Harmony

Octavia gazed at Rani. Rani gazed back.

It wasn't the dead child alone whose eyes were empty, for how the Ambassador's face drained of color. She'd misheard. She'd misunderstood. She thought once again to explain her circumstances. Given how many times she'd switched her attention between the two Heartful Muses, Octavia couldn't help but do so once again. She swallowed her panic. She wouldn't need it.

"Stratos, what is he talking about? I…paid your tolls--my tolls. We're…done, both of us. You can go. He's talking about you, right?"

His silence seared her heart. It was no longer aggravating. It was damning.

"Stratos, he's talking about my tolls, right?" Octavia asked with the panic she'd fought to suppress.

And for how he turned away further, stealing immortal eyes she could never truly witness with her own, her vision blurred. Her head spun. Her heart dropped into her stomach, pounding relentlessly all the way down. She forgot how to breathe.

Nowhere to which she offered her attention did her any good. The others, too, shared in her utter disbelief, visibly acting as pendulums somewhere between horror and disbelief. Not one spoke. Not one breathed. She was much the same, and she briefly wondered if there was any oxygen in Silence. She wondered if she'd remember how to use it, should she find any.

"I don't understand," she finally asked of the Lord of All, her voice wavering viciously.

Octavia couldn't fathom his calm. "That which tethers the two realms, too, must be severed. It is in this manner that all shall be as it was. It is what must be done to perfect what I have made, and it must be such in this manner alone. There can be no other."

Her knees were weak. She wondered if she'd forget how to stand, shortly. She wondered why she was bothering to cling to Stradivaria at all, still aloft in her violently-trembling hands.

"I…have to be your toll?" Octavia tried. Even now, she prayed she'd misunderstood.

"It is so."

For how her blood turned to lead down to every last cell, she couldn't move.

"You're…going to…"

"I must."

There was an overpowering urge to fall to her knees. It took every last ounce of strength in her body, fleeting as that was, to stay on her feet. Octavia feared he'd strike her down right then and there, should she give in now. She, too, resisted the urge to make her panic vocal, to lose her breath in earnest and gasp for it all the same. She had no tears, fearful or otherwise. It was still sinking in. She could do nothing but let it, poison seeping into what was left of her iron veins.

There had once been a place she'd gone to for comfort, and a voice that had come along with it. For every thread of the spider web that wove the empty path beneath her feet, it was the one she didn't dare disturb. It was the one she didn't dare tread upon. She had no other choice.

He was turned away, even now. Octavia couldn't resist. She could feel the world spinning already.

"Did you…know?"

The fleeting glance Stratos gave her was enough.

It didn't matter what was to come physically. It was enough to shatter her soul and kill her from the inside out.

"You…knew."

She didn't need him to nod, and he didn't. She could imagine it all the same. The thought alone broke her in every way.

If they were speaking, she could barely hear, underwater as she was.

"T-That's…"

"She has to…die?"

If they were pleading, she could barely understand, her heart already long since surrendered to his silent betrayal.

"You're friggin' insane!"

"Oc…tavia?"

"I knew it."

The sound of steel freed upon nothingness contrasted sharply with the gentle noises that enveloped her still. Octavia could hardly bring herself to turn her head. There was exactly one person who carried the anger she couldn't muster, as badly as she wanted to. She couldn't decide what was sharper--the blade with which he challenged nothing at all, or the most hateful spears she'd ever seen grace his eyes.

"I always knew something was up with all of you," Josiah spoke, his voice low and trembling all at once. "I always knew something was off. I was right. I was always right, the whole time."

So was Ethel.

"You were all lying, weren't you? Did all of you know? Were all of you in on this?" he spat, his voice steadily rising.

Mixoly, at least, knew of Heartful lies.

"Stratos?"

The voice that called for him was far from Josiah's own. It was far from human at all.

"Is it true?"

Octavia had never heard such calm from Brava in her life. She knew the Willful Muse's peaceful voice, in contrast. Still, Orleanna, too, bore the same soft disbelief.

"You…knew what was to befall the Ambassador?" she murmured.

For how genuine confusion tinted their words, Octavia wasn't the only one to eye them with confusion of her own. Josiah, in particular, lowered the knife helplessly to his side as he watched them admit to their ignorance. Their Maestros did much the same, and it was Stratos alone who hesitated to acknowledge them still.

"Speak," Mente demanded.

"Admit to the truth, should it be so," Aste added, their tone equally sharp.

"Stratos," Lyra said, far more gentle in the wake of their venom. "Please."

