Her head still aching, Terra goes home to rest.
Professor Faramund is sitting in the common room, engrossed in her work. She tinkers with inventions and writes piles of notes on her desk until she sees Terra opening the door. Immediately, the professor notices the girl's dismal expression. "You look exhausted. Rough day at work?"
"Yeah... you could say that," Terra says. "I need to lay down. I'm going to the bedroom."
As she heads down the hall, the professor stands up and follows. "You look sick. Did you catch something… no, wait." Suddenly, pink particles appear in the air. Then, just as quickly, they go away. "You are covered in traces of magic. Were you attacked?"
Terra turns around, her eyes welling with tears. "Yes! On my way to work, I was ambushed by fanice who didn't agree with Gabriel's new policies, and I was… completely helpless. I was wrong, and you were right, okay? Please, don't make me feel worse about it than I already do."
Professor Faramund places a hand on her shoulder. "That's not what I'm doing. I just wanted to know what happened. I told you not to take unnecessary risks."
"Well, I won't be doing that anytime soon. I'm supposed to stay here and rest for a few weeks. Gabriel is going to have a new staff replace me at the medical tent."
The professor's face flushes. "What? Why do you need to rest for so long?"
"I…" She's about to explain, but she trails off. If her guardian is already this worried, explaining will make it worse. "I got hurt, and I need to heal."
"Oh, I see. Did they use telekinesis?"
Terra nods, looking at the floor.
"How did you escape?"
"Gabriel and Michaela showed up. I'm lucky they did. Apparently, when I go outside, I'll be accompanied by a guard. So… no more secret rendezvous, I guess. Although, as I recall, you weren't a fan of those anyway."
Professor Faramund's lips squeeze together as she remembers when the girls snuck away to set up the festival. "Indeed. We should let Eila know your home. I'm sure she'd love to see you. It's good to know she'll have someone to entertain her now."
The two walk to the end of the hall and open the bedroom door. However, instead of lying on the bed, the little girl stumbles into the hall. She must have been leaning on the door. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize she's been listening in.
"Terra!" she screams, jumping into her sister's arms. "I'm glad you're okay! Are you really going to stay here with us now?"
"Yes." She wishes she could sound more excited about it, but all she can think about is how depressing these caverns are.
"It's for the best," Professor Faramund says. She places a hand on Terra's back. "I'm sorry I wasn't there. I should have protected you." The hand glows red.
"Wh-What are you doing?" Terra asks.
"What I should have done before. If you had the immunity, you could have fought back. I won't make that mistake again."
She slaps her hand away. "No! That pain… it was unbearable. I can't let Eila even risk going through that."
The professor moves her hand back toward Terra as if she hasn't heard her. She backs away, her head pounding as she remembers the searing pain that split it apart only minutes ago. Then, the world starts spinning. She collapses to her knees.
"Terra!" Eila screams. She can feel her sister's little arms wrapping around her. Terra takes deep breaths as stars appear in her vision and it slowly fades to black. Then, she sees that red glow again.
"By order of my authority, I grant immunity to you." the professor states.
Within seconds, her vision returns, and her headache fades. Professor Faramund helps her stand, and she stares at her, realization dawning. "That attack… it did more than just harm you, didn't it?"
Terra looks at her sister, whose eyes are wide and concerned. She can't tell Eila she died. The little girl would never stop worrying about her until the end of time.
"I-I'm fine. I just need to rest."
The professor looks at Eila, too. Then, her expression softens. "Alright then. I won't push any further. Please lay down right now."
"Wait," Terra says, grabbing her arm. "Put the immunity back on, Eila, please."
The professor shakes her head. "It will go to better use with you."
"I don't care! If anything happened to her, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."
"Think with your head for once, Terra!" Professor Faramund shouts. "You will never be able to protect your sister if you can't protect yourself. Let us work together. I need you in top shape for the final stretch of our plan."
"Yeah!" Eila exclaims. "Take the immunity, Terra. It's useless with me."
Realizing she's not going to win this argument, Terra sighs. "Fine, I'll keep it." She thinks of the three fanice who attacked her and flinches. "It won't help much if I'm against multiple targets. What am I supposed to do then?"
Professor Faramund reaches into her pocket and hands Terra a heavy object made of metal. Her eyes widen at the sight. It's a pistol with a red line going down the middle: an automatic laser gun. She feels sick, seeing this in her hands. All guns were illegal in Nadura City, but this one... Anyone found carrying this could easily get life in prison. "Wh-Where did you get this?"
