Breaking Providence (Original Fantasy)

“Seriously? There was no plan?! The entire time you were just… making it up as you went along?!”
 
As the Dark General’s raised voice fills the clearing, Angelina winces a bit. Erised on the other hand, scowls angrily. The Demon Assassin has shed her disguise for the moment as part of their explanation to Roka-Ra. They’d had to run, of course. They’d run and run and run. Now they were lost somewhere deep in the forest outside of the Capital.
 
Unfortunately, their own actions meant that they would have to get moving again some time soon. While the woods were still relatively dangerous to your average peasant, they were a lot less so for the Paladins who would likely be hunting them down sometime soon. After all, the Bandit Problem had been dealt with most decisively… by the Destined Hero and his party.
 
Crossing her arms over her chest, Erised glares daggers at Roka-Ra.
 
“The plan was to save your life, General. You could do to be a bit more grateful.”
 
The orc woman’s sunken eyes narrow at that, and she snarls at Erised.
 
“My life wouldn’t have been in danger in the first place if not for your letter!”
 
Erised flinches at the reminder of her unintentional betrayal. Angelina had been shocked to hear what her fellow party member had done. She’d honestly forgotten that Erised was… well, she was still a demon. Even if they’d become close with one another, Angelina supposed she should have been on the look out for treachery. Except, from the sound of things, it wasn’t treachery that Erised had meant to perform. The young demon had honestly thought she was helping.
 
If the rebuke had come from anyone else in the clearing, such as Marcus or maybe Angelina herself, the Holy Priestess doesn’t doubt it would have shut Erised down. However, coming from Roka-Ra, it only makes the Demon Assassin rally quickly after her initial flinch, a snarl of her own spreading across her features.
 
“If you hadn’t decided to start a damn war over a single letter, we wouldn’t be in this situation either! You’re the one who overreacted here!”
 
But the Dark General isn’t having that.
 
“Oh, and I suppose I’m supposed to just accept such insanity the moment it lands in my hands. Never mind the suspicious circumstances under which the letter reached me, but the contents alone were completely ridiculous! You expected me to believe the most incredulous set of circumstances possible from just a letter of all things! What was I supposed to do?!”
 
“You could have at least tried to confirm any one of the facts I outlined in the letter! Instead of leaping to conclusions and starting a war!”
 
“You think I was just going to let an insult to my Big Sis’ memory stand like that?! You must be joking!”
 
“It wasn’t an insult; it was the truth and you screwed everything up with how you-!”
 
“Enough!”
 
Angelina quietly sighs in relief, as Marcus’ voice finally cuts through the clearing, silencing both women. Not only was it good that he’d ended things before they could devolve into blows, but also… well, it was the first time Marcus had spoken since they’d managed to make it out of the Capital.
 
When he’d first come and found her and Erised at the banquet, Angelina hadn’t been sure what to think. When he’d told them what he’d overheard and bid them to follow him, her first reaction had been disbelief. She had counselled patience… but of course, Marcus wasn’t up to hearing it. When Angelina had suggested that they speak with the Holy Pope herself, Marcus had just shaken his head and said she was in on it.
 
In hindsight, Erised had been incredibly smart in that moment. She’d not said a word. Angelina hadn’t understood it at the time, having not been informed about the letter quite yet. She knew there was a divide between Marcus and Erised, but she hadn’t known anything more than that. Erised had done the wisest thing possible and merely followed Marcus’ orders wordlessly. More than likely, she’d been aware that speaking up in support of his actions at this point might just cause him to change his mind entirely on what he’d already decided to do.
 
It seemed impossible that the Holy Pope could possibly be in on it, but in the end, Angelina couldn’t refute what she’d seen with her own two eyes. The position that they’d found the Dark General in was quite telling. The way she was not just trussed up but bent over… it was a position that Angelina had fantasized about finding herself in while surrounded by orcs more than once. In the end, there was no denying what that position was for. There was no denying what Roka-Ra’s fate was to be, not after seeing that.
 
