Hello, all! You know who I am.
This was actually part of an art trade that was done with my friend RoyalFanatic on DeviantArt. I decided to post it here as well, so you know the rest.
Keep in mind that at the end here there are not one, but two songs from German lieder here, and I kept them in the original German. If you want a translation, go to the Lied and Art Songs Texts Page (if you type all that on Google, it should be the first thing that the engine gives you and it's the thing it gives you if you click the 'I'm feeling lucky' button). Once you're there, the songs you are looking for are called "Im Abendrot" (it should be the 4th thing that you're given if you type it into the search bar in the upper right hand corner of the page) and "Die Zwei Blauen Augen von Meinem Schatz" (it should be the first thing that you're given if you type it into the search bar in the upper right hand corner of the page). You know the rest, I hope.
Disclaimers? Here you go:
Fire Emblem does not belong to me: it belongs to the guys at Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. The blocks of German text are not mine; "Im Abendrot" was written by Josef Karl Benedikt von Eichendorff and set to music by Richard Strauss, and "Die Zwei Blauen Augen fon Meinem Schatz" was written and set to music by Gustav Mahler. Any characters you don't know are mine.
You know the rest. Here's the story, and I hope you enjoy!
Final Farewell
Candles were lit all around the bed, but even with the light that these provided the night was stiff and oppressive as ever. The fact that it was a rather windy night was something of a help, but the silence inside of the room that the bed was situated in was stifling. The bed's inhabitant stared upwards towards the sky behind pale eyelids, his cold hand being held with a rock-solid determination.
Tibarn shook his head, the shaggy brown hairs that rested on top of his head vibrating with a kind of sadness in it.
It should never have been like this. He should have been old. He should have lost some of the will to live. Hell, he should have lost all of the qualities that made him so vivacious.
Instead, it had come far too soon. It had come far too soon for poor Reyson to even comprehend what was going on.
The hawk king sighed, bringing the cold hand to his face as he thought back to the days that would change things forever…
Reyson was sitting in his bed as he was often wont to do when he was brooding about certain events.
The war against Ashera had ended a year ago. It had been a long hard journey to the end, and when it was over the heron was often left wondering what to do next.
Thus was the reason why he had decided to enter the political field. He found a small bit of action in there, and while it was never very tiring it was enough work for him to feel alive. Lately, though, the pressure had begun to catch up to him, but he knew that with a little time to think, he would be fine.
He had a lot to think about; first and foremost was Leanne and Naesala's wedding. The former crow king had proposed to Reyson's sister not even three days ago, and Reyson still felt the rush of joy that he had felt when he heard the news that his sister was finally getting married sometime. Tibarn did have to think a little, but after a rather small anecdote from Naesala, the Hawk king finally obliged. They had set the wedding for two months from the date of the proposal, and Reyson was hardly able to stand the pressure even after only three days of waiting.
Next on his mind was that Queen Nailah of Hatari was slowly beginning to get her people to migrate to Tellius. While this news was not as refreshing as that of Leanne's wedding, it still gave Reyson a large dose of joy to know that his brother Rafiel, who six months ago had returned to Hatari, would be much closer to home.
And, of course, there was the fact that the bird tribes had moved to Serenes Forest. Reyson still had to get used to the fact that it was not just herons that were living in the forest then, but to him he still could not get over the shock that came with finally being back in his own home for once. It felt wonderful to be back home, but after such an obscenely long period of living on Phoenicis it was still a shock to Reyson to be back in the Serenes Forest.
Overall, Reyson realized that he really did not have much to complain about; it was that so much had happened over the past year that he still needed a little bit of time to think about what was happening around him.
As this thought left his mind, he heard a knock at the door. Sighing, he stood up, the angelically white robes fluttering a little as he walked to the door and opened it.
The heron was not very surprised to find Tibarn standing at the other side of the doorway when he opened it.
"Ah," said Reyson. "Good day, Tibarn. How do you feel?"
"I'm feeling better, I guess," said the Hawk king, stepping into the room as Reyson closed the door behind him. "I wonder what would have happened if Leanne had said no to Naesala, though…"
"Still thinking about that?" asked Reyson, who took this time to sit on the nearby bed. "I doubt that would have happened; if Leanne was not afraid of Skrimir when she defended Naesala, then why should she say no to him? She loves him dearly. I do not have to peer into her heart to see that."
"So you still think it was for the best?" asked Tibarn.
"Of course," responded Reyson, sitting on the bed. "Speaking of love, I have been thinking a little."
"About us?" asked Tibarn.
"Yes," said the heron as the hawk king sat next to him on the bed, his hand coincidentally landing on some of Reyson's long blonde locks. "I still think that it is not exactly… correct to keep our relationship from everybody else. After all, you are the king of the bird tribes, and it would be much more humiliating if we held it from everybody else…"
"Yeah," said Tibarn. "But we could still get humiliated and possibly killed if we come out. And when that happens, who will be left to govern the bird tribes?"
"True," said Reyson. "But I think that we have spent enough time together so that we can work it out, right?"
"I don't want to take a chance just yet," said the hawk king. "Please, Reyson. I'd rather not come out yet."
"Well, if you say so, I guess I can wait a little," sighed the heron. "I might bring it up again, however."
"It doesn't matter," replied Tibarn, his large, calloused hands grabbing Reyson's smaller, silky hands and holding them as he turned to face Reyson. "I think that so long as we have each other, we'll be fine."
