She offered me the gleaming sword, pale but glittering in the soft light of the full moon. On her knees before me, her head bowed low, and her arms outstretched with the sacred weapon laid across her palms. So this is what it felt like. To have someone believe in you. To have an entire people believe in you. It should have felt good. It should have felt like the weight of the world had been lifted, and I was flying on the wings my peoples’ beliefs in me. This is what I wanted right? I used to tell myself I didn’t care, that I was happy the way I was, but there was always a yearning for more, buried deep under the layers of non-emotion I’d piled on top of it. But now, things were different.

I gazed out over the crowd, suspended in time in the minutes before all hell broke loose. The people had followed suit of their leader, and were bowing before me, surrounding the raised crystal dais in the center of the spacious cavern. They were on their knees, trusting and loyal, their faith in me. And I was undeserving. What they didn’t understand was that I was the bad guy. I hadn’t changed, and I never would. So you’ve got them all fooled. They look at you and see a hero, a warrior, but I can see the truth. You’re never gonna be more than a corrupted, conniving lowlife who doesn’t deserve anyone’s time of the day.

The words burst out of my memory like a knife to the gut. My heart imploded and I could feel the searing pain as it ripped through my chest. That was the final straw. They thought they could trust me, but when they learned the truth, they wouldn’t even be able to look at me. The one person I thought would understand, the one person I who I’d let down my walls for, had smashed them with iron fists and turned his back. Because he saw who I really was. He thought I’d never change.

I snatched the sword out of the queen’s hands and spun towards the glass pedestal, an insane fervor running through my veins. I could feel the fire in my eyes as I raised the sword above the artifact, its colors swirling in the enchanted glow that encompassed it. If I was going to be the bad guy, I might as well live up to it.

I could feel the crowds gazes upon me, panic welling in the room. Cries rang out as they understood my intentions, and people began dashing towards the exits. Someone grasped my wrist. The Queen. “Don’t do this. The gods will smite you, and everything you care for will be gone.” Her emerald eyes pierced mine, driving her words home. “Everything you love can be washed away.” But that’s what she didn’t understand. They already had been. I closed my eyes for the last time and raised the sword.