CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
ROSE ( iii. )

I'm running out of time. It's all that's on her mind as the cheering crowd of men fades into nothing, Calliope's fingers twisting around the handle of her sword. She breathes in deeply through her nose, closing her eyes and slowing her heartbeat. This is her art, the lethal dance of swords, and she is as calm as still waters.

This is a distraction. Underneath Drak's nose, her mother is getting the women and children in the house ready to flee. As soon as the slaver's lifeless body hits the floor, all hell will break loose because Calliope will kill his chosen champion...And then, she will kill Drak. Adding his name to an endless collection of fallen souls, their last image being the tip of her singing blade. Death doesn't scare her; it never has. If anything, Death holds her other hand, urging her on as it's own executioner. They are one in the same. Veiled in darkness and an ethereal mystery.

The blood around her side oozes slowly. She can feel the spell ticking away with each passing second. The strenuous movements will take a toll, but she's faced much worse odds and injuries. Drak's eyes are glued to the spot on her body where he pierced her with the dagger, smirking—thinking it will be enough to stop her.

At last, Calliope sizes up her opponent. He's burly and tall, his bare chest rippling with hard muscles. His face is scruffy and his dark eyes graze over her exposed skin as she still wears the dress she stole from outside a brothel. No armor, no other weapon on her except a guard's disarmed blade. This will be her final stand, even if she uses all her strength to get to Drak and end his horrible existence, it will be enough for her—to know she at least did some good by wiping the vile creature from these lands; to know her mother will be free. It's enough. If the spell ends, and she bleeds out on the floor, it will be more than enough.

The assassin turns, her eyes narrowing on where the slaver stands.

"Alright, assassin," Drak extends his arm. "Let's see if you live up to your name."

From the shadows, she can feel Arthur's eyes on her and sense the worry beneath them. He wants to reach out for her, to help her through this moment, but Calliope must fight this battle alone.

Her opponent strikes first, his blade quick and coordinated as the high-pitched slice of steel encompasses the room. She deflects the blow, jumping to the side and meeting his blade again near her chest. The man pushes down, his superior strength causing her stance to slip, but Calliope spins out of the way and knocks the handle of her sword against the side of his head.

Drak's champion shakes his head in a daze, but comes to his senses just in time to dodge a deadly attack to his neck. The claps and cheers from the men around them encourage him to try to land a blow on the assassin, but she's quick and agile.

His frustration seeps into the fight. Calliope grins, descending upon him with full force despite the protest of pain in her side that grows with each movement. A hiss leaves his lips as she ducks away from his blade and slices her own across his shins. Blood pools on the floor beneath him. The cuts are deep, and he struggles to stand. Too easy. He falls to his knees. Calliope grips her sword for the killing blow—

"I think I've seen enough."

When Calliope's eyes flicker from her opponent, everything goes quiet. The stillness of her mind fades into a silent rage, taking over her vision and causing her lips to form a deadly sneer.

Drak stands, sword in hand, the tip pressed right against her mother's throat with an army of guards behind him, holding back a large group of women and children. They didn't make it. Calliope's chest clenches.

"You may think I'm just another brainless brute like Hengist, but there's a reason my empire has thrived this long," His eyes meet the assassin's. "I'm always one step ahead. I was curious to see how deep my wife's loyalty runs, and of course she betrayed me. She helped you, even though her sweet little girl is nothing more than a bloodied savage now."

"Let her go," Calliope demands, her voice shaking with rage.

Drak chuckles, "I'll admit, your little show was amusing. That's why I let it go on, but I grew bored because you were going to give George a quick death, though slicing through his shins was a nice touch," he glanced to where the champion, George, whimpers on the ground, his hands covering the deep slashes. "I will return to my original offer. Work for me, or..." he tightens his grip on Rose. "I will give your mother a very slow death."

Calliope can hear pounding in her ears and a distant ringing she's all to familiar with. Her rage is building, threatening to take over every vein.

