Blue Eyes
It was evening by the time Malcolm indicated that they had reached their destination. The place where the Ape King was supposed to be. Blue Eyes had become ever more suspicious the further they went, but once they reached the quiet, abandoned outskirts of the city, he grew more curious than anything else.
Sure, it was possible to make an ambush here, but it was far from ideal.
The apes wouldn't be able to hear him calling for help, of that he was sure, but it was clear that no one, human or ape, had been here for a long time. The vegetation sprouting uncontrollably in the yards and from between cracks in the road had not been ruffled or broken by creatures walking through it and the only cars on the road were halfway eaten up by rust.
If there was a larger body of humans here, in hiding, waiting to ambush him, Blue Eyes dared to say it would be no embarrassment for him to be captured if they were able to hide it so well.
Malcolm said nothing until they reached one house, indistinguishable from all the others to Blue Eyes, except for the car out front, which had obviously been parked there quite recently.
And there was one other thing…
Looking the house over, Blue Eyes found something he hadn't expected… that window… at the very top floor of the house.
It was the apes' sign, no question about it.
What was this sign doing here? Was it intentional? Did the apes have a connection to this place, somehow?
Blue Eyes knew it was his father who had chosen the symbol to represent the apes, but he had never questioned its origin.
What was this place?
And what did it have to do with the apes? With Caesar?
"This is it." Malcolm spoke softly, walking up the overgrown path to the door with renewed vigour. There was only a moment's hesitation in Blue Eyes movements before he followed too, albeit at a slower pace as he looked out for traps. Until he saw his father, alive and well, these humans were not to be trusted!
"I got it!" Malcolm's voice sounded from within the house as Blue Eyes made his way up the steps leading to the door. There was relief in his voice and the adolescent ape could just make out how he gave his mate, Ellie, a quick hug before turning back to Blue Eyes as he entered the hallway. It was dark and dusty, making his nose twitch with the urge to sneeze.
"How is he?" Malcolm asked as he looked towards the interior of the room he had stormed into. Ellie didn't get to answer as Blue Eyes, too, entered the room. The general living space, by the looks of it. Alex, Malcolm's son, was there too.
But it was the figure lying on the couch that ended up having Blue Eyes' undivided attention. There, in the dark room, surrounded by dusty furniture, was Caesar. His father!
And he was alive! His bright, green eyes, warmed by recognition as they landed on his son, confirmed it without a shred of doubt.
As his eyes travelled to Blue Eyes' hand, the young ape was suddenly very aware of what he was still holding: the gun he had stolen from the humans. What must his father think of him, holding this horrible weapon?
He immediately put it down, gently, for safety, but still with shame and disgust briefly colouring his features before he once again turned his attention to his father.
What he saw when he got closer made him want to pick it up again, though. There, at the top left of Caesar's chest, was a wound Blue Eyes knew was caused by a bullet. The bullet fired the night before… by those humans!
He whipped around and bared his teeth in anger, his pale blue gaze shifting from one person to another, but resting the longest on Malcolm.
The sound of a door opening at the back of the house startled Blue Eyes momentarily as he could make out a single pair of footsteps coming down the hallway.
And then, before Blue Eyes had even so much as thought the word 'ambush', a familiar voice sounded, followed by the soft pitter-patter of padded, clawed paws against the wooden floor.
"Ellie! I found some extra bedsheets in one of the other houses I think we could-"
Lydia stopped dead in her tracks as she entered the room, her widened eyes fixed on Blue Eyes in surprise.
"-use…" She finished her sentence lamely. Her jaw went slack as her lips parted slightly, the arm holding the sheets she had collected going limp at her side. The faded fabric pooled on the floor at her side as two large, furry creatures came up from behind her.
Blue Eyes had no time to react as Blaze and Storm charged at him with their tails wagging vigorously, and he had no choice but to receive their licks and happy whimpers as they nuzzled into his stomach.
He really had no idea what to do at this point. His father lying there on the couhc, wounded by humans and too weak to even stand on his own, with the assailants just in front of them, and now Lydia was suddenly there as well, seemingly helping them!
And yet, at the sound of her soft voice as she spoke, Blue Eyes felt tears of relief sting behind his sky-coloured orbs.
"Blue…?" She called softly. She seemed confused and relieved, yet also looked like she didn't dare to show it. To get close.