"And so do I," said Reyson.
Tibarn leaned in towards the heron, planting a small kiss on his exposed forehead when his lips got close enough.
"I don't care what anybody else has to say…" said Tibarn. "I love you."
"And I love you too…" responded Reyson.
The two of them spent quite a bit of talking after that, most of it being rather trivial.
And when Tibarn left the room an hour or two later, Reyson had a smile on his face.
He had forgotten that the hawk king was another thing in his life that he had that made him one of the happiest men on Tellius.
Leanne sat in front of the mirror, staring into her reflection and wondering what else could be done to help herself.
It was the morning of her wedding with Naesala, and when she woke up she had a kind of spring in her step from the excitement of the marriage ritual. In fact, she had been so excited that she nearly tripped on tree roots several times, and in fact it left her hair rather messed up as she made her way to the cathedral.
So, she ended up sitting in front of the mirror for most of the morning, fixing her hair and thinking about a couple of things.
The first thing that Leanne wondered about was the guests that she and Naesala had personally invited to the wedding. She knew for a fact that unfortunately King Skrimir of Gallia and Queen Micaiah of Daien were unable to attend because of diplomatic business that the two kingdoms were taking care of. However, by the same token she knew that the Apostle Sanaki would be attending, as would Queen Elincia of Crimea, King Kurthnaga of Goldoa, and many other nobles who had come to know the pair through the war.
And of course, Reyson and Rafiel would be attending the wedding as well. The fact that Rafiel was going to be there made Leanne all the happier since he had been busy helping the wolves of Hatari get adjusted to the climate of Tellius.
She worried about Reyson, however; lately, he had caught a rather bad cold that seemed to be getting to her older brother. He had also fainted three days after he had caught the cold, and so far he did not seem to be better. But Reyson had a fiery spirit; he would have nothing of missing Leanne's wedding so he could get better. So in the end Tibarn had relented.
But still, Leanne could not help but worry about her brother. True, Reyson cared a lot about his sister, but Leanne was worried about Reyson's illness.
The heron had decided to wait and see; after all, she figured that nothing would happen during the wedding.
And looking at herself in the mirror again, she found a bit of twig in her angelically blonde hair. Gingerly, she removed the twig with her fingers, and then proceeded to brush the spot rather diligently.
"Ah, so you did eventually show up, didn't you?"
"Did you really expect me to miss Leanne's wedding, Naesala? Of course I'm here."
"Well, your presence is welcomed as always, dear Caineghis. How's Skrimir handling his new job description?"
"Rather well, I should say. But I shouldn't chat with you here; I have plenty of people I need to catch up with."
"Go right ahead. I'm sure that there are plenty that want to ask you the same questions."
"I'll talk to you later, then."
Caineghis walked off into the crowd that was slowly gathering.
It was the reception at Leanne and Naesala's wedding, and so far just about everybody that had said they would come to the wedding was there. It was a rather grand event, actually, and it was to such an extent that surprised Naesala greatly.
The wedding itself would have been a rather modest affair; Leanne and Naesala both wore their usual clothing (After all, what else could the former Crow King do when he usually wore all black anyway?), and it was a rather small setting. But the fact that there were so many guests made the difference between their wedding being modest and their wedding being grand.
Naesala really could not complain, though; the entire time, Leanne stood by his side, and while her much improved but still somewhat awkward English made Naesala turn a couple of shades of red at times, he was enjoying himself immensely.
And he knew that his indulgence in the wedding was called for; after all, what bridegroom could not help but be excited on such a day? Besides, the cover of darkness was a little on the thick side on that particular night, so the former Crow King saw no reason not to indulge.
At that moment in time, Naesala had his arm wrapped around his new wife, Leanne leaning against his shoulder as they both sat on a bench close to where most of the guests were busy congregating. Plenty of surprise guests had arrived, adding considerably to the already sizeable number of guests and adding greatly to the good cheer that was going around. It was a rather happy time, and the former Crow King had every right to indulge.
And he rather happily indulged in his time with Leanne, sneaking in a small little kiss to the neck, after which Leanne giggled, playfully slapping his hand as he did.
However, he knew they had to keep some degree of decorum, so he pulled his hand away, wondering what else there was to do and playfully giving Leanne an expression of sadness.
The heron princess responded by taking Naesala's hand back in her own, and the smile almost instantly returned in the Crow King's face.
"Are you two in the—" (here the speaker coughed lightly) "—right state of mind here?"
The man who had said this was none other than Reyson, but his state surprised Naesala and Leanne a great deal.
He was not his usual vigorous self; his face was unusually pale, and his thin frame seemed to be shivering a little. He must have had a rather bad cough as well, what with his throat slowly starting to swell.
"Reyson!" said Leanne, standing up as she said her small declaration. "Are you… all right?"
"I would be feeling much better right now…" said Reyson before coughing lightly again. "But I feel rather… awful right now. I cannot bring myself to eat, and I've been coughing the entire time."
"Reyson, are you… sure you should stay here?" asked Leanne. "You should probably rest."
"Leanne, I've repeatedly stated that I will not miss your wedding," stated Reyson, making a rather noble attempt to keep his composure. "No matter what happens, I will be here."
The heron prince coughed again, and Leanne frowned a little in response.
"Reyson…" she said, wondering what to say next.