Rose catches her gaze, and a gentle smile arises on her lips.

"Well, what's your answer?"

Something silver shines through the fabric of her mother's dress. Calliope's eyes widen at the same time Rose mouths three words to her daughter, I love you.

A shocked gasp echoes. Rose's hidden daggers punctures Drak's stomach, panic and anger flicker across his eyes, and then, he uses his last ounce of strength to stab her mother in the chest.

Calliope's rage explodes.

♛ ♛ ♛

Arthur's mouth is agape, his body frozen in place. Kazimir and Dex are still beside him in the shadows, too stunned to move.

When Drak stabs her mother, the assassin lets out a sound he can only describe as a deep, mourning war cry that sends a chilling shiver down his spine. Both Drak and Rose crumple to the floor at the same time, and Drak's men jump in her path to finish the assassin off.

They write their own demise. Her blade is everywhere, blood spilling—flying all around her, coating the floors, tables, and her entire body. Screams of agony and death reverberate around the hall, and all Arthur can do is watch; watch the girl he has such deep feelings for completely end man after man with a foreign look in her crystal eyes. A look he has only glimpsed once in Hengist's fortress, but this time, it is coated in so much more darkness and pain, a never-ending rage and thirst for revenge. The eyes of a cold-blooded assassin.

He understands now. Why every kingdom in the world wanted her captured or dead. Why the man who delivered the news of her arrival in Camelot looked white as death in fear of speaking her alias. Why wherever he traveled, there were whispers of the Red Dragon—scary stories to tell around campfires. Why she was always more of a myth or legend to him than a real person. Camelot's enemy, maybe even more dangerous than dark magic; that's how he was told to think of her.

But Arthur never could have imagined that the Red Dragon would end up being her. It made everything about her that he could never grasp make sense, and he had grown to accept her past. Her past.

As he watches her slash a man so deep his guts fall out, he realizes the truth. That ever since he found out who she is, he's let that part of her disappear from his mind.

Kazimir has stepped in now, along with Dex and her quick dagger, but Arthur can't make himself move.

Calliope makes it to where Drak and her mother lie on the floor, a trail of dismembered bodies behind her. She clutches her side with one hand, staggering for a moment.

The assassin falls to her knees.

♛ ♛ ♛

Calliope's knees meet hard stone. Tears blur her vision as she leans over her mother. Rose's chest rises and falls slowly, blood oozes down the side of her lip. A choked sob rises from her throat, and Calliope cradles her mother's head in her hands.

"No," she chokes out, quivering through deep cries. "No, I was here to save you."

She feels her mother use her dying strength to bring one hand up to cup her daughter's cheek, "You did save me."

Calliope shakes her head, tears blurring her vision and staining her cheeks, "All I wanted was for us to be together again. Nothing has been right since our family was torn apart," she can barely breathe through the sobs. "I missed you so much, Mom. I-I need you, I'm so tired of fighting. I can't do this anymore."

"My sweet Calli," a tear escapes her mother's eyes, "The little girl who chased blue jays and dreamed of flying with them," a smile takes over Rose's lips. "I still see her in you. Don't let her go."

Her mother's eyes grow distant, her chest lifting for a final breath, "No," Calliope shakes her head violently as her mother's breathing fades. "No, no, Mom! Don't go," Calliope's chest shakes with sobs. "Mom, please," she begs, her head falling onto her mother. "I was here to save you."

Too overcome with grief, the assassin doesn't notice one of Drak's remaining men slipping up the stairs, his sword drawn back.

Before the man can stab her in the back, Prince Arthur's own blade slices through him. Calliope's head turns over her shoulder at the sound, seeing the Prince standing, looking down at her with a gaze full of pain for her loss. It's then that she also notices the maze of bodies she left in her fit of rage, but she doesn't care.

She feels herself fading. She's lost too much blood. The spell on her side has seeped away, and now, she just feels empty. Hollow.

