wake up late in the morning and catch up to Ari who is outside training. 

Colton's funeral is about to start. We all go to the meeting hall, hands cupped in front of us. We sit down and all take a turn saying something about Colton and honouring the life he lived. The priest gives a speech on Colton's life, his humanity, and his sacrifice. We raise our hands into the air in a symbolic act of letting go. And we sing a mournful melody. 

There is dancing. In every Veritas event there is dancing. I join in. As I always do. Ari doesn't join me this time though. He never dances at funerals. 

He does however dance in the victory celebration that happens right after the funeral. Victory celebrations for battles with casualties are always somber, as much as we try to be happy. Everyone only goes through the motions. I don't know why we still have these. It doesn't boost morale. 

It's amidst all this fake celebration that I can't take it anymore. I have to go check on the mystery man. So I leave the concrete repurposed driveway and the energetic circle dance and walk up the stairs. 

I feel as if I am in some kind of trance. I drift into the newcomer's room and close the door behind me. He looks up from his spot on the floor and I look down on him. 

"Why are you still here?" I ask. 

"Because I wouldn't tell them my reasons for betraying my side."

"So why did you betray your side?" I sit down next to him. The tension in the room vibrates between us. 

"Because I did things in my past that I need to make up for." That's such a fucking vague answer. It doesn't tell me anything. 

"What does that mean?" I ask him, slightly irritated. 

"Do you promise not to tell the others?" 

"I do," I lie. 

"First of all, are you the one named Luca?" What kind of question is that? 

"I am. Why?" 

"I knew it was you! Luca! It's me, Arden!" My heart freezes in my chest. 

"What do you want," is all I can say. 

"I'm sorry. I was really unfair in the past. And I'm sorry for that. I want to make it up to you." 

I don't believe him. But part of me wants to. Part of me wants him to be sorry. But I don't know. I don't know what to do. All I know is that I'm confused and I'm afraid. I need my people to help me through this. I need their strength. I can't face Arden alone. 

"I'm going to get some others for backup," I tell him in a blank tone.

"No. You're not." Why does he think he can tell me what to do?

"Yes. I am." 

"They'll just interfere with us."

"You abused me. Maybe they should interfere with us."

I turn to leave. 

"I wouldn't do that I'd I were you."

I turn back around and Arden is holding a tiny laser gun up to my head. So this is going to be like it always is. Arden trying to control me through the threats and me trying to manipulate my way to safety. 

Well let him try. I'm not the broken little boy I was back then. I am a confident adult. I am a husband, a healer, a poet and a soldier. And he doesn't scare me anymore. 

Except, the laser pointed at my head does scare me. 

"Arden. I'm sorry. I was just feeling worried. And I thought other people would help me feel more strong." I play the part of the damsel in distress as I have done so many other times. 

"I can help you feel confident. I can be all you need. Just listen to me. Hear me out." 

"Alright. I'll hear your side of the story." 

"I am so sorry that I sent you to prison all those years ago. I thought you were being unfaithful. But I didn't even bother to know what truly happened. You were injured. You were on the ground. He could've come up to you and kissed you. Without you telling him to. I didn't bother to find out. I just sent you away." 

Is that what he thinks happened? What a self-centred, egotistic idiot. Thinking that even when he has blatant proof otherwise, he is the centre of my universe. 

But still. I have to play into it. I have to play him. 

"I always felt very betrayed by that," I tell him. "I couldn't stand that you just threw me away. I loved you. I thought you wanted me." 

"I did want you. I do want you. I just made a stupid mistake. Will you forgive me?" 

I fake cry at hearing that. I force emotion into my voice as tears roll down my cheeks. 

"Of course I forgive you. Why wouldn't I? I've wanted to see you for all these years. I've wanted to forgive you for all these years."

"Well we're together now. That's what matters."

"And we'll find a way to get out of this together too." I keep the emotion in my voice. Keep the fake devotion in it. He's still holding the gun. Still aiming it at me. He still holds the power right now. But I have more power than he knows. 

"I'm so sorry that you ended up having to go to battles for the resistance. You're a fragile sort of boy. You don't have what it takes to be a soldier. I'm so sorry that the resistance forced you to be a soldier." 

I almost laugh at the absurdity of his words. I love my life in the resistance. I love my role in Veritas. I love fighting. But I have to play his game. 

"Yes. The resistance kidnapped me. I was so scared as a child. They forced me to join them, and threatened me with death if I didn't. They had all the power. So I couldn't say no. I had to join them. And I've had to fight for them ever since." 

