The Ring

Twelve months ago.

That was the last time anyone had seen Chi, and the worry had turned into fear. Chi was the type of person to disappear for weeks on end, with only a vague description of where she was going given to those who asked before she left.

"Feita."

That was the last word she spoke to anyone who could remember, the near-abandoned village in the Southeast where the ruins of Lady El's Sanctuary lay. Her eyes had gleamed with the light of adventure and an insatiable desire for knowledge. The ruins were old and broken, dangerous, but that had only ever made her want to go more. She'd gone off alone so often, no one batted an eye when she left on her latest excursion, that is, until the rumors began...

"They say the Altar is haunted!"

"Have you heard the cries?"

"I could swear the ghost was calling for help..."

Something supernatural was going on there. Everyone knew of the Demon Lord, Berthe, who had made the Altar of Dedication into his own personal sanctuary; his enraged howls could be heard for miles across the land. The people of Feita began to speak of the panicked cries of lost souls floating down into the valley from Berthe's Bastille. The voice of a young woman growing weaker and weaker as time passed.

After the first month had passed since her departure, the standard worry set in over us. She normally wasn't gone for more than four weeks, and we were steadily approaching the five week point. We stayed on the lookout in our own travels, but as large as our family was, no one saw hide nor hair of her.

After two months came and went we were anxious, My wife, Kyubii, dragged me off to help look for her a bit, but all we could find were silly village rumors. We looked everywhere we could think of, Feita, Velder, even Bethma and a bit of Hamel. No sight of her anywhere.

Half a year went by and we still knew nothing. Some of us believed her to be dead, but others never gave up hope that she was living somewhere. We knew, of course, that if she were still alive, she would not be living in any sort of luxury; if she were, we would have heard from her. She was either captured or... dead.

At seven months we heard something that sprung hope and fear. People had begun to challenge Berthe once more, and the few who lived told stories. Stories of some sort of maiden, perhaps even Lady El herself, imprisoned at the peak of the Altar under Berthe's watchful eye. They told nothing of her but that she had dark hair and was surely alive. Could it possibly be her?

Nine months. My brother, Zylar, approached me with a plan: gather a team, storm the tower, save the maiden we hope and pray will be Chi. It wasn't exactly much of a plan, but we could work out the kinks later. We decided to seek out Candon, who had left months ago on his own journey to find his girlfriend, and enlist him in our rescue team. Unfortunately, that meant we had to find him... somehow.

Eleven months and we had a solid plan, but still no Candon. We were on our way to Velder when we finally found him laying out in a field being nibbled on by a blood eater. After being healed and told the plan he was ready to go save her right then and there, which was exactly what we needed. What we didn't need was a nosy pyromaniac who decided she would be a good asset to our little team... I mean, she was right of course, her fire against Berthe's ice would be the perfect counterattack, but we only had room in our rescue plan for three people.

Twelve months, the four of us, Zylar, Candon, Adelpha, and I were headed to the Altar of Dedication to save her. We all had new armor, new weapons, we were energized and ready to go. That day was the day we would save Chi.

Being an alchemist I should have remembered the Law of Equivalent Exchange.

The thing is, I am an alchemist, I make potions, it's what I do, I make bombs to kill, and potions to heal. And still, with all my training, all my preparation, I wasn't even prepared.

I watched, in slow motion, as the arrow flew past my face. I watched, in horror, as my brother dodged a strike from a Glitter Dasher, right into the arrow's path. I watched, terrified as the arrow stuck fast into his chest, just below his heart.

His armor must have shattered, but I didn't notice. I dove for him, my arms wrapping around his torso to keep him from hitting the ground. He stared blankly at the arrow, green and glowing, sticking up out of his chest, as though he couldn't quite understand how it happened.

Then he looked up at me, and apology in his eyes, as if he were about to say goodbye. As if he were about to leave and tell me he was sorry he couldn't have done better.

"Don't you leave me," I said through clenched teeth, applying pressure to the wound that was suddenly oozing blood where the poison arrow had disappeared, "Don't you dare leave me, you're too strong for that..." I could feel the tears prick the corners of my eyes, but all I could see was his face. "What about Yurushi? Are you just gonna leave her here alone? No, you gotta stay strong for her! Stay strong for your family... your Kingdom."

My voice cracked off and his mouth opened feebly, "I'm sorry... tell her I'm sorry... I just-" he broke off coughing, red spattering my face and armor where he coughed up his own blood. I shed a tear. "I just wanted to get her best friend back... I wanted... to show her how much-" another coughing fit, I grabbed his hand and held it in mine, shaking my head in denial.

"You can still show her how much you love her! You still can, you, me, and Candon, we'll march right back home with Chi and she'll be safe, and you'll be able to tell Yurushi you love her! You'll be there! You have to be!"

