Author's note: I don't own Dragon Quest IV
Battle For Glory
Chapter 13: Zenithia Tower
The climb was long and difficult for even the seasoned climbers, between the thinning air and the vertical climb. Alistair had Airlia climb up ahead of him in the event that her grip slipped at any time, he could catch her. Meena climbed ahead of Ragnar and Maya climbed ahead of Taloon. Rose – much to her delight, had held onto Psaro while he climbed just behind Alistair to ensure Airlia's safety. Once they were up to the next level, everyone sat down to relax for a few minutes, to regain use of their sore and stiff limbs.
Alistair looked at his love who was relaxing against him comfortably. "How much further do we have to climb?"
She thought about it, "We're almost there. We have to go to the stairs going up to our left, then a lift… followed by a small floor where we have to weave around things again, two more sets of stairs and another lift. So close my love." The brunette laid her head on his shoulder comfortably.
He nodded, wrapping an arm around her, "Just a little longer then… and we'll get our answers to all of our questions."
Rose nodded, knowing the questions he wanted to ask… what questions Airlia wanted to ask. "It'll be okay you two… I know it. I don't know all of the past… But things have a tendency to work themselves out."
Meena nodded, "Right. You fixed so many things Airlia, it has to come to right again. I know it."
After a few more minutes, everyone got up and walked towards the stairs that Airlia had mentioned before. Alistair refused to let go of his love's hand as they walked up to the stairs. Once they were on the next floor, they could see a spirit standing at the door. Her long green locks and sad smile told Airlia exactly who she was as she guided Alistair over to her. She had a toga robe like that of Orifiela and white wings.
The woman looked at the boy, "My dear son… My beautiful son… There will be one more… person to see near the end of the climb… To see that young woman you've grown close to. What if we were to say… that Aamon sent her to the other world when a seer foresaw that she could unravel all of his plans… What if you were to face him and he tried to banish her back to that other world… what would you do?"
Alistair frowned and clutched her close, "He can't have her… he can't send her away. I won't let him."
Airlia considered it. "How did he send me to begin with?"
The woman shook her head, "I don't know… the second being to see you will have the answer to that."
The green haired man nodded, "I will keep him from sending her back. I don't know how I'll do it yet, but I won't let him take her again."
She smiled at him, "I know you will my son. She'll be good to you so long as you remain good to her. I love you and I'm very proud of all you have done."
He smiled at her, "I love you mother. I will be good to her, I promise."
The woman faded as Alistair's blue eyes welled with tears. "I'll miss you my son."
He nodded, "I miss you every day mother."
They proceeded inside the room she was standing in front of and went immediately to the stairs nearby and up to the roof where the lift was. Once everyone was on the lift, it immediately went up another twenty stories and towards a building whose doorway was right there. Going inside, they saw the giant room and the columns blocking the path as they walked around carefully, admiring the work that went into the tower. Airlia's insides were quaking though, as she realized that she might be meeting her own parents… like how Alistair had met his mother. She clutched his hand tightly as they wound around and wove through the path before them.
Once they made their way up to the top floor again where a lift stood between them and getting to Zenithia Airlia's breath caught as she saw two people, both wearing the togas… both with wings… both with brown hair while the woman had silver eyes, the man had pale blue eyes. She let go of his hand reluctantly to approach them. "You… you look like me… but I don't understand…"
The woman smiled at her as she reached a hand out. "My darling daughter… my beloved Airlia, you've finally been returned to us… returned home."
Airlia froze like a deer in headlights. "What?! How?!" Her eyes went wide in surprise.
The man came forward, reaching his own hand out to her. "You were born a Zenithian… but one day while you were but a baby… you were ripped from our home by dark magic. The Dragon God searched for you… high and low… He couldn't find you. But he said to not fear… that all children of Zenithia are destined to find their way home. But I had no idea that you were ripped to another world entirely."
She looked questioningly at Psaro. "I don't think it's your magic… But do you think it could have been Aamon? That he foresaw me breaking the cycle? Saving Rose…"
Psaro nodded. "That's very likely Airlia." He turned to the parents, "If she really is your daughter… why doesn't she have her wings?"
Airlia shivered, "I think I know…" She shuddered as she indicated faint scars on her back, along her shoulder blades that they could just begin to make out along the edge of her dress. "I asked my mother about these when I first noticed the scars… She said when I was a baby something strange happened and that she had to take me to the hospital… She wouldn't tell me what though."
Alistair shivered at the thought. "They removed them?!"
She nodded, "Through a surgery. Where they cut things open and remove the attachment, then sew them shut."
Startled cries ripped through the group as Alistair pulled her tightly to him and wrapped his arms around her. "That's terrible!"
Airlia nodded, "In the other world… there aren't things like the monsterkind here. There… there are no people with wings… There's folklore of angels… but they were likely afraid I'd be confiscated by the church or have tests performed on me. But somehow… eventually… they didn't care anymore about me… Almost like they regretted removing my wings."
