He fought. And he fought more. He thrashed, he stomped, he slashed with his horn of pure quicksilver through the darkness. He raged at the death of the one he did not know, he raged at the darkness, at the tar, at first completely oblivious to its changing texture and temperament. With every violent movement he was able to move more freely, to think more clearly, to slowly perceive all that slowly fell around him, until suddenly he was just standing amidst a world of ashen memories. He blinked, once, twice, thrice, deep breaths rattling his ribcage as he regained his bearings on the world around him. His skin itched, it burned, the pain that coursed across the left side of his face made it difficult to keep his eyes open, to keep his ears focussed on the sounds around him. His crown felt too heavy to hold up, and so it drooped, even as he felt others moving to a halt around him. He peered at the world through thinly slitted eyes, his façade pained into a thick grimace, his vision blurry from the burning that blazed down his neck and across his face. He was saddened by the mark it would surely leave upon him, and he wondered if it was worth it – he asked himself again, what am I doing here?

He had been drawn here by the crowd, and he had lingered because he saw an opportunity to destroy darkness, to eliminate the spread of what he believed was an extension of his curse. He sighed, again, and again. Ears twisted atop his chiselled, charred face, grabbing at the various sounds that were beginning to emerge now. He recognised words, a voice, and replies, but it was a delayed reaction for him, a few seconds worth of processing before he swallowed, moistened his throat, and wondered at what on earth he was going to do now. Explain love? How could he do that? He didn’t understand what love was, what it meant to love anything but himself. How was he meant to explain a mother’s love – his own had laughed at him when he awoke one morning with a curse, laughed at him and did not stop him when he fled the lands. Was that love?

Was that what he wanted to offer this child, the last of its kind?

No, the thought thrummed within him, as he gathered himself up once more, and forced his gaze to train upon the fallen doe, who laid beside the gathered. There was no space for him to get closer, no space for him to offer his own body to her failing one. He had fought the darkness, because he did not want others to suffer from a curse similar to his affliction. He had been selfish and selfless at once, wanting to be the hero, to slay the darkness and reap the reward – but what reward? To stop the spread of darkness? Did he truly want to be responsible for the life of another being, another soul?

He looked directly at the doe, waiting patiently for each to say their words. Everything they said was true, and probably more fitting, more deserving. But something had to be said.

“A mother’s love is unconditional. It is without compare. It is complete, and total devotion. It is acceptance, no matter what. It is adoration. It is the nurturing of one’s true spirit. It is the guidance that would allow one to find, and embrace their full potential, without smothering the fire of one’s soul. It is the perfect balance of light and dark.” His words were not as colourful as the others, nor as lengthy. It took him a moment to realise the new stinging upon his face was caused by a wetness leaking from his eyes. He did not speak of his past, there was no point in reliving the horror that was his faulty, yet at the time, seemingly privileged upbringing. There was no point in saying anything but what he had said, no point in thinking about all that he had lost, all that he would never gain..

Weariness infected his body, as the adrenaline of the fight left his muscles twitching, his limbs shaking. He nodded his crown to the doe then, and the others present, before moving off a few paces, and laying down – alone. He would await the doe’s death, so that he might see this event to its end, and find some semblance of closure on this dramatic turn of events.

[ 758 words. ]