Chapter LIV: The Funeral
LES: Will I make it? 45 is so close, and yet so far. Fear not, though. I still have plenty of stuff to go through before this story's done.
The Spargain night was filled with the sound of mourning. Sure, it was a happy time since the world was now safe, but the Spargains were mourning the loss of a leader and a King. Jak sat on the roof of his home and listened to the cries that echoed around the City. They were mourning a King, and Jak was alone in the fact that he mourned a father, his biological father that he had never known as well as he would have liked. As Vegar had painfully pointed out, Damas was never aware that his long-lost son was under his nose all along.
If only he could have figured it out sooner. If only Damas had mentioned that his last name was Mar, and that he had once fought the Metal-Head Leader. Jak would have been about to figure it out.
Jak heard footsteps and knew instantly who they belonged to... Keira. She walked over silently and sat down next to Jak, who took a small amount of comfort in her presence. They sat in silence for several minutes, both lost in their own thoughts.
Then, as one, the mourning cries died down and they began to sing the Ancient hymn believed to sooth the souls of the dead and comfort the dying.
"Rhf wlnv
Flku inaaq hvw nahuf oahw..."
Jak couldn't help it. He joined in the song, carefully holding back his tears while Keira listened to his lament... a lament with even more sorrow than the City's combined voices.
"Vszqo si mhrrsvz
Flk ohga jlea
Q dlkuvaf'i avw
Iraay vln
Hvw wuahe
Lm qoa tvai nol jhea xamlua
Qoaf hua jhrrsvz
Mule hjulii
Qoa wsiqhvq iolua
Nof wl flk naay?
Nohq hua qoaia qahui
Kylv flk mhja?
Illv flk nsrr iee
Hrr lm flku mahui
Nsrr yhii hnhf
Ihma sv ef huei
Flk'ua lurf iraaysvz
Nohq jhv flk iaa
Lv qoa olusplv?
Nof wh qoa nosqa zkrri
Jhrr?
Hjulii qoa iah
H yhra ellv usiai
Qua iosyi ohga jlea
Ql jhuuf flk olea
Hvm frr nsrr qkuv
Ql isrgau zrhir
H rszoq lv qoa nhgau
Hrr ilkri yhii
Svql qoa Naiq
Olya mhwai
Svql qoa nlurw lm vszoq
Qolkzo iohwlni mhrrsvz
Ikq, lm eaeluf hvw qsea
Wlv'q ihf
Na ohga jlea vln ql qoa avw
Nosq ioluai hua jhrrsvz
Flk hvw S nsrr eaaq hzhsv
Hvm flk'rr xa oaua
Sv ef huei
Dkiq iraaysvz
Nohq jhv flk iaa
Lv qoa olusqlv?
Nof wh qoa nosqa zkrri
Jhrr?
Hjulii qoa iah
H yhra ellv usiai
Qoa isyi ohga jlea
Ql jhuuf flk olea
Hvem frr nsrr qkuv
Ql isrgau zrhii
H rszoq lv qoa nhgau
Zuaf iosyi yhii
Svql qoa Naiq"
The song ended and it took all of Jak's will power not to cry out in pain... not physical pain, but emotional pain. Keira watched Jak's obvious misery, fully concerned for her lover.
Finally, she spoke. "The Song... who do you sing for?"
Jak stared off into the distance and didn't answer for several seconds. "A great man and my King... my lord." He answered. Then he turned to Keira. "Keira, remember when I told you that I would tell you my secret when we were ready?"
"Yes." Keira answered.
"Well..." Jak paused, turning to face Keira. "I pray to the Precursors this information isn't going your view of me, but I'm..." He paused again, wondering if he should back out. "Keira, I'm royalty."
Keira stared at her lover. "Did you just say 'royalty'?" She asked. Jak nodded. "But... how?"
"Typical way... my father was King before me." Jak said. "Keira... my last name is Mar. I'm a Prince by birth. Technically, I should be ruling either Haven City... or Spargus. My father... King Damas Mar... is the man that I mourn now."
However, only a few words had gotten through to Keira. Damas Mar? His father? Keira was sure she had heard that name before... she thought of Carla... otherwise known as Anastasia, the woman who had taken her in when she had nowhere else to go. "Oh my God!" Keira gasped.
Jak panicked at her reaction. He was afraid that she was doing just what he feared... to see him as a different person and not the man she loved, the man who loved her. "Keira, no matter what my last name is, I'll always be your Jak! Being a Prince doesn't change the way I feel about you!"
Keira noticed Jak's panic and quickly calmed the elf down. "Don't worry." She said. "I still love you, Prince or not. But... what do you know about your mother?"
Jak blinked. "Almost nothing." Jak said. "Just that I, apparently, have inherited her eyes."
Keira remembered thinking that Carla had eyes just like Jak... the same ocean blue. "You don't know her name?"
"No." Jak said, then he glanced at Keira. "Keira, do you know something?"