A stab of guilt went through his chest yet again.
He had himself to thank for this.
"Your… mother." Caesar called weakly from the couch and everyone's attention turned to him. Blue Eyes was at his side in an instant.
"Brother… Safe?"
"For now." The young ape replied softly. His gaze once again landed on the bullet wound in his father's chest, and he turned his head to hiss at the humans gathered only a few feet away.
"No." Caesar reached up to put a heavy hand on Blue Eyes' shoulder, stopping him.
"Not… Human…" The Ape King spoke once he had regained his son's attention. "Koba."
What!?
That was the first thought that went through Blue Eyes' mind. How could this be? Koba, who had been ever loyal to his father through all these years, had shot him? At first, it didn't make sense to the young ape, who had idolized his honorary uncle. Yet the more he thought about it… the more it actually did make sense. Koba had been increasingly angry with Caesar for not taking action against the humans, and cooperating with them instead had only fuelled the raging fire that was Koba's temper.
And then it had all come to a head when the two had fought back at the dam's control room.
Koba had been humiliated, then, and now it was clear to Blue Eyes that the bonobo had retaliated in the most horrid way possible. He had conspired to kill Caesar, and had almost gotten away with it, to take his place as leader of the colony so he could wage war against the humans – like he had wanted to do from the beginning.
And Blue Eyes had fallen for it!
It wasn't the first time that the adolescent felt bile rise in his throat that day, and yet this time, it felt so much worse than all the others put together. This betrayal, by someone he had been so close to. Someone who had practically helped raise him and teach him everything he knew.
It was just too much to take.
"Malcolm." Ellie's voice sounded behind them, pulling Blue Eyes out of his dark thoughts and back to the present.
"Yeah." Malcolm nodded as Blue Eyes turned his head to follow the conversation. Ellie stepped forward, then, looking imploringly at the Ape King.
"Caesar. We need to do this now." She spoke with a slight hint of urgency, to which the Ape King nodded.
It confused Blue Eyes to begin with and he eyed the package Malcolm had picked up from the colony, now clutched firmly in Ellie's hands as she stepped forward.
He didn't want to leave his father. Not like this. He needed him! What were they going to do to him?
"It's okay, Blue." Lydia spoke suddenly, and as his face turned to her, he realised his worry must have shown. "They're going to help him. Remove the bullet and clean the wound… Come. Ellie will need some peace and space to work."
Lydia extended a hand tentatively for him to take and seemed surprised when he immediately took hold of it and let her lead him out of the room, casting one worried look towards his father as Ellie laid out the things she would need.
The dogs followed suit as Lydia led him to the kitchen where she let go of his hand to go and rummage through some bags in the corner.
"You can sit down, Blue. It's going to take some time for them to finish up in there, so I'll try and fix up something for you to eat." Lydia's voice was pleasant and calm, like there was nothing to worry about at all, and it helped Blue Eyes' stomach stop churning with concern.
Looking at her now, Blue Eyes noted how her clothes were ruffled and dirty, and her skin was dark around those deep blue eyes of hers. This, coupled with her already pale skin, made her look haggard and drained. She seemed like she could pass out at any given moment and Blue Eyes guessed that she probably hadn't slept much.
"Here you go. I could make you some porridge, but since I can barely eat it, I figured you would probably hate it." She chuckled easily as went back to him with a pack of small disks in her hands, giving it to him. They smelled alright, but Blue Eyes still couldn't help his hesitation as he picked one out of the package.
"They're crackers, Blue. Quite harmless, I promise." Lydia smiled reassuringly as she moved away to sit on the kitchen counter. The way she put space between them didn't escape Blue Eyes' notice as he bit into the cracker and he proceeded to enjoy the slightly dry treat while looking down at the table in thought.
Had he really become so distanced from her that she felt the need to keep away from him like this in order for him to be comfortable?
Back when he was a child, he would gladly climb all over her with Orion and Ash as they played. In fact, she had put up with it for far longer than any of the other adults. She had smiled and laughed at their antics and comforted them like any other ape would when one of them got hurt.
It was Lydia who had taught Blue Eyes how to clean the guts out of a fish properly. Lydia who had helped him skin his first deer (and reassured him when he thought he had messed the task up for good by stabbing through the hide accidentally).
