On the decks of Arietta’s warship Twilight, the crew stood and stared as the sky lit up with the destruction of Sanctuary.
“It could only mean one thing,” Ariel sighed, standing next to Arietta, “They got to the weapon and snuck it out there right under our noses. Our spies must have failed.”
“Damn!” Arietta’s eyes were filled with tears, “I should have told them they were being targeted! Now they’re all dead! I told them to go back... but it was already too late! All I did was seal their fate...”
“I am sorry about Elisha and the others,” Ariel said, “I know Elisha was special to you...”
“Don’t,” Arietta said, brushing his arm off her. She looked down at the deck, “Everything I helped build is gone. I should have gone back to them, told them what was going on... They came down here because of me!”
“What’s done is done,” Ariel said, “We have bigger concerns, Arietta. The fleet snuck that weapon out of the Ancient Citadel excavation, put it on a ship, and got out to the high seas without us even getting a whisper of it.”
“You think somebody has betrayed us.” Arietta shook her head, “If I find out who, I’m going to tear them apart!” I should have destroyed that weapon when I had the chance. it’s my fault. My fault... She remembered her last foray into Garanian territory, when she had discovered the excavations of the Ancient Citadel and the lost weapons that were being uncovered there. She had just been scouting, though. If she had destroyed the weapons, they would have certainly caught her sooner than they did. They might have even killed her on the spot. She had thought they would be able to stop Garania transporting anything they found there. She had been wrong, and was now paying the price.
“Arietta.” Ariel put his hands on Arietta’s shoulders, “Stop it. I need you to think clearly, as a leader. We need to decide our next move. We may be in imminent danger.”
“Captain! Off the starboard bow!” came a cry from the crow’s nest. Arietta looked to see ships shimmering into view, as if they had simply appeared.
“Impossible!” Arietta said, “Full about! Go now!”
“It’s no good,” Ariel said, “We’re surrounded.”
“Then take your battle stations! We won’t go down without a fight!” Arietta cried. She would not go back to Garania, not again, not after what they had done to Selesti. Not after what they had done to her. She touched the scar on her face. We’ll make you so ugly no woman will want to touch you. The words echoed in her head. Ariel had rescued her, but he had been a little late. Arietta closed her eyes, drew her sword and readied herself for battle. Faith had a lot more names on it now, people she had known, loved and lost. It would have even more by day’s end, so long as she lived to see it. I had hoped that Sanctuary would never have to be engraved on this sword.
They boarded quickly, even though she had men on the cannons firing as fast as they could. She took on soldiers wearing the uniforms of the Moral Revolution and easily cut them down, but more continued to come. It was as though Garania had an infinite supply of troops, ready to fight and die to take them down. Ariel moved in close to her.
“I think this may be the end, Arietta,” he said, during a lull in the fighting, “I won’t try to tell you to put down your sword and go back to captivity. Not after what they did to you. I’m so sorry I was late, sweetheart...”
“It’s not your fault,” Arietta said, “I know you don’t believe it, but I’ve been happy with you. I love you. I’m so glad you came for me that day. I’m so happy for all the days we spent together...”
“You make me a happy man,” Ariel said, “Truly, sometimes I wondered if you married me for my army, so that you could free Garania. I thought I had been wrong in asking you to marry me.” He took her hand and kissed it, “There is still fighting on the horizon. I think your friends might still be alive out there. I know Elisha will always be waiting for you. Find her, and work out what your heart wants. You have my blessing. He drew her close, kissed her, then pushed her off the side of the ship. She tried to fight him, but he was strong and she fell over the edge, into the deep, murky waters.
She struggled with the water, fought with it. Would she die, here, trying to get away? Perhaps, but Ariel had known she would sooner die than be recaptured, and he had decided to take her fate instead. She pushed above the waves just long enough to see Ariel being stabbed and thrown into the ocean.
Arietta fought back her tears and turned her sorrow to anger. She had to escape, or everybody’s sacrifices would mean nothing, and she wasn’t going to let that happen. She swam and swam, leaving the battle zone undetected as the fight waged on. It was wrong to leave her crew behind, the captain always went down with their ship, but Ariel had given his life so she could go on. Go on to do what? There is nothing left I can do.
