Thomas had to return to work after that portion of the story, and so Edward took the younger engine's absence to rest his own weary eyes and quiet his racing thoughts.
Later that night, though, as all the engines returned to Tidmouth after a long day's work, Thomas piped up, "Edward! Finish your story!"
The other engines looked confused, and before Edward could comment, Thomas added,
"He was telling me about the scarlet engine, Arabella!"
James, Gordon, and Henry looked astounded at Thomas's statement, as if they were taken aback that he had even dared to utter the female engine's name.
Thomas caught on to this and blinked, confused, "Did I miss something?"
Gordon looked over at his elder blue companion, who could've retreated into his shed right then and there. "…How far in your story did you get, Edward?"
"…I had just told him about Luther," Edward murmured. "He doesn't know yet."
"Know what?" Thomas asked, growing even more puzzled by the second.
"Who's the scarlet engine?" Percy blurted out, feeling rather excluded from the conversation.
For once, James spoke slowly and carefully. "…Why don't you continue on where you left off, Edward?" James urged. "We can help tell it, too."
Edward sighed. He had hoped he had been finished with the whole mess, but it looked as his luck was not in his favor.
"Alright," he began with an exasperated tone. "You see, after Arabella opened up and told me her testimony, things… things were better. She seemed happier, more relaxed; at least around me, anyway."
"She was still a boiler full of hot air around me," Gordon retorted, but there was a tone of amusement in his voice, and not an ounce of sarcasm.
"Time went by, and word of more engines arriving on the island came to us," Edward carried on. "This was before James joined us." The blue engine's cheeks flushed, and James grinned cheekily.
"Aww, I remember hearing about this later on," the red engine teased, cackling at his own torment.
"What happened?" Thomas urged, obviously growing impatient.
"I remember it all exactly…"
Edward pulled into the docks, eager for he and Arabella's normal catch up time. To his surprise, however, she was not on the usual line by the water; Edward looked around, and discovered her already in the shed. Blinking, he slowly chuffed forward to meet her.
"Bella?" he called quietly, and the scarlet engine looked his way with a small smile.
"There you are, Eddie. Glad you made it."
The mixed-traffic engine couldn't help but smile at her pet name for him. "What are you doing in the shed?" he asked. "You're usually out looking at the water."
"My mind is just a bit weary tonight," she confessed. "It's been a long day of work, and I've just… been thinking."
"About what?"
"Well… Have you heard that there's a new engine coming to the island?"
"I have! It's great!" Edward smiled. "The railway will definitely start to come along faster with the more engines we have. And it's always nice to get some fresh faces."
But Arabella's smile wasn't as warm and genuine as Edward's. It was smaller and sadder. "Yes… But with more faces comes more places to work on, and some of those places could be a lot farther out during the day."
Edward blinked, confused. "…What are you getting at?"
"…I'm afraid that once more engines arrive, I won't be able to work alongside you as much." Her smile faltered completely and her facial features grew nervous as her eyes studied the rails. "I… I like being able to have you to myself, I'm afraid. I'm selfish in that way."
The blue engine's cheeks flushed a bright pink. "Well, I – er – I like working with you too, Bella. I –,"
The small engine began puffing closer, and Edward felt his boiler bubble. "Our time here at the docks? I look forward to it every day," she continued softly. "I love hearing about your day, about your work. I love hearing your laugh, hearing you call my name as you roll in."
Arabella slowly came to a stop, their buffers bumping softly. "You were one of the few to actually care about me… and I've grown to care about you."
Edward didn't know what to say. His whole frame felt warm, as though he could wheesh loudly and let his whistle ring out right there. Her eyes finally blinked up to look at him, and without thinking, he blurted:
"I love you."
The dock was silent. Edward had no idea where the words had come from; it was true, that he had always had a special place for Arabella, but to hear her speak so softly to him, to share the secrets they did, to be so close to her…
He knew that the words were genuine.
The scarlet Terrier engine smiled softly and couldn't help but laugh a bit. "…I love you too, Edward."
"…We stayed there, together, the rest of the night, and every night thereafter," Edward trailed away.
