TWENTY FIVE
Note: Special thanks for Tasmanian Tiger for the review and for taking Parker into your story. For readers that aren't aware, Tasmanian Tiger has started a new cool fanfic Jericho Chronicles, and Parker made a cameo in Ch.2. It's a cool story, so please read and enjoy. I'd include Sig into this story, but this story is almost complete. I'll think about other occasions.
Starport,
New St. Andrews, Periphery,
July 14, 3066
The dropship ramp led my feet back to a planet's soil once again. I could feel pollens and particles polluted the air, but I preferred particles to clean but putrid air from the purifier I had been inhaling for 5 months. The sunrays caressed my face, gently, reminding me of Evee's hands. Workers chattered in funny dialects, accents that I had never heard before. New St. Andrews was yet another whole new world for me.
I went through the custom, and they just let me through after I showed them my ticket. The custom here was not as strict as in major ports, particularly because this place was far from the clamor of civilization. It was practically in the middle of nowhere. Nobody came here often, and those who did so usually brought little something for the locals. I could imagine why Evee liked it here. Everything was genuinely simple.
Leaving the custom, I hailed a cab and asked him for MacGregor's palace. The driver was quiet, but he brought me through most of the city's exhibits. The city was exemplary in its own plainness. And I noticed the regiments of banners and attributes of festivity. I was not aware of any celebration when I came, but perhaps I was ignorant. My mind was so preoccupied with words and explanations I would have to give Evee that I missed virtually everything during my flight.
The cab dropped me at the gate of MacGregor's palace. I had seen bigger palaces, but it was the first time to see one with my own eyes. Although it was less grandeur than palaces from the Successor Houses, the aura was vehement. It was a magnificent building, gleaming in white, and dressed up in obvious carnival. Flowers and lamps hanging from the walls, and myriad gardeners mended the grass and shrubs into lush greeneries, giving a sense of glamour and serenity surrounding the palace. My mind flew back to Tecumseh, three years ago, where I met Evee the last time.
"What is your business?" two guards halted me as I walked toward the gate.
"I wish to see Evee Ridinghood, the Chief of Defense," I replied, feeling my heart beating faster. I could not wait to see her face when she saw me. Every single night of the long flight from Solaris, I dreamt of her eyes shining in delight.
"Miss Ridinghood is busy at the moment," one of the guards said. "If you are an invited guest or relative, you can see her at the wedding. If you're here for administrative matter, you can talk to interim Hector Alejandro. His office is across the street."
Invited guest? That was unusual. I expected to hear 'appointment', but not 'invited guest'. "You do not understand," I tried to explain. "Please tell her that my name is…"
"Parker?" I heard her pitched voice superseded my words. "Parker, is that you?"
She was standing about two-dozen meters away from me. Adrenaline jumped into my head. I did not believe my eyes. She did not change at all. Not a bit, except a few pounds thinner than what I remembered three years ago. I felt my head exploded with sensations. All the good memories I spent with her came back in a flash, making me dizzy. I wanted to lunge at her and kiss those sweet lips, letting her how miserable my life was without her. But I restrained myself. Something did not feel right.
She walked toward me, hesitantly, as if she was wearing a harness. Her eyes were full of surprise, blissful surprise, but her body gestured a small confusion. I did not understand. What was going on? Why was she not excited to see me, the way she was excited when we met at Tecumseh?
"My God, Parker!" her smile was a heavy one. "How did you find out?"
"About what?" I did not understand what was taking place. "About this celebration?"
"About my… uhm…" she took a moment of silence. I could hear her heavy breathing. Then she showed me her beautiful ring on her left hand. "About my wedding."
"Your what?!" I almost bit on my tongue. I refused to believe my ears. This could not be true! The banners, flowers, lights, everything was in honor of her wedding! "It is not true, is it?" But her eyes told me that my denial would only go so far. "Evee, why did you not tell me?"
Suddenly a young man, barely over his adolescence, jumped out of the gate, looking at me with sparks in his eyes. "Holy Cow, I don't believe this! Parker is on my wedding! Oh my God, I don't believe this!"
