Crimson Chapter 11: Bacon is Good?
Kurth froze as the door slammed, cursing himself. A second after he'd said his last words to Soren, the dragon king had seen a flash of the Crimson he knew. He willed himself to calm down, wondering how he could possibly apologize to the Branded now,
Considering his mummified state, none.
Gareth is going to kill me later, Kurth thought as he tore off the bandages around his arm and legs. The thought of Crimson's face destroyed whatever reasoning he had, and in a rush the young dragon king singlehandedly pushed himself out of the bed.
And fell to the floor. Kurth winced as the elbow of his good arm crashed into the tile floor, laying on his side. He tried to push himself up with the other shoulder, but failed. Isn't there a cane around here somewhere? Kurth wondered. He crawled around the room, trying to stand using rulers, chairs, and finally by tearing off one of the window shutters (desperate dragon kings- don't underestimate 'em). Exhausted, and now with a thoroughly sore right arm, he slumped against the exit door.
How much time had passed? He couldn't tell. He couldn't hear any voices in the hall- maybe it was late. I still need to reach Soren and apologize, Kurth goaded himself. The staircase is right there... he must be in one of the guest rooms. It's not far from here. He shakily stood, legs offering no support, and opened the door with the crook of his arm, hobbling out.
Staircase. Hazard. Logic would've told him not to attempt it, but he approached it anyway. The shutter went under his arm like a crutch, and his good hand rested on the handrail. He heaved himself up the first step and gasped for air as he felt something in his right arm crack. In the back of his mind, he heard Crimson's voice saying this is stupid, you're an idiot- but he kept going.
I will apologize, he vowed to himself. I will not be helpless.
Soren was, in a word, agitated. The books in her temporary residence were out of order, scattered, and left open. Her hair- redone in an even tighter braid- crackled with thunder magic, and the pillows were wrinkled with abuse. The night was dark, and while everyone else would've been asleep by now, to her it was the zenith of the day. Not that she would've been able to sleep- the dragon king's words had brought forth a flood of terrible memories she couldn't erase. Her feet paced the room a thousand times before a gentle knock stopped them.
"Soren?" The voice was soft, but Soren recognized it as Kuthnaga's. She didn't answer.
"I just wanted to apologize... the words have already been spoken, I know, and I can't take them back... but nothing I've experienced is your fault, and I'm sorry for blaming you. It wasn't right." The voice paused, and Soren realized her own heart was beating faster. "I wish you all the best," Kurth finished. "For you deserve more than this world can offer..."
Soren said nothing in reply. Part of her mind wanted to open the door, to let him inside, but the other half insisted on keeping it shut. He isn't Ike, she reminded herself bitterly. He's just a hallucinating fool.
She fell asleep with thoughts of Ike fighting the Black Knight.
The next morning…
"Pancakes?" Ike wondered as he stumbled out of bed. "Or bacon? Mmmm, bacon…" He looked up at the ceiling with starry eyes, as if an invisible hand were offering a plate full of bacon. "I hope they have bacon here," Ike concluded, rubbing his eyes with a yawn. "I like bacon."
Unaware of what occurred the previous night- Soren had refused to speak of it- the hero nearly stomped on the dragon king, who lay sprawled out next to Soren's door, asleep. Huh. His face is kinda pale, Ike noticed. He needs to eat more bacon. "Good morning, Kurthnaga! Is there breakfast for bacon?"
The young king awoke with a shudder, then gave Ike a questioning look. "What?"
"Is there breakfast for bacon?" He wasn't aware that he'd jumbled the two words starting with B.
Kurth scratched his head, glancing downstairs. "Um… I think so. They serve bacon…"
"Good. I like bacon." Without another word Ike clamored down the stairs, but stopped before reaching the kitchen. He thought of his tactician, who was usually awake by now. "Soren come down already?"
"No," Kurth said, disappointment in his eyes. Ike's mind reached a new level of alertness.
"You stayed here all night?"
"Yes."
The former general stared at the dragon king. "I'll bring you both bacon," he decided, heading into the kitchen to do just that. The chef greeted him pleasantly, but after consuming three plate's worth of meat, Ike started to get strange looks. "Two more," he requested with a wave of his hand. "For friends. They need eat." He thought of his two pale-faced, dark-haired friends and smiled. Bacon is good. I like bacon. Grabbing the two plates, he took off back towards where he found Kurth, who was now laying on his back, staring at the ceiling. Ike placed the plate full of bacon on the dragon's belly.
"Eat," he commanded. "I'll talk to Soren." And with that he grabbed the doorknob, broke the lock, and held it open. He closed it gently behind him at his tactician's annoyed stare.
"I brought you breakfast," Ike said with a smile. "Bacon."
The mage's eyes fixed on the heaping plate of bacon twice the size of his stomach, and his mouth quirked upward in a smile. "Thanks." Ike set the plate on the bed and sat down next to the mage.
"You okay?"
Soren shrugged, staring at his lap. "I'm coherent. It's more than you are in the morning."
Ike nodded, moving the plate of bacon on top of Soren's lap. "Bacon is good. You eat. Kurth eat."
The mage's red eyes lit up at the dragon king's name. "Kurth is near?"
Ike nodded. "Outside all night. Found 'im sleepin'. Still mad a' 'im?" He shoved a handful of bacon- a third of the plate- into his mouth midsentence and chomped noisily.
Soren nodded, staring off into space. "Ike?"
"Yep?" Ike asked between munches.
"You remember when I told you…what I was?" The tactician's voice dropped in volume to the point where Ike could barely hear him.
"Yep?"
"Well…" Soren stared down at the plate of bacon. Ike elbowed him in the ribs, picking up a piece and circling it around the boy's mouth. Soren snatched it out of Ike's hand and held it like a pen. "You should know this before we leave. I'm," he turned over the grease-coated edible, "a girl."
Ike stopped chewing. He swallowed. He stared at his best friend. "Like Mist?"
Soren sighed. "Yes, like Mist, Ike."
The hero gave his tactician a skeptical look. "But… you don't have boobies, Soren."
The smack heard around the world followed.
"Ike, you're being stupid again." Soren said in a dangerous tone, dropping the slice of bacon and moving the plate onto Ike's lap. "It's not important, anyway…"
"Wevwee fing zoo say zis 'portant," Ike countered, rubbing his cheek. "Now eat zee bacon."
Soren ate the revolting bacon. Ike smiled.
"Bacon is good."
AN: Longer chapter! Sorry for the wait, school's already knocking this down on the priority list. (Or should be. It just isn't.) More Gareth in the next chapter! Plus... jealousy?