"I don't know..." Keira said slowly. She leaned up against him and he wrapped an arm around her. Then, within seconds, they were kissing.
Slowly, Jak pulled away from her. "Keira, marry me?" He asked.
The question came as such a surprise that Keira wasn't ready for it. "What?"
"Marry me, Keira." Jak repeated. "I love you with all my heart and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
Keira had been having fantasies of Jak proposing to her for the past few weeks, and each time, she imagined herself saying 'yes' right away. But now that it was reality, she hesitated. "Jak... I don't know. We're still so young. I... I mean I love you, but what will our friends think? What will my daddy think?"
"Our friends? Daxter will support us. He's been bugging me to propose to you for months." Jak said. "Anyone else can bite me. And your father... he's already agreed."
"What?"
"I asked your father's permission to marry you." Jak said. "It took a small amount of convincing, but he agreed. Keira, please, say you'll marry me. I... I can't live without you. We'll live out here in Spargus. Please... marry me?"
Keira looked into Jak's hopeful face, and then she smiled. "Yes, Jak, I'll marry you."
Both elves cried out in happiness and embraced each other, kissing each other wildly in their new-found joy.
Daxter watched from a short ways away, listening quietly with a wide grin on his face. Everything had turned out all right after all. He quietly dismissed himself to give the couple a little privacy. Of course, that didn't mean he wasn't going to tell everyone about the happy event.
Yes, after all those years of fights, separation, and love, Jak and Keira were finally going to get married!
"They are what?" Torn demanded later that night. He was still rather uncomfortable in the heat.
"You heard me, Tattoo-Face." Daxter said proudly. "They're engaged!"
"You're lying, rat." Torn said. "I know that Jak loves her and all, but he doesn't seem the type to get hitched."
"Don't doubt it, Torn." Samos said. "He asked me a few days ago for Keira's hand. I've expected this ever since Keira got off the transport. In fact... I've been expecting them to elope."
"Jak? Keira? Elope?" Daxter laughed. "Not likely... but not impossible." Daxter blinked. "I'd better go check on them." He ran out.
Tess sighed. "Oh, it's so romantic!"
Torn stared. "Aren't you even upset that you've been turned into a rat?"
"A little." Tess admitted. "But I've got Daxter."
Torn rolled his eyes, along with most of the people in the room. "Oh brother..."
Daxter walked back up onto the roof and found that Jak and Keira were still making out.
"Great Precursors!" Daxter exclaimed. "I know you two are happy and all, but isn't this a bit much?" The couple pulled away from each other. "Well, now that I've got your attention... congrats on the engagement! Everyone is really happy for you two!"
"What?" Jak asked in surprise. "How could they know that Keira and I are engaged now?" Jak suddenly paused, and then glared at his friend. "Daxter!"
Daxter laughed. "Heehee. Guilty as charged. Well, I was just coming up here to make sure you two didn't try to elope or anything."
"Elope?" Keira asked.
"Eloping? Not a bad idea." Jak said. "I've got connections with the Precursor Temple, you know."
"Jak!"
"I'm joking!"
Keira sighed. "Well... might as well go down there and face everyone."
"Keira... I'd face anything with you."
"Oh pul-ease!" Daxter moaned.
Jak got up and offered Keira a hand. She accepted it and he pulled her up off the ground easily. Daxter jumped up onto Jak's shoulder and the elf put his other arm around Keira.
"Hey, remember when we were all 'just friends' back in Sandover?" Daxter asked suddenly.
"What do you mean 'remember'?" Jak asked. "That was three years ago."
"Yeah, it's amazing how a group of friends can change in three years." Daxter said. "I mean, look at you two. You guys are going to get married! It's kind of sad, though. I hope you two won't forget about me in the midst of your loving marriage."
Jak and Keira laughed. "We'll never forget about you, Dax." Jak said. "You are my best friend after all."
"Same here." Keira agreed.
"Besides, we couldn't ignore you even if we tried." Jak laughed. "I'm sure you'll interrupt us many more times in the future."
"Haha, you're probably right about that." Daxter laughed.
"Come on, let's go face everyone." Jak said, walking back into the small house. They were instantly greeted by everyone. Most offered their congratulations, while some, like Torn, kept voicing his opinion that Jak wasn't the type to get married. And, no matter how many times Jak told Torn that he was getting married, Torn refused to believe it. The elf had a feeling that Torn wouldn't believe Jak until he witnessed Jak and Keira's wedding.
But it didn't matter. Nothing could bring Jak down tonight. Not even Damas' death.
Later that night, Keira snuck away from the group and her new fiancee. She moved into a small corner and pulled out a small communicator and punched in a number.
A female voice answered. "Hello?"
"Carla? It's me, Keira." Keira said quietly. One would think that, since Carla had been the first person to really encourage Keira to pursue her feelings for Jak, she would be bursting to tell her that they were engaged. Instead, however, she merely said: "Listen, how fast can you get out to Spargus?"
LES: Ain't it sweet? They're engaged now!
