The Redwoods
Page 16
These things did not happen immediately, and it took young Vivian Featherstone many weeks, months, years, even decades, to begin to restore all that had been lost, or perhaps more accurately, taken, in her family’s absence.
But nevertheless in time things all began to come together, and the once great Virtus began to flourish and thrive once more.
And perhaps more importantly than the rejuvenation and restoration of Virtus itself, was the happiness of its people, of Vivian’s people, for under her kind and fair rule they were indeed exactly that, and she would try her utmost to keep it that way for as long as she lived.
Vivian often thought of everything that had happened, and whether, if at any point she had done things differently, she could have saved at least some of her family. But such thoughts always seemed to overwhelm her, casting her into something of a depression, and so she tried her utmost to keep those notions at bay. Though sometimes that was much easier said than done.
Over time she slowly learned, and even more slowly came to accept, that regardless of all she might do now, and however much she might try to set things right, she could not change what had already come to pass.
That had been shown to her all too clearly when she had killed The Grey.
There had been more than enough Greystones left to render Virtus suitably in ruin, and to kill Red and Clover, but she had at the very least rid the world of that man’s evil, and of the plague born so torturously of his own soul.
That was something of a silver lining at least. That was what she told herself - what she kept telling herself. It seemed sometimes that it was all she had to cling to, to keep her from falling apart.
She could not bring back those she had lost to it, but she had managed to prevent anyone else from falling victim to its clutches ever again. Perhaps she had even managed to save mankind, and the rest of the world for that matter.
Now that was a thought worth remembering at least.
Nonetheless, she often thought of her family. She had come to accept her losses some time ago, but sadly that failed to make them any less painful.
Vivian remembered her father’s words of how he had wished the Featherstone family heir loom had stayed secret from him, at least for a little while longer, and finally now, after all this time, she understood exactly how he had felt. The heavy weight and burden of responsibility had truly crashed down upon her young shoulders, and coupled with the crushing loss of all of her loved ones, it had very nearly destroyed her.
But her family had all sacrificed themselves for her, and so now it was her turn to live up to her family name. She was certainly not the only person in history to suffer that particular responsibility.
She would have to settle with brightening the future for all of her new subjects, and just try to come to terms with the past. She would just have to do the same as everyone else, and either learn to live with it, find a way to accept it, or let it overwhelm her completely, and she certainly couldn’t afford the latter.
By now Vivian’s fun youthfulness had long since abandoned her, replaced by a sombre obligation that always bore heavily down upon her. Her eyes were not so bright as they once were; their light had faded. Replaced by a cold, solemn look now, forever hard as stone, she doubted they would ever shine quite as brightly ever again.
And then too there was still that feeling, that desire, that gaping chasm within her that so longed to be filled. No matter how hard she tried, how many lives she changed and how good she was to her people, the hole within Vivian’s soul remained empty.
Would she ever be able to fill it?
She so desperately wanted to.
She thought back to The Grey, to all that blood, and to her success, and she felt a tiny glimmer of satisfaction. It was barely enough to even begin to quench her thirst. In fact, all it managed to do was make her crave it more.
She thought back to The Grey again, and again, and again, over and over until she couldn’t take it anymore. Containing a furious scream within herself, Vivian cursed the skies helplessly, her cries futile.
This was torture. The painful abyss within her heart, within her very soul, needed to be filled. It had to be satisfied.
And there was only one way she knew how.
Thank you for reading The Redwoods
I hope you enjoyed it
Look out for
The Redwoods Rise and Fall - Book Two
Vivian has returned to Virtus, she has defeated the Greystones, and the once great city even seems to be well on the way to recovery. But something isn't right. Vivian feels stranded amongst all that she has fought to gain, and suffered so terribly to lose. And now it seems there are new threats and dangers, stemming from old evils. Just as all those before her have either succeeded or succumbed, now she too must face her own rise and fall.
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