After they’d gotten Roka-Ra out of the Cathedral Dungeon and fled the city, Marcus had been quiet. Very quiet. Angelina had been too, truth be told. In the end, it had mostly been Roka-Ra and Erised exchanging words until now, with the Dark General growing incensed at the realization that her capture and brush with a humiliating death hadn’t all been part of Marcus’ plan to take down the Holy Empire from within.
 
Now though, Marcus glares at first Roka-Ra and then Erised. He has this presence to him, one that sends a shiver down Angelina’s spine. It also shuts the Dark General and Demon Assassin both up, allowing him a moment to collect his thoughts and decide what he’s going to say. Finally, he looks directly at Roka-Ra.
 
“What became of the letter Erised sent you? Did anyone else read its contents beside you?”
 
Roka-Ra frowns and thinks for a moment before shaking her head.
 
“… I tore it up. Maybe the orc who delivered it to me read it, but most orcs don’t speak Empire Common, so I doubt it. The only reason I can speak it is because of Big Sis- er, the previous Dark Lord. Your mother.”
 
There’s a flicker of a reaction across Marcus’ face at those words, but he maintains a relatively cool expression, even as he nods slowly.
 
“Good.”
 
Then, his glare intensifies.
 
“There’s no point in either of you trying to shift blame. Both of you played a part in what happened. Erised with her letter… and you with your Warband, Roka-Ra. All of those deaths are on your heads. The culpability is shared.”
 
There’s a certain finality to Marcus’ words, right alongside the palpable disappointment. Erised, of course, immediately bows her head in shame and regret. The young demon is positively radiating contriteness. Roka-Ra is a little slower to crumble, her jaw twitching and her head held high for a moment… before she slowly lowers her gaze, unable to maintain eye contact with Marcus even a moment longer.
 
“… You truly are Gral-Ra’s son…”
 
The Dark General’s words are all too audible to everyone else in the clearing, and Angelina sees Marcus react again. However, he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he just lets out an explosive sigh and looks away, off into the distance, as if he can already see the Paladins coming to hunt them down.
 
There’s a beat of silence… and then a wet thunk as a plated knee drops into the mud. All eyes turn towards Roka-Ra to see the orc woman has dropped to one knee in front of Marcus, her head bowed.
 
“I pledge myself to you, my Lord. It matters not whether the Church identifies you as the Destined Hero. The Sign does not lie. You ARE the Dark Lord. If nothing else, you are MY Dark Lord.”
 
Marcus’ face is emotionless as Angelina watches on, a little worried about where this is going. Erised, meanwhile, looks like her birthday has come early. The Demon Assassin doesn’t say a word, but her expression of glee and the flicking of her spade tail give away her excitement all the same.
 
“I shall serve you to the end of my days, as I served your mother before you. Together, we can assemble an Army of Darkness the likes of which the Holy Empire has never seen. To start, we must try and catch up with the rest of my Warband before they finish dispersing back into the wildlands.”
 
Angelina bites her lower lip, her worry intensifying. Except, even as she almost wants to wring her hands over Roka-Ra’s suggestions, she notices out of the corner of her eye that Erised’s mood has done an abrupt one-eighty. No longer is the young demon smiling gleefully. No longer is her tail swishing back and forth in excitement. Instead, her eyes are wide with panic and she’s rapidly shaking her head outside of Marcus’ line of sight, trying to catch Roka-Ra’s eye and making an X shape with her arms in an attempt to get the Dark General to stop.
 
Alas, either Roka-Ra doesn’t see what Erised is doing, or she purposefully ignores her.
 
“After we rally the orcs to our cause, the other Dark-aligned factions will surely follow! Once you have an army at your back, we can destroy the Holy Empire once and for all. It will be my honor to guide you down your rightful path, just as your mother guided me down mine all those years ago, my Lord. I swear to you, I will help you accomplish your destiny. Finally, the Holy Empire shall be laid low at YOUR feet.”
 
