Yup, I'm back! Very sorry for the long wait!
Most of the chapter will be flashbacks, but nothing really spoilery for Last Frontier. Only one new character, but you will recognize her.
Still, I hope you enjoy the new chapter!
"Speech" ; "Sign" (reversed in flashback)
XI.
Swinging from the branches was for children, really. Which, Bryn thought, they weren't anymore. He remembered when he was younger how much he wanted to grow up, wanted to make his own spear, go hunting with father like Tola did. Right now, however, he enjoyed this freedom again to chase the piece of his heart among the foilage.
Oaka looked back to see if Bryn managed to catch up to her, all the while a beaming smile on her face. She had always been swifter when it came to swinging on branches, ever since they were little. But the smile froze from Oaka's face when all she saw was empy green behind her. She looked around and hooted to get Bryn to answer and see where he was - and got the fright of her life when Bryn jumped down on her from above. He got a few playful whacks for laughing at her in return.
They hadn't been together for too long and hadn't told anybody yet. It was that year's spring when Oaka had her first blood, and when the first heat came Bryn claimed her. They were the first for each other, the first love that wasn't easy to keep a secret. Bryn felt like he could burst with happiness and envied the birds because they could sing their love to the sky for everybody to hear.
He grabbed Oaka's hand to stop her and gave the love of his life a quick peck that turned into a heated kiss. With one hand and feet Bryn was holding onto the thick branches above them, and with his other hand he was stroking Oaka's head. Her arms were hugging his middle, until in the next moment she pushed herself away from him. She watched in amusement as Bryn's face fell like a white-tail's whose toy had been taken away.
Oaka backed away a little, just so that she had her back against the tree trunk. Bryn let his eyes wander over her form, her dark brown hair looked light in the rays of sunlight, the necklace of shell, that was a gift from him, reached down to her chest - the young female, barely an adult, was everything he wanted. She smiled to him and her smile beckoned him. He flew straight into her waiting arms and hugged her close. It was just the two of them, the two of them when their bodies melted into each other, and when they continued chasing each other among the branches, like young, free children...
...
"Bryn..."
The young male and his older brother, Tola were making bone daggers when Oaka ran up to them with a frightened enough look on her face that made Bryn scared for a minute, too. He got up immediately and sent an apologetic look at Tola, who just looked on in mild annoyance how his brother jumped at the female's first word. He knew about them being together for months now and didn't understand why Bryn insisted on keeping it a secret. He once told him so that it could be only theirs for the time being.
Tola shook his head, but turned back to the dagger in his hand. He was fine on his own anyway.
Bryn let Oaka lead him a little further where they could be alone among the woods. Now he was really worried; Oaka was shaking and looked unnaturally pale. She was clutching his hand and looked around frantically until Bryn cupped her face to stop her.
"What's wrong?" Bryn signed with a frown and Oaka breathed out. She gently took his hand and put it on her lower abdomen.
Bryn's eyes grew wide.
"My blood didn't come." Oaka signed with trembling hands, "I felt sick... tired. I asked a healer... I am with child."
It felt like the world stopped for Bryn for a long moment. Here stood the love of his life before him, and just told him he was going to be a father. Everything else seemed so small in comparison...
"I will not tell father." Oaka continued signing with a tearful, but determined look on her face, "If he finds out... when we are not even mated..."
"We will be." Bryn announced and grabbed both his love's hands, "It is time... for me... you will be my mate."
Oaka stared at him wordlessly before a smile slowly broke on her face. A single teardrop rolled down her cheek and Bryn brought their foreheads together. They would be there for each other always. Nothing in the world could take their happiness away now...
...
Oaka's long arms hugged him tighter from behind and he heard her painful groan all too clear. They both knew there wasn't much time left.
She was crouching behind him on their horse now - as sitting was too uncomfortable - and Bryn let his mate cling to him as her labor advanced and the pain grew too strong to bear alone. He didn't want to show it, but he was terrified. It was a good month since they got away from the soldiers and many of their brothers and sisters fell in those battles that followed their attack on the humans, where they all followed Koba willingly - before his father decided to split from Caesar and take a large group of apes with him.
