Synopsis : The Phantom and Jedda have a little talk. Set just before the end of "The ghost walks again".
Disclaimer: these characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this fic.
A little talk
The door of the Skull Copter was slapped. Now the Phantom and his daughter were leaving this island. This had been a hard day with, well, everything, and Jedda was amazed by the way her father looked calm and composed. She had always admired his ability to keep his composure in any situation but this was really beyond belief. He had nearly died today, after all!
"Did you take the oath?" he asked matter-of-factly.
Oh yes, the famous Skull Oath, the oath that bound all members of the Phantom Dynasty to their destiny as soon as they took it. How could she have forgotten?
"I didn't. Protecting these people was my priority and I didn't take the time. Sorry."
"Don't be sorry. You did the right thing. Protecting people in time need is our priority."
He had said our priority as if she still was the Phantom. This was weird and she suddenly felt pleasantly older.
"Let me take the commands", she suggested. "You had a hard day."
"You had a hard day, sweetheart. Do people know?"
She nodded.
"Flash, Mandrake and Lothar, at Monitor. They must be waiting for us. I mean, for me. They still believe…"
The young girl suddenly realized that tears were running down her face. This was neither sadness, nor anger; she was eventually cracking. The Phantom didn't comment this sudden flow of tears. He turned on the automatic pilot and embraced her daughter, and she buried her head onto his shoulder, feeling more ashamed than anything else. She was so emotional. How could she hope to succeed her father one day if she still acted like a cry-baby?
"You're still young, Jedda", he said with his whispering voice. "You still have to learn. You need rest now. That's normal."
"I… I believed I had… lost you. Forever!"
He leaned back and pushed back a wisp of her hair.
"You know", he whispered, "I wonder if you really realise how proud of you I am."
She flinched. Her father was not the kind of person who complimented other people on a whim. She didn't remember him ever saying that he was proud of her, even though she suspected he was. When you grow up with a taciturn parent, you have to learn to guess how he/she feels about you, and Jedda had grown pretty good at reading people. This was really unexpected.
"You…" she whispered.
"Most people would have run away in that situation, Jedda. You didn't. You confronted the problem and you did well."
"I had to", she said, wiping her eyes. "Duty."
He kissed her forehead and went back to the commands. She patted Kitha's head and thought about. Duty. Yes, she had to do this. But she didn't regret anything and now she felt stronger.
"I can't wait to be back to Monitor", she finally said.
The end…