She started to tire, and searched for a piece of driftwood to cling to. In the distance, she saw Twilight sinking beneath the waves. The battle was done, and they had been defeated. The Resistance was over, Sanctuary was gone. Further beyond the battle zone she saw darkness, as though a giant hole had appeared and sucked the life from everything. She held onto a piece of wood she saw floating. Arietta had told herself not to think but now the adrenaline from the escape was fading fast and she could acutely feel the losses that had just been inflicted on her. Ariel had been her friend, her lover, her husband. They had fought together to free Garania, sharing a dream, and he had taught her that she could love men as well as women, and feel no shame in either. Now he was dead, run through by some pawn of the Moral Revolution. She spat in the water, watched it float along on the waves with her. Sanctuary was gone as well, felled by invisible ships and ancient weapons.
“Damn the Ancients,” she yelled, not caring who heard, “Damn them for all eternity!”
~
She floated for a long time. Once she fell asleep and let go of the driftwood, waking to find herself drowning. She pulled herself back up and clung to the wood again, coughing up the salty seawater and vowing never to sleep again. There had to be land somewhere... Somewhere...
She was so tired, and so lost, that she no longer cared if she did drown. Perhaps then I will finally have some peace. Yet still she clung on, afraid to let go. If I die, the Resistance will die with me, she thought. I can’t let that happen...
Arietta counted three days and nights before she saw land, and recognized it as San Ria. She was glad; Selesti would almost certainly help her and let her rest, listen as she spoke, help her grieve for the lost and find the living. She came ashore in darkness and skulked around the city, knowing that she was a wanted woman and vulnerable in her exhausted state. She had even lost her sword when Ariel had pushed her over the edge. She would have to forge another one yet again, carve all the names into it that she remembered, and she remembered all of them, all their pains, fears and lost dreams.
She saw the guard holding steady at the gate that led out to the temple path, and sighed. She would have to deal with him, which would mean trouble for Selesti later. She raised the torn hood of her wet cloak and started to shuffle towards the soldier as though she were a beggar.
“Spare some coin for an old lady?” she said, shuffling closer.
“Begone, old hag, it’s past curfew. Unless you want me to call the City Watch and have you arrested?”
Arietta shuffled closer, “Excuse me, sir... my hearing is poor...”
“I said--” but he was cut off by Arietta’s knee in his crotch. She took his head and slammed it against the wall, and he slumped to the ground, knocked out but not dead. She took his sword and unlocked the gate, locking it again behind her before rushing up the hillside path that led to the temple.
Guards were patrolling the temple, torches in their hands, a watch fire set, “Who goes there!” a woman called.
“Arietta Sashrady,” Arietta called, “I must speak with Selesti at once!” Arietta moved closer and pulled down her hood, “Please!”
“Arietta!” Tami was waiting as Arietta was led into the main hall, “What has happened? You look terrible!”
“Fetch Selesti. She will want to hear this,” Arietta said. Selesti soon rushed into the hall.
“Arietta?” Selesti looked at her with concerned eyes, “What’s going on?”
“My ship, Twilight, is sunk, Ariel murdered... but that’s not even the worst of it... Sanctuary’s been destroyed... reduced to rubble by some powerful Ancient technology, used by the Garanians who now sail on invisible ships...” Gasps came from Selesti and Tami.
“I saw a light in the eastern sky,” Selesti said, “but I never knew it was Sanctuary being destroyed. By the Gods!”
“I am truly sorry... about Ariel,” Tami said, “You must be exhausted. I’ll have someone take you to a room so you may rest. We will talk more in the morning.”
“Thank you,” Arietta said. Half dazed, she was led to a room. She closed the door and before she could even strip, she lay down on the bed and fell into a deep, dark sleep.
~
“Darker times are upon us,” Selesti said, when she was alone with Tami, “I hoped I had seen the worst, but I had never expected this.” She held Tami’s trembling hands in hers, “We have to disband and go into hiding,” Selesti said, “There’s no way we can openly resist the Moral Revolution any longer.”
“Where will we go?” Tami asked, “How will we get there?”
“We’re not going anywhere,” Selesti said, “At least, not as a unit. We must all split up and go our separate ways, blend into cities and try to get by for a while. The Resistance must go dark. It’s the only way.”
“But if we don’t fight back, the revolution is over! They win!” Tami said, “Selesti, you’re my wife! I won’t leave you now!”
“Then we all die,” Selesti said, “You heard Arietta, they have invisible ships! There’s no telling what other technology they’ve unearthed. They could destroy the temple entirely! All that is left of San Ria’s Resistance is here, Tami. All our eggs are in one basket, and that basket is about to get destroyed! I don’t see any other option.”
“At least let me go with you!” Tami said, “Even if we have to pretend to just be friends...”
“We can’t,” Selesti said, “I cannot ask the women of this temple to give up their lovers, their wives, their families and go into hiding without doing the same thing myself. You know that...”