Arden doesn't realize that he has all the power right now. He doesn't realize that he's threatening me with death. He doesn't realize that he's held power over me and threatened me during all of our interactions together. 

But of course he doesn't realize. He always sees himself as the hero. The results of being a coddled only child, an owner, and a gaming addict. 

"You must have felt so abandoned. Don't worry. I'm here now." It's strange that he seems to care so much about my emotions. He never did before. Of course he thinks that my emotions all boil down to sadness that he left me and happiness that he's here. So it's not actually that strange. He still thinks all my emotions revolve around him. 

"Why did you betray your side?" I ask him. I have my ideas as to why he did it but I just want to be sure. And I want to buy myself time to think. He still has the gun pointed at me. I'll have to do something about that.

"Because I saw you. And I realized that this was my chance. This was my chance to rescue you and make it up to you for throwing you away."

"You did it to rescue me?" I fake joy in my voice. "Thank you so much. You're amazing. I don't know how I'll ever make it up to you." I wonder if that's overkill. I hope not. But I don't think so. 

"Yes, I'm here to rescue you. I'll rescue you now." 

He is so full of himself. But I let him keep talking and I pretend to be listening intently. 

"You did it for me?" I force fake joy and fake gratitude all over my voice. "Thank you. Thank you so much, Master Arden. How will I ever repay you? I don't think I can ever repay you for rescuing me." I wonder if that was too much. I hope not. But I don't think it was too much. Arden looks pleased with me. Though he still has the gun pointing at me.

"We're together now. That's what matters the most." There is smugness in his voice.

"Will I go back to being your's once we get out of here?" I ask him with fake earnestness. 

"Yes. You will. You will be mine and everything will be as it should be."

"Oh thank you so much!" I exclaim. "Thank you for forgiving me for crashing your flyer. You truly are forgiving and amazing."

"Yes. Now all we have to do is get out."

"How will we do that?" I know ways to get him out but obviously I'm not interested at all in getting him out. I would rather die than be his again. I would rather die. 

"You tell everyone that you're taking me on a tour of the place. And then we will slip out the door when no-one is looking." It's not the greatest plan but it could work. But I have to make sure that it doesn't work. 

"That's a great plan. But for the plan you need to make sure to put the gun down. They won't trust you if they see that you have a gun."

"Yes of course. That's obvious." He hides the gun inside his clothes. That's not as good as actually getting rid of it. But still. It's not in his hands anymore. That I can work with. 

"Do you promise that you'll come with me?" Arden asks. 

"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?" 

So we go together out of the room. We walk down the stairs and out the door. The circle dance is still going on. 

"I'm just taking Arden here on a tour of the place," I loudly announce. Everyone turns to look at us. But we keep walking. 

"Why did you have to tell them all?" Arden whispers to me, coming up close. 

"Because I don't want to look suspicious." I whisper back. 

"Stupid," he whispers. 

This is my chance. He is so close to me. Everyone is looking at us. 

I scream as I ram into him. He shouts in confusion as he's tackled into the ground. He reaches for his gun but I grab both of his wrists so that he can't get it. I am on top of him now. 

"He has a gun!" I yell. Arden uses this opportunity to kick his feet out and get me off of him. But I run back to him and ram into him again before he can get up. I am lying on top of him as he struggles to get his gun. 

Finally the others come to help me. Two people train their guns right against Arden's head. They kneel down over us. Arden has no choice now. He has to let me go. 

"Arden. Let go of my husband." Ari's serious, confident voice rings out between all of us. Arden looks at him. And he does let go. 

"What should we do with him?" Rachel asks me. 

"Shoot him," I answer. "But not yet. Let me have a few words with him first."

Arden looks up at me with wide, scared, betrayed eyes. I stand over him. And from this angle he looks so small lying sprawled on the ground. For once in our lives I am the one who holds the power. 

"I always hated you, Arden," I state. "You were and still are so selfish and self-centred and ignorant and prejudiced. You always loved holding power over me. But you won't hold power over me any longer. I am and always was so much more than you ever thought I could be capable of. And my people will win."

He doesn't say anything. 

"You guys can shoot now," I tell my people. 

And they do. And the blood flows. And my childhood tormentor is no more. 

Many people walk up to me and hug me. Including Ari, my husband who I will never be parted from. I hold on to all of them. And in the midst of all my people, I cry. I cry all the tears that I have ever had to force down and hide. And they let me cry. And they heal me as I've healed them all before. And they make me feel free.

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