The Will of a Pendragon

Valerya Pendragon

    We still made it to the cup before they did. I think I took my sight for granted. If everything is as beautiful as it is right now with this sight, then I want to see it one day for myself. The grail is a brilliant light and I can't say it's blinding without it sounding like a joke. All I needed was for the tips of my fingers to graze it for my eyes to scan it. I stepped away from it when the two of them appeared in front of me. They came in the opposite way we had. 

    "What are you waiting for?" Alyssa asked. I took a deep breath and prepared myself. It means more to me for my family to live than for me to be the so-called "Good Guy". Girl. Whatever. 

    "What is it you want from all of this?" I asked her, pulling away from the cup. "Is everything and everyone you've sacrificed really worth it?" 

    "You don't understand how long I've been at war with your kind," her tone is bitter. 

    "What did she do to you?" I asked reaching out. Young came over to me and took my hand. I had instructed the others to stay behind. That the four of us would come in and take the cup. 

    "She?" she asked surprised. 

    "Alexander's mother. The first Pendragon was a woman. A woman who offered her body to produce the savior of her people," 

    "She wrote that down huh?" she sighed. "Her name was Valerya. I loved her. She was everything to me. The reason why I can't bring myself to completely obliterate you. Because you're a spitting image of her," 

    "She left you?" 

    "I was a warrior of the first order of the grail. She was my captain," she walked over to the cup and looked down at it with hatred. "We found this thing. The very thing we swore we'd protect. I didn't want to touch it because there were so many evil rumors. So we decided to take it together. My wish was for her happiness. That's all I ever wanted. Val, on the other hand, wanted to save the world. Just like you, little princess," 

    "What do you want now?" 

    "I want you and your family to know what it's like to be on the wrong side of the world. To be hated. To be hunted. To be murdered on the streets of the world you tried so hard to protect. I want you all to suffer the way we have. I want you to feel the pain I did when you left me," 

    "Then take it," I shrugged. 

    "What?" Lucille stepped towards me. I held my arms out to stop her. 

    "What's the catch?" Alyssa laughed. 

    "I don't want to save the world. Not one world has done s**t for me," I moved towards her and placed my hand on her wrist when she held it up to make sure I didn't fall. "If this is what you want then take it," 

    "Are you out of your mind, Lily?" Meerlyn tried to come close but Young stopped her. 

    "You're serious," Alyssa tapped my visor. I let it pull back so that she can see what became of my eyes. "Why?" 

    "Why what?" I smiled. 

    "This won't feel like a victory," she whispered stepping closer to me. 

    "Why not? Are you telling that after all this, after everything you did, you feel remorse?" I laughed. I pushed her away from me. She stumbled. "Do you feel guilty for what you did to me? Answer me!" 

    "Alyssa, she's playing you," Will warned her. She's in shock. 

    "You were the only person I trusted and you f****d me up more than all of this s**t. Do you know how easy it was to cope with all this insanity? Did you know that I gave in to the fantasy of all of this because it was easier to grasp than what those things did to me? I rather live in this f****d up reality so as long as I don't have to think of all the ways those men defiled my body!"

    "Shut up," she cried out shaking her head. 

    "Why? Is it eating you up? Because it should you f*****g monster. You can make your stupid f*****g wish and it'll never change that. You can turn me into the bad guy," I laughed. "And I will play my part to the bitter end, but you'll always be the piece of s**t that you are now. You didn't deserve Valerya. You would have defiled her. Destroyed everything that she is because that's what you do," 

    "Stop," her mana crashed against mine. A swirl of red and orange against red and blue. It didn't push me like before. It's not strong enough. "Enough!" she cried out. "I just wanted her back. I wanted to recreate everything that she is and you went and killed the thing growing inside of you. You coward," 

I flinched. In that tiny hesitation, she took the cup. 

    "What?" I shook my head. 

    "Alexander wasn't born the way those after him were. Val was defiled by a demon and she couldn't bring herself to kill the child. So she trained it to be the monster that it was. The first King. Merlin's father sacrificed his entire being to create Excalibur so that when the beast tamed his powers he'd be able to use it. I was there, Liliann. You know nothing. The truth is a little more complicated than what you know," she handed the cup to Will. 