Octavia didn't need to hold her breath. She'd already found her answer. As to how long it would take for it to crash down onto those she'd never expected to be innocent, she hardly knew. Given the dynamic they had, kin as they were, she wondered what constituted disrespect. She wondered if Stratos would've cared.

For all of the time it took him to address them, Octavia doubted it. It was the first time he'd spoken since they'd reached the boundary, a voice she'd once loved annihilated by a truth she hated to swallow. Even then, he could hardly look at them, either. He'd never emoted to the same degree as the other Muses she'd met, tainted by the form she'd cursed them with and the strikingly-mortal behaviors that had followed. In his voice, for once, Octavia found something she couldn't pinpoint. It was, unmistakably, as human as Stratos would ever get.

"It is for the good of all."

She'd seen them irritated, at times. For some, she'd never quite seen their ire in full, with exceptions to be had. It was incredibly jarring. Octavia could do nothing more than watch them with wide eyes and a racing heart, still wondering why she bothered to cling to Stradivaria at all.

"Coward!" Brava cried. "You would forsake your own?"

"Have you not done the same?" Stratos accused softly.

"It is not so," Orleanna argued with a shake of her head. "Not…in this way."

"And yet you have done so."

"You would punish one who has given all?" Lyra spoke, her own voice laced with pain as she folded her luminous hands over her heart. "Stratos, we are not to interfere! Of this, I know you are aware!"

It was Ramulus who countered her pleas. "She is no mere human. She carries the burden of two realms, be such a duty deserved or otherwise. The Ambassador cannot remain behind."

"Then she'll quit being the Ambassador!"

Octavia's head snapped to Viola so fast that she briefly worried she'd broken her neck. It was a threat she didn't get to make herself, viciously raised on her behalf.

"You can't make her be the Ambassador," Viola hissed, her fingers long since curled into trembling fists. "She can quit. She can leave you here. Everything rides on her agreeing to do all of this for you guys. She doesn't have to."

Every word from the Soulful Maestra's mouth shook all the way out. Her body did the same, mostly. It was a righteous anger, and Octavia once more wished she could steal the same ire for herself. Instead, she was cold, graced only with the same lead that coursed through her veins and weighed her down.

"The result would be the same."

Rani was calm where Viola was not. It didn't settle--not initially.

"Wh..what?" Viola stammered.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"To relinquish the role," Ramulus spoke, "is to surrender a life."

It was no longer lead. It was a toxin that ate her alive and scorched her skin from within.

Octavia couldn't count how many times she'd made the threat. She'd made it right to his--her--face. If she'd been gambling without knowing, then she'd been a piece in his game all along. If she collapsed in Silence, she wondered if that alone would be enough to kill her. It seemed anything would.

"So, it wasn't a choice the whole time?" Harper shouted with rage. "She would've died if she tried to stop?"

Madrigal's eyes were pricked by tears Octavia wished she could summon herself. They clung to her curls, for how rapidly she shook her head. "That's awful!"

"She'd have to friggin' die either way, then?" Renato growled. "What the hell are you gonna do on the way out, witness yourself?"

"There is no need."

His ire evaporated immediately, as did theirs collectively. Even Octavia was baffled, clinging to the Muse's every word.

"The Ambassador has lived her life through her own eyes," Rani said, still just as calm. "She has already borne witness to the toll as is necessary. All that remains is to claim what must be taken. It is not an act of malice, nor is it done without purpose. I implore you to understand such intentions."

There was no counter to his argument, in truth. Octavia wondered if it would've flashed before her eyes again, regardless. To bear witness to her own toll was an absolutely horrifying concept. In the most morbid way, she wondered what she would find most precious and most repulsive. That alone was a deterrent. She'd far surpassed feeling ill long ago.

"For what could be offered with the blood of the Ambassador, she need not finish the task in full. It is optional, should she truly seek reprieve."

The words that left Octavia's mouth were dry, cracking on the way out. It was a miracle that she could speak at all. "What…do you mean?"

She could hardly stand to look at the child at all anymore. It was unavoidable, and the same dead gaze drew her in every time. "The blood of the Ambassador upon my own hands is all that is necessary to guide their path. I may complete what you have begun," Ramulus said, gesturing broadly to the Muses in wait behind her.

At least one of them flinched. He continued, hollow eyes burning holes into her alone. "It is your choice. Guide their path and my own in their absence, or give only what is needed and spare yourself further responsibility. It is my gift to you, Ambassador."

It wasn't a choice. He'd never given her a choice in all of the time Octavia had known him, to be fair. It was far from a gift, for how he'd promised her death either way. In Silence as she was, surrounded by nothing conceivable in every direction, there would be no escape, should she try. If she ran, regardless, Octavia wondered if Ramulus would outright strike her down in the midst of her fear. It didn't make the idea of dying with grace any more tolerable. She didn't want to die at all. She'd done that enough.

