Here it is! it's sad, i shed a few tears while writing it. enjoy! [also, i accidentally copied and pasted my history project in here at first... lol

The young warrior looked around him. The wall that had once held back Lake Merle was broken. Bricks were shattered, ferns draped into the filthy water that was now moving slowly. Feathers, shafts, cloth, and a majority of things littered the water.

Looking out to Lake Merle, Fleck saw nothing. The humps that had once been there were completely gone.

All the ruin made him feel like crying. Injured and fallen rabbits were everywhere. Fleck hurriedly tended to the injured as best he could. Although he wasn’t a medic, he’d helped Rex before, he sort of knew what he was doing.

Then, he looked into the water for some sort of clue, maybe a flash of steel or a glimmer of the ruby jewel, but nothing.

Fleck’s hope faded. He’d never find the sword. The young buck gritted his teeth, hoping he’d find it. Hot tears filled his eyes thinking about Helmer’s sacrifice. He rubbed them away, but more came.

Fleck stabbed Starlight onto a feather on the roof. Why hadn’t he done what Helmer did? Why hadn’t he tried to save him? He had a glider pack, he could have tried, but he’d been trying to prove to Bastille that he was a warrior.

And it had ended this way? She hadn’t needed him; he’d needed to kill Gern. So what? He’d left his friend because a bird was killing rabbits? Sure, he’d done it, but no one had to know.

What if he’d saved Helmer? Would things have gone differently? Would Bastille still be mad at him? Would she still yell at him for not saving her father? Why couldn’t he be strong, like King Jupiter?

Fleck could barely keep from crying. Everything he’d messed up in for the last three years… To be the one who killed Gern? No. he hadn’t been strong enough to save Helmer.

And then he saw it. The red jewel was broken into three pieces on the far edge of the roof. Hobbling quickly toward it, he picked up a shard.

Yes, the same jewel. How would he ever fix this? He looked over the edge. There was Helmer’s sword, stuck inches deep into the soil of a once flourishing window box. The flowers were charred now.

Fleck gathered the pieces of the jewel and the sword. Life went on around him with an air of happiness, but it was strange and unfamiliar. Sure, he’d felt a little of this when he escaped Akolan, but not this much. They were free, finally free.

Well, most of them. How many rabbits had died for this freedom? Could he have stopped it from ending this way?

“Fleck?” it was Bastille. He couldn’t turn around, couldn’t meet her stare. He hid the blade in his cloak.

“I said your name.” She said again. Bastille’s voice was callous, uncaring. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Fleck couldn’t even turn around. She was mad at him. She thought he was the biggest idiot in the whole upside-down world.

“Are you deaf or something?” She asked.

“No.” I said, wiping my eyes then turning around. I was taller than her by a few inches, but she was far fiercer, and he was worried.

“You Idiot!” Bastille screamed. She glared. I stood tall still, tolerating her anger.

“Why didn’t you try to save him? You are a traitor. You’re an oathbreaker, an idiot, and this is all your fault!” She yelled, turning, and walking off.

Poor Bastille. He thought. She’s been through so much, but she’s so tough. If only she knew how awesome she really is.

-Fleck Cove