by M. Arcturus
“Thank you. I think I needed to hear that,” she said as she gave the Lady one final hug. “I’m going to miss you!”
“I’m going to miss you, too!”
“Awe, that’s so sweet!” said a familiar voice as two more pairs of arms wrapped around them. It was Shadow and Kajaka.
“Okay, you two. I will miss you as well,” the Lady responded as she gave them all a final squeeze. “I’m being summoned to the boats now. I’m sure we will all meet again.” She walked away from them and approached Anthony. “Everything is going to be alright. Stay safe in your travels. We will meet again.” She gave him a hug and headed toward the boats.
Kajaka looked at Selené, “We will travel with you briefly before we head home. Shadow is insistent on it. I love the idea of traveling with you, but I think he has something up his sleeve.”
“Well, whatever it is, I’m sure you’ll love it, and I would love to have the company, no matter how brief.” He gave her a warm embrace and joined Shadow and Sorbek at the boat. She approached Anthony one final time before parting. Tears were welling up in her puffy, upset eyes.
“I hate leaving you. I don’t want to go, but I feel that I need to. I will find you. Just remember, I love you very much. You are my world and don’t forget; you owe me a story.” He gestured to her new hairstyle and winked at her; then he gave her one last passionate kiss. “I love you.”
Selené couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. “I love you, too.” She started to sniffle. Letting go of him, she added, “Stay safe and come back to me as soon as you can.”
“I will, I promise!” He started to walk away, holding onto her hand as far as he could before he was out of reach. She watched him near the boats, take Nostradamus by the hand, and head over to the time machine. Opening up the hatch, he looked at her with such pain in his eyes. That’s when Selené knew that he truly hated going and would do everything in his power to return. The spiral fin on top of the machine started to rotate, and in one bright flash of white light, they were gone. She stood there and felt the wind that was produced by their departure on her face, longing to see him again.
Almost like a shout coming from a dream, she heard, “Selené, get away from there!”
“Huh?” She looked at Shadow, who had shouted at her from the boat.
“Get away from there. The death, it’s at your feet.”
“Huh?” She looked down at the ground and realized that the death was not even five feet away from her. She ran from the death as quickly as what her legs could carry her. Reaching the boat, she added, “I need to find Pandora. I have to say goodbye to her.”
“Well make it quick; we are out of time.”
The dragon still lurked from the bushes. With the death nearly upon his back, he realized that his time for action was running out. If he was going to exact his revenge, now was the time to do it. His mate flew up behind him.
“What do you think you are doing? We have our son. Let’s go home.”
“No, not without making Oberon pay,” sputtered the male.
“You’re mad. Just leave him alone. He didn’t do anything to us.”
“His human half did,” the dragon said, bitterly referring to Juron.
“Yes, and do you see him running around anywhere? I sure don’t! He must have had the common sense to leave, or justice has already been served!”
“If you don’t want to stay, just go. I’ll meet up with you later.”
She flared up, but realized that he wasn’t going to budge. “Fine, but you better not get yourself killed.” In a huff, she flew away with their fledgling. He rolled his eyes and glared at her, wondering if she had blown his cover with her bold departure.
The boats were all loaded, and the Bennu had left. The Lady was talking to Selené as Anthony was about to leave in his time machine. Now that Oberon found his wife, where was his daughter off to? Oberon looked around for her. His eyes landed on two elves trying to dig up the metal boxes on the beach. Shaking his head in dismay, he yelled, “Do you see anyone else trying to dig up the boxes?”
“But sir,” one replied, “How are we going to ease the gryphons as we travel?”
“We blindfold them and do the best that we can. Now get your asses to the boats!” He let out a heavy sigh. “Now, if only I could find my daughter,” he mumbled to himself. He finally spotted her talking to Seth. It was obvious that his daughter was not going to leave without her love. Though Seth was not his favorite person, he would do anything to save his daughter. It was apparent that their conversation had reached a standstill. Pandora just stood there staring at Seth, not knowing what to do. “Did you not hear me? Pandora, go to the boats now!” Oberon bellowed.
Watching Oberon’s every move, the lurking dragon took a special interest in the girl. She must be very important to Oberon. Even if no one else were to be slain, she was his target. He started to move in for the kill.
“Seth, you too, to the boats now!” Heeding Oberon’s orders, Seth took one look at her and then ran toward the boats. There was no need to ask him again. Pandora stood for one brief moment, ecstatic that her father had invited Seth to come along. Maybe their relationship did have a chance. The elves on Avalon would definitely be a good influence on him. Once her thoughts came to an end, she took off after him, all excited to be going home.
Without warning, her body came to a halt, and it was flooded with pain. She couldn’t breathe. Looking down, she saw what appeared to be the head of a large spear sticking through her chest. Blood ran profusely from the wound. It wasn’t just red, but thick green goo. The spear had struck her heart. She wasn’t sure if her heart was grazed or completely punctured. One thing was for sure—the pain was unbearable. The blood ran warm, and her world was going dim. She was not going to make it.