Octavia glanced at Stratos once more. He'd found the drive to glance back. It wasn't a consolation. Instead, it ached in every way. She found her tears, bitter and burning as they slipped down her cheeks. She couldn't decide whether she despised him or missed him.

Renato narrowed his eyes, already raising either portion of Mistral Asunder aloft. "Like hell we're gonna let you--"

The hollow chill of Rani's gaze stung him in turn, for once. He, too, froze. "Interfere, and you will meet the same fate."

"Please, don't!" Octavia pleaded desperately, choking on sobs she wasn't aware had bubbled up in her throat. "Leave them alone! I'll do anything!"

"Octavia, don't do it!" Harper cried. "Don't worry about us!"

Still, she shook her head. Even now, for all he'd done to her, she gripped Stradivaria tightly. "Please, please don't hurt them! I'm begging you!" she cried.

Rani was silent for a moment, returning the eyes she hated. "Make your choice, Ambassador. Either will suffice. Know that death will be swift and painless. You shall not suffer, and I shall see that it is so. Do not be afraid."

"Octavia, don't do this," Josiah pleaded, his voice trembling as he shook his head slowly.

"If I…go first, you'll have time to say goodbye, right?" Octavia murmured, well aware she was within their earshot. "All of you."

"Octavia, why are you even entertaining this idiot?" Renato snapped, gesturing to the little Maestra. "Screw this! Don't listen to him!"

"It is for our mutual cause," Ramulus reminded softly. "All will be as it was."

So often did Octavia forget. At the foot of the boundary, of all places, she'd yet again forgotten why she stood there to begin with.

She glanced at Viola. It hurt as much as it helped. It was the beloved girl's greatest wish, ambitious as it had been. It was all that she'd desired for so long. To rob her, if no one else, of relief from a world plagued by agony was cruel. It was sick, how often every fleeting memory of suffering given form had been divorced from that which Octavia held fast to even now.

It was a trade. It was the only trade left to make. Even if it wasn't a choice, it was for a reason.

"Promise me," Octavia breathed, "that you won't hurt them."

Rani nodded. "The deed will be done not long after, and they will return to whence they have come. So long as they do not interfere, I will see that it is so."

"Promise me."

"My word is true."

Acceptance was irrelevant. Her tears would surely flow forever and follow her to Heaven. Octavia didn't bother smiling for them, and they didn't bother offering her the same.

"Octavia, please!"

"Don't!"

"Octavia, seriously, don't!"

"It's not worth it!"

She'd miss the sea. Even burdened by tears that far outpaced her own, it was eternally beautiful as it shimmered. Octavia couldn't bring herself to look away. She endeavored to take the girl's face with her, if nothing else.

"Octavia," Viola begged, her voice cracking. "Please don't do this."

She knew that when she opened her mouth, her voice would be blighted with the same. Octavia couldn't help it. "This is…how we get rid of the Dissonance. This is how we get everything back to normal. This is what we did everything for."

"Not for this!" Viola cried, shaking her head desperately.

"It's for everyone," Octavia said, her wavering words be damned. "No one will ever be hurt by it again. The world will be back to…how it's supposed to be."

"There has to be another way," Viola sobbed.

Octavia shook her head instead. "I think…this is the only way."

"Octavia, I don't want this," Viola wept bitterly. "I never wanted this."

"I don't want this, either," Octavia admitted with a sob of her own. "I wanted to spend more time with everyone. I wanted to do so much together after everything was over. I don't want it to be like this."

"Then why?"

"Because it's what--"

"Forget Priscilla!" Viola screamed.

"Because it's what only I can do."

Viola's eyes widened. Octavia didn't bother wiping away the tears that dropped steadily onto Stradivaria.

"It's not just for them. It's for us, too. I'm the Ambassador. Even if I don't want to die, this is how I can fix everything. This is the power I have. It's for Selena, it's for Ivy, it's for Mina, it's for everyone in Velrose and Velpyre together. It's…for your father. It's for so many other people, too. You…haven't seen what I've seen. It wasn't every time I witnessed a toll, but it was a lot. It's not just Priscilla," Octavia insisted.

Even so, graced with the thought of the tints of autumn once more, she did all that she could to smile through her tears. "I'm gonna see her again," Octavia sobbed through the faintest of smiles, her voice cracking fiercely. "I'm finally gonna get to see her."

"Octavia," Viola sobbed right back.

She fought to hold her smile, wobbling and compromised, as she raised her eyes to them collectively. They, too, were just as burdened by tears. It was contagious in every way.