"As I was searching for the two of you yesterday, I came across a crashed police vehicle," the professor explains. "I found it in there. Use it in case of emergencies. In a battle against a foe much stronger than you, technology can be an equalizer."
"B-But, I don't know how to use it."
The professor takes the weapon and points it at the wall. A red dot appears on the closet door. Then it moves, eventually settling in the middle of Eila's forehead.
"Oh no!" Terra shouts. She pushes the gun away, but the dot remains on her sister's head. Eila looks around, wondering what's happening, and horrifyingly, the target follows her. If a laser were to be shot from that weapon now, it's guaranteed to kill no matter what she does. This really is an automatic.
"Relax," Professor Faramund says. "The safety is on. It's only in aiming mode." She pushes a button, and the red dot disappears. "There's a three-step process to this mechanism. First, push the button on the side to aim. Then, turn off the safety by pushing this switch on the back. Finally, press the trigger when you're ready to shoot. It will do the rest of the work for you. Just make sure it's aiming at the correct target. The best way to do that is to point the barrel as close to them as possible."
It sounds simple enough, but that isn't what she's worried about. She's never killed anyone before. She's not sure if she could do it. "I-I can't keep this. It's too deadly."
The professor places the weapon back in her hands and wraps Terra's fingers around it. "You've always been a kind soul, but this is war. Trust me, if the fanice discover who we truly are, they will aim to kill. You should, too."
"B-But don't you need this? It'd be better in your hands anyway."
"I can protect myself. I hardly need it, but you do. If you can learn to use the gyp, this will be a cakewalk. It does all the work for you. Please, promise me, if things go wrong, you'll use it."
She stares at the weapon in her hand. She remembers her parents used to have an automatic laser gun locked in a safe in their closet. When a little Terra caught her mother cleaning it, she became furious at her, screaming for her to get out and then later begging her to keep it a secret. Only they and her father knew about it. She pushes the memory back down. She doesn't like to recall things like that. As far as she's concerned: she and Eila's life started when the professor found them. They were nobody before.
With her hands shaking, Terra walks into the bedroom and places the pistol in the closet. She really doesn't want to take it, but she almost died. At least with this on top of her immunity, she has a fighting chance. No, more than a chance, this weapon might give her an edge over the fanice. "I promise."
"Good. You're making the right decision. I will let you rest now. If you need me, I will be in the living room." Professor Faramund leaves, most likely to tinker with her toys at the desk again.
Terra hangs her head, feeling ashamed. She shouldn't have run off to the fanice the second she got flustered. In the past two months of caring for and interacting with the fanice, she forgot how dangerous they are. Maybe they really do deserve to lose their magic. Perhaps that's what's best for the world.
Then she thinks of Gabriel: his smile, his laugh, his kind words. He's trying his best to make peace between fanice and half-fanice, despite everything humans have done to him. Does he deserve that?
"Terra?" Eila asks.
"Yes?"
She crawls into the bed and pats the blankets next to her. "Come lay down. I'll lay with you."
Terra snuggles under the covers, staring at the ceiling.
"So, some bad fanice hurt you?" her sister asks.
"Yeah."
"And how did you escape?"
"Gabriel found me in time. I got lucky."
Eila stares at her in disbelief. "Really? He saved you?"
She nods.
The two of them lay in silence for a few minutes. Terra wonders what could be going on in her sister's head; she knows her thoughts are all over the place. Despite what would happen if Gabriel finds out who they are, she still feels bad for him. Not only that, but she can't imagine the humans returning in a fantasy-like "saving the day" scenario. Their fight will be far from over when everyone returns, but with the fanice's magic gone, the humans will easily win. Then what will happen? Will everything return to normal? The air used to be so heavy, and people were dying every day due to the pollution. Is that truly a future she wants to return to… that she wants Eila to grow up in?
"Hey… can I ask you a question?" her sister says, breaking the silence.
"Of course."
"If you had to kill King Gabriel, would you do it?"
Terra's heart skips a beat, and she turns toward her sister. "Why would you… ask that?"
"We might have to," Eila says somberly. "We might have to, and I'm not happy about it. I thought… I thought that defeating the bad guys would feel good. It always does in the stories."
Terra grabs her hand and holds it. "Real life is rarely like the fairytales."
Her sister looks as if she's about to cry. "I know that, but still, everything feels wrong. If we're doing the right thing, it shouldn't feel like that, should it? We… We are the good guys, right?"