And it had been Lydia who had saved him, Ash and Orion from that mountain lion all those years ago, risking her own life to save that of three small apes. Without question.
And here he was, sitting in front of her now like she was a total stranger. An outsider. An enemy.
For goodness sake, until his father had explained who had shot him, Blue Eyes had even thought she was conspiring with the humans to hurt the apes!
He almost slapped his palm against his face when he realised that he hadn't said a single word to her at all either. He had just finished his fourth cracker as that thought struck him and noticed how the woman in question was staring out the window, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.
Sad thoughts, if the look on her face was anything to go by.
Blue Eyes put the pack of treats down and got up from his chair, drawing Lydia's attention as he went over to stand in front of her.
"Something wrong, Blue?" She asked, voice full of concern. She slid down from the kitchen counter to stand in front of him. Even now, she seemed uncertain of that was the right move with him.
His eyes felt warm as tears burned behind them. After all that had happened, after all this time of him thinking the worst of her and distancing himself from her, just because he had realised she was human, and here she was, still trying to be there for him despite everything. Like she always had.
He said nothing as he moved forward, wrapping his arms around her midsection in a desperate embrace and resting his head on her shoulder. Her arms went around him to return the hug immediately, which finally made him huff out a quiet sob as everything that had happened in the past few days came crashing down on him.
He didn't let the tears fall for long, though. Feeling her arms hold him tightly had a calming effect on him and he realised that he had missed this kind of closeness terribly. In his eagerness to prove himself as an adult, he had begun to shun such intimate gestures, not only from Lydia, but from all the apes as well – even his mother got fewer hugs nowadays.
Standing here now, he discovered that he had needed this, and for quite some time too. The comfort, the familiarity, the bonding with another being.
How could he ever have thought that this woman wanted anything but that as well? He was right to be ashamed of himself – of his thoughts and his actions.
Sighing deeply, he pulled back reluctantly to sign.
"I'm sorry, Lydia… I have been a horrible friend… To you… Orion… Ash." He almost sobbed again at the mention of his childhood friends, one of which was now dead and the other imprisoned.
"And now, all suffer because of it." He added in a shameful manner, eyes downcast. He just couldn't bear looking into her eyes as he apologised, fearing the judgement he expected to find in them. He felt like such a coward for that, not being able to face his mistakes, however terrible they may be, like a proper ape.
He was certain his father would have no problem with that, had he been in Blue Eyes' stead.
He always envied that about him.
He suddenly felt two soft hands cup his cheeks and tilt his head upwards towards Lydia's face. The touch startled him enough to make him actually look up rather than avoid her gaze, and to his surprise, her eyes held absolutely no judgement or blame at all. The only thing he was able to find in those blue orbs of hers was compassion.
"You don't have to apologise, Blue. Not for a single thing. Especially not for what has happened these past few days. None of that is your fault." Her eyes stared intently into his own, willing him to understand and accept what she was saying. "We suffer because one ape could not let go of his hatred, and another trusted this ape too much to see it."
He nodded solemnly, not fully understanding what she meant by it. He imagined that father would explain it better once his wound had been tended to. Some part of him still didn't like the thought of Ellie digging around in his father's chest with those strange tools of hers, but who better to clean a wound made by a human weapon and an actual human?
Lydia's thumbs brushed across his cheeks, wiping away the last of his tears.
"Come on over and sit with me? You look tired." She asked softly, like she always had in the past, when he was a child and had wanted to talk about something he found difficult. He complied and let her pull him towards the table again by his hand, her grip tender around his fingers.
"So do you." He answered truthfully once they had sat down. "Very much."
"Well… It has been a rough day and a half." Lydia replied as she slouched slightly forward in her seat. They sat by the corner of the table, so close that their knees were touching.
Lydia's eyes suddenly became uncertain and she pushed back a fraction in her seat, her hands twisting around each other nervously in her lap.
"Listen, Blue, do you…. Do you know anything about… Roy and Orion? Where they are? If they're… if they're alive?" Her voice was small as her eyes met his own and Blue Eyes felt a lump form in his throat.
"Prisoners… Koba said they are too loyal to father. Maurice too… Rocket… Luca." She nodded with a serious expression on her face. Even though her eyes looked tired, Blue Eyes could see in them that her mind was hard at work, analysing the information given to her. "But they are alive… for now."
