Diane was short of breath.


    She hadn’t realized she had been walking so quickly until she had made it to her destination, knees deep in mud. The grass hadn’t been cut in months. The house looked the same, except for the ivy that had been let to overgrow the walls, just how George liked it. The gates were grayer now, it seemed, the color had faded under the cowardly winter sun; she could even see some rust, despite the lamps in the garden not working. She touched it a little, a little more, and then made her way towards the front door. She stopped. It was a demonically colossal house. Diane felt the grass overgrow her shoes and cement her to the mud so she would grow to stone and never leave him. But she tore herself away, climbed up the stairs, and quickly went inside. Diane felt her eyes waver yet managed to find a candle and light it to keep Her out of her thoughts.


    Only two more hours until daybreak.


    She walked into the room where the map was still spread on the floor. Diane tried not to look at it as she collected the dust on her fingers, but her eyes would betray her now and then. The queen sat on a dusty sofa before a lit candle and wondered, if the fire should burn the table it was on, if it should burn the house, would she stay seated and watch it consume her? Then she fell asleep. When she opened her eyes again, the candle was no longer providing her with the necessary light. It was still dark out, though not dark enough to get lost in the woods.


    The sound of a piano spread her thoughts thin. At first, she thought she was still dreaming. It was a pleasant melody she had heard a thousand times throughout her teenage years. It reminded her of soft weeds, bees, and warm sunlight, so she closed her eyes again.


    It would be nice to go there again.


    When she opened them a minute later, the music was still there, except it was dark and cold. Then she heard laughter coming from the second floor and she grabbed her sword and ran upstairs. Her footsteps were so loud she couldn’t hear the music anymore. It was dark, too dark to know where she was running to. She could see a tread, a golden one, that would momentarily appear in such moments of her life.


    Diane burst into the room. It was well-lit, with the window before her wide open. Then she noticed figures to her left, her mind still not wrapped around the familiar melody. They say demonic eyes shine the brightest during the night. Diane preferred them in the daytime, though, to eliminate any possibility of nightly haunting.


    “George,” Diane let out, her hand falling from the doorknob and smashing against her thigh. “Meredith.”


    Rose looked up, her mask resting on the piano. George’s finger slipped slightly, so the note he missed annihilated the harmony he and the quiet saloon had built.


    Rose smiled. “Long time no see, captain.”


    The moment George looked up and into Diane’s eyes, the moment his lips curled upwards, and his sister told him to keep playing, it all came right back, flooding her senses. It was those very eyes that had haunted Diane for years, that she swore she would gauge out and keep by her bed, as a souvenir. It was that smile that greeted her in that cave, those hands that almost slashed her throat and that smell that locked her into a prison she could never escape.


    “It was you,” she said, choking on air. “It has always been you.”


    The sun shyly crept out from under thunderous clouds; it was blood red, and it painted the room, the piano, the Demons, and the Dove the color of their guts.


    “So, you really did forget,” George observed before closing the piano. It clicked loudly, quelling Diane’s heartbeat. “I partially hoped it was one of your little plays.” Then he looked at her and tilted his head. “A farce, if you will.”


    Diane felt her knees give in. She was suddenly so heavy and so without air that she stumbled and landed on her knees when she tried to come closer to them. She couldn’t feel any part of her body except her head which was being continuously slammed against a hardwood door. The colors all fused into the red that no longer appeared in Diane’s dreams only. Then her eyes glistened, and George laughed.


    “It all makes sense, doesn’t it?” George mocked. “How stupid you have been, dearest!”


    Meredith put her hands on George’s shoulders. “Remain calm, brother. You know it’s just for show. She doesn’t care for the likes of us.”


    “Then why are your hands shaking, Rose?” George bit back, ready to strangle her.


    “I don’t understand,” Diane let out. She must have lost her voice when she lit that candle. “Why?”


    “Of course, you don’t,” Meredith, or Rose, said. “Did you even try to?”


    “Rose, shut up,” George warned. “Why, you ask? Well, because it’s our destiny. You love destinies, don’t you, Dove? Well, here it is! In all its glory!” He yelled out and jumped up. “And for the record, before you embarrass yourself even more, I didn’t take anything from you, and that was my mistake. I should have killed you then and there.”


    “Liar,” Diane replied, the tears having washed her vocal cords and enabled her to be heard. She could see those pictures clearly, so, why did she keep lying to herself? “You locked away my powers and memories in that cave…”


    George and Meredith burst into uncontrollable fits of manic laughter.