Naesala, who by then had sensed Leanne's distress, walked up to Reyson, his hands settling on his hips in a matter-of-factly fashion as he approached his brother-in-law.
"Look, Reyson," said Naesala. "I know that it's your sister's wedding we're talking about here, but honestly, you're worrying her. I think that all she cares about right now is you getting well, and that's why she's telling you to get your rest. Am I right, Leanne?"
The princess nodded.
"Reyson, I understand," she stated simply.
The prince nodded, his hand involuntarily creeping to his stomach as his expression gave way to a slight twinge of illness.
"Fine," said Reyson after he had regained his composure. "I'll get my rest."
"Will you need Janaff to take you back?" asked Naesala. "Because I could run over to Tibarn to get him."
Reyson nodded, and no sooner had the gesture ended than the former Crow King had disappeared into the crowd in search of Tibarn.
When the former Crow King returned with Tibarn's servant, Janaff was able to get Reyson out of the wedding and into bed without creating much of a stir, and thankfully not a word was said between the two of them as they watched Janaff helping Reyson walk along the forest back to his home.
As the two of them watched, they failed to notice the form of Leanne's other brother Rafiel approaching from behind them.
Thus, he surprised them when he finally spoke a few seconds after approaching him.
"Is Reyson not feeling well?" he asked.
Naesala showed his surprise in a crouch, and afterwards Leanne turned to face Rafiel with a rather flustered expression on her face.
"Yes," said Leanne. "He has been ill… for quite some time."
"May I follow him home?" asked Rafiel.
"What?" asked Naesala, finally turning around after getting over his surprise. "Why would you want to follow Reyson?"
"I have a hunch," stated the heron firmly. "This illness may be serious, but to be sure I need to see for it myself."
"Well, can't you just check in the morning?" asked Naesala.
Rafiel shook his head, jade eyes lost behind a peach covering as he shook his head.
"I think that this may be rather serious," stated Rafiel. "It could be a matter of his life."
"In that case, you may…" said Leanne. "Please, make sure that Reyson is well."
Rafiel nodded and silently followed Reyson's trail into the night, leaving a concerned Leanne staring in that direction and a somewhat dumbfounded Naesala, who was left wondering how Leanne would let both of her brothers leave her own wedding for the rest of the reception.
Tibarn was woken up rather rudely by somebody knocking loudly on his door, the hawk king groaning as he sat up in his bed.
The wedding last night had been a great wedding. Of course, Reyson and Rafiel had to leave early, but if Leanne understood their reasons for leaving, then Tibarn was pretty sure that it was all right.
But of course, his annoyed grunt as he woke up showed that he didn't like being woken up by a knock.
"Yes?" asked Tibarn.
"Tibarn, this is rather serious!" shouted Janaff's voice from the other side of the doorway. "Reyson's ill!"
The hawk king shook his head. He was being woken up over a minor cold?
"I'll be there in a few minutes," responded Tibarn, falling back into the bed and pulling the covers over himself.
"No, I mean this is serious!" shouted Janaff. "Reyson can't get out of bed! And even worse, he's been vomiting blood since he got here."
The mention of Reyson vomiting blood was enough to get Tibarn back up out of the bed, bare feet on the floor.
"What?" asked Tibarn. "He's been vomiting blood?"
"Yes, my lord," shouted Tibarn's servant. "You better get over there quickly!"
"I'll be there as soon as I can!" shouted Tibarn, quickly running to where his clothes had been laying the entire night and getting them on as quickly as he could.
As soon as Tibarn was dressed, he wasted no time in bolting out of the doorway, a brief glance of Janaff standing next to the door going unnoticed in his brain as he raced towards Reyson's room as fast as he could. The blood would not stop pounding in his head as he ran, and his expression showed great worry.
And as soon as he was at the doorway of Reyson's room, he stepped in right when his lover had begun to add more bloody vomit to the pool that was already collecting in a laundry basket, Leanne and Naesala attending to Reyson's needs as well as they could. When Tibarn entered, all eyes averted to him, all of them struck with either fear or suffering.
Reyson's eyes in particular burned themselves in Tibarn's eyes; most of the strength that was a vital part of the heron's character was almost non-existent in the dimmed emeralds that were his eyes. They told of untold suffering, and of a broken resolve that was otherwise left unbroken.
Before anybody could say anything, Tibarn was at Reyson's side, kneeling next to the heron, clasping his hand into his. (It was all that the hawk king could do to keep himself from hugging Reyson in front of Leanne and Naesala.)
"Reyson…" said Tibarn tenderly, yet with a quaver in his voice. "What happened?"
"I… cannot say…" said Reyson. "I was feeling rather… queasy… for a week… I thought nothing of it… and now…"
"There, there," said the hawk king. "Just tell me. How long have you been like this?"
"Since… last night…" responded Reyson. "I…"
"He was vomiting all night," said Naesala. "Rafiel returned as soon as he could after the wedding ended, and then he told us about how Reyson had been vomiting for ten minutes straight!"
"What?" asked Tibarn.
"It's… better…" said Reyson. "But before…"
"I know," said the hawk king, all of his energy going into restraining himself from choking the person next to him (which at that particular moment just happened to be Leanne). "Reyson… what happened?"
"I… don't…" began the heron before he began to clutch his stomach.
"Oh, dear, there he goes again!" shouted Naesala.