"Yes," Terra says, squeezing Eila's hand. "Over three million people are trapped right now. We're going to save them. If that's not good, then I don't know what is."
Her sister smiles and nuzzles up to Terra, closing her eyes. "Then maybe after we do it, we'll feel better."
Terra wraps her arms around Eila and tries to relax, but her heart races. None of this is going to feel "good." Nothing is as black and white as her six-year-old little sister would like to believe. She doesn't have the heart to tell her, though. All she can do is be there and protect her at all costs.
Even if she has to use that lethal weapon stowed in their closet.
…
One month flies by faster than Terra could have imagined, and before she knows it, it's the day of the festival.
"Terra, Terra!" Eila yells, shaking her awake. "Do you like my dress? Do you?"
The girl sits up and drags herself out of bed. Her little sister wears the dress she picked out at the mall before the world changed. It's a spaghetti-strapped dress with a yellow flower pattern. It goes great with her umber skin and black pigtails. Eila spins around, admiring herself in the body-length mirror in their bedroom. The dress twirls with her.
Terra stands in the mirror behind her. "You look beautiful. You know we won't be at the festival long, right?"
Eila pouts and hangs her head. "You don't have to remind me."
Terra pats her sister's shoulder and tells her she can wear the dress as long as she changes into her black clothing before the mission. The little girl jumps up and down, excited. Then, the professor appears in the doorway. She's wearing her usual: black slacks, a white collared shirt, and a grey suit jacket. She will likely wear that to the festival as well.
"We will be there for the first few hours. If the two of you want to have fun, go ahead. Just don't run off without me," the professor says.
Knock knock
Before they can continue their conversation, someone knocks at the door. Terra straightens her hair and goes to get it.
As expected, Gabriel is on the other side. He's the only one who's been visiting, regularly checking on Terra's health. He hasn't visited in some time, though. Festival preparations are a lot of work.
"Hey, it's been a while," Terra says. "How are you?"
"Oh, you're in your pajamas," he responds, slightly flustered. "I'll wait out here. You should go change. I've already told your guard to go home."
"Do you need me for something?" she asks. "I thought I wasn't due to come back to work until tomorrow."
"I-It's not that," he says, looking everywhere but at her. "I'd like to talk to you about something. That's all."
"Okay? I'll be right back." Terra softly closes the door and walks back down the hallway. Her heart pounds so hard, she can hear it in her head. The king of the fanice wants to talk to her alone. He even dismissed their guard, who normally stands outside, and he seemed nervous. What could that mean? Don't worry, Terra. she thinks. If he knew, he'd be acting much more hostile. It's got to be something else.
Eila and the professor ask where she's going, and as she brushes her hair and changes, Terra explains that Gabriel wants to talk to her. Professor Faramund asks how long she'll be gone, and she says she's not sure but promises to be back before the evening when the festival begins. Her family seems on edge about this, but they agree there isn't much else they can do. Terra has to play dumb and act like nothing is wrong, especially now that they're so close to their goal.
After choosing her outfit: baggy black pants and a black T-shirt with the Tree of Life, Terra puts in her gold ear piercings. Finally, she's presentable. However, before she can reach the front door, the professor calls her.
"Terra, wait!"
She turns around.
"Take this with you." She hands her the gun.
Terra's hands tremble as she holds this thing. She tries to hand it back. "I don't need it right now. I'll carry it when it's time."
The professor pushes her hands away. "Just in case. Those pants should be able to conceal it."
Terra swallows and places it in her deep pockets. "Alright. Just in case."
Her guardian nods in approval and lets her leave. Eila runs down the hall and gives her one last goodbye. "Be careful. Please."
She messes with her sister's hair. "Of course. I'll be back soon. I promise."
Now, she's free to find out what Gabriel has planned.
Taking a deep breath, Terra opens the door. The king of the fanice is standing against the wall. He wears his usual orange toga-like shirt, but today, it's tucked into a different pair of pants: they're purple, which is an odd combination. He looks up at the ceiling. With few fanice to tend to them anymore, the cave plants are now brown and rotting away. Still, a few stray families can be seen here and there, flying from their cottages. Gabriel was not successful in bringing everyone to the surface, but more and more are moving there every day. That breaks Terra's heart, knowing it will all be for nothing.
When the king lays his turquoise eyes on her, they light up. "You look good! Are you ready?"
"Yeah, where are we going?"
"It's a surprise," he says. "Come with me."
