Time for the last chapter in The Betrayal: Act II. I've loved working on this story, but I do think that, like The Betrayal: Act I, I made it too slow. My next stories will definitely come out faster. Anyway, this chapter is definitely one of my favorites in this story, along side the previous chapter, and chapter 4. This one is called "At Peace". I hope you like it. Here you go.
At Peace[]
I was sentenced to 2 years in prison. I knew that I got arrested for assaulting Alfred, but I wasn’t sure if killing Mark and Djura was factored into that, though it likely was.
My prison uniform consisted of white and black striped pants, an orange, long-sleeved shirt, black boots, black beanie, and black fingerless gloves. I was placed in a single-person cell with nothing but a bed and a bucket in it. I didn’t necessarily mind it, though, because I like keeping things simple.
I spent most of my time in prison reading this book I was given, which was written by a guy named Marcinko Vendrick, about some guy named Miltiades Blackheart, also known as the "Shadow Lord", who, judging by a drawing in the book, looked a lot like me. As my sentence carried on, I was given more and more books about things like hunters, beasts, kin, and fishmen, and learned a lot from them. I could almost call myself an expert on them. I would also do 40 push ups a day to stay in shape, sleep, and, most often, stare at the ceiling in my cell.
The food in the prison was horrible, and tasted like, as one of my fellow inmates put it, “shit on a shingle”. The only day we were given something good was Sunday, when we were given steak, grapes, bread, and tomatoes, which I didn’t mind at all.
Probably my least favorite part of being in prison was the lack of coffee. The only drinks they had were water and tea, neither of which I was ever a huge fan of. This led to me not drinking very much in prison, which wasn’t very good for my health. Sometimes, I would go an entire day without consuming any liquid.
Despite the terrible food and drink that was available to me, my two years in prison wasn’t all that eventful, except for two occasions.
The first out of the ordinary occasion was about halfway through my time in prison. It was a Sunday, and I was enjoying a good meal, when I looked up and saw Alfred. He appeared to have just been arrested. When he noticed me, I gestured for him to come over, which he did, and sat directly across the table from me.
“You’re the last person I was expecting to see here”, I said. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?”
“I killed a man”, he said. “I put my gun to his head, pulled the trigger, and now I’m here.”
“Not surprised”, I replied. “I see your arm is still in that sling.”
“I was told by the doctor that my arm would never recover”, he said. “I don’t believe in all that healing blood nonsense, so I will never be able use my arm again.”
“I’m sorry to hear that”, I said. “I couldn’t imagine not being able to use one of my limbs.”
“I’ve gotten a bit used to it”, he replied. “How’s life in this place?”
“Not great”, I answered. “I get out of here in a year, though. How long are you in here for?”
“I’ll be in here for 6 years”, he said. “I’m fine with that though. I hope this place will change me.”
“I’ve been to jail many times in the past”, I said. “It certainly helped me in my youth.”
“You know, Nathan, I don’t think this lifestyle suits you”, he said. “You seem like a smart guy. I think you’d make a good teacher.”
“I used to want to be a teacher”, I responded. “I guess I could give that a try.”
“Would you mind if I asked you how old you were?” he asked.
“I’m 27”, I answered. “I’ll be 28 by the time I’m out of year.”
“You’re young, man”, he said. “I would have expected you to be at least 30.”
“How old are you?” I asked.
“35”, he answered.
“Nice”, I said.
“Nathan, there’s something I have to tell you”, Alfred said as I was about to resume eating.
“Yes?” I asked.
“I’m sorry about Cynthia”, he said. “I never meant for that to happen. It’s been eating me up on the inside for over a year now. If you see him when you get out, will you tell Jason that I will spend the rest of my life making it up to him?”
“I will”, I said as I extended my hand to him. “Peace?”
He shook my hand. “Peace.”
The other out of the ordinary occasion happened two days before I was going to be released. It was early in the morning, and was still asleep when a guard woke me up and told me that I had two visitors. It was the mortician and his daughter. They both seemed happy to see me.
“Well, well, well”, I said upon seeing them. “You’re honestly the last people in the world I was expecting to visit me. Take a seat.” They sat down on my bed with me.
“Hello, Nathan”, the mortician said. “How are you?”
“I’m good, Mr. Gregor”, I replied. “That is your name isn’t it?”
“Yes it is”, he answered. “How did you know my name?”
“I read your book while I was in here”, I said. “It was pretty interesting.”
“Did you like it?” he asked.
“I’ve read worse”, I said.
“I never did tell you my name”, the mortician’s daughter said.
