Eddie’s Words

[Through the Living Hope]

8 hours ago, Edema Rue said:

Here’s a scene. I know what comes next in the story, but who can say if I’ll ever write it. I like the stories that give you bones and let you imagine flesh.

Small Steps:

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Sera froze when she saw him. He looked different, but it was undeniably Mir. She didn’t believe it was real. But she blinked, and he was still there. She blinked again, and he was looking at her. A third blink, and he was walking towards her. She stumbled back and found herself against a wall.

“Sera? What are you doing here?”

Her eyes widened. “What are you doing here?”

He stiffened. “There’s more going on…Sera, I didn’t leave.” She raised an eyebrow. He looked away, fists clenched and shaking. “I did. But there were—there are—other things. I didn’t have a choice.”

“There’s always a choice,” Sera said. A part of her wanted to run away, to make him feel her absence. But she hadn’t seen him for almost three years, and she couldn’t stand the thought of him disappearing again. “I needed you.”

Mir’s jaw clenched, then slowly released. “Let’s talk. Will you hear me out, Ser?”

She nodded once.

“Not here,” he said, glancing around. The bar was crowded and noisy. Not a place Sera had ever thought to find him. Not a place she’d ever expected to be.

“Where else?”

He bit his lip. “We could go home. I should probably come see everyone else.”

“No,” Sera snapped, a little too sharply. 

Mir blinked, taking her in for the first time. His eyes widened. “What happened? You’re thin as…is that blood?”

Sera tugged on her gloves. It was stupid to be embarrassed by her own brother, but she was. “Somewhere safe.”

“Right,” Mir said, eyes still on her hands. She put them behind her back. “I know a place.”

Sera tried not to feel betrayed as she followed him out of the bar. He’d let them all think he was dead, and had already been back in the city long enough to find a haunt? They didn’t talk, just walked further into unfamiliar territory. Each bar was gaudier than the last. Beautiful. Terrible. To her surprise, Mir slipped down a side alley. Right. He probably had some sort of safe house…but no, the door he opened created a pool of warm yellow light on the empty street. Sera cocked her head, and he winked. 

“Charming as ever,” she mumbled, trailing off as she saw the room inside. It was a bar, but a completely different world from the place she’d been only minutes before. People lounged about, comfortable but controlled. At ease, but respectful. They chatted, laughed, gambled in a few places. Coats and bags were sitting freely on chairs and by walls. Sera felt a surprising itch to take what she could and run. These people, she realized, had no fear. Several waved at Mir, a couple eyebrows raised at Sera. Mir waved back and no one approached.

“All right,” Mir said. “You tell me your story, I’ll tell you mine. What have I missed?”

Sera snorted, angry and miserable and hopeful all at once. “Where did you go? Why?”

“I guess that’s fair,” Mir said softly. Sera studied his face. There was a weight to him, a strength that had always been there but was more pronounced now. “It feels like such a long time ago. I know I said I was going to run away, but I didn’t mean it. I was walking home, actually, but then I just started to wonder…I wanted more, Ser. It didn’t feel like a real option, but it was enough to keep me walking. I stumbled in here.”

“What,” Sera said, “you just opened the door?”

“Not quite,” Mir said. “I don’t know how to explain it. There was a pull. I didn’t want to go to the house, I wanted to go home. It’s probably stupid, but that’s how it felt here. How it feels.”

“Yeah,” Sera whispered, looking around. “It does.”

“Well, I sat down. Didn’t have any money, but I just wanted to sit in the feeling, try to decide what to do next. Things escalated. I met some people, then some others. Almost before I knew it, I was on the Far Side.”

Sera stiffened. “Don’t ever lie to me.”

“I’m not lying.”

“Mir—”

“I know. No one comes back. But the regular rules don’t apply here. Can you see it? Can you feel it?” He meant what he said. But his eyes were solemn and his posture was just a little too stiff. What wasn’t he saying?

“I feel it,” Sera said. “But you chose Hell over us and didn’t even tell me.”

“It’s not Hell.” A boy who couldn’t have been older than Sera approached with a couple of bottles. Mir thanked him and watched him leave. “I know the rumors, but it isn’t true. There are people there. It’s safe, in its own way, just more desperate than the world you’re used to.”

“You’d be surprised,” Sera said dryly. Mir reached out a hand, as if to put it on hers, to comfort her. She started away before the movement had even registered. Mir pulled back. The space between them was suddenly awkward and heavy, weighted by the three years that had changed them in ways neither had expected. “Dad’s dead,” Sera blurted. “Last year. He got caught up in a riot. The guards just shot into the crowd.”

Mir’s mouth opened slightly. He closed it. Opened it again. “What was he doing in a riot?” He asked faintly. 

“Things were hard,” Sera said. Did he notice that she spoke too fast? Spirits, she was a terrible liar. But she wasn’t going to tell him. No matter how angry she was with Mir, giving him the blame for their father’s life was not something she intended to do. “He was trying to help.”

“I’m sorry,” Mir said. “I should have been here.”

“Yes,” Sera said sadly. “You should have.”

“Will you…what else? I can’t promise to come back, but if you’re in trouble, if Jax or Lynn or Fill…you’re my family. I know I’ve made mistakes, but trust me to do better. I’ll make this right.”

“Who says you can?” Mir started to say something, but Sera cut him off. “Not all wounds heal. Or sometimes they do, and it’s worse, because they heal wrong and leave sharp edges where there should be none. Mom’s death broke us. You leaving made it worse. Now Dad’s gone too, and with Jax in charge, things are different.”

Mir’s head snapped up. “Jax? But—”

“No one else knows about him, and it’s going to stay that way.”

“What if I took him?”

“What?”

Mir nodded. “His gift isn’t as rare on the Far Side. There are people who could teach him to use it.”

Sera scoffed. “So he can hurt more people?”

“So he can use it without hurting anyone.”

“It isn’t possible.”

Mir leaned in, and Sera caught a glimpse of something wild and old and dangerous behind his eyes. “Don’t ever tell me what’s possible.”

“Right,” Sera said meekly. 

Mir cringed, and the look was gone. “Don’t do that. Please, Ser, I don’t want you to be afraid of me. I’m trying to help.”

“The way to help was to stay with us,” Seraa said. “The way to help was to keep Jax controlled.” But the fire was gone from her arguments, and she sat back limply, grabbing one of the bottles and taking a long drink. “Cider?”

“You’re seventeen.”

Sera shrugged. “How does he know that?”

“You look fourteen.”

“Rude.” They sat in a silence that was just a hair too forced to be comfortable. 

Finally, Mir sighed. “Why don’t you leave?”

Sera thought for a long moment, trying to put the emotion into words. “He’s my brother. And he’s trying to get better. Mir, he’s trying so hard. He doesn’t hurt Lynn or Fill. But if I leave…” She saw the look on his face and stood up. “Maybe you should see for yourself. They’ll be glad to know you’re alive.”

“All right,” Mir said. “I’m sorry, Sera.”

Sera met his eyes, then nodded. The brother she remembered had not had the ability to apologize. Whoever Mir had become, it was a person she wanted to understand. “I’m not going to let you leave again.”

“I’m not going to stay.”

“I know.”

The house was dark when Sera opened the door. Mir paused in the entryway. “Never thought I’d be back.”

Sera nodded, not sure how to answer. She made her way up the stairs, listening outside Lynn’s door and then Fill’s. There was soft breathing inside each room, so Sera continued down the hall. Light was barely visible under the door to Jax’s office.

“I need you to wait here,” Sera whispered to Mir.

“Why?”

She didn’t meet his eyes. “It’s been more than three days since he used it last. He’ll be desperate.”

“No.” Sera couldn’t make out Mir’s expression in the dark, but she could feel the rage pouring off him. “I’m not going to let you—”

“You don’t control me,” Sera said, careful to keep her tone neutral. “This isn’t your choice to make, or his. Stay out here. He’ll be more reasonable when he’s finished.”

Mir glared. Sera glared back, and he finally nodded. She knocked.

Jax opened the door immediately, the relief on his face an almost tangible thing. “I expected you hours ago.”

“I know,” Sera said. “But I’m here now.” The door slid shut, and she tried to banish the feeling that Mir had been a dream, that he would disappear now that she wasn’t watching him.

“Barely,” Jax muttered, already returning to his desk. Sera sat in her comfortable chair in the corner, leaning back and closing her eyes. She heard Jax take a breath, and then a high pitched whine started. It penetrated deep into her ears, coursing through her head and every part of her body as she shook. She dug her nails into her palms, digging new crescents into layers of identical scabs. She couldn’t make a sound. Not ever, but especially not tonight. There was no telling what Mir would do if he heard a scream. He had the look of a hero. But that was the problem with heroes. They never knew the whole story, only the parts that let them destroy their villains. The pain got stronger, and Sera’s thoughts disappeared as it overwhelmed her.

 

Mir froze when Jax opened the door. It was like seeing a ghost. Jax froze too. He was older. Thinner. His hair was sweaty and hung over his eyes, his shirt only half buttoned. 

“I’m sorry.” They were the last words Mir had expected. “I’m sorry,” Jax said again, backing up. Mir strode into the room as Jax slid to the floor, his back to the wall, resting his head on a chair. Sera sat on it, looking at nothing. Fresh blood trickled from her clenched fists. A delicate crystal flower sat on her lap. Mir glanced at it, then back at Jax. His head was bowed. “I’m sorry.”

He looked like a child waiting to be scolded. What a bizarre position to be in with his older brother. “Sera, can you hear me? Are you all right?”

She didn’t move.

“I’m sorry.”

“Sera!”

A slow blink.

“I’m sor—”

“Stop saying that!”

Jax flinched. “What else am I supposed to say?”

“I don’t care what you say, I care what you do. And what you’re supposed to do is protect our family.” Mir knew he was acting on emotion. He knew he was supposed to be better than this. But that was a problem for tomorrow. That was a problem for when his brother wasn’t using his magic to push their sister to the brink of death. 

“Pointless,” Jax muttered.

Mir saw red. “Say that again.”

Jax’s shoulders shook, and Mir couldn’t say if he was laughing or crying. Maybe neither. Maybe both. “It’s pointless, isn’t it? I’ve spent thousands of nights like this. There’ll be a thousand more, and another thousand, the rest of my life. Nothing I do is going to change that.”

Mir barked a short laugh. There were people on the Far Side who would sell their souls for Jax’s power. Lives were lost every day because there were too few people with the gift. “Are you going to sit there and pity yourself all night? Because that’s all that matters, isn’t it? How you feel?”

“It’s not what I feel, it’s what I am.” Jax stumbled to his feet. His hands were shaking, but his eyes were determined. “Maybe you think this isn’t real. Maybe it doesn’t matter to you, because you can just run away from it again. But the rest of us have to live with this.”

“With this?” Mir threw up his hands. “With you not being able to control your own cravings? With you being so weak you have to torture your sister just to get through the day? Sounds to me like something you should be able to fix.” A distant part of Mir’s brain knew he wasn’t being fair, knew that there was more to the gift than magic and creation. But he wanted to make Jax mad. He wanted him to feel what he felt.

“You don’t understand,” Jax snapped. “You don’t know what it means to want something so badly that you can hurt everyone you love just to get it.”

“Don’t I?”

“Stop.” The voice was a bare rasp, quiet but penetrating in the small room. Both boys’ attention snapped to the chair. Sera was uncurling her fists, then gently picked up the crystal flower. “Both of you stop it.”

“Ser,” Mir said. “Are you all right?”

“I’m sorry, Seri,” Jax said at the same time.

Sera smiled. “I’m fine. But if I ever see you two fighting like that again, I’ll make you regret it. We aren’t enemies.”

“He’s—”

Sera aimed her glare like a weapon. “I’m glad you’re home, Mir, but you don’t know or understand him. You said you wanted to help? Prove it.”

Mir felt his anger leave him. She was right, this sister of his. So he turned to Jax and gave him a nod. “I had no right to say what I said. I’m sorry.”

Jax’s eyes widened until there was more white than pupil, but he took it in stride. “No harm done.”

Sera was studying the flower. “It’s beautiful, Jax.”

For the first time Mir had seen, Jax smiled. “It’s yours.”

Mir felt his stomach drop. “You made that?”

“Yes,” Jax said, pride in his eyes and fear in his posture. 

