Angel Monarch

Night arrived to the city of London. The skyscrapers burned brightly with artificial light, while further down the Thames family houses warmly glowed, inviting the weary workers home.

The city looked beautiful during the day, but at night its true magnificence showed. Undoubtedly, the castle was the most amazing.

The giant structure stretched above the city, looming over the skyscrapers. It had a large empty park around it, making the building even more prominent.

Each of its long towers had different lights glowing on their roofs, while large reflectors illuminated the main building from below. It gave the entire castle an ominous but also wonderful aura.

The city looked beautiful from an aerial view, and since Sera sat atop one of the castle towers, her view couldn't get any better.

She stared out at the city with red-rimmed eyes. She spent the last few hours crying about her past.

Sera never truly realized how far her trauma had gone. Even just hearing that terrible name Harold always called her brought a sudden influx of memories of her torture. Each death weighed heavy on her soul, and hearing that name made her feel suffocated.

Her flight or fight reflex kicked in, but since Harold wasn't there, she got a strange sense of fear. Faced with either terrified stares or questioning looks on the street, Sera felt compelled to flee.

She flew to the top of a skyscraper, where she hid until night fell. Afterward, she changed places to this very tower, so she could cry with no one bothering her.

The chilly night air absently played with her long golden hair. She had both her pristine white wings draped over her, like a shroud or cloak. It kept her warm, even though her heart felt frozen.

A few hours ago she wrote to Bran, telling him she was fine, but needed time. As always, he understood her perfectly, and knew exactly what bothered her.

He was truly the best. These past two years, Sera's survival seemed impossible without him. All the suffering sacrifices felt less when she had someone to share her burdens with.

Even now, in her depressed state, she couldn't hide the smile that grew on her face just by thinking about him. Sera remembered how love felt only vaguely. It resembled her current feelings, and just the thought of loving again made her thrilled.

Her emotions absorbed Sera so completely that she didn't hear someone appear beside her. "What are you grinning about?" said a familiar feminine voice from right beside her.

She yelped and nearly fell off from the unexpected newcomer's voice. After stabilizing herself, Sera turned towards the newcomer. On her right sat a beautiful woman with a seductive body and bright brown hair. Bea held a hand to her mouth, trying to hold back her laughter.

Sera averted her gaze, shame visible, then sighed and began laughing. With it, Bea couldn't hold it any longer either. Her laughter soon followed.

The joyful atmosphere lasted for a few seconds, until their laughter died, and everything became awkward. Silence grew heavier, but they let it fester. The fear of what might happen next felt overwhelming. Read chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

The only sound was the lone raven perched nearby, pecking at the roof's tiling.

Each possessed much to share, yet neither began the conversation. Each wished to apologize, yet neither wanted to start. Each wanted the distance between them to subside, but they couldn't look past their problems.

So, instead of addressing the actual issues, Sera began tiptoeing towards it by opening a line of communication.

"How did you find me?" she asked while staring out over the city.

Bea smiled a bit as she said, "Well, of course, I tracked you down. You're not that hard to find, you know!"

Sera turned towards her with a raised eyebrow and a bored expression. "Bran sent you, didn't he?"

The smile on Bea's face wavered, and her eyes saddened. She turned towards the city as she spoke, "Yes, he did… He didn't explain what happened, just that you needed to talk to someone, and he was busy… He lied didn't he, and just wanted to make us talk…"

For a long moment Sera stayed silent, absorbed in her thoughts, then eventually she just shook her head in self-deprecation.

"Of course he wanted us to talk, but you didn't ambush me, so don't worry about that… I actually wanted to speak with you, but then things happened and I ended up here…"

"What happened?" asked Bea, while turning back to Sera, her face full of curiosity.

Sera's reaction wasn't what she expected. She moved her wings a bit, so Bea couldn't see her shaking body. From behind the wing, the sound of sobbing reached Bea's ears.

Bea's expression turned concerned, but she was unsure what to do. Previously, a few weeks ago, she would've hugged her love, and consoled her as best as she could, but the distance between them, between their souls, gave her a stop.

She might've been wrong. It was probably cruel to not provide support for Sera's emotions, but every time she wanted to move and hug her, that balcony appeared in Bea's mind.

The wind blowing her hair, and she letting go of all her worries. Bea died that day. Not physically, of course, but part of her soul, the part that loved Sera, the part which would've burned the world down just to be with her… It was gone…

While staring at Sera's shaking wings, listening to her sobs, she didn't feel any sympathy, just a small amount of resentment. She knew it was wrong to feel that way, but feelings aren't something people can control. Feelings can be hidden, but never destroyed.

It took Sera a few minutes to gather herself. She lowered her wings, showing her tear-marked face. There was an inexplicable sadness within those golden-green eyes, but there was no anger towards Bea, which was quite surprising.

"I'm sorry Bea… I'm sorry how I treated you… I'm sorry I lead you on… I'm so sorry that I'm broken… I'm sorry I lost my love for you…"

She needs to take a few deep breaths to gather enough strength and continue.

"I could name all the excuses in the world, and they still wouldn't be enough to justify my actions… I don't expect forgiveness, I just want our daughter to live in a happy family, even if we aren't together… She needs her other mother. She acts like she doesn't, but she always talks about you with Bran…"

Bea just stared at her speechlessly. She tried to bring herself to interrupt, to apologize too, but instead it only made her anger boil over. Just as Sera was about to continue, Bea's hand moved quickly, delivering a slap to her ex.

"NO! You don't get to apologize and dismiss everything that happened! You know how much I suffered?! Oh, you suddenly feel bad for everything you did?!… No FUCK YOU! You just want to absolve yourself, so we can be cordial co-parents! You don't give a fuck about me! You only care for yourself!…"

Sera's sad expression slowly changed, and a frown grew on her face. While Bea's shouts still echoed in the night, Sera interrupted. She didn't raise her voice, her anger wasn't blazing, but cold and calculated… Terrifying…

"You suffered? Have they ever told you how many times I have died in the past two years?… Close to 450… A few were deaths I suffered in battle, but most happened under Harold's care… That means I would get tortured and killed each day, only to resurrect and do it all over again…"

Bea opened her mouth, but no words came out. She couldn't refute anything Sera had said, and she even felt bad for overlooking her trauma. Since she said nothing, Sera continued.

"I only care about myself? I might be selfish with my personal life. I'll give you that… Yes, I fucked around in the past two years, because those were the only times when I felt something, but never say I only care about myself…"

"A whole religion, five city-states with millions living inside, and our own daughter would refute your claims, anyway… I have lead people through suffering, through the darkness, into the light, and I never asked for anything in return!"

While talking, Sera stood up and walked towards Bea. Sera seemed terrifying as she stepped towards her, and for a moment, Bea felt what all of those people Sera killed must've felt.

In that moment, she wasn't her past lover, or her daughter's mother, but the warlord who conquered five cities without a single battle fought. The one who is weaker in power than any of her opponents, and still feared more. The person who felt no fear and would walk straight into hell for her daughter.

She stopped a meter away and looked down at Bea with cold eyes. "I wanted to have a cordial conversation with you, about our and our daughter's future, but it seems you still need some time… Understandable, and I'm truly sorry for what happened… Contact me when you want to talk!"

With that, Sera walked to the edge of the roof and stepped off, leaving Bea in stunned silence.

Bea watched as her wings opened and she made an arc towards her room's balcony. The roof turned quiet again. The only sound was the lone raven's croak.