I'm baaaaack. *listens to numerous people faint in shock* Eh . . . anyway, anybody who is still waiting for a part of this, here it is! After nearly eight months . . . And may I say that those who have been waiting for this have an abnormal amount of patience.
And on the same note I would like to tell everyone that no matter how long it takes me, I will finish this fic series. Sometimes I have reasons why I don't write on it and at other times, I don't, but I will finish it!
The prologue and all of the parts leading up to this one have been revised. Not too much, but some stuff has been changed.
Deriick: Can we get on with the fic now?
Ore: *shrugs* I think I haven't forgotten anything.
Yinyl: What about our bribe?
Ore: *glowers* Wait until after the fic . . .
Things to know:
/. . . denotes thoughts or that a certain word is emphasized. . . /
*. . . denotes mindspeech. . . *
. . . denotes flashback or vision. . .
The Fate of Destiny
Part Five:
In the Night
The fog had crept in during the night, winding about and through the gnarled vegetation of the Marshland, creeping about until the ground was nothing but white mist. It really did not make the Marshland anymore appealing, just managed to lend a hand in the department of gloomy and more gloomy. Gazing out one of the few windows of the newly built Seventh Fort, Meru crinkled up her nose. This last part of the journey out of the Marshland was promising not to be pleasant . . . like most of their journey so far, anyway.
She twirled away, doing a quick count of the other occupants in the small common room. Several knights of Seventh Fort, plus Haschel, Albert, Ewren, Kongol and the Rose look-alike were the only ones up so far. That left Dart, Shana, Miranda and Terran in bed. She bounced irritably on one foot, "Where is everyone else? We're supposed to leave soon!" Not that she was looking forward to traveling in the damn fog, but the sooner they left, the sooner they were out of the Marshland.
"Still sleeping, Meru. The last couple of days have been tiring for all of us." Albert was busy, combing his fingers through his hair in a bid to get the tangles out of it. None of them had washed. Clean water was a precious commodity in the Marshland. "Plus we have no idea where we are heading, yet."
She rocked backwards, "I know! I was nearly made one with the scenery. But I feel better now and I want to leave! I don't care where to."
From the dark corner were she sat, Meirra stood up, her swift strides carrying her to the door that led to the small barracks of Seventh Fort quickly. Haschel raised an eyebrow in her direction. "Where do you think you're going, pretty lady?"
That cold face turned towards the martial artist and Meru shivered. Meirra was just too creepy in more than one way. It would be a good thing to keep out of her way. "Where do you think I'm going, old man? Certainly not back to bed."
"Ah, maybe it would be wiser to let everyone sle-" Haschel's little suggestion was cut off as the door to the barracks swung open -- causing Meirra to move back a few steps in haste -- and a ruffled, grumpy looking Miranda appeared.
Her blond hair was a mess -- there was nothing that was going to fix that until she got a bath -- but her blue eyes looked startlingly clear for someone who had seemingly just woken up. "Stupid girl . . . brain . . . head . . ." she mumbled, glaring at the floor as if its mere existence was an offense to her.
"Hey, Miranda!" Someone else was up! Meru clapped her hands together, "Was anyone else stirring?"
Those blue eyes shot up and blinked, "Up?" She glanced backwards, her mouth pulling downward in a frown. She wasn't happy with something, "Well, Shana was busy throwing up in the privy and Dart's with her. They'll be out in a few minutes."
"What?" Albert paused in his movements, turning a concerned glance behind Miranda at the now closed door. "Is she all right?"
"She's fine." Miranda made her way to the small table where their breakfast of cheese and bread was out. "I took care of it." She grabbed a piece of the bread and crammed it in her mouth, once more grumbling under her breath. Meru thought she caught a garbled, "for now," but it was possible that she was just hearing things.
Something had made her irrationally irritable, though, and Meru was going to have to find out later in the day. Her curiosity would not be sated until she did. And if that didn't work, she would at least have to try and get Miranda out of her funk.
There was a soft snort, "Terran is still asleep." Meirra moved to open the door once again . . . and it swung open, causing her to jump back with a very, very unhappy look on her face.
Out stumbled Terran looking as if he had not slept in several days. His dark brown hair lay mussed open his head, his face was pale and haggard and underneath bloodshot green eyes dark bags hung. He had that glazed, zombie look that told Meru he really wasn't quite aware of what he was doing.
Ewren smirked, "Well, it looks like somebody has had a late night." His eyes darted from Terran to Meirra, the smirk growing. "Was it fun?"