“I’ve never seen anything like it.” Mir held out his hand, and Sera gave it to him. It was more intricate than any Unmade item he’d seen before. On the far side, it was rare to see anything other than basic supplies and crude tools. Even most foods were too complex to be created magically. This was something different. It was graceful, artistic, something a master would slave over for months. Not something his brother could materialize in five minutes. “This is incredible. There are so many ways we can use this—”

Mir cut off as Jax snorted. “And he pretended to care about you, Ser.” Sera tried to say something, but Jax kept going. “I don’t hurt her for profit, Mir, and if you want me to then we’ll be better off with you gone.”

Mir froze, too shocked to say anything. Sera answered instead. “That’s not what he was saying, Jax.” How did she sound so calm? His sister had become a warrior, his brother an addict. Who was he, in their eyes? “Mir said there’s a place where they can teach you to use it without hurting anyone.”

“That’s impossible.”

“I wouldn’t say that if I were you,” Sera said lightly, glancing at Mir. An olive branch. Mir looked away. Sera’s lips tightened. “It’s not exactly close by, though.”

“If it was, we’d know about it.” Mir was keenly aware of Jax’s eyes on him. “So? How are you going to fix me, little brother?”

“Best way I know how,” Mir replied, finally meeting Jax’s eyes. “By giving you the chance to fix something else. It’s on the Far Side.”

To his credit, Jax didn’t immediately denounce him as crazy. “So that’s where you’ve been.”

Mir dipped his head. “Some of the time.”

“What’s Hell like?”

It was an answer Mir had given dozens of times before, but today it carried a new weight. “Broken, but healing.”

Sera smiled. “Like us.”

Sorry, I didn’t go through and add italics. Hopefully it still makes sense.

Yes. Womt more. Love. Gimme

[Edema Rue she/her]

5 hours ago, RoyalBeeMage said:

i've only ever listened to the songs though i have been keeping an eye out for any showings near me... i'd love to see a vidio of it though. i've heard such good things about hadestown in general!

loved this peice... didnt quite understadn the farside and jax but still a good peice 

Hadestown is, at least in my mind, one of the greatest musicals there is. It’s too new to see how everyone else will feel, but I think it’s up there with Les Mis and all the classics. 

Thanks! Yeah, I was a little on the vague side but I’ll try to clarify in any future things and edits.

1 hour ago, Spark of Hope said:

Yes. Womt more. Love. Gimme

Heehee I started another scene last night :))

[Through the Living Hope]

8 minutes ago, Edema Rue said:

Hadestown is, at least in my mind, one of the greatest musicals there is. It’s too new to see how everyone else will feel, but I think it’s up there with Les Mis and all the classics. 

Thanks! Yeah, I was a little on the vague side but I’ll try to clarify in any future things and edits.

Heehee I started another scene last night :))

WOMT

(I haven’t seen many musicals but I like the ones I’ve seen)

[Edema Rue she/her]

4 hours ago, Spark of Hope said:

WOMT

(I haven’t seen many musicals but I like the ones I’ve seen)

I’ve seen…so many

it helps that we have one of the most technologically advanced theatres in the world 40 minutes from my house

and I’ve seen 11 shows there

and a bunch at their other location

also broadway

and Broadway tours

ummm I’m not obsessed what are you talking about shhhhh

[RoyalBeeMage he/him]

7 hours ago, Edema Rue said:

I’ve seen…so many

it helps that we have one of the most technologically advanced theatres in the world 40 minutes from my house

and I’ve seen 11 shows there

and a bunch at their other location

also broadway

and Broadway tours

ummm I’m not obsessed what are you talking about shhhhh

i am extremely jealous of you right now. 

[Edema Rue she/her]

2 hours ago, RoyalBeeMage said:

i am extremely jealous of you right now. 

It’s so cool

I also got a backstage tour of it

It cost $80 million to build, not to mention what they spend on each show. They have an insane fly system, and the theatre is in the round. It’s like nothing I’ve see anywhere else.

this is their stage (set up for Prince of Egypt, and with a ghost light because thespians are superstitious), what it looks like standing on the stage and looking up, and one of the fly machine things. 

Spoiler

um sorry I can stop 

[Through the Living Hope]

6 hours ago, Edema Rue said:

It’s so cool

I also got a backstage tour of it

It cost $80 million to build, not to mention what they spend on each show. They have an insane fly system, and the theatre is in the round. It’s like nothing I’ve see anywhere else.

this is their stage (set up for Prince of Egypt, and with a ghost light because thespians are superstitious), what it looks like standing on the stage and looking up, and one of the fly machine things. 

  Reveal hidden contents

um sorry I can stop 

WOW

[RoyalBeeMage he/him]

7 hours ago, Edema Rue said:

It’s so cool

I also got a backstage tour of it

It cost $80 million to build, not to mention what they spend on each show. They have an insane fly system, and the theatre is in the round. It’s like nothing I’ve see anywhere else.

this is their stage (set up for Prince of Egypt, and with a ghost light because thespians are superstitious), what it looks like standing on the stage and looking up, and one of the fly machine things. 

  Hide contents

um sorry I can stop 

om my god! that set up looks so cool! the lighting system looks more complext than anything else i have seen before in a thearter... 

it cost them how much to build?! please tell me they make enough of a profit on each show...

[Edema Rue she/her]

1 hour ago, Spark of Hope said:

WOW

I KNOW

1 hour ago, RoyalBeeMage said:

om my god! that set up looks so cool! the lighting system looks more complext than anything else i have seen before in a thearter... 

it cost them how much to build?! please tell me they make enough of a profit on each show...

Oh I’m sure they do, tickets are usually $70-$80 and that theatre holds 960 people. Almost every performance sells out (and they run each show for a few months, sometimes two at a time because they have a second theatre). I’m seeing Finding Neverland there in May and The Play That Goes Wrong at one of the other locations in July.

hehe it’s also cool because my choreographer and a lady in my ward perform there…the lady in my ward was Fantine in Les Mis a few years back.

[RoyalBeeMage he/him]

8 minutes ago, Edema Rue said:

I KNOW

Oh I’m sure they do, tickets are usually $70-$80 and that theatre holds 960 people. Almost every performance sells out (and they run each show for a few months, sometimes two at a time because they have a second theatre). I’m seeing Finding Neverland there in May and The Play That Goes Wrong at one of the other locations in July.

hehe it’s also cool because my choreographer and a lady in my ward perform there…the lady in my ward was Fantine in Les Mis a few years back.

thats so cool! and prices are kind of afordable unlike the 200ish needed for any propper thearter near me... 

[Edema Rue she/her]

15 hours ago, RoyalBeeMage said:

thats so cool! and prices are kind of afordable unlike the 200ish needed for any propper thearter near me... 

that’s terrible. I wouldn’t survive.

it’s so cool though, I get Tuacahn, Hale, Shakespeare festive, and the Eccles. I am surrounded by theatre. 
 

I’ll have another scene later or tomorrow, depends how tonight goes. Right now, it’s looking like I’ll be up for a while.

”I have to be perfect or else I’ll never be free” has become “I will never be free again.” Where did I go wrong?

[RoyalBeeMage he/him]

8 minutes ago, Edema Rue said:

that’s terrible. I wouldn’t survive.

it’s so cool though, I get Tuacahn, Hale, Shakespeare festive, and the Eccles. I am surrounded by theatre. 
 

I’ll have another scene later or tomorrow, depends how tonight goes. Right now, it’s looking like I’ll be up for a while.

”I have to be perfect or else I’ll never be free” has become “I will never be free again.” Where did I go wrong?

*cries in jealousy*

ooh yay more scenes!

take your time... nothing in life need to be perfect, just true. 

[Edema Rue she/her]

1 hour ago, RoyalBeeMage said:

*cries in jealousy*

ooh yay more scenes!

take your time... nothing in life need to be perfect, just true. 

Okay, got us a scene.

@Spark of Hope

This is that same world place um thing, but a year or two earlier. Sorry, no editing or italics. Maybe one single italic. 
 

Spoiler

“Sometimes I think I’m crazy? I mean, everyone is, in their own way and at their own time. And thinking I’m crazy just means I’m thinking about myself as a main character, as someone who matters, so really it just makes me more like everyone else, doesn’t it?”

Mir stood speechless outside Eve’s cell door. She didn’t know he was there, and it wasn’t his place to interrupt. There was a small thud from inside.

“It’s not like I’m the only one. Obviously I’m not. Whatever we say, no one’s perfectly unique. Everything I do has been done before.” Laughter. Maybe sobs. They sounded the same. “Someone’s probably said these same words. Maybe right here. There’s no way out, not really. Probably someone has already escaped this place too. No real freedom unless you're forging your own path, right?”

Someday, Mir decided, he would tell Eve that she was plenty crazier than everyone else. If she survived this.

“They don’t think I can stop. That’s the whole point, isn’t it? They don’t think I can live without the power. They’re trying to kill me. They just want me dead. But that’s the funny part. They don’t know, do they? They don’t know that I want myself dead more than they ever could. They’re playing into my hands. They’re doing what I want, that’s right, this is what I want…”

Eve took several slow breaths, and then continued, now through tears. Mir had seen this with more than ten different people now. Tonight would be one of the worst nights. She just had to make it through, and then she’d be free.

“Stupid. It’s all so stupid. They don’t get it. How can they know what the want feels like? I’ll die if I don’t use it. No one even has to kill me. But I’ll die if I do use it. Why can’t I die? It’s not going to get better. A month without it isn’t going to make me stop once I have a choice. But it’s not like I’m hurting anyone else. There shouldn’t be a problem. I can use my magic how I want to!”

 

“You look tired.”

Mir snorted. “I could say the same.” Eve’s hair was tangled and her clothes were torn. She looked like she hadn’t slept since he’d locked the door. 

Eve grinned. “You shouldn’t, though. It’s rude.”

Mir thought for a moment. “I’m tired.”

“Good choice.”

“It’s past my bedtime,” he continued, trying to figure out how to flutter his lashes.

Eve burst out laughing. “It’s not that late.”

She was wrong, but Mir figured that reminding her of her inability to tell time would be a bad idea. “Either way, I was supposed to go thirty minutes ago…”

“Don’t go.” There was a note of desperation in her voice, discordant with her usual joviality. “I mean, it doesn’t hurt your pay to stay late, right?”

Mir snickered. “You think I get paid?”

Eve gaped at him. “You mean you’ve been babysitting me of your own free will?”

“Not that either,” Mir said, his smile fading. Eve’s faded too. “Goodnight, Eve. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Please.” Mir froze. It was the first time he could remember her saying the word. “It’s going to be a bad night. I can’t do it alone.”

“There’s protocol…”

“And there’s a girl you locked in a cage asking for your help.” There was fire in Eve’s eyes. “Get me through this, or let me out and I’ll never bother you again.”

“I’m not letting you out.”

“I’ll die if you don’t.” She believed it, too.

“And you’ll die if I do.” They glared at one another for a short moment, and then Mir slowly sat down, leaning his head against the bars. Eve slowly climbed into bed. 

“I want it,” she whispered, so softly Mir could almost believe he’d imagined it. “I want it. I dread it each time, but that doesn’t make me want it any less.”

Mir nodded. “Is it all you want?”

Eve snorted, and when he looked at her he could see bitter tears trickling down her cheeks, then her neck, eventually soaking into her shirt. “I know it isn’t, but it feels like it is.”

“Tell me what else you want.”

“I don’t know what I want.”

Mir smiled encouragingly. “Come on, you have to want something.”

Eve sat up and glared at him. The fire was hotter now, but also shattered. “Let me rephrase, then. It doesn’t matter what I will, because I will never be free again.”

“That isn’t true.”

“It is.”

“I promise,” Mir said, “it isn’t.”

“Sure,” Eve said. “Sure, maybe for you. Born and raised a Far Side soldier, willing to do anything to help your people. This is freedom to you. Well, I’m not like you. I can’t spend my life here, rebuilding. I need to—”

“Wander,” Mir finished. 

Eve’s eyes widened. “Yes. I want to run wild through the fields and dance at balls. I want to chase the stars and dance with the moons. I want the rain to be afraid to fall where I step. I want to be magical and wild and perfectly unchained.”