…
The two head to the surface, and when they get there, Gabriel asks if he can fly her somewhere. At first, Terra hesitates, but he seems excited, so she gives in. The man scoops her up like she weighs nothing and carries her in his arms. They fly to the nearest mountain peak: the one they talked on all those months ago, and where they found out Gabriel's father had been killed. When Gabriel places Terra in the now overgrown grass, and she views the ruins of her sister's school field, her breath catches in her throat. Why would he bring her here of all places? Doesn't this field carry painful memories for him?
"What's wrong?" Gabriel asks.
Terra flinches. "It's nothing. What are we doing here?"
The king turns around and gazes out at the overgrown mountain range ahead. As far as the eye can see, there are giant plants and fairy cottages. Extravagant decorations can be seen even from here: from streamers to banners to kiosks, all getting ready for the fanice's grand celebration. If Terra didn't know any better, she would think they'd been there for a long time and that the buildings from Nadura City were ancient. Moss and species of lichen have overtaken them. The skyscrapers' colors are already fading away.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Gabriel asks.
"Yeah," Terra says. Horrifyingly so. Usually, buildings take hundreds of years to break down, but because of the fanice, all traces of human civilization will be gone in one—or two—years tops.
"You know, I was told my father would start The Vanishing, but that I would be the one to finish it. I now know the meaning of those words."
"What… do they mean?" Terra asks cautiously.
Gabriel folds his wings and takes a seat on the grass. He pats the spot next to him. She reluctantly joins. They look out at the ruins.
"I didn't expect it to happen so soon, but I knew I would succeed my father in the new world. Am I a horrible person for believing… no, for feeling, glad that it happened early?"
Terra leans in, trying to read his facial expression. "That depends. Why are you happy about that?"
"I feel like I must say this to someone, and you're the least likely one to judge me. I loved my father, but as I was mourning his death, part of me felt… relief. He was a tyrant, and he hurt so many innocent fanice with his prejudice, including someone who was dear to me."
Terra isn't sure what to say, so she just listens. Over the past few months, Gabriel has infrequently mentioned a half fanice friend he used to have when he was little. He has yet to elaborate more than that.
"Her name was Dabria. She was my only friend when I was little, but she was unfortunately born a half fanice. Later, as she was escorted out of the village, her eyes turned red. My father did not take kindly to that. For such an offense, banishment wasn't enough."
He looks at her as if she's supposed to know what that means. Terra stares back at him. " What offense? Did she overuse her magic or something?"
"Huh? No. Geez, Terra, did your mother teach you anything about fanice? Red eyes mean royalty. Dabria was part royal."
Terra's eyes widen. No, that can't be. The professor's eyes turn red all the time. Then again, she hadn't noticed until now, but when Michaela was interrogating them, her eyes were pink. When those despicable fanice attacked her, theirs were also pink. The only ones who had red eyes... were Gabriel and Professor Faramund. That can't
be right. The professor wouldn't keep such a big secret, would she? Terra meets Gabriel's gaze, and he doesn't seem to be lying. Not wanting to think about what that could mean, she changes the subject. "What… happened to Dabria?"
Gabriel looks over his kingdom, holding back tears. "She was executed."
A somber silence lingers in the air. King Gabriel's motivations are coming together now. His father hated humans so much that he banished half fanice to the surface. It looks like those of royal blood suffered an even worse fate.
"I promised that when I became king, I would never let something like that happen again. But it's harder than I thought: changing the hearts and minds of those scarred by their former oppressors. You've helped a lot. I'm glad you're by my side."
Terra meets Gabriel's eyes, and she can tell he's being genuine. A twinge of guilt ripples through her.
"So, now you know. Tell me, do you think I'm a bad person?"
"Huh?" Terra asks. She completely forgot about that. "No, not at all. If anything, this has made me dislike the previous king more. How could he do that to your friend?"
He smiles, and his messy blond hair moves in the wind. "Thank you. I needed to hear that. Let's talk about something else now. I imagine you don't know how to dance like a fanice, do you?"
She shakes her head.
"You'll need to know what for the festival. May I?" He stands and reaches for her hand. Terra lets him take it. She has no idea how to dance, but it'll be good to take both of their minds off things. She can't believe Gabriel's father could be so cruel. It almost makes her glad Professor Faramund killed him.
The professor... her mind drifts to what Gabriel said again, about red meaning royalty. There has to be a logical explanation for why Professor Faramund's eyes turn red. Either that or she has a good reason for keeping that a secret. She'll talk to her later. For now, she'll put that out of her mind.
