Faithfully Yours

Part 6: War is hell

 

Chapter 54

"The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what Fiction means." 
 Oscar Wilde

The battle noises in the crater continued for some time, and then there was silence, while those watching looked at each other and huddled together, wondering what to do. Finally they heard the scrapping of hob nail boots as the Burvjarians climbed their way up the edge of the crater and some time later under the cloud of green and black goo and fire, battled hardened Burvjarians emerged from the orange mist, uncocking weapons, leaning on captured demon swords and supporting injured comrades.

 

Phoebe let her breath go in a big gasp as Cole, his Burvjarian robe in bloody acid burned tatters, emerged. Paige noted the remains of Leo's parker falling off Cole in burnt nylon wisps, but the hood was still in place enough to hide the Ogre's face. Somewhere in the fighting he must have destroyed the whitelighter's sword because he now carried a demon sword.

 

Piper let her breath go with a little whimper and burst into tears when Glock, an arm hanging limply and most of his face hidden behind a congealing mask of orange blood, his once clean robe blurred with blood and black and green demon goo came behind Cole. He was berating Cole angrily.

 

"What's Glock pissed about?" asked Paige.

 

"I guess Cole saved him again" Phoebe whispered her voice hoarse with relief.

 

The witches and other Minions of Good watched with a respectful and awed silence as the Burvjarians scrambled up the crater.

 

However the sight of the bloodied and victorious warriors was the final straw for the Elders. As they saw their great victory totally lost in the wake of the defeat of the demons, at a word from the Elder leader they swung into angry and uncaring action, concerned only at seeking revenge or their lost victory.

 

Several raised swords and struck out against the whitelighters who had kept them away from the witches. Swinging with a lethal aim, the Elders struck down number of whitelighters, while the witches watching were caught unawares and in real shock at what they were seeing. A couple started to turn on their magic by instinct and the flames sent them flying backwards away from the twelve now blood hungry Elders.

 

Four witches who tried to physically restrain them were also struck down in a bloody heap.

 

Then the twelve turned to their real quarry, the Charmed sisters. Paige and Piper were close enough to the greater mass of the Minions of Good to be protected from the first onslaught, but they found their victim in Phoebe.

 

As more and more Burvjarians, climbed over the rim of the crater, Cole wearing the remains of his Burvjarian robe faded into the crowd and Phoebe lost sight of him. Without thinking. she started toward him, catching a barefoot on the rock. She tripped again and fell into a levitation. She shot forward toward the warriors and was surrounded by flashing flames and finally stopped quite a distance from her sisters. And it was only when the flames died down she realized what a big mistake she had made..

 

Because as she came out of the flames she found herself staring straight into a sword, wielded by the Elder leader, and a phalanx of the other eleven prepared to finish her.

 

"Traitor" screamed the Elder leader "witch mutineer. Suffer and die."

 

"Like all mutineers. Like all evil" snarled another

 

Phoebe half screamed and tried to move away and fell heavily on the ground. The Elder raised the sword and started to strike down. Behind the blood crazed Elder, the other Elders rushed forward.

 

Piper and Paige ran toward Phoebe, followed by a number of the other witches but they were to far away to help. Instinctively Phoebe put an arm across Pookie as she fatalistically watched the sword striking down at her. She even had time to wonder how badly being struck with a sword form a great height would hurt and to cry Cole's name out loud.

 

Only as she lay there accepting her fate, the sword never hit her. It was stopped by Cole using a great demonic sword to deflect the one coming at her. All that happened was that the Elder sword caught the edge of her face, and the blood started to pour from it.

 

The Elder in fury over being thwarted of the prey, swung the sword again, but  this time Cole showed no mercy. One more sword swing and the Elder was decapitated, the mortal red blood of an earlier life, spurting over the Burvjarian blue earth as the body fell.

 

Phoebe surprised at being alive unresistingly allowed Cole to catch her by the arm, and haul her to her feet just as the other Elders came at him. The Minions of Good started to move forward and Phoebe found herself held by one arm as six Elders threatened her and Cole from the front and five moved from behind.

 

Even though, he still held the sword, for an instant fire started to form on Cole's fingers.

 

"Don't use magic" Phoebe screamed "the witches, you'll kill them, don’t…"

 

"Shut up" Cole told her as they were faced by the swords of the eleven remaining Elders.