Mir hadn’t realized he was smiling. “I want to see every corner of the worlds. I want to hear every story that has ever been told and create a few of my own. I want to live a life no mortal can predict.”

Eve’s mouth was open. “You understand.”

“I wasn’t born on the Far Side,” Mir said. “And I am not a soldier. I’m free, and you will be too.”

“Free,” Eve said, and her whole body seemed to shake with longing. The bars between them felt like the greatest punishment there had ever been. “Why did you sign their contract, then?”

“Why did you?”

Eve settled back. “I haven’t been free for a long time, and I have only myself to blame. I thought this would be a way out.”

“You know,” Mir said quietly, “I thought the exact same thing.”

Eve was quiet for long enough that he wondered if she’d fallen asleep. Then she spoke again. “I still want the power.”

“I know,” Mir said. “Want it so bad, using it on yourself doesn’t even seem all that painful, right?”

“Yes,” Eve whispered.

“I’m not going to leave you.” He meant for the night, but as the words left his lips Mir realized that there was no time when they wouldn’t be true.

 

Edited April 16, 2025 by Edema Rue

[RoyalBeeMage he/him]

3 hours ago, Edema Rue said:

Okay, got us a scene.

@Spark of Hope

This is that same world place um thing, but a year or two earlier. Sorry, no editing or italics. Maybe one single italic. 
 

  Hide contents

“Sometimes I think I’m crazy? I mean, everyone is, in their own way and at their own time. And thinking I’m crazy just means I’m thinking about myself as a main character, as someone who matters, so really it just makes me more like everyone else, doesn’t it?”

Mir stood speechless outside Eve’s cell door. She didn’t know he was there, and it wasn’t his place to interrupt. There was a small thud from inside.

“It’s not like I’m the only one. Obviously I’m not. Whatever we say, no one’s perfectly unique. Everything I do has been done before.” Laughter. Maybe sobs. They sounded the same. “Someone’s probably said these same words. Maybe right here. There’s no way out, not really. Probably someone has already escaped this place too. No real freedom unless you're forging your own path, right?”

Someday, Mir decided, he would tell Eve that she was plenty crazier than everyone else. If she survived this.

“They don’t think I can stop. That’s the whole point, isn’t it? They don’t think I can live without the power. They’re trying to kill me. They just want me dead. But that’s the funny part. They don’t know, do they? They don’t know that I want myself dead more than they ever could. They’re playing into my hands. They’re doing what I want, that’s right, this is what I want…”

Eve took several slow breaths, and then continued, now through tears. Mir had seen this with more than ten different people now. Tonight would be one of the worst nights. She just had to make it through, and then she’d be free.

“Stupid. It’s all so stupid. They don’t get it. How can they know what the want feels like? I’ll die if I don’t use it. No one even has to kill me. But I’ll die if I do use it. Why can’t I die? It’s not going to get better. A month without it isn’t going to make me stop once I have a choice. But it’s not like I’m hurting anyone else. There shouldn’t be a problem. I can use my magic how I want to!”

 

“You look tired.”

Mir snorted. “I could say the same.” Eve’s hair was tangled and her clothes were torn. She looked like she hadn’t slept since he’d locked the door. 

Eve grinned. “You shouldn’t, though. It’s rude.”

Mir thought for a moment. “I’m tired.”

“Good choice.”

“It’s past my bedtime,” he continued, trying to figure out how to flutter his lashes.

Eve burst out laughing. “It’s not that late.”

She was wrong, but Mir figured that reminding her of her inability to tell time would be a bad idea. “Either way, I was supposed to go thirty minutes ago…”

“Don’t go.” There was a note of desperation in her voice, discordant with her usual joviality. “I mean, it doesn’t hurt your pay to stay late, right?”

Mir snickered. “You think I get paid?”

Eve gaped at him. “You mean you’ve been babysitting me of your own free will?”

“Not that either,” Mir said, his smile fading. Eve’s faded too. “Goodnight, Eve. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Please.” Mir froze. It was the first time he could remember her saying the word. “It’s going to be a bad night. I can’t do it alone.”

“There’s protocol…”

“And there’s a girl you locked in a cage asking for your help.” There was fire in Eve’s eyes. “Get me through this, or let me out and I’ll never bother you again.”

“I’m not letting you out.”

“I’ll die if you don’t.” She believed it, too.

“And you’ll die if I do.” They glared at one another for a short moment, and then Mir slowly sat down, leaning his head against the bars. Eve slowly climbed into bed. 

“I want it,” she whispered, so softly Mir could almost believe he’d imagined it. “I want it. I dread it each time, but that doesn’t make me want it any less.”

Mir nodded. “Is it all you want?”

Eve snorted, and when he looked at her he could see bitter tears trickling down her cheeks, then her neck, eventually soaking into her shirt. “I know it isn’t, but it feels like it is.”

“Tell me what else you want.”

“I don’t know what I want.”

Mir smiled encouragingly. “Come on, you have to want something.”

Eve sat up and glared at him. The fire was hotter now, but also shattered. “Let me rephrase, then. It doesn’t matter what I will, because I will never be free again.”

“That isn’t true.”

“It is.”

“I promise,” Mir said, “it isn’t.”

“Sure,” Eve said. “Sure, maybe for you. Born and raised a Far Side soldier, willing to do anything to help your people. This is freedom to you. Well, I’m not like you. I can’t spend my life here, rebuilding. I need to—”

“Wander,” Mir finished. 

Eve’s eyes widened. “Yes. I want to run wild through the fields and dance at balls. I want to chase the stars and dance with the moons. I want the rain to be afraid to fall where I step. I want to be magical and wild and perfectly unchained.”

Mir hadn’t realized he was smiling. “I want to see every corner of the worlds. I want to hear every story that has ever been told and create a few of my own. I want to live a life no mortal can predict.”

Eve’s mouth was open. “You understand.”

“I wasn’t born on the Far Side,” Mir said. “And I am not a soldier. I’m free, and you will be too.”

“Free,” Eve said, and her whole body seemed to shake with longing. The bars between them felt like the greatest punishment there had ever been. “Why did you sign their contract, then?”

“Why did you?”

Eve settled back. “I haven’t been free for a long time, and I have only myself to blame. I thought this would be a way out.”

“You know,” Mir said quietly, “I thought the exact same thing.”

Eve was quiet for long enough that he wondered if she’d fallen asleep. Then she spoke again. “I still want the power.”

“I know,” Mir said. “Want it so bad, using it on yourself doesn’t even seem all that painful, right?”

“Yes,” Eve whispered.

“I’m not going to leave you.” He meant for the night, but as the words left his lips Mir realized that there was no time when they wouldn’t be true.

 

ahh now i understand a bit more about the world... though it does raise more questions than answers... still love it!

[Through the Living Hope]

7 hours ago, Edema Rue said:

that’s terrible. I wouldn’t survive.

it’s so cool though, I get Tuacahn, Hale, Shakespeare festive, and the Eccles. I am surrounded by theatre. 
 

I’ll have another scene later or tomorrow, depends how tonight goes. Right now, it’s looking like I’ll be up for a while.

”I have to be perfect or else I’ll never be free” has become “I will never be free again.” Where did I go wrong?

Oh, girlie.. *huh*

6 hours ago, Edema Rue said:

Okay, got us a scene.

@Spark of Hope

This is that same world place um thing, but a year or two earlier. Sorry, no editing or italics. Maybe one single italic. 
 

  Hide contents

“Sometimes I think I’m crazy? I mean, everyone is, in their own way and at their own time. And thinking I’m crazy just means I’m thinking about myself as a main character, as someone who matters, so really it just makes me more like everyone else, doesn’t it?”

Mir stood speechless outside Eve’s cell door. She didn’t know he was there, and it wasn’t his place to interrupt. There was a small thud from inside.

“It’s not like I’m the only one. Obviously I’m not. Whatever we say, no one’s perfectly unique. Everything I do has been done before.” Laughter. Maybe sobs. They sounded the same. “Someone’s probably said these same words. Maybe right here. There’s no way out, not really. Probably someone has already escaped this place too. No real freedom unless you're forging your own path, right?”

Someday, Mir decided, he would tell Eve that she was plenty crazier than everyone else. If she survived this.

“They don’t think I can stop. That’s the whole point, isn’t it? They don’t think I can live without the power. They’re trying to kill me. They just want me dead. But that’s the funny part. They don’t know, do they? They don’t know that I want myself dead more than they ever could. They’re playing into my hands. They’re doing what I want, that’s right, this is what I want…”

Eve took several slow breaths, and then continued, now through tears. Mir had seen this with more than ten different people now. Tonight would be one of the worst nights. She just had to make it through, and then she’d be free.

“Stupid. It’s all so stupid. They don’t get it. How can they know what the want feels like? I’ll die if I don’t use it. No one even has to kill me. But I’ll die if I do use it. Why can’t I die? It’s not going to get better. A month without it isn’t going to make me stop once I have a choice. But it’s not like I’m hurting anyone else. There shouldn’t be a problem. I can use my magic how I want to!”

 

“You look tired.”

Mir snorted. “I could say the same.” Eve’s hair was tangled and her clothes were torn. She looked like she hadn’t slept since he’d locked the door. 

Eve grinned. “You shouldn’t, though. It’s rude.”

Mir thought for a moment. “I’m tired.”

“Good choice.”

“It’s past my bedtime,” he continued, trying to figure out how to flutter his lashes.

Eve burst out laughing. “It’s not that late.”

She was wrong, but Mir figured that reminding her of her inability to tell time would be a bad idea. “Either way, I was supposed to go thirty minutes ago…”

“Don’t go.” There was a note of desperation in her voice, discordant with her usual joviality. “I mean, it doesn’t hurt your pay to stay late, right?”

Mir snickered. “You think I get paid?”

Eve gaped at him. “You mean you’ve been babysitting me of your own free will?”

“Not that either,” Mir said, his smile fading. Eve’s faded too. “Goodnight, Eve. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Please.” Mir froze. It was the first time he could remember her saying the word. “It’s going to be a bad night. I can’t do it alone.”

“There’s protocol…”

“And there’s a girl you locked in a cage asking for your help.” There was fire in Eve’s eyes. “Get me through this, or let me out and I’ll never bother you again.”

“I’m not letting you out.”

“I’ll die if you don’t.” She believed it, too.

“And you’ll die if I do.” They glared at one another for a short moment, and then Mir slowly sat down, leaning his head against the bars. Eve slowly climbed into bed. 

“I want it,” she whispered, so softly Mir could almost believe he’d imagined it. “I want it. I dread it each time, but that doesn’t make me want it any less.”

Mir nodded. “Is it all you want?”

Eve snorted, and when he looked at her he could see bitter tears trickling down her cheeks, then her neck, eventually soaking into her shirt. “I know it isn’t, but it feels like it is.”

“Tell me what else you want.”

“I don’t know what I want.”

Mir smiled encouragingly. “Come on, you have to want something.”

Eve sat up and glared at him. The fire was hotter now, but also shattered. “Let me rephrase, then. It doesn’t matter what I will, because I will never be free again.”

“That isn’t true.”

“It is.”

“I promise,” Mir said, “it isn’t.”

“Sure,” Eve said. “Sure, maybe for you. Born and raised a Far Side soldier, willing to do anything to help your people. This is freedom to you. Well, I’m not like you. I can’t spend my life here, rebuilding. I need to—”

“Wander,” Mir finished. 

Eve’s eyes widened. “Yes. I want to run wild through the fields and dance at balls. I want to chase the stars and dance with the moons. I want the rain to be afraid to fall where I step. I want to be magical and wild and perfectly unchained.”

Mir hadn’t realized he was smiling. “I want to see every corner of the worlds. I want to hear every story that has ever been told and create a few of my own. I want to live a life no mortal can predict.”

Eve’s mouth was open. “You understand.”

“I wasn’t born on the Far Side,” Mir said. “And I am not a soldier. I’m free, and you will be too.”

“Free,” Eve said, and her whole body seemed to shake with longing. The bars between them felt like the greatest punishment there had ever been. “Why did you sign their contract, then?”

“Why did you?”

Eve settled back. “I haven’t been free for a long time, and I have only myself to blame. I thought this would be a way out.”

“You know,” Mir said quietly, “I thought the exact same thing.”

Eve was quiet for long enough that he wondered if she’d fallen asleep. Then she spoke again. “I still want the power.”