The hawk king took this as a cue to get out of the way, and sure enough, just as Leanne shoved the laundry basket back where it had been before Tibarn entered the room, Reyson let out a sound and a red fluid came flowing from out of his mouth.
Tibarn shook his head, stepping out of the room.
It was torture for him, really. He could not stand to see the sight of his lover lying in the bed, vomiting blood every seven minutes or so. It was painful for Tibarn to watch Reyson suffer in such a way, and before he knew what he was doing he had stepped out of the room. After a slight slumping sound from inside the room and a few seconds of silence, Leanne stepped out.
"Tibarn?" asked Leanne. "Are you… all right?"
"I'll be fine," said Tibarn. "What the hell is going on?"
"That is what I want… to know," said Leanne. "He… he…"
"Has been suffering?" asked the hawk king, hoping to help Leanne along.
"Yes," said Leanne. "I knew something like this would happen…"
The normally calm heron princess swore in the ancient language, surprising Tibarn greatly.
He had no time to address the issue, though, for then Naesala came out of the room.
"He's out cold," said the former Crow King. "He'll be back with us in a few minutes."
"What's going on?" asked Tibarn. "I need answers. Now."
"Well, aside from us running over here after the wedding, we have been watching over Reyson all night," said Naesala. "And for the record, I don't know if we can trust the beorc just yet. After all, most of them probably are still racist bastards."
"What do the beorc have to do with Reyson being ill?" asked the hawk king, turning to face Naesala.
"Rafiel went to… Begnion… he said he was seeking a healer…" said Leanne.
"Why?" asked the hawk king. "Wouldn't the galdrar be enough?"
"Not according to Rafiel," responded the former Crow King. "Thing is, Rafiel knows about this illness too much, and he seems to think that the healer will be enough."
"Why would he do that?" asked Tibarn.
"Well, he told us that he was incredibly familiar with it," replied Naesala. "After all, according to him it's the same illness that he lost his ability to fly to."
The hawk king nearly doubled over in disgust. Reyson would go through all that, never to be able to fly again?
"What?" asked the hawk king. "How did it happen? Why did it happen? I need answers, damn it!"
"Tibarn, settle down!" shouted Leanne in the ancient tongue.
The hawk king huffed and puffed where he stood for a minute, and then he let out an angry sigh.
"Let me guess," said Tibarn. "You're about as clueless as I am about all this."
"Pretty much," responded Naesala. "All we can do is wait for Rafiel to return, and then ask the questions. For now, though, I think we need to settle down a bit."
Tibarn nodded, and then he sat on the floor, his back against the wall as he let out a mighty sigh.
It was a few days later when Rafiel finally arrived back in Serenes, with his protector Nailah and the healer in tow. The vomiting had stopped altogether by then, but it had given way to an incredible fever, with certain parts of Reyson's body developing all kinds of swelling, and it left the hawk king staying as close to Reyson's side as Leanne tended to permit as well as giving Naesala and Leanne major headaches.
And when Rafiel finally came back, the first thing he did was to march straight to Reyson's room.
The first person he saw was Naesala; he had been leaning against the wall recovering from a particularly bad headache when Reyson's brother finally showed up. The raven looked at Rafiel, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Welcome back, Rafiel," stated Naesala. "We've been wondering when you'd come back."
"I had a harder time finding him than I expected," stated Rafiel. "But he still obliged to help Reyson."
"Good, good," said Naesala. "I see Nailah tagged along, too."
"Well, what else do you expect me to do?" asked the wolf queen. "You'd think that after two years that all the racism in Begnion would be gone. I can't let Rafiel wander into such a place unsupervised."
"But people have gotten a lot better, right?" asked the crow king.
"Yes, actually," stated Nailah. "It was much better than I anticipated."
"Good, good," replied Naesala, before his attention turned to the man immediately behind Nailah. "You must be the healer."
"Yes, sir…" answered the aged voice of the healer. "My name is Jacob, if it so tickles your fancy."
"Naesala," said the crow king, extending his hand and shaking it.
As he shook it, he took a thorough look at the old man, noticing the length of his graying beard and the extent of the dimming that had taken over his silvery eyes. A congenial smile remained constant on the old man's figure, a healing staff and a bag containing plenty of herbs hanging from his thin, aged hands.
"Pleasure to meet you, sir…" said the old man. "Rafiel said that his brother was ill…"
"Oh, yes," said Naesala. "He's in there. Here. Let me take you there."
Naesala took Jacob's hand, leading him slowly into the room where Reyson slept. At that particular moment in time, Tibarn had been sitting next to a moaning Reyson, who moaned as Leanne felt his forehead again.
"The fever's back?" asked Naesala, directing everybody's attention to the door.
"Yes," replied Leanne.
"The healer's here, by the way," said Naesala.
It was then that the Crow King walked into the room, Jacob following him into the room as Leanne and Tibarn's faces both lit up in expectation.
"Good," said Tibarn. "I take it you need to look at him?"
"Indeed," stated the healer. "But you may stay. I can tell how far it's gone just by looking. I do need some space though."
Tibarn stood up, clenching Reyson's hand as he left the heron's side.
"There," stated the hawk king as Leanne joined the three of them at the door. "You can look as much as you want now."
"Thank you," stated the old man.
He walked towards Reyson, gingerly placing his staff against the wall and setting the bag of herbs down on the floor when he got to the heron's side. He then pulled out a small little object from the bag, a glass orb being suspended by a string swinging like a pendulum as he gingerly took that and a rod, placing them both on the bed immediately next to Reyson's right wing.
