Well, you waited over a year for chapter twenty-seven, so here's a super fast update for twenty-eight!
And here we are, the last chapter before the epilogue. Even if you don't count the super long hiatus I took, this story took me way too long to complete, especially compared to WiH (though, to be fair, I was updating WiH basically a chapter every three to four days on average). Anyway, there are a few things left to be covered and I'm sure you're ready to see what's going to happen!
Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one
Rebirth
Garet stirred from his sleep, woken by the chill enveloping the room. Groggily looking around, he could see that he had fallen asleep on a stool at Roxy's bedside. Outside, snowflakes gently fluttered down from the sky, and chimney smoke could be seen coming out of nearly every roof in sight.
Breathing onto his numb hands, Garet reached down to pick up the blanket that had fallen off his shoulders. Rather than draping it over himself, however, he glanced at the sleeping woman in front of him and laid it over her instead.
These last few months had been harder than he ever could have imagined. Ivan had become too busy with Karis to help check on Isaac anymore, leaving Garet to make the trip between Kalay and the cabin every single day. The constant journeys and the care he was giving to Roxy had been taking their toll on him.
And then Matthew was born. News reached him almost immediately after Jenna had given birth just a few weeks ago, and Garet was shocked to discover that she had left the child in Isaac's care despite his isolation from society. Garet no longer had to fear for Isaac's life, as he knew that his friend would never abandon his own child, and so he had felt safe spending these past few weeks in Kalay. However, his worries did not disappear.
Roxy was due to give birth any time now, and with each passing day Garet grew more and more anxious. What would happen once their child was born? He could not possibly continue living at Isaac's cabin, but would he be accepted here? After all, he and Roxy had never spoken about marrying one another out of obligation, nor did either of them seem like they would agree if it were brought up.
"How's she doing today?" the smith's voice entered with his footsteps.
"Not sure, I just woke up."
"Tch, of all the times for her to come down with some damn sickness."
Garet hardly moved as Roxy's father knelt down beside her and felt her forehead with the back of his hand. It was more of a routine than an actual way to check her temperature, as the redness of her cheeks was a clear indication of how high her fever was.
"Just like her," her father mumbled. "She goes her entire life without so much as a cold and now, the one time it really matters, she comes down with one of the worst cases I've ever seen."
"Maybe her immune system wasn't ready for it. I mean, it'd make sense if she's never gotten sick before."
"Let's just hope it passes before the baby starts coming. Nothing much we can do for her or the little guy until then."
With that, the old smith bumbled back downstairs to the armoury. Once he was gone, Garet took Roxy's hand in his and held it gently. This slight warmth was all he had left in this world. No matter the circumstances of what had led them to this, he was going to hold on and never let go, doing everything in his power to protect his family.
He had to, or else he would be utterly and entirely alone.
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"Have you thought of any names yet?" Kay asked, laying out some tea for the three of them.
"Hmm, well, I have a few, but Garet hasn't even suggested a single one!"
Roxy chuckled weakly as she shakily reached for her cup. Garet had never thought that such a lively girl could have a constitution like this, and he was terrified for it. He wanted to play off her current weakness as a result of her body's changes and its lack of exposure to disease, not to mention that she had been bedridden for nearly a month now, but somehow he knew deep within himself that it was a much simpler explanation.
"Haha, leave it to him to wait until the last minute," Kay laughed, elbowing Garet in the side. "I bet the only name he's even considered is Garet Junior."
"What? No way! I've thought about other names too!"
"But you have thought about it."
"Well…yeah…"
Kay was clearly here to try to brighten the mood, and Garet was doing his best to keep up with her, but it took all his willpower just to make silly little conversations like this. Thankfully for him, Roxy still enjoyed doing the talking herself, even if she seemed too weak to do it at times.
"I know I shouldn't, but I've kind of already gotten attached to a name," she said.
"Oh? Do tell. It can't be worse than Garet Junior."
"Heehee, definitely. I'm not sure why, but one morning I woke up and decided I wanted to name it Tyrell."
"Tyrell?" both siblings asked in unison.
"Yeah, I don't remember where I first heard the name, but when it came back to me, I knew it would be right."
Garet made a face. Weren't women usually a bit more particular about the reasons behind naming their children? It wasn't something they could change easily later on.
"What if it's a girl, though?"
"Then maybe Tara. Or Rose."
"Rose came out of nowhere there… But, assuming it is a boy, wouldn't a name like Terry be safer? I mean, how do you even spell Tyrell?"
Kay smacked him on the back of the head. "Geez, she told you the name she wants to go with and you're worried because you don't know how to spell it?"