However, they all felt the loss, and there weren't many females who went with them. And none of them were midwives. Bryn knew his mother would have helped Oaka... if she was still alive...
Bryn shook his head. He asked his father to stop earlier, so that Oaka could at least have the child as peacefully as possible, but both Khan and Tola insisted on travelling further. Bryn was angry, but knew he couldn't let his anger out just yet. Oaka's hands balled into fists as she hugged him and she was panting through gritted teeth.
"Bryn..."
He didn't need to look behind to know Oaka was crying. Her voice alerted his family and Juno and Clarence looked back at them with worry in their eyes. Tola was frowning slightly, but he, too, looked a little anxious. Ever since Oaka's pains started, they were all helpless. Bryn saw Clarence reach out to Khan and sign something to him, but he didn't care what - he stopped his horse and got off, and then helped Oaka down as well.
"Father," he called, "we stop... Now!"
Clarence gave their leader a meaningful look and Khan sighed deeply. He did feel sorry for the young female, but they still hadn't found a suitable place to settle down and though he wouldn't let anybody apart from Clarence know, he was too afraid to stop just yet. Not until they could hide from the humans, from the world once and for all.
Bryn helped his struggling mate to a tree so she could at least lie down against it. Juno tried to walk up to them to see if he could help, but Bryn sent him away. Birth had always been something males simply didn't get involved in, not even mates most of the time, however, Bryn fought down his panic. Oaka could have chosen another female to help her through the birth, but she chose him - this was how much she trusted him. Bryn knew even if he was scared, Oaka must have been terrified. And she had no one else there, they were her only family left, after her father disowned her for following Khan away from the battles, instead of staying with him and Caesar...
Bryn let his mate lean on him, hold onto him. For those long, long minutes, he didn't care about the curious and worried glances the new tribe's members were giving them, he didn't care about how hopeless their journey seemed - he admired Oaka for doing her best even in those undignified circumstances, having to live through this moment without proper care and help, without the intimacy and peace of a home. Through her tears, she was determined to stay strong, Bryn could see it clearly when their eyes met. And when the baby finally arrived, right into Bryn's hands with strong kicks and a strong cry, the world really stopped around them.
Oaka soon took the little boy and hugged him to her chest. She was panting from exhaustion, but held the baby stable. Bryn could hardly tear his eyes away from the two of them, his mate, his son, a new hope in this ever darkening world. They have lost so much, and now Bryn could finally celebrate, just a little. Oaka leant her forehead to his and Bryn started to believe, for a moment, that all their deeds and hopes were not for nothing.
Juno was the first to go up to them and see his new nephew. The pure joy on his face was worth a thousand words, and that was the first time in many, many moons that Khan smiled...
...
The first was Juno. And then Kanj. The chamber next to them and their own was empty now, and Bryn knew that with every agonized breath she took, Oaka was getting farther and farther away from him, too.
The young king saw too many pass in just a few days as the coughing death was claiming members of his tribe mercilessly. His own family was no exception. After his last brother and son were torn from his arms, he was too shaken. Oaka was crying until all strength to cry left her. From then on, Bryn felt like he was in a dream and only concentrated on taking care of his sick queen.
He could see that Oaka hated every moment. She had always been proud, but there was no dignity in sickness; and she hated it that all these tasks, of taking care of everybody, of taking care of her when it was all in vain, weighed upon Bryn alone. She hated seeing how helpless her mate was, how much he wanted to make it better, but she only got worse. And Bryn knew - he knew she was sorry. But no one could help it.
It was one of the remaining healers, a young female named Ann, who called him to Oaka. She had been taking care of her when Bryn couldn't, but now when Bryn saw she was crying, he knew something happened...
Oaka was lying in their shared nest and if it wasn't for her ragged breathes, Bryn would have thought it was already over. There was a small wooden bowl next to her with something white in it that Ann picked up hurriedly and clutched to her chest. She was now crying and whimpering even harder and kept saying "Sorry" over and over again.
Bryn leant down when Oaka opened her eyes, slowly, too tired for that simple movement. She wasn't willing to say goodbye and neither was Bryn. He knew there wasn't much time left - he gave one last kiss on her forehead and she smiled gratefully in return.