There’s a pregnant pause as Roka-Ra’s heartfelt oath comes to an end. Erised is just hanging her head by this point, her tail drooped behind her. Angelina, meanwhile, has begun to understand why the young demon was trying to stop Roka-Ra from sticking her foot in her mouth any further.
 
“… Is that so?”
 
Marcus’ deceptively soft voice all but confirms it, and Angelina shivers as a strange sensation goes down her spine. Roka-Ra, belatedly, lifts her head and looks Marcus in the eye, not fully understanding what’s going on as she gives him a tusky smile.
 
“It is, my Lord.”
 
“Fuck that!”
 
The expression of surprise across Roka-Ra’s face would honestly be a little funny… if Angelina wasn’t so worried by Marcus’ reaction. The young half-orc explodes.
 
“FUCK your fucking Warband! FUCK your army of Darkness! Why the fuck should I be the Dark Lord?! Why should I destroy the Holy Empire?! You and your orcs already killed hundreds of innocent people! You want me to condone more of that?! You want me to lead you to destroying more homes, more towns, more of civilization?!”
 
Roka-Ra rears back as if struck. The sheer vitriol in Marcus’ voice is like nothing even Angelina has ever heard from him before. He’s not actually getting violent with the kneeling Dark General, but his words are as close to it as one could possibly get.
 
“What about what I want, huh?! What if I never wanted to be the Dark Lord?! What if I never wanted to be the Destined Hero either?! What if I just want to be Marcus?!”
 
In the silence that falls, Marcus looks at each of them, but only for a moment. Then he snarls and begins to pace back and forth, gnashing his teeth as he does so.
 
“I’m well aware that there are evil people in the Holy Empire. I’ve fought some now. I’ve stopped others from raping you to death! But there are good people too! People I’ve saved! People I’ve fought alongside!”
 
Looking a little bewildered, Roka-Ra shakes her head.
 
“We could… offer these people protection, my Lord. You do not need to destroy e-everything to bring the Holy Empire low. I swear to you, we can-!”
 
Marcus whirls on her at that, cutting her off.
 
“Protection, is that right? Because your orcs are so good at avoiding collateral damage. Tell that to the border towns you had your kind ransack ahead of your declaration of war. Tell that to all of the innocents killed on your orders!”
 
Roka-Ra’s mouth opens and closes, but no words come out. Marcus’ tirade has shut her down. She looks bewildered, flabbergasted even. Angelina, meanwhile, decides that it’s finally time to speak up.
 
“Sir Hero… Marcus. What do YOU want to do now?”
 
Marcus flinches at the mere sound of her voice. When he looks at her, he looks almost as guilty and ashamed as Erised does.
 
“… I’m honestly surprised that you’re still with us, Angelina. I’m sorry that we dragged you into this. I should have left you at the banquet… maybe then you wouldn’t be on the run, hunted by the very Church that you’ve called home all your life.”
 
Angelina blinks, realizing that Marcus’ guilt stems from a misconception.
 
“Sir Hero… don’t be ridiculous.”
 
Angelina’s admonishment, as light as it is in tone, nevertheless causes Marcus to jolt and stare at her, shocked. Giving him a warm, adoring smile, the busty blonde Priestess shakes her head.
 
“It matters not what others say. I know you to be the Destined Hero, both in deed and in nature. More than that, you are a good, honest man. You are a hard worker, and a righteous soul. As well… did her Holiness herself not decree it to us before? You are ABOVE the Church, Sir Hero. Your decisions, your choices… no matter what they are, are sacrosanct.”
 
Marcus just stares at her for a moment in silence. Then, he looks away, appearing to mull over both her words and her question. Meanwhile, Erised is giving her a pouty sort of glare. Angelina recognizes it by this point. The young demon is annoyed by Angelina’s words, mostly because she can find no fault in them and that bugs her something fierce.
 