He then took the rod, wrapping the string around it slowly and holding it up to Reyson's forehead, the ball poised to touch the heron's neck. It snaked over to the said body part slowly, a red aura surrounding the ball as the healer got closer.
The phenomenon that took hold afterwards was rather frightening; just before the ball made contact with Reyson's neck, the ball was suddenly propelled upwards by an unseen force, the ball whirling around the rod and very rapidly being propelled away from the rod and the old man's grip. The ball landed at the foot of the bed, where it broke into a thousand tiny fragments and sent the three laguz at the doorway stepping back a little in shock.
After the healer stared at the fragments of his ball, he picked up his staff and walked up to the three laguz.
"I'm afraid this is rather serious," said the old man. "If nobody does anything fast, Rafiel's brother will die."
"What?" asked Tibarn. "But you have to be able to do something!"
"Exactly," said Jacob. "There is something I can do. I will need an entire day with him. Alone. Then, I can try to do something."
"An entire day?" asked Leanne. "How much time do you need… to prepare?"
"I need to get prepared as soon as possible," said Jacob. "He doesn't have much time left, and there is only so much I can do after he gets past a certain point."
"All right," said Tibarn. "We'll give you a day. You may stay in here as long as you have to."
The healer nodded.
"I will get started right away," he stated.
And with that, the three bird laguz filed out of the room, with Naesala being the first to leave and Tibarn being the last. The hawk king hesitated a little as he closed the door, then closed it as he got the glance a Reyson that he had needed.
When they had stepped outside, Rafiel and Nailah were still standing there.
"So what does he say?" asked Nailah.
"He needs a day to do something," replied Naesala. "What does he do in that day?"
"I am not certain," said Rafiel. "All I know is that he has to do an elaborate ritual with Reyson. I was in a trance when he performed it on me twenty years ago, so I cannot say what will happen in there."
"You mean he's the one who saved your life?" asked Tibarn.
"Yes," replied Rafiel. "I trust Jacob. Hertzel really did know all the right people to get me well."
"I see…" said Leanne. "Recovery comes slowly, yes?"
"If recovery had been any swifter, I would have perished in the Serenes Massacre," stated Rafiel plainly.
"So what we do now is wait," said Tibarn. "I think I need a break from watching Reyson suffering in there."
"I know," mentioned Leanne as the hawk king wiped his forehead. "I am also very tired… of what is happening to Reyson."
"Yeah," said Naesala. "What do you all say to some food?"
"Of course, please!" said Tibarn.
"I think we could all use something to eat," added Nailah. "After all, I'm starving right now."
"As am I," said Rafiel. "Are you hungry as well, Leanne?"
The female heron nodded.
"Then I'll be back in a bit," said Naesala.
And he was out of the room before another word could be said.
The next day, the scene was rather tense.
They had waited a full twenty-four hours for Jacob to come out of Reyson's room with any news about his health. They were all sitting on the floor silently, Tibarn and Naesala standing up every so often to pace around the hallway. There was still no sign of the ritual ending, and they were left wondering what was going on in there.
Several times, Nailah had had the urge to peek through the keyhole, but a thorough convincing on the part of Leanne and Naesala tended to work there, and thus the wolf queen was calmed a little bit.
But the wait was still ridden with anxiety. For poor Tibarn especially, the wait was agonizing. He could not bear the fact that Jacob might walk out of the room with terrible news about Reyson, and he could not bear to wait for any good news either. In some cases, Tibarn almost felt like tearing his hear out. However, he kept his composure, and it took all of his willpower to secure his feelings in a place in his heart where Leanne and Rafiel could not get to them.
So, they all stood there waiting for Jacob to come out.
And when he finally came out, one of the first things that Tibarn noticed was that his face bore a rather solemn expression.
"I'm finished," said the healer simply.
"And?" asked Rafiel.
Jacob let out a heavy sigh as he looked at everybody in the hall.
"I wish I wouldn't have to tell you this," he said. "But there is nothing I can do. He has already passed the point of no return."
Jacob took a breath before uttering his next words.
"I'm sorry. He will die in a week."
And all at once, the shock hit all of the laguz in the room with a shockwave. Everybody had the same facial reaction; their eyes bulged. Tibarn and Leanne both stepped back, the female heron bringing her hand to her chest as the words sunk in.
And then, complete silence sunk into the vicinity for several minutes. Nobody could summon the courage to speak for that long a period of time.
"B… But surely there is something else you can do?" asked Naesala, finally breaking the shocked silence.
"I have tried everything I can," replied Jacob. "But I cannot save him."
"But there has to be something!" stated Rafiel. "You were able to save me; why is it that you cannot save my brother?"
"The illness has progressed too far," said Jacob. "You were lucky; it was detected early, and something was done about it. I'm afraid there is nothing I can do."
And finally, the hawk king lost it. He felt that he did not deserve to hear that the beorc healer had tried everything he could to save somebody of a different race and fail. The hawk knew he should have more tact, but all of the pressure of Reyson dying finally made him snap at that particular moment.
"There must be something you can do, damn it!" shouted Tibarn, walking right up to the healer and picking him up roughly by the arms, shaking him in the air. "Get back in there and get to work! There has to be something you can do!"