And his eyes only saw her, through his tears, the love of his life...
...
Her name was Cassia. Bryn had known her since birth, like everyone in the tribe. It did feel like a whole other tribe since the coughing plague ravaged them and new apes joined them since they became nomads, and together with those who remained after the plague, the tribe's numbers began to grow once again. There were many young apes and the colony was blooming.
Bryn could be proud, really. It had been seven winters... and they were living again.
Cassia was just a child when the plague swept through the tribe. She lost both her parents and was on her own ever since. She was strong and stood her own, she learnt to be a horse-trainer by her choice. She was usually not a loud ape, but stood strong by her opinion when she felt it right - even against Bryn himself, if necessary. She had dark brown hair, was just slightly shorter than him, and was almost the same age as Oaka was when she...
Bryn knew many males courted her, but she hadn't accepted anyone yet. The gestures, smiles, stolen glances she sent towards their king did not go unnoticed and Bryn found himself returning the glances more and more often.
He had been bitter for years after his family's death and many challenged him for leadership, but, perhaps out of pure fury, he managed to keep his father's throne. He now led his tribe almost longer than Caesar did before they broke away from them. He couldn't move on for a long time, not even with Thelus, Ann and Aldus by his side. Ann also gave up being a healer after Oaka's death, though Bryn couldn't understand why for a long time. She nevertheless remained a dear friend and when Bryn formed his own council from them, she became a part of it.
And now, maybe, just maybe, he could open up again for one more to his heart.
Cassia was cleaning one of the horses when he approached her. Bryn picked the ripest peaches in a basket and gave it to the surprised female. They, of course, had talked before and Bryn never made his intentions a secret towards her. Cassia took the basket, she accepted his courtship gift and leant into her king's palm when he reached out to caress her face. The fierce fire that usually ruled her features softened into something else and, for the first time, Bryn felt real love sprout in him after floating in silence for so many winters.
It had been too long since the tribe had a queen to look up to...
...
The birth was a hard one, especially so. Bryn was there with Cassia throughout the pains of labor, but there was a point when the midwives sent him out - from then on, he could only listen and hope his queen and new child would be healthy.
It was after quite some time a midwife called him back into the hut. The air inside was heavy with the sharp smell of blood and it was even more worrying when Bryn saw all the leaves, skins and clothes drenched in red beside Cassia. The queen was taking labored breathes and she was trembling from exhaustion, but there was the baby on her chest, a strong little boy, another son - Bryn felt like he was young once more, a new father, and his world could be whole again.
For one moment, Bryn was happy.
He stroked the baby's back and let him clutch onto his finger. The little prince's grip was strong and Bryn knew immediately that he would be a great king one day. He smiled and Cassia smiled back at him, a tired little smile, when their gazes met. They stayed like that, in silence, for a few more minutes and Bryn leant down to touch Cassia's forehead. Even though it was the first time she experienced such a thing, Cassia handled it quite well up until the end and Bryn was proud of her. However, the king knew there was something wrong when he felt how his mate was shaking, how weak she was, and saw the dazed look in her eyes...
"What's wrong?" he asked one of the midwives, his hand holding Cassia's gently but firmly.
The other female, however, looked just as helpless, "We don't know... she was bleeding very much... she—"
"My king," another, older healer interrupted them and pushed Bryn a little away from Cassia when her breath hitched - Bryn almost jumped in fright and let go of his mate's hand when he felt it go limp in his, "Go out, please."
Bryn did so without question. Outside, Thelus and Ann were already waiting for him, anxious to see how their queen and the newborn were doing, but both fell silent when they saw how shocked Bryn was. Neither said a word, their eyes were on the closed entrance of the hut and they strained to hear something, anything from inside - but there was only the baby's crying, a pitiful sound and so loud, Bryn felt like it broke something within him.
A healer walked out with the baby in her arms. Her face glistened from tears when she took off her veil and her hands trembled when she gave Bryn his new son. Bryn took him to his chest before he slowly looked up at the healer, wordlessly asking her to tell him what happened, even though he already felt the dark, icy claws of dread rip into his very soul...