He closed his eyes and meekly shook his head, "Be strong for her, Taiho... Be strong where I couldn't be..." his eyes opened just barely and he gave me a shaky smile, "there's a ring... top drawer of my desk... can you give it to her?" He coughed again, weakly, I could see he was losing life fast.

"You can..." more tears fell, I held his hand to my chest, looking into his eyes and knowing this was his last request, " Of course-" the word cut off into a sob, "of course I will, Zy."

His smile was genuine if shaky as his eyes slipped closed a final time. "Zylar?" no response, he looked cold, "Zylar! Zy?" I let out a cry as I leaned over my older brother's dead body. "Zy, I can't do this without you! I can't be king! I can't save Chibi without you! I don't know what to do now... I... I can't..." all I could do was cry. I felt physically incapable of anything else. All that existed was his body and my grief until a hand fell lightly on my shoulder.

"Taiho... we have to get out of here, it's dangerous here..."

I felt more than heard her words, I knew we needed to get to safety, I knew that's what mattered most now, but I couldn't just leave him. What about Chi, what about revenge! They killed my brother! That could not go unpunished. I ground my teeth together, prepared to tell her that what we needed to do was fight on, but suddenly Zy's weight was lifted from my arms; I looked up to see Candon had picked him up and was carefully carrying his body. "Taiho, I want to stay too, I want to avenge your brother and save Chi, but it's not safe anymore. We need to leave... it's what Zylar would have wanted..."

I deflated at that, he was right of course, my brother would have wanted us safe. None of us would do any good dead... dead like him... and I had a promise to fulfill. I nodded hollowly and stood with Adelpha's help, and we made our way back through the carnage of the path we had already cleared.

The small Inn at the edge of Velder was quiet that night. Two sisters dwelled in silence in a room on the second floor. Yurushi's black hair was falling out of its tie, loose strands framing her blank face as she stared into her warm mug of magic herbal juice. Seinata approached the couch and sat quietly next to her, looking over at the western window towards the distant ruins of Feita.

First Chi, now Zylar goes and disappears on Yuru... what was he thinking disappearing in the middle of the night and leaving her alone like this? Without even a note... Seinata sighed and glanced over at her sister. "Hey, they'll come back, you know. Neither of them would just abandon you if they could help it. I'm sure Zylar just got a call from the Hamel troops and didn't want to wake you..."

Yurushi gently placed her mug on the table in front of her and rose to her feet, quietly sweeping out onto the balcony. Seinata sighed again, what was she to do? Her sister was hurt in the worst way, no one had seen her usual smile since Chi had left. But after Zylar disappeared, not even a twinge of the lips had crossed her face. She had fallen into a permanent state of melancholy. A gasp from the balcony drew her out of her thoughts and suddenly Yurushi streaked through the room and out the door. Seinata leapt after her, racing after her sister, but stopped abruptly when she saw what Yurushi undoubtedly had.

Off in the distance, moving slowly closer what a spot of Hamel blue, the standard color of Hamel's Royal Military. The color that Zylar always wore.

Yurushi stopped suddenly, slowly dropping to her knees, Seinata approached her back and heard her utter denials under her breath, her fingers tightening into her skirt. Ahead, the blue shape became more clear... or shapes to be more specific. One of the Guadalupe brothers, probably Taiho from the looks of him, was carrying a body in his arms. Spiky blonde hair held gingerly against his chest, an arm falling limp from a loose shoulder. The closer Taiho got, the louder Yurushi's denials grew.

And then Taiho was there, laying Zylar's body at Yurushi's knees. Yurushi's arms flew toward him, her hands clutching tightly to his shirt, her tears wetting his bloodstained shirt. "No... no, Zy, my love, Zy, you can't leave me... you can't be gone... no, no, no."

Seinata stared in shock at what once would have been the king of Hamel, what once would have become her brother. She tore her face away to Taiho, eyes demanding an explanation, only then noticing his own face was stained with blood and tears.

Taiho cleared his throat, his eyes never leaving his brother's lifeless body and her sister clinging so desperately to him, before he spoke with a hoarse voice, "He... he died a hero." He swallowed thickly, "He lead us to The Altar of Dedication... he wanted to save Chi... He wanted-" he choked back a sob, "He wanted to save her for you, he wanted to show you how much he loved you..."

Her cries grew frantic as she clung to her lifeless lover, the words less discernible as the sobs shook her slight frame. Seinata crouched behind her sister, reaching out to lay a gloved hand on her shoulder, but hesitating with her fingers inches from Yurushi's white robe. Her head dropped to the ground, uncertain how to comfort her grieving sister.

Yurushi's shoulders sagged, her forehead still pressed into his lifeless chest. "Please, my love, you left us too soon" her knuckles grew white as she tightened her grip, as though she would be able to bring him back if she only held tight enough. Her broken words were quiet, barely audible to even Seinata from her low position behind the mourning woman. "I wanted to tell you... I- we... we need you." Her right hand moved shakily to rest on her stomach as her tears mixed with Zylar's blood, her shoulders shook as she cried out,"I can't do this without you!"