When the hawk king had grabbed the healer, though, everybody instantly went into a mode where they were trying to get the hawk king to let go, and eventually they managed to get him to let go, leaving Naesala to catch the old man and set him back on the ground and an angry Tibarn huffing and puffing in front of him.
"I have tried everything I know," uttered the healer, regret steaming from his voice. "I really have. But there is nothing more I can do. I wish there was something I could do, but as it stands I don't know of any ways to save him. I'm sorry, sir. I wish I was able to do more for him."
Another silence took hold of the hallway, Tibarn's breathing slowly returning to its original state.
Finally, he sighed.
"I'm sorry," said Tibarn. "Give me a minute with him. Alone."
Everybody else nodded wordlessly as the hawk king stepped into the room, closing the door behind him.
"So are we to escort you back to Begnion?" asked Nailah.
"Yes, please," stated Jacob, the regret still steaming from his voice.
The wolf queen nodded, and she, along with Jacob and Rafiel, filed out of the hallway.
Naesala was about to do the same thing himself when Leanne grabbed his hand.
"No," she said simply. "Our work is not done yet."
"What?" asked Naesala. "But he told us we couldn't—"
"Not Reyson," added Leanne. "Tibarn. He needs somebody there for him."
"Leanne, I know you'd like to help, but he wants to be alone," said Naesala. "And frankly, I think we should respect that."
"But it is his… relationship with Reyson…" said Leanne. "I peered into his heart during that rage tantrum… I sensed… Anger… Love… Sadness… Naesala, Tibarn is…"
"You're right," said Naesala, getting the implications of what Leanne was trying to say. "Our work isn't done here after all. Come on. Let's go in."
And the pair stepped into the room, and when they did they saw Tibarn sitting next to an unconscious Reyson, the hawk facing the bed and with his head down. His shoulders shuddered as he breathed difficult breaths, and in a way the former Crow King was already able to tell that Leanne was definitely right.
"Tibarn…" said Leanne. "Are you—?"
"I'm fine, Leanne," interrupted the hawk king. "I just need some time alone."
"I don't know about that," said Naesala. "Leanne peered into your heart during your little rage tantrum."
The hawk king sighed, realizing there was no way around what was going to happen.
"I can't take it anymore…" muttered the hawk king. "I…"
Naesala looked at his wife, and when she nodded encouragingly, he walked over to Tibarn and set a hand on his shoulder.
"It's all right," said Naesala. "We understand. This won't be leaving this room at all. We're here for you."
The hawk king looked up at the crow king, searching for understanding in the raven's eyes which he found quite readily as Leanne walked up to Naesala.
"Naesala… Leanne…" said Tibarn.
And nothing else was said as the hawk roughly hugged Naesala's waist and cried into it.
Leanne walked down the hall, a tray of food in her hand. She herself was not hungry, but she knew that somebody else probably was at the time she was walking with it.
A few days had passed since the ritual had failed, and now the hawk king had refused to leave Reyson's room even for a moment. Leanne had thus taken to a small little schedule of going to Tibarn to give him some food, and otherwise she left him alone. In some cases, Naesala would step into the room, which gave the hawk king some much needed time to get his feelings out to somebody; after all, most of the time, Reyson was unable to respond to the hawk king's needs.
Reyson had gotten worse after the failed ritual; the fever continued to rise and some black spots had begun to appear where the swelling had occurred. In addition, Reyson was often unconscious most of the time, and he only woke up to a violent cough. He only had a few minutes to say anything before he lapsed back into unconsciousness, but his throat was so damaged by the coughing that he could only get one or two words out before he lost himself to his illness.
And as the heron princess thought of this, she arrived at the door to the room that had served as Reyson's deathbed. After knocking lightly on it, Tibarn opened the door.
"Food, I guess?" asked Tibarn.
"Yes," said Leanne. "You know, you are doing yourself much… harm by sitting there all day."
"I don't want to leave his side," said the hawk king as he took the tray from Leanne and opened the door wide enough for her to enter. "You should probably come in."
The female heron nodded, and she stepped inside.
"I have been meaning to ask you something," said Leanne. "How long…?"
"Have I been in love with him?" asked Tibarn. "Just before the Mad King's War. Your father had fallen ill then."
"I see…" said Leanne. "So you were close."
"Pretty much," said the hawk king, sitting down on the chair that he had put there for his own use. "This is hard for me to believe."
"That Reyson is… dying?" asked Leanne.
"Yes," said Tibarn. "It's been three years, and it's tearing me apart to know that he's going to be gone forever."
Leanne paused for a moment, pondering as Tibarn set his tray on the bed next to Reyson's still legs and began to eat slowly.
"You stay because of a promise?" asked Leanne.
She had said this just as the hawk king had brought another forkful of food to his mouth. Sighing, he set the fork down on the tray.
"Yes," replied the hawk king. "I had just fallen in love with him, and Lorazieh had just fallen ill. When I went over to Reyson the next morning, I found him crying. He didn't want to be left alone at all, and after I revealed my feelings I promised him I would never leave his side. And if it means I have to tear myself apart sitting here, so be it."
Leanne simply nodded.
"I see, then," she said simply. "Do you want some company?"
"Please," said Tibarn. "I'm pretty sure Naesala will understand."
Leanne sat down on the bed itself, and as the hawk king ate his food he and Leanne had a very lengthy conversation with Leanne about Reyson and how their relationship had developed over the years.