Terra dances with King Gabriel. At first, she clumsily puts her hands in the wrong place and steps on his toes. However, Gabriel is a good teacher. He shows her how to move in circles with a partner and how to twirl and dip. Then, he demonstrates the fanice portion of dancing, where they fly up into the air and then back to the ground. The king does this part without her. After a while, Terra gets the rhythm down. Gabriel expresses how he regrets there's no music, but Terra doesn't mind the chittering of the mountain insects and the sound of the wind as their tune. It's serene, nothing like her old life used to be.
Finally, Gabriel lets her go, giving her one of his big, innocent smiles again. "That was marvelous! You're a quick learner."
"I have a great teacher," she says.
His smile grows even larger. Then suddenly, as if remembering something important, the king's expression changes. He goes from joyful to nervous again, and he fiddles with something in his pants pocket, gazing at the swaying flowers beneath them.
"What's going on?" Terra asks, unable to handle the tension. "You didn't bring me up here just to tell me that story and teach me to dance, right?"
He sighs. "I keep waiting for the right moment, but I suppose it won't come." Gabriel pulls something out of his pocket: it's a necklace, a beautiful gold chain necklace with a ruby dangling from it. Its luster is fiery in the forever setting son of Planet Viatrix.
Realizing what such an extravagant gift could mean, Terra's heart sinks. "I-Is this… for me?"
"Yeah," he says. "It's fanice tradition to give a piece of jewelry to one's date to a celebration. I'd like you to be my partner for the festival, if you'll accept."
Heat rises to Terra's cheeks. Does Gabriel… like her? How could she not have seen it before? No wonder he always hangs out with her, wants to know what she's up to, and treats her with so much patience. While she was constantly worrying about getting caught—seeing the fanice as monsters—Gabriel was thinking about this. She feels so stupid for not noticing earlier. They may be different species, but at the end of the day, the fanice are people, just like humans. She's a woman, and he's a man.
Seeing her reaction, Gabriel frowns. "I don't like that look on your face. What are you thinking?"
Now, Terra has to come up with a response. She chokes on her words. If he were human, she would accept immediately. Gabriel is the whole package: he's intelligent, kind, successful, and not to mention incredibly good-looking. Plus, she enjoys spending time with him.
"He's the bad guy. Remember that." Eila had said.
But her sister is right. He's a fanice, and she's a human.
"Come on, don't leave me hanging. If it's a 'no,' that's okay."
Finally, the air seems to enter Terra's lungs again. She backs away from him, realizing this relationship has gone too far. The sadness, the betrayal he's going to feel when he finds out she's not who she pretended to be… Terra can't even imagine it. "I-I don't think we're right for each other."
"That's alright," Gabriel says. "This doesn't need to be a romantic thing. I'd love for you to come with me anyway, though. When everyone sees us together, I'm sure it will inspire some of them to give half fanice a chance."
"N-No, that's not it," Terra finds herself saying. Being Gabriel's date to the festival is the worst thing for their plan. All eyes will be on her. It will be impossible to get to the server room. "I mean, I can't go with you. At all."
The fanice king walks closer to her. "Why?"
She takes another step back. "I-I just can't. Why won't you take 'no' for an answer?"
The king's face falls, and he stares at her doubtfully. "It's not that. It's how you're acting. You're trembling."
"Wh-What? No, you just caught me off-guard. Look, I can't go with you. I want to attend with my family. Plus, I can't have all those… eyes on me."
Wordlessly, Gabriel walks closer. His innocent persona has melted away, replaced with an icy demeanor. What is happening? Why has he changed all of a sudden? Terra tries to back up more but trips on a rock and falls backward into the foliage. Not knowing what the fanice king will do next, she reaches into her pocket, wrapping her hands around the gun. However, before she can pull it out, his expression softens again.
Gabriel kneels down, bringing himself to Terra's level. His massive turquoise wings spread across the grass. "I truly cannot fathom it."
Terra places a finger on the pistol's trigger, ready to draw at a moment's notice. "Cannot fathom… what?"
"At first, I thought it was because you were wary due to the previous king's policies. Then, I believed it was Michaela and other prejudiced fanice. After that, I thought you needed some space due to that near-death experience. I'm running out of excuses now, though. I've been on your side this whole time, so please, tell me why."
"Why… what?"
Gabriel leans in, and Terra feels the urge to scooch away, but she stops herself this time. She stares straight into those inhuman eyes, which now have a hint of pain in them.
"Why are you so afraid of me?"