Chapter Text
The freezing cold air of the prison almost made him choke on his own breath. Ever since a week ago it felt like there was a weight constantly holding him down, putting pressure onto everything he did. Present in every moment, tormenting him even while he was with Lomedy.
The tension on the technically two rooms was at an all time high since Flame had made his way into the cells hoping for some kind of closure, some kind of sign.
He wasn't going to get either of those, unfortunately.
As soon as the other stopped talking the demon felt himself spark with the intention of just beating the shit out of Lettuce right now, the lynx was so defenseless, an easy kill. He wasn't going to act on it though, he would just prove what the dictator just said, instead he was going to actually try and talk things out. Just this once.
Maybe he could also try and prove to himself that he was able to change.
All this Law shenanigans that had been going on wouldn't have happened if he had just been less hypocritical in the first place. If it hadn't been for him wanting to reveal Wemmbu’s identity in the first place Lettuce wouldn't have had the claim to do the elections and all the shit that followed.
The war was over but Flame was still back there. He couldn't breathe, couldn't move, couldn't think without being reminded of what Lettuce had said to him, because in a way the fallen king was right, all of the Law thing had been caused due to the fact that he couldn't take accountability for his own actions.
His fist tightened like never before as a fire inside of him grew hotter basking in his anger and his frustration that Lettuce hadn't been entirely wrong about what he said before. But he still couldn't accept it fully. He has been trying to change in the last month and lots of things have changed for him.
Misunderstandings had been cleared, fights had been settled and feelings had been talked about. The only thing left for him to do was to try and move on, that's more or why he came here in the first place.
“I initially had come here with the intention to show how much I have changed, to say I am sorry even if it is too late now.” He began softly, voice almost a whisper. “But then I realized something.”
“What did you realize?"
“That you are also like a glass as well, just not a brittle and cold one.” The flame breathed lightly and quietly,”but one that is so thick and blurry that you are always going to see the worst parts of others first.”
The other frowned as he spoke. There were lots of things Flame needed to get off his chest before he could actually be able to change and move on.
“You are a pain,” The demon expressed his exasperation. “And I worry that your temper is always prime to burst.”
Just a week ago Lomedy had mentioned something to him and he couldn't shake the disturbing thought out of his head. Despite the farmer only spending like a month or so in the prison, he had interacted with the dictator quite a few times for him to notice how similar both of them were, and point it out to him one day while Flame and him were relaxing on his farm.
Quick tempered as always, Flame had immediately shut it down, but he could help but wonder and actually give the thought some thought. (haha get it?)
“You wish that I was clearer and could see your point of view?” While he spoke Flame did something nobody would expect of him. Lettuce’s eyes widened as the demon took off his blindfold, sharing one of his most vulnerable parts in the mostly privacy of the solitary wing of the prison.
The orange inside the demon’s eyes shone bright, yellow specks appeared sometimes, making his eyes look like they were made of pure flowing lava. There was nothing to conceal his eyes, his expressions or emotions.
If you were to see it from another’s perspective you would notice the anger and rage reflecting off of them, but if you looked deeper, closer you would notice the hurt, the disappointment, the shame and some other emotions that were just too touchy for Flame to even consider right now.
“But if I were to be glass I would be a mirror so you were describing only you.”
I'm not going to lie to you, the words landed hard and rough into unprepared terrain. The demon could see how the dictator fell silent, tense at what he had just said. Maybe it was familiar for the other, maybe the words landed to close for comfort, Flame didn't care though.
And even though the mutual hate or distaste for each other, the nether demon couldn't help but feel a little bit grateful. After realising those words he had felt lighter than he had in weeks, maybe even months. The heavy weight that dragged him down was finally gone, he finally felt light as a feather, just like Parrot described to him.
You see, a few days ago Parrot had suggested to him that an actual talk with Lettuce might do him some good, he outright rejected it and left the palace at the time but he ultimately accepted (with some encouragement from Lomedy, and honestly he couldn't say no to Parrot) figuring that it wouldn't hurt him.
With those final words delivered, Flame turned his back to the lynx.
Light's steps were barely audible as the nether demon traversed throughout the prison corridors. For once he finally felt like there wasn't something holding him down, this was going to be the start of a long and arduous journey of adventures, of self discovery, of meaning.
Just as the sun rays hit his form as he finally left, the once cloudy and stormy sky was now clear, just a couple of clouds present but, thankfully, they didn't block the sun from guiding his path back home.