And when the princess left, the hawk king could not have felt happier about confiding anything in anybody.
Wir sind durch Not und Freude
Gegangen Hand in Hand:
Vom Wandern ruhen wir beide
Nun überm stillen Land.
Motion. The cold hand in Tibarn's grasp had moved, thus cutting off the hawk king's reminiscence.
The illness had almost run its course by then. Now, the heron rarely ever moved at all. In some instances, the hawk king would wonder if Reyson's eyes would ever open at all when the motion in his hand came.
And this time, Reyson was unable to open his eyes.
"'ibarn?" asked Reyson, his voice barely audible to Tibarn's ears.
"Reyson?" asked Tibarn.
"You're there…" sighed the male heron ever so weakly. "Than' 'oo'ness…"
"Reyson, don't speak…" replied Tibarn softly, voice riddled with an incredible tenderness that threatened to erupt into speech marred by waterless tears. "Don't waste your energy."
"I' can' be… helpe'…" responded Reyson, his breath beginning to get raspy. "'ibarn… you 'ep'… your 'romise… even 'o the end…"
"Of course I did," said Tibarn, strengthening the grip on Reyson's hand as he brought it to his chest. "Why shouldn't I?"
"I never… wan'e' you… hur'," responded the heron. "Never…"
"I'd give anything to see you happy, Reyson," responded the hawk king. "Even if it's my own feelings that I have to give."
Rings sich die Täler neigen,
Es dunkelt schon die Luft,
Zwei Lerchen nur noch steigen
Nachträumend in den Duft.
Nothing was said between the two of them for a few seconds.
"'ibarn…" said Reyson. "Remem'er… when we firs' me'…?"
"Yeah," replied the hawk king. "I had walked in to check on you just after you had woken up… there were two larks at the window, and you were wondering where you were…"
"The lar's…" moaned Reyson, his voice getting ever so softer. "'o you thin' they 'old of this?"
"Probably," responded Tibarn, the first tear beginning to tread its way down his cheek. "I think it's a bit corny myself, but it seems too hard not to believe…"
"I'…" said Reyson, his breaths getting shorter and shorter as each moment passed. "I' ma'e me ha'y when you 'ave those lar's 'o me… I' ma'e me ha'y… An' I will 'ee' thin'in' a'ou' them in the ne' live…"
The hawk king nodded his head briefly, trying very hard not to cry in front of Reyson and losing.
Tritt her und laß sie schwirren,
Bald ist es Schlafenszeit,
Daß wir uns nicht verirren
In dieser Einsamkeit.
"'Ivarn…" said Reyson, the words coming out so softly that Tibarn had to lean toward's Reyson's stilling body to hear them. "I'll al'ays… love you… Even in the ne' live…"
Tibarn took forever to respond, his voice cracking as the tears that were now freely beginning to flow down his face shook it when he finally answered.
"I love you too, Reyson…" said Tibarn. "I always will. That's a promise…"
The heron initially said nothing, his eyes finally opening a crack, allowing the hawk king a much needed glance at the faded emeralds of Reyson's eyes.
"'Ivarn…" he said simply. "'oo'ye…"
Reyson's green eyes closed finally, and only a split second later the raspy breath ceased to exist, enveloping the room with an uncomfortable silence as Tibarn shed his last tears for the man that he loved.
O weiter, stiller Friede!
So tief im Abendrot,
Wie sind wir wandermüde -
Ist dies etwa der Tod?
When Naesala walked into the room later that night upon noticing that Tibarn wasn't sleeping in the hallway as he would often do, he was only able to open the door a crack before his eyes had picked up what was going on in there.
Tibarn sat on the chair that he had brought into the room, only it was not turned facing the bed as it normally was; instead, it was turned towards the window that was behind Reyson's bed. As the candles slowly began to lose their flames, Naesala was able to make out the shape of the heron's limp body being cradled against Tibarn's still form.
Upon seeing this, the Crow King walked inside, and when he got next to the hawk king he was able to make out the residue of tears on Tibarn's cheeks.
"Is… Is he…?" asked Naesala, only then noticing that Reyson was completely still.
Tibarn nodded slowly, no words escaping his lips afterwards.
The crow king sighed, sitting on the bed next to Tibarn and wrapping an arm around the hawk king's shoulder comfortingly.
At the light contact, Tibarn looked at Naesala, eyes bloodshot from all of the tears.
For a while, nothing was said between the two.
And finally, the hawk king found the courage to say the one thing he knew Naesala deserved.
"Thank you…"
Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz,
Die haben mich in die weite Welt geschickt.
Da mußt ich Abschied nehmen vom allerliebsten Platz!
O Augen blau, warum habt ihr mich angeblickt?
Nun hab' ich ewig Leid und Grämen.
The funeral had taken quite a bit out of poor Tibarn, and sitting under the linden tree afterwards allowed him to clear his head a lot.
Everybody that Tibarn had ever met in his life had shown up at Reyson's funeral; Elincia and her entire court had arrived, as well as the empress Sanaki, the queen Micaiah and her royal court, and the king Skrimir and his royal court. It had been a very somber event, and when the hawk king had talked to a lot of people he found that he was unable to speak very much about him before he felt on the verge of tears. Everybody understood, however; after all, Tibarn and Reyson had grown to be very close friends over the years that they had known each other.
