Morning came with Astrid and I waking up very early. We were half expecting the guards to rush into Genevieve's house and arrest us then and there, but instead they just left someone in front of her house to make sure we were not going to run. And once we did leave, the man just asked us to accompany him so we could find Genevieve, who was in charge of the interrogation.
Everything ended up being much smoother than expected. Pamela had woken up first and she was able to talk about not just her experience crossing the lake but the bits and pieces that she was able to witness after being poisoned by the matriarch. In reality, the woman wasn't completely out of it during the fight. She was half conscious and saw some images as if she was having a delirious fever. But between her testimony, Michael's and ours, it was pretty hard to believe the matriarch was innocent.
By the time the interrogation was going on, they still had yet to confirm the existence of the giant crab. But once the people they sent to check on the body came back, there was no more doubt. The body of the Flathead Emperor was still there, even if some of the worms and other vermin were already trying to take over. Those who went to check were even able to gather a considerable amount of meat to bring to the village. They might be dealing with a very big problem now, but than didn't meant they couldn't use the meat.
Amelia also didn't try to hide and admitted the whole truth. She had indeed been feeding people to the Flathead Emperor for a number of years already. She always targeted travelers, or those who didn't have any family to speak up. That way, when they were gone, they wouldn't have to worry about someone looking for them. She admitted that to everyone, as the interrogation of the matriarch was a public event.
Astrid, Michael, Pamela and I were all watching together with a few of the villagers, who were also disturbed by the revelations.
"But I watched you talk to my sister after the festival. How did you do that? It wasn't anyone else I'm sure of that," Pamela said.
"It was a blessing from the Emperor," the matriarch replied, "When he feasted upon someone, he left behind a small group of eggs that would hatch in the form of whoever he ate. Those crabs would exist in that body and follow my commands for a couple days and then return to the lake. I honestly don't know if they were just being devoured by the Emperor again or if they were his children still growing in the water."
"But then why? Why my sister not me? Why did you leave me behind?"
"It was a mistake. My intention was to have both of you become brides to the lake. But the cloth ripped as I was picking it up and I couldn't find a way to make it seem natural that I made a mistake. And considering that your sister's name was the one in my hands, I figured it was better to not stir the pot. After all, it's not like you were going to do anything about her going missing."
Pamela punched the Matriarch on her face, causing a few of the guards to jump in front of them and pull the woman back.
"Fuck you! You killed my sister. I'll gut you, you bitch," Pamela continued to yell as she was pulled away from Amelia.
Yet the Matriarch just chuckled. "No, you won't, and even if you do, it doesn't matter anymore. We are all dead already. Living corpses walking amongst the houses. All the years, all my hard work for nothing," she just shook her head, clearly dejected.
Pamela screamed and tried to break free, but the guards continued to hold her tightly. Michael stepped in and looked into the woman's eyes.
"Stop that. You're better than her. I get that you're angry and that you're full of rage, but killing her won't bring your sister back. And at least now you know she didn't abandon you. She was just the victim of a horrible person."
Pamela stared at Michael, tears trying to swell up in her eyes. "But what am I supposed to do now?"
"Live," Astrid replied.
Michael nodded, "You need to live in whatever way you find that is worth living. You may try to do whatever you want, but the one thing you can't let happen is to let the memory of your sister force you underground, pull you to a hole that you can never leave. I'm sure that's not what she would want. So, you put all of this behind you and move on."
Halfway through that small speech from Michael, Pamela started to cry. The tears dripping from her face. "I didn't even get to bury her," she said in a weak voice.
"I don't think there's anything we can do about that, but if you want, we can have a small ceremony for her and for everybody who was killed by the matriarch," Genvieve replied.
The woman scoffed. "I didn't kill anyone."
And this time, I was the one who punched her. Knocking a few teeth with the strength behind the blow, even if it wasn't my intention. "Sorry, my arm gets twitchy when I hear bullshit," I told the guards, not even bothering looking towards Amelia.
There was another discussion, and the guards decided to take the matriarch away. They were still not done with her, but the decision about what would happen to her was still something they were struggling with. People started to disperse and the rumors about what had just happened would quickly spread. And just a couple of hours, the entire village would be aware of the matriarch's confession and the price they were paying in order to live near the lake. Then again, this wasn't something they had to worry about anymore. With Emperor Flathead dead, there was no creature for them to sacrifice people to.
Once the crowd had dispersed, Genevieve approached us with a weary expression. It was pretty obvious she hadn't slept since we came back.
"What's going to happen to her now?" Michael asked.
Genevieve just sighed. "I don't know. Some of us think we should exile her, a couple think we should just kill her, but the majority is talking about imprisonment."