There was a shocked silence in the room -- the knights trying to ignore the situation that seemed to be building -- where the rasping sound of a dagger being drawn could be heard. Meirra delicately balanced the dagger in her hand having been the one to draw it from the sheath at her side. Her violet eyes narrowed at Ewren. Terran straightened, his green eyes furious.
"Do you want to die today?"
"Shut up, Ewren, or I'll kill you."
Blink went several people's eyes. Meirra and Terran met gazes before Meirra turned away, stalking back to her dark corner, sheathing the dagger, but not before giving Ewren a deadly look. Terran hunched his shoulders and stomped his way over to one of the common room's tables, as far away as he could get from the red-headed man. Terran's attitude was certainly a change from the one Meru has seen over the past couple of days while leaving the quagmire. It was not a change for the good.
Ewren raised his hands in an innocent gesture, one red eyebrow raised in amusement. "No need to take anything so seriously. All of you are wound up too tightly for your own good."
No one answered him, except for a dismissing grunt from Terran.
Oh dear, this did not look like this day was going to be pleasant. Not at all. /I wonder if some sort of mood bug is going around. Seems that way./
Everyone seemed to be keeping to themselves. Meirra, alone in her dark little corner was staring into nowhere. Ewren lounged against a wall, eyeing everyone else in the room. Albert was busy chatting with one of his knights, while Haschel joked around with Kongol, who was in higher spirits than he had been lately. At least someone felt good. Still standing by herself, chewing her bread and uttering unheard words at the floor. Oooookaaay . . .
Meru hopped over to the breakfast table, drawing a few looks that quickly shrugged her off. Several people needed cheering up and she was going to do her best to do so. Straightening the bow on her skirt, she snatched up a piece of bread and cheese and -- after a moment's consideration -- she poured a cup of java.
Haschel caught her in the act. "Meru . . ."
"Hmm . . ." She raised garnet eyes to his own, then giggled at his concerned look that was darting from between her to the cup of java. Everyone that knew her had a fear of her actually drinking the brown liquid. She had never liked the taste of the stuff, but it was sort of fun to see their reactions when she did drink it. Not many people were equipped to handle a Meru that was bouncing off the walls. She flashed a smile full of white teeth at him. "Don't worry! Not for me!" Especially a Meru that was already too energetic in the morning for most people's wishes.
"Good. Kongol no want insane Meru." The Giganto joked as she paraded by -- food and java in her hands -- patting her platinum hair fondly.
She sniffed in an attempt to be disdainful, "I'm not that bad."
"Don't think so."
She grinned at Kongol's parting remark and flounced away to leave the martial artist and the Giganto alone.
Until she plopped down the bread, cheese and cup of java on the rough, wooden table, the object of her intent never realized she was coming towards him. He jumped slightly -- startled like a wild animal by a loud noise -- and raised green eyes to her own garnet ones. "Oh . . ." his glanced at her before staring at the food in bewilderment for a moment. "Oh . . . thank you." He gave her a tired grin.
"No prob, Terran." She perched herself on the table's edge. Sure, she had been told many times that it was improper to do so, but did she care? No. And definitely not in Seventh Fort where the chairs were made out of the same splintery wood. She was going to have to get Albert to fix that before she every went through the Marshland again . . . if she ever went though it again. "Food does the body good!"
Terran's grin grew bigger. "Are you always so cheerful in the mornings?"
"Only when I'm awake!" She kicked her bare legs back and forth. Why be still when you could always move something? "Miranda likes to complain that I act younger than a seven-year-old."
Taking a sip of the java, Terran raised an eyebrow. "You do act younger than your age . . ."
"Eh, why be an adult when there are so many of them around?"
"Interesting philosophy." A bite of bread went missing and he chewed thoughtfully, though with a small smile gracing his face.
"It gets me through life." Now here was the hard part. She had gotten him out of his dismal mood, but she had to find out why he had been in it in the first place. "If you don't mind . . . why do you look like a bunch of wild horses ran over you during the night?"
He swallowed the lump of bread, "Just bad dreams."
"About killing the monsters?" She had those when she had first left the Wingly Forest. Not exactly of killing the monsters, but of the monsters killing her. They had frightened her -- a sheltered Wingly from the world. It could be frightening to Terran -- he seemed sort of an innocent farm boy, despite his talent with the swords he carried.
"No, but it was about a monster." Crumbs of bread fell to the table as he slowly tore it into pieces. Maybe this hadn't been a good idea. His face became worried, "I'm sorry. I . . . don't think I can tell y-"
The barrack door swung open to reveal a Shana that looked as if she hadn't an ill day in her life and a harried Dart.
"Morning!" Shana chirped.
"Are you feeling well, Shana?" Albert asked her, concern clear on his face.
