Chapter 139: Blake's Past
"Draco..."
Blake walked into my office, and she looked... well, honestly, she was extremely agitated.
"Blake?"
"Draco, you'll save them, won't you?"
I sighed.
"Blake, I don't think anything will threaten them in Russia. It's not that life there will be a fairy tale, but life here won't be one either. If you're asking me to bring the Faunus here, I'll try. But you have to understand..."
"I understand..."
She nodded.
"...you've already said you'll think of the Quarter first. I can't do otherwise. They're my people, and knowing they're there while I'm here..."
"And what, exactly, changes?"
"Huh?"
"Blake, you were in Vale, knowing that in Atlas, where the SDC is widespread, oppression was occurring..."
She flinched and lowered her gaze to the floor.
"Don't misunderstand me. I'm not judging you. I would have judged you if you'd taken up terrorism. It's the simplest path, of course, but at the same time, it's the wrong one."
Blake's ears pressed against her head.
"Don't tell me..."
"I... I was in the White Fang..."
She said it as if she'd just jumped off a cliff, though I didn't understand what any of that meant. After all, I hadn't gone into detail about the organizations of her world. I knew about the countries, about Huntsmen and megacorporations, but I hadn't learned about every organization.
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"Well... the White Fang, they're terrorists, but it didn't start that way..."
She shook her head.
"...it all started as rallies demanding equal rights for us with humans, but..."
She sighed and, coming closer, sat down in the armchair across from me.
"...those rallies accomplished nothing. And then my parents moved to Menagerie. There they built a peaceful city, but..."
She sighed, then continued as if throwing herself off a cliff.
"...I stayed in the Fang and continued the fight using terrorist methods..."
"Stop!"
I raised a hand, stopping Blake.
"Let's do it this way. Breathe for a couple of minutes and remember that I'll try to understand you no matter what. So calm down, and when you're ready, repeat what you just said, because you rattled it off so fast that I didn't understand a word."
"All right..."
She nodded jerkily, and silence fell over my office. I continued studying the documents, occasionally glancing at Blake, while she withdrew into herself for a while.
For nearly an hour, Blake sat quietly in the armchair. If I hadn't seen her there, I might have thought she had simply left, but no, she sat there in silence...
"Draco..."
Noticing that I had finished studying the documents, she finally decided to begin her story. I was very grateful to her for waiting until I was done. No, I would have listened, of course, but it might have affected my ability to familiarize myself with the key points for the negotiations.
"...are you finished?"
"Yes."
"I... I wanted to tell you."
I nodded encouragingly, and then, after a brief pause, stood up from my armchair and moved to the small sofa, patting the spot beside me.
"Move over here."
"Uh-huh..."
She moved over and tried to settle beside me, but noticing she was hesitant to touch me, I simply drew her close and rested her head on my shoulder.
"Don't fidget. Tell me."
She froze for a moment, but then sighed and started her story anyway.
"I... when my parents began building a Faunus state, I thought they had chickened out and stayed in the White Fang. It had just come under the control of the much stronger and more radical Sienna Khan. Back then, it seemed to me that we were doing the right things..."
Blake twitched an ear.
...for that matter, even now, I think that at first we were doing the right things. We didn't attack cities or villages. We attacked SDC mines and freed Faunus who were being held there against their will. It was...
She fell silent for a couple of seconds.
"...inspiring. Back then, for the first time, I felt like I was doing something important. Seeing other Faunus cry from happiness when they realized that no one would force them to work anymore, that they were free and could do anything..."
Her ear twitched slightly.
"...it was so... so..."
She tried to find the words, but couldn't.
"...but at some point, everything changed, and I didn't notice. Though that's not surprising. Back then, Adam became the head of the group I was in, and I fell in love..."
She sighed and froze, as if expecting some action or words from me.
"And what happened next?"
"I... I truly fell in love, and back then I saw nothing... I didn't notice how we shifted from attacking mines to attacking villages, trains, and Bullheads... It was enough for me that Adam said this village was helping the SDC, that this train was transporting SDC Dust, that this Bullhead was transporting Faunus to the mines..."
She tensed as if expecting me to push her away and let her fall to the floor, but I only pulled her closer. At the same time, I noticed Fleur slip into the office and freeze nearby, not daring to interrupt the catgirl.
"...and when it turned out that wasn't the case, they simply told me that intelligence had made a mistake, and that was all. And that was enough for me."
She sobbed.
"I'm not justifying myself, don't think that. I admit that I did a great deal of harm back then, but... I truly repent everything I did, but I can't change anything anymore... All that's left is to live and hope that what I still have time to do will reshape what I did before."
I continued holding Blake against me in silence, and after a short pause, she continued.
"You know, everything changed so abruptly... we were attacking another train, and this time, for variety, it really was transporting Dust. We had already captured the car, but Adam decided not to stop there and ordered everyone on the train to be killed. We knew the train didn't belong to the SDC, and still he gave that order..."
I noticed Fleur watching Blake with an intensely attentive gaze. I couldn't tell what she was thinking, but from the look in her eyes, there was no contempt. More likely sympathy and... a desire to help?
