ROSES HAVE THORNS-Chapter 59 - Atonement

"I asked what’s going on here?"

If looks could kill, Kurt would’ve been dead.

"P-Principal Valentine! I was just–"

"Shhhhh Emelie. Let the adults speak. Well Rosie?"

’Rosie?’ Emelie thought as she looked between the silently pissed Diana and the ’I’m nervous but won’t let it show’ Kurt.

"Emelie was just healing my face from an injury."

"Injury?" She grabbed his cheeks with one hand. "I don’t see any injury."

"W-Weally? I guessh she mut’ve healed it then. Nyo wunder she’sh your best shtudent."

Diana didn’t let go and just kept staring at him in silence.

’L-Lord if you’re watching please send all my future blessings to the present.’

"Kurt! I’m back with the women!" Dominik came running with the wagon.

’MY HERO!’

"Principal Valentine, I see you got back here first. Why are you holding Kurt’s face like that? Oh shoot!" Dominik let go of the wagon handles and zipped up to them both. "Your face! It’s healed! My salve plus Emelie’s healing must’ve done the trick, huh?"

"How’d he get injured?" Diana asked in a deadpan voice.

"I errr... I mistook him for an enemy and hit him with a flying kick... Right in the face..."

After hearing him explain what happened, Diana turned back to Kurt, who was trying his best to smile at her, and went from squeezing his cheeks to gently caressing them.

"Rosie, are you okay? Want me to kiss you better~?" She asked him in a cute voice as she looked at him with pity.

’Holy shit! It’s that cutesy voice again! Kurt, just who the hell are you!?’ Dominik stared with his mouth open.

’So it’s true after all. Damn Kurt... You really did the impossible...’ Emelie smiled.

"Not here Diana. I thought you didn’t like showing affection in public."

"I feel like I need to change that part of myself if I’m to be with you. I need to make sure that women know who you belong to..."

Diana, who was red in the face, leaned in closer and closer to Kurt’s cheek. Just as she was inches away from pressing her lips on him is when...

"K-Kurt.. we.. go home.. now?" The quiet girl, who’s now starting to look brighter, came in between them.

"Y-Yes!" He jumped away from her "We’re going home now, ahahaha... By the way, I didn’t catch your name."

"Name? Name.. is.. Courtney." She blushed as she held her sword close to her chest.

*Grrr*

Once again, if looks could kill, Courtney would be dead.

"C’mon ladies! I’ll lead you to the ship." Dominik dragged Courtney and the others away before hell could be unleashed.

*meow*

"Kitty?" Kurt looked at the rowboat from where he heard that cute sound.

And indeed, the small cat jumped out of the boat and stood next to him.

"Oh that’s right. Before we knew it, this little one had already followed us on the ship. Did it somehow know you’d be there?" Emelie wondered as she crouched down to pet the cat.

’Come to think of it, I also saw him right before Diana slashed me. And even before that, every time a major event happens this cat is always there somehow then just mysteriously disappears when it’s over.’

"Ahem! Kurt, could you show me the sight of the cave you told me about. I want to pray to the fallen women." Emelie subtly winked at him, hoping he’d get the hint.

"Hm? Oh. Sure. Diana, I’m gonna quickly show Emelie to the cave. You want to come with us?"

"No. I trust when you told me nothing’s going on between you two. Just be quick. In the meantime, I will check out the ship. I want to see these cultist members for myself and... I want to see what the rooms look like..." She blushed when she said that last part then squeezed her gem and teleported to the deck.

’The rooms?’

*meow* The cat rubbed himself on Kurt’s leg.

"Guess it’s just the three of us then. C’mon I’ll show you the way."

"No need." Emelie floated off the sand and concentrated her magic around Kurt and the cat causing them to float as well.

"W-Whoa! I’m flying! I’m actually flying! Now this is what magic should be used for!"

"Heh. Make sure you close your mouth. I don’t want you biting your tongue on the way."

FWOOSH!

...

All three of them landed safely in the middle of the goblin camp.

"What a mess. Is this Principal Valentine’s doing?"

"Yep. You should’ve seen her. At that moment she showed me what her title as Crimson Flash stood for and boy did it not disappoint. So, why’re we here? To be honest I didn’t want to come back here."

"Did something happen?" Emelie looked worried.