"I'm fine." She did a quick bow and a twirl to prove it. "Thanks to Miranda."
A Miranda that had switched her glaring from the floor to Shana in an instant. Meru bit the inside of her lip. Miranda was angry at Shana. That was odd.
"Yes, we were wondering when you two were going to appear." Haschel winked at both Dart and Shana. "We're quite ready to leave, but where we are going to is still undecided."
Sitting down at a table, Albert drummed his fingers on the wood, a random hollow sound echoing lightly in the now still room. "The fate of Endiness is in our hands once more and we do not know where to begin."
Dart sagged, leaning against the wall and running a hand through his unruly dark-golden locks. "You're right. I'm up to suggestions on where we should begin."
"The Dragons. We find the Dragons and Awaken them." Arms crossed across his chest, this was the first time that Meru had seen the new Fire Dragoon look serious. "With the threat of the Wyrms Awakening, it's the most sensible thing to do."
"You don't exactly seem like someone who is sensible." Ouch. Dart was not exactly a happy camper with Ewren as a companion. Did the red-headed man manage to get everyone against him?
There was a flash of pearly white teeth as Ewren smiled, "I surprise even myself sometimes."
Albert stepped in, apparently trying to be the voice of reason and leadership while Dart tried to glare holes through Ewren. "It is a good idea, Ewren, but how are we supposed to find the Dragons. We have nothing to go on. It would be like searching through a dark cave with nothing to go on."
"We don't have nothing to go on. We have something." Meirra stepped forward, her head held proud. "In Isren's library, I came across a poem. I believe it states where we may begin our search to find the Dragons."
Meru could almost feel everyone's ears perk up. Dart leaned forward in her direction. "Do you remember what it says?"
Behind her, Meru could hear Terran draw in a quick breath and looking back she saw his face with a look on it that was almost frightened and his hand grasped his empty cup so tightly, his knuckles were white. Was he nervous? And what was he nervous about?
"Of course I do," came her reply, sharp, cold and confident. That was what Meirra seemed to be all about. Sharp, cold and confident. Meru was nearly fooled into believing she was Rose, again. They were so similar, they could have been one. Meirra could have been Rose, except dead people didn't come back from the dead. Wiping the tears that threatened to run out of her eyes, she watched as Meirra clutched her hands in front of her and recited:
"Sands of death reign o'er land
Dragons of Old lost, ne'er to be found.
Oasis in death, haven in sand
The journey begins here for the Old
Where the breath of eternal spring is found.
The path of the Old, began in the oasis
Ne'er to be found by the ones lacking their heart.
Dragons of the Old, awaiting their souls."
There was quiet, then, "Kongol confused."
"You're not the only one." Miranda threw a sympathetic look at the Giganto. Ha! Meru stifled a laugh. The Silver-White Dragoon was being unnaturally crabby, but she seemed to be coming out of it. It was sort of cute. Miranda trying to be comforting that is. She tended to be an overly serious person.
Dart frowned, "Do you have any idea where it is telling us to go?"
"I just memorized it." A cool, calm look was directed back at him.
Dart groaned.
"Sands . . . death . . . c'mon, why does that ring a bell?" All eyes turned to the King of Serdio. His forehead was crunched up in concentration and his mutterings drew the attention of all. Well, if one of them was going to figure the stupid rhyme out, it was likely to be him. "Oasis . . . death. I can't think why it sounds so familiar . . . breath . . . eternal spring. I feel I should know what it's talking about, but I just can't remember." Hopeless golden-brown eyes looked up at everyone.
Meru barely noticed. Something Albert was saying was ringing a bell. Sands . . . death . . . It was so hot. Too hot. Every step was a victory. The sand stung her eyes . . . oasis . . . breath . . . eternal spring . . . eternal . . . oasis . . . spring . . . breath . . . spring breath . . . A beautiful city. Water flowing from fountains, flowers blooming everywhere. Wonder. An oasis in the middle of a land of death.
"ALBERT!" she shrieked, leaping from her seat and literally flying at the Wind Dragoon. She knocked him from his seat and onto the ground, where she promptly sat on his chest and kissed his cheeks. "You're a genius." Then she was up and grabbed the hands of her nearest victim -- which happened to be a shocked Ewren -- swinging him around in an erratic dance. "I know where to goooooo!"
"Meru . . ."
"We can leave!" She let go of Ewren's hands to stick her tongue at the window and the dismal scene it displayed. "Can't keep us here anymore!" She mocked the Marshland.
"Meru!"
"Freedom! Mwahahahaha!" she jumped on top of a table. "We can leave!"
"MERU!!"
