The Broken Flame

“And so, he decided to follow Glistenia and the mobs and rule over them. He became the king of the mobs for 80,000 years. And… he’s been terrorizing people until he came here and made his deal to help me take care of Steve.” Celina could see some of her citizens nodding. The small kingdom had taken seats around the queen in various parts of the town square. Everyone had listened with great intent as their queen told the story of how Brine came to the kingdom, lost the fight between him and Celina, and showed her his story through his memories.

At first, many people had doubted the being, but Brine luckily had a way to show them his memories without having to go to each of the citizens and knights one by one. A small cloud formed above Celina and Brine almost seemed to project his memories upon it as she talked. With Brine’s memories showing what the queen told to be true, the people of Creatoria knew what she said wasn’t a lie.

As the last memory of Brine taking Glistenia’s hand faded, everyone looked at Celina, Steve, and the being they now knew as Brine. He looked absolutely exhausted from projecting his memories and having to see them once more. Most of the citizens were in tears, sniffling and wiping drops from their face after having seen the Demi-God’s loss. Even Irona was crying, and this was a very rare thing from her. 

Celina could hear Brine panting softly from the large use of his powers and she saw him swaying a bit in his sitting place. She carefully put a hand on his shoulder, using her other hand to wipe his tears. “Brine, sweetie? Are you okay? Do you need to go lie down?”

Brine shook his head a bit, even though he felt truly tired. “I’m--I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not, Brine,” Celina responded. “You’re panting and shaking. We should get you to a bed to rest, you need it, dear.”

Brine sighed softly. She was probably right. He was worn out to his very core and he felt like he just needed a good night’s sleep. He nodded to the queen. “I… I’m tired, Celina.”

She nodded back to him. “I can tell. C’mon, Brine, let’s get you some rest and we can answer more questions from everyone in the morning. If you’re okay with that, that is.”

“That’s fine,” he told her as she offered a hand to him. She helped him stand, but Brine staggered as he stood, almost falling down if Celina hadn’t caught him. She let her Demi-God of a friend lean against her and she turned to look at her subjects. “Brine needs rest,” she told them. “I’ll be taking him back to the castle to sleep, but he’s more than willing to answer questions when he’s had some rest, my people.” She looked to the setting sun. “You all should get inside as well, the sun will have set soon and mobs will be rising. Please, stay safe.”

The citizens gave small farewells to their queen, some even giving nice words to Brine as he gave a tired smile to them. Everyone began to make their way to their homes as Celina and Steve helped Brine get steady on his feet. He stumbled a bit, but was soon on his way to the castle with his friends’ help.

By the time they were through the castle doors, Brine was panting very loudly and even seemed to wheeze a bit. Celina could see the distress on his face, she knew he wouldn’t be able to get to the grand room from here in the throne room. A redstone torch went off in her head. “Steve, can you stay with Brine for a second?”

The miner nodded as Celina made her way to another door, the Nether Prince still leaning against him. When she came back, the queen plopped something onto the floor and Brine’s bed popped up. “There we go,” she said. “Now he won’t have to go so far to sleep.”

The queen and the miner helped Brine to his bed, with the Demi-God flopping onto it in a manner that was almost comical. He let out a soft yawn as the queen and the miner helped tuck him in and pull the bed sheets up to his chin. He smiled tiredly. “Thank you.”

Celina nodded. “It’s no trouble, Brine.” She placed a gentle kiss to his forehead. “You did good today, sweetie. I’m proud of you. You’ve changed a lot and you’ve made so much progress.”

Steve nodded in agreement. “Yeah, man. You’re slowly rebuilding your trust in humans and we’re proud of you. You did a good job today.”

Brine nodded and chuckled. “Thank you two. That… that means a lot for me to hear.” He yawned again.

Celina smiled. “Good night, Brine.”

“Sleep well, buddy,” Steve told him.

“Good night,” Brine answered. Within a few minutes, he was fast asleep, his breaths slow and soft and his body relaxed. 

Celina smiled from her spot and turned to look at Steve. “He’s changing… he’s changed a lot in such a short time. I’m really proud of how much progress he’s made so quickly.”

Steve nodded as he folded his arms across his chest. “Yeah… I’m proud of him too. He’s become someone much more human, and I can tell that the kingdom’s people trust your word now and his word. He’s probably gonna have a lot of people asking him questions tomorrow. I know he’s willing to answer them, but I don’t want him to get overwhelmed.”

Celina nodded. “I understand that. We’ll just have to stay by him to make sure he’s okay. He’s obviously not the most mentally stable person, but I know that, with our help and trust from my people, he’ll get better.”

The miner looked over at Brine again, seeing his chest gently rising and falling. “I think so too. He’s getting better, slowly but surely. But I know getting better is a process. I know that firsthand. We’ve just got to take it step by step with him.”

“True, very true.” Celina shifted a bit, before looking at a nearby table. “Well, I don’t know about you, Steve, but I’m pretty hungry. How about we eat something?”

