The Unseen Soldier | Part 37 | Monsters
Subject: Hades & Persephone (aka Aiden & Sophie)
Genre: Southern Gothic retelling
Words: 1,660
Summary: Sophie struggles to convince the town.
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Cold, confused, and frightened faces turned to her, ignoring Aiden’s presence at the back. The entire hall fell silent, and all eyes watched Sophie.
“Time will continue on. With the dead trapped here and no new life allowed to enter, the Wall will suffocate this town and all of you in it.” She clamped her hands together over her heart and smiled. “I have seen the beauty of the forest. I have walked its winding paths, and I have chosen to call it my home.”
Aiden’s stony face cracked with a small smile from her words.
“I swear to all of you; there is nothing in the forest to fear.”
“His hounds--” a man yelled from the center of the hall. “They bite. They kill.”
“They protect,” she corrected. “And they do not kill. Those three dogs guard the forest. They protect it from intruders. Only the dead and the Guardians should wander among those trees.”
“The Soldier burns the bodies of the dead. He didn’t return our boy, Oren, to us! He got no proper burial.”
Sophie frowned as she recalled the man’s body crackling and melting beneath the blazing fire. “He died before his time because he chose to enter the forest. His body had to be burned; otherwise, it would rot the ground and damage the forest.”
“He went into the forest to find you!” An elderly woman screamed and leapt to her feet, pointing wildly at Sophie. “Your mother said he would be alright. Your mother--” she hissed “--said he would come back to us.”
“This is her fault,” another man yelled, rising from the back pews. “Denise is the one who convinced us to send people in after you when we should have just left you behind.”
“Denise made us lose our children. She made us build the wall; she is to blame for this.”
People near Denise rose from their seats and encroached on her. One man attempted to grab her hair while another snipped at her shoulder like a hungry dog trying to taste flesh. Hands plucked at her from all sides, and the few who gathered a firm grip, yanked. The sleeve of her dress was torn; her hair was ruffled, and one man lunged for her, intent on grabbing her shoulders and jerking her to her feet--
“Enough!” Sophie screamed, clenching her hands into tight fists.
Fire burst from the ends of her hair again, holding stronger this time, and in the distance, like the greedy clap of thunder, they heard a might crack as if the earth itself had split open beneath the power of her voice.
The townspeople settled once more, and the men pulling at Denise’s clothes and hair retreated.
“The Wall will kill all of you. Forget what has happened in the past. Forget worries about what could happen tomorrow. Forget about trying to place blame. This is the only way. You must tear it down.”
Angry shouts coursed through the crowd with building intensity.
“You’re both monsters,” someone yelled.
“You’re just like the Soldier.”
“The further we are from both of you, the better.”
“We’re not safe with you. We’re safe without you.”
“We should have ignored you when you went missing.”
“You should be forgotten like the bastard soldier was!”
“The Wall stays,” a man shouted, launching a mantra.
“The Wall stays. The Wall stays. The Wall stays.”
The entire room taunted her, repeating those three words in perfect unison and in turn with the beating of their boots against the unstable, wooden floor.
“Go back to your precious forest, monster!”
“We don’t want you here.”
“We can look after ourselves.”
“Leave us alone. Leave us in peace.”
“The Ridley brother is the last one of us you will kill!”
The townspeople stood as one and marched toward the doors to leave--a mob without torches. Among the chaos, Sophie spotted Zachariah sandwiched against the side of the building, flattened among the horde of people stomping past him. She saw Alina struggling to stay on her feet as she washed over in the tide of skin. Amelia and Allan shouted over everyone and held hands tight as they forged their own path; they snatched Alina’s arm in the process and dragged her to safety.
The last to retreat from the room were her parents. Zachariah frowned and offered a nod to Aiden before slipping outside into the darkness. He knew when he had been defeated, and he would likely head straight home to cower in his barn with the animals.
But Denise glared at her daughter from her seat among the now-empty pews. She stood in silence, adjusted her torn shirt and ruffled hair, never once taking her eyes off her daughter.
“Is this what you’ve chosen to become?” she asked in a stony voice.
