The Vampire & Her Witch-Chapter 564: Courage or Stubbornness (Part Two)

"Powerful," he said after thinking for a few moments. The sensation of dozens of trees offering up their strength, whispering their support and echoing his desire for the invaders to suffer and die was more intoxicating than the strongest wine he’d ever tasted. "I felt strong and mighty... like I’d finally become strong enough to protect the people relying on me."

"And?" Ashlynn asked pointedly. "Is that all you felt?"

"No," the young man said, shaking his head as he recalled his feelings at the time. "I was... happy, I think. I was glad that it hurt so much, that they didn’t die without knowing the kind of suffering my friends had endured because of them. I, I wanted it to last longer," he said awkwardly, looking away from Ashlynn as shame burned in his heart. "I didn’t want them to die so quickly when Milo’s archers opened fire but..."

"But you remembered your mission," Ashlynn said. "Even as you were consumed by vengeance, you remembered your duty."

"They deserved to suffer for what they did," Ollie said. "But if we didn’t kill them, we’d never be able to reach the Inquisitors behind them, and the pain wouldn’t have lasted forever. Once we started, we couldn’t stop."

"Did they really deserve it Ollie?" Ashlynn asked. "The Inquisition were the ones forming the second sun in the sky. Those soldiers were only there to act as guards. They followed the orders of their lords and knights, but they’d never drawn a blade against your men until you attacked them."

"That doesn’t mean they were innocent," Ollie said, staring at the vision of Ashlynn and wondering if the real Ashlynn would ask such a question. "You heard how they shouted at us. They wanted to kill ’demons’ just as much as the Inquisition does."

"You’re the one who took justice as one of your virtues, Ollie," Ashlynn pointed out. "When you punish the guilty, justice and vengeance can go hand in hand. But when you punish the innocent simply because they fight alongside the guilty, are you serving justice? Or are you prioritizing your vengeance?"

For a moment, Ollie wanted to argue that vengeance had nothing to do with it. His trap had been the best plan he could think of and if not for the unexpected strength of the Inquisition, it might have worked. Whether or not he satisfied his vengeance in the process didn’t matter as long as the ends were just and righteous. He was protecting his village and the people who died were soldiers in a war... Just because they hadn’t swung a sword at his people yet didn’t make them innocent, did it?

But the words died on his lips before he could speak them when he thought back to the day that he and Ashlynn had escaped the Summer Villa after she killed Sir Kaefin. They were hunted by Sir Broll, a man she’d sworn to take revenge on for his part in burying her after Owain nearly killed her.

When Sir Broll and his soldiers finally caught them, Ashlynn hadn’t harmed a single one of the soldiers. Even when she’d lured them into Captain Lennart’s camp where the forces of the Vale of Mists outnumbered Sir Broll’s men by more than two to one, she still hadn’t commanded the slaughter of the soldiers who were following Sir Broll’s orders to capture her.

Instead, she’d taken them captive and given them a chance to build new lives in the Vale of Mists. A few of those men had even gone on to settle in Ollie’s village, allowing Marcel to bring their families into the Vale to start their new lives together.

But what had he done as soon as he saw the soldiers under Owain’s command charging at them? He’d given them the cruelest death he could imagine... and he’d taken pleasure in doing it. Moments later, the Inquisition had paid him back in kind, delivering an agonizing death wreathed in Holy Fire.

"But what am I supposed to do about Owain’s army?" Ollie asked. "I can’t challenge Owain to a duel the way you challenged Sir Broll to one. He would never accept it. And I can’t take on the Inquisition alone either. Innocent or not, they’re soldiers in a war, aren’t they? Do I really have to find a way to solve this without killing them to pass the trial?"

"Did I say that you couldn’t kill when you deemed it necessary?" Ashlynn asked, raising an eyebrow at the flame-haired youth. "If your cause is just and the war is necessary, some deaths are inevitable. On both sides," she added softly. "But if you examine your actions, ask yourself if you truly prioritized winning your war and protecting your people, or if you let the pursuit of vengeance get in the way of achieving your just objectives."

"I, I understand," Ollie said as he reconsidered everything he’d done. He’d become drunk on the power of the witchcraft Ashlynn had taught him and he charged into battle at the first opportunity, eager to pay back all of the pain and suffering he’d endured in the previous iterations of the trial. Ashlynn was right... He’d lost track of what was truly important and both he and his companions had died for his mistakes.

"Good that you do," Ashlynn said with a gentle smile. "Now that you understand, are you ready to accept that you have done your best in this trial? Can you live with what you have accomplished and what you have learned?"

"No," Ollie said, shaking his head stubbornly. "No. The only way I can succeed is if I take the fight to the enemy but this time, I need to keep a clear head. I can’t rush into things and I need to prepare a better trap. I understand what I’m up against now and I swear, I can do better next time."

"Are you sure, Ollie?" Ashlynn asked. "If you charge into battle and fail again, the pain you’ll suffer will be just as great, if not greater. And, no matter what you do, some of your companions are bound to die. In battles, victories where one side doesn’t suffer a single casualty are exceedingly rare. Are you willing go through all of that again?"

"I already failed to live up to my virtue of justice," Ollie said, standing up and dusting the grass off his armored gambeson. "If I run now, aren’t I failing to live up to the virtue of courage? Let me try again," he asked. "I promise, I’ll do better this time."

"As you wish," Ashlynn said, waving a hand and returning him once again to the beginning of the trial when the second sun appeared in the night sky. "But I wonder, Ollie," she said softly. "Is this courage? Or has it become stubbornness?"