Thomas's eyes widened and he smiled wide. "Edward, that's so nice! You old dog, you!"
But despite the happy memory he had just told, Edward's facial expression showed nothing but remorseful recollection. Thomas let his own smile fade as he noticed this. "Edward? What's wrong? That's a happy memory, is it not?"
Seeing that he was unable to bring himself to words, Gordon stepped in. "A few days later, little Thomas, there was a fire on the island, out near Elsbridge. It was a hot, hot summer, and the fields and forests were dry after a near month-long drought."
"Arabella was working out there," James went on. "Helping build the line farther out."
Suddenly, everything was coming together. Thomas remembered Edward bring up an accident, and the little tank engine dared to ask, "…Was this where she had her accident?"
"Yes," came Edward's solemn voice. "Yes, it was… And it was the last time I ever saw her…"
The summer was scorching on the Island of Sodor. It had not rained an inch, but occasionally, the sky would darken, as if to tease at a brewing storm.
Edward was working alone in the yard; Arabella had been sent out to help finish up one of the new branch lines and wouldn't be back until later. He smiled to himself; 'It's okay,' he thought, 'We'll have our time later.
As he worked, he couldn't help but notice how dead the island looked. The once lush fields were now dry and bleached yellow. The trees were a yellow-green, the leaves crunching like those that fell in autumn, though the first day of fall was months away. Edward couldn't help but feel a bit concerned. He had heard stories of areas that underwent so much heat, that fires would spark and ravage the surrounding land. But surely that was a worst case scenario, right?
The mixed-traffic engine went about his business, the scorching sun beating on his metal frame. A drink didn't sound too bad at the moment, or the shade of his shed. Ah, yes, in his shed, Arabella next him, talking the day away…
His daydreaming was broken by a rapid ringing bell. Startled, Edward looked up to the signal box to see the signal master ringing the emergency bell.
"Wildfire!" he called. "Wildfire, on the Elsbridge line!"
Before Edward could even process what he was saying, James raced by, water tanks clanking behind him.
"Watch out!" the red engine hissed.
'Wildfire? On the Elsbridge line? Oh, no…'
The blue engine's eyes shot wide, and he could only utter one word:
"Bella.
"Driver!" Edward wheeshed. "Driver, we have to go help!"
"Edward, old boy, you've gone mad!" he hissed. "They'll handle the fire. We need to stay here where it's safe!"
"B-but Arabella! She was working-!"
"And I'm sure she'll come back safely," he tried to reassure, but he could practically feel his engine's anxiety, and after a few moments, he heaved a great sigh. "…We'll go to the edge of the line. If we don't see here there, then we turn back."
"Oh, thank you!" And without another minute of hesitation, he thundered away.
Edward had sure he had never rode the rails as fast as he did right then. All he needed to see was a glint of scarlet in the sunlight, hear the crystal whistle of his beloved, and he would be assured and alright. But until then, nothing was about to slow him down.
It wasn't too long before a choking smell filled the air, Edward slowed down, coughing. He noticed that he had to squint; the air around him was suddenly a black haze. When he finally grew used to it, his eyes widened at what they took in.
Before him was lots of scarlet… and orange, and yellow, and grey and black. Loud crackling and pops resounded all around him, and the feisty flames dared to crawl closer. There were no trees, no flora anymore: nothing but charred silhouettes being strangled by nooses of thick black smoke.
"We have to go in!" Edward choked out, startled by his own quick jump to bravery.
His driver coughed. "Are you mental? We won't come out!"
"They might need help!" the engine hissed back. "We can't just leave them alone!"
"Them? Or Arabella?"
"Please!"
Once again, one over by his guilt, the driver allowed his locomotive to proceed forward. A few feet ahead, he saw the silhouette of James, and the tiny figures of the men attempting (and surely giving up) to put out the fire. His eyes scanned the scene, but the familiar shape he was looking for was nowhere to be seen. James was waiting for men to board him somehow before he slowly backed up on the line beside Edward.