“I know,” Mir said. “Want it so bad, using it on yourself doesn’t even seem all that painful, right?”

“Yes,” Eve whispered.

“I’m not going to leave you.” He meant for the night, but as the words left his lips Mir realized that there was no time when they wouldn’t be true.

 

*chef’s kiss*

[Edema Rue she/her]

On 4/16/2025 at 3:08 AM, RoyalBeeMage said:

ahh now i understand a bit more about the world... though it does raise more questions than answers... still love it!

On 4/16/2025 at 6:11 AM, Spark of Hope said:

Oh, girlie.. *huh*

*chef’s kiss*

Another scene

This is the furthest along chronologically, hopefully it has at least a few answers. I’m not the sort to give you a ton of world building because my stories are about relationships and people more than anything else

Spoiler

The man looked ordinary, if shadowed. Sera craned her neck, trying to get a better look. Now he looked like a boy. She started, and half an instant later he was a different person entirely. It wasn’t that his face was changing, more that her perspective was. But how was that even possible?

“That’s the king of Hell?”

Mir grimaced. “Unfortunately. Listen, it’s probably best if you stay away from him while you’re here. It shouldn’t be hard. He’s never even seen Jax, and he’s been here for two years.”

“Sure,” Sera said. She was still watching him. She didn’t mean to, it was just…was he old or young? She couldn’t tell.

“Sera!”

“Sorry,” Sera mumbled. “Have you met him?”

“You could say that,” Mir said, pulling her back and out of the man’s line of sight. “He’s more than a little crazy. Thinks we’ve met before, in a past life, that I’ve got a destiny to fulfill.”

Sera blinked. “Really?”

Mir’s mouth twitched. “At least he hasn’t tried to make me stay.”

“What if he does?”

Now Mir was grinning. “I’ll escape.” Sera wanted to question him further, but something else caught her attention. She was the lady of one of the Grand Houses of Byrds, and so she wasn’t exactly used to lingering on a crowded dock. Still, she hadn’t spent her whole life cloistered away, and she knew what to expect. It wasn’t this. It was too quiet, the workers too mechanical. And they only unloaded Mir’s ship. There were two or three other ships, but they were as silent and still as corpses.

“Mir,” she said, voice low. “What’s wrong with them?”

Mir’s grin faded. “They’re not from here.”

“The city?”

“The Far Side.”

Sera blinked. “They’re from the Near Side? I didn’t think that was pos…I thought you were the only one.”

“As far as I know, there’s only one other person who can move freely between the worlds. But both of us can bring people with us, like I did for you and Jax.”

“You brought them here.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Mir sighed softly. “It’s complicated. Come on, I’ll tell you once we get inside.”

“All right,” Sera said. “Let me get my bag.”

“They’ll take care of it.”

Sera nodded and followed him, eyes on the city sprawled before her. It was the shape of Byrds, but the shore was in the wrong direction, and only the oldest buildings were the same. The rest were tall and long, compact and efficient. There was no color, no decorations or individuality. Nothing to say that real people lived here. Once they were in the streets, the few people disappeared. Sera looked back once, startled to see that the King was following.

“Mir,” she said, gesturing with her head.

He looked back and cursed. “Of all the days…listen, I’m not going to tell you want to do, but you’ll probably be happier if you stay out of his way. It’s probably just business, but you never know with him.”

A moment later, the king was upon them. His fluctuating face carried an eerie smile. “Wanderer,” he said. “And you’ve brought me my Queen.”

Sera realized with a start that his eyes were on hers. “Excuse me?”

Mir’s eyebrows had shot up. “This is my sister. She isn’t part of your little game.”

“She is,” the King said, looking the tiniest bit surprised. “As you are, and as the Villain will be.” He laughed, and the sound sent a chill up Sera’s spine. “King, Queen, Wanderer, Villain. The troupe arrives and the play begins.”

“Like I said,” Mir muttered, “crazy.”

The King didn’t look at him. Sera noticed that even as his face changed, his eyes stayed the same piercing blue. And there was something behind the faces, something in the perpetual shadows that made them seem almost like a mask. “I’ll see you soon, Queen. I am grateful to know your new face.” He turned, and when he left it felt like the presence of the Far Side itself left with him.

Mir looked furious. “I’m sorry. I should’ve been more careful.”

“That’s all right,” Sera said, watching the King’s retreating back. “I have a feeling you couldn’t have stopped this. What did he call you? Wanderer?”

Mir nodded, gesturing for Sera to keep walking. She did, hesitantly. “He has this vision. Says he can see the past lives of all people, and that there are four of us whose lives always intersect in the same way. Him—the King, as you’ve probably guessed. He won’t tell me his name, so I call him Rey.”

Sera snorted. “How creative.”

“Never been my strong suit,” Mir said, and Sera laughed, relishing the ease of the moment, despite the King’s lingering eyes in her mind. “Anyway, Rey says that there is always a King, a Queen, a Wanderer, and a Villain. He marked me as the Wanderer one of the first times I came here. I guess he thinks you’re the Queen.”

Sera froze. “Does that mean he expects me to marry him?” Mir’s look was priceless, and she couldn’t help but snicker.

“If he tries…”

“Don’t worry.” Sera winked. “I’ll escape.”

 

“Sera!” Jax leapt to his feet as soon as the door opened, rushing and enveloping her in his arms.

Sera was laughing before she even realized it. “Jax!” Two years. It had been two years since she’d seen her brother. He’d been on the Far Side for two years, but he looked healthier and happier than she’d ever seen him. Mir stood in the doorway, smiling. After a moment, Jax pulled back.

“Eve’s here,” he said, looking at Mir.

Sera doubted she had ever seen such an expression of surprise and delight. “Could’ve led with that,” he said, heading down the hallway.

Sera wasn’t entirely sure where they were. Mir said it was a safe house, but it looked exactly the same as every other building in the city. Thein, this place was called. Sera was pretty sure that if she got lost here, she’s never find her way back. 

“You grew up,” Jax said, looking her up and down. “Lady Sera, ruler of Grand House Gineil.”

“You did too,” Sera said. “Obviously things have gotten better.”

Jax nodded. “That first month…they call the Far Side Hell, Sera, but really it’s just the quarantine. After that, everything changes for the better.”

“Not for the workers,” Sera mused.

“What?”

“The workers.” Sera pursed her lips. “The ones we saw at the docks, anyway. Mir said they aren’t from here? And they looked off. Broken, somehow.”

“Ah.” Jax nodded. “I’m working on that.”

“That’s right,” Mir said, reentering the room followed by a beautiful girl. “Our brother is a revolutionary, Ser. Eve, Sera. Sera, Eve.”

The girl, Eve, smiled. “Your brother speaks highly of you.”

Sera dipped her head. “If I saw him more, I’m sure he’d speak highly of you too.” Eve laughed and Mir flushed. “The people here. Tell me about them. Mir, you said you’re bringing them across?”

Mir nodded. “And Eve.” Sera noticed the gentle smile between them, the way their fingers laced together as if they’d been made for each other. “As far as we know, no one else can cross. They start sailing and eventually have to turn back or risk running out of supplies.”

“Wanderers,” Sera said.

Eve blinked. “Psychic, or has she met Rey?”

“Rey,” Mir said darkly. “But yeah. That part of his fantasy is at least understandable.”

“That’s incredible,” Sera said, mind spinning. “I mean, the two of you are invaluable. You can halt all commerce completely on your own. The King can’t demand anything of you, but you can force him into whatever you want—”

“I’ll stop you right there,” Mir interrupted. “I know you’re used to leading the House, always keeping things running. But it isn’t like that. The Far Side was fully self-sufficient before we came, and that hasn’t changed. Sometimes I’ll trade exotic fruits, if I need the money. But it’s not about the business. If I ran something like that…”

“It’s not wandering,” Eve said. “We need to be free. No one’s time frame, no one’s pets.”

Sera nodded once. It wasn’t a desire she understood, but she respected her brother’s wishes. His battles weren’t hers to fight. “But you bring people across.”

Mir and Eve shared a long glance. Mir opened his mouth, but before he could say anything Jax made a strangled noise. All eyes turned to him. His eyes were closed, his jaw tight and a thin sheen of sweat across his face. 

“Jax?” Sera grasped his shoulder, trying to force him out of it. Nothing. “What’s wrong with him?”

“I don’t know,” Mir snapped, grabbing Jax’s other arm. A moment later, Eve appeared holding a glass of water and tossed it on his face. Jax spluttered, but finally opened his eyes.

He regained control almost instantly. “Diane,” he said, looking into Sera’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Sera blinked once. “Who’s Diane?”

Jax blinked. Mir blinked. Eve sipped what was left of the water. “I said Sera.”

“You said Diane,” Mir countered. “What was that?”

“I’m not…” Jax winced, putting a hand to his head. “Can I have some of that?” Eve handed over the water, muttering something about a complete lack of chivalry. She seemed more relieved than angry, though. “I’m not sure what it is. Like a memory or a flashback, almost.”

“How long have they been going on?”

“They started during the quarantine. I thought they were just another side effect of not using the power, but they haven’t gone away.”

“And you didn’t tell me.” Mir looked betrayed.

“You weren’t around enough to figure it out?” Sera regretted the words as soon as she’d said them, but that didn’t make them untrue.

Jax stood, and all the power in the room deferred to him. The oldest brother, the one who had been raised an heir. “It isn’t a problem. Let it go.”

“Isn’t a—”

“Let. It. Go.” Sera looked at him. Her whole family kept changing before she got a chance to know them. Last time she’d seen Jax, he’d been a wreck, addicted to his power, burdened by the pain it caused her. Today, his back was straight, his eyes were clear, his head was held high. He was the sort of person whose orders were impossible to disobey. “It’s just memories. Old ones, from before this life. Until tonight, they’ve been vague. Now I see it. I am the Villain. Sera is the Queen.”

Sera blinked. Mir raised an eyebrow. “Did you tell him?”

“No.”

“Tell me what?”

“We ran into Rey on our way over. He said Sera was his Queen.”

“Did he?”

Mir sighed. “Jax, you’re freaking me out. What’s going on?”

Jax studied them for a moment, then gestured for everyone to sit down. They did, and he started to talk. Sera had never realized how eloquent her eldest brother was. Or maybe he hadn’t been when he was at home, and this was something he’d developed here. His words painted a picture of past lives, of the four of them through the centuries. Fighting. Loving. Planning. Escaping. When he finished, Sera pulled Mir aside.

“Is it possible that this is some kind of madness? From what I’ve heard, he and Rey—the King—use the power in similar ways. Maybe they’re both crazy.”

“Maybe,” Mir said hesitantly. “That’s not an easy thing to accuse someone of, though, especially when there’s a chance he isn’t.”

Eve stepped into the room, shutting the door gently behind her. “Maybe it’s not my place, but why does it matter? I mean, it sounds like he’s been having these flashbacks for a while, and he’s fine. I get that you’re worried, but if he’s telling the truth, what does it change?”

Sera and Mir glanced at each other, brows almost identically furrowed. “It means I spent my past lives with that King, and he expects me to do it again.” The King with the sharp blue eyes…the King with an army of broken souls. 

Eve smirked, but the action was strangely kind. “And you’re going to do whatever he expects?”

“Of course not,” Sera said. “But if he tries to force it…”

Jax stepped inside, and Sera got the feeling he’d been listening. A prickle of shame ran up her spine. They had no right to be talking about him behind his back. “Remember what Mir said about my leading a revolution? We are people. If it’s fate for us to play these roles, then that’s what we’ll do. But not because we’re supposed to—because we choose to.”

 

[Through the Living Hope]

7 hours ago, Edema Rue said:

Another scene

This is the furthest along chronologically, hopefully it has at least a few answers. I’m not the sort to give you a ton of world building because my stories are about relationships and people more than anything else

  Reveal hidden contents

The man looked ordinary, if shadowed. Sera craned her neck, trying to get a better look. Now he looked like a boy. She started, and half an instant later he was a different person entirely. It wasn’t that his face was changing, more that her perspective was. But how was that even possible?

“That’s the king of Hell?”

Mir grimaced. “Unfortunately. Listen, it’s probably best if you stay away from him while you’re here. It shouldn’t be hard. He’s never even seen Jax, and he’s been here for two years.”