    "You can't use the cup," I smiled. 

    "One wish is all you can ever have," 

    She isn't connected to the cup the way Will is. Young, Lucille, and Meerlyn rushed over to me as the cup began to turn red. A burst of crimson surrounded us as I put my barrier up. The others strengthened it with their own. The ground began to shake. The sky cracked and bright red lightning thundered above us. Will and Alyssa vanished along with the cup. 

    "Holy s**t," Meer whispered. "That just happened," 

    "Yeah," I whispered shakily. We didn't release the barrier until we were sure everything was completely settled.

    "Why did you do that?" Lucille asked. 

    "Because you all would have died if I hadn't," I admitted. "Everyone. Grayson and I would have been the only ones left," 

    "She's right," the four of us turned around releasing our swords to take a protective stance. She put her hands up and smiled. My mouth fell open when she waved us with a familiar sarcasm. The familiar color of her aura. Pink. "Wow, so you're my great great great granddaughter," 

    "You're Valerya Pendragon," I stated. Alyssa was right. I do look like her. The eyes, the build, the hair. It's like looking at my twin and I don't need my actual sight to know that.

    "Yeah," she nodded. 

    "Don't get any closer," Young warned her when she stepped close to me. 

    "Please," she scoffed. "This girl can eliminate me with a snap of her fingers if she could," she came closer, placing her hand over my eyes. I shuddered when she stepped away. I can see again. "The power coming off of you is hard to conceal with your eyes active like that," 

    "That means I have to take them out again in the future," I sighed. 

    "Yes, a small price to pay to save the multirealms,"  

    "Says the person who doesn't have to cut out her own eyes," Young scoffed. "You're supposed to be dead," 

    "The boy altered reality with his wish. History was rewritten to favor Mordreds. You and your sister don't exist in this reality," 

    "My sister doesn't exist right now?" I asked feeling a ping of guilt in me. 

    "She does. She's in the in-between. When my soul transcends again, she will be given back to you," 

    "I can just end you right now," I tucked Durendal's blade under her chin. She smiled. 

    "You have both swords. Why not give the other to Rose?" 

    "She can't wield them without it putting a strain on her," 

    "She is unworthy of either. Rare for one mine to be unworthy," she whispered. 

    "We have to go," I began to walk in the direction we had come in. 

    "And go where? To your father and tell him who you are?" 

    "You have a better idea?" Lucille asked. 

    "Lucille Lancelot. Daughter of Red General Sir Lancelot and Lady Guenever Lancelot. Meerlyn. Daughter of Merlin, the demon. The right hand of the Ice King, Arthur Pendragon. Grayson Gwaiin, son of Gwaiin the barbarian and the goddess of the sea," 

    "My parents are part of the Red mages?" Lucille asked. 

    "Correct. They're heroes in this realm. They have fought many wars for the King and won," 

    "My father. A barbarian?" Young asked. She laughed. 

    "Arthur still saves Gwaiin from the trenches. He's still loyal to her father. Elise, first known as Lady of the Lake waged war across the entire ocean when Gwaiin was taken hostage by the William Mordred. She then used the ocean armies to return him. Arthur serves under her reign as the Sea General who fights with the resistance against the Red mages," 

    "How are you still alive?" he asked.

    "All Mordreds are alive which means. All Pendragons are alive. One cannot exist without the other. Your father cannot die until your grandfather does. Your sister cannot die until William does. You will never die. That is the burden that was bestowed on you as the firstborn in this realm. There can only be one, but because your mother was a Red there were two," 

    "What about Pandora. Mordred and Pandora are siblings," 

    "Pandora will suffer the same as you," she sighed. "She is suffering now. Mordred is forcing her to stay at his side using her daughters and her grandson against her," 

    "Daughters?" Lucille asked. 

    "Yes, Aria is Pandora's daughter," 

    "She doesn't know?" I asked. 

