He talks often of their travels. How each of them met Elsword and travelled around the world, seeing places and meeting people he never thought he would, saving kingdoms from peril and redeeming his name. Everyone who hated and despised him grew to respect him, understanding his viewpoint of the world. She strokes his greyed hair, knowing that his tales are more of wishful thinking and unfulfilled dreams than their actual past, but still asks, "And then? What happened next, my love?"
"Why, then we charged and felled the demons in ferocious combat, with our armies victorious. Hamel owed us a great debt that day, and called us heroes."
Her eyes are bright as she nods. "Yes, it was a triumphant evening, indeed."
Golden eyes look up to her green ones in admiration. She tries not to look at his wrinkles, which seem to grow deeper all the time. "You were especially radiant. Like a raging windstorm, so deadly yet graceful. Even now."
She has to blink back, hard. It's difficult, but she manages a grin. "But you were the one who took out a legion of monsters single-handedly! Tell me about it, my love."
He always smiles whenever she says that.
"Rena?" He calls out, frowning downwards.
She flutters down, steadying him immediately. "Nae Sarang, what ails you?"
He smiles a bit, the elven language somewhat soothing him. "Why...is my arm not working? Not even a tiny flame will come out."
She touches his shoulder gently. "The nuclear flame source needs to be replaced, remember?"
"I see...but there are no sources near here. Can we visit Chief Adel? Maybe Amos and Agatha might know a substitute power source, or a replacement!"
"I already sent a message with a passing carriage just now, love." She has said that so many times that she almost believes it herself. "It is far, but if my letter makes it, they will help us for sure."
Just like all the times before, he believes it. His face relaxes into a soft smile. "I am grateful, my love. Soon I will be able to protect you once more."
Later, she drops off an envelope, containing a premium flower order, to the Cobo Services Convoy, headed for what was once called 'Altera'. Eve is the only one still there, so she would know where their mammalian bipedal friends were. Eve would know where to put the flowers.
At least, that is what Rena hopes.
She hasn't forgotten for the past twenty years.
When he is not troubled by his arm's incapacity, he occasionally forgets he is no longer in the mercenary guild, and wants to practice. She used to indulge him, but her eyes are ever watchful for the slightest falter, or the collapsing of knees. She stopped playing along when he could no longer lift his blade, which left him in tears of frustration.
She tries to assure him, saying that he is much renowned by his knowledge and experience alone. What good was it to engage in further chaos and bloodshed?
"But how...then how am I supposed to protect you!" He had rued in frustration.
Now, when he still thinks he is Raven, Leader of the Black Crows, she takes out his armour and his shield, and together they discuss battle strategies in laying fictional castles on siege or wiping out Glitters with minimum casualties. The conversations never cease as he cleans his gear, even as she knows he'll never wear them again for true combat. But it doesn't matter.
To her, he never stopped being her Veteran Commander.
XX
She remembers his proposal. Elves—or at least, those of her kind—had no marriage. Those who shared a strong bond could mate, but matings seldom lasted more than a few centuries, millennia at best. Having lives that spanned centuries or millennia allowed her kind to interact freely amongst each other. For them, life was too long to induce solemn pledges of eternity.
"Marry you?" She had repeated quizzically, frowning. "I do not understand. We don't...I mean we've never..."
He had understood. "So you'll be the first. Like you're the first to accept us humans as equals."
"Then what would I have to do?" She knew the concept of marriage, the union of two humans, but one could only know so much in theory.
"Just stay with me forever." Realizing the discrepancy between her life span and that of his own, Raven had amended "I mean, as long as I live. And allow me to love you." He had pleaded, shaking back his dark hair to meet her eyes. "I want this for you. For me."
She would never fully understand the significance of marriage. But she knew how much her answer meant to him. She clasped his hands, raising him to his feet.
"Of course I'll marry you." She had said.
And she would have given the same answer a thousand times. She tells him that.
He smiles.
Occasionally he calls her Seris. But how can she be angry? His face looks so much at peace when he says it. Caressing his face, she hopes she has made him as happy as Seris did. That is enough.
When his eyes are clearer, he vehemently assures her she has.
And she must believe it.
He is out in the front porch, his sword propped against the wall.
"My love?"
"Elsword is coming today. I am sure of it." He looks far into the distance, as if the red crop of hair will appear in the midst of the faraway grass and wildflowers. "I wonder if Aisha will come with him."