"The queen... s-she..." the healer shook her head and buried her face in her palms as sobs rocked her body.
Bryn held his son close to his chest and felt the tiny chimp grip his fur before all strength left him...
...
She was making paint for her new braids. She loved them, Bryn knew, and she had a particular talent for the small details.
Bryn watched Dane trying to select the best picks to give his favorite horse. The seven-year-old prince was full of energy, but had a certain dignity in him that, Bryn knew, came from his mother. His dear Cassia's living memory was growing up fast. If it wasn't for Ann, who took the prince as his wet nurse and helped Bryn raise him, they wouldn't have been there. Ann stayed there with him as Dane's foster mother and, most of the time, as a lover as well. They, however, concluded that they wouldn't work as mates and Ann instead pointed Bryn to the young female who was, by now, coming of age.
Bryn noticed her earlier as well. He knew Ney since she was born, her mother was a stranger, among the first who joined the tribe after they left the mountains. Ney never knew war or the coughing plague - although, Bryn knew she had a serious illness a few months before, she was now healthy and a joyful young chimpanzee. Her spirit was free of the taint of pain and loss. Just what Bryn needed.
She was an adult now, and wasn't blind to the long glances Bryn gave her. Ney always returned them with smiles, sometimes sweet, sometimes daring. Her face was still light, her frame slim and there was a soft frown on her face in concentration as her hands moved gracefully through the braids - she looked so much like Oaka, when she was this young...
She looked up in surprise when Bryn walked up to her. The older chimp sat down by her side and moved his hands slowly, looking straight in her eyes calmly, asking for permission to groom her. Ney put down the small bowl of paint, her vibrant eyes never leaving her king. She in the end shifted closer to him and closed her eyes as Bryn's fingers combed through her hair, ever so gently...
...
Bryn found her alone in the makeshift hut among the branches, sitting in their nest with knees pulled up to her chest. Ney had a disappointed look on her face and Bryn approached her slowly. He knew the healer left not long before and the king had a good idea what was bothering his mate.
He put a hand on Ney's shoulder to get her attention. Upon seeing his questioning expression, she shook hear head slowly and raised her hands to sign.
"No... I am still not with child."
She felt Bryn lift her chin up. They had been mates for two summers now and still, their efforts to have a new child had been in vain. It seemed, however, that although Bryn would have been glad for another heir, he wasn't saddened over the news. He had Dane, after all, and the young prince was already a fine example of a future king. Ney knew Bryn had a family before them, a family he had lost to a mysterious sickness, and then Cassia, Dane's mother, who died when Ney was still just a small child. All went too early.
Bryn had lost, then regained everything he wanted. He didn't ask for anything more. But Ney... she had her whole life before her still.
Yet Bryn kissed her, and embraced her; he wanted her no matter what. And she let him, like always, to pull her close and claim her and Bryn watched her face, the face so familiar...
...and it melted into Oaka's face and they were young again. Oaka's arms hugged him just like that, and she buried her face into his shoulders. It had been a year since they made peace with the humans of Millerton and life was, once again, normal and thriving, their relationship with the humans better than ever. Their bodies tensed against each other in one final spasm of orgasm before they relaxed and Bryn nuzzled Oaka's neck as she huffed in amusement and satisfaction.
Oaka cupped his face and Bryn started to lean down to give her a kiss when she suddenly smirked and rolled them over, so that she leant over him. Juno was taking care of Kanj, and for once, their duties weren't demanding their attention - they were free to be each other's like they used to be when they were young, before it all turned to war.
Oaka sat straight and Bryn's eyes roamed over her body above him. She let him, and for a long time, they just stared at each other, as if they just found their happiness. And Bryn felt like he could never tear his eyes from her, the love of his life...
...it took several long moments until Bryn realized his eyes were open and he wasn't dreaming anymore. He was staring at rocks, the ceiling of a cave, he didn't immediately recognize where. The pain in his arm slowly crawled back into his fevered mind and the face he saw above himself was all too familiar, that worried frown just what he thought he needed...
"Oaka..."