On the other hand is Roka-Ra. The Dark General is staring at Angelina with a look of fascination on her face. As though the Holy Priestess is some sort of interesting insect that Roka-Ra never thought she would get to see with her own two eyes. They’re not likely to ever be friends, but that’s alright. Angelina isn’t here to make friends with Dark Generals. She’s here to serve her Hero and lover, to serve Marcus to the absolute best of her abilities.
 
“… Alright.”
 
All of them sweep their gazes back to Marcus as he slowly nods, seeming to come to a conclusion.
 
“I know what I want to do next. I can’t continue to be pulled in two different directions. I need answers. If I’m going to make a decision, than it has to be an informed one. I need to know once and for all whether I’m the Destined Hero… or the Dark Lord. I’ve tried ignoring the problem. I’ve tried just pretending like it doesn’t exist. And look where that’s gotten me. Now? Now I want answers.”
 
Angelina smiles, pleased to see that Marcus has found his purpose. Even if part of her is worried by what sort of answers he might find, she can’t deny that he’s entitled to them. Of course, almost as soon as he’s finished affirming his desire to seek the truth, Marcus lets out a sigh, his shoulders slumping a little bit.
 
“Of course, I have no clue where to even start looking for such answers. And with the Capital a no-go, our options for what we do next are rather… limited.”
 
Angelina winces at that, forced to admit that he’s right. But just as a miasma of uncertainty is starting to fall over them all, help comes from an unexpected source. The Dark General pipes up, her voice much more subdued than before.
 
“… I might know someone who would be able to help you get to the bottom of this once and for all, my Lord. The only problem is I don’t know where they are at the moment. However, I do know the location of someone else who might know where they are.”
 
Marcus perks up, only to frown at Roka-Ra’s evasive and vague wording. Pinning the kneeling orc woman with an intense stare, he grunts.
 
“Explain.”
 
Roka-Ra slowly rises to her feet, grimacing as she does so. She looks deeply uncertain for a moment… before finally caving.
 
“The other Dark Generals, your Lordship. Many of them fled the Holy Empire after Big Sis’ death. However, aside from myself, two others remained. It is they who we must seek. One… I can almost guarantee she’ll be able to give you the answers you seek. But I don’t know where she is. I know where the second one is though. And that one will hopefully be able to lead us to the first.”
 
Marcus’ jaw clenches at that, and for a moment he looks mulish, as though he wants to refuse the help of more Dark Generals, simply on principle. And yet… Angelina doesn’t get the impression that Roka-Ra is trying to trick them into seeking out these people. Truth be told, she doesn’t get the impression that the orc woman has a single deceptive bone in her entire body.
 
This was what Marcus wanted. This was the key to the answers he sought. And so, Angelina steps forward before Marcus can respond and offers her support to the endeavor.
 
“Sir Hero… I detect no deception nor malice from the General. I think there is merit to the help she’s offering.”
 
Both Roka-Ra and Erised stare at her with wide eyes and stupefied expressions at that declaration. Marcus is just as surprised for a moment, before giving Angelina a soft smile and a nod. Finally turning to Roka-Ra, he grunts.
 
“Fine then. Lead the way.”
 
It’s not much, of course. The chance that they might be able to track down one Dark General, who will then lead them to another who will hopefully not only have the answers Marcus seeks, but also be willing to part with them. There are a million things that could go wrong.
 
Ultimately though… it’s the best they’re going to get in a world that has turned upside down on itself. Angelina can only imagine how crazy things must be back in the Capital. After all, the Holy Pope herself had declared Marcus to be the Destined Hero in front of her assembly, a fact that had then been spread far and wide. They couldn’t take that back, not now. And yet… what was the Church to do, when their Destined Hero broke a Dark General out of their dungeon and ran off with her?
 
Angelina didn’t know. One thing was for sure, she wouldn’t want to be in Serafina’s shoes at the moment…

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