Alternate Ending and Outtakes
Camila walked down the hallway away from the underground amphitheater, wiping her face. Having said her goodbyes to her two best friends, she now did her best to keep her breathing even and seemingly willed the tears back into her eyes. As she approached the elevator she saw two of her sisters stepping out. Yasmine had returned with help.
“Yasmine, Dora. Thank you both.” She kept her voice even, carefully controlled. “We’re going to be waiting here for a few minutes. Dora, I don’t know what…”
“Waiting here?” asked Yasmine, urgency and confusion prevalent in her voice.
“Yes,” replied Camila, looking at her briefly and then continuing on as if she wasn’t interrupted. “Reya is dead. Ava and Beatrice worked together to destroy her…”
“I went to get help!” exclaimed Yasmine. “Why are we just standing here?”
Camila looked at her softly but kept her voice in her best business tone. “Beatrice has too many injuries. There’s nothing that can be done for her anymore. Ava’s wound was caused by a divinium knife, she will bleed out internally long before the Halo reactivates. No matter how much we try and help, there is nothing to be done.
“Has? Will?” asked Dora, her voice shaking. “They’re still alive in there.”
Camila averted her eyes to the floor. “Not for much longer,” she said quietly, “and Lilith is already dead. We’re going to wait here to give them some time to die in peace. Together.” In all of the years to come, Camila will look back on this statement and wonder how she was able to get through it without her voice breaking.
Dora hesitated and looked down as if she felt ashamed asking the question that she was duty bound to ask. “Where’s the Halo?”
Camila held it up in her hand.
Ava was laying half on top of Bea in the same position she was in when she handed Camila the Halo. Her cheek rested on Bea’s shoulder as she stared into the eyes of the woman she loved. Bea had moved her good hand and placed it on Ava’s face, the one place she could still feel anything, her trembling thumb caressing her cheek.
“Hi,” said Ava with a watery smile.
“Hi,” responded Bea, smiling back, her voice no more than a whisper. “You’re back!” she said, bringing up memories of Ava waking up under a pine tree in a pile of snow in Switzerland.
Ava paused for a moment as she remembered their reunion. “Fuck, I can’t move,” she replied. Both women broke out into soft laughter at the joke, tears streaming down their faces. Bea’s laughter caused a close-mouthed cough as blood dribbled out onto her own cheek. She wiped it away slowly.
Chocolate mixed with amber in the space between them as they gazed into each other’s eyes. “I love you, Ava, and I’m so sorry we couldn’t have more.”
“I love you too, Bea,” Ava replied simply. “There’s nothing to apologize for. We don’t need a happy ending to have had a happy life, right?” She smiled. “And as short as it was, I can’t imagine anyone could have been happier than I was with you—except for you being getting to be with me, of course.” Bea sniffed at her joke, unable to respond. Her breathing was getting shallow. It wouldn’t be long.
The smile left Ava’s face for a moment as her eyes continued to glisten. “Bea,” she said softly, voice breaking, “I want to go home.”
Bea gave her a small smile and continued to gently stroke her cheek. “We are home, as long as we’re together.”
Ava chuckled and smiled one more time. “They can’t beat us, Bea. Not together.”
“I know that.”
Chocolate mixed with amber in the space between them as the amber started to fade. Ava watched and listened as the beautiful brown of Bea’s eyes faded to black as she let out her last breath.
Tears streamed down her face. “Goodbye, Bea.”
Ava closed her eyes and listened to the sound of her own breathing.
Inhale…
Exhale…
Inhale…
Exhale…
Camila would later describe the scene as the most beautiful thing she had ever witnessed in her life. Ava, asleep, resting her head on Bea’s shoulder while Bea kept watch over her. As they had been in this life, so they went into the next. Camila had surprisingly managed not to cry.
When she gave her report to Mother Superion, she watched as the older woman broke down, mourning the loss of two of her favorite daughters, as well as her prodigal one. Camila had still managed not to cry.
As the new Warrior Nun, Camila felt it was her duty to lead her sister warriors with decorum and confidence, the way Beatrice would have done. She needed to stay strong for her sisters.
Lilith’s funeral would almost break her but still Camila had managed not to cry.
The morning of Ava and Bea’s funeral, Mother Superion thought a joint ceremony was only appropriate, Camila joined her sisters at the church. Expecting to see the two separate portraits of each woman, as was the tradition at the OCS, Camila received a shock that would finally break her. Instead of one portrait for Ava and another for Beatrice, she saw one picture of the two of them.
Bea was sitting up on the ground, holding Ava in her lap as she tried to get away. Both women were laughing hysterically, their faces relaxed and bright, completely unaware that the picture had been taken. Camila knew that they had been sparring. She knew that Bea had taken down Ava. She knew that the reason Ava was trying so hard to get away was that Bea had started tickling her mercilessly. She knew that a moment later, Ava would turn the tables on Bea and would be tickling her back. Camila knew all of this because she had taken the picture.
Camila finally broke. She began hyperventilating as the tears came. She collapsed to the floor screaming her agony out to the world. Yasmine and Dora were there immediately. They both held her crouched on the floor and cried with her. Sisters Eileen and Rosemary were there almost immediately after and soon the other sisters of the order all joined them.
In case you're wondering the scene at the end of Chapter 11 was written solely for the picture at their funeral (the picture came first). There's some filler here that I haven't written. Basically Camila reads Bea and Ava's entries into the Warrior Nun Journal (I think it was Chapter 9 that I mentioned they were going to do it). I never wrote those entries (and I probably won’t). But her reading that leads into this next part.
“Those two women,” said Camila fiercely, “my sisters, my best friends, gave everything they were and everything they ever had to save the world—twice! And no one will ever know!”