"I'm just saying, Terry would probably make more sense in other languages, and it's easier for kids to say."
"If you don't like the name, can't you at least say so?"
"I don't dislike it or anything! I'm just…trying to keep as many options open as possible. I thought people usually liked to have meanings for names."
Roxy didn't seem to mind his antics as she casually took a sip from her cup. "I'm pretty set on Tyrell, Garet. If we have a second kid, I'll let you name that one, okay?"
She gave him a wink, and it reminded him of the old days when her playful flirtatiousness had meant nothing, at least not to him. Back when times were simpler and he only had to travel to Kalay on business trips once a month. He missed those days, but that past was long behind him, and he could only focus on the future now.
But would the future hold out for a second child? Garet still wasn't entirely sure what his and Roxy's relationship was right now. In one aspect, they were together, but not by choice, and while he felt obligated to stay with her now that they would be having a child together he did not know if they were meant to do once it was born.
The three of them chatted for a while longer, and when Roxy started to grow tired again Kay took her leave. Garet walked her to the entrance as Roxy lay back down to rest.
"She was pushing herself pretty hard," Kay spoke quietly. Garet nodded in response. "Have you taken her to the sanctum? Or gotten any remedies from them?"
"We did, but what scares me is that it seems a lot like the outbreaks that happen in Imil and Bilibin. Maybe some travelling merchant passed it onto her or something, but none of the local remedies or healing has worked. Even if we ordered in some Hermes' Water, it would take months to get here."
"Doesn't her family have merchant connections that could get some here faster?"
"If they could get it here quickly in these weather conditions, we already would have gotten it. There's nothing we can do, so I've just been trying to monitor her temperature as best I can."
"Garet…"
"Why does this always happen to me? Whenever there's something I need to protect, someone that needs my help, why can I never find the means to do it properly? I screwed up when Jenna was kidnapped, I screwed up countless times on the Golden Sun journey, and nothing has gone right ever since then. Is this my fate? Am I doomed to live a life of loss and regret?"
"Garet, listen to me. You're just afraid right now because she's not as healthy as she could be, but everything's going to be okay. You're here for her and her family is here for her. It'll be alright, you'll see."
"How can you say that to me after everything that's happened though? Can't you see that this is just another failure waiting to happen? Of course I'm afraid right now; if I lose her, I lose everything. You can go ahead and say that I'll still have you and our family and my friends, but I have nothing to return to. I can't risk hurting anyone any more than I already have."
They stared each other down in silence, unsure of what the other might say or do. Garet knew there were holes in his argument, but all the same, he knew he could not return to a life with any of them if things turned south.
"Are you really prepared," she began, "to leave everything behind if things do turn out as badly as you think they will?"
"What do I have to lose? The only thing left in this city will be painful memories. I'll set off on my own without any set destination in mind."
"Ugh, that's just like you to leave without thinking things through."
"Say whatever you want. I'm just as resolved to do it as Roxy is to name this kid Tyrell."
Kay gave him one final, scrutinizing glance before turning to step out the doorway.
"Let's just hope that Tyrell wins out over you, then."
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Garet could hardly process what was happening as he generated a field of heat to keep the snow off himself and Roxy's family. One moment, he was just allowing himself to doze off at her bedside, the next she was crying out in pain. He remembered the sound of footsteps pattering frantically around him, and Roxy's father had been shouting at him to clear the snow to the sanctum.
Over the last week since Kay had come to visit, Roxy's health had only further deteriorated, showing no signs of letting up as she became weaker with each day. Everyone in the household was aware, but no one wanted to bring it up. They all wanted to believe that she would make some miraculous recovery in time, but fate had other plans, and it seemed that it was finally putting the last few parts in motion.
They burst through the sanctum doors and alerted the priest at the altar to what was happening. He quickly went to fetch the Great Healer from his bedchambers as they rushed Roxy into the sick room. Garet's stomach turned as they laid her on the first bed in sight, the same bed Aaron had lain on as he fought for his life as well.
"Please, sir, madam, we will need you to leave the room for the time being," the priests said as they ushered her parents out of the room. "Not you, Garet. We need you to keep this space warm until the birth is complete."
They did not have time to argue or complain, and soon Garet found himself kneeling next to Roxy as she screamed and crushed his hand with a strength she had not shown in almost a year. He used every ounce of his concentration to keep the temperature in the room at a constant, comfortable level.