Sophie’s eyes welled with tears. “Mother, I--I tried. I had to try.”
“What is it you were trying, Sophia? To threaten them with death?”
“No, I--”
“To damn them with a future they cannot control?”
“No, I didn’t--”
“To convince them that you care about them while you admit you burned one of their children?”
A single tear streaked down her cheek. “I am trying to save you all.”
“It seems the only things we need to be saved from are you and that murderer by the door who has completely stolen you away.”
“You have to tear down the Wall, Mother. If you don’t--”
“I have spent your entire life, Sophia, keeping you safe. And yet, despite all my planning, all my sacrifices, here you stand, one against everyone who loves you and supports you and gave their lives and their children’s lives to retrieve you from that forest. But instead of gratitude, you threaten them. You proudly assist with mutilating the dead, and worst of all, you come here in the hopes of convincing them to tear down the very thing they believe stands between them and ending up like the others.”
Sophie furiously wiped away her tears. “You feed them nothing but lies, Mother. It’s all you ever fed me, and you know what’s true. Don’t punish the town because you’re afraid of losing me.”
The anger in Denise’s eyes faded for an instant, giving way to confusion.
“I’ve made my choice, Mother. I wish you could understand, but I will not apologize for finding my true place in the world.”
Denise scoffed. “With him? The Soldier?”
“You should be happy for me. I’ve found a purpose, a future, and I want to make things right. But I--I see now it will take you. Your words, your persuasion. If you care about me as much as you claim you do, then you will think hard on what I’ve said here. And you’ll convince the others to--”
“What? Tear down the Wall?” Denise shook her head. “You are a child, Sophia. Naive and vulnerable, and you do not understand what you are doing.”
Sophie drew in a calming breath, and the flames at her back died away. “You’re wrong.”
Denise turned her back to the stage and heading for the exit, never cating a glance in Aiden’s direction.
“Tear down the Wall, Mother. Accept that the forest and town need to exist as one.
Denise remained silent as she exited the hall, leaving Sophie and Aiden alone.
Sophie sank onto the stage and let her legs hang off its rounded edge. Aiden crossed the room to stand in front of her, trailing darkness as he moved and suffocating the yellow light trapped within. He crouched and slipped his arms beneath hers, lulling her into a tight hug.
She snaked her arms around his neck and clung to him as she blinked away the remaining stubborn tears nesting on the edge of her eyes.
“Thank you for coming,” she whispered in a broken, crackle of voice.
He threaded his hands through her hair, tangling his fingers among her strands. God how he never tired of the feel of her. No matter what else was happening, her warmth and softness always shined through.
“This is where you say you told me so.”
He reeled back from the hug and offered a soft smile. “You tried. You wouldn’t be who you are if you didn’t try.” He extended his hand. “Come on. Let’s go home.”
She accepted his hand and slid off the end of the stage. “But I failed, Aiden. They’re not going to take down the Wall.”
“We’ll figure something out. But first, I think you’ve earned yourself a delicious meal cooked by yours truly.” He drew her close and dropped his voice to a whisper. “I was thinking something with peaches.”
She frowned and bit at her lower lip, recalling the sweet taste of the forest’s peach on her lips. “Are you upset?”
He shook his head and slid his hands down the length of her arms. “You did that for me?”
“No, silly,” she said, pouting her lips. “I did it for us. We’re bound together now.” She set her hand against his cheek. “We’re one: you, me, and the forest. Just as it was always meant to be.”
“I don’t want you to regret it.”
“You gave me kindness and knowledge and love in a world that ignored me and belittled me. How could I ever regret calling you or that forest home?”
He bent down and seized her lips, parting only to whisper: “Darlin’, I love you.”
“Forever and always.”
Holding her hand, Aiden led her from the hall and across the darkened streets of town. Townspeople still lingered on the streets, and they watched the couple retreat to the forest without a word. And as Aiden led her through the shattered portion of the glass wall, Sophie caught a glimpse of a severe crack that split the mirror nearly in half. She paused and glanced at the other mirrors constructing the Wall, and she saw each sheet of the reflective glass contained a similar crack.