“That is the way it must be,” replied Mother Superion sadly. “The way it has always been for every Warrior Nun.”
“They’ve done more together than every other Warrior Nun combined!” responded Camila. “They deserve to be remembered, at least by the people who loved them!”
“And who is that?” asked Mother Superion. “We were their family.”
“Not their only one. This was not the only place that Ava and Bea called home. I am going. I will be back in two weeks.”
Hans was cleaning in the back when she walked into the building. It was shortly before lunch and the place was empty when she took a seat at the bar. He had just come around the corner when he was startled by a pretty young woman with dark curly hair smiling at him.
“Hello,” he greeted.
“Hello,” she responded, smiling. Her face was young, but her eyes told a story of someone who should have been far older than they looked. “Is this Bar Le Vasseur?”
“Ja,” he replied.
“And are you Hans?” she asked.
“Ja,” he said more slowly this time, wondering how this woman could possibly know him.
She sighed; a look of relief on her face was briefly replaced by a sad smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
“Hello,” she repeated. “My name is Sister Camila. I am a nun of the Order of the Cruciform Sword; and I would like to tell you a story…”
There you have it—the ending that almost was. I don’t want to leave you all on a sad note so I’ve added a blooper reel as it were. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 3 – Ava and the Tarask
Ava found one of the giants that was off by itself—she was bored, not crazy. Sneaking up behind it as close as she dared, she called upon as much power from the Halo as she could and sent a blast at the creature.
Then she ran. Energized by the Halo, and her own fears of being chased by an angry Tarask, she sprinted away in the opposite direction. She circled a building and looked back to see the havoc she had wrought.
It didn’t follow her. It had not even turned around. She stalked back over to it and tried again and again. It turned back towards her and stared at her, a bored look on its face, before turning away again. She was about to attack it again when a burst of flame and noxious gas erupted out of its backside, launching her across the city and into the side of a building. She shook her head as she stood, the air around her smelled of fire and brimstone.
Chapter 13 – Mother Superion and the Halo
It was Mother Superion who had spoken to the pair first. She kneeled down so that she was face to face with Ava and looked carefully at the Halo in the young woman’s hand. Noticing Bea’s stance, she saw that the young woman had not placed herself properly.
“Yoink!” she yelled as she grabbed the Halo from Ava’s lap and turned and ran out of the room leaving Ava, Bea and the rest of them speechless.
“What the fuck just happened?” Ava asked.
A moment later Mother Superion returned to the room laughing hysterically. “You should see the looks on your faces!” she wheezed. “But no, really, could you even imagine?” She tossed the Halo back onto Ava’s lap.
Chapter 8 – Bea and Dora
“Sister Dora!” The two women hurried together in a quick embrace. “It’s wonderful to see you!” said Beatrice. While the two women didn’t really have the time to become close, Beatrice would never forget how the other woman had saved her life. In what little time they had to get to know each other, they had bonded over their shared marshal prowess.
“I heard you and Ava were back,” said Dora, as they separated.
“Yes,” replied Beatrice. “Only a few hours now.”
Dora looked around quickly as if searching for the young woman. “Where is she?” she asked with a confused smile. “From the things I’ve heard I’m surprised you’d let her out of your sight.”
“Yes, well—I needed a moment. As I’m sure you remember Ava likes to hide things under the guise of ‘protecting those she loves.’” Beatrice let out a sigh and then looked at Dora apologetically. “I’m sorry I can’t really tell you much more, at least not until Mother Superion updates you.”
“Well fuck you then,” said Dora and she turned and walked away.
Chapter 21 – Ava and Bea on the ferry
Bea laughed a little mirthlessly as she shook her head. “Hearing about your past sexual experiences is not exactly a turn on for me.”
“Experience, Bea—singular.”
“Not any better.”
Ava sighed. “I’m sorry. Really. I shouldn’t have said anything. Please don’t put your clothes back on, Beebs.”
Her puppy-dog eyes and the use of the new nickname seemed to do it. Bea grinned at her and laughed. “You are ridiculous,” she said as she leaned back into Ava’s neck.
“I am,” Ava agreed and thinking she still needed to make it better she continued. “And you know, it didn’t really mean anything to me—not like—with…” Bea pulled back again and stared at her. There was no amused expression this time. “I’m sorry,” said Ava immediately. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. My mouth really seems to want to get me in trouble.”
Bea smiled sweetly at her. “Come with me. I want to show you something.” She buttoned up her shirt and led Ava out of the bathroom.
“What do you want to show me?”
“Come on!” she answered excitedly. She brought Ava to the railing on the ferry’s side deck. “Look over there,” she instructed brightly.
Ava smiled at her and leaned on the railing. “What am I looking at?”
She screamed as Bea grabbed her by the legs and upended her over the side of the boat and into the water.
Chapter 25 – Camila and Bea
“You’ll have to do better than that, Cam,” Bea taunted her as the nun regained her breath. Blood was flowing down her leg now, causing her pants to stick. The floor was becoming slick.
Camila leered at her with a malevolent smile. “Taunting, Beatrice? Are you suddenly worried about me? Prissy little Camila is a threat to the badass sister warrior?”
“What is happening, Camila?” asked Bea. She could feel the beads of cold sweat running down her face as for the first time she noticed the sound of a Halo blast from outside. “Why are you doing—whoa!” She slipped on the blood and fell to the floor.
Camila burst out laughing and in her giggles missed her footing and slipped on the bloody floor as well.
“Oof!”
Both women were laughing hysterically as Bea made to get up. She slipped again and giving it up laid down flat on her back.
“I cannot work like this!”