The face's features shot into shock and disbelief - and fear, painful worry, and it turned back into Ney, the young queen staring back at him with wide eyes, too shocked to speak. The hand on his face was gone as Ney drew back and turned away, Bryn didn't have the strength to hold her back. The next time he opened his eyes, she was gone, and only Ann leant over him, her old face calming and eternal in his life.
"You dreamed." Ann spoke, her voice seemed foggy to Bryn's ears, "You're here... with us."
Bryn was taking labored breathes - his body was drenched in sweat and his mind was drenched in the pain of his wound. That was not the first time he was seeing things while he was awake, his fever made him see dreams in the real world. However, sometimes he wished his mind wouldn't play these tricks on him, and make him see and hear and feel what he thought he had already left behind...
The King of the Mountain closed his eyes and shook his head slowly.
"No... no dream." he rasped, "Memories."
"Of her?" Ann asked back quietly.
"All of them." Bryn whispered and willed himself to turn his head to look at the one he would have trusted his life with, "Ann... if I... don't heal... please..."
"No!" Ann shook her head and sat straight, so Bryn wouldn't see her tear-filled eyes, "Not again... you will heal!"
No, he knew it wouldn't be that easy. Not as easy as sinking back into that long-gone time, and just leave everything behind. How easy it could have been...
Ann let the teardrop roll down her cheek once her king couldn't see it. There was a reason she gave up being a healer, something only she and Bryn knew, and she didn't want it repeated once more. She wouldn't be able to go on if it did.
She would not lose anyone ever again.
The Queen of the Mountain stumbled.
She leant against the side of a huge rock, holding her stomach, like she did several times before. Ney had been feeling sick in the past few days - perhaps, she thought, it was Bryn's illness that was starting to affect her. Or perhaps it was something else.
So many things had been on her mind, and so many others on her heart that Ney could no longer sort her thoughts. Everything spiralled down into a suffocating sensation that nothing, absolutely nothing was in order. That they would never get their old lives back. And no one knew what the future held, especially with Bryn being so ill. Every day, it seemed to grow more and more hopeless.
Ney slumped to the ground, defeated by the force of her morose emotions. She was trembling - one way or another, she knew she was losing Bryn. She didn't know which was scaring her more: if he died, or if he stayed, sick and distant and always reminding her of who she wasn't. She still loved him, who he was to her, but her fight with the acceptance of all these new things, all these grim secrets about her mate - with his declaration of love turning into a plead for his lost love, the young queen felt that she was losing.
Ney buried her face in her palms, sobs rocked her whole body. She seemed to be doing that a lot nowadays, rocking back and worth with overwhelming anxiety. She shut her eyes tight, her cheeks already soaked with her tears, and her hands shook when she raised them.
"Oaka... please, stop haunting him."
She wasn't willing to get up and go back to her sick mate. Not yet.
Dane was still just getting familiar with the terrain and its possibilities for a good hunt. He hadn't succeeded to catch anything since they arrived, even if it was only two days.
He was growing frustrated and impatient and the sudden surges of anger were scaring him. He never felt like this before, but ever since the news, the shooting, his father's worsening illness and Aldus' constant verbal challenges left him shaking with fury that he hadn't experienced before. He used to be in control of his own emotions, but now there were many things that were hard to understand.
Including himself.
The prince needed to get away a little, to clear his head. He found himself staring at the knife in his hand, the knife that he used to kill that other chimpanzee and Dane frowned softly. He wondered if he would ever be able get away from the burden of his deed and its memory that still haunted him at night. Perhaps it would—
A rustle came from a nearby bush and an unfamiliar scent rushed past Dane. The young chimpanzee was on his feet immediately and the next moment his arrow was strung and he was aiming, ready to direct his bitterness and anger at whatever - or whoever was before him.
"Get up, human!" Dane growled.
His heart was pounding in his chest as the human woman rose from the undergrowth. Dane wasn't sure at first if the human would understand him. He had never met one that was still intelligent and could speak, but judging from all the clothing she wore and the slow and measured way in which she stood up, hands raised, to face him, it was safe to assume she did understand. The woman was slim and aged, her hair was more grayish than black, yet she seemed to move with ease and her voice was a clear and quiet alt when she spoke.