"More like it didn’t. *Tsk!* I was going to burn this whole place down until I met this one ugly goblin. Ruined my whole mood."

"Oh." Her worried look disappeared when she heard his reason. "What goblin?"

"That one." Kurt pointed to the broken front gate where a disfigured corpse of a goblin laid.

"Wait. That’s the treasure goblin I came here for! Why is he so fucking beaten up?!"

"That’s the reason we’re here? You should’ve told me. Didn’t you see the huge sack on the wagon Dominik brought? That’s the loot I took from it."

"No wonder I didn’t see it on the way here... Hey! The cat!"

Emelie ran to the cave, where she saw the little cat enter, but stopped when she reached the entrance.

"What’s wrong?" Kurt asked her when he noticed stood still.

"It’s just... inside that cave are the women I left to die over and over... I know I don’t have any right to be but I’m afraid to go in."

Kurt put his hand on her back and gave her a little push. "I can’t imagine the guilt you must be going through right now, but Emelie you need to face this. Not only for yourself but for these women as well. Besides, Kitty and I will be with you. You’re not alone."

"... You’re right. I can’t just stop and look away from every mistake I let happen. That’s the coward’s way. Thank you, Ku–

"If it makes you feel any better, just know I had a great time cutting the dicks off those hobgoblins~"

" –rt... Excuse me?" She looked at him in disgust.

"Yeah. I can’t wait to show you my art piece, hehehe."

"Suddenly I don’t feel like going in for an entirely different reason. Hold on, wasn’t the principal with you? Did she just watch you do this?"

"No."

"Oh thank good–"

"She helped me. It was a team effort. Although when I suggested we ram its own dick up its–"

"OK I HEARD ENOUGH! Let’s just go in and NOT talk about goblin dick!" She interrupted him and pulled him inside before he could continue.

Kurt noticed the slight tremble in her hands but chose to ignore it as he smiled at her like a proud father would.

......

"Are you ready?" Kurt asked her when they stood at the corner of the base.

Emelie didn’t say anything but instead took a step forward and walked inside.

The first thing she saw was around 15 dead women all neatly laid next to each other. Some were obviously pregnant while others were completely malnourished.

"I’m sorry... Please forgive me..."

Her heart broke when she stood in front of them, but she refused to cry. Instead, she chose to kneel down and pray for them. When she finished, she got up and went to the cage with dead bodies and broken-off limbs, praying for them too.

"I wish I could bring them all back somehow but carrying them all with my magic would put too much strain on me. If only I were at my peak..."

"About that, I think I may have a solution. Hey Kitty, could you do your thing?

"Hmm? Do what thing?"

*meow~* 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The little cat, who was perched up on Kurt’s shoulder, jumped down and opened his mouth.

"What’s happening?" Emelie asked Kurt.

"Just watch. Don’t let me ruin the surprise."

A magic vortex suddenly appeared and sucked up everything that was in the cage.

"What the hell?"

It then went to the bodies that were neatly lined up and sucked them up as well. After which it jumped back on Kurt’s shoulder and let out a yawn.

"Did that cat just..."

"Yep. I was surprised too the first time I saw him do that."

"Wait, then that means... at the alleyway..."

The cat jumped down from Kurt again as if he remembered something and this time instead of absorbing, it gagged out three bodies.

"Holy shit! It’s Arlo, Wesley and Ricky?! Why do you have them Kitty?"

"It’s the cultist and thieves who robbed Amy... So, you did kill them, Kurt."

"No. Only Arlo."

"...Why are you calling them by their names?"

"Because, even if it was for a short period in that alley, we were all friends." Kurt looked at the bodies with nostalgia.

"Riiigghht... I wonder why the cat gagged them out here?"

"Isn’t it obvious? It’s because this is a fitting grave for them~ Who wants to carry around a bunch of evil scum in their belly? Ain’t that right, Kitty~?"

*meow*

"Let’s just get out of here before you guys give me a headache."

"But I still haven’t shown you the goblin’s dic–"

"NO! We’re getting out!" She screamed as she lifted up Kurt and the cat then flew out the cave.

Once they were out, Emelie raised both her hands as she shot a telekinetic blast at the entrance, completely destroying the cave.

"Now the world will know pain..." Kurt mumbled.

Emelie, having figured him out a bit, decided to ignore him and fly with them back to the ship.