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“Y-your insolence shall not…be forgiven…”
“Shh, rest, Lady Furina. All will be taken care of.” Swaths of Hydro swirled around her, but they were not of her own creation. How could that be? She tried to reach out to them, but the waters pushed back. Silly waves. They were supposed to listen to her.
A deep voice barked orders from above her. Furina was…laying on the ground? How unlike her. An Archon should not be laying on the ground. She started to push herself up onto her elbows. Why did everything hurt? Archons don’t get hurt. They are the symbols of the nation’s power, they are gods. Gods do not lay on the ground, unless they are sleeping. Wait, gods don’t sleep. Wait wait, yes they do. Furina slept just last night.
“Lady Furina, please, don’t try to sit up.” Hold on, that voice. It was so familiar…she knew that voice. That Hydro power, the tendrils of deep blue water that thrashed around the concrete walls. It was so similar to her own…
“Neuvillette?” she whispered.
The man’s eyes softened. “Yes. I’m going to pick you up now, alright? It’s going to be okay.”
“Archons don’t need to be carried…” mumbled Furina.
“This one does.” Neuvillette, in his infinite grace, plucked Furina up off the ground and held her in his arms, like a groom might do to a bride as they skipped off to their honeymoon. She giggled at the image her mind had conjured. Herself a bride…how preposterous.
Neuvillette was not a mind reader, unfortunately, and did not understand what was so funny. Instead, he looked into her eyes worryingly, but did not say anything. How strange, Furina felt her mind clearing after moments of being carried by her Iudex. She felt heavier too, more grounded. Like floating underwater instead of floating in the air. She clutched Neuvillette’s sleeve.
Thanks to Neuvillette’s strange powers of clarity, Furina was able to piece together the events of the past hour. Day? Hours? The time was irrelevant. What was relevant, however, was that woman’s terrifying presence. Her eyes, stature, ruthlessness. She’d taken Furina by surprise and could’ve killed her, should she have wanted to. Instead, that woman left Furina foggy and fumbling, elementally exhausted and drained. Her connection to the ever-flowing waters of the world was dulled significantly, so much that she could not so much as sense the emotion in Neuvillette’s geysers. That woman…that merciless woman…
“What did she do to me?” she asked, the memories washing over her like a tidal wave. The woman driving her hand through her chest, searching for something that was not there. The fear that ripped through Futuna’s entire body. Her hopelessness. Her resignation. Her tears.
“I do not know,” Neuvillette spoke softly, his chest rumbling against Furina’s ear. Rain began to pour down in steady sheets.
“You’re…crying?” Furina asked, staring up into the clouds. For her Iudex to be crying at a time like this…surely it wasn’t because of her? Was it that bad?
Normally, Furina would welcome the rain, seeing it as a sign to go cheer up her Chief Justice. She would bask in it, let it seep through her clothes as the emotions washed over her in turn, then quickly dry herself and bring Neuvillette a slice of cake. He never ate it, for some reason, but the rain always stopped by the time Furina left the Palais Mermonia.
But now…it hurt. The emotions carried by the rain…she could feel them again. Each droplet that dripped onto her skin seemed to multiply tenfold. Anger, regret, sadness, fear. But most of all, anxiety. Furina felt her own heart quicken.
“It’s cold,” she said absently.
“I know.”
Furina folded herself farther into Neuvillette’s hold. “I want to go inside now.”
“I know. Not much longer…”
Furina hummed in acknowledgment. She closed her eyes and listened to the steady sound of Neuvillette breathing, his grip so tight she barely moved as he walked. Maybe… Maybe Archons did need to be carried, at least every once in a while.
And so too, did their dragon sovereigns need someone to hold.