“Sure,” Sera said. She was still watching him. She didn’t mean to, it was just…was he old or young? She couldn’t tell.

“Sera!”

“Sorry,” Sera mumbled. “Have you met him?”

“You could say that,” Mir said, pulling her back and out of the man’s line of sight. “He’s more than a little crazy. Thinks we’ve met before, in a past life, that I’ve got a destiny to fulfill.”

Sera blinked. “Really?”

Mir’s mouth twitched. “At least he hasn’t tried to make me stay.”

“What if he does?”

Now Mir was grinning. “I’ll escape.” Sera wanted to question him further, but something else caught her attention. She was the lady of one of the Grand Houses of Byrds, and so she wasn’t exactly used to lingering on a crowded dock. Still, she hadn’t spent her whole life cloistered away, and she knew what to expect. It wasn’t this. It was too quiet, the workers too mechanical. And they only unloaded Mir’s ship. There were two or three other ships, but they were as silent and still as corpses.

“Mir,” she said, voice low. “What’s wrong with them?”

Mir’s grin faded. “They’re not from here.”

“The city?”

“The Far Side.”

Sera blinked. “They’re from the Near Side? I didn’t think that was pos…I thought you were the only one.”

“As far as I know, there’s only one other person who can move freely between the worlds. But both of us can bring people with us, like I did for you and Jax.”

“You brought them here.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Mir sighed softly. “It’s complicated. Come on, I’ll tell you once we get inside.”

“All right,” Sera said. “Let me get my bag.”

“They’ll take care of it.”

Sera nodded and followed him, eyes on the city sprawled before her. It was the shape of Byrds, but the shore was in the wrong direction, and only the oldest buildings were the same. The rest were tall and long, compact and efficient. There was no color, no decorations or individuality. Nothing to say that real people lived here. Once they were in the streets, the few people disappeared. Sera looked back once, startled to see that the King was following.

“Mir,” she said, gesturing with her head.

He looked back and cursed. “Of all the days…listen, I’m not going to tell you want to do, but you’ll probably be happier if you stay out of his way. It’s probably just business, but you never know with him.”

A moment later, the king was upon them. His fluctuating face carried an eerie smile. “Wanderer,” he said. “And you’ve brought me my Queen.”

Sera realized with a start that his eyes were on hers. “Excuse me?”

Mir’s eyebrows had shot up. “This is my sister. She isn’t part of your little game.”

“She is,” the King said, looking the tiniest bit surprised. “As you are, and as the Villain will be.” He laughed, and the sound sent a chill up Sera’s spine. “King, Queen, Wanderer, Villain. The troupe arrives and the play begins.”

“Like I said,” Mir muttered, “crazy.”

The King didn’t look at him. Sera noticed that even as his face changed, his eyes stayed the same piercing blue. And there was something behind the faces, something in the perpetual shadows that made them seem almost like a mask. “I’ll see you soon, Queen. I am grateful to know your new face.” He turned, and when he left it felt like the presence of the Far Side itself left with him.

Mir looked furious. “I’m sorry. I should’ve been more careful.”

“That’s all right,” Sera said, watching the King’s retreating back. “I have a feeling you couldn’t have stopped this. What did he call you? Wanderer?”

Mir nodded, gesturing for Sera to keep walking. She did, hesitantly. “He has this vision. Says he can see the past lives of all people, and that there are four of us whose lives always intersect in the same way. Him—the King, as you’ve probably guessed. He won’t tell me his name, so I call him Rey.”

Sera snorted. “How creative.”

“Never been my strong suit,” Mir said, and Sera laughed, relishing the ease of the moment, despite the King’s lingering eyes in her mind. “Anyway, Rey says that there is always a King, a Queen, a Wanderer, and a Villain. He marked me as the Wanderer one of the first times I came here. I guess he thinks you’re the Queen.”

Sera froze. “Does that mean he expects me to marry him?” Mir’s look was priceless, and she couldn’t help but snicker.

“If he tries…”

“Don’t worry.” Sera winked. “I’ll escape.”

 

“Sera!” Jax leapt to his feet as soon as the door opened, rushing and enveloping her in his arms.

Sera was laughing before she even realized it. “Jax!” Two years. It had been two years since she’d seen her brother. He’d been on the Far Side for two years, but he looked healthier and happier than she’d ever seen him. Mir stood in the doorway, smiling. After a moment, Jax pulled back.

“Eve’s here,” he said, looking at Mir.

Sera doubted she had ever seen such an expression of surprise and delight. “Could’ve led with that,” he said, heading down the hallway.

Sera wasn’t entirely sure where they were. Mir said it was a safe house, but it looked exactly the same as every other building in the city. Thein, this place was called. Sera was pretty sure that if she got lost here, she’s never find her way back. 

“You grew up,” Jax said, looking her up and down. “Lady Sera, ruler of Grand House Gineil.”

“You did too,” Sera said. “Obviously things have gotten better.”

Jax nodded. “That first month…they call the Far Side Hell, Sera, but really it’s just the quarantine. After that, everything changes for the better.”

“Not for the workers,” Sera mused.

“What?”

“The workers.” Sera pursed her lips. “The ones we saw at the docks, anyway. Mir said they aren’t from here? And they looked off. Broken, somehow.”

“Ah.” Jax nodded. “I’m working on that.”

“That’s right,” Mir said, reentering the room followed by a beautiful girl. “Our brother is a revolutionary, Ser. Eve, Sera. Sera, Eve.”

The girl, Eve, smiled. “Your brother speaks highly of you.”

Sera dipped her head. “If I saw him more, I’m sure he’d speak highly of you too.” Eve laughed and Mir flushed. “The people here. Tell me about them. Mir, you said you’re bringing them across?”

Mir nodded. “And Eve.” Sera noticed the gentle smile between them, the way their fingers laced together as if they’d been made for each other. “As far as we know, no one else can cross. They start sailing and eventually have to turn back or risk running out of supplies.”

“Wanderers,” Sera said.

Eve blinked. “Psychic, or has she met Rey?”

“Rey,” Mir said darkly. “But yeah. That part of his fantasy is at least understandable.”

“That’s incredible,” Sera said, mind spinning. “I mean, the two of you are invaluable. You can halt all commerce completely on your own. The King can’t demand anything of you, but you can force him into whatever you want—”

“I’ll stop you right there,” Mir interrupted. “I know you’re used to leading the House, always keeping things running. But it isn’t like that. The Far Side was fully self-sufficient before we came, and that hasn’t changed. Sometimes I’ll trade exotic fruits, if I need the money. But it’s not about the business. If I ran something like that…”

“It’s not wandering,” Eve said. “We need to be free. No one’s time frame, no one’s pets.”

Sera nodded once. It wasn’t a desire she understood, but she respected her brother’s wishes. His battles weren’t hers to fight. “But you bring people across.”

Mir and Eve shared a long glance. Mir opened his mouth, but before he could say anything Jax made a strangled noise. All eyes turned to him. His eyes were closed, his jaw tight and a thin sheen of sweat across his face. 

“Jax?” Sera grasped his shoulder, trying to force him out of it. Nothing. “What’s wrong with him?”

“I don’t know,” Mir snapped, grabbing Jax’s other arm. A moment later, Eve appeared holding a glass of water and tossed it on his face. Jax spluttered, but finally opened his eyes.

He regained control almost instantly. “Diane,” he said, looking into Sera’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Sera blinked once. “Who’s Diane?”

Jax blinked. Mir blinked. Eve sipped what was left of the water. “I said Sera.”

“You said Diane,” Mir countered. “What was that?”

“I’m not…” Jax winced, putting a hand to his head. “Can I have some of that?” Eve handed over the water, muttering something about a complete lack of chivalry. She seemed more relieved than angry, though. “I’m not sure what it is. Like a memory or a flashback, almost.”

“How long have they been going on?”

“They started during the quarantine. I thought they were just another side effect of not using the power, but they haven’t gone away.”

“And you didn’t tell me.” Mir looked betrayed.

“You weren’t around enough to figure it out?” Sera regretted the words as soon as she’d said them, but that didn’t make them untrue.

Jax stood, and all the power in the room deferred to him. The oldest brother, the one who had been raised an heir. “It isn’t a problem. Let it go.”

“Isn’t a—”

“Let. It. Go.” Sera looked at him. Her whole family kept changing before she got a chance to know them. Last time she’d seen Jax, he’d been a wreck, addicted to his power, burdened by the pain it caused her. Today, his back was straight, his eyes were clear, his head was held high. He was the sort of person whose orders were impossible to disobey. “It’s just memories. Old ones, from before this life. Until tonight, they’ve been vague. Now I see it. I am the Villain. Sera is the Queen.”

Sera blinked. Mir raised an eyebrow. “Did you tell him?”

“No.”

“Tell me what?”

“We ran into Rey on our way over. He said Sera was his Queen.”

“Did he?”

Mir sighed. “Jax, you’re freaking me out. What’s going on?”

Jax studied them for a moment, then gestured for everyone to sit down. They did, and he started to talk. Sera had never realized how eloquent her eldest brother was. Or maybe he hadn’t been when he was at home, and this was something he’d developed here. His words painted a picture of past lives, of the four of them through the centuries. Fighting. Loving. Planning. Escaping. When he finished, Sera pulled Mir aside.

“Is it possible that this is some kind of madness? From what I’ve heard, he and Rey—the King—use the power in similar ways. Maybe they’re both crazy.”

“Maybe,” Mir said hesitantly. “That’s not an easy thing to accuse someone of, though, especially when there’s a chance he isn’t.”

Eve stepped into the room, shutting the door gently behind her. “Maybe it’s not my place, but why does it matter? I mean, it sounds like he’s been having these flashbacks for a while, and he’s fine. I get that you’re worried, but if he’s telling the truth, what does it change?”

Sera and Mir glanced at each other, brows almost identically furrowed. “It means I spent my past lives with that King, and he expects me to do it again.” The King with the sharp blue eyes…the King with an army of broken souls. 

Eve smirked, but the action was strangely kind. “And you’re going to do whatever he expects?”

“Of course not,” Sera said. “But if he tries to force it…”

Jax stepped inside, and Sera got the feeling he’d been listening. A prickle of shame ran up her spine. They had no right to be talking about him behind his back. “Remember what Mir said about my leading a revolution? We are people. If it’s fate for us to play these roles, then that’s what we’ll do. But not because we’re supposed to—because we choose to.”

 

Dang I don’t have time to read rn

Ping me tomorrow if I don’t post here by then!

[RoyalBeeMage he/him]

18 hours ago, Edema Rue said:

Another scene

This is the furthest along chronologically, hopefully it has at least a few answers. I’m not the sort to give you a ton of world building because my stories are about relationships and people more than anything else

  Hide contents

The man looked ordinary, if shadowed. Sera craned her neck, trying to get a better look. Now he looked like a boy. She started, and half an instant later he was a different person entirely. It wasn’t that his face was changing, more that her perspective was. But how was that even possible?

“That’s the king of Hell?”

Mir grimaced. “Unfortunately. Listen, it’s probably best if you stay away from him while you’re here. It shouldn’t be hard. He’s never even seen Jax, and he’s been here for two years.”

“Sure,” Sera said. She was still watching him. She didn’t mean to, it was just…was he old or young? She couldn’t tell.

“Sera!”

“Sorry,” Sera mumbled. “Have you met him?”

“You could say that,” Mir said, pulling her back and out of the man’s line of sight. “He’s more than a little crazy. Thinks we’ve met before, in a past life, that I’ve got a destiny to fulfill.”

Sera blinked. “Really?”

Mir’s mouth twitched. “At least he hasn’t tried to make me stay.”

“What if he does?”

Now Mir was grinning. “I’ll escape.” Sera wanted to question him further, but something else caught her attention. She was the lady of one of the Grand Houses of Byrds, and so she wasn’t exactly used to lingering on a crowded dock. Still, she hadn’t spent her whole life cloistered away, and she knew what to expect. It wasn’t this. It was too quiet, the workers too mechanical. And they only unloaded Mir’s ship. There were two or three other ships, but they were as silent and still as corpses.

“Mir,” she said, voice low. “What’s wrong with them?”

Mir’s grin faded. “They’re not from here.”

“The city?”

“The Far Side.”