For hours on end, Roxy's labour continued, seemingly without an end in sight. Priests would run off to fetch psy crystals for Garet, and they had to rotate positions as they kept Roxy's physical conditions stable. Garet tried to speak words of encouragement to her, running her through the breathing and how well she was doing, but he felt more like he was encouraging himself, bracing for what looked to be inevitable.
The snow continued to fly down in flurries as light broke through the windows. Garet could feel every part of his body giving out from fatigue, but he forced himself to keep going. He had to protect her even if he put his own life in danger for it. Roxy and the child were his last hope, his only remaining salvation in this world.
Flashes of Aaron's face began to appear as Garet watched Roxy cry out in pain. He would not let that happen again, it could not happen again. If he could transfer some of his life into her right now, he would do it, but he had not the skill nor the strength left to do it even if he could.
And then everything seemed to stop.
Crying. A child's crying.
Garet slowly brought his gaze from Roxy as he looked down to see the Great Healer holding a tiny person in his hands. The baby's umbilical cord was still uncut, but right before Garet's very own eyes was life – a life he had helped to create and bring into this world. A part of himself that was not himself, and it was alive. He was alive.
Roxy's grip loosened in his, and he quickly turned back to her exhausted face, trying to hold back tears as he processed what was happening.
"Roxy, he's here!" he choked out. "Our baby. Our son! Our little Tyrell, he's here."
The hot streams of tears began to roll down his cheeks as he clutched onto her hand tighter. She looked at him through tired eyes and smiled weakly, looking paler than she ever had.
"I'm glad…" she panted. "He's here. We…we did it…"
In that instant, Garet could not understand what he was feeling. He was so overcome with joy, and yet he could feel an icy claw squeezing his chest as he watched Roxy's chest rise and fall in uneven intervals, struggling just to get air. His tears of joy were quickly morphing into tears of fear as he leaned closer towards her.
"Don't…don't fall asleep yet, Roxy. We'll have plenty of time for that at home. It's been a long night, but just hold on. The healers will have you all fixed up in just a little bit and everything will be all right."
"S-Silly," she said, tears starting to form in her own eyes. "I won't fall asleep now. I just…n-need to calm down. I-I'm too worked up, is all."
She could hardly get the words to come out, and Garet was now fully panicking. He could hear the priests shouting to each other as they raced around to heal and find remedies for her. The sound of a door bursting open and more footsteps meant that her parents had entered the room, but Garet could not focus on any of that. All he could focus on was the woman in front of him, her teary blue eyes slowly becoming devoid of life.
"No, NO! I won't let this happen again! Roxy, stay with me! You haven't even seen him yet, held him in your arms!"
Garet practically wrenched the baby from the Great Healer after the ceremonial incantations were complete. Propping one arm behind Roxy to sit her up, he held the baby in his other arm so they could face one another.
"Look, Roxy, it's our baby. It's Tyrell. Y-You named him yourself! He has that name you fell in love with."
She smiled weakly again as a tear rolled down her cheek. Garet could do nothing but watch as she raised a pale, shaky hand to touch the wailing baby's face.
"My little…Tyrell. It's really you… That red hair… Haha, he looks…just like his father…"
Her hand seemed to fall against her will, but she still continued to smile as more tears rolled down her cheeks. Garet wanted to cry out at her, but the words got caught in his throat, allowing only a quiet wail to escape past his lips.
"Tyrell… Garet…" she spoke very softly. "I love both of you very, very much. Don't ever forget that. And…don't ever forget that I'm going t-to stay with you…forever. R-Right by your sides. So…so…just…wake me up…when we're home, okay?"
"R-Roxy–"
"Promise?"
He was powerless to the hand of fate. No matter what he did, he was going to lose everything. She wanted him to make an empty promise, and he could not refuse, even though they both knew what was going to happen.
And so, with the last of his resolve, Garet hugged her and Tyrell close as he wept into her shoulder.
"Y-Yeah, I promise."
"Good… See you…in the morning…"
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Alone.
After everything he had done, everything he had worked so hard for, it had amounted to nothing. The world had turned its back on him.
Garet was a lone black speck on the vast expanse of snow. He stood before a headstone in the corner of the local cemetery. Even though she had just been buried earlier that day, the snow had already covered the dirt, leaving no trace of her behind except for the headstone engraved with her name.
At his feet, a basket wrapped in a bubble of psynergetic warmth sat calmly and quietly. The child sleeping within it knew nothing of what had happened, nor could it understand anything at all right now. He would never know how his mother had given her life giving birth to him, how her life had been a sacrifice she should not have had to make. It was not her mistake for loving Garet, it was his mistake that had led to her death.
