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29

Wounds People Mend

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Landen drew a large, long breath through his teeth, letting it out in a bit "whoop," as they rode into the castle.

"Oh boy, everything's much faster on dragon-back, I guess," He said, stretching his arms. "Finally, we're here."

"Finally, we're home," Lynn smiled, riding up next to him.

"Just one thing to do before we get settled in, though," he said, his expression becoming serious.

Lynn nodded, as they both turned around and rode back out of the castle, amidst all the other people arriving; in the direction of the dragon mountain.

-.-.-

Dragon was waiting for them at the mouth of the cave. "Goodness me, it feels like I haven't been home in centuries. Oh wait, I haven't! Could use a little dusting here, some polish there," he said, walking around what used to be his cave.

"Jane used to come up here all the time. This is where she first found me, in fact. Ah, such memories," he said, placing a claw gently on the strange markings on the wall. "After so many decades, I still find it hard to believe that she's gone-,"

"What happened, Dragon," Lynn suddenly interrupted. "Legend goes that she disappeared along with you a long time ago. Well, you're back, but what happened to her?"

Dragon was silent for a long moment. "Well," he said, looking off into the distance. "Some people, they just need to leave, you know? And you can't really do anything except learn to let go. And learn to forget, eventually."

"Sorry, I guess it's not something you want to remember," Lynn said, bowing her head. "I think I know the feeling."

Landen looked at Lynn's face thoughtfully, then clapped his hands together. "Well, since we're all up here, let's get this over with, shall we?"

Dragon turned to lead them into the cave. "Right. Right this way then, you two. I've got the perfect place to leave that dragon sword."

The three of them soon were standing at the edge of a deep crevice in the ground, in near-darkness. Lynn peeked over the edge and saw and felt nothing but a cold, endless abyss.

"Landen," she said, motioning for him to bring the sword.

"Just drop it into that, then?" he said, bringing forward the sword.

Dragon and Lynn nodded at him, and watched as he sent the legendary weapon tumbling into the darkness. Dragon sent some large stones rolling over the edge, producing a rumble that shook their chests and lasted a long few seconds.

"There we go," Dragon said, patting his claws together. "Closure."

"Literally," Lynn said, and Landen laughed along with her.

At the mouth of the cave, they bade their goodbyes to each other. "Where will you be going now, Dragon?"

"Travel the world, see the sights, and hey, I might just run into a dragon along the way," he said, stretching his wings. "Nothing to come back here to, anyway. My days of war are far behind me."

Landen nodded at that, recalling how his father had ridden him for destruction in the Southern War. "We'll see you someday, then, Dragon."

"Tell your children about me, maybe they'll get the chance to see me in half a century or so," he said, taking off with a hearty laugh. "So long, shortlives!"

Lynn and Landen stood there waving as he disappeared into the distance, before riding back to the castle.

-.-.-

Lynn sat under the moon that night, staring up at the sky. She was lost deep in thought, just as her gaze was lost among the darkness surrounding the bright heavenly stars.

Absent-mindedly, she started writing in her journal, her hand automatically flying across the page. However, she still easily heard the footsteps walking towards her on the castle wall.

"Funny how things change," she said out loud.

"Yet they always stay the same," Landen said, a hand on the wall as he walked with slow and deliberate steps. "Amazing. You're still writing in that journal despite everything we've been through."

"I'm writing in this journal BECAUSE of everything we've been through," she answered, her hand pausing in its flight. "Just think, for example- Dragon might not be around long enough for our children to see. I might as well let them read about him, right?"

"Dragon's still out there, you know, he's still got a couple of centuries left in him. And we can always call him back if we need him," Landen chuckled.

"Yeah, well, there's other important things, too. Like war accounts, memoirs, new herbal remedies... You have to write them down for the next generation, you know. Might as well pass on to our children everything there is to know-"

"Still as scholarly as ever, I see. You sure are talking a lot about the next generation. You've said 'Our children' twice now," Landen seemed to smirk, but Lynn couldn't tell in the darkness. "Thinking of starting a family, are we, Lynn?"

Lynn flushed a bright red at this statement. "I- I don't mean 'our children' literally, like, OUR children or- anything. Just, you know, the next generation and things like that," she said, waving her hands in front of her and turning away from Landen. Thankfully, in the dim moonlight, he wouldn't notice her face. "I mean, we're of age and all, right? It's something anyone would be thinking of by now."

"Well, what are your plans from now on?" Landen said, leaning back against the battlements.

"I'm not sure yet," Lynn said, looking up at the sky from where she sat. "I'll be a knight by next year, so I guess there's that career. But then I could always go back to Dellour and study as a healer. The Academy's a pretty great place, and I'm sure Kurt will be needing help to run it."

"Wow, so you get to make a choice, then?"

"Yeah, but sometimes I'd rather my path was set, you know. It's hard for me to make decisions. I hate 'what ifs,'" she said. "Things I could do- things I could say, that kind of stuff."

"Why don't you just go ahead and do everything you want? It's your life, after all. Others won't always be making decisions for you. Do what you want, and say what you want, that's what I think," Landen said, grinning at her.

Lynn chuckled. "Yeah, that's something you would definitely say," she said, then blushing deeply, continued "Actually, there is something I've been meaning to say for a while now."

"Really?" Landen said, moving to stand in front of her. "Me too. But you've probably already heard it from other people-,"

Lynn's mind flashed back to the conversation she had with Kurt after the ordeal at the Southern fortress. "He really cares for you, you know?" he had told her. Her heart fluttered at the thought.

"Okay," Lynn said, averting her eyes. "You go first."

Landen drew a deep breath, then sighed. "Well, okay, here it is," he said, as Lynn waited breathlessly.

And at his words, Lynn's heart fell.

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