 

An Elder sword swung at Phoebe again catching her arm and Cole protected her take the wound by lifting his arm. As he did so his fist came near her face and he tried to deflect it , but so close to the pole and so heavy with his magic, he misjudged slightly and he caught her in the eye. Phoebe screeched.

 

"Die witch" screamed the Elders lost in vengeance blood lust.

 

Cole hesitated only an instance.

 

"Sorry" he said

 

"Why?" gasped Phoebe

 

"You're in the way" he answered and then Phoebe screamed as he swung her by the arm and flung her into a high arch over the top of the Elders and away from the fight.

 

Phoebe managed to find some form of levitation, which sent up flames but extinguished enough for Lesley and Matilda, leading the witches rushing toward the fight to break her fall and protect Pookie .Although she heard a cracking sound of her ribs and Matilda's arm being broken as they caught her.

 

Phoebe never saw what happened next. She and Leslie and Matilda were on the ground, all of them being spurted by the blood from the cut in her eye, whilst the other witches crowded in front of them. Phoebe did not have to see; she felt everything Cole felt.

 

She could hear the crashing of steel as swords were crossed and she knew as he fought that Cole demanded from the Elders retribution for the sins of destroying innocence, the sins of calling witches to fight in a war that was nothing but an invasion to steal power.  He called them to account for those who had died on the long futile journey and for the pain they had caused

 

Cole demanded penitence for the years the warmongers had spent insisting witches' battle to enhance their power regardless of the costs. He said to the Elders that they had been told what was right and what was wrong and they had not listened now justice demanded they answer for it.

 

Two apparently laid down arms, the fire of vengeance dying in their blood, and Cole ordered them back. They stepped back to be held by the minions they had led. The other Elders faced with the consequences of their sins chose to fight and as Cole knew and Phoebe could feel, chose the sword over penitence.

 

"Face Justice" Cole told the others, and surrounded by the Minions of Good Burvjarian and whitelighter warriors he came for them. "Stay away " Phoebe heard him order the Minions of Good, as he fended himself against their swords. "Fear justice. Do not strike."

 

The noise of the swords crashing together shattered the Burvjarian air while in silence Burvjarian warriors and witches and other Minions of Good, saw the terrible bloody price of justice. Because the sound of the metal stopped and the slashing of steel on the ethereal bodies of once mortal Elders was heard and finally one more slashing sound of a sword on flesh and then their was no more sound of metal crashing.

 

Phoebe felt it all. She felt what it was like to carry the sword of justice, she felt the power. The word righteous screamed in her brain.. She remembered Francesca describing Cole once as righteous but she realised she had not understood what Francesca had meant. Now she understood what a terrible and terrifying thing righteousness was, understood it as Cole understood it as he enforced justice on the warmongers, in the battle fields of Burvjara.

 

Phoebe held by Matilda and Leslie wept, in anger, in fear and awe, and she remembered that Therold had told her to stay away from Cole in Burvjara. In a small premonition she realised the stories of the Ogre hitting her must have come out and Therold in his quest of the future heard them, and misinterpreted them but she also knew Therold was right about coming to Burvjara. If she had not she would never have felt the pain and terror of justice and known what Cole felt when demon guardian, Ogre that he was, he was called to arbitrate it. And she knew she would carry the fear and terror of it for as long as she lived and she would never be the same again.

 

Phoebe sobbed openly as the crowd in front of her stepped away and she saw Cole hood in tattered robe still holding the sword on the bodies of the fallen, He stood over his handiwork, of bloodied defeated bodies, his body rigid and she felt every part of his pain. And she longed to run to him, and help him, and yet had no idea how she could ease that pain.. Around the battleground stunned and terrified Minions of Good watched uncertain, but instinctively keeping their distance from a force of magic that they could never understand.

 

Phoebe staggered to her feet and ran to Cole. He put his hand up to stop her throwing herself at him. She stood less than an arm's length away, fighting not to take the final step and looked up into his face.

 

"You saved me" she said quietly

 

"You know I would" he whispered.

 

Cole put his hand out, just touching her face and Phoebe murmured the word hero and looked up to see that smile she loved and then as the Burvjarians came up behind him, Cole tossed the demon sword on the ground and faded into the mass of tattered robes.

 

For some time, after Cole disappeared into the Burvjarian ranks, Phoebe stood staring into the ranks of the Burvjarians while the Minions of Good and the Burvjarian warriors faced off over the bodies of the Elders, the minions uncertain of their response, whether to blame and fight or whether to concede. Some of the whitelighters seemed totally confused, as to whether to avenge, the deaths of their leaders or to applaud the Ogre for releasing them from any responsibility for their actions.