Sera blinked. “They’re from the Near Side? I didn’t think that was pos…I thought you were the only one.”

“As far as I know, there’s only one other person who can move freely between the worlds. But both of us can bring people with us, like I did for you and Jax.”

“You brought them here.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Mir sighed softly. “It’s complicated. Come on, I’ll tell you once we get inside.”

“All right,” Sera said. “Let me get my bag.”

“They’ll take care of it.”

Sera nodded and followed him, eyes on the city sprawled before her. It was the shape of Byrds, but the shore was in the wrong direction, and only the oldest buildings were the same. The rest were tall and long, compact and efficient. There was no color, no decorations or individuality. Nothing to say that real people lived here. Once they were in the streets, the few people disappeared. Sera looked back once, startled to see that the King was following.

“Mir,” she said, gesturing with her head.

He looked back and cursed. “Of all the days…listen, I’m not going to tell you want to do, but you’ll probably be happier if you stay out of his way. It’s probably just business, but you never know with him.”

A moment later, the king was upon them. His fluctuating face carried an eerie smile. “Wanderer,” he said. “And you’ve brought me my Queen.”

Sera realized with a start that his eyes were on hers. “Excuse me?”

Mir’s eyebrows had shot up. “This is my sister. She isn’t part of your little game.”

“She is,” the King said, looking the tiniest bit surprised. “As you are, and as the Villain will be.” He laughed, and the sound sent a chill up Sera’s spine. “King, Queen, Wanderer, Villain. The troupe arrives and the play begins.”

“Like I said,” Mir muttered, “crazy.”

The King didn’t look at him. Sera noticed that even as his face changed, his eyes stayed the same piercing blue. And there was something behind the faces, something in the perpetual shadows that made them seem almost like a mask. “I’ll see you soon, Queen. I am grateful to know your new face.” He turned, and when he left it felt like the presence of the Far Side itself left with him.

Mir looked furious. “I’m sorry. I should’ve been more careful.”

“That’s all right,” Sera said, watching the King’s retreating back. “I have a feeling you couldn’t have stopped this. What did he call you? Wanderer?”

Mir nodded, gesturing for Sera to keep walking. She did, hesitantly. “He has this vision. Says he can see the past lives of all people, and that there are four of us whose lives always intersect in the same way. Him—the King, as you’ve probably guessed. He won’t tell me his name, so I call him Rey.”

Sera snorted. “How creative.”

“Never been my strong suit,” Mir said, and Sera laughed, relishing the ease of the moment, despite the King’s lingering eyes in her mind. “Anyway, Rey says that there is always a King, a Queen, a Wanderer, and a Villain. He marked me as the Wanderer one of the first times I came here. I guess he thinks you’re the Queen.”

Sera froze. “Does that mean he expects me to marry him?” Mir’s look was priceless, and she couldn’t help but snicker.

“If he tries…”

“Don’t worry.” Sera winked. “I’ll escape.”

 

“Sera!” Jax leapt to his feet as soon as the door opened, rushing and enveloping her in his arms.

Sera was laughing before she even realized it. “Jax!” Two years. It had been two years since she’d seen her brother. He’d been on the Far Side for two years, but he looked healthier and happier than she’d ever seen him. Mir stood in the doorway, smiling. After a moment, Jax pulled back.

“Eve’s here,” he said, looking at Mir.

Sera doubted she had ever seen such an expression of surprise and delight. “Could’ve led with that,” he said, heading down the hallway.

Sera wasn’t entirely sure where they were. Mir said it was a safe house, but it looked exactly the same as every other building in the city. Thein, this place was called. Sera was pretty sure that if she got lost here, she’s never find her way back. 

“You grew up,” Jax said, looking her up and down. “Lady Sera, ruler of Grand House Gineil.”

“You did too,” Sera said. “Obviously things have gotten better.”

Jax nodded. “That first month…they call the Far Side Hell, Sera, but really it’s just the quarantine. After that, everything changes for the better.”

“Not for the workers,” Sera mused.

“What?”

“The workers.” Sera pursed her lips. “The ones we saw at the docks, anyway. Mir said they aren’t from here? And they looked off. Broken, somehow.”

“Ah.” Jax nodded. “I’m working on that.”

“That’s right,” Mir said, reentering the room followed by a beautiful girl. “Our brother is a revolutionary, Ser. Eve, Sera. Sera, Eve.”

The girl, Eve, smiled. “Your brother speaks highly of you.”

Sera dipped her head. “If I saw him more, I’m sure he’d speak highly of you too.” Eve laughed and Mir flushed. “The people here. Tell me about them. Mir, you said you’re bringing them across?”

Mir nodded. “And Eve.” Sera noticed the gentle smile between them, the way their fingers laced together as if they’d been made for each other. “As far as we know, no one else can cross. They start sailing and eventually have to turn back or risk running out of supplies.”

“Wanderers,” Sera said.

Eve blinked. “Psychic, or has she met Rey?”

“Rey,” Mir said darkly. “But yeah. That part of his fantasy is at least understandable.”

“That’s incredible,” Sera said, mind spinning. “I mean, the two of you are invaluable. You can halt all commerce completely on your own. The King can’t demand anything of you, but you can force him into whatever you want—”

“I’ll stop you right there,” Mir interrupted. “I know you’re used to leading the House, always keeping things running. But it isn’t like that. The Far Side was fully self-sufficient before we came, and that hasn’t changed. Sometimes I’ll trade exotic fruits, if I need the money. But it’s not about the business. If I ran something like that…”

“It’s not wandering,” Eve said. “We need to be free. No one’s time frame, no one’s pets.”

Sera nodded once. It wasn’t a desire she understood, but she respected her brother’s wishes. His battles weren’t hers to fight. “But you bring people across.”

Mir and Eve shared a long glance. Mir opened his mouth, but before he could say anything Jax made a strangled noise. All eyes turned to him. His eyes were closed, his jaw tight and a thin sheen of sweat across his face. 

“Jax?” Sera grasped his shoulder, trying to force him out of it. Nothing. “What’s wrong with him?”

“I don’t know,” Mir snapped, grabbing Jax’s other arm. A moment later, Eve appeared holding a glass of water and tossed it on his face. Jax spluttered, but finally opened his eyes.

He regained control almost instantly. “Diane,” he said, looking into Sera’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Sera blinked once. “Who’s Diane?”

Jax blinked. Mir blinked. Eve sipped what was left of the water. “I said Sera.”

“You said Diane,” Mir countered. “What was that?”

“I’m not…” Jax winced, putting a hand to his head. “Can I have some of that?” Eve handed over the water, muttering something about a complete lack of chivalry. She seemed more relieved than angry, though. “I’m not sure what it is. Like a memory or a flashback, almost.”

“How long have they been going on?”

“They started during the quarantine. I thought they were just another side effect of not using the power, but they haven’t gone away.”

“And you didn’t tell me.” Mir looked betrayed.

“You weren’t around enough to figure it out?” Sera regretted the words as soon as she’d said them, but that didn’t make them untrue.

Jax stood, and all the power in the room deferred to him. The oldest brother, the one who had been raised an heir. “It isn’t a problem. Let it go.”

“Isn’t a—”

“Let. It. Go.” Sera looked at him. Her whole family kept changing before she got a chance to know them. Last time she’d seen Jax, he’d been a wreck, addicted to his power, burdened by the pain it caused her. Today, his back was straight, his eyes were clear, his head was held high. He was the sort of person whose orders were impossible to disobey. “It’s just memories. Old ones, from before this life. Until tonight, they’ve been vague. Now I see it. I am the Villain. Sera is the Queen.”

Sera blinked. Mir raised an eyebrow. “Did you tell him?”

“No.”

“Tell me what?”

“We ran into Rey on our way over. He said Sera was his Queen.”

“Did he?”

Mir sighed. “Jax, you’re freaking me out. What’s going on?”

Jax studied them for a moment, then gestured for everyone to sit down. They did, and he started to talk. Sera had never realized how eloquent her eldest brother was. Or maybe he hadn’t been when he was at home, and this was something he’d developed here. His words painted a picture of past lives, of the four of them through the centuries. Fighting. Loving. Planning. Escaping. When he finished, Sera pulled Mir aside.

“Is it possible that this is some kind of madness? From what I’ve heard, he and Rey—the King—use the power in similar ways. Maybe they’re both crazy.”

“Maybe,” Mir said hesitantly. “That’s not an easy thing to accuse someone of, though, especially when there’s a chance he isn’t.”

Eve stepped into the room, shutting the door gently behind her. “Maybe it’s not my place, but why does it matter? I mean, it sounds like he’s been having these flashbacks for a while, and he’s fine. I get that you’re worried, but if he’s telling the truth, what does it change?”

Sera and Mir glanced at each other, brows almost identically furrowed. “It means I spent my past lives with that King, and he expects me to do it again.” The King with the sharp blue eyes…the King with an army of broken souls. 

Eve smirked, but the action was strangely kind. “And you’re going to do whatever he expects?”

“Of course not,” Sera said. “But if he tries to force it…”

Jax stepped inside, and Sera got the feeling he’d been listening. A prickle of shame ran up her spine. They had no right to be talking about him behind his back. “Remember what Mir said about my leading a revolution? We are people. If it’s fate for us to play these roles, then that’s what we’ll do. But not because we’re supposed to—because we choose to.”

 

So sera is semi nobility… I kind of assumed from the first story that she was a normal city girl… huh… loved the new details about the characters!

[Edema Rue she/her]

5 hours ago, RoyalBeeMage said:

So sera is semi nobility… I kind of assumed from the first story that she was a normal city girl… huh… loved the new details about the characters!

Yeah, so in my mind their family is kinda like Shallan’s but less rural and more powerful? Like a little messed up on the inside but a powerful noble house that can’t just be ignored or pushed aside.

@Spark of Hope :))

Edited April 21, 2025 by Edema Rue

[Through the Living Hope]

On 4/19/2025 at 11:00 PM, Edema Rue said:

Another scene

This is the furthest along chronologically, hopefully it has at least a few answers. I’m not the sort to give you a ton of world building because my stories are about relationships and people more than anything else

  Hide contents

The man looked ordinary, if shadowed. Sera craned her neck, trying to get a better look. Now he looked like a boy. She started, and half an instant later he was a different person entirely. It wasn’t that his face was changing, more that her perspective was. But how was that even possible?

“That’s the king of Hell?”

Mir grimaced. “Unfortunately. Listen, it’s probably best if you stay away from him while you’re here. It shouldn’t be hard. He’s never even seen Jax, and he’s been here for two years.”

“Sure,” Sera said. She was still watching him. She didn’t mean to, it was just…was he old or young? She couldn’t tell.

“Sera!”

“Sorry,” Sera mumbled. “Have you met him?”

“You could say that,” Mir said, pulling her back and out of the man’s line of sight. “He’s more than a little crazy. Thinks we’ve met before, in a past life, that I’ve got a destiny to fulfill.”

Sera blinked. “Really?”

Mir’s mouth twitched. “At least he hasn’t tried to make me stay.”

“What if he does?”

Now Mir was grinning. “I’ll escape.” Sera wanted to question him further, but something else caught her attention. She was the lady of one of the Grand Houses of Byrds, and so she wasn’t exactly used to lingering on a crowded dock. Still, she hadn’t spent her whole life cloistered away, and she knew what to expect. It wasn’t this. It was too quiet, the workers too mechanical. And they only unloaded Mir’s ship. There were two or three other ships, but they were as silent and still as corpses.

“Mir,” she said, voice low. “What’s wrong with them?”

Mir’s grin faded. “They’re not from here.”

“The city?”

“The Far Side.”

Sera blinked. “They’re from the Near Side? I didn’t think that was pos…I thought you were the only one.”

“As far as I know, there’s only one other person who can move freely between the worlds. But both of us can bring people with us, like I did for you and Jax.”

“You brought them here.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Mir sighed softly. “It’s complicated. Come on, I’ll tell you once we get inside.”

“All right,” Sera said. “Let me get my bag.”

“They’ll take care of it.”

Sera nodded and followed him, eyes on the city sprawled before her. It was the shape of Byrds, but the shore was in the wrong direction, and only the oldest buildings were the same. The rest were tall and long, compact and efficient. There was no color, no decorations or individuality. Nothing to say that real people lived here. Once they were in the streets, the few people disappeared. Sera looked back once, startled to see that the King was following.