"I am unarmed." she said calmly, "I am only here to collect herbs. I mean no har—"
She turned around and froze when she saw him. Her own green eyes wide, they ran over Dane's face before the human breathed out slowly.
"Sorry." she shook her head slightly, "You remind me of a... friend of mine. I haven't seen him in a long time. He was a chimpanzee... you look very much like him."
Dane was frowning, he lowered his arrow just a little. This human didn't seem dangerous, but what she said confused him. He knew older members of the tribe used to know humans, but they hadn't met humans - apart from primitive ones - since he was born.
"His name was Bryn." the human continued and the blood froze in Dane's veins, "Maybe you know him—"
"How do you know him?"
Dane let his arrow down all the way, now it was him staring wide-eyed at the woman before him. His father knew this human?! Just how many secrets would see the light of day still...
"We were friends, many years ago." the human answered, "They used to live in a mountain near our town before they were gone. Do you know him? Is he here?"
Dane breathed out, his broad shoulders slumped and he closed his eyes for a moment before focusing them on the woman again, "He is... my father."
He watched surprise travel along the human's features and watched her smile in relief, "So I was right. Are you... Kanj?"
The human knew even about them?!
"No... Dane. My name is Dane."
"Oh... I didn't know Bryn had another son. Is he here... with you?"
The young chimp huffed and frowned, he turned away for a moment, trying to process all that just happened. There were so many things he wasn't ready for, and it just seemed to add to the long list. However, a thought came to him when his eyes fell on the human woman's bag. The elders told them the humans used to be smart species, and had knowledge of the world, many things the apes couldn't even imagine. While it was hard, even impossible to believe, if it was true - and after all this, why couldn't it be true? - then maybe they had knowledge of medicine that could be useful to them.
"You say... you collect herbs?" Dane asked, pointing to the bag, and seeing the human nod, he went on, "Are you healer?"
"Yes. We can say that."
Dane considered whether bringing a human into the tribe was a good idea, but in the next moment he didn't care. If this human was a friend of his father's and a healer, she was just what they needed.
"Come. My father... injured... sick. If you are healer... you can help him."
The woman frowned in worry, but followed him without a word. On the way back to the tribe, she asked him several questions - how his father was injured, since how long, what other symptoms he had - and Dane tried to answer to the best of his abilities. He didn't imagine humans could be so talkative, her speech was so clear compared to the apes' and the language she used sometimes so complex Dane had a hard time following. She sometimes used words he didn't understand, but explained patiently when she saw his confusion.
So perhaps, these humans really were intelligent. Still... it just bore even more questions in the young prince's frustrated mind.
He raised up a hand for the human to stop when they were in sight of the cave where his father rested, the tribe settled a little further away. Dane expected guards to be up and about, but he didn't expect to run into Aldus straight away when they arrived. He prepared himself for a confrontation when he saw the outrage on the elder gorilla's face.
"A human?! Why did you..."
Dane watched in near marvel as Aldus froze completely, dumbfounded, when he had a better look at the woman, dropping his spear in awe. The human stood before him, perfectly calm, with a small smile playing on her lips.
"Well, Aldus... you have grown."
The next thing Dane saw was the huge gorilla rushing forward, but before he could have leapt to stop him, Aldus grabbed at the human and hugged her to his chest, he even picked her up and span around with her. The human laughed, a sound strange to an ape's ears, but nevertheless gleeful. Once Aldus released her from his fierce embrace, she held onto his shoulders, and Dane had never seen such joy on the old gorilla's face.
"Maria..."
"I missed you, too."
"How... you find us?"
The woman, Maria looked at Dane, "It was Dane who found me. Me and the others, we settled in a small town nearby... Oh, Aldus, we have so much to talk about... but Dane told me Bryn was injured and sick. I need to see him."
Aldus, still in awe, nodded slowly, "He's inside that cave. Come with me."
"Alright."
Dane followed them, wondering how this human even knew their hand language, and he decided not to think for a little. The events proved to be overwhelming already, and he only wanted to think about the possibility of his father getting better, even if they had to place his life in a human's hands...