"Calliope?" Arthur says, noticing her pale face and swaying head. "Calliope!"

It's the last thing she hears before she collapses.

♛ ♛ ♛

"Clear off that table!"

Plates, books, and glasses smash against the floor of the inn as Arthur holds Calliope in his arms. Her face is ghost-white, her skin ablaze. He can barely feel her heart beating in her chest.

Ezlyn motions for the Prince to set Calliope down, and he places her on the table, keeping her head rested in his hands. Kazimir and Dex stay by the door. The warrior watches with his eyebrows knit together in concern.

His hands shake as he holds her, pushing her blood-stained, icy hair away from her face. There had been so much blood all over her that he hadn't even noticed the stab wound until she fell. He couldn't know when it happened, only that fighting all those men with such an injury made her chances even worse. Arthur's chest twists; he has trouble keeping his thoughts straight.

The innkeeper brings a knife to the table, the end orange and sizzling. Arthur had wrapped the wound tightly with a torn piece of his shirt, and Sheena rips it away, looking to the Prince.

"She's lost a lot of blood. I can cauterize the wound, but she's very weak."

Arthur simply nods as the innkeeper presses the dagger onto her side.

The assassin doesn't stir, but blood no longer pours from her wound. Sheena steps back, her daughter placing a hand of comfort on the Prince's shoulder, "Cal is strong. She'll make it." Arthur offers Ezlyn a nod of thanks. "Whenever you need some rest, come find me and I'll sit with her."

Ezlyn pulls a chair for the Prince, and he falls back into it with exhaustion, but before Ezlyn can go, he says, "The man we went after he...he killed her mother," Arthur looks up at her. "When she wakes up," If she wakes up. "She'll need you."

The raven-haired girl leans against the doorpost, fiddling with her necklace, "Something tells me she needs you even more."

He can't help his curiosity as he thinks back to Calliope's story about how she had to leave this town, "You're not still angry with her for leaving you?"

Ezlyn scoffs, "Part of me knew from the moment I met Calliope that our time together wouldn't be permanent, but that didn't make it sting any less." Her emerald gaze falls to where the assassin lies on the table. "Loving her is hard," she glances to the Prince again. "But even through all the pain, it's worth it."

Her words stick with him as she leaves, and his eyes flicker to Calliope as her chest rises and falls slowly. Arthur leans forward, resting his chin on her arm and taking one of her hands in his own. There's so much they have to figure out between them, but right now, all he cares about is Calliope opening her eyes again.

From the shadows, Kazimir steps into the dim candlelight of the inn. He's silent at first, his eyes fixed on Calliope.

"Dex and I are leaving in the morning. I just wanted to offer my thanks for your help."

Arthur turns, "You're a great warrior. It'd be an honor to fight at your side again," they need more men like Kazimir in Camelot. "Come visit in Camelot some time, alright?"

Kazimir nods, "Definitely."

♛ ♛ ♛

It feels as if she is waking up from a horrible nightmare.

The light pouring into the room hurts Calliope's eyes at first as they flicker open. There's a dull ache in the back of her head like she hasn't eaten anything or drank water in days. Her lips are chapped, and when she tries to move, a sharp pain tugs at her right side. Calliope feels someone's arm under her, and she turns her head.

Prince Arthur is sleeping. He let his arm act as a pillow for her head, his own resting against the table. Her lips would lift in a smile, but instead they form a heavy frown when the reality hits her. Her mother is dead.

The image of Drak stabbing her flashes in Calliope's mind, and she feels her heart cleave in two, her stomach twisting in horrible knots.

"You're awake," she hears his voice amidst the raging storm of her grief. Arthur leans over her, gently brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "I was worried I'd lost you."

She bites on her cheek to keep from bursting into tears, "It's all my fault," she chokes out. "if I never would have come here, she'd still be alive."

"You saved so many people, Calliope. Kazimir sent word to the Mercian court, and all the slaves in Tillbrook will be freed. When we return to Camelot, I will send aid to provide food and shelter for any who need it. They're all safe because of you."