“Mir,” she said, gesturing with her head.

He looked back and cursed. “Of all the days…listen, I’m not going to tell you want to do, but you’ll probably be happier if you stay out of his way. It’s probably just business, but you never know with him.”

A moment later, the king was upon them. His fluctuating face carried an eerie smile. “Wanderer,” he said. “And you’ve brought me my Queen.”

Sera realized with a start that his eyes were on hers. “Excuse me?”

Mir’s eyebrows had shot up. “This is my sister. She isn’t part of your little game.”

“She is,” the King said, looking the tiniest bit surprised. “As you are, and as the Villain will be.” He laughed, and the sound sent a chill up Sera’s spine. “King, Queen, Wanderer, Villain. The troupe arrives and the play begins.”

“Like I said,” Mir muttered, “crazy.”

The King didn’t look at him. Sera noticed that even as his face changed, his eyes stayed the same piercing blue. And there was something behind the faces, something in the perpetual shadows that made them seem almost like a mask. “I’ll see you soon, Queen. I am grateful to know your new face.” He turned, and when he left it felt like the presence of the Far Side itself left with him.

Mir looked furious. “I’m sorry. I should’ve been more careful.”

“That’s all right,” Sera said, watching the King’s retreating back. “I have a feeling you couldn’t have stopped this. What did he call you? Wanderer?”

Mir nodded, gesturing for Sera to keep walking. She did, hesitantly. “He has this vision. Says he can see the past lives of all people, and that there are four of us whose lives always intersect in the same way. Him—the King, as you’ve probably guessed. He won’t tell me his name, so I call him Rey.”

Sera snorted. “How creative.”

“Never been my strong suit,” Mir said, and Sera laughed, relishing the ease of the moment, despite the King’s lingering eyes in her mind. “Anyway, Rey says that there is always a King, a Queen, a Wanderer, and a Villain. He marked me as the Wanderer one of the first times I came here. I guess he thinks you’re the Queen.”

Sera froze. “Does that mean he expects me to marry him?” Mir’s look was priceless, and she couldn’t help but snicker.

“If he tries…”

“Don’t worry.” Sera winked. “I’ll escape.”

 

“Sera!” Jax leapt to his feet as soon as the door opened, rushing and enveloping her in his arms.

Sera was laughing before she even realized it. “Jax!” Two years. It had been two years since she’d seen her brother. He’d been on the Far Side for two years, but he looked healthier and happier than she’d ever seen him. Mir stood in the doorway, smiling. After a moment, Jax pulled back.

“Eve’s here,” he said, looking at Mir.

Sera doubted she had ever seen such an expression of surprise and delight. “Could’ve led with that,” he said, heading down the hallway.

Sera wasn’t entirely sure where they were. Mir said it was a safe house, but it looked exactly the same as every other building in the city. Thein, this place was called. Sera was pretty sure that if she got lost here, she’s never find her way back. 

“You grew up,” Jax said, looking her up and down. “Lady Sera, ruler of Grand House Gineil.”

“You did too,” Sera said. “Obviously things have gotten better.”

Jax nodded. “That first month…they call the Far Side Hell, Sera, but really it’s just the quarantine. After that, everything changes for the better.”

“Not for the workers,” Sera mused.

“What?”

“The workers.” Sera pursed her lips. “The ones we saw at the docks, anyway. Mir said they aren’t from here? And they looked off. Broken, somehow.”

“Ah.” Jax nodded. “I’m working on that.”

“That’s right,” Mir said, reentering the room followed by a beautiful girl. “Our brother is a revolutionary, Ser. Eve, Sera. Sera, Eve.”

The girl, Eve, smiled. “Your brother speaks highly of you.”

Sera dipped her head. “If I saw him more, I’m sure he’d speak highly of you too.” Eve laughed and Mir flushed. “The people here. Tell me about them. Mir, you said you’re bringing them across?”

Mir nodded. “And Eve.” Sera noticed the gentle smile between them, the way their fingers laced together as if they’d been made for each other. “As far as we know, no one else can cross. They start sailing and eventually have to turn back or risk running out of supplies.”

“Wanderers,” Sera said.

Eve blinked. “Psychic, or has she met Rey?”

“Rey,” Mir said darkly. “But yeah. That part of his fantasy is at least understandable.”

“That’s incredible,” Sera said, mind spinning. “I mean, the two of you are invaluable. You can halt all commerce completely on your own. The King can’t demand anything of you, but you can force him into whatever you want—”

“I’ll stop you right there,” Mir interrupted. “I know you’re used to leading the House, always keeping things running. But it isn’t like that. The Far Side was fully self-sufficient before we came, and that hasn’t changed. Sometimes I’ll trade exotic fruits, if I need the money. But it’s not about the business. If I ran something like that…”

“It’s not wandering,” Eve said. “We need to be free. No one’s time frame, no one’s pets.”

Sera nodded once. It wasn’t a desire she understood, but she respected her brother’s wishes. His battles weren’t hers to fight. “But you bring people across.”

Mir and Eve shared a long glance. Mir opened his mouth, but before he could say anything Jax made a strangled noise. All eyes turned to him. His eyes were closed, his jaw tight and a thin sheen of sweat across his face. 

“Jax?” Sera grasped his shoulder, trying to force him out of it. Nothing. “What’s wrong with him?”

“I don’t know,” Mir snapped, grabbing Jax’s other arm. A moment later, Eve appeared holding a glass of water and tossed it on his face. Jax spluttered, but finally opened his eyes.

He regained control almost instantly. “Diane,” he said, looking into Sera’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Sera blinked once. “Who’s Diane?”

Jax blinked. Mir blinked. Eve sipped what was left of the water. “I said Sera.”

“You said Diane,” Mir countered. “What was that?”

“I’m not…” Jax winced, putting a hand to his head. “Can I have some of that?” Eve handed over the water, muttering something about a complete lack of chivalry. She seemed more relieved than angry, though. “I’m not sure what it is. Like a memory or a flashback, almost.”

“How long have they been going on?”

“They started during the quarantine. I thought they were just another side effect of not using the power, but they haven’t gone away.”

“And you didn’t tell me.” Mir looked betrayed.

“You weren’t around enough to figure it out?” Sera regretted the words as soon as she’d said them, but that didn’t make them untrue.

Jax stood, and all the power in the room deferred to him. The oldest brother, the one who had been raised an heir. “It isn’t a problem. Let it go.”

“Isn’t a—”

“Let. It. Go.” Sera looked at him. Her whole family kept changing before she got a chance to know them. Last time she’d seen Jax, he’d been a wreck, addicted to his power, burdened by the pain it caused her. Today, his back was straight, his eyes were clear, his head was held high. He was the sort of person whose orders were impossible to disobey. “It’s just memories. Old ones, from before this life. Until tonight, they’ve been vague. Now I see it. I am the Villain. Sera is the Queen.”

Sera blinked. Mir raised an eyebrow. “Did you tell him?”

“No.”

“Tell me what?”

“We ran into Rey on our way over. He said Sera was his Queen.”

“Did he?”

Mir sighed. “Jax, you’re freaking me out. What’s going on?”

Jax studied them for a moment, then gestured for everyone to sit down. They did, and he started to talk. Sera had never realized how eloquent her eldest brother was. Or maybe he hadn’t been when he was at home, and this was something he’d developed here. His words painted a picture of past lives, of the four of them through the centuries. Fighting. Loving. Planning. Escaping. When he finished, Sera pulled Mir aside.

“Is it possible that this is some kind of madness? From what I’ve heard, he and Rey—the King—use the power in similar ways. Maybe they’re both crazy.”

“Maybe,” Mir said hesitantly. “That’s not an easy thing to accuse someone of, though, especially when there’s a chance he isn’t.”

Eve stepped into the room, shutting the door gently behind her. “Maybe it’s not my place, but why does it matter? I mean, it sounds like he’s been having these flashbacks for a while, and he’s fine. I get that you’re worried, but if he’s telling the truth, what does it change?”

Sera and Mir glanced at each other, brows almost identically furrowed. “It means I spent my past lives with that King, and he expects me to do it again.” The King with the sharp blue eyes…the King with an army of broken souls. 

Eve smirked, but the action was strangely kind. “And you’re going to do whatever he expects?”

“Of course not,” Sera said. “But if he tries to force it…”

Jax stepped inside, and Sera got the feeling he’d been listening. A prickle of shame ran up her spine. They had no right to be talking about him behind his back. “Remember what Mir said about my leading a revolution? We are people. If it’s fate for us to play these roles, then that’s what we’ll do. But not because we’re supposed to—because we choose to.”

 

Me likey. Seriously please publish this story as a novel 

[Edema Rue she/her]

2 hours ago, Spark of Hope said:

Me likey. Seriously please publish this story as a novel 

We can dream 

No honestly though I’m so obsessed with this idea and idk if it’s coming through but I love it and I love the feel of the relationships between characters and the whole idea is that people can and do change and it makes me feel so warm and fuzzy to write. 

[RoyalBeeMage he/him]

6 hours ago, Edema Rue said:

We can dream 

No honestly though I’m so obsessed with this idea and idk if it’s coming through but I love it and I love the feel of the relationships between characters and the whole idea is that people can and do change and it makes me feel so warm and fuzzy to write. 

It’s so fun to read how the different characters interact with power. It would be interesting to play off the idea of power corrupts even the purest of souls and have one character literally going insane from their powers…

I could be completely misunderstanding what you’re trying to tell but I still think that it’s amazing 

[Edema Rue she/her]

44 minutes ago, RoyalBeeMage said:

It’s so fun to read how the different characters interact with power. It would be interesting to play off the idea of power corrupts even the purest of souls and have one character literally going insane from their powers…

I could be completely misunderstanding what you’re trying to tell but I still think that it’s amazing 

Heehee

i’m still figuring out the story I’m telling but…well, I enjoy the interpretations :))

[Edema Rue she/her]

I wrote

uh

something

 

@Through The Living Glass@RoyalBeeMage it grew but I think it's still technically a monologue

Restless:

Spoiler

“You know about the fire, because that was when I came to stay with you. I was only there for a few weeks before they took you. Then it was just me and the kids. I mean, I say kids. They were only a few years younger than me, and I don’t think they needed a babysitter. I know, I know. Everything is a mess, and people like you, who remember the world before all of this…

“I’m not saying I blame you. That’s all. I got it, and they did too, but the only thing they really needed me for was food. I’ve told you this much before, but I didn’t really explain how I spent my time. It was that old car of yours. It hadn’t worked in forever—that’s what the kids told me, anyway—and there wasn’t much point to trying. But most of the roads around your place were still pretty whole, and I wasn’t exactly busy. So I fixed it up. Found some gas in that old shed you have, and…I just drove. I guess that's something people used to do before. I wouldn’t know. It was wasteful and stupid of me, but I wanted it the way I haven’t wanted something in a long time. Do you know that feeling?

“Well, I drove. I wasn’t going fast—I’d only driven once before—but it felt like magic. You always used to say that magic is only technology we don’t understand, so maybe this is me admitting how dumb I am. But if being dumb lets me feel what I felt that day, I’ll never learn anything again. It was pure freedom. No one and nothing in my way. I made it out to one of those big roads…what did you call them, freeways? Yeah. I’d seen them before, but never like that. Your section is pretty crowded with old cars and little huts, but once I got out of the city it was nothing but road. I started going faster and faster…I knew it was wrong, but the wind was blowing through the broken windows and that feeling was all that mattered. 

“The car broke. I hadn’t even thought to bring tools, so there I was, miles and miles from the city in a car that didn’t work. It didn’t bother me, though. Isn’t that weird? It should have, but I’ve always reacted differently to things like that. Some corner of my mind knew that it was your car, that I’d wasted time and resources and now the kids were alone. But there are a lot of kids growing up alone these days, and yours were luckier than most. They had friends, support, school. I guess that doesn’t give you a lot of hope, because I had those same things, and look at me now. But they’re not like me. Maybe it sounds narcissistic, but I’m starting to wonder if anyone is like me.

