Breaking Legacies

by Zoe Reed

“Should I prosper in this battle,” I began to recite, and her hands came up to set against the backs of mine, “gods, I ask of you: please forgive the lives I’ve taken, and let their spirits be at peace. May those they’ve loved not curse my soul, and their deaths not be in vain. But gods, if I should perish, I beg you much the same: forgive the one who shed my blood, and watch over those who’ve stayed. Please bring them joy someday without me, and may my death be worth their pain.”