She stopped, staring at a bewildered Dart. "Yes?" she smiled innocently.
Dart rolled his eyes, "Where do you think the poem is telling us to go?"
Meru tilted her head to one side, allowing a sly smile to grow. "It's sort of easy to figure out once you start /really/ thinking about it."
The smile grew.
"We have to go to Ulara . . . the Spring Breath Town."
*****
All around them, their companions chattered, but Rose and Terran there was a pocket of silence. Terran cleared his throat, "You scared me there for a moment."
Still more silence.
He hissed in irritation, "The poem. I thought you were going to give yourself away. How did you come up with it that fast?"
"I've learned a few tricks in the time that I've lived." Her lips curved downward into a frown. "What do you care if I give myself away? It's not your problem."
He remembered his dream from the night before and had to fight against the clenching of his stomach in fear. The Red Wyrm . . . that pretty young girl . . . Shirley and her cryptic words . . . and the Eternity Key to keep with him. A heavy burden that no one must know about. "Maybe it is more my problem than you think."
He picked up his pace and moved away from her.
Further back in the group -- acting as rearguard -- Miranda was speaking harshly to the ex-Moon Child. "Shana, I know you knew about this before you even left Seles. Why did you come?"
Shana's delicate hands worried at the edge of her white tunic. "I thought maybe . . . I couldn't let him go alone." Her dark brown eyes were slowly filling with tears and Miranda fought down a wave of pity that washed over her. "I don't know what I would do if something happened to him and I wasn't there."
"Well, you're going to have to let him go, soon enough." She grabbed Shana's arm, making it look like a gesture of comradeship, rather than what it was. A move to keep a frightened person from running away. "Does he even know? Because I can't imagine him letting you come along if he knew." She knew her voice was rising in pitch and she controlled in, making it drop down into an angry, low whisper. "You're at least three months along. Have you told him?"
Her voice hoarse and on the edge of breaking, Shana answered her, "No . . . I was going to, but I couldn't find the right time to . . . and then this came up . . . and I didn't think." She broke off in a hysterical little sob.
"That's your problem, isn't it, Shana?" She tucked her all-too tangled blonde hair behind an ear. She loved the woman who had been the Silver-White Dragoon before her, but sometimes she was just too damn naive about some things. "You didn't think. You didn't think about the baby. You didn't think that I would be able to tell! I'm the Light Dragoon, for Soa's sake! I can tell! Especially after this morning." Deep breath. No reason to make her have a complete breakdown. "You have to tell him, Shana. You have to tell him and then you have to stay behind."
"I-I know."
"Good." Miranda stared at the ground, something that was becoming a habit. There wasn't much to see, just vegetation in various stages of decay and the odd -- and unusual -- bugs that crawled around down there. Okay, maybe she didn't need to look at the ground. "You have to tell him by the time we reach the fork. If you don't, I will."
"No," Shana pleaded, "Please, give me until Hoax. Let me stay with him that much longer."
What was it like to love somebody so much that you would do anything to have a moment longer to stay by their side? She didn't know . . . but it couldn't hurt Shana to let her journey with them for a few more days. "All right. Until Hoax, but the morning we leave there I expect you to have told him you're pregnant. Understand?"
"Yes." Grateful eyes shined brightly at her. "Thank you, Miranda. Thank you so much."
Miranda sighed. She could never stay made at Shana for too long.
*****
The inn rooms at Hoax were comfortable. Light from the lanterns hanging in them, dashed off the warm, brown walls and splashed itself upon patched quilts. The rooms weren't too big, just enough space for the beds and the small stands next to them. Comfy and quaint described the rooms quite nicely.
Shana crossed her legs, sitting on the single bed that occupied the room, watching as Dart took off his armor, piece by piece. They had been left to share a room together, not that they minded.
"Dart?" Her clasped her knees and she stared at them, where pale flesh lay on white fabric.
He placed the last piece of his armor on top of the pile and glanced over his shoulder. "Yes."
"I have something to tell you . . ." Oh, how was she going to do this? She hadn't meant to keep it from him, but no time seemed like the right time. Her hands tightened on her knees as tears welled up in her eyes and started falling. Why was she crying? She didn't want to cry.
"Shana, are you all right?" He moved to her side, she felt the bed sink under his weight and wrapped an arm around her. "What are those tears for?"
She curled up against him, clutching his shoulders, feeling the scratchy cloth that covered them, needing the reality of him actually being there. He was so solid. Her hands slid down to his sides and her arms wrapped around his waist. He was so warm, too. And loving. She was afraid to let him go.
"I love you," she sobbed into his shirt.