Bryn opened his eyes slightly when he heard many voices, excited voices, outside the cave. He heard a joyful hoot from Thelus, and just noticed that Ann kept looking in the direction of the cave's mouth with an intense gaze.
"What..."
Dane walked up to him, and for a long moment, he just stared at his father. Bryn couldn't guess what he could be feeling, apart from the same fear and anxious sadness he saw in everybody's eyes when they looked at him, but there was something else. An emotion he couldn't name and, perhaps, neither could Dane. His son turned to Ann and addressed her instead, "A human came... her name is Maria... said she was healer... I brought her—"
"Maria?"
His father's hoarse voice made him turn to him and Bryn was staring at his son as if he had just seen a ghost. He attempted to sit up, even if his limbs were trembling in weakness.
"Maria?" he repeated, "She's here?!"
"Yes... outside."
Bryn couldn't believe what he just heard, but then the voices finally reached him and there was no mistake - it was a long lost voice, from a long lost friend, that he heard. His heart had never pounded so strong in his chest before.
"Let her... let her come!"
Ann helped him sit. It was as if new life had been breathed into her king's sick and frail body and he stared in pure wonder and loving happiness at the woman, Maria, whom Thelus escorted inside. Bryn was taking deep breathes as his eyes filled with tears watching the living memory of a friend take small steps to him and getting down on her knees before him, her own eyes watery and glistening, and even time couldn't change the familiar features and smile of the human he used to call his best friend, oh so long ago...
Bryn leaned forward and with his one good arm he brought Maria into a hug, and Maria hugged him carefully in return. Bryn closed his eyes and buried his face into the woman's shoulder, into her long hair that was like the color of rainclouds, and he let his pain-filled body go limp in her arms. He hadn't felt such serenity in years and felt like he never wanted to let go of her ever again.
Maria stroked his back gently and Bryn could have laughed in euphoria. He felt Maria give a small peck on the top of his head and when their endless embrace finally ended, he cradled the woman's face and her fingers lightly stroked his fevered cheeks. He was now starting to believe that it wasn't an awake dream he was having.
"You... really... here..." he whispered and Maria nodded.
"Yes. I'm here, my dear friend." the human doctor heaved a great sigh before she continue, "So many things happened... but we will have time to talk. First... we will heal you."
She turned to Thelus and Dane, who were standing by the side to let the two reunite in peace, "I will need to go and gather my equipment. But I will be back shortly. Until then, you just keep him comfortable."
Thelus nodded eagerly and even volunteered to help her. It was now clear to Dane that they all knew Maria and her human friends from long before, but it wasn't time for questions now - he accepted, for now, that this was a good friend who was willing to help his father, and probably save him. That much was enough.
Maria turned back to Bryn who still couldn't tear his eyes from her and hugged him one more time. This was what Ney saw when she walked back into the cave, pale and frozen, and it took Thelus to explain to her what happened, and who was hugging her mate right now. Another part of the past that was held secret from her. Another reason for her trust to sway.
Even with the hope this human brought to them, Ney couldn't quiet her mind or chase away the darkness engulfing her heart. Even as she sat next to Bryn and let the king rest his head on her shoulder, she couldn't help feel more distant from him than ever before.
The pyre burned on the earth, and the sunset burned on the sky above them.
Cornelius couldn't think and couldn't feel as he watched his son's farewell. His pyre was placed the highest, and below him were all the apes who went along with Soror in hope of freedom from a war, and who were all killed when they were ambushed by the strangers. The flames covered the wooden structures like a blanket, and they covered his son and their brethren once more, before the statue of Caesar and his family.
Now, Titus joined them. The flames carried their souls away to the unknown where they would all return with time.
Zira hugged him and Cornelius let his crying daughter lean onto him. Next to him, Primrose stood straight, with sobs shaking her body occasionally. Cornelius knew she wasn't feeling well, but she refused to stay in the treehouse. Maurice and Nova stood on their right, Rocket and Tinker on their left - Lake and her whole family, Bad Ape and the rest of the council were behind them. The colony formed a circle around the pyres, all family members and friends close to their lost loved ones.