    “Wake up!” George yelled. “There was no cave! It was you who locked yourself up in lies because it was easier! It was easier to make yourself forget than to accept that you have destroyed everything you had been living for!”


    “George, please,“ Meredith tried to calm him down but received looks of disgust in return.


    “Do you not find her sickening, Meredith?! How she fooled herself into thinking she had changed when she was the same person all along! And then she left us to clean her mess while she went on pointing fingers!” George then marched towards Diane and pulled her hair, so she was looking up at him. “You are the liar. You never lost your powers or your memories. You subconsciously sealed them away in yourself because you were afraid,” he whispered. “And you’re looking at me like I am the monster. You never could have accepted me, could you?”


    “I did,” she replied, timid.


    “No.” He pulled her head even stronger. “Because the moment I showed you who I was you chose to forget.”


    Something clicked in Diane’s head; the tears she had shed couldn’t wash away the gulf that soaked her brain in unwanted memories. There they were in the woods. There she was, as bewitched as she was now. There he was with a knife under her throat.


    “Do you love me?” he had asked.


    “Yes,” she had replied.


    “Lies. We wouldn’t be here if you did.”


    There was no cave, no curses, only pleas. On that day, five years and some months in the past, Diane Hunster had lost nothing but her pride. And now she was here, sitting before him, as helpless as she had been.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    “This farce ends here,” he had told her. He lied. He couldn’t do it. It was all a lie. There were no kings and queens in the room; only a bunch of con artists.


    “Why didn’t you kill me?” Diane asked.


    George smiled. “Like you don’t know. Like I haven’t told you a thousand times. But you could never say it back, could you? It meant nothing to you and everything to me.” Then he pulled her hair stronger. “All of this is happening because of you.”


    Diane could feel the tension build up inside her. Her blood turned golden with all the forgotten memories suddenly filling her veins. Energy buzzed in her head and her fingers felt stronger than a moment ago. Even her tears burnt her skin, raw and angry.


    George saw bloodlust in her eyes and quickly let go of her hair. The truth was, he could never truly hold her down. It was a momentary lapse in judgment then as it was now. There was no more time for talking if she wanted to survive. There never was any time for the three of them. Diane was collected enough to know she had to run away to survive. So, she grabbed the golden sword that formed out of thin air and cut the space between her and George. But that was never George Brown.


    It''s Void. You can kill him. You have to kill him.


    Old habits die hard; new ones with a shriek. Diane jumped up and stormed outside the room and towards the entrance.


    “Stay put,” George told his sister and she listened, despite the uncertainty that kept her glued to her spot the entire time.


    George ran after the Dove. He could see her as he was coming down the stairs and he rushed after her, hoping to grab her head from behind and smash it against the wall to their left. But she could sense him now. So, when he was close enough, in a moment that lasted an eternity, she turned around and cut his chest with her new sword. He yelled out but healed not a moment afterward. Diane could feel gravity pull her knees to the ground, but she was more an animal now than a person. Their fists collided and the space around them exploded, so they were both pushed back. Diane had a hard time keeping herself standing, so she knew she had to get it over with quickly. A small, golden cube formed above her left hand. George grew pale.


    “You monster,” he told her as she clapped her hands together and smashed the cube.


    Beams of golden light flew out of her hands before a surge of energy so overwhelming exploded and smashed the house and its surroundings into unrecognizable, microscopic pieces. The only thing left from the massive structure was the piece of marble Diane was standing on. She knew she had enough time to run while the dust was up. She also knew they were both alive. She had trained with them enough to know such insignificant tricks couldn’t harm them seriously; he was the Void and she was the Vulture for a reason. She took a deep breath and observed the silence for less than a moment. But she couldn’t leave. Her legs wouldn’t move; it could have been that the grass had grown over her feet, but with such enormous power rushing through her every pore, it was not likely.


    “You destroyed my house,” George said, completely unfazed.


    Diane knew he was standing at the exact same spot as before even without being able to see him. She could hear rustling and squeaking, and she felt, at that moment, that she was going to die if the Ravens didn''t show up quickly. She had faith that they would. Diane was powerful now, but not nearly as powerful as she used to be. She had it all in her once again, but she had grown dull from unuse.


    George’s eyes shone from the dusty cloud. “Why did you destroy my house, Dove?”


    When she was finally able to see him, she noticed half of his torso had been blown away. He was probably unable to create a vacuum around himself fast enough not to let any of Diane’s energy touch him. But he would heal quickly enough; it was his blessing as the universe’s villain. Until then, she had a chance to pray to Destiny. Diane created another cube in her hand. She had grains of sweat on her forehead, blood dripping from her nose and eyes, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to create any more.


