A/N: Wow, okay, it's been a hot minute. But- it's done. We have this short chapter, then a long one next, then an epilogue. And all of them are written already. Within the week, Tiger's Redemption will be marked complete. There will be a sappy A/N at the end but for now- thanks for still reading!
When we wake the next morning, there are pale pink flowers encircling our camp, then leading off into the woods.
"Who in the world?" Kishan asks, rubbing his eyes as he ducked out of his tent.
"The Silvanae, maybe?" I wonder. "This looks like something they would do. And physically, this has been the easiest quest by far. Maybe we're just getting a break." I start changing Nik's diaper and dressing him, and Ren comes out of the tent behind me. He presses a kiss to the top of my head then tickles Nik's foot. Nik gurgles out a laugh, a sound that I had missed more than I can say.
"One of us could go scout ahead to see if it goes anywhere worth looking at," Ren suggests.
"I'll go," Kishan says, and my black tiger runs off into the woods.
Ren and I play with our baby as we wait for Kishan to come back. Eventually, Nilima and Sunil come out, and we all start to pack up our camp and set out some breakfast before Kishan gets back. We putter around for a bit, and soon enough, he comes running out of the forest, gently morphing back to his human form.
"Seems safe," he says, lounging back on a log we'd set up around the campfire. "It looks like it leads to a temple of some kind, honestly it looks a lot like a temple of Durga. I say we head out."
I look up at Ren, to see what he's thinking, and he looks more resigned than anything.
"Let's just get it over with," he says, his hand coming to rest on the small of my back, "and we can get back to our lives." His voice is made of steel, leaving no room for misinterpretation. He definitely does not want to be here, and truly, neither do I.
~TR~
We follow the path for a few hours, just chatting, albeit a little nervously. It seems that we are on the home stretch, and soon we'll be back home, but it also feels like we have been gone for a lifetime. I know that once we're done, it will feel like no time has passed at all, but this has aged me more than I would care to admit.
As we come to the rise of a small hill, I see the temple Kishan was talking about. It looks like a walled garden, at least fifty feet square, made out of some kind of black stone, with some red painted embellishments. On the roof, there was what looked like straw, also colored black. I'd seen several of these structures when we traveled around India, but never one this large; they are usually about half the size. I want to just run up and get this over with, but I've been on enough of these quests to know better.
We tread carefully towards the opening at the center of the front wall. As we come closer, I see there are geometric designs carved into the stone. There are two women, riding tigers into battle, then a few feet over are two tiger-headed men, with a woman standing in the background. I see the pattern of my henna interwoven throughout the walls and borders.
"This seems to be us," I say softly. "Look, Nik. That's daddy and Uncle Kishan three hundred years ago. They're old."
"Hey!" Kishan sputters. "I object to that description. I could throw you across the room if I wanted."
"I'd like to see you try," I taunt. I reach up to kiss him on the cheek before walking away.
"Why, you think you could stop me?" Kishan asks, his voice filled with mirth.
"No, but my husband could," I wink.
We pass through the gate into a lush, beautiful garden, filled with deep green plants with large white and red blossoms. There are also small ponds scattered across the space, with delicate floating lotus flowers, their scent so strong even I can smell it.
We go deeper and deeper into the temple, nearly silent in our awe. The foliage begins to fade away as we get closer to the center, and soon we come to a clearing with what looks like a Compass Rose on the ground, with a circle that is at least twenty feet in diameter around it.
"Um. What?" I ask.
"Well, we've figured out harder things," Kishan mutters as he starts walking around the circle.
Ren pulls out the Scarf and starts running it through his hands, quickly halting at the southern point of the outside circle.
"Are there smaller circles at each of the cardinal points?" he calls to Kishan.
"I'm not sure, let me check the other side." Kishan moves to dash to the opposite side of the circle, but something stops him. "What in the world?"
"What?" Ren tries to cross over as well, and something stops him.
"I guess I'll try," I say as Sunil and Nilima do the same. My hand goes through just fine, but then my body won't pass through. I look up and see that Sunil and Nilima have passed through just fine, and something clicks.
"What was that line in the poem about? 'No tiger's blood able to condone or something?" I ask.
"That's what it said," Kishan confirms.
"So that's us and Nik," Ren says. "Iadala, hand him over to me, see if you can cross through by yourself."
I unwind the fabric holding Nik to my torso and pass him over. "Here goes nothing."
Right as I pass over the line, Nilima and Sunil reach the compass in the center. The ground shakes a little, and I hear Ren and Kishan mutter a curse at the same time. I whip my head back towards the center, and see Sunil and Nilima rising on a large pillar that is emerging from the ground. It stops just as suddenly as it started, with the two of them standing five feet over the rest of us.
"Can you guys get down?" I ask hesitantly, even though I know the answer.
They both try to poke their feet out in different places, but then shake their heads in unison. I sigh.
"Alright, so that's the twofold in the center thing," I sigh "I'm assuming now we place the gifts at the right points on the compass?"
"Sounds good," Ren says, grabbing the Fruit out of my pack while balancing Nik on his hip. Kishan pulls the Necklace out, and I unwind the Rope from my waist.
"Wicked Siren's nest is down," Ren says, placing the Scarf in the small circle at the southern point. The ground shakes again, and Ren grabs me by the elbow before I can tumble down to the ground. By the time I stand up, the Scarf is resting on a much smaller pedestal, about waist high.
"Rope to the east, yeah?" I yell behind me, already walking in that direction. I drop it into the small circle, this time prepared for the small earthquake that raises a third pedestal.
Kishan walks around to the north. "The blackened jewels to their northern home". The fourth pedestal raises.
Ren looks at the Golden Fruit in his palm, then up at me. As our eyes meet, I remember every detail of our first Quest together. The fighting, the monkeys, the jewels, and our last kiss before returning to the real world. This fruit was the beginning of us, and now we'll probably never see it again.
I didn't notice that I was walking closer to him until I was right in front of him. I closed my hand over his so we were holding the Fruit together.
"The food of India shall, at last, rest," I murmur.
"And traded now for Durga's best," Ren says, pulling me closer to him with his free hand.
"It will be placed at the west," Kishan finishes. "Together."
Holding each other, we all place the fruit in the small circle on the floor, and wait to see what happens.