Zeke has already been gone for an entire year already. The last words he said to Tatiana still echo in her heart.
"My sweet Tatiana, something of the utmost urgency has come up. I must leave for now but know my heart belongs to you… and no matter how long it takes, I will do my best to return to you."
Holding back tears, she bid him farewell on that fateful morning as she watched her beloved ride off and disappear into the dawn.
The year without him has been so rocky. It felt like just a piece of her had fallen out and vanished. Her days, no matter how much may go on, still feel hollow… without him.
After a few months, the unsettling thoughts began creeping in.
That he left her.
That he remembered who he was.
That he returned to his original family.
That he didn't have the heart to tell the truth.
Or worse he got caught up in that horrid Archaean War and…
She didn't want to think about these things.
She did her best not to, and yet these fears always managed to find a way to creep back.
Today was nothing special for Tatiana. She generally always had loved taking nice and peaceful walks around this time of day. In fact, it was introducing Zeke to these walks of hers is how they got to know each other and eventually began to fall for one another.
...Now this time of day is just a constant reminder of how alone she felt now.
Earlier in the year, she had tried taking walks by herself again, to no success. She could only think of him. A few months ago she tried to bring along other friends on her walks. Once again, it all just felt hollow.
Instead, Tatiana now just does all of her tasks early. At the market during her daily routine, rumor had it that the continent wide war across the seas was going to end soon. Supposedly, the tyrant Emperor Hardin who had started the war was defeated, but nothing official has reached the continent of Valentia yet.
Upon hearing this news Tatiana questioned;
...Maybe this means he is finally free to come home now?
This was just a meagre attempt to give herself hope.
She didn't manage to answer her own question in the market.
She didn't manage to answer her own question on her walk home.
She didn't manage to answer her own question as she entered her own home.
She did however eventually come to an answer a few hours later when she finished up her chores.
She's known all along what her answer should be. It crushed her. She just couldn't take it anymore. No more fighting of these creeping thoughts. Tatiana couldn't even stand, she felt so heavy and weighed down by what she had to accept. All Tatiana could do was drop down to her knees and cry. She started crying and crying.
He's not going to come back.
Her tears streamed and her voice screamed. Tatiana knew it was pointless at this point to expect him to return. She had no clue what else to do and all she could think to do was to cry and cry. Sometimes there's no other cure for sadness. The priestess just put her face into her hands and continued sobbing and sobbing.
When enough time has passed Tatiana has calmed down just enough to get an idea. She wiped her eyes as clean as she could, cleared her throat, straightened her stance, and put her hands together.
"Oh Mother, please hear your servant's wish. I may not deserve this happiness but please… I wish you grant him happiness wherever he is and guide him to where he is supposed to be. That… is all I want for him righ-"
*SLAM*
Tatiana flinches upon hearing the door burst open. When she turns around to see…
"Tatiana… I…"
Zeke is absolutely exhausted. His stance is slouched. His attire is damaged. His hands are now all scratched up. The bags under his eyes are clearly very heavy.
It's clear, however, that rather than having eyes full of pain or exhaustion they are instead full of fear.
A single tear streams down Tatiana's face as she stares at him in disbelief.
"Leaving you for so long is beyond cruel… No matter how long it takes, I will do anything I must to prove myself and earn your-"
Zeke's attempt at a heartfelt apology gets cut off as he looks down and he feels Tatiana's warm embrace tightly around his aching and tired body.
Fighting off any more tears Tatiana looks up and joyfully cries out, "Just the fact you're here means the world to me, and that's means more than any words you could say"
Zeke tightly hugs his beloved back in response and whispers "My sweet sweet Tatiana… my heart will never belong to anyone else but you."
The two souls act as one, just standing and swaying in pure bliss.
After a few minutes while keeping her head placed against Zeke's chest Tatiana softly asks, "Is it selfish that I don't want to let go?"