Despera was alive again, back when she was Felicity, and she was exhausted. She was taking long, deep breaths, pulling air into her lungs before forcing it out so she could get more. Her muscles were sore, and her joints ached. At the time, it was the most pain she had ever been in. But she had to keep running.
The sky was cloudy, storming. Lightning occasionally flashed across the sky in the distance, followed by booming thunder after. Rain was coming down hard, almost like hail as it made splashed on the ground and drenched her clothes.
And Felicity barely noticed any of it. The girl was too focused, too worried, and too scared. Or rather, she was terrified. I have to get there in time. She thought, saving her breath for breathing. Maybe I can stop her.
She ran as fast as she could, through the streets, and through the crowds. Yet, it still took her a few minutes to reach the bridge. She was exhausted, and surely far passed her limit, but she had to keep going. Her friend was still further ahead.
There was a large group of people who had gathered in the middle of the bridge. A lot of them had cameras or held out their phones. Some of them looked to be police officers making sure the people stayed a safe distance away. And passed them was a girl standing on the edge of the bridge, on the other side of the railing. She had long blue hair and just stared down into the rock-filled river below, unresponsive to the cop who looked like he was trying to talk her out of jumping.
Felicity eventually made it to the crowd, though practically stumbling over at this point. She barely had enough energy to push her way through the reporters and the other bystanders, but when she did, she was stopped by a man dressed in dark blue.
"Hold on there." He said, pushing her back with his arm. "This is a serious situation. Not a playround." His bluntness was almost enough to hit the girl over the head.
But Felicity was persistent and kept trying to push passed the officer to no avail. She was too tired. Instead she yelled as loud as she could to her friend on the edge of the bridge. "Tear!" Unfortunately, Tear still showed no reaction. "Why would you jump!?"
This time, the girl managed to elicit a reasction. Tear turned her head towards Felicity, still ignoring the man trying to talk to her. Tear was crying, and had a look of fear on her face, until her eyes landed on Felicity. Then a look of disdain flashed across her face before returning to normal.
While looking at Felicity, and after taking in all the details of her as she could, Tear jumped, falling into the rapid waters and sharp rocks below.
And despite the lack of breath in her lungs, Felicity screamed.
Despera shot up, feeling like she was about to continue screaming, but fought it off just like every other time she woke up from that nightmare.
When she came back to her senses, she noticed that Tear was huddled in the foetal position. Though Despera was glad she was alive, the girl was crying, and clearly petrified with fear. “Tear, are you okay.” Despera asked, worried and reaching her hand out to her.
Tear’s eyes widened in terror and she screamed. “Get away from me!” She screamed in a mix of fear and anger. “You’re a monster! I hate you!”
The Princess had been called worse, and with more hatred. She’d been raped, beaten bloody and bruised, and was even amputated. And yet,
Tear’s words hurt more than anything she’d been through.
Then the girl realized what she had done. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry, Felicity.” Tear tried to apologize. “I didn’t mean…” She trailed off. “I had a bad dre-”
Despera held up her hand, signalling her to stop. She had her fair share of bad dreams, and understood. Aat least, that's how she was trying to act, but it still hurt.
“It’s fine. I get it.” She said, rising to her feet. “You’re still shaken up from yesterday. Just wait here.” She looked down as she approached the door, barely able to hold in the tears. “I’ll be back soon.”
She left the room.
“She doesn’t leave.” She told Umbra and Veroth after shutting the door behind herself. “I’ll be right back.”
She walked downstairs, then into the kitchen which was filled with demons preparing another meal for her. They stopped immediately as she entered. “Everyone, take 5.” She said. It sounded like an offer, but everyone obeyed, knowing it was a demand.
She pulled the moly out her pocket and diced it up. Next, she put it in the kettle along with the gold she broke off from the golden apple. When it was done boiling, she poured the greenish yellow liquid into a cup, then returned to her room.
Despera thought about sending someone else in to give her the tea, but knew she had to do it. Still, she stood at the door, filled with anxiety.
Eventually, she entered, albeit slowly. “Hi, Tear.” She said, trying to make her voice as calming as she could.
“Hey, Felicity.” The human responded, still sitting on the bed, clearly just as anxious as Despera, if not more.
“I brought tea.” She stated, trying to keep the same calm and caring tone. “You must be thirsty, right?”
She put her hand to her throat and only realized then how dry her mouth was, and yet. “No. No, thank you, I’m fine.” She lied.
“It’ll make you feel better.” Despera stated, sitting beside her on the bed.
Tear was still being cautious, and though she knew her friend wouldn’t poison her or anything, there was still something inside her telling her to run.
Despera held the cup closer to Tear’s hands. “Please, just one sip.” She requested, almost begging. “And if you don’t like it, I’ll drink it.”
The girl, against her better judgement, took the cup from the Princess. She brought it to her lips, and hesitated. She felt that she needed to try and build trust between them, so she pushed through, and took 2 sips, then stopped.
Unexpectedly, it tasted good, and refreshing, so she kept drinking until it was gone.
After she was done, she felt something change in her. She felt more relaxed, and her thoughts became clearer. She nearly dropped the cup, but tightened her grip just in time. “What was in that tea?” She asked, semi-jokingly.
“It was just an herb to help with any lingering effects of my magic.” Despera explained. “That’s why you’re less afraid of me.”
Tear already needed a few seconds to process that. “Okay… I have another question: What happens now?” The girl asked, curious to why Despera was so desperate to bring her back.
“What do you mean?” Despera asked, forgetting for a moment that she was given a job. “Oh…” Despera took a deep breath before answering the girl’s question.
“I’m sorry for what I did yesterday and I want to make things right.” She replied, opting not to tell her about Lucifer’s deal yet.
The Princess sat next to Tear, and her fear was all but gone. “And how will you do that?” She asked, sad, yet hopeful. “Don’t get me wrong, this tea was a good start.” Another attempt at a joke to lighten the mood.
Despera took Tear’s hands in her own. “If there’s a way to get you back home, I promise I’ll find it. And Lucifer himself will not stop me.” She stated with a confident grin.
Just then, there were loud trumpets sounding outside the Castle. “Oh, fuck.” Despera whispered, growing fearful herself as she was likely about to regret making that promise. She knew that only a few demons cared to make such a dramatic appearance, and she didn’t like any of them.
There was a knock on the door and Umbra entered with a concerned expression. “My apologies for interrupting, Princess, but you have a visitor waiting downstairs.”
She slammed her fist against the wall. “Sorry I have to leave again, but I’ll be right back.” Despera assured Tear, before leaving the room. “Umbra, stay here.” She instructed.
On the 1st floor by the entrance stood a demon with beautiful black feathered wings, and black horns. His impeccable blonde hair and blue eyes were great indicators of his identity, but it was the purple lion on his crown that made it unquestionable. “What a pleasant surprise.” Despera said. “Hello your Majesty, King Lucifer.”
The demon turned to face the Princess with the arrogant grin he always seemed to have. “Greetings, Despera. How has your search been going?”