…I said that then, and Adam just laughed in my face. Then he said that for a couple of years, we'd been destroying sentients who had nothing to do with the SDC. He told me my hands were soaked in human blood up to the shoulders, not just the elbows, and I had no right to sneer at the murder of another hundred pathetic humans.
I didn't believe it... I didn't want to believe it, but I still demanded explanations, and... and he explained. Point by point, with mocking comments, and... and then I attacked him. You know, rage completely took hold of me. I couldn't tell who I was attacking, and I probably killed half our detachment. Adam himself took several nasty wounds, but I couldn't do more. He got lucky and kicked me, and I just flew out of the train.
Blake fell silent.
*That was when I decided I would become a Huntress. That I would help EVERYONE, that I would atone for my past sins...*
And again she fell silent for a couple of minutes.
Well, there... I said it... I said everything... do you despise me now?
There was sadness and despair in her voice.
No...
I shook my head and held her even tighter against me. She let out a small squeak, but that didn't worry me much right now.
…you know, I know all too well how easy it is to mislead a child, and when all of this started, you were just a child. Perhaps a very strong one, but...
I shrugged with the shoulder Blake's head wasn't resting on.
…still a child, and you essentially had no choice. You were raised believing the White Fang was good. And you lived with that belief. And what's ingrained from childhood is very hard to let go of.
I closed my eyes.
The start of your active involvement... you know, I myself would have helped you destroy mines and free Faunus. Believe me, in that part of your story, you only inspire respect and the desire to support the little girl who was forced into all of it.
Blake snorted quietly.
Yes, your actions against ordinary people aren't exactly admirable. Yes, I condemn them, but as I said, you were a child... well, how old were you then, fifteen?" "Hearing that from a thirteen-year-old boy is strange..." She said it with a faint smile. Her mood was already better, no longer despairing. "Well, it is what it is... in short, although I don't support what you did, the fact that, after learning the truth, you found the strength to rebel against it rather than accept it..." I shook my head. "...not everyone can find the strength for that. And you did. More than that, you found a new path by becoming a Huntress. So..." With my other hand, I lifted her face, taking her chin between two fingers so our gazes would meet. "...just live. Live and correct your old mistakes with your actions." "Draco is right..." Blake flinched at Fleur's words and, turning her head sharply, stared at her in panic. "When?!" "At the beginning of your story. You withdrew into yourself so much that you didn't notice me coming in, and Draco didn't notice my presence right away either." I smiled wryly. "Actually, immediately. I just didn't want to interrupt Blake, who needed to talk to someone..." "I... I..." "Here's the thing... We don't despise you for your past. You're a strong girl who had to endure many bad things, but you found the strength to turn away from the wrong path and stand on the right one, and that inspires admiration." I said this in a stern tone, and Blake's ears stood upright. "I agree... You did well. But actually, I'm curious, why Draco specifically?" "I don't know..." Blake shook her head. "...I simply came to ask him to take the Faunus from that country after all, and somehow..."
She shrugged.
"I see... Draco?"
"Well, like I already said, if it's within my power, I'll help. And if not, I'll do what I can to make sure they're treated well there."
"Thank you..."
Blake nodded briefly, rose from the little sofa, and headed for the exit at a quick pace.
"Stop right there..."
Fleur stopped the catgirl, and Blake froze just before reaching the door. Very slowly, Blake turned around and stared at Fleur, eyes wide with panic.
"Tonight you're coming to us. The three of us, you, me, and Penny, will sit down and have ourselves some girl talk..."
"Ah..."
"You can bring your friends too, but then our private conversation will have to wait. Because if we were able to slip away from Hogwarts right now, given that urgent matters came up in the Quarter... then afterward, it's quite possible we'll have to spend the rest of the time until summer holidays locked in the castle."
I snorted quietly.
"Is something wrong, dear?"
"No..."
I shrugged.
"...it's just, honestly, I didn't think you'd take advantage of the situation for something as trivial as skipping out on Hogwarts."
"Well..."
Fleur shrugged.
"...it would be wrong not to seize the moment. And our help really may be needed. Even if not in this matter..."
"I see... Then, since you ran off under the pretext that your help would also be needed in the Quarter..."
I waved my wand.
"Lady Linda, your granddaughter decided to escape from Hogwarts, and she even dragged Penny along with her. Of course, I could have them sent back, but I don't want to make liars out of the Blacks, so they'll be with you in ten minutes. I ask that you put them to real work so they actually help the Quarter."
The Patronus immediately darted toward the exit, and Fleur stared at me in shock and disbelief.
"Draco... Grandmother will..."
"Yes. Linda is not Apolline. She'll pile work on you, and she'll pile it on so thoroughly that you'll howl and think ten times over whether it's worth hiding behind the Quarter's affairs just to skip school."
I will help...
Blake spoke quietly but confidently.
"Oh... volunteers..."
I waved my wand again.
"Maybe there'll be more assistants."
Now Blake was also looking at me in shock.
"You may run now. Linda doesn't like it when someone's late to her..."
And Fleur, grabbing Blake by the hand, actually ran.
"Damn it, I still need to warn Penny!"
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