Just find Wolf. 1 step at a time.

I kneel on the bank of the stream and take a few moments to get a drink. The pressure in my ankle releases when there's no longer any weight on it.

The water is cool against my throat. Movement out of the corner of my eye catches my attention. Light glints off of the silvery scales of a few fish.

My next meal. I feel bad, but I haven't eaten in about a day and I'm starting to get pretty hungry. Here, fishy, fishy, fishy. Come to the Dust Devil, not to Luke, because Luke doesn't exist- there's only the Dust Devil.

I creep closer to them before laying down on a rock that overhangs the stream. My arms dangle into the water.

"Oh, that's chilly."

The snake in my mind takes over just enough to let my fingernails sharpen.

Bit by bit, the fish inch closer. It's tempting to just reach out, but I hold back. Eventually, the fish are within inches, then they start brushing up against my skin every so often. My arms are numb, but I stay still. The fish draw ever nearer, and then 1 swims between my hands. Like a trap, I slam my hands together, claws keeping the fish from escaping. The rest scatter as I pull the fish from the water.

"I'm sorry, fish. I'm sorry," I murmur as it gradually stops thrashing.

The snake retreats to the back of my mind as it watches the fish. The snake's eyes glow with a smug look.

Soon, I'm sitting with my back against a tree and am gazing into a small fire. I hold a stick over the flames, slowly roasting the fish.

Night blankets Ragdon in a cover of darkness and twinkling stars.

Once the fish is thoroughly cooked, I balance the stick with my knees and eat the fish. It tastes better than anything I ate at Bryant's castle.

xxxx

I don't know how long I was asleep, but it feels like only a few moments before I'm jolted awake by someone -or something- walking nearby. My fingers wrap around the hilt of my sword and I begin to draw it, ready to fight back any attacker.

The snake presses forward in my mind, expression bored.

"You," I murmur. The 1 next to the eagle at my performance in the White Tent Sea.

"Sure, me," she sneers. "Gimme 1 good reason why I shouldn't just kill you now and get it over with." Her eyes are dark with anger.

What? My confusion must've been written clear across my face because she adds on.

"You betrayed us in my dimension of Ragdon." Murder swirls in her brown eyes.

"Dimension?" What the hell?

"Yeah, dimension. You betrayed us in my and Icarus's dimension, and you're gonna do it again here. If you betrayed us then, how is now any different? You just wanted a higher rank, and betrayal was how you'd achieve it. You were some spineless coward who followed his King like some dumb dog mindlessly following his master. But you're not going to betray us now cuz you'll be too dead to do so." She draws nearer.

Green triangles shimmer into existence, running down her cheeks from her eyes. Her shoulders hunch forward, and her arms fall to the ground as she folds over at the hips.

The snake in my mind lifts its head and tilts it to the side, staring in curiosity as a deer materializes in a display of sparkles and shimmering lights.

I press myself further against the tree trunk behind me, willing the snake not to take over; I don't want any more blood on my hands. Can't... I just can't.

"Easy way or the hard way?"

"S-stop!" I hold out my hands and she pauses.

"Hm?"

"What's your name?" She snorts at my question.

"Fine, I'll humor you. Seneca."

"I'm sorry, Seneca, if I betrayed you or Icarus in your, uh, dimension of Ragdon. Until like a minute ago, I didn't realize there were other dimensions. I had nothing to do with anything that happened there. I-I'm sorry that whatever happened there happened, but I had nothing to do with it."

"No, no, Dust Devil, you don't understand. You betrayed us then, and you'll betray us now. People don't change. The Amethyst Throne corrupts minds, no matter how good you think you might be. Yeah, I know it's infested your mind with its wicked charm, those whispers of how you deserve it, how you're the only 1 strong enough to stand the force of its power. I can see that look in your eye. And those veins crawling up your neck are a dead giveaway. I'm not letting you wreak the havoc you did again. Can't do anything if you're dead. So, I'll ask again: easy way or hard way?"

"I promise you, Seneca, I had nothing to do with what happened in your dimension of Ragdon. Please, you gotta believe me."

Please, please, please. But maybe Bryant caught onto my traitorous thoughts and he sent me way out here with Seneca following to kill me for that. Traitorous actions are punishable by death... I hesitate.

"Did the King of Ragdon send you out here?"

"What?"

"Were you sent to kill me by the King of Ragdon?"

"Where did you get that insane idea from? I'd rather die than work for that despicable creature." Seneca's lip curls into a sneer, eyes flashing with fury.

"Oh," I murmur.

"Still haven't answered: easy way or hard way?" Seneca lowers her antlers so they are level with my head, the 2 prongs on each right in line with my nose and jaw.

"I-I. Stop, please, ok? Why are you doing this? What did I do to you? What did I do in your dimension of Ragdon? Why are you trying to kill me?"

"You betrayed us. What part of that wasn't clear?"

"I didn't betray you. I'm in this dimension of Ragdon! I didn't, like, travel to another dimension!"

"You didn't have to. According to Ky, Midnight Wolves are the cause of the different dimensions; when they shed the Midnight Tear, those they perceive as evil go to 1 dimension and the rest stay in the current dimension. The 2 worlds go on and live on as if it never happened. But I suppose it's possible the last Midnight Wolf, Arcane, couldn't decide." Seneca tilts her head to the side.

"Wasn't that like a month ago or something?"

"Time moves differently here than it did when Icarus and I were in our dimension. It was, like, a year."

"Hm."

Maybe it's a choice. Maybe Arcane knew I'd betray them in Seneca's dimension and wanted to give me the choice on how I wanted to let this timeline play out? Maybe I could finally be free from being a Soldier, figure out what I really want to do.

"What are you smiling about?"

"A choice," I murmur.

"What the hell are you talking about? Answer me," she snarls, slamming her antlers into the tree trunk and narrowly missing my face on either side of my head.

"Next time I won't miss." She backs up a foot or 2.

"I was just wondering if Arcane knew what would happen, at least on some level. Then, when he shed the Midnight Tear, he wanted to give me a choice."

"Ha, that's funny. I'm giving you to a count of 3 to answer my question or I'm choosing: easy way or hard way?"

"I don't want to betray you," I blurt out. "I don't... I don't want to betray you!"

"3."

"Stop it."

"2."

"I swear I don-."

"1. Easy way it is. I'm getting hungry." No.

Seneca lunges, and I duck. She turns to follow me, but she doesn't do so fast enough and her shoulder slams into the tree trunk. Her hooves patter against the dirt as she whirls around. I draw my sword and steady myself for her next attack.

"Come on, Seneca. Whatever I did then, I don't want to do now." I take a few rapid steps back, tripping over a branch and tumbling to the ground. My ankle throbs. The bad 1.

"You don't know that cuz you don't know what it is." Adrenaline courses through my veins. Seneca moves to gore me on her antlers, but instinct kicks in and I slash at her forelegs and she jumps backward. Only a thin trickle of blood on either of her wrists shows up.

"I...," my voice trails off.

"You got something to say, just spit it out. I don't have all day."

"What did I do in your dimension of Ragdon?"

Thank you for reading! I hope you're enjoying The King's Remorse :)

Please consider a vote- I'd love it if you clicked/tapped that little yellow star. And comment; I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Hmm. What did Luke do in Seneca's dimension of Ragdon?

Midnight Wolves can have people in more than one dimension? Interesting idea.

Is Luke right in that Arcane gave him a choice on whether or not he'd betray them again? 

But also, is Seneca right that because Luke already betrayed them once, he's going to do it again?

I hope you're all staying healthy!

-Werewolf14-