Ending the Cycle

Prompt: a desire to save the world from chaos

Eisa frowned slightly at Einar. She could hardly believe what he’d done. She’d couldn’t bring herself to understand his reasoning. All she knew was that her friend – someone who had helped her through a difficult time – was gone. He could blame Anders. He could blame Clara. However, that didn’t matter to Eisa. There was, as far as she was concerned, only one person to blame.

“How can you forgive him?” she asked, looking up at Yori. Unshed tears stood in her eyes. “He killed Clara – his wife!”

Yori sighed and cupped Eisa’s cheek. “I’m not sure I can explain it in a way that you can understand,” he said. “Hate… anger… They’re natural reactions to things like this, but… they don’t help. Clara will still be dead and Anders will still be terribly injured.”

Eisa nodded and then her brows furrowed. “But… forgiveness?”

“Isn’t the same as pardoning,” Yori said. “I… hope that the Fates will see fit to punish him for his misdeeds.” He paused and tilted his head to one side. “Ultimately, though, it’s out of my hands whether they will or not. Either way, if I hold onto my anger towards him, it will only hurt me. That anger will eat me alive. That hate will grow and fester, until there’s no room in my heart for love.”

Eisa’s eyes widened. “I think I can see what you mean,” she said. “It will only hurt everyone. He acted in anger, if we act in anger it just… keeps going.”

“And the world falls into chaos,” Yori said. He shrugged. “It’s got to stop somewhere. I’d hope to stop it with me.”

Nodding, Eisa took a steadying breath. “It’s not easy,” she said, even as she resolved to follow her captain’s example. She would forgive Einar and end the cycle of anger and hate. She’d leave it to the Fates how he should be punished.

more vital than sane

Vital, here, means “lively”.

**

Yori frowned slightly as he listened to Einar laughing. It was a strange, high sound. It was… more than a little unnerving. Actually, if he were truly honest, it was sort of frightening. He looked over at Rune and frowned.

“Yeah,” Rune said, shrugging. “At least, he’s happy now.”

“I suppose,” Yori said, sounding doubtful.

there is no use in right or wrong

“She – she did these things just to humiliate me,” Einar said, pounding a fist on the table. “She got what was coming to her! The other one too!”

Yori’s brows twitched and his lips turned down in a deep scowl. “She was your wife, Einar,” he said. Shaking his head in wonder, he asked, “Doesn’t that matter to you? You killed your own wife!”

Einar looked at him in shock. “Didn’t you hear me?” he breathed. Before Yori could speak, he added, “She was with your mate too! Doesn’t that bother you?”

Yori flinched at the words. He opened his mouth to speak again, but then closed it. He wouldn’t waste his breath defending Rune against something he already knew wasn’t true. After a moment, he said, “Even if that were the case, Rune… I could never do anything to hurt him.”

“How can you forgive him?” Einar screeched. “How can you expect me to forgive her?”

“I…” Yori started, then he shook his head and pushed away from the table. “I’ll leave him to you, Judson,” he said. It didn’t matter whether Einar’s accusations were true or not. It didn’t matter whether his actions were justified or not. The man wouldn’t see reason. If punished, he’d never understand why.

**

Comment, so I know you exist…

This… is not what I was expecting to see…

“This… is not what I was expecting to see, I have to admit.”

Anders tensed at the sound of Einar’s voice. He looked briefly at Clara and then beyond her, to see her husband standing in the doorway. Einar’s brows were furrowed and his mouth set in a frown. His face had taken on a red hue and his hand was clenched around a dagger.