Before I could ask for an explanation, he jumped right next to Evee and grabbed my hand in full force. "It's an honor for me that you are here! I am the biggest, freakiest fan of yours in the entire New St. Andrews! Oh my God, my parents will be psyched if they know you'll be in my wedding! Honey, did you invite him?"
"No," Evee shook her head, then gave me the overdue explanation. "This is Jeremy Stewart, my fiancée. He is the scion of the Stewart family, once MacGregor's rival, now liaison. He is a big fan of Solaris games, and over the years he has been rooting for you."
"I know from the moment I saw you fight, you'll be the champion of the assault class!" Jeremy kept babbling. "That Davion Kyle Garret went on to claim the Grand Championship. Man, what an upset! This might go down as the best Solaris Grand Championship ever!" He paused for a brief moment. "By the way, what happened man? Why didn't you fight in the Grand Championship? Had you been there, you'd whup his ass! I know you can do it!"
"I was…" I tried to find a good excuse. As incomprehensible as it could be, I did not want to ruin Evee's wedding. "My flight to New St. Andrews left before the match. I do not want to be late for the wedding."
"For real?" Jeremy's eyes almost popped out of his socket. "Holy Blake's blood, a Solaris champion in my wedding! This is awesome in so many level, I have to call my parents!" He rushed to where he came from, but stopped midway and waved at me, "Hey, maybe you can show me your moves sometime!"
"Anytime," I nodded, fibbing a smile, and waited until he disappeared behind the door, hopping with glee. He did not even feel suspicious of why I was there in the first place. I turned to Evee who looked at me with deep mourning. I longed for her, but the ring on her left hand said that my access to her had been expunged. She was so close, yet so far away. I was too late for her, and now I wished I did not go to New St. Andrews at all, because if I had to remember her, I did not want to do it this way.
"Does he know?" I asked.
"No, and please don't," Evee replied, half pleading.
"I understand," I spoke hoarsely. My head felt heavy, and my vision started to fade away. I could not believe that I spent 5 months with great anticipation, only to find her marrying someone else. If only I did not succumb to Daniels' pledge, if only ignored Emi… it would have been me instead of that immature, obnoxious geek Jeremy. "So when is the big day?"
"In three days. Listen, Parker –"
"Miss Ridinghood, we need to fit in your wedding dress," somebody shouted from inside the wall.
"Oh God, I am sorry Parker," she grabbed my arm, holding it tight. "I'm sorry you have to find it this way. I'll… I'll send you to your room. There's a dinner the night before, and you're invited. I owe you an explanation."
She jogged toward the big palace, stopping briefly to instruct her adjutant to take care of me. I watched her going into the palace, and the scene vividly reminisced our farewell 5 years ago at Outreach. A blunder that I would have to live with for the rest of my life. I came to reclaim her, instead I had to witness her walking away from me.
And three days was barely enough to accept the fact that I was too late for her.
O'Sarge Restaurant, Orkney Beach,
New St. Andrews, Periphery,
July 16, 3066
Once again, I had to be at a wedding, the last place I wanted to be. Jeremy was so exited having his favorite Solaris fighter at his wedding that he forced me to be the ring bearer. I had always been cantankerous about wedding, and added to this ordeal was I had to watch the only woman I cared about slipping away from my grasp. I did not want to be in this wedding, but the flight would not leave until the end of July. I had no excuse.
But at least, I owed Evee an apology. And she an explanation.
I lost my appetite. In fact, I lost interest in everything. I just watched others singing fake compliments about how perfect Evee and Jeremy were for each other, and Jeremy exulting his 'lovely bride' at every possible chance. I saw it in his eyes. He virtually worshipped Evee. He was in love with her, and the whole situation made my stomach twirl. Evee maintained her grand throughout the evening, but her eyes told me that she was as tormented as I was.
Jeremy initiated a toast, praising Evee once more, then went to hang out with his friends while others laughed and chattered. I saw a perfect opportunity to talk to Evee, so I excused myself and walked toward her. To my surprise, she met me halfway, smiling at Jeremy, then whispered, "Walk with me."