Steve nodded in response. “I was thinking the same thing.”

*****

The next morning came a little too quickly for Brine, and the sunlight beaming through the window made him let out a small groan. He wanted to sleep for just a little more. He was still a little tired from yesterday, and his bed was just so comfy. However, he felt that it might be better if he gets up. With a small grunt, Brine pushed himself up from the bed and put his legs over the side. He sat up and stretched his arms above his head.

“Good morning, Brine.”

Brine turned towards the source of the words spoken to him, seeing Steve sitting up in his bed behind him. He smiled. “Good morning, Steve.”

“How do you feel today, dude?”

Brine chuckled. “Still a little tired, but much more rested than when I fell asleep.”

“That’s good,” Steve responded. He managed to stand from his place and began to walk towards a nearby table. The limp he had yesterday was gone, which was a good sign. Brine stood and followed Steve, looking over his form. The miner didn’t have any more bandages on his arms or face, but the Demi-god knew the human still had some bandages on the nearly closed wounds on his torso. However, having changed those wrappings, Brine knew his wounds were almost healed. Celina’s potion certainly worked miracles.

Speaking of the queen…

Celina pushed open one of the side doors to the throne room, once again dressed in her big puffy pink gown. She looked over to see Brine and Steve sitting at the table. “Good morning, boys!”

“Good morning, Celina,” Brine spoke. “Did you sleep well last night?”

“I did, thank you for asking.” She smiled and tilted her head. “Brine?”

“Yes?”

“Now that you’ve shared your story, and my people know they can trust you… they’re probably gonna ask a lot of questions. If you get overwhelmed at any point, please, let us know and we’ll stay by you, okay?”

Brine thought over her words for a moment, before nodding in response. “Thank you, Celina. You don’t know how much that means to me.”

Steve spoke to him. “Yeah, man, you mean a lot to us. We’re gonna take care of you.”

Brine smiled. “Thank you.”

*****

When the three had had breakfast and readied themselves, Celina pushed open the door to the throne room and stepped aside to let Brine and Steve through. As Brine made his way down the steps and onto the gravel streets, he noticed that most of Celina’s subjects were awake and out of their houses. A few turned their heads to look at the trio and Brine tensed a bit. He wasn’t used to being stared at anymore and he found himself feeling a little nervous.

“Herobrine?”

A voice came from behind the trio and they turned to see a few of the knights walking up to them, Matthew leading the group. Brine furrowed his brows, but softened his expression when they stopped and bowed to him. “There’s no need to bow, Matthew,” Brine told him.

“My apologies, Herobrine,” the knight spoke. “But someone who is of such importance to our queen deserves our respect.” He chuckled. “Though, I never thought I would be bowing to the Nether Prince himself.” He held out a hand to the Demi-God. “My apologies for our hostility to you yesterday. We didn’t realize how you had changed and how you have become someone important to Her Highness. We just… um…”

Brine held up a hand. “Apology accepted, Matthew. I understand your fear and I know why you did what you did. I’m just grateful that we’ve all come to an understanding.”

Celina smiled as she watched her friend converse with the knight. Brine looked genuinely content and that made her happy. She looked at Matthew. “Matthew, do you mind if Steve and I show Brine around? We’ll try to stop at the knight house while in the town square.”

The blonde knight nodded. “We don’t mind at all, Your Highness. Take your time.”

Celina nodded and the knights began to make their way back down the gravel street. She turned to look at Brine and Steve. “Looks like they’ve really had a change of heart about you, buddy.”

Brine beamed. “Seems so. And… I… I feel… happy. I feel like… I belong here.”

Steve put a hand on the Demi-God’s shoulder. “And you do, dude. You’ll always have a place here and we’ll always protect you. Now, how about we look around? You can talk to the other citizens while we do.”

“I’d like that.”

*****

By the time the sun had set, Celina and Steve had taken Brine through the small kingdom and had chatted with most of the subjects in the kingdom. They had mostly asked questions about his powers and his rule over the mobs and the Nether, trying not to touch on anything that might upset him. Brine truly respected them for respecting his feelings, and it showed just how much Celina’s kindness had affected them and changed some of them. Brine found himself smiling every time he met someone new, and he truly was happy talking to the subjects of his friend’s kingdom.

When the sun had almost set and everyone had retreated to their homes, Brine followed Celina and Steve back to the castle, back to the throne room. Brine helped Celina make dinner, and as the three ate the stew that had been made, Steve spoke up. “Brine… we’re proud of you. You’ve made a lot of progress since you came here, and you’ve really become a better person.”

Celina nodded in agreement. “Yeah, sweetie. You’re truly a good person now, and we’re proud of you.”

Brine felt a light blush dust his cheeks. “Thank you both. I’m happy to have found a place I belong once again, and I couldn’t ask for better friends. Thank you so much… for everything you’ve done for me.” He smiled softly. “You two make me feel safe, and I’m grateful for it. I feel like… I have a safe place once more. Thank you so much… for giving me a chance.”