 

Finally Glock followed by a number of other Burvjarians came forward and several whitelighters lined up opposite, deliberately pushing the witches and other minions including the Paige and Piper behind them

 

"What happens now?" the foremost whitelighter demanded. "The Ogre killed our Elders. You need to hand the Ogre over to us. He killed them."

 

"We would have killed them if the Ogre hadn't" Glock answered, his voice rumbling "as we would kill all who invade, but we would have killed them for vengeance and not as easily." He looked at the bodies on the ground "Be grateful they got justice and not vengeance" Glock growled "and leave this land."

 

The whitelighter hesitated. "They were slaughtered." He said his voice trembling "Our leaders were slaughtered."

 

"As they would have used you to slaughter us" Glock told him. "They got justice. And you were saved a battle in the name of evil." He put his hand up, as if to push the whitelighter away, then stopped and said "Go. This land is ours" he said "Leave us to our justice "he added. "Unless you want to hand over your leaders the Ogre didn't kill. To face our vengeance."

 

Piper pushed forward to where Phoebe stood watching,

 

"Its Burvjarians land and their justice" Piper insisted looking at Glock.

 

The whitelighter still hesitated, turning to look back at the remaining whitelighters gathering behind.

 

Paige moved to stand beside her sisters. "It's their land and their justice'" she said.

 

Phoebe looked at the whitelighters as they stood over the bodies of the Elders. "They were willing to start an evil war, to let all of us die, to control the power here, power they could not even use. You want to start a battle to avenge…evildoers?" she asked, her voice almost breaking.

 

The Charmed sisters, arms around each other, faced the whitelighters, while Glock watched and some of the Burvjarians behind him lifted their weapons.

 

After a very long silence, the whitelighter who had asked the question, shook his head then nodded to Glock and the other whitelighter accepted his lead and turned toward the Minions of Good and began shepherding them away from the battlefield.

 

The Charmed sisters watched their companions move away, while the one whitelighter stood just behind them.

 

"What happens now?" Paige asked quietly.

 

"We build the funeral pyres here" Glock said waving his hand toward the bodies of the fallen witches, whitelighters and Elders. "Then we return to the pole and build funeral pyres for our dead.." he said

 

"And then what happens? Piper asked.

 

 "We try to live without fighting each other" Glock replied with a slight grimace.

 

"That maybe your hardest battle" Phoebe told Glock.

 

Glock spun toward her, his yellow eyes blazing.

 

"I hate your truth speaking witch" Glock told her bitterly. "To talk of other battles when this one is barely won. I hate it" he said passionately.

 

"You hate it because you fear it" Phoebe replied bluntly.

 

"I hate your truth speaking" Glock whispered bitterly

 

"You have the courage to face what you fear" Piper told him softly. "I know you."

 

"You know more than I do" Glock told her not taking his eyes from her face.

 

"I do" said Piper, her eyes filling with tears.

 

Glock shrugged and to the watching sisters, it seemed he fought a battle with himself, before his nose twitched and he looked at Phoebe and said in a different voice "I hate truth speaking."

 

"Suffer" said Phoebe.

 

Glock swallowed hard, then fractionally his nose twitched and his yellow eyes glowed. "What happens now?" he asked eventually,

 

.'"We leave" Phoebe said firmly.

 

"We leave "Piper said sadly standing behind her staring hard at Glock.

 

 "We go" said Paige crossing her arms.

 

The sisters stood awkwardly, silent as the Burvjarians restlessly moved behind Glock.

 

Finally the whitelighter standing near the Charmed letting its breath out and asked "How do we get out?"

 

Some of the Burvjarians nearby started to laugh and Glock turned toward them for a second before he answered calmly "Walk out. Get out as you came in."

 

 A shudder went through the Minions of Good at the prospect of another long march.

 

"We need help" said the whitelighter. "We have no food, we have injured, we have nothing."

 

The Burvjarians nearby laughed louder.

 

Glock shrugged. "In Burvjara, we have nothing but our courage and … boots" he said and his nose twitched as he saw Piper smile. "And without the boots we die so you are not getting those."

 

"You are refusing to help" the whitelighter pushed.

 

The Burvjarians laughed again and Glock nodded.

 

"Why should we help you, you invaded our land?" he asked

 

"You should have been more grateful" said the whitelighter bristling.