The restaurant was an exotic resort that jutted above beautiful seashore. We kicked off our shoes and walked slowly on the beach, letting the cold water pampered our feet. The rhythmical sound of the wave bashing the sand created a soothing nuance that calmed my rage. I did not know what to say, and it was apparent that Evee felt the same way. So we kept walking slowly until the restaurant was about half a mile away behind.
"I'm sorry I never told you," Evee started. "Everything started when you're making your way to eternity. I knew how upset you could be, and I didn't want to disrupt your concentration."
"Eternity," I scoffed. "Solaris is a game world. Everything you see is a game. And like any other games, some people do not like playing fair. Sometimes pilots reach the top because they are tied to some big names, the decision makers inside Solaris. Sometimes you do not have to be a good pilot to climb up the ladder of success. You just have to know somebody that can help you do it. And the worse part: it is no charity. You have to pay for the service, and instead of hurting your bank account, it hurts your dignity."
I wanted to tell her about the scandal, but I did not think now was the right time. Yet, I had to tell her how I felt. "I was sick of the pageantry. I was sick of the mask that I had to wear everyday, and I was sick of the masks that everybody wore. It was not what I wanted. I came here to find what I always wanted."
We did not speak again for a long time.
"Do you love Jeremy?" I dared myself to ask her.
"Aw, Parker," she guffawed. "I'm living my own pageantry. You know that the four ruling families of New St. Andrews have been fighting each other for years. Each family strives to be the sole ruler of New St. Andrews. Well, the arrival of Ridinghood Cavaliers evoked jealousy from other houses. We were still in our infancy when Sterling and Brannigan launched an attack. We managed to beat them, but with a devastating loss.
"With MacGregor, Sterling, and Brannigan at the low point, Stewart became the dominant house, and started moving toward total sweeping of other houses. In a desperate move, MacGregor offered a truce. Stewart agreed with a cost. MacGregor could not afford more attrition, so they proposed a matrimonial union between Jeremy and a MacGregor rose. Unfortunately, Jeremy didn't want anybody else but me.
"You'll ask me why I agreed to marry Jeremy. I did it for House MacGregor. The MacGregor family sheltered my family for generations. When I came back, they gave me my father's position as chief of defense. This wedding was the best thing I could do for them. With me as the spouse of Stewart's heir, the Stewarts will not attack MacGregor for any reason.
"So ask me again: is Jeremy a great guy? Yes, he is. Does he love me? Yes, he does, sometimes to the point that I felt lucky to marry him. Do I love Jeremy?" She paused, kicking the water as it rolled over her feet. "I think you know the answer."
I halted her. "Evee, I came here for you," I held her hand. "I was blind, and I was wrong. I hurt you, and I want to make it right. Once you said I thought too much. Here I am, missing the biggest chance in my Solaris career to be with you. I have nothing to offer, but I love you, Evee. I would do anything for you."
She did not answer directly. She took a while looking at me, biting her lips to muffle her sobs. "You don't know what you're asking, Parker. You're asking me to betray MacGregor family, to cheat my responsibility as the Chief of Defense. You're asking me to brew a new war we can't win.
"And what do you expect me to do, Parker?" she looked into my eyes, launching her frustration in full force. "You left me when I needed you the most, and you come when I need you the least. You confuse the hell out of me. For once in your life, tell me what you really want, because I don't know."
She was right. She had every right to be confused. Besides, I had my chance with her, and I did not take it. It was too late for a second chance, and it was selfish of me to ask her to leave Jeremy. This was her life, her home, and there was no room for me anymore. This was the right time for me to make my exit.
"A kiss goodbye would be nice," I forced myself to smile.
I did not have to ask her twice. Without hesitation, she lunged at me and kissed me. I felt my entire body gave way to the sensation, so much I felt my knee buckled. I just had to accept the fact that she was no longer a part of mine, and I bid my farewell to her. I felt she did the same. We kissed for a long time.
Long, long time.
With water on our feet, and stars above our heads.
Hoping that this moment would never, ever end.
Only 1 more chapter, the conclusion of I, Ke2ensky
Stay tuned...