Seinata's eyes widened and her gaze darted from Yurushi to Zylar, finally resting on Taiho. His face drained of color as he stared at the hand resting on Yuru's stomach.

"Thank you." she spoke, almost too quiet to hear. Her head raised slowly, her arms pulling his body close to her. She looked Taiho in the eye, "Thank you for bringing him back to me... and..." she closed her eyes and turned her head away as she shed another tear, "And for trying to save her..."

Taiho shook himself from his shock and nodded solemnly. "Are you..." he glanced from her face to Zylar's and then to her right hand in question.

Yurushi nodded slowly, "I found out after he left... I wanted to tell him... I wanted to be a family..." tears fell freely down her cheeks, leaving pale streaks in Zylar's blood.

Taiho's hands clenched into fists and he knelt down to lay a hand on Yurushi's on Zylar's chest. "He wanted to be a family too. I made a promise that I'd take care of you, and I intend to keep that promise. I will help you in whatever way I can. Nothing was more precious to Zylar than you, I just know he would have been ecstatic to know about this." He dug in his pocket for a moment, "His last request... He wanted you to know how much he loves you. He wanted me to give you this." He held out a small velvet box to Yurushi. Her eyes trained themselves on the box, as if trying to see through the tears, before she lifted the hand from her stomach to take the box from him. Slowly, she opened it to find a white gold ring with a royal blue stone. Gingerly, she lay Zylar's head in her lap so she could use her other hand to pull the ring from the box.

"Zy..." her voice broke; she looked once more to Taiho, eyes shining with tears.

"He loved you, you know. He wanted to love you forever..." He explained, "He wanted to spend his life with you."

"He wanted..." She looked down at her dead lover. "I wanted that too... I still do. I do." She slipped the ring on her finger and laid a kiss on his forehead. "I do."

The flames burned high and bright; it was a small funeral for a great man, a meaningful ceremony for a king and husband to be. Netana watched as Yurushi approached the pyre and threw a blue rose into the flames as a shooting star crossed the sky. She stared into the flames for a moment before hollowly walking away. But instead of returning to her seat, she walked past the other grievers out towards the cliff a ways away from the ceremony.

Netana rose to follow her, ignoring the curious glances the two got from the people they passed. She approached Yurushi from behind and stood beside her looking out over the water towards Zylar's home. Yurushi fiddled with the ring on her finger before speaking lowly, just loud enough for Tana to process, "What's the point now?" she muttered. "I can't raise a child on my own. Chibi's probably dead, just like Zy... So what's the point? Why bother going on if everyone I love dies? If this is love then I don't want it. I don't want these feelings anymore..." She turned her head to look at Tana, "What's it like to not be burdened with emotions? Is it easier?"

The sound of her slap rung through the empty night. Yurushi's eyes were wide as her hand rested on her stinging cheek. Tana's face was blank as usual but she felt something abnormal in her internal processes. "No." She spoke clearly, gaze holding on Yurushi. "I don't have emotions now, but that doesn't mean I never have. I remember feeling love. I remember sadness, pain, loss, fear. But I also remember that no matter what I felt, someone was always there for me . You are not different, you are not alone in this. You have your family, you have your friends, you have me as well. All these people who love and support you. Do you not love them as well? Do you not experience joy in their presence? Would you make them suffer a loss as you believe you have?"

Yurushi turned back to the sea, fiddling with the ring on her finger again. "You're right, I'm selfish... I just... I thought I'd always have him there with me, beside me. I wanted it to be him to put this ring on my finger, I wanted him to be there for our child. But... well, I guess I can't ask for more. He died a hero for me, saving her for me... or trying to." She glanced at Tana, "Could I really ask for more?"

Tana placed her hand on Yurushi's shoulder in an effort to comfort her, and Yurushi threw herself around Tana and hugged her close, "Thank you, Tana. I'm sorry I acted so selfish. I would never throw what I have away. You, my sisters, my friends, my child, you're all so important to me." she said, then stepped back and looked into Tana's eyes. "But," she went on, "Healing is not so easy. I've lost my true love, a hurt like that doesn't disappear so easily."

Netana looked into her eyes. "I think I can understand. I would feel... incomplete if I lost Jasper. He claims it is love and I believe him, the data states that he has no reason to lie."

Yurushi smiled sadly and nodded, "If I heal... it will take a while. Can I trust you to be there for me until then?"

Tana nodded. "I would not abandon such a loyal friend."

Fin

In order of appearance
Taiho: Tactical Trooper
Chi: Yama Raja
Kyubii: Asura
Zylar: Deadly Chaser
Candon: Tactical Trooper
Adelpha: Blazing Heart
Yurushi: Sakra Devanam
Seinata: Yama Raja
Netana: Code: Battle Seraph
Jasper: Lunatic Psyker