all of my devils are free at last
all my secrets revealed
She has never gotten to be the hero before. Never been anyone’s savior or reason for living. She has merely existed, simply another cog in the wheel of Time. In this place, with worlds flashing about her and the end of years before her, she can see it as clearly as a cloudless blue sky.
She is so kind and soft, this white woman at the very ends of time. Her voice alone heals ragged parts of her soul she hadn’t known existed, much like the simple wave of her hand heals bruised flesh and seals bleeding wounds.
It is no wonder that Time loves her as he does.
Her words cause a frown to tug at purple lips as eyes of deep gray consider the haloed girl resting before her. She does not know how she had made it and so many others had not (she is truly nothing special), but her heart breaks for the star-crossed lovers.
She opens her mouth to make a response, but no words come out. She is, for once, at a loss for words. She does not know what to do.
She has no one waiting for her on the other side (she has never met her father, her mother had left long ago, and she has always wandered too much to develop any true friendships), but that does not mean she can simply ignore the plight of the thousands of others that inhabit her homeland (and what of the other worlds? The ones with strange beasts she has never before seen?). It is not in her to doom them to a life of misery.
But really, what would happen should the end of years cease to exist? Would the day simply continue on into eternity? Would the world crumble and fall apart?
Impossible questions with equally impossible answers.
But we already know that Divide is a sucker for a good love story. So, in the end, there is really only one question that matters. ”Do you love him?”
As though she senses the puce mare is looking for a simple solution, she gives her the simplest answer possible, ”Yes.”
Divide offers her the faintest of smiles. ”Then let’s go.” She would take her place if she must, but she could not abide the thought that this beautiful creature must suffer eternally at the very ends of the universe. She would happily suffer in her place, would take the burden upon herself. She has no one or nothing anyway. Perhaps it would give her life some purpose.
Stepping forward, she eyes the bubble protecting the white-haired girl. She has no particular gifts, nothing that could defeat such a powerful element, but damned if she wouldn’t try anyway. Stretching her nose forward, she touches the shield gingerly, flinching back sharply at the sudden surge of power that sizzles through her veins. It is both painful and frightening all at once.
Unfortunately, she has nothing else. She does not wish to die, but she knows no other way to defeat such a thing. And though her mind races at a thousand miles per hour, attempting to find an alternate solution, she can think of nothing. Besides, she is so insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Perhaps this is the one way her life could have true meaning, a true impact. So, taking a deep, fortifying breath, she pushes forward, placing the entirety of her body into that immense power, giving herself over as a sacrifice.
For a moment, she glows, much like the lovely lady she is trying to save. Miraculously, she does not die, nor does she blink out of existence. Instead, as that wall of energy drains into her small frame, she seizes, her body going stiff, eyes wide at the shock of pain pulsing through her with the surge of power. After a moment, she is able to gasp out a wheezing, ”Go,” to the woman now freed from her lonely bubble.
Divide had drawn enough of the power into her with her act to allow the cat-eyed girl to escape, but she can feel the way it wants to stay with her. The way it draws from the purple mare towards the creature Time loves. Gritting her teeth, she steps forward to follow it. She would do whatever she must to give her the chance to escape, even if her legs tremble with the effort of keeping herself firmly inside that energy.
It wants her out, gone, so that it can return to its keeper, return to imprison the girl. She could not allow that. Through slitted eyes, Divide watches the white-haired woman slip through the door, where she glances back only once to offer her a small, sweet smile.
Releasing a breath, she bursts forward after Time’s beloved. She does not know if she will be able to exit with the keeper of year’s end gone, but she would try. Even if it meant having to make that trip all over again every year, she would try. She would see Time reunited with his love. So, as the painful energy siphons away, released by whatever mysterious forces control this room, Divide steps through the door.
divide
Word count: 874