Even though she looked relieved at his words, there seemed to still be something nagging her. He saw how she bit her lower lip in thought, looking hesitant to say what was on her mind. Blue Eyes knew she would, thought. Eventually. Lydia wasn't one to beat around the bush or leave things unsaid. She was too impatient and pragmatic for that sort of thing.
True to her nature, after a minute or two, she looked up to once again search Blue Eyes' gaze.
"Where is… Where is Ash?" She spoke quietly, yet it might as well have been a vicious shout to Blue Eyes' ears. "If he isn't with you… You didn't mention him being taken prisoner…"
The young ape clenched his fists on top of his thighs to fight the tears threatening to fall again.
"Koba…. Koba killed Ash." He finally managed to sign once he was sure his emotions were somewhat in check. He had lowered his head to stare intently at the table, avoiding Lydia's eyes as her sharp intake of breath made him suck in his own bottom lip angrily. He gritted his teeth and took a deep breath through his nose in an attempt to keep his signing discernible. Right now, he really wanted to just slam the table and scream.
"For refusing to kill a human. A human with no weapon. I saw it." He clarified finally. Talking about it made the killing seem that much more senseless to the ape.
When he looked up, Lydia seemed even more distressed than Blue Eyes felt. Her deep blue orbs were glistening in the low light with unshed tears, a crease appearing between her brows as she frowned deeply. Looking down, the young ape noticed how the woman's knuckles had turned white as she clenched her hands together and he feared she might draw blood with the way her nails were digging into her hands.
He cooed softly at her to try and calm her down and reached up to run the back of his fingers gently against her cheek. It had always calmed him down when his mother did that, and though he had always seen Lydia as his senior, an adult, he felt that he owed her this. He had seen it happen and had had time to come to terms with it for a while now, whereas Lydia had only just gotten to know.
And the news had hit hard.
Ash and Lydia had always had a very special relationship. It was probably safe to say that she viewed him as a kind of nephew or even a second son and now, she had been told that he had been killed.
By an ape he was supposed to be able to trust, no less.
She seemed to be pulled out of her quiet state of anger and distress by Blue Eyes' gentle touch, and she leaned into it with a shaky sigh. The tears that had formed in her eyes dried before they had the chance to fall and she was now only looking down at the table's dusty surface with a sullen look, not unlike the slight frown that often rested on Caesar's face.
Blue Eyes had half a mind to tell her that she reminded him of his father when she looked like that, but thought better of it, sensing that she wasn't quite ready for an attempt at lifting the mood just yet.
Instead, he settled for lowering his hand to pry hers away from each other and holding one of them as he let his own gaze sweep over the room they were in. He hadn't had the chance until now, with everything that had been going on and to be honest, it wasn't like it was that much different from what he had seen in the city. Everything was covered in dirt, dust and cobwebs, save for the surfaces that the current occupants had sloppily cleared.
The window in the shape of the apes' symbol had led him to believe that this was some sort of hidden outpost or secret sanctum – the birthplace of the revolution that had led them to freedom, perhaps. That was how his father had described that symbol. How every ape who had witnessed those times had described it.
He had expected it to be something grand and spectacular when he saw that symbol. Looking around at the house now, though, he found himself thoroughly underwhelmed. It was a human house as any other – old and abandoned long ago.
He decided that it would be as good a subject as any to get Lydia to think of something else than the loss of Ash. Her hand had begun to relax in his grip and the crease between her brows had softened – a sign that she had calmed down enough to talk.
"What is this place?" He asked, letting go of her hand to sign. "This house has our symbol."
She tilted her head to the side with a raised brow, confusion evident on her face and even more so in her voice as she spoke.
"Your father never told you about it?"
He shook his head softly. His father had never told him about such a place and now Blue Eyes suddenly got the feeling that he had missed out on something important. Something he should know.
Lydia bit her bottom lip in thought as she regarded the adolescent chimp.
"Hmm. I'm not sure if I'm the right person to tell you this, Blue… If Caesar hasn't mentioned it himself…" She seemed hesitant – a rare thing for Lydia, and Blue Eyes' curiosity was now more piqued than ever. What was this place? Why did it carry the apes' symbol? What did it have to do with his father?
He decided then that he had to convince Lydia to tell him.