And, surprisingly, Queen Abrihet was also there, along with her brother, her advisor Malna and the young Isso. Lake insisted Cornelius let them be there, though he wouldn't have refused - after all, their hunters and warriors helped stop the strangers from attacking maybe the colony itself, and after Lake told them of just what the hunter Isso meant for Titus, Cornelius wouldn't have found it in himself to deny them the right to bid farewell.
The flames died down slowly, but the crying of the apes didn't quiet for a long time. With the ceremony over, Cornelius entrusted Primrose and Zira to Rain and his sister-in-laws' care. He wanted to stay a little, just a little longer.
He touched the burnt wood, still warm, when he felt a small hand on his shoulder. Abrihet stood behind him, her expression mournful and understanding. She didn't say anything, just squeezed his shoulder gently, as if telling him that they were there and would help. Cornelius didn't expect such compassion from these strangers, and yet here they were, helping them and offering their assistance whether in fight or in times of great sadness. The king brought his hand to her shoulder as well in a silent way to thank them and then took a step to Isso who stood in the shadow like a picture of living sorrow.
The young bonobo was still crying and Cornelius marveled - she really loved his son so much? Isso bowed her head and turned away, grasping onto her mother's arm for support and Cornelius let them go, watching their disappearing forms with a lump in his throat, a growing tightness in his chest that felt like it was choking him, suffocating him...
Something didn't feel right.
Isso's mind was buried too deep in her grief to notice that something was wrong earlier. It was just the other day they got to know what happened to the members of Cornelius' tribe and what it meant for them - it meant their enemy was closer than they thought, and they were blind not to notice it. Abrihet forbade all scouts and hunters to go alone and no one could leave the tribe's vicinity for long. Isso didn't move out ever since she learnt of Titus' death.
It was like all strength had been sucked out of her body. She hadn't felt like this since her brother died and even now... it felt different.
She felt mild cramps, throughout the day, but she didn't care about them. But now, as they made their way back to the camp, it started worsening. The pain burst into her abdomen like an arrow wound and she doubled over, hugging her mid-section with bared teeth as her mother hurried up to her.
It was long before they finally made it back to camp. Too long.
When he was finally alone, the king found himself clinging to the burnt wood, his whole body trembling. He saw stars and it was hard to breathe. He vaguely felt someone holding him by his arm, gently and patiently waiting for him to ride the waves of panic that, for a long moment, overtook his body and mind and made him feel like he was holding on for dear life.
Cornelius held his chest and gasped for air. He tried to concentrate on the hand holding him, stabilizing him and willed himself to turn. He saw Rocket above him and he held onto the old chimp's shoulder.
"Breathe. Breathe in deep." his uncle and second father signed to him calmly, as if he knew this feeling. Cornelius was glad it was Rocket who stayed there with him through this and did as he told, he waited for his heart to settle, even if it seemed impossible.
"Uncle..." he rasped and shook his head, "We cannot stay... cannot... allow this to... happen again. We must not... let them win."
Rocket breathed in, himself nearly not as calm as he wanted to show - but he saw so many deaths, and lost so many who were dear to him, that the loss of his honorary grandson now left him feeling empty, and only the anger boiled in him that he now saw surfacing in his adopted son. He knew that look, and made no attempt to stop it.
If they had to live through it once more, to protect their families and their future, then so be it.
"We will follow you, Cornelius." he signed quietly in the last rays of the sunset, "Whatever you decide. But for now... let yourself grieve. Go back to your family. When we wake tomorrow... we will be ready."
Phew.
For those who still haven't seen/played with Last Frontier, Maria is one of the human characters from the game, a doctor who used to be a marine who was later willing to work with Bryn to fight the soldiers that came to take over the town of Millerton and Bryn's tribe.
It's been long, but I hope if someone still reads this story, that you enjoyed this rather slow chapter. I don't want to make promises as to when I will update, but I will not abandon the story, that much I can guarantee.
"New" character:
Cassia: in the original Planet of the Apes, she was Zira's sister and Lucius' mother, killed when the Moon was destroyed by mutants. After her death, Zira raised Lucius along with the help of fellow scientist and rebel Prisca. Here she is Bryn's second mate and the mother of Dane.
Feedback is appreciated. :)