He stilled, then chuckled, a rumble that vibrated throughout his entire body. "Is that what you have to tell me? I know that already." He kissed the top of her head, a gentle, reassuring touch. "And I love you, too."
Oh, how she wished that was all she had to tell him. She shook her head, pulling away from his comforting touch. "No . . . that's not it." She idly touched the wet spot she had left on his shirt, distantly amused by it. She never cried like this, over such little things.
Or was it such a little thing? Bringing a child into the world . . .
"Shana?" he was concerned now. He didn't know what to think of her erratic behavior.
She placed her hands on her stomach, where she thought she could feel the first bit of a swell. Then she looked up into his wonderful blue eyes. He needed to know and she had promised Miranda. "Dart, there's something you need to know." She swallowed the lump in her throat. "I won't be leaving with you, tomorrow. I'm going back to Bale to stay with Emille."
That hand he had put upon her shoulder was now caressing her slender neck. There was a note of confusion in his voice, "Why?"
"It's because . . . " Deep breath. "It's because I'm pregnant, Dart."
*****
It was late. Extremely late. All of the lights in Hoax were out, everyone tucked within beds, safe and sound. He should be in bed even -- possibly more than others -- he had to be awake to leave with his /companions/ when the sun rose. His roommate was asleep, or at least pretending to be asleep. He didn't care.
He stared out the window, at that small shining moon in the sky. His sister loved that moon. She -- they -- had first seen it right after the Moon That Never Sets had fallen. It had been there all the time, just hidden behind something unnatural. Its name was Revl'ic.
His sister loved that name, too. She would laugh, such a rich, bright sound, and roll it off of her tongue, savoring the sound of it. She took such joy in the small things. No matter what, she took joy from something. It was just her way of surviving. And his way of surviving had been to take joy in her joy.
The figure he held in his hand glowed softly in Revl'ic's light. It highlighted the spikes along the back and tail, the miniature scales etched into the wood, that long nose and the two small beads of obsidian that had been used as eyes. His sister had been so excited when she had gotten from their father. The last thing their father had ever been able to give her. "Look!" she had cried, her hazel eyes bright. "It's a dragon!"
Dragons. The creatures of myth. She loved those, too. The stories of gigantic beasts that flew through the air and swam through the sea. And this represented that to her, with its head curved backwards and its tail tucked next to its side. This was her dream. She would have given anything to be in his place.
If only she could.
He remembered her shouting into the sky, just because she could. She would dance in the rain, her hands reaching to catch the drops. She would run through the streets, calling for him to keep up, laughter in her voice.
That was what once had been.
He had left her with a kiss while she lay cradled on a small bed, her face pale and her red hair spread across the pillow like blood. Unable to move, because of the mysterious disease that had struck her, eating away at her ability to stand, to move her legs. I'll come back, he had told her. Then he had given her a promise.
She had smiled. Then kissed him on the cheek, nodding. A soft hand had slipped the dragon into his money pouch. "For good luck," she whispered. "And so that Mommy and Daddy can watch over you."
She would have done nearly anything to trade places with him. He would do anything so that she would be able to trade places with him. In fact, he was trying. Even now he could feel that burning presence within himself and hear that dark muttering in the back of his head that did not quite belong.
*I will give you what you want . . . want. Just do what I say . . . Listen to me . . .*
He rolled the small wooden figure in his hands. I'll come back, he had told her. That he would come back and they would never have to worry about anything again. And she would be able to run in the streets like she used to. He had promised. Then he told her to look for Revl'ic every night and think of him, for he would be looking at it and doing the same.
"I'm still keeping true to my promise." he turned the small, wooden dragon over in his hands, polished wood gliding over callused palms. "And when I come back, you'll be able to walk again." A drop of water fell from his face. "You'll be able to walk, then I'll fly you to Revl'ic on the back of the Dragon. Just like your dreams."
"You can ride on the back of my Dragon and we can fly through the skies, just me and you . . . with maybe another companion, hm?" He gave a silent laugh. "Nah, you never liked any of the women I had those 'flings' with as you call them."
"I /will/ come back to you and keep my promise, Jaz. No matter what, because I love you."
*****
TBC . . .
Ha! That part's finished! *happy dance*
Yinyl: *rolls eyes* Finally.
Ore: *glare* Fine, be that way. *stalks off*
Deriick: Hey! She didn't give us a bribe.
Niela: *clears throat* Actually, she sort of did. It was something along the lines of "If you even think of leaving, I'm coming after you with Albert's lance and spearing you like a shish kebab."
Deriick: Oh . . . that's not what I would call a bribe. ^__^;;
Yinyl: *looks disgruntled* Authors are such erratic people . . .