She turns her head, allowing her hair to curtain her eyes. It has been a year since Eve sent word of Aisha's maternal death and Elsword's demise in a mission gone astray. She would not—could not—break her commander's heart by reminding him again. Instead, she asks, "Aisha always did like the honey cream Phoru biscuits."
He nods eagerly. "Yes. Elsword can never get enough of the lizard jerky, either. Shall I help you get them ready?"
Her face twists into a horrible mirror of a sweet smile, but he does not notice. To him, it is always a sweet, sunny expression that lights up her face. "No, my love. I will get the snacks. Tell me when they arrive."
"Of course." He looks at the sun, slowly starting to dip downwards. He chuckles. "They were never early birds, that's for sure..."
"And he is...?" She asks carefully as the other girl closes the door behind her.
A shake of the head. A gentle clasp of her shoulder. "Within the next new moon, if not sooner. If you are not planning of staying after...it is best to get ready now."
She does not collapse. Instead, she clutches the other girl's hands, smiling sadly. "Thank you."
"Rena." The other girl chokes slightly on the name, her head bowed in contrition. "I...Eun told me that I should have seen this coming, but...it hurts."
Both women are physically at the cusp of womanhood. Decades are hardly a day in their flawless skin, shimmering hair, and strong limbs. But Ara's drastic reduction in aging is from the merging with a primordial deity. Rena is seemingly immortalized in youth, but her eyes gleam with ancient memories of having people dear to her leave her again, and again, and again. That is the price she and Eve had paid a thousand times over, and she knows that is the price Ara will pay as well.
There is a wistful silence as the two embrace, one in newfound sorrow, the other in resigned tranquility.
"Mother, does he still remember me?" She asks, dismayed.
"Of course he does, Elsa." She runs her fingers through the brown, silky hair that is very much like her father's. "He just can't believe that this beautiful young woman is the toddler who could never stop waving around the wooden sword he made you."
She smiles, a bit embarrassingly. "I still have that sword..."
Her mother bends down and kisses her forehead. "Agah, you are his joy in the world and a part of his family. Nothing will take that away."
Together, they walk to the backyard, where he is waiting.
"Nae Sa...sa...sarang?" She had long since given up trying to teach him elven, but he occasionally tries, for her sake. The words come out in harsh, broken syllables, but to her, it is bittersweet.
"I know I can't keep you forever. But can...can I stay with you? Even for a little while."
"My love, I am not going anywhere without you."
He shakes his head. "Don't try to spare my feelings." He takes her gleaming, soft hands in his gnarled, creased ones, scarred with battle. "You will go and find another man, love him, and make the same promises you did with me." His grip tightens, as if the very thought burns him. But he continues nevertheless, "And...and I am not going to hold you back. But please. Please, please don't forget me too soon..."
This is torture.
"You will be with me for as long as you wish." Rena vows. She tugs on her necklace—a simple black cord with a simple golden band looped in the middle—and tries for a smile. "You can ask me a thousand times, and my answer will not change."
His ring gleams softly. It dangles too loosely on his withered finger, but he refuses to take it off. It is a promise, he says, that he will take to his grave.
To the humans, it is a sign of romantic faith to carry a significant other's lock of hair in a pendant, or a small pouch.
She thanks the Creators that she managed to get it before he was cremated, the ashes buried upon a very modest patch. She will never understand why humans burn their dead. How can they return to the earth's embrace when they are nothing but dust?
But in a way, she is glad he is not returning so soon. Her pouch is buckled to her waist. Together they will ride the winds.
She did not take his ring, though. That is a vow, he said, that he would take to his grave.
The house is empty. She leaves everything just as it is, as if they have gone out for a quick stroll and will be back soon. Elesis always wanted to live in this 'House of Dreams'. She and her husband, Ronan, will move in at sundown.
His words are true. Perhaps she will meet another mate someday, and learn to let her old mate go. She might find another chance to love as deeply as she did. Maybe there will be a finer male and a greater father then Raven ever was. Only the Creators would know.
But for now, she holds to him tight. He will be with her for as long as he wishes. Her ring will still shine bright.
After a final glance at her home, she dashes off into the winds, almost hearing his gentle voice in the breeze. For the winds fly boundless and free, but they will never forget their source as they embrace the world. She lets her tears run free.