Legacy of The Condesce :15:

-AFTERMATH-

ZENETE ABICIO:

I couldn't figure out what to do. Here he was, the troll who had saved me not too long ago, defeated and bruised inside a recuperacoon. I felt as if it had been my fault; I wasn't fast enough to save him from The Grand Highblood. Now, as I looked upon his beaten frame, I couldn't help but cry. What if he never wakes up from his sleep? What if I, in being too late, had killed the one that I cherished the most? Oh god, it was just too much.
"Don't… cry," a voice whispered beside me. It was Frelsi! He had finally woken up after so long! I wanted to reach inside that recuperacoon and give him a great big hug, but he needed his rest. "Hey… how's it going?"
I signed to my moirail, saying that I could have said the same for him.
"I've seen better days," he smiled sadly. I could see him trying to blink his left eye as if there were something stuck inside it, but I knew what he was really trying to do: he wanted to make sure that eye was really gone. "I'm blind in one eye," he muttered, "and my honor is in shambles. How can I ever show my face before my kin now?"
I reached into the recuperacoon and stroked the side of his face. I really wish that he had stayed away from the fighting; going up against a Subjugglator, especially one as strong as The Grand Highblood, was a fate that I would not even wish upon my strongest of kismesis. When they spoke of it being a fate worse than death, they never bragged; they simply spoke the truth. Whatever they used to be in the days of The Sufferer, they no longer were. They were savages, and nothing more.
"What… what happened after The Grand Highblood fell?" Frelsi asked weakly. "I lost consciousness shortly after the fighting."
I proceeded to sign to him exactly what happened. After Beauus Lieuna decapitated The Grand Highblood, the other Subjugglators were in disarray. Their morale had plummeted, and the remaining high bloods were forced to surrender. Purpur Coulro and her now leaderless Subjugglators were taken into the custody of the Blue Blood Knights, bound and imprisoned in the dungeon levels of Her Imperious Condescension's castle. They seemed to be distraught at the death of their teacher, but I suppose it had been for the best.
The low bloods were fairing much worse. Their entire hive cluster had been razed. Hives had been burnt down leaving nothing but charred husks, and their numbers had been thinned out to a severe degree. Luckily for me, I later found out that Moloch and Zumidu survived the attack, although Zumidu had several injuries, none of which were permanent. It would take a few sweeps to rebuild their dwellings, as well as their trust in the high bloods.
Frelsi nodded, making sure to interpret my signs as best he could. Then, when he was content with my recollection of the aftermath, he crawled out of his recuperacoon. I helped him out, making sure that his wounded leg was capable of supporting his weight. When he was able to stand on his own he tried walking to the exit of the respite block, only to trip on his injured limb. I rushed in front of him, grabbing his body before he hit the ground. There we were, standing in the middle of the respite block. He was in my arms, and I in his. We held each other for a moment, trying to catch up with the cruel blow that life had dealt us both.
I was Frelsi's moirail, but sometimes, just sometimes, I wish that things had been different. It was times like these that I remembered my place in the four quadrants of romance. The first quadrant, the flushed quadrant, is what I longed for the most; a matesprit to care for. Those in the matesprit form of troll romance were usually the strongest… at least, that's what I tell myself.
The second quadrant was the form of romance that Frelsi and I shared now. Moirallegiance, also referred to as the pale quadrant, is a sort of plutonic soul mate relationship. As moirails, we were to look after each other, just in case one of us got out of line. Not that something like that could happen with a pair like us, but it was the closest we would ever get in a romantic relationship thus far…
The third quadrant moves into black romance, or romantic feelings based around hate. Auspistice, or ashen quadrant, is much like the fourth quadrant of kismesissitude, expect with one major difference. Where kismesissitude has two trolls in a hate relationship, auspistice has the extra element of the mediator. Usually this mediator has some other feeling towards one of the parties involved in an auspitice relationship.
Finally, the caliginous quadrant of kismesissitude is just as explained before, where two trolls hate each other, but find an irresistible mating attraction. In a kismesis romance, the two trolls involved are urged not to kill their kismesis, otherwise the relationship would end abruptly. The purpose of a kismesis serves to keep the hostile instinct of a troll in check, so that our race can remain at its peak.
As such, I wished that Frelsi and I would have shared a more intimate romance than moirallegiance. Sometimes, just sometimes, I wished that we could have been matesprits. Although I knew he would never approve of being in a matespritship with a mutant blood such as me. He had a duty to uphold as a Legislacerator. I was just some outcast mutant girl that he saved one day. How could he ever see anything special in me?
"I… I think I can walk now," Frelsi whispered.
I nodded, withdrawing my hold on him and allowing his body to stand upright on his own. I watched as he moved forward, somewhat disoriented and in quite a fair amount of pain as he trudged his way across the floor of the respite block. He smiled as he was finally able to reach the other end of the block to grab his sword. The blade had been broken completely in half, but he did not seem to mind. All he cared about was that it was still with him.
"I could repair this. Perhaps like this sword, one day I can repair my honor." Frelsi turned to face me. "What do you think, Zenete?"
I nodded and smiled as brightly as I could.
"I may be blind in one eye, and I may be feeling pain that I never thought I would feel in all my days of life, but that has never stopped one of my kin before. I was wrong in thinking that I was bringing shame to my people. I will prove that the title of Legislacerator is one that shall not be trifled with!"
Just then a yellow blooded servant hovered into the respite block. I had never seen this troll before, but I assumed that he was Junine Sixine; the royal sign on his forehead sort of gave it away.
"Ah, Frelsi and Zenete," he tried his best to smile, "how pleasant it is to see you both alive and kicking! As you may have already guessed I am Junine, faithful servant to Her Imperious Condescension, and I have been asked by Her Highness to bring you to her castle. She is deeply distraught by the current circumstances and wishes to make it up to the both of you."
"Who else has been invited?" Frelsi asked.
"Well, all the representatives of every blood caste; save for the Subjugglators, of course. With the death of the High Legislacerator, you have been nominated as the next representative."
Frelsi nodded. "Alright, I'll go. Zenete, are you going to come with us?"
I nodded solemnly.
"Very well then," Junine sighed, "let us make haste to the castle. I can't stand to look at the damage done to this hive cluster any longer…"