    "Alyssa's doing. She was never able to control Pandora so she wiped her memories and gave her new ones," 

    "Alyssa said that she wanted to recreate you in me. She said you were r***d by a demon and that's how Alexander was born," 

    "No," she shook her head. "I'll explain things on the way. We'll need to change your appearances before you can address Arthur. He has a bit a temper in this realm," 

    "Are Alexander and Uther alive?" I asked. It came out a little more enthusiastic than I thought it would. She laughed. 

    "They are. Come on," 

    The three of us looked each other over. Meerlyn reached for my face and smiled. So did Lucille. Young took my hand letting out a sigh of relief. 

    "Your call. You made this decision," Lucille nodded. "I'm sorry. I wasn't really mad at you. I was mad at myself," 

    "Me too," Meer nodded. 

    "We stay with her and if we don't like what we see. We go our own way," 

    "Agreed," they nodded. 

    "Thanks for trying to find a way to keep us alive," Meer added. 

    The four of us followed Valerya to a very luxurious looking speed boat. Young and I looked at one another surprised. She smiled when the two of us glanced over at her. 

    "She modernized Crystallis?" I asked. 

    "She did," she smiled. "I rather like this. Arthur is an old soul. He believes that the world should fight to survive otherwise we lose our way," 

    "Do you believe that?" I asked jumping into the boat.

    "I think no matter what we do. We will always fight to survive. We are mortal after all. Brace yourself. Gray made this one for himself and I like to steal his toys sometimes. They're fun," 

    Young grinned as he jumped into the boat. This thing is fast I laughed knowing that he's pleased with this version of himself. We're in the m******e Sea close to the Garden where my mother grew up. Where she became The Red Queen Amarylis. The sky is red. The clouds look heavy with blood. The water has a red tint to it. There's nothing for miles and then there was a massive structure. A large city that isn't there back in our world. 

    "f**k," Young whispered. "They surfaced the m******e City," 

    "Correct. Arthur and Elise saved them from the Reds. This is home base. See that little building off to the side? That's my place," 

    "Does Gray still go to Primal?" I asked. 

    "Yes, he does. He is our world's champion. He's-" she paused. Young and I looked at one another.

    "Lost?" I offered. She turned to. me and nodded. 

    "He gets his job done, but there's nothing to keep him grounded. He drinks and-well you'll meet him eventually," 

    I took Young's hand. She pulled into the house she had pointed out. The "little" building she pointed out is not little at all. I mean if you're comparing it to the other ones sure, it's the smallest one but there's nothing small about it. It's a massive mansion. 

    No one questioned her as we walked in. She lead into a room where she began to take things out of the closet to hand to us. A box od hair die. Tan spray. This isn't going to be enough for my hair. Once it was my turn to change, I finally looked up in the mirror and saw what they do. My right eye has a vertical scar going from my eyebrow down to my cheek. One the left, a horizontal one that pulls my eyes a bit out stretching it out a little more. The color is pink. It's not blue and for now. I think it's best. 

    I manifested a pair of scissors. I tied my hair forward and but the braid off. The burgundy hair dye followed. By the time I was done, I looked like a completely different person. We all did. Young has light brown almost blond hair.  Lucille dyed her hair dark brown and Meerlyn finallt got the pixie cut she's always wanted. I extended my hand out to her and manifested her staff. 

    "I still can't use this," she whispered. 

    "There are no distractions here. We're going to need everything we've got," 

    "Let's do this," Young nodded. 

    "You four look amazing. Let's go meet the others. New names. Go," 

    "Lee Heart," I suggested making the others smile. 

    "My dad wanted to name me Lacey before my mom decided on Lucille," 

    "Mary. Anything else and I won't answer," Meer laughed. 

    "I don't know," Young shrugged. 

    "You can be Richard Grayson. That way we can till call you Gray," I laughed. 

    "Alright. Remember these names. If anyone finds out who you really are. The red mages will be on our asses like moths to a light," Valerya nodded. She smiled at me cupping her hand on my cheek. "Take us home,"