Final Chapter

I was greeted by what remained of the battle. Bodies of mostly Fringe soldiers littered the floor. There were a few Secros here and there, some that I knew, but it was obvious as to who exactly was the victor. It was no surprise either, Serenity had brought a small army to fight what seemed like a handful of squads.

I made my way past the carnage, catching the glances of a few messengers and ravens that were busy gathering the bodies of their comrades, or looting what they could from the assassins. No one said anything as I walked by, they only started. I couldn’t sense any sort of malice from them, they were just neutral. A prior version of me would have felt uncomfortable, and I had come to realize that in a way, the Anavari they knew was no more.

“Anavari!” I shot my gaze towards Daniel’s voice, and seconds later I found him embracing me. For those moments I could completely forget the chill, the stares, the battle, the mourning I was still trying to process. For those precious moments, it was just him and me.

I saw serenity, striding towards us, plate armor clanking with each step. She crossed her arms and smiled, she said nothing more. I nodded to her, and she to me.

“Let’s go home,” I whispered in Daniel’s ear.

***

A week had passed. The whole problem essentially vanished, no more attacks, other Secros could finally work again, no more need for safe houses. The days following our return were spent honoring those who had fallen throughout this ordeal.

I spent most of that time preparing the ceremonies, giving last rites mostly. It felt like something I needed to do, yet at the same time, it also felt inappropriate. As a necromancer, these types of tasks were my responsibility, yet all these people were also dead because of me. I owed them what help I could give, yet it almost felt as if I were insulting them. I knew several Secros felt the latter.

The entire ordeal had made me a controversial character amongst my peers. To think that things would go back to normal would have been foolish.

“I need to ask for a temporary leave,” I said to Slim. The asura was enjoying some sort of tea, my memories with Mara kicked in, and from the scent, I could tell it was canthan. Some form of melon seed. I forced myself back to the conversation, finding that I was more easily distracted these days. I focused my eyes back on Slim. He looked at me with a perplexed gaze which gradually shifted down to his teacup.

“And here I thought I was going to have a relatively uneventful day,” he said before taking a sip. “I assume this is about the Fringe?” He gestured towards a couch and I took a seat.

“Yes,” I said. “They haven’t been defeated. What we took out was only a small party. It’s only a matter of time before they send a larger force.” Slim nodded.

“Yes, well I suppose we had to address this eventually.” Slim took another sip. “I was just hoping I could hold it off for longer. Such an uncomfortable topic to talk about.” Slim’s nonchalance over the events wasn’t unexpected, though by now I knew that he wasn’t one to stress over things, no matter how dire. “So why the leave?”

“I… have an idea, to both keep the Secros safe, and find a possible solution to everything.”

“And that involves you leaving our currently polarized family,” Slim traced a finger along the rim of his cup. “What’s your plan?”

“Daniel and I will find the Heartless,” I said. “We set off for the crystal desert, you spread information about our departure and that way the Fringe will shift their focus away from you.”

“So you plan to find the Heartless before the Fringe finds you,” said Slim with a nod. “Just you and Daniel.”

“I can’t risk any more lives to this fight,” I said. There was a long pause, I could tell Slim was torn between how he should proceed.

“Well…” Said the asura. “It’s probably not the soundest approach we can take, but if it works then we can say it was a genius plan.” I released a sigh, I wasn’t exactly doubting that Slim would be on board with my idea, but the last thing I wanted was to upset him by leaving.

“Thank you, Slim,” I said.

“So when are you leaving?” Slim set aside another teacup.

“In a week at the most,” I said. “Need to get some things ready.”

“Then let me help with supplying your mission,” Slim began to pour tea into the cup. “Here, I find a nice hot cup works wonders when planning something suicidal.”

***

I left Slim’s office well past sunset. With a hurried stride, I made my way to my designated meeting area. Down a district and up to a road where a reasonably sized bench overlooked a larger part of the city. On that bench was Daniel, sitting with a basket by his side. Our eyes met and with a wide smile, I allowed myself to sink into the emotions he brought forth.

I sat next to him, and together we ate a meal prepared by both of us while the city was having a celebration of its own. Fireworks soared into the night sky and exploded into brilliant stars of color.

“So it went well?” Asked Daniel.

“Better than well,” I said. “Slim’s sending us off with some supplies for the trip. What’s the city celebrating by the way?”

“Nothing special,” shrugged Daniel. “You know that elder dragon summoning a lot of undead and such?”

“Zhaitan?”

“Dead,” said Daniel with a mouthful of bread. “The Pact took him out.” I whistled in awe as another firework filled the sky with light.

“Forgot there was a big elder dragon crisis,” I said. “Makes you think that we should probably do something about it.”

“I’m sure we have our own problems to take care of right now,” said Daniel with a chuckle. “Let the actual heroes handle that.”

We sat in silence for a time, enjoying the view. At some point, I had taken Daniel’s hand into my own, and moments later he leaned into me. We held each other as the night continued, uncertain as to what adventure was waiting for us. I was certain, however, that I would not be alone for the journey ahead. For I traveled with a man that showed me what it meant to love again, what it meant to desire life, happiness. Despite all the fear and darkness that came with my nonexistent heart, for the first time in years I found myself at peace.

Epilogue

“You won’t remember anything specific,” said Mara as she scanned through her books. She jotted down a note on a sheet of paper and murmured something about memory. “But you’ll have a faint idea of them. Your magic ability might suffer a bit, but you should still be above average in a combat situation.”

“As long as I can forget him,” I said, a monotone voice escaped my muzzle.

“The specifics of the spell will have you remember gradually,” said Mara. “This is meant to extend the time you have to cope, to ease you into the traumatic experience.” I nodded. “There will come moments where something might trigger your memories ahead of time. In that situation, you might become manic but then revert back to before the triggering memory came to you. As long as it doesn’t happen too much you should be mentally stable.” At this point I stopped listening, I simply wanted it to all be over, at this rate I didn’t care about the technicalities of whether or not I would be the same person. I just wanted the pain to end.

“Are you listening?”

“Yes,” I said. “Can we start or will this take some more time?” Mara gave out a sigh.

“We can start right now,” said Mara. “But before that… There’s something I need to show you.” Mara took my hand and placed it on her chest. I recoiled out of the suddenness of her action and of just how inappropriate it felt.

“Mara what are you—”

“Just trust me,” she said. Her tone was calm, almost motherly. Against my better judgment, I allowed her to manipulate my hand.  “What do you feel?”

“Nothing,” I said. “Just your fur. Mara I don’t see what this is…” Then it struck me. I could feel nothing. Not even a heartbeat.

“When you remember everything,” said Mara. “And you still want to learn the truth, come talk to me first.” I was too stunned to utter a response, my mind had already begun to make sense of what exactly it all meant. I forced those thoughts aside, I was not about to turn back now.

“I’ll hold you to it then,” I said. “I’m ready.” Mara’s eyes began to glow, and she placed her hand against my forehead.

***

I shot straight up from a resting position and felt Daniel’s mass roll off me in a start. I nearly fell to my left side, remembering that there was nothing I could use to support it.  I shifted my weight to my arm and tried to steady my breathing. I glanced over to Daniel, who already had a dagger in his hand, thinking that there was an intruder.

“Sorry,” I said. “Just had another memory.” The human lowered the knife and began to rub my shoulder with his free hand.

“You okay, Big Guy?” Asked Daniel.

“I’m fine,” I said. “Just remembered something important is all.”