"Father might not be able to soon." He signed in a subdued manner. It was true, after all, as much as it pained him to say it. If Ellie's operation didn't go well, there was a risk that Caesar wouldn't be there to tell him later.
Furthermore, as his son, Blue Eyes felt like he the right to know, in any event.
"Please, Lydia…" He implored, staring straight into her eyes like he hadn't done for almost a year and a half now.
The woman sighed heavily but nodded all the same.
"I suppose you deserve to know…." She paused briefly, seemingly looking for the words that would best convey what he wanted to know.
In the end, she seemed to choose the simplest.
"This is where your father grew up."
It took him a few seconds to process and when he finally managed to, his face scrunched up in a confused frown.
"Father said he was with apes. Escaped from ape prison." Blue Eyes argued. That had always been the story he had received from his elders. It had never deviated from that scenario, no matter who had told him about it – be it Koba, Maurice, Rocket, Cornelia or Caesar himself.
Lydia smiled gently at him.
"He did. When he was about your age. How do you think he ended up in that prison? Where do you think he was before that happened?"
There was no pity or smugness in her voice and because of that, Blue Eyes felt less bad about his apparent ignorance. Honestly, he had never thought about that at all. That his father may have had a life before he ended up in that horrible place he and some of the older apes spoke about.
"So… father lived here?" The young ape asked in wonder. "How? With who?"
There were so many other questions fighting to be asked as Blue Eyes' hands flew in front of him, but he decided to put a lid on it when Lydia looked at him with a raised eyebrow. When his hands stilled in the air before he could begin to sign another question, the human woman gave a small, understanding smile before answering.
"Well, he was raised here by humans. I'm told he was living with a very kind man and his father, who ended up treating Caesar almost like a son."
Blue Eyes nodded as he sucked this new information up like a sponge. He had never known this about his father. Had never been told by anyone, and he honestly didn't know how to feel about this.
Why hadn't his father told him about his upbringing with humans? It would have explained so many of the decisions Caesar had made in the past couple of days.
Yet when he voiced this thought to Lydia, he understood why immediately.
"I think that has a lot to do with how you have been with both Caesar and me for so long now. You were too young until a year or two ago, and when you started favouring Koba and sympathise with his views, I think your father decided that you weren't ready to know just yet."
Lydia pursed her lips after she said this, looking thoughtfully down at the table before redirecting her gaze to the young ape.
"Or he might just have been biding his time. Perhaps he simply didn't know how to tell you."
Blue Eyes didn't know if she had added that last part because he had gotten a guilty look on his face at the mention of how he had treated his father and her, or if it was actually because she wasn't sure. Either way, he nearly recoiled at the mention of how he had favoured Koba.
To think, the day before, he had strived to be like the bonobo! Taken his side in nearly every dispute and discussed Caesar's leadership with Koba behind his own fathers back!
Then and there, Blue Eyes swore that he would never be like Koba.
He nodded solemnly in agreement at Lydia's assessment nonetheless.
Just then, Ellie appeared in the doorway of the kitchen and both Lydia and Blue Eyes turned their heads in her direction. She had a tired expression on her face, but there was no sadness or grief to be found in her features. Blue Eyes took that as a good sign.
"We're done. Removed the bullet from his chest." She spoke softly.
Her arms hanging at her sides were covered in blood, which made Blue Eyes' brow furrow in concern. It certainly didn't look like it had gone well.
Beside him, Lydia nodded seriously.
"And? Will he recover? You were in there quite long."
It was true. Through the grimy windows, Blue Eyes could see how the sky was turning a dark, ominous grey, rather than the pale shade it had been earlier. They must have been sitting here for a long time.
"It's too early to say. He's still asleep, but he should wake up within 15 to 30 minutes." Ellie spoke, her voice and features turning neutral, giving nothing away. "But he's strong." She added, nodding towards Blue Eyes. "You can go to him, if you would like. I need to get some air right now."
The young chimp got up immediately, signing a slow 'thank you' to Ellie, which Lydia quickly translated.
He didn't even see or hear if the woman replied as he went past her.
Right now, he was just eager to see his father again. To hear him breathe and know that he was still alive.
And as he re-entered the living room, seeing Caesar lie on the couch, still sleeping and with his wound now freshly stitched, Blue Eyes made a decision.
This ape, right in front of him, his father – this was who he would strive to be like.