“No, you did not”, I said.
“It’s Katherine”, she said.
“Well, Katherine, it’s nice to officially meet you”, I said with a smile on my face.
“Well, Nathan”, Mr. Gregor said as he stood up. “We wanted to see how you were doing. We’ll see you when you get out of this place.”
“Take care, Nathan”, Katherine said.
Two days later, I gave my regards to Alfred, and was released from prison. I put back on the attire I was wearing when I was arrested, and walked the entire way home with my mask and my hood off, letting everyone see my face clearly.
When I got home, I went down to feed my beast pet, and, thankfully, she was not a pile of bones. He seemed happy to see me. I gave her a big chunk of venison, and saw a note that had been left for me. It was from Jason.
Nathan,
Just so you’re aware, I succeeded in killing those other two mercenaries. I hope you don’t mind, but I ended up hiding out in your place. It was pretty nice. I didn’t move anything around, and slept in the basement. By the time you’re reading this note, I will be out of Yharnam for a while. I’ll see you again, my friend. I promise.
Jason
P.S. I feel like you showing me your face strengthened our friendship.
I smiled as I left the basement, and entered my bedroom. It was exactly as I left it, except there was now dust everywhere. I took my mask out of my satchel, and set it down on the nightstand next to my bed.
Before I settled back in, I decided to go to the Fishing Hamlet and give Carmilla a visit. I had never properly thanked her for saving my life. As I left my house, I saw that Jason had made Cynthia a grave in my garden, which made me shed a single tear. I then got on my horse, which Jason appears to have kept well fed, and left for the Fishing Hamlet. As I was on my way there, I passed by Derrick’s farm, and saw that it had been burned to the ground. It was probably Jason who did it.
I made it to the Fishing Hamlet after a fairly long horse ride, and went up to Carmilla’s home. I knocked on the door, and she answered it after a few seconds. She smiled at me.
“Hello, Nathan”, she said. “Want to come in?”
“Of course”, I said. We both stepped inside, and both of Carmilla’s daughters looked at me. The younger one, Amelia, who I had shown my face, seemed happy to see me, while the older one, Christina, who hadn’t seen my face, seemed a bit spooked out, but that seemed to go away when I smiled at her. “Hello, girls. Good to see you.”
“Sit down if you’d like”, Carmilla said. I sat down at her dinner table. “How are you, Nathan?”
“I’m happy to be out of prison”, I said. “How have you three been?”
“We’ve been good”, Carmilla said. “Want to stay for supper?”
“Of course”, I said. “That’d be a good way to catch up.”
Carmilla made us some soup for dinner, and I told her all about my experience in prison. Christina and Amelia seemed very invested in what I was saying, which surprised me. Before I left, Carmilla told me that I was always welcome, and she kissed me on the burnt side of my face. I then went back home, fed my beast, and went to sleep.
The next day, I decided to take Alfred’s advice, and set up a school in my home. I set up a stand and some chairs in my living room, made some fliers, and hung them up around Yharnam. I decided to call my school “The Lancer’s Bloodborne Academy”. “The Lancer” came from a nickname Jason gave to me while he was drunk one time, and I chose the word “Bloodborne” cause I like the way the word sounds.
About a week later, I got four applications. The first one read:
The Lancer’s Bloodborne Academy
Application
Name: Daniel Robinson
Gender: Male
Age: 17
The second one read:
The Lancer’s Bloodborne Academy
Application
Name: Grace Keitel
Gender: Female
Age: 18
The third one read:
The Lancer’s Bloodborne Academy
Application
Name: Fredrick Johnston
Gender: Male
Age: 19
The fourth one read:
The Lancer’s Bloodborne Academy
Application
Name: Patrick Henry
Gender: Male
Age: 15
I was excited that someone was actually interested in my academy. I decided that I was going to teach my students what I had read while I was imprisoned, but make it as exaggerated as I could. I also decided to be as over-the-top and mean as I possibly could be. Finally, I decided to wear my mask, and promise my students that they wouldn’t see my face until the last lesson. I think my parents would be proud that I was finally going to do something aside from causing mischief.
End[]
Thank you for reading the last chapter of The Betrayal: Act II. There will be an epilogue, but it has nothing to do with the rest of this story, and will basically be an Easter Egg chapter. Tell me what you think in the comments. Have a good day.
I had promised my readers that, at the end of this story, I would reveal what Nathan looks and sounds like. Well, here you go: he looks like this gentleman, and sounds like him too. And if you want to know where his burns are, check this out.