Only Naesala and Leanne were aware of the true reasons of why the hawk king was so somber at the funeral, and telling anybody else there had failed to cross either of their minds. They understood more than anything, so when the hawk king excused himself from the funeral, they had let him leave without any objections.
And for that, Tibarn was grateful. For if that had not happened, he would not be busy sitting under the linden tree getting his mind cleared.
Ich bin ausgegangen in stiller Nacht
Wohl über die dunkle Heide.
Hat mir niemand Ade gesagt.
Ade! Mein Gesell' war Lieb' und Leide!
"Hey," said Naesala's voice. "Are you okay?"
The hawk king suddenly looked up to find Leanne and Naesala both standing along the pathway. They both stood in front of the linden tree that Tibarn had been sitting under for quite some time.
"No," replied Tibarn truthfully, his eyes averting back to the ground. "The man I love is dead. I don't think I'll be fine for a while. He was the world to me; for him, I would have given anything…"
Nobody spoke for quite a while.
It was then that Leanne knelt next to Tibarn.
"Tibarn…" she began. "I know what you are saying… I also miss my brother… But we cannot let that take up our thoughts… Reyson has a… special place in my heart. And as long as I live, that special place will give me some form of happiness for knowing him. I am sure that Reyson would want the same for you."
The hawk king soaked in Leanne's words, and after a few minutes of not saying anything, he nodded solemnly.
"All right," said Tibarn softly. "You're right, Leanne. But I have shock to get over. I loved him so very much, and until I get this sorted out I don't think I'll be able to do that. But once I'm over the grief, I think I'll be fine."
"Well, all right," said Leanne, taking Tibarn's large, calloused hands into her own soft hands and giving them a light squeeze.
She then stood up and walked up to Naesala's side.
"And if you need anything, you know where to find us," said Naesala.
"Thank you both…" said Tibarn. "You've been so good to me…"
"You're welcome…" stated Leanne.
Nothing else was said, and Leanne and Naesala walked off in the direction they had approached Tibarn in.
Auf der Straße steht ein Lindenbaum,
Da hab' ich zum ersten Mal im Schlaf geruht!
Unter dem Lindenbaum,
Der hat seine Blüten über mich geschneit
Da wußt' ich nicht, wie das Leben tut,
War alles, alles wieder gut!,
The hawk king remained sitting under the linden tree for a few minutes more, before he found himself batting his eyes shut. Once his eyes closed, he found himself immersing himself in memories of Reyson. As he dozed off, one memory in particular stood out above all the rest…
Alles! Alles, Lieb und Leid
Und Welt und Traum!
"Reyson? Are you okay in there?"
Tibarn had just walked into the room that overlooked the ocean underneath Phoenicis. He had to walk in there to ask; after all, the heron prince had not come out in three days.
Lorazieh had fallen ill, and after Ulki had gone in to give Reyson the news the heron was not to be seen outside any more.
And Tibarn, given that he had just found out his true feelings for the heron, felt it was his duty to make sure that Reyson was all right.
It had come rather strange, actually; just under a year ago, Tibarn had begun getting a flowery sensation in his heart whenever Reyson was in the same room as he was. For a while, the hawk king had brushed it away, but as the feeling grew he found he would have to face it. And after a while of wondering what it was, he realized that it was love, and he accepted it.
And so, he had gone into Reyson's room to see if he was all right.
When Tibarn found Reyson sitting on the floor, though, he knew then that something was wrong.
"Reyson…?" asked the hawk king as he knelt down to Reyson's level, the heron's gaze keeping itself on the floor. "Are you all right?"
The heron prince did not respond, instead choosing to keep his gaze averted to the floor.
As a result, nothing was said for a while, the hawk king keeping a steady eye on Reyson.
"Well?" asked Tibarn. "Are you all right, or do I have to stay here all day?"
"Is my father well?" asked Reyson. "Is he really ill?"
"Yes," replied the hawk king. "Are you all right?"
"No." said Reyson, his eyes finally meeting Tibarn's, anger etching itself on his jade orbs. "My father could die soon! How could you not care?"
"I do, trust me," said Tibarn. "But what about you? You seem like you have nothing right in your life. What's going on?"
"I don't want to be left alone!" said Reyson, flailing his arms in anger. "My father could die soon, and then he'll leave me alone in a foreign land! I don't feel comfortable anymore! Why did the humans have to kill the remainder of my tribe! My father will die, and I will be left alone! I don't know who to trust here! Tell me who I should trust if nobody will!"
Tibarn pondered on what he should tell Reyson next as the heron knelt next to him, his angry eyes expecting to find an answer.
"Just trust whoever you think you should trust the most," said the hawk king.
And then, the unexpected happened.
Tibarn barely had time to register that Reyson's expression had softened before he felt Reyson's upper body collapse into his own.
"Please, Tibarn," said Reyson into the hawk's chest. "Don't leave me alone! I can't deal with any of this anymore!"
For a while, the hawk said nothing, trying to get over the shock of what Reyson had done.
Finally, though, he wrapped his arms around the younger heron, finally making his feelings apparent.
"I won't leave you alone," said Tibarn. "That's a promise from me to you…"
As the memories swam by his head, Tibarn finally found solace from his loss as sleep took him over.
Fin.
A/N: And that's that!
Again, check the above author's note for help on getting the translations for the lieder selections, and I hope you all enjoyed it.
Please drop a review, and if you liked it, feel free to check out my other works on this site.
-Herr Wozzeck