    It won’t help. I am dead.


    She saw George’s eyes clearly enough now to know his next attack would be his last. She couldn’t move her eyelids anymore. She was a statue watching her lover, friend, enemy pull out his knife and smile at her.


    “So, we are back,” he said. “Third time’s the charm, they say.”


    But there was hesitation in him again. He walked slowly as if buying time for the Ravens to show up. Most of his flesh was back now, while Diane stood motionless.


    He sighed. “Let us talk, Diane,” he said with sudden sadness written all over his face. Meredith was now standing right behind him. “As I told you that day, it doesn’t have to be this way.”


    Diane dissolved the cube she was threatening them with. “What do you mean?”


    He smiled, now standing right in front of her. “The plan never changed. It was a lie.”


    “That doesn’t make any sense…”


    “Yes, it does. Just think about it.”


    “But why…”


    “Diane!” someone screamed from behind her.


    She recognized that sweet voice all too well. At first, she hoped she had imagined it as the last sensation she would experience before death. But when she turned around, she was captivated by those tranquil gray eyes that were now shaking like never before.


    “What is…” he muttered.


    “What are you doing here?” she yelled. “What are you doing here?! Why are you here?! Why did you follow me?! Why are you here?!”


    “I just…” he couldn’t focus on her. George was looking at him with discomfort, hatred even. That same George Brown whose funeral he had attended and that Demon with red hair were talking to Diane who had blood all over her face. “Diane…”


    George smiled. “How nice to see you again, Thomas. You came just in time to witness history. As you do.” Then he grabbed Diane’s face and turned it towards his.


    “Stay back!” she yelled at Thomas.


    “Shall we go back to our… conversation.”


    She just nodded, her disobedient eyes unable to focus on George anymore.


    “To answer your question, it was because Clara Heal realized that hatred is stronger than love. If she could not make you love me, she would make you hate her. Then, when you have lost everything you hold dear because of her, you would come to me to ruin her plan. And I would become the king of this world.” He put his hands on her cheeks. “But it doesn’t have to be like this. You just have to choose me. You abandoned me last time, but I am standing in front of you again, asking you to choose me.” He put his forehead against hers. “Chose me, Diane. Look what they turned your life into. But I will protect you. I will make you my queen. Choose me, please.”


    Diane was shaking so violently that Thomas was about to make a step towards the two.


    “You really don’t listen, do you?” Meredith asked, suddenly standing next to him. She looked at the two forlornly, for the millionth time realizing that there was no space for her in that game of theirs.


    “What is happening?” Thomas uttered.


    “The Dove is about to make her choice. Based on what happens next, you either invite us to tea, or I slit your throat.”


    “What does that mean?” Diane whispered to George. “I don’t understand.”


    George smiled. “It’s very simple. There plan was always for you and me, united, to conquer this world. And it seems you still have things to lose. So, why don’t you just come to me, then? Then no one else has to suffer.”


    “But what about my people?”


    “What about your people?”


    “They will suffer.”


    George grunted angrily and took a step back. “Diane, we are back here again. Have you learned nothing? Have you listened to nothing I just said?” He ran his hands through his hair to calm down. “Alright. I will make it even more simple: if you choose me, your people and my people, just like before, unite peacefully.”


    “There was nothing peaceful about that union,” Diane cut him off.


    “If you don’t,” he continued, louder, his face redder, “then we kill you all. Every man, every woman, every toddler, every infant… dust. Just like my house.” His forehead was pressed against hers again. He wa smiling. “And don’t even think you can fight. We know how that went last time. Just think, Diane. I didn’t want to tell you such ugly things, but it seems I have to for now. If it means you will be mine, I will say the ugliest words known to man and do the most heinous…”


    “Give me a year,” she said, as the sky turned pink. The night had passed.


    “What?”


    “Here, at this spot, exactly a year from now, I will give you my answer.” She grabbed his cheeks with her shaky fingers; the feeling of his skin on hers made her want to vomit. “I need to think. This is all too much to process. This time, I will make a decision I will proudly stand behind. For the first time in my life. But, to do that, I have to be whole again. Let me find myself again, so that, if I choose you, you can have me in my entirety.”


    He grinned. And then, in less than a moment, his lips were on hers. She didn’t push him back. She had no strength left in her.


    It is all upside down anyway.


    Then there was an explosion in the distance. Diane quickly pushed George away and looked at the black cloud that appeared in the sky.


    She looked at Thomas. “That’s your house.”