章 14: 14: But.
There was Peter, standing next to the blonde that Freya recognized immediately, Maryah. They were holding hands, he kissed her cheek, and both of them laughed. Maryah looked around, proclaiming that it was beautiful but not as beautiful as she was.
Freya, confronted with what she saw, felt her chest rise and her face harden. What the hell was Maryah doing here? No one, except for the others, should be in this place or know about it.
Didn't Peter understand the part about not bringing anyone else into the kingdom?
It seems he didn't understand any of it.
Behind them came Shuri, T'challa's sister, followed by him, and also Steve, Ned, and the rest came along, their faces expressing confusion. They all seemed to say, "I didn't know about this." And Freya didn't blame them. Nor did she blame Alfred, who opened the portal to let them in.
Freya appeared in a brief circle behind her sister and positioned herself next to Michelle.
"My sister is about to explode," she whispered to Michelle. The brunette looked at her and noticed something she never thought she would see on Freya's face—fear.
Was Freya's anger so terrible that it scared her own brother? Michelle had never seen Freya like this, but she turned to look at her and noticed that her gaze darkened. Even she felt scared, as did those who were behind them.
Freya was about to speak to her sister, but it was too late.
The brunette spoke up.
"What part of not bringing another human being outside the base did you not understand?" she asked, and both Peter and Maryah looked at her.
Peter stopped smiling when he saw her.
"All of it," Maryah answered for him. "Except that he wanted to bring me because he missed me and because..."
"I don't give a damn about what you say," Freya said harshly. The rest remained silent. Rocket was sitting in the seat she had been in before, watching everything as if it were a movie.
Maryah spoke.
"Don't you dare talk to me like that, you stupid girl," she snapped. "I can come here if I want, especially if my sweetheart—" She pinched Peter's cheek. "—brings me." She kissed his cheek.
"Five, four, three, two..." Frey began to count in a whisper. "One..."
"Listen here, washed-out blonde with no culture," she approached her, and Maryah backed away, feeling fear. "This is my damn kingdom, my home, it's mine." She extended her arm. "And only those I allow can come here, not because others feel like it. Shut up, it's my turn to speak," she said to Maryah, who was about to retort. "You're nobody here, you won't come here ordering people around or saying whatever you want."
"You're supposed to be the goddess of love, of grace," Maryah spoke with a supposedly trembling tone that no one, absolutely no one, believed.
"And I am, dear. I am kind, but I'm not stupid. So since you came, leave." She pointed. "And you, go as well," she looked at Peter.
Upon hearing this, Peter frowned, feeling anger. Was she going to kick him out?
"What the hell is wrong with you?" the web-slinger asked. "You can't..."
"Oh, yes, I can do that," she said, approaching Peter. "I asked you for one thing, Benjamin," she said, using his last name. Lately, she had been calling him by his last name. Over time, the two had formed a friendship that had grown quickly and become very strong in a short period of time. But with that same strength, it did not end very well when they were at odds. "I asked you for one thing," she repeated. "No one else, besides the base, can be here."
"But she won't say anything, Freya. That time she came to the institute, I saw her and wanted to..."
"It's not about what you want, don't you understand? Leave it." Maryah was touching the enormous pillar where there were several crystals. "Don't touch it, don't look at it, nothing." She muttered, and Maryah, as the challenger she is, put her hand on one of the crystals, pulling it out of the pillar. It was a blue crystal, and when it was removed from its position, it stopped glowing, as did the woman who had entered the room. "Cronyela!" she shouted, seeing her almost falling to the ground. Steve had managed to catch her.
Everyone stepped aside. Freya approached Cronyela, and Steve lifted her and put her on the table, pushing the tools to one side. Cronyela's eyes were like the sea, but they weren't like that now. They were diminishing, and so was her skin color.
"What's happening?" Peter asked with concern.
