“If she's too weak to do it, I'll do it myself!”
“Lydia…” I whisper.
When she looks back, her glare is softened yet tainted with pain.
Conflicted.
There's a chance I can convince her.
“You're smart.” I straighten up my stance, steadying my trembling body. “You know what's right and what's wrong. You can kill me now or let me help you, but I'm yours. You make your choice.”
Her eyes shift between me and the other men. My heart races, knowing my words may not be enough. These could be my last seconds alive.
If I die, it would be the fault of hypocrites who believe our love shouldn't be. If I die, it would be for all the right reasons. If I die…
I’ll die trying to save her. That's an honorable death.
She looks at me once more, tears falling from her eyes. “Either way, this feels wrong.”
I nod. “I-"
“He's manipulating you again, Lydia!” Arthur yells suddenly. “Let go of the arrow! Now!”
The arrow stays pointed, Lydia's grip visibly tightening.
My heart skips. “Ly-"
“His death will set you free, Lydia! Now!”
Before the last word spills from his mouth, she lets go of the arrow. The shot is as perfect as she is. She never misses a target.
It pierces my flesh, through skin and muscle, until it splits through my heart.
I screech out in agony, falling to my knees almost immediately. Everyone becomes silent as I hold my chest, gripping the arrow embedded in my chest.
Death looms upon me through the pain and weakness rapidly overtaking my body. With a cry, the arrow deepens its wound.
I have little time to spare.
I look up to the men gaping at me as if this was unexpected. I breathe in hoarsely, the effort agonizing.
They will know of their wickedness. “You're all a bunch of hypocrites. All of you!” I howl as the pain gets sharper but continue to push through with my croaky voice. “You call yourselves the kingdom of love, and yet you've punished us for the very thing you preach.”
They continue gawking as my gaze falls to Lydia, her bow fallen and her hands covering her mouth. She whimpers intothem as I struggle to keep my head level to those once beautiful eyes.
She is the woman I swore was mine the moment I laid eyes on her. She is the woman who was so full of life and compassion but now withering away because of her manipulators. She is the woman who I can't save as my body buckles, giving into her fatal arrow.
The pain in my heart isn't just for me. Who knows how much more she’ll suffer after I'm dead?
I give the last of my energy to her. She deserves every single word left in me. “I still love you. I always have. I know you're only doing what you think is best.
“Rayden…”
I smile once more before being snapped from the string of life, collapsing as my body succumbs to the sweet void of death
???
Eli (500 years Later)