“The point is, I’ve always been this way. I used to skip days of classes without any idea why. I’d wander, get into fights. Drove my parents crazy, but they wanted what was best for me, and I think we were all starting to question what the classes did besides use time. Some kids needed that. No judgement here. But me, I’d jitter and chafe against it. By the end of each day, I was convinced that it was all designed as some twisted personal torture. I did well, though. It was just that I got their assignments done in decaying shopping malls and on the roofs of forgotten skyscrapers. I never messed with drugs or the gangs. Maybe I would’ve, but you have to know people to get involved with any of that, and I never got on well with others. It was probably pretty obvious to you and all the adults, actually. I am a lonesome creature. It isn’t as romantic as it sounds, but…at least it’s consistent.

“Anyway, I didn’t have a problem with being lost without supplies or transport. The road was empty for miles on end, and the overpasses weren’t even crumbling. So I got out and started walking. Not towards home, either. People don’t travel much, obviously, and I was surprised to realize that I’d never been that far from the city. I didn’t even care that it was dangerous. I was thinking like an animal, like nothing mattered past the moment I was living in. After a couple miles, it started to rain. Softly, then in thick, warm sheets. A summer rain. I remember the smell. It shocked me more than anything else. Water on asphalt has a unique smell, and while it wasn’t a new one to me, on the empty freeway it was overpowering. It made me feel alive for the first time since the fire. With my family gone, it was hard to feel anything. That might be what made me so reckless. But there in the rain, I felt something like hope. For myself, for this broken world, for other loners. I ran until I tasted blood—which, embarrassingly, wasn’t very long—and then I laughed until my stomach ached. I was in control enough not to drink the rain. For the first time in my entire life, death sounded appalling. I kept walking until I heard something that sounded like singing. I hadn’t seen another person since I left the city, so of course I was curious. They were on the other side of the concrete barrier that separated the two sides of the freeway, so I climbed over. On the other side, I saw three people, spinning and singing in the rain.

“I barely even thought about it. I knew the tune, so I started singing and made my way to their circle. The wind picked up, and for a moment I barely felt human. It was like the whole world was laughing with us, and we were its spirits, its fae creatures. The storm passed and I started to continue on my way. But one of them called after me.

“‘Where you headed?’ He asked. 

“‘I don’t know,’ I said, and honestly.

“He smiled. I remember how open and warm he was. ‘Towards, or away?’

“I got the sense that he wasn’t asking about anything specific. He wanted to know if I was running towards the future or away from the past. I waited a little too long to answer, but he was patient. ‘A little of both, I guess.’

“‘Does it have to be alone?

“I started walking back towards them. I noticed that they’d collected the rainwater into collapsible buckets and the girl was slowly filtering it into water bottles. ‘No,’ I decided, and that was all that needed to be said on the matter. From there on, I was with them.

“Before you get angry, I didn’t know anything about the world. I didn't understand how lucky I was to have met good people—and they are good people—before getting into any real trouble. Most people like me end up a lot worse off…I remember how embarrassed I was at first. I hadn’t brought clothes or supplies. I hadn’t even admitted to myself that I was running away. In fact, I don’t think I realized that until the second week. I’ll spare you the details of walking and surviving and scouring old cars for anything we could use. It isn’t that I don’t want to tell you, it’s that I can’t explain it without making it sound like misery. It wasn’t. It was paradise, emotions I’d started to think didn’t exist, at least not anymore. It was dreams and family like I’ve never seen before, a connection that went deeper than one conversation. It was safe.

“Then we got further from the city, and the monsters turned up. Like I said, I’ve gotten into fights before. I held my own. Iz, though, the other girl, she killed them as if she’d been born for it. I’m still not convinced she’s human. Darren and Trif were closer to my level, and we could sometimes take down one while she fought three. They were huge, beautiful creatures. I know that isn’t what you’ve heard before. But you’ve never seen one, have you? I didn’t think so…I guess, though, that maybe they wouldn’t look that way to you. Have you ever thought about that? We see this world through completely different eyes. You see cracks. I see caves. You see this world as old and broken and burnt out. But I think it becomes something new every day. I’m not saying you’re depressed or anything–except I think your generation had some problems with that–I’m just saying that the world you grew up in isn’t this one, and there is beauty in places that are jarring and unfamiliar to you. Maybe it’s dumb, but I think this world understands me. It feels my restlessness…

“Restless. That’s one of my favorite ways to describe myself. I don’t think I can rest. There’s always something in me that has to be moving, bouncing or fidgeting or escaping. Can’t escape this place, though, can I? I don’t want you to answer that. I don’t think you even tried. Yeah. Yeah, whatever. How long did it take them to let you out? Two? Two what? Weeks, months, year–you’re joking. No, I don’t care. I’ll find my way out. I’m not going to be a prisoner for two years and just hope they don’t try to keep me any longer. I don’t know how you knew I was here, how they let you in for a visit, or why you thought I wanted to see you. Get out. I’m not like you. That was all I’ve been trying to say, but I guess you didn’t get it. I hope the kids are good. I hope you’re all happy without me, because you won’t be seeing me again until my picture is plastered around this whole city because I got out, and after that you won’t see me at all.”

 

Edited May 1, 2025 by Edema Rue

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

36 minutes ago, Edema Rue said:

I wrote

uh

something

 

@Through The Living Glass@RoyalBeeMage it grew but I think it's still technically a monologue

Restless:

  Hide contents

“You know about the fire, because that was when I came to stay with you. I was only there for a few weeks before they took you. Then it was just me and the kids. I mean, I say kids. They were only a few years younger than me, and I don’t think they needed a babysitter. I know, I know. Everything is a mess, and people like you, who remember the world before all of this…

“I’m not saying I blame you. That’s all. I got it, and they did too, but the only thing they really needed me for was food. I’ve told you this much before, but I didn’t really explain how I spent my time. It was that old car of yours. It hadn’t worked in forever—that’s what the kids told me, anyway—and there wasn’t much point to trying. But most of the roads around your place were still pretty whole, and I wasn’t exactly busy. So I fixed it up. Found some gas in that old shed you have, and…I just drove. I guess that's something people used to do before. I wouldn’t know. It was wasteful and stupid of me, but I wanted it the way I haven’t wanted something in a long time. Do you know that feeling?

“Well, I drove. I wasn’t going fast—I’d only driven once before—but it felt like magic. You always used to say that magic is only technology we don’t understand, so maybe this is me admitting how dumb I am. But if being dumb lets me feel what I felt that day, I’ll never learn anything again. It was pure freedom. No one and nothing in my way. I made it out to one of those big roads…what did you call them, freeways? Yeah. I’d seen them before, but never like that. Your section is pretty crowded with old cars and little huts, but once I got out of the city it was nothing but road. I started going faster and faster…I knew it was wrong, but the wind was blowing through the broken windows and that feeling was all that mattered. 

“The car broke. I hadn’t even thought to bring tools, so there I was, miles and miles from the city in a car that didn’t work. It didn’t bother me, though. Isn’t that weird? It should have, but I’ve always reacted differently to things like that. Some corner of my mind knew that it was your car, that I’d wasted time and resources and now the kids were alone. But there are a lot of kids growing up alone these days, and yours were luckier than most. They had friends, support, school. I guess that doesn’t give you a lot of hope, because I had those same things, and look at me now. But they’re not like me. Maybe it sounds narcissistic, but I’m starting to wonder if anyone is like me.

“The point is, I’ve always been this way. I used to skip days of classes without any idea why. I’d wander, get into fights. Drove my parents crazy, but they wanted what was best for me, and I think we were all starting to question what the classes did besides use time. Some kids needed that. No judgement here. But me, I’d jitter and chafe against it. By the end of each day, I was convinced that it was all designed as some twisted personal torture. I did well, though. It was just that I got their assignments done in decaying shopping malls and on the roofs of forgotten skyscrapers. I never messed with drugs or the gangs. Maybe I would’ve, but you have to know people to get involved with any of that, and I never got on well with others. It was probably pretty obvious to you and all the adults, actually. I am a lonesome creature. It isn’t as romantic as it sounds, but…at least it’s consistent.

“Anyway, I didn’t have a problem with being lost without supplies or transport. The road was empty for miles on end, and the overpasses weren’t even crumbling. So I got out and started walking. Not towards home, either. People don’t travel much, obviously, and I was surprised to realize that I’d never been that far from the city. I didn’t even care that it was dangerous. I was thinking like an animal, like nothing mattered past the moment I was living in. After a couple miles, it started to rain. Softly, then in thick, warm sheets. A summer rain. I remember the smell. It shocked me more than anything else. Water on asphalt has a unique smell, and while it wasn’t a new one to me, on the empty freeway it was overpowering. It made me feel alive for the first time since the fire. With my family gone, it was hard to feel anything. That might be what made me so reckless. But there in the rain, I felt something like hope. For myself, for this broken world, for other loners. I ran until I tasted blood—which, embarrassingly, wasn’t very long—and then I laughed until my stomach ached. I was in control enough not to drink the rain. For the first time in my entire life, death sounded appalling. I kept walking until I heard something that sounded like singing. I hadn’t seen another person since I left the city, so of course I was curious. They were on the other side of the concrete barrier that separated the two sides of the freeway, so I climbed over. On the other side, I saw three people, spinning and singing in the rain.

“I barely even thought about it. I knew the tune, so I started singing and made my way to their circle. The wind picked up, and for a moment I barely felt human. It was like the whole world was laughing with us, and we were its spirits, its fae creatures. The storm passed and I started to continue on my way. But one of them called after me.

“‘Where you headed?’ He asked. 

“‘I don’t know,’ I said, and honestly.

“He smiled. I remember how open and warm he was. ‘Towards, or away?’

“I got the sense that he wasn’t asking about anything specific. He wanted to know if I was running towards the future or away from the past. I waited a little too long to answer, but he was patient. ‘A little of both, I guess.’

“‘Does it have to be alone?

“I started walking back towards them. I noticed that they’d collected the rainwater into collapsible buckets and the girl was slowly filtering it into water bottles. ‘No,’ I decided, and that was all that needed to be said on the matter. From there on, I was with them.

“Before you get angry, I didn’t know anything about the world. I didn't understand how lucky I was to have met good people—and they are good people—before getting into any real trouble. Most people like me end up a lot worse off…I remember how embarrassed I was at first. I hadn’t brought clothes or supplies. I hadn’t even admitted to myself that I was running away. In fact, I don’t think I realized that until the second week. I’ll spare you the details of walking and surviving and scouring old cars for anything we could use. It isn’t that I don’t want to tell you, it’s that I can’t explain it without making it sound like misery. It wasn’t. It was paradise, emotions I’d started to think didn’t exist, at least not anymore. It was dreams and family like I’ve never seen before, a connection that went deeper than one conversation. It was safe.

“Then we got further from the city, and the monsters turned up. Like I said, I’ve gotten into fights before. I held my own. Iz, though, the other girl, she killed them as if she’d been born for it. I’m still not convinced she’s human. Darren and Trif were closer to my level, and we could sometimes take down one while she fought three. They were huge, beautiful creatures. I know that isn’t what you’ve heard before. But you’ve never seen one, have you? I didn’t think so…I guess, though, that maybe they wouldn’t look that way to you. Have you ever thought about that? We see this world through completely different eyes. You see cracks. I see caves. You see this world as old and broken and burnt out. But I think it becomes something new every day. I’m not saying you’re depressed or anything–except I think your generation had some problems with that–I’m just saying that the world you grew up in isn’t this one, and there is beauty in places that are jarring and unfamiliar to you. Maybe it’s dumb, but I think this world understands me. It feels my restlessness…

“Restless. That’s one of my favorite ways to describe myself. I don’t think I can rest. There’s always something in me that has to be moving, bouncing or fidgeting or escaping. Can’t escape this place, though, can I? I don’t want you to answer that. I don’t think you even tried. Yeah. Yeah, whatever. How long did it take them to let you out? Two? Two what? Weeks, months, year–you’re joking. No, I don’t care. I’ll find my way out. I’m not going to be a prisoner for two years and just hope they don’t try to keep me any longer. I don’t know how you knew I was here, how they let you in for a visit, or why you thought I wanted to see you. Get out. I’m not like you. That was all I’ve been trying to say, but I guess you didn’t get it. I hope the kids are good. I hope you’re all happy without me, because you won’t be seeing me again until my picture is plastered around this whole city because I got out, and after that you won’t see me at all.”

 

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

:3

I like it :3