Love Crime
A Legacy of War Breeding Challenge
Current Generation: 3
It was long past nightfall when Clarice arrived at the Ivory Tower. She had heard of this place from every dragon she met as she wandered the Sunbeam Ruins, bloodied and shocked, carrying a little bundle wrapped in cloth on her back. They told her that she would be cared for there, that they would see to her wounds and give her food and kindness. They told her of the astounding level of trust and generosity that they showed all their guests.
And they weren't exaggerating in the slightest. When she arrived, the Fae who spotted her gave her one complete look-over and immediately called for mages, herbalists, and assistance in guiding her to a sinfully comfortable nest on the outskirts of the Ivory Tower's walled-off territory. She was immediately cleaned, treated for her wounds, and given food. Nobody asked about the sad little bundle of cloth on her back, nor did they go near it while treating her. She had to move it for them, so that they could access the lacerations that still bled beneath it. When they were done, they told her that she would be visited in the morning by one of the clan leaders, and they wished her peaceful, healing rest.
She did not sleep. She kept unblinking vigil over her little bundle all through the night, and she did not even notice the rising sun until it caught the light of an approaching dragon's wings and glared directly into her eyes. She turned to see an unusually large and exceptionally lovely Pearlcatcher approaching her, with a coat like the night but eyes and wings that seemed to capture the full brightness of the sun. When she spoke, her voice was velvet.
"You mourn for him."
Clarice's initial surprise at the Pearlcatcher's directness quickly died as she took in the calculated blankness of her expression and the steadiness of her gaze. She gently nuzzled her little bundle, wishing she could even muster up enough emotion to cry. She had felt nothing since it happened, as though her heart had fled with his spirit.
"Did you kill them? The ones who did this to you?"
She blinked. Not him - you. With a slight sense of apprehension, she nodded, not trusting herself to reply in just one word. She feared that when she opened her mouth, she would not be able to stop, and she could not tell his story yet. She just couldn't. He hadn't even been buried.
"Do you feel justified in your need for revenge?"
Why is she asking me all these questions? Clarice wondered. Still, she obediently nodded. This Pearlcatcher was not disgusted, or shocked, or condemning. She was simply getting the facts. No need for dishonesty.
"And what will you do now? Once you bury him, and mourn him. Will you have a clutch of your own? Will you fail them like you failed him?"
Clarice growled a warning, but as the heat of anger blossomed in her chest, she realized that she was actually feeling something for the first time in days. She held onto it, gripped it tightly, afraid to slip back into the emptiness. She growled louder, the bitter sounds causing her throat to ache. She had been silent for days, but no more.
"I will never fail again," she croaked, her voice harsh and raw.
The Pearlcatcher considered this for a few moments, and then leaned in close, so that her face sat right next to Clarice's.
"I can help you," she murmured. "You are driven by your anger and sorrow, where once you were driven by passion and pride, but what if you felt all of them? Imagine what you could do. You would be unstoppable."
"What should I do?" Clarice asked, dazzled by the smooth heat of the Pearlcatcher's voice.
"Find a mate. Bear him a clutch. Let only the strongest survive."
"You propose that I kill my children for their weakness?"
"I propose that if they are too weak to stand alone, they are too weak to live." And with this, the Pearlcatcher pulled her head back and drew up to her full height once more. "A single heir will rise, and he will know the value of strength and independence. He will bear a clutch himself, and continue your legacy. And they will be strong children. They will not die needlessly, as he did."
She looked at the bundle with sorrow laced dark and deep in her golden eyes. "Bury him. Find your mate. Start a new life for yourself, a new legacy of blood and pride. And you will never have to feel that pain again." Her eyes cooled back to a blank yellow, and she turned and walked away with a casual, graceful stride, as if they had simply been discussing the weather. However, before she got out of earshot, she turned back for a moment.
"My name is Galaxy. I am not the leader of this clan, but if you bring pain to any of my people, you will not live long enough to see the leader, because I will kill you myself." Her voice cut through the shimmering heat like a blade, and though Clarice knew that she meant every word of it, she was not afraid. Instead, a sense of anticipation was beginning to grip her, and she actually smiled as she responded.
"My name is Clarice, and my legacy will grow so strong that not even death will stop me. My name will be carved into history. I will be eternal."