"But not my mother," Calliope says. "I couldn't save her."

Saving her was the thread of light Calliope had been hanging onto ever since she lost her father. There was that constant glimmer of hope that she was still out there—that she was alive and waiting for Calliope to come rescue her. Now...she's gone, and Calliope isn't sure what to hang onto anymore.

Now, darkness has taken over that small pocket of light, and her chest has never felt so empty. Just a void of nothing, and if she reaches out to let something in, it's only a sea of loss and tendrils of her rage.

"I'm so sorry, Calliope," Arthur says, his eyes glimmering with solace.

The Prince helps her sit up, and then, his arms are wrapping around her, careful around her wound. Calliope lets her head rest on his shoulder—lets tears flow freely from her eyes—and usually, she would feel warmth and peace and stillness from his touch, but right now, all she can feel is emptiness.

And later, when she has enough strength to walk with Arthur supporting some of her weight, she goes to a field on the outskirts of town where Kazimir places her mother's body on a tall pile of logs. Sheena and Ezlyn stand across from it, their hands knit together in front of them and tears appearing in their eyes. That emptiness still follows her every step, pulling her down and down and down until it's as if there are strings from the earth attached to her limbs and someone else is tugging on them.

Kazimir offers Calliope the torch. Her eyes meet his amber gaze, and she hesitates, for a only a moment, before gripping the handle.

Her hand is laced around Arthur's arm as he helps her walk to the funeral pyre. She wishes for it not to be real—to wake up and find that all of this has been one long nightmare—and she can be in her bed in her old house with her mother and father waiting in the kitchen, the aroma of freshly basked bread drifting to her room.

With a shaky breath, she lets the torch fall to the hay underneath the pyre, "I love you, Mom," she whispers under her breath.

As she and Arthur join the others, Ezlyn reaches out and places her palm on Calliope's arm. Calliope's hand covers hers, and she manages a small nod of thanks.

Arthur's arm drapes around her shoulders, pulling her close. Calliope rests her head on his chest, watching the rising flames as they climb the pyre. The only sound is the crackling fire and the slight breeze drifting through the field. Calliope closes her eyes, wishing the wind would carry her away from here to a better place where she could be someone else with a different life and a different past.

She stays in the field until all that's left of the pyre is ash, and the sun has reached it's peak in the sky. Ezlyn gave her a tight hug before going back to the inn with her mother, and Arthur had walked back to pack their things, leaving the assassin alone with Kazimir beside her in case she needs help back to the inn.

Her stare is fixed on the smoking pile of gray.

"She was a brave woman," Kazimir finally says.

"I know."

Calliope feels him looking at her, "I understand what's it's like to lose someone dear to you. I've lost many people I love through the years."

She turns her head to him, but his eyes have returned to the pyre, distant pain and heaviness within his gaze, "I'm sorry."

"It gets easier," he says, "To live with, I mean."

"You don't live with loss," Calliope replies, "It consumes you slowly until you're dead too."

The assassin leaves him with her words. She turns, her feet trudging along the path back to the inn. Birds sing in the distance, maybe even blue jays, but Calliope barely hears them.

Darkness surrounds her again, and this time, she's not sure it will ever go away.

♛ ♛ ♛
so, this was a sad chapter lol, and some of you may be like omg why did her mother have to die??? but cal dealing with her grief is one of the main themes of most of part two!!
also, if you're worried we've seen the last of kazimir, I can assure you, he'll be back. he plays an important role later in the story

I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! remember to vote and leave your thoughts in the comments 🤍

also, if you are curious about what is to come, here are some songs that encapsule the rest of part two! (episodes 2x05-2x13, plus one bonus episode)

gilded lily (cults), noose (nessa barrett), hard times (ethel cain), midnight rain (taylor swift), do you really wanna hurt me (nessa barrett), haunted house (florence & the machine), revival (echoes)