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You hadn't felt this good in a long time. You and him, hands embraced. You missed him so much. You wanted to cry-
Ten.
That's the number the digital clock shows now. Each second is more valuable than anything in the world.
Intruiging. When he came through, the petals of the capsule were a nice shade of pink. Now they were vile, rotten and you really do not want to know what it would bring in a few moments except you already know and it's horrible, please stay awa-
Ah. You lost your line of thought. What were you thinking about anyway? Right, crying. Multiple things can cause crying. Sometimes happiness. Now, it's sorrow.
You should think of other things while the hand you're holding is still warm. You still have ten seconds.
You've had a nice life, all things considered. You should think about that. Happy memories. You still want to make more of them but you won't ever be-
Might as well start reminiscing now.
Your earliest memories are kind of like a blur. You remember dim rooms covered in gray tiles. Perhaps they were just quite dark or perhaps they were dirty. You think you were led into halls and corridors by someone. They led you into a room with noisy, brutish machines and viscous lime fluids stored in glass tanks hooked up to them. Blank screens hanged over it.
Who brought you here? You try to clear up your memories.
Oh. It was her.
She danced her sharp black fingers over the buttons of the metal creature, making it react in screeches and groans. Then, sounds of something being pumped? The screens flared up, showing pictures of you and her and your husbands -who, now that you think about it had been there with you- and were there children on the floor?
None of this is familiar. You think you remember asking your husband about this before. He didn't have any recollection of the events. You should have asked your counterpart before she bit the dust. Perhaps then-
Nine.
This was really not the time. You do not care what happened there. You don't have the luxury of doing so. You have far better memories, don't you? After all, you lived a long life.
Prospit. Your lovely kingdom, glistening in tones of gold. Its arches and towers, mesmerising structures. A city capable of housing so many thousands. Oh, you missed it so.
A mighty chain tied Prospit to its moon, which was just as majestic despite being smaller. At times, it swayed into the marvel above.
You often went there to see that one brilliance.
Skaia. Its pristine, cerulean presence and the tiled plate beneath. Checkered white and black, resembling your kind.
The board was named The Battlefield. It had many myths and legends surrounding it. Supposedly it would transform into a vast land with large fields, fertile and beautiful. Worth a war. Those that owned it would be incredibly successful, easily thwarting their enemies. These myths brought enthusiasm and joy to your people, surely you would be the victors.
An intrusive thought suddenty enters your mind. Painful. Those weren't just myths, were they? Deep down, you always knew who would win.
After all, you saw it for yourself.
Eight.
You bring your thoughts back to the skies above the future war.
They're there. The clouds. They used to excite you. Now the only thing they make you feel is horror.
You saw their pain and their fear as your home shatters and burns and bursts and no one survives. They were each dying one by one and the only thing you could do was to escape. You saw her getting crushed under the debris of her own room. You saw him being slain in his sleep. You saw your friends getting killed off one by one, You saw the decapitation of your love. You saw yourself being pierced in your chest.
A big, masculine hand tightens its hold on your delicate one. Your king is looking at you, in his eyes something you can't decipher. Perhaps mix of worry, sadness and love. You realize that you had been shaking.
You cease immediately. You will not make the rest of his moments worse.
Comfortingly, you recall that even after all of that, you saw a new queen rise.
Vengeance. Anger. Hope. Misery. You do not want to know how to feel anymore. Despite everything, including your desperate desires, you still know that the only thing you can do now is to accept your fate.
It is time to move on from such unsavory subjects, you think. You want to be happy now. Recall nice things. Better memories.
Seven.
You remember when you first came to Prospit. It had a young population. Its wonder left you in awe. You couldn't ever forget the joy in your husbands eyes as you left for your palace and started thinking about your roles.
He was handsome, strong and oh so gallant. The jolly king everyone loved. Next to him was you. Beautiful and intelligent, you were quite regal. The brave king and the wise queen.
You were making plans and laws and figuring out how to ensure the populace would be happy. You were going to make a difference.
You did make a difference. The difference not being here anymore doesn't mean it wasn't made. For decades Prospit was a land of order and stability.
You did that. You loved your kingdom. You loved your husband. You were in love and in awe with everything you ever experienced.
Being such a responsible person had been hard, but you would be lying if you said you didn't enjoy every second.
You were like a teacher and a mother to your people. Showing them how to act. Portraying how they could contribute to themselves, to their loved ones and to your kingdom.
They were like your children, you realize in your tangent. What a bizarre thought.
Six.
Children are... a complex topic for you.