"You're still here?"
It was Isaac. Garet did not have to look. He could not keep his eyes off the headstone regardless.
"Garet, I know–"
"No, you don't, Isaac." It was a simple statement, and he made sure it came across as plainly as possible. "You don't understand what I'm going through. All this time, I've tried to be the supporter, the one that had everyone's backs no matter what. But I never had anyone's back. Time after time I failed to do anything right, and yet people kept depending on me. I continued to fail at helping and they kept letting me believe that I could do something to change all of that.
"I don't want anyone's sympathies. I've lost so much, too much. Too much that can never be brought back. I know you've had your share of hardships too, but it's not the same. Everything that happened could have been prevented if I had just been a little smarter, a little faster. I guess that's just not the kind of person I am."
Slowly, he bent down to pick up the basket and started to walk past Isaac.
"And do you know what the worst part is?" he asked, stopping when his and Isaac's backs were to each other. "Her parents weren't even mad at me. They never once told me they hated me, or wished I had never become a part of their lives. You know what her old man said to me after we'd brought her body back to their home?
"'Go, Garet. Please just leave. We won't take Tyrell from you, but…it'd be too hard on all of us if you stayed here.'
"That was it. No yelling, no tears, nothing. Their daughter died because of me, and the only thing that happened was that I lost my job."
Isaac sighed, and Garet could hear the snow crunching under Isaac's feet as he turned around. "So, where will you go, then? Will you really abandon everything and run away with Tyrell?"
"You're one to talk. Besides, I'm an adult, I can make it in the world."
"With a child?"
"I'll manage."
"Don't be stupid, Garet."
"…So after all this time, you've finally sobered up from your own issues?"
"For right now, at least. Look, I won't force you, but I'm going to reach out to you with one final offer: you and Tyrell can still live at the cabin with Matthew and me. You can take the offer or leave it, but I won't wait up on you."
"Tch, and what about Jenna? Matthew's her kid too."
"I told her she wouldn't have to make the trek up the mountain. I'm making trips to Kalay frequently enough so that he can at least know who his mother is."
Isaac passed Garet and stepped out of the cemetery.
"Think about my offer. If you won't accept, then at least say goodbye before you leave."
Alone again, Garet turned back to look at the headstone once more. Tyrell began to stir from his sleep, making noises as he squirmed around in the basket.
"What should I do? Aaron, Roxy…"
Looking down at the squirming child, Garet noticed for the first time the colour of Tyrell's eyes. Beady and sparkling, they stared back up at him, their captivating blue colour drawing him in. This really was their child – little Tyrell, with hair like fire and eyes like the clearest sapphires.
"I don't know what life has in store for us, little guy. With my luck, you'll probably be in for nothing but suffering. But one thing's for certain: I'll give my life before I let anything happen to you first. That's a promise."
With a snap of his fingers, Garet lit a small flame atop his index finger. Holding it near enough for the baby to see.
"Blue fire, huh? Just like her eyes, and now just like yours."
The blue flame flickered twice before going out. Tyrell did not react, but somehow Garet felt as though the simple action had created a bond with the child, borne of the promise he would give his life to withhold.
"Well, let's go. Our new life begins now."
Pretty short chapter, but not much that could've been stretched out or expanded on. I suppose I could have led into Roxy's illness a bit more, but her death should have been foreshadowed long before this chapter, so I didn't feel the need to show her illness in any of the earlier chapters (especially considering she was supposed to always be lively and energetic). And if you were expecting something similar to how Jenna asked Isaac to raise Matthew, then sorry to disappoint but there needed to be a reason Garet could no longer stay in Kalay as well, and the reason had to be big enough that he felt he needed to exile himself. I suspect no one reading this got so attached to Roxy that her death made them sad (as far as her death goes, and not including Garet's reactions and whatnot to it), but I hope that the emotion got across. She was a fun and interesting character to write, and I've known since I wrote WiH three years ago that I would be killing her off when I wrote this parallel story. The setup, at least from my perspective, was all there, it's just that it's mostly in subtext through the constant reminder that Tyrell has never met his mother and that Roxy, an important character in the story, is never really mentioned in the present day segments.
Anyway, that's probably more of an in-depth look than you needed, so I'll be ending this off here and I hope you're all looking forward to the epilogue! I know this didn't end in the touching fashion that WiH did, but let's be real, the tone of this story was always much darker than WiH's.
Thanks to Sayaka M for reviewing, and I forgot to thank AAA for reviewing the previous chapter as well, so thanks to you!
Thanks for reading and please review!
–GengaJupite