 

"Gratitude. For invading us?" smirked a Burvjarian behind Glock.

 

"The witch saved you. You owe her. The Charmed Ones saved you. You owe them." said the whitelighter getting ready to defend.

 

"The witch Phoebe, the Charmed Ones, stopped an invasion that should not have happened. Those who invaded are gone, because the Ogre knew justice" Glock said quietly "We saved ourselves. And you go. We owe you nothing."

 

"We are going "said Piper taking charge. "We should not be here" she told the whitelighters "there is nothing to salvage, no pride, no peace, no alliance."

 

"Walk out" whimpered Phoebe, with the excitement over becoming aware that she was mostly naked, barefoot and injured.

 

Paige also winced and shuddered.

 

Piper crossed her arms "We walked in, we can walk out" she firmly and then her voice cracked slightly.

 

Glock nodded half turned away then he heard the wobble in Piper's determination. He turned back "The only way out is to walk" he said. "There is nothing anyone can do to help you leave any other way. You will kill yourselves if you try to use magic. The only way to take your injured out is to carry them. If there is no food, go hungry. You will return to your realms of plenty and fill your bellies. If we give you what we have our offspring starve."

 

"We understand" Piper said softly.

 

Then Glock's nose twitched "The way we came down is stepper but less dangerous than the way you walked" He glanced toward Phoebe, not missing anything of her shivering near naked condition "But we do owe you "he said "So we will give you what we can. We will show you the less painful way out." He turned to the Burvjarians behind him, who after a few seconds nodded.

 

One looked at the whitelighter with scorn "It is worth the climb to see you gone" he said.

 

Piper sucked her breath "Thank you "she told them but shuddered at the prospect. "We are grateful for whatever help you can give us, that makes the walk even a little easier.'"

 

"When you have almost nothing, anything has a value" Glock said.

 

Phoebe swallowed standing there barelegged and barefoot with not much more than her parka and a few shreds of Piper's wool coat and contemplated the horrors of walking out of Burvjara dressed as she was and wondering if she would freeze to death. She tried to say something and Paige punched her

 

Some of the Burvjarians began to move toward the bodies of the Elders, systematically removing any weapons, food or useful items they found on them. Others began gathering stones for funeral pyres.

 

Other Burvjarians deliberately moved toward the Minions of Good, standing nearby, watching them, while witches and others awkwardly and uncomfortably gather what small belongings they had. Many witches looked nervously at the large Burvjarians moving around them, almost crowding them in the limited space as they searched for stones and burning material.

 

Phoebe watched as the whitelighters organised the minions. She jumped suddenly as one of the Burvjarians seemed to bump her and then grinned because she found forced into her hands, Cole's sweater and his shirt She called out " Love you" and he stopped for a second, and waved his hand before disappearing into the masses of Burvjarians.

 

As Phoebe pulled the sweater over her, and it came down to her knees she decided she had never been more grateful for one of his gifts, and never loved him more, because she knew he was going to freeze for the rest of the time he stayed in Burvjara. "Greater love hath no husband'" she sighed to herself pulling his large shirt over everything.

 

Glock watched her pull them on.

 

She grinned "I know" she said "when you have nearly nothing, anything has a great value."

 

Glock's nose twitched.

 

With one last look at Glock, the Charmed sisters moved back to the Minions of Good. As they stepped away Glock suddenly called out "Phoebe"

 

She stopped and put her head on the side as she turned.

 

"What I said to the Other, we saved ourselves" Glock told her "It was true but it is also true. I am in you debt. We are all in your debt. Because I do not believe we would have passed through your army if you had not shown us the path."

 

Phoebe stood some distance from him, "It was nothing "she said awkwardly then she stopped "Well it was something because we all would have died"  she admitted. "But it was the right thing so " she swallowed "I had to .." She indicated her sisters "we had to do the right thing, had to listen to the truth."

 

"I have not appreciated your truths" Glock said and Phoebe swallowed uncomfortably. His nose twitched. "I am glad I have seen the best of you. Seen parts I…like"

 

Phoebe winced nervously "I can be really good when I need to be" she said.

 

Glock looked at her.

 

"I can be a real bitch too" she explained.

 

"I know" Glock said softly.

 

And he bowed to her in a long sweeping bow.

 

Phoebe smiled then she turned catching Piper's arm. Piper took one last look back at Glock tears down her face mudding the blue and orange streaks even more as Paige caught her other arm, and they started the long walk out of Burvjara.

Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much. Oscar Wilde

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