"You're going to put her in jail? For how long?" I asked. That sounded like a stupid idea. They would not just be wasting resources to keep her alive and healthy, but also have to deal with that woman trying to manipulate anyone who approached her.
"Despite everything she did, Amelia was our leader for a very long time. And she did a good job at it, sacrifices aside. So the argument is that if we keep her stuck in her house or something, we can still use her knowledge to make sure we can handle what's to come."
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, because leaving the person who hurt you alive never came back to bite you in the ass."
Genevieve just shrugged, not really having an answer to what I just said. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, she changed the subject.
"But either way, we would love to have you, Cassandra and Astrid, living here with us. I know things might have been a little rocky, but since the two of you discovered what the matriarch was up to, I'm sure you'll be able to help us in the future. We can even try to—"
I cut her off. "Yeah, no, we're not staying here. At least I'm not. You can ask Astrid," I turned to the Frosted Lumberjack who shook her head, "Ok, neither of us is going to be living in a place that sacrifices people and that tried to sacrifice us. I mean, technically, it was Michael, but I was there and the matriarch and did push that monster to kill us, so it counts."
Genevieve nodded. "Yeah, I kind of figured, but people asked me to try to make you two stay. Still, the offer stands." She turned to Michael and Pamela. "And to the two of you as well. In the name of the village I'd like to apologize for what happened and what the matriarch did, but if you still want, you have a home here."
Pamela shook her head. "I'm not going to stay in a place that killed my sister."
Michael nodded. "I have to agree with her. The festival was great and you're all awesome but I think I draw a line when somebody tries to make me crab food, you know?"
Genevieve just nodded, a bit dejected. "Can't really blame you for that one. "
Michael shrugged, "Yeah, that's a hard thing to come back from."
The Hawaiian was doing surprisingly well. Then again, this was the first day he had the System, meaning that he was probably still basking in the idea of new skills and having magic powers. Genevieve thanked us once more and left. Now in this small area where the matriarch had just been interrogated there were only a handful of people, none of which were actually talking to us.
After a while, with the four of us just standing there, Michael turned towards me. "So we had a conversation before all of this and I kind of wanted to go back to it. What do you feel about having a new travel companion for a while? I'm really wanting to see the ocean." He frowned, "As strange as that sounds." He added.
I chuckled, "I guess a life or death experience does make us more intense about our goals. But I don't know." I turned to Astrid, who nodded with a smile. "You know that's fine. One more person wouldn't be much of a problem."
"Great," the Hawaiian man smiled. "Give me just a few minutes so I can pick up my things. I have to pack. Do I pack light or do I take everything? I'll figure out. Hang on." He rushed off like a kid who had just gotten a birthday present.
"Can I come too?" Pamela asked. "I really don't want to be here anymore."
I turned to Astrid, but this time she just gave me a weak shrug. Honestly, the idea of Pamela coming along didn't really spark joy, as Pops used to say. But at the same time leaving her here stuck in this village felt a bit too cruel. This was the place that killed her sister and the place that tried to kill her. To make matters worse, by what Genevieve was saying, they would keep Amelia alive for a very long time. Forcing someone to live here after all that was too much like torture.
"You know what, fine. I might be able to take you to another village or something."
The girl frowned. "Why are you saying that? Michael gets to tag along for how much he wants, doesn't he?"
"Yes. Because he saved our lives during the fight. So I trust him and he gets a bit more of a leeway. You were unconscious."
"But that wasn't my fault!" Pamela protested.
"I agree with that. But it also means we didn't have a chance to know you better and see if we can trust you to have our backs. I did help you, but I'm not a hero or something like that. I'm just trying to survive and if you don't bring anything to the table, I don't feel comfortable having you tag along," I explained.
Even then, Pamela was still looking at me as if I had offended her somehow.
"Fine. But I'm going to prove to you that I'm a good travel companion," the girl huffed and walked out while stomping her feet.
I gave it a pause for her to be far enough away and sighed, turning to Astrid, "We're going to regret this aren't we?"
"You are. Don't like her."
I squinted. "But you like Michael, don't you? I've seen you looking at him."
Astrid scratched her cheek. "Maybe."
"Okay then. Let's at least get some food before we go. Maybe I'll eat some crab meat. I don't know if that's good for breakfast, but I do want to try. Besides, we killed the thing, might as well get our effort's worth from it."
"Michael too. Get skills."
"That's fair. He can get some skills. Also, try not to talk about the System in front of Pamela. Still don't know if I'm willing to give it to her." Astrid nodded as we were walking towards the group handling the incoming crab meat. Even if our journey might have some bumps, we would at least have a really nice meal before leaving.