Lara stood there wearing a simple nightshirt. Her eyes met mine, "I couldn't sleep."
"Neither," I replied and slid down the wall I had been leaning on, tapping the floor beside me, "Care to take a seat?"
"How kind of you," she smirked and sat beside me.
After a minute of silence passed between us I spoke, "How are you feeling?"
"Better...," she hugged her knees tight to her chest.
I cleared my throat awkwardly, "Umm Lara, when the Empire took control of you, they didn't make you do anything weird did they?"
"No," she shook her head. "A few of them looked at me like that but in the end they were too afraid what would happen if I broke free."
"And how much do you remember?" I asked softly.
"At first not much... now a lot more," she sniffed and wiped her face. "I remember trying to kill all of you and I couldn't do anything to stop myself. It was like a part of me wanted to."
"That's not true," I gently rapped her head with my hand. I decided to change the topic, "By the way, how did you bring me back? Because from my perspective I was gone."
She rubbed her eyes, "Well after I-... I killed you, I woke up to find Taylor screaming at me. She was crying a lot. Ronalt quickly told me what happened and for a moment I really didn't know what to do. I tried searching for you as best I could but you were gone... that was until I found this." She pulled something from her pocket. It was a dark stone sphere that had been cracked in half. The denizen's core. "There was a bit of you in here and when I traced it, I could just feel you. Together we tried to pull you back and it somehow worked."
I understood how the link to my soul kind of helped but there was no way that should have been possible in normal circumstances. I reached out and rubbed her head. Doing the impossible, it was just like what a Hero would do, what Lara would do.
"Umm also I think I have some questions myself," her eyes turned to me intently.
I could guess what she wanted, "Go ahead."
"Who exactly are you?" it was a grand question when it came down to it.
"This might take a while," I said with a stiff smile.
She moved closer towards me, our shoulders touching, "It's been a long time since we talked just the two of us. I'm ready for a story."
"Well then...," I began.
The two of us sat together as I explained my life before her, how I first met her and who I was at the time. It took longer than I thought to say it all. As Jane we knew almost everything about each other and yet here was a huge part of my life hidden away. The night continued on without pause or interference and by the end we were both quite tired.
Lara stood up a soft smile on her lips, "So that's how it was."
"That's how it was," I repeated with a smile of my own.
"I'm going to need to sleep on this one."
"You and me both," I rose to my feet as well, patted her head once more and with that we split into our own rooms.
*
We held a demonstration to the Empire the next morning. It involved Lara standing with us and blowing up a very large hole in the earth. Just her presence was enough turn the hearts of many of the Empire's soldiers. She was iconic in her new white armour and resolute in her desire to end the war before it properly began. The Empire's leaders knew all too well the power she could control and we made sure to show it to them. When the impact hit the earth and created a new landmark several ranks of the opposing army fell over in awe and fear. It wasn't just her strength however. The Archmage could do a similar feat and if their Magicians worked together they could as well. What stood out was the ease that Lara did it, like flicking a finger, and how she stood unfazed after the destruction. I wasn't alone in thinking she had become even more powerful than when we fought her.
So the talks began. Arduous days of speaking at long tables within the Magician's Guild. The Queen was even summoned to attend and the Emperor himself showed up. It was oddly disappointing to see him. In our minds he had been the head of their evil plans but in the end it was clear he was just a secret figurehead. The boy couldn't have been older than fourteen and it became clear that the Empire's council were more than willing to throw him beneath the bus to save their own heads. Lara however would have none of it and saw the heart of the case clearly. Those of us who were used to playing the game of politics couldn't stand against her. I laughed and smiled as she disregarded what they said and forced herself to be heard. An innocence and just mind coupled with kindness. Without power she would have been another voice in the masses, yet here she was. Myself as Jane could barely believe it.
The Imperium suffered the greatest blow. As soon as the Empire opened themselves for negotiations they ran and did so straight into the waiting arms of the Guild. Though some did escape a large majority of their members were taken and imprisoned, some even executed. If you ask me they deserved more. The total number of sacrifices to power the artefact reached tens of thousands of lives across the slums and smaller villages and towns. Demon, human, even those across the seas were not spared. When Lara heard it she had gone pale and excused herself from the room. Their lives weighed heavily on her heart and for that the Imperium's punishment didn't suffice. From the ones we captured dozens of the upper nobility were implicated including those in the Empire's council. Many of them feigned ignorance of the details but as the days passed and after numerous backroom talks the structure of the Empire would never be the same.
In the end the Empire destroyed itself. Their unity was held from power and when Lara had crumbled it so did their trust in each other. We watched as if on the sidelines as they betrayed and threw each other in the fires to save themselves. Some tried to run and flee to other countries, none who were guilty chose to accept it. It seemed amongst them all the Emperor was most innocent and had honestly been convinced that the Hero Lara was fighting for them. Though his words held power to command armies, they weren't his own. In the end Caius and I got to see a small wish of ours.