Such a nice thought, isn't it? A prince and a princess. Perhaps you would be playing with them in the halls of your palace. Tell them lullabies before they slept. Watch your dearest tell them stories as they sat on his lap.
You would surely have some in the ideal world. Sadly, it was not the one you lived in.
Therefore, you having children regardless was not very responsible of you. You couldn't care less, though.
On a day many prophecies and myths told of, two long towers appeared on your moon. They were long and thin, and their points had large spheres.
Four orbs appeared on your grand cathedral.
You woke up with a ring on your finger. Your husband, with a scepter in his hand.
This was the day their enemy had been waiting for. Time for war had come.
He had to go. You wished for anything but that, but you were both aware of your responsibilities.
After his departure, you consoled yourself with the fact that the war would be in a stalemate for a while.
Five.
While the king's departure had sombered them, the day also brought joy to your subjecs. Everyone knew what the towers brought with them.
After a few weeks, a young girl soared the skies. The Witch of Space had awoken.
You learned that the girl was quite an explorer. She was visiting every nook and cranny of Prospit, and talking to everyone she came across on her way. You wondered why she hadn't been to your palace yet. Perhaps she was saving the more important places for last? You did not know. While you were dissapointed with the fact that you wouldn't get to meet her yet, part of you liked being seen as special.
Eventually, she visited. You found her wandering in one of your many halls.
Her emerald green eyes were wide open in excitement, sharing the feeling with the wide smile on her face. She looked quite young. Her hair was long and tangled. The best way to describe it would be "wild". She smiled even more when she saw you.
"You're the queen!" She exclaimed. "I really wanted to meet you! You have a very pretty kingdom, miss! My name is Jade!" You smiled back.
Jade was... not easy to handle. She was a very active girl, you couldn't keep up with her. However, her chipper attitude and honest behavior more than made up for it. She was someone who said what she thought, no matter what. But she was also kind and considerate.
One day, she woke up again and came to hug you. She was in tears. Your heart ached to see her that way, so you immediately asked her what was wrong.
"My grandpa isn't waking up." She sniffled. "Can I stay here today?"
Of course, you replied as you hugged her.
A few days later, she started calling you "Mom". You know you shouldn't let her get attatched, yet... Hearing that word filled you with so much joy.
Four.
It had been a few years. Your husband came back home occasionally, and Jade quickly warmed up to him too.
She often took you to the other tower. In it, John slept.
She told you many things about John, and you learned some others yourself.
John loved watching silly movies and playing video games and had lots of posters. John loved pranking and considered himself a master. John played the piano sometimes. He wasn't fond of baked products, and thought a witch controlled the industry. John thought his dad was crazy about clowns and did not like them.
John often thrashed in his sleep. He had a nasty clown toy and wrote "HONK" on the walls. You wanted to get rid of it but you knew better than to mess with the will of Skaia.
John was a very nice person. He was willing to do lots of things for his friends and gave Jade her first birthday gift.
John hadn't woken up yet. If he did, he would like you for sure.
You couldn't wait until he did. You really wanted to meet him.
Now you knew you never would.
Three.
Recently, the only way you could see Jade and John were through screens. You couldn't even talk with them.
Naturally, you focused on other things. You helped the blonde girl (her name was Rose and she was their friend) however you could and used the key to reach your destination, flying over wastelands.
There were three of your kind there, near the temple . You winced when you recalled their fates, but you didn't let it on.
The Aimless Renegade was a pursuer of justice. He followed law to the strictest degree. However he was also impulsive and acted without thinking far too often.
You thought he was cute. You tried not thinking about what would happen to him.
Peregrine Mendicant was the one you had already known. She was a valuable member of your kingdom, always taking upmost care of her duty. She would rise from the ashes that you wished wouldn't be there.
Wayward Vagabond didn't trust you at first glance. He wasn't fond of royalty.
But you were the queen of nothing, so he eased up eventually.
You tried to relax and watch their shenanigans, to stop thinking about destiny and live in the moment.
Two.
They listened to your plans. Everything was set up.
It was not going to work, but you had to try, right?
You started waiting for the first timer in the temple to finish. You glanced at things Jade would have owned a lifetime ago. You didn't know how to feel about that.
One.
The pink petals opened once the countdown hit zero, and a new one began once your husband came out. Your most recent memories of him were tainted by the vile presence of the beast in the capsule.
You are not going to think about him. Not now. Not ever again.
Zero.
The capsule slowly began to open.
Your husband looks at you, with a small smile. "I love you." He says.
The least of all you can do is to smile back.
"I love you too." You reply, with one on your face. While the imminent future is dark, this moment will be yours forever.