>>5490460You recall Corrine’s words. Listening to your heart could very well get you killed right now. But what alternative did you have? If the two of you fought here, there was no guarantee you’d be able to stay your hand and avoid killing him. Like it or not, you had to try one last time to appeal to Ashe’s sense of reason. If not, you may end up regretting it for the rest of your life. You walk slowly towards him, showing no indication that you intend to fight.
“Are you daft girl?! What are you doing?” Judith yells from behind. By now she must certainly think you’ve lost your mind.
“Blair! Stop, please! T-this is your last warning!”
>“If you’re going to shoot me, then do it.” By now, you stand directly in front of Ashe, who still has his arrow nocked and pointing directly at you. “You said you were a knight, right? Then do what you must. But I won’t fight you. I’ve thought about you a lot over the last few years. Where you’d gone. The things you were doing. If you were safe. A part of me thought I’d never see you again. And now you appear before me, and we’re supposed to kill each other? No. I won’t do that. You’ve told me about your hopes and dreams. How you want to protect your siblings and give them a good life. How you want to have a family of your own. I refuse to take that away from you. Even if it means my own death. So, do what you will.”Ashe keeps his bow up. His arms are shaking again. You feel as though time has frozen, and at this point, you’re fully prepared to die. A grimace crosses Ashe’s face though, and albeit slowly, he lowers his bow down, before dropping the weapon to the ground completely.
“Blair… I surrender. Consider me your prisoner. I won’t fight against my former comrades, but I won’t stand in your way either. I thought that I was ready to die out here. If the Professor had cut me down, then I would have accepted my fate. But seeing you here, now of all times…perhaps this is the Goddess’ way of telling me there are still things I need to do.” He gives you a smile. “I figured the heat must have been making me hallucinate. But…it really is you. Did…you get taller?”
A wave of relief rushes through you, as if a thousand-pound weight on your chest has finally been released. You move to embrace your one-time crush, when you’re interrupted by Diana and Shelley, who have flown in from their battle and flanked you. Their weapons are drawn, and they surround Ashe.