The Queen had to step in with the Guild's help to stop it all from breaking apart. While the government had been corrupt, without one, the Empire's cities, towns and people would all suffer in the end. I helped more than I would have liked. Honestly as the days became weeks I really rather to escape back to Axel with the others and relax but as Ronalt put it, we had a job to finish. To make matters worse, everything just became more complicated when Caius was introduced as the Demon Lord. That had been an exciting few minutes. If it hadn't been for Lara a fight really might have broken out. His declaration of an alliance between the Demons and the Kingdom did however shake the room for a different reason. Now even without Lara the balance of power shifted in our favour, something I was incredibly pleased with. The truth however was it was all on Caius' word and nothing more. A deep hatred laid between them and us which would take decades to peacefully resolve.
Finally the time passed and a somewhat manageable new government had been formed with the Magician's Guild as the base. The Queen and her retainers would have to stay for the time being to settle the matter entirely but we were let go. Even Ronalt was forced to take a break with us and I knew exactly where I wanted to be. Several days later we arrived in Axel. Earnest, Marley, Ardent, Ronalt, Taylor and Lara. The names of the people I had first set out with, plus Pina. It felt like years had passed since then, though really time wise it hadn't actually been that long. Caius however didn't grace us with his presence and returned to Demon territory. In the end he never died once, a fact that the two of us almost couldn't believe. It just went to show how much effort we both put in.
The welcome back party was extravagant. For such a small town I was beginning to feel we held far too many celebrations. Still, no one complained. A bonfire was lit in the town centre, food was prepared in droves, people danced, we ate, we drank, it was a good time.
As the night began to settle I sat at the edge of the square a glass in my hand and watched the embers rise from the pyre of flame.
"This is nice," Lara said suddenly from beside me. "I can see why you love it here."
"It has its charms," I nodded in full agreement. My heart felt lighter than it had in a long time, possibly due to the alcohol.
"Oh looks like Marley had enough," she pointed to where the girl had collapsed. Her face was flushed red. She was still conscious and moved across the ground like a slug. One of the older townsfolk picked her up and took her away to rest.
I pointed to Ardent, "And some people are still having too much fun." The man was dancing around the fire with Margaret our apothecary and even throwing flashy sparks of magic into the air.
"Those two get along well," Lara noted.
"That's because they're both eccentrics," I shook my head. Aside from them, Earnest and Ronalt were gambling with a group of the men including Mattias. It was getting quite lively as suddenly Ronalt threw off his shirt much to the applause of the nearby women. As for Taylor, I hadn't seen her in a while... that usually never boded well for me.
"Rain... umm," Lara shifted awkwardly. "What are you going to do from now on?"
I emptied my glass and let the strong taste course down my throat, "The Queen wants me to work as an ambassador between the Kingdom and the Demons."
"Yeah that would suit you," she laughed.
"Sounds like too much work," I smirked and put down my glass. "Though I do owe the world that much at least."
"Do you though?" she asked with toned seriousness. "Not many people know who you really are. To almost everyone you were just dragged in."
I tapped her on the nose, "But I know it. Besides after hanging around with you so much I feel like bettering the world as well."
"So... you won't come back with me?" the question left her lips with an all too quietly fading hope. So that's what this was about.
"You know I can't... I don't even exist there anymore," I reached down to squeeze her hand.
Maybe it was because she had been drinking but her emotions were clear to see. Her head tilted up to the sky and as she blinked a small tear rolled down her cheek quickly wiped away. "Yeah, you have a life here, Taylor, the demons. There's no telling if I'll ever get to go home either. It's just... I'll miss you."
"I'll make sure you can go home and when that happens, you bet I'll cry," I smiled to her encouragingly.
"Maybe I should just stay instead...."
I plonked my hand on her head and rubbed into it, "No. We all know you want to go home. Everyone there is waiting for you. You've already done enough for this place."
"I caused a lot of problems as well," she sighed and let out a small laugh.
"I'm still causing problems," I spread myself and laid onto the ground fully. The stars above seemed so much brighter than before. These last few days with Lara, with everyone, I would enjoy them to the fullest.
With that thought a sudden commotion sounded and I jumped up to look. Taylor was on the other side of the town centre walking purposefully towards me. A bright smile and blush on her face, it wasn't her expression that surprised me but what she was wearing. A beautiful white dress that trailed behind her. It sparkled from the light of the fire and flowed around her causing me to stare in a daze. There was only one way to clearly describe it, a wedding dress.
I stood up with Lara as Taylor and a few of the town women came towards us.
"Rain!" Taylor cheered and run towards me, her hands holding up the dress. She was clearly inebriated as were many of those behind her. She spun in a circle showing off as she reached us. "Do I look pretty?"
"Umm ah, beautiful... you look amazing," I couldn't find the proper words.
"T-Taylor you do know what you're wearing right?" Lara asked carefully.
Taylor looked down at herself and then stared back at me, "Haha, a wedding dress I think." Just how much did she drink? I had never seen her like this before. The way she acted moved from her usual mature mischievous beauty and into incredibly cute territory.
I sent my glare to the women behind her, Lane was with them, "Just so you know we're not that far in our relationship yet."
"Really?" Taylor visibly saddened. "Because I love you lots!" she smiled cutely and pressed closer to me. Her voice mellowed as she whispered in my ear, "I'll just have to make you feel the same." Well it seemed she wasn't drunk enough to not be herself.
I gently pushed her back, "Let's settle down for now."
Lara stared at the two of us with a complicated expression, "Rain I think I'll head to bed now."
"Oh sure," I had to hold back Taylor who was trying to cling to me. "We'll talk later."
"Yeah," she nodded and walked away.