"Edward? What on earth are you doing here!" he cried. "The fire is out of control! You need to get out of here, now!"
"Where's Arabella!?"
"Here! Here!"
The whistle. Oh, the whistle.
Relief flooded Edward as his soot-tarnished love emerged on the same line he was on, sputtering. "Y-You fool!" she scolded. "Coming out here!"
"I had to make sure you were alright!"
"Can you save the couple banter for later?" interrupted the red engine across from them. "We need to go!" And without another word, James sped away.
Before Arabella or Edward could comment, a loud snap echoed and Arabella shrieked as, what was once a large tree, full across the rails behind her.
"Let's go!" Edward urged, pulling out of the area as fast as he could in reverse. Arabella followed after him, the two having a clear view of each other's panicked expressions as they went along.
Edward watched as Arabella's eyes darted to and fro; he was going faster in reverse than she was going forward. It scared him doing so; tender engines weren't meant for this kind of movement, but in this situation, he had no other option. He just wished Bella would focus more on the rails ahead instead of the damage around them.
The fire still surrounded them on both sides, and Edward knew that it had spread since he had last arrived. From his love's face, it seemed as though there was telling when it ended, either.
"Bella!" Edward called after a while, starting to feel the anxiety of getting out of the monstrosity. "Bella, look at me!"
The little Terrier's eyes darted forward.
The mixed-traffic engine mustered his best smile, the kind of smile he gave her when he taught her to shunt, when he showed her the docks for the first time. The smile he used when he teased her for being clumsy, or when he said "I love you" and meant it every time.
"Just look at me, alright? Don't worry about the fire! Just focus on getting out of here, okay?"
"O-Okay!" she managed, locking eyes with the engine in front of her.
Not much longer, her facial expression brightened. "Edward! I-I can see it! The smoke lifting!"
Edward's smile slowly became more genuine. "That's it! See, we've done-."
There was a loud crack.
Her eyes widened at the same time his did.
Alas, if only she had been ahead of him.
"Bella, the tree!"
A large, scalding oak fell across the tracks, right between the two. He heard her hit it. But what's a train to a tree, anyway?
He never saw what happened, because moments later, he was in clear, fresh air, and the fire was just a wall of black fifty feet in front of him.
Edward didn't speak. He didn't move.
His driver urged him, "Edward, we'll be back to Knapford soon! Let's go!"
"Arabella…"
"Edward, we mustn't stop now!"
"Bella!" The events had just sunk in. Frantic, he blew his whistle harsh and loud, waiting for a response. When he didn't receive one, he blew it again.
Nothing.
"I'm not leaving her in there! I-!"
"You aren't the only one here! Think of your crew!"
Beat. He was right. How could he have been so selfish?
The blue engine studied the cloud of smoke and took in the crackles and pops of burning wood. Clamping his eyes shut, he slowly began backing up once more, unable to look ahead.
The only thing in front of him was a shroud of guilt.
And it was too much of a bright red.
Thomas didn't know what to say. He looked at Edward, his usual cheerful disposition withered to a blank canvas.
"Edward, I… I don't…"
"They found her popped off the rails, under rubble and soot. Sir Topham Hatt deemed getting the parts to fix her too expensive, and sent her back to Wales to be mended there. But the wealth wasn't any better there… She had told me that herself."
"So then…?" Thomas gulped.
"We can only assume," Gordon bellowed, the tiniest hint of remorse in his voice.
"The third night after it happened was when they put her on the boat to send her away. I didn't dare go to the docks," Edward choked out. "But as I sat here, trying to sleep… I could've sworn I heard something in the distance."
"What was it?"
"The most beautiful sound in the world."
Edward need say nothing more. Thomas knew exactly what he meant.
As the blue engine backed slowly into his shed, he concluded his story:
"That's my story, Thomas. If you take anything from it, take this: love is fleeting. Love is kind. But…"
"But?"
"If you play with fire, be prepared to get burned in the end."
BOOOOM WHAT A FUCKING ENDING. Don't worry, there will be one more installment! Just a small little epilogue. :) Thank you guys for following this story and the support!
~ Mikki