"I love you guys," she struggled to speak clearly, her voice cracking once more even now. "I love all of you so much. I…never would've made it this far without all of you. Please be happy. Please…live happily. It'd be nice if you guys stayed together. You're all amazing, and I…love every single one of you with all of my heart. Please be safe."

They didn't plead. They didn't beg. There was no deterrent to be had, for how the Ambassador had backed down in the face of their desperate persuasion time after time. For all of the calm and peace she'd struggled to scrape together, leaving them at her back was the most difficult thing she'd ever done. Dying would, undoubtedly, be the easy part.

"Octavia."

And as she fell to her knees gently, laying his vessel before her like an offering she hesitated to make, his voice was a blessing and a curse alike.

"I'm…so sorry," Stratos murmured.

Octavia didn't need to see him, above her as she knew him to be. She hoped he'd watch all the way through. Part of her embraced the thought almost sadistically, praying he endured her pain as retribution for his betrayal. Part of her hoped he would grace her sacrifice with the honor she wished he'd surrender. Part of her simply wanted his companionship. All three felt wrong. All three felt right. She sighed.

"I forgive you," she whispered tearfully.

She debated facing death with her eyes opened or closed. So many times had she been forced into the latter that it felt like an almost natural reflex. At the very least, for what little she remembered of Rani's prowess, the methodology would surely be beautiful.

"You are befitting of the title of Ambassador," Ramulus spoke gently. "Your dedication to a cause not your own to resolve is nothing short of admirable. You have committed no sin, and your heart is pure. You are innocent to our faults. Know that your passing will be remembered for all time, and honored much the same. Take pride in your heart, Ambassador."

There was no pride to be found among her legacy. There was no love. His words were empty.

She'd heard the song once before, in one of her darkest hours.

For how often Octavia had come to consider Ramulus and Rani one and the same, the thought of the girl herself as a Harmonial Instrument slipped from her mind again and again. Only in passing did she recall the fact. Now, instead, it was nostalgia that jogged her memory. It was incomprehensible, a voice far more sonorous and resplendent than Ramulus' own. It was, too, significantly more appropriate for the Maestra's appearance, youthful and feminine as she was.

As to what wordless melody left her mouth, any meaning to be grasped from such a song was unclear. In the wake of her light, she was an angel. It practically spilled from her pores, so similarly to how Octavia had often felt beneath Stratos' touch. In truth, Rani teetered almost between what Octavia would consider angelic and outright divine. She couldn't quite decide. She couldn't look away.

It flowed in earnest in a way she'd never seen--although, to be fair, she'd never fathomed the concept of a human as a Harmonial Instrument at all. Every heavenly note that escaped Rani's lips brought radiance to much the same fingertips Octavia was used to, devoid of a bow or a violin to endure such brilliant prowess. For how often they'd been told time and time again that Muses and gods weren't one and the same, never had she believed the sentiment less. The child that stood before her, hands pulsing with luminescence she'd only found upon strings and breaths, was nothing short of a goddess.

It was a spectacular display. It was almost calming, and she somewhat regretted the same reflex to close her eyes. Octavia couldn't help it--death, too, was a reflex.

She didn't want to see it coming. She knew her eyelids would, regardless, sure to be blighted by the very rays of Heaven that would claim her shortly. Rani hardly needed to sing louder. She did anyway. Octavia wondered exactly how much luminescence it would take to strike her down in one blow--painlessly, at that. Ramulus was far from Faith, for what she'd done to Josiah. He was their Lord of All, and this was all she could trust in.

And as she embraced Rani's every gentle note, surrendering to the thought of what was to come, there was almost a curiosity that followed. She'd always wondered what it would be like to grow closer to Selena. Sonata, too, would've been of interest, should she be willing to doff the mask of the acolyte. Even Cadence, of all people, she would enjoy the chance to have a fresh start with.

To meet Lucian at last would be a dream, and she would surely embrace him tightly, never to let go as she showered him with the love he'd deserved. She could tell Mina's mother of her daughter's flirtatious tendencies and spectacular bravery. She could tell Harper's parents of the incredible son, forged in kindness incarnate, that he had become in their honor.

Above all else, Priscilla would await her with a smile she'd burned into her mind so many years ago, and perhaps a laugh she'd pleaded with everything in her soul to hear again someday. Priscilla would await her with open arms and love she'd long thought lost to time. Priscilla would await her with everything her heart had room to give and take, and she would be blessed. She would have her peace. For what Viola had wanted all along, Octavia, too, would get her wish. It wasn't enough to smile. She got close enough.

She wondered if she'd ever made it to 15,000. For the last time, Octavia embraced death.