Alistair's grip tightened further, "Oh my precious darling. They can't hurt you anymore. I won't let them. I won't let you be sent back."
The woman nodded, "Now to introduce us properly. I'm Celeste and this is my husband Richard. Come, let us take you up to Zenithia. To meet the Dragon God."
They nodded in agreement as everyone went onto the platform as a puffy white cloud came down, and picked them up, bringing them high in the sky where a beautiful white castle sat there. Airlia gaped openly at it, "Wow… I've seen this place so many times in the game… dreamed of it so many times… but never has it even come close to the beauty I see now." She drew a little closer to it before reaching for the Baron's Horn and giving it a bellow to bring their mare and their dragon friend to them.
She handed the horn to Torneko as she walked – almost as if in a daze to the dazzling white marble castle. It glittered in the sunlight, as she walked forward to the castle, stopping just short of the pristine stairs as Orifiela came up to her. "This is your home Airlia… it will always be your home."
She nodded as a cold feeling came to her stomach. She turned to Alistair. "I should stay here when you go to confront Aamon. He could try to hurt me to get at you. Or to try and send me back…"
He shook his head, "I want you by my side so that I know you're okay. I need to know you're still among us my love. And if he even thinks of trying to hurt you… it'll be over my dead body."
"Our dead bodies…" Psaro corrected him. This young woman had her life ripped from her, she had her home ripped from her… her heritage. "I will do everything in my power to help protect her Alistair."
Rose hugged him tightly, "Please keep her safe my darling, I will remain here until the threat has passed."
Ragnar nodded, "Aye, he'll have a tough time of it getting past me sword and my determination."
Slowly they started climbing the stairs even as the guards watched distrustfully of Psaro even as Mason and Orifiela drew closer to him protectively. "He is not our enemy anymore." The male Zenithian declared proudly. "He has turned away from harming people and now seeks to hunt the one who has turned us all against one another. Where monsterkind, humans and Zenithians can once again live happily amongst one another."
One of the guards looked at him skeptically, "And what could inspire such a change in the man?!"
Airlia stepped forward, "I was the one… because I saved the woman that he loves… I saved her from dying. That was enough to show him that humans are not all bad."
He looked at her. "But you're not human!"
She glared at him, challenging him, "I didn't know I was Zenithian at the time. I only just found out – thank you very much."
Psaro shook his head, "Regardless, human or Zenithian, she helped my love selflessly. Aamon tried to hurt her afterwards… I refused to let the young woman who helped her to get hurt, so I healed her and changed my stance on things. I don't want to hurt anyone… not anymore. I just want to make sure Aamon can't hurt anyone else ever again. I don't care if I'm not fit to come onto these sacred stairs, but I want sanctuary for my love Rose." His mind drifted back to the night they had on the ship…
The man relented, "Very well, come into Zenithia. Forgive us for not being trusting… we don't know all of what went on down there. We don't know if you're lying to them masterfully."
Airlia came up to him angrily, "He hasn't lied to us. Not once. He helped us and has saved my life. If Alena holds no hate for him because he reversed the magic that Aamon wrought on her kingdom… then you have no reason to hold hate for him." She pushed past him roughly.
Everyone followed her as she went into the castle to explore it more. She had seen it for so long in her mind… imagining what it would look like if it were real. And now here it was… the beautiful white marble, the beautiful golden accents as she walked over to a well that showed the world below. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared below at the passing world. "Wow… it's incredible."
Alistair wrapped an arm around her, "Yes, yes it is." He kissed her forehead. "Are you okay Airlia?"
She shook her head. "This place… it's so beautiful. But I feel so overwhelmed… by everything. My parents are here… they're alive… I'm from here… but my heritage was ripped from me by my parents in the other world… I don't… I don't know what to make of this."
He held her tightly to him, "It'll be okay I promise. I'm not leaving you and I'm not letting you out of my sight anymore."
Airlia laid her head against him. "I know my darling. Thank you… for everything."
He wrapped his arms around her tighter still, "I love you… thank you for helping to save my village… and for everything else – even if I was an ass during part of it."
She kissed the area above his heart. "I love you Alistair… my knight… and for the other… it just hurt, but I could understand the distrust, it was just not a story I wanted to divulge in until we had Ragnar. And then part of it… I couldn't because I couldn't remember."
Alistair nodded as he kissed her head again. "I'm so sorry about that part… I should have realized that you weren't faking it. He was just so good at trying to make me think you'd been lying all that time… It also hurt that you trusted Meena with your secret, but not me."
She looked up at him, "Would you have believed me? She did only because she was a seer and could see things from my past… things that made it easier for her to believe. Borya believed me because of Meena vouching for me. Because I knew things that most didn't from their journey."
He nodded and laid his head against hers, placing his cheek to the top of her head. "My beloved… my sweet angel. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise…"