“I’m afraid,” Tami said, “I’m so afraid...”
“So am I,” Selesti said, holding Tami tightly, “I’m afraid that if you’re not by my side, I won’t be able to protect you. That something might happen to you and I won’t be able to save you. I love you, Tami. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you. I don’t want to be apart from you. I just don’t have any other solutions...”
“I can’t believe Sanctuary is gone...” Tami said, “I can’t imagine what Arietta must be feeling...”
“Her husband too,” Selesti said, “I know everybody thought it was a strange decision on her part, but I understood. They wanted to save the world together...”
~
When Arietta woke, she felt calm for the first few seconds, then the enormity of what had happened hit her. Ariel was dead, Sanctuary had been destroyed... She started to cry. Ariel had given his life to save her. She saw in her mind the soldier running him through and throwing his body overboard... nobody could survive that, not even Ariel. He was gone, and there wasn’t anybody she could share her grief with who would understand.
Sanctuary, as well. She could have been happy there, but she had rejected it, and now that door had closed to her, to all of them, forever. There was no place left to run, and nothing left to run to. Elisha, Pandora, Luna, Thea... even if they were still on the ship, there was little chance they would have survived the invisible fleet. She cried for all of them as well. They hadn’t deserved to reap the fruit of her failures. She should have taken Garania back when she had a fleet, but she had been the one who had been too cautious. We should scout it out first, she remembered telling Ariel. Like the green girl I was, too naive to understand that we had only one chance. Then she’d been captured, and the shaky alliance she had made fell apart within a day. Ariel had come for her, but not before she’d been tortured and raped. They’d been on the run ever since, fleeing the Moral Revolution, trying to convince allies that they were strong enough to take Garania, but the moment had passed and everybody had convinced themselves that it was best to wait out the storm and let the Moral Revolution pass like a sickness.
Truth was, I wanted to go back to Sanctuary then. But I was too ashamed to go back in failure, and too afraid to face Elisha and tell her I’d moved on. There would have been no place for Ariel, either. I couldn’t leave him, he did so much for me...
A knock woke her from her reverie, and she opened the door to see Selesti standing there, her eyes sad and dark. Arietta let her in at once.
Selesti wiped her eyes, “I’ve decided to break up the Resistance here,” she said, “I don’t see any other way. Invisible ships, weapons that can shoot a whole island out of the sky... We’re in too deep, Arietta. The only way for us to survive is if we assimilate into the cities and lay low. Our time will come, but it is not now.”
“Do what you have to do to survive,” Arietta said, “I don’t care any more. Everything I ever wanted to protect has been snuffed out of this world. You’re the only person I care about that still draws breath. Everybody else is gone... I may as well fight back and go with them.”
“You don’t know that for sure,” Selesti said, “Thea, Elisha and the others may still be out there. Just because the island was destroyed doesn’t mean they were on it, or that the Moral Revolution sent a fleet with the weapon. In fact, they may have sent the fleet after you to stop you interfering. You can’t just give up, Arietta. Not until you’re certain.”
“What am I supposed to do?” Arietta said, “Swim to them? I have no ship, no money, nobody to help me, nothing.”
“I have resources,” Selesti said, “Take my gold and buy a modest boat. Find them, if they are still alive. I’m too frightened to go, but you can do it, Arietta. Find out what happened and if anybody still lives. Please.”
“Why do you care?” Arietta said, “They were never your people. You left the White Ship before we even really began our journey...”
“They were here,” Selesti said, “I rescued them from the dungeons just a few days ago. Pandora and Luna were married, and Elisha pined for you. They are good people, Arietta. Don’t give up on them. Don’t make what I risked to save them be for nothing. They’re your friends, so go save them.”
“Selesti...” Arietta said, “Thank you.”
“No problem,” Selesti said, “I owe you a lot, Arietta. After all I did to you...”
“You had your reasons,” Arietta said, “I forgave you a long time ago.”
“I know,” Selesti said, “With this, maybe I can finally forgive myself.” She handed Arietta an envelope filled with San Rian money, “Talk to Ed at the docks. He’s a friend of the Resistance. He’ll sell you a boat without trouble.” She stood up, “Farewell, Arietta. I hope the next time we meet, the world will be a place where we can live in peace. Until then.”
“Until then...” Arietta said, looking down at the envelope she clutched in her trembling hands. Elisha pined for you, Selesti had said. It was all too painful to think about, but she had to go. She had to know if her friends were still alive. Then she would work out what she was going to do next.
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