"Your girlfriend is what's happening," Freya replied, looking at him in the worst way. "You'll be okay, right?" she said to Cronyela, trying to control her concern.
The crystal that the blonde had removed was called Vord, which translated to "Bearer of life." Cronyela had one, as did everyone in her village, but her village's crystal was with Freya, around her neck. Cronyela was having difficulty breathing; it hurt to do so.
Freya looked at Maryah, who had the crystal. She approached her, and Maryah only backed away.
"Lady, the crystal," she asked.
"I'm not giving you anything, you stupid queen," she said, holding the crystal in her right hand. "It's pretty." She looked at it, tossing it up and catching it.
"Please, I need that crystal," she said, watching as she played with it. Everyone asked her to give the crystal back, but she seemed deaf to their requests. Even Michelle asked her to give it to her and told her why, but she still wouldn't give it up.
"Hand over the crystal, Maryah," Peter said. "She needs it. Don't be like this."
"She treated me badly, my love," she said in a shrill voice. "I deserve to be here because you're Stark's apprentice, and I want to be here. And she," she looked at Freya, "won't let me."
"Because you can't be here, that's all," Stark said. "Hand over the crystal."
"No," she said, tossing the crystal up and down.
"No!" The cry of everyone echoed. "No," Freya whispered, "the crystal..." The crystal crashed to the ground. Freya saw everything move in slow motion and hit her face. "No, no, no," she repeated, falling to her knees as she saw the crystal shattered into two pieces, impossible to put back together. And it turned to dust. She stood up and hurried to Cronyela. "Please...Cronyela," she touched her face, which was icy. Her eyes turned gray, and her skin too. "Loki," she said, looking at him.
"I can't do anything if the crystal is dust," he said, frustration in his voice.
Cronyela lost color, and her eyes closed. Cronyela was no longer alive, not now.
Freya groaned at the tears that flowed. That crystal was life for Cronyela, the one she saw as a mother. The one who was no longer there. Maryah approached the table and saw Cronyela's lifeless body. Her face lost its mocking expression, and it seemed like what everyone had been telling her was true. Cronyela's body was there, lifeless, and the whole town could feel that someone had left, and thus, everyone saw it. But they didn't approach, not now.
"Sister," Frey whispered. "Don't do anything that..."
"Everyone, leave," she said, her voice shaking, raising her dark eyes. "Get out of here," she screamed. "Leave." She cried, looking at Cronyela. "Damn it," she said, grabbing Maryah by the collar quickly. But she let her go. She wouldn't hurt anyone. Cronyela had taught her not to. "We're not friends anymore," she said, approaching Peter. He had teary eyes because of what happened, because of what his girlfriend caused. "Everyone leaves my kingdom!" she shouted again before walking away, crying.
Everyone was silent. They didn't know what to say. Everyone looked at Maryah with disgust and Peter in the same way.
"Are you satisfied?" Michelle asked Peter. "I lost a good friend because of your bringing this stupid girl here. And Freya lost someone she saw as a mother, because of her."
"She was like a mother to both of us," Frey spoke, trying not to tremble. "You killed someone who was like a reflection of our true mother."
Everyone knew that the brothers' real parents had died in battle against Thanos centuries ago, but it still hurt as if it had been yesterday. It hurt Freya even more because she blamed herself for what had happened, but it wasn't her fault. And now, they had lost Cronyela, all because of a selfish-hearted blonde.
"If Cronyela doesn't come back, it's on your conscience as well as on yours," she looked at Peter. "What happened, Alfrot," she called, and he appeared. "It was a pleasure working with all of you, but it's better if you leave. And don't come back."
Michelle's heart sank when she heard that. She had been very close to Frey these past two months, closer than she had been to anyone else, but it seemed like it was over. Frey looked at Michelle, walked over to her, and left a kiss on her forehead, as she had been allowed to do before. She looked into her eyes and kissed her lips, waiting a long time to do it for the second and final time. She stepped back, leaving the others to leave.
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