The voice rang out clear among the sounds of the war surrounding them. Zodiac knew the voice. He’d argue he knew it better than his own. Even now, the once sweet melody seemingly suffocated by rage made his heart stop. This was Onyx, his Onyx.
He turned to face the voice, half tempted to close his eyes. He wasn’t sure he could handle the sight of his lover, eyes hardened past recognition. He didn’t, if only to keep himself alive to see Onyx not evil once more. Onyx looked…normal. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting given this was the first time he’d seen him since Lord Kevin had turned him evil, but it wasn’t this.
Onyx raised their sword, eyes glistening in the same way they had once always for Zodiac. Only, this time it was for his death. The sword plunged down, just barely missing Zodiac. The miss did not affect Onyx, who simply raised the sword again, slicing at Zodiac who could do nothing but step back.
“Raise your sword you coward,” Onyx demanded, their voice just as hard as their eyes.
Zodiac did not raise his sword. Onyx stepped forward, placing the tip of their sword under Zodiac’s chin, forcing him to look at them, though he did not. He instead stared intently at his feet. Had the tip of the sword not been dangerously close to imaling him, he would have gulped. “I said raise your sword.”
Shaky hands reached for his sword. He resisted screwing his eyes shut once more, instead looking anywhere but into Onyx’s eyes. He could fight through everything else. He could handle the hands being the same ones he held back when their biggest struggle was overdue library books, the hair being the same brown hair he’d once loved just as much as his own, now significantly shorter. He could even handle the same lips he’d kissed so many moons ago spewing such hate at him. But he couldn’t handle the possibility that Onyx’s eyes had shifted back to the dull grey he once knew them as. He couldn’t lose his favorite shade of purple.
“Zodiac!” a new voice spoke. Mars. His sister. Her voice was just as shaky as his hands. “Draw your sword. You don’t have to kill her, but don’t let her kill you. Just..Just knock her down. Get her contained and we’ll find some way to fix her! I promise! But you have to fight.”
He took a breath, willing his hands steady before drawing his sword. He couldn’t leave Mars to fight on her own. He had promised. He didn’t harm Onyx either. He couldn’t. Not even evil Onyx. He instead dodged, blocked swords, and tried to find a way to take them down without hurting them. He didn’t look her in the eyes.
He didn’t look her in the eyes, until he did. And he stopped. They were still the same amethyst color he’d loved since before he knew what it was to love. Onyx did not stop. Neither did her sword. The pain he felt was excruciating, though not entirely from the gash now spanning the majority of his collarbone area.
“Onyx please!” he finally cried out, no longer able to sit quietly. This was his soulmate, his whole life. He was not going to just watch as the evil took over.
He grabbed her wrist, ignoring the searing pain it caused. She was more important to him.
“Please, I know you’re still in there,” he spoke, voice no higher than a whisper. Onyx did not move. “I know you’re in there because I know you. And I know you’re strong enough to fight this. You’re the strongest person I know, so please. Please, come back to me.”
He let them go at that. They still did not speak, their body seemingly moving on autopilot, half-heartedly swinging the sword at Zodiac. It was working.
“I remember the day we met,” he continued, dodging the sword even when it felt like moving another inch would tear him in two. “You looked so gorgeous. You know, I didn’t know that my favorite color was purple until your eyes shifted. I was always partial to red. But, on you, purple was so gorgeous. Almost as gorgeous as you are.”
“Zodiac?” Onyx spoke. It was different this time. The edge was gone from their voice, leaving only a vulnerability Zodiac had seen once before. The sword however does not stop swinging.
“Please I can’t stop, I don’t know how. I don’t know what’s going on,” They spoke, voice quivering. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. Am I going to die?”
It was then that the tears began to fall.
“Not if I can help it,” Zodiac answered, voice stronger than he felt. He couldn’t keep dodging for much longer. “I have a plan. I’m going to talk, and I need all of your energy focused on my voice and not killing me. I know you can’t help it, it’s not your fault.”
He took a deep breath, not waiting for Onyx to answer. He simply hoped he was right.
“I’ve never told you this before, but I was going to propose to you. You just beat me to it.” He chuckled a bit, his eyes growing misty. “I had a whole speech planned out. I still remember it.”
“Will you tell me?” Onyx cut in, eyes practically begging. His sword slowed, now only the occasional, heavily restrained stab.
“Of course.” He took a deep breath, each breath growing harder to draw in. “I’ve known you forever, and I’ve adored you just as long. You found me at my darkest and each day with you I’ve grown lighter. I feel as though I’m flying, living a dream I never want to end. Your eyes light my future, one I know will be with you. It’s funny, I’d never believed in soulmates before. I mean, look at my parents. But, with you, it just makes sense. You’re who I think of when I think of my future, my light, my life. And I want it to stay that way. So, Onyx Emerson Windrop, I ask that you grant me the honor of being your husband, in sickness and in health, in life and in death, in rich and in poor, until the end of the earth. Will you marry me?”
It wasn’t until he pulled the intricately carved walnut box out of his pocket that the sword fully stopped, clattering to the ground with a thud. Zodiac noted that the air around them seemed too quiet for such a battle, but that was a problem for later. For now, his love was back. And he was going to make sure he never let him leave again. Not like that.
The two lovers embraced, sinking to their knees, tears spilling down their faces. Zodiac had never felt lighter.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,” Onyx repeatedly muttered, fingers tenderly brushing over his collarbone. Zodiac could do nothing but watch in awe as upon contact with Onyx’s tear-soaked fingers, the wound began to close.
“Fairy magic,” was all he would say. Zodiac found he did not mind, burying his head in Onyx’s shoulder, simply breathing in his scent.
“I missed you. I love you,” he spoke softly, voice muffled by fabric and skin.
Onyx did not get to finish his sentence. A quiet battle is not a good battle, not in this world. Quiet means there’s time to plot revenge, which was exactly what Lord Kevin had been doing. He had concealed himself in a tree, most others too busy fighting to notice his absence. When the last of his men were slaughtered, he found he did not care. Men were replaceable. He waited for everyone but the two lovers to retreat, slowly making his way out of the tree. It was then he drew his sword, driving it downward through Onyx’s ribcage.
This time, Zodiac did not hesitate. He had been trained to kill, and he had learned to love. That did not mean that the lessons were not still there, buried deep within him. He may have left the throne, left the life of a kingdom, but he was still programmed to fight. So, all it took was one quick motion to end Kevin. Quick. What a funny word. He was quick, but he was not quick enough to save Onyx.
He sank to his knees once more, unable to move from his lover’s side. He had just gotten him back. He didn’t know how long he sat there. It could have been minutes, hours, days, even years. All he knew was that Onyx was dead.
He did not know who came for him. He simply heard voices, felt arms. He didn’t speak, couldn’t. His fingers gravitated towards his neck, searching for the familiar chain of his necklace. It was gone. In its place was the scar caused by Onyx’s sword. He bit his lip until it bled, reaching for the walnut case in his pocket once more. He hesitated, reaching for Onyx’s now cold hand, slipping the ring off and replacing it with the one in the case. He stood, looking at his people.
“We must honor him. Win the war for him.”
He was supposed to keep him safe, but instead he let him die.
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