She looked up to the sky and said her last few words, “I’m sorry that I didn’t move as quickly to the boats as I should have.” A quiver of a smile spread across her lips, “Seth would have yelled at me for that, so would my father. I hadn’t thought about it until now, but in some ways, they’re both very much alike. They both care for me, have immense temperaments, and both have to have it their way. I wish I would have had the chance to tell my father that I fell in love with Seth because of my love for him. And to every one of you, I love you all.” Hot tears ran down her face, and then she felt nothing. No one heard her last words, but they sensed it with their hearts a split second before acting out of rage.
Trying to get the dead girl’s body off of his tail, he lifted her up in the air and then slammed her body down onto the beach. The jolt jarred her body loose, and he was able to slide his tail out of her chest. Oberon didn’t take time to form an energy blast—he ran straight for Pandora. He no longer cared if the dragon killed him. His only concern was Pandora. With eleven medics following behind him, he prayed that she could be saved.
Selené came running from the boat and was the first to reach her body. The dragon lunged for Selené, but Campanula and the Lady got to him first. Campanula shot him in the heart while the Lady made his body explode with one mere thought. Dragon entrails showered down on them making Selené remember the war with the Ackrids. Oh, how she wished she could forget. Oberon slid in next to Selené. Taking Pandora’s wrist, he checked for a pulse. He couldn’t feel a heartbeat. Nemesis appeared kneeling at Pandora’s head in her transparent form and giggled at Oberon before disappearing. The Ker with the power of divine retribution had just laughed in his face. His gut twisted in such a knot that he wasn’t sure if he would ever feel the same again. This did not augur well for Pandora.
Seth edged in on the other side with the Lady of Avalon and Campanula. They stared into her eyes hoping for any sign of life. Instead, they saw her lucid green eyes drain of their color to a glossy white. It was like watching colored water disappear from a glass.
“How are her eyes doing that? What is this green goo o
ozing from her body?” Selené’s questions seemed to be so innocent, but to both the Lady and Oberon, it was more like a death sentence.
Reluctantly, he responded, “It’s her life’s blood. It pours from her heart. The chlorophyll in her life’s blood makes her eyes green.”
Seth rebutted, “Her blood is red. I know it is. In fact, it’s all around us. See, it’s red.”
The Lady took it from there. “Yes, she has red blood, but she had two circulatory systems. She didn’t know it yet, but she had two lives to live, being our daughter, and being the Seventh Gaea. Plant life was always in her blood.” Selené didn’t quite understand what being the Seventh Gaea all entailed, but it sounded important. She wanted to ask, but focusing her thoughts on Pandora was far more crucial.
Kajaka had been watching and fretted from the boat. “Shadow, we must get to Pandora!”
“No, we better not leave the boat. We can always send them a feather filled with our condolences.”
“But Shadow, the death, it’s nearly upon them!”
Shadow looked at their surroundings, “Oh crap! Just stay in the boat, I’ll take care of this.”
“Sir, she’s too far gone.” The elf looked to Oberon for further orders.
Selené voiced the elf’s thoughts. “What do we do now?”
Oberon looked up solemnly, “We take her body back to the boat with us.”
“You don’t have the time,” said Shadow coming in for a landing. He grabbed Selené and shoved her out of the way just in time. The death washed over Pandora’s body. The others scooted away quickly. Back on one of the boats, among Avalon’s fleet, the elves could not restrain Rowyn any longer. She had watched Pandora die, and was now in a frenzy. They held her tightly, but Rowyn wiggled loose.
“Pandora, no! Wake up!” Jumping off of the boat, she ran so fast that she was barely a blur.
Amazingly, Shadow caught her by the arm before she got too close to Pandora’s body. “There’s nothing we can do,” he told her. Once she calmed down, he let go of her arm.
As the death inched its way over her body, the most extraordinary thing happened when it made contact with her life’s blood. From death, came life. Low laying plant life engulfed Pandora and started to spread out all over the isle eating away at the death and replaced it with exotic flowers, grass, ferns, and trees. If it weren’t for the loss of their loved one, they would have reveled in the beauty.
Trying to see the good in the situation, Campanula spoke up completely forgetting that the isle was still sinking, “Look, the death is being overcome. We don’t have to leave the isle!” About that time, Mt. Caspen collapsed in on itself with a loud rolling crash revealing the other half of the isle, which had already been devoured by the death and was being submerged by a large rushing tide. Oberon glared at her. She backtracked, “Okay, so a lot of the death has already leaked off of the isle and once again, we have to run for our lives. I’m sorry I brought it up.”
They took off running for the boats. Oberon spoke to her as they ran. Though his words were grim, his voice had a tiny hint of humor given the situation. “This is the second time this has happened. I ban you from pointing out the positive in any situation ever again.”
They were nearly to the boats when Oberon noticed that the Lady of Avalon and a few others were not with them. He peered over his shoulder to witness Selené crouched down talking to Rowyn, who seemed unresponsive to what she was saying. Seth twirled his sword in his hand while kneeling next to where Pandora’s head had been. It was apparent that he was taking her death very hard, and there beside him was the Lady, sitting close to where Pandora lay. She seemed to be paralyzed, while Shadow pulled on her arm trying to get her to stand.
Oberon ran back motioning to Shadow to step away and help Selené and Rowyn. He tried to pull the Lady up himself. She just sat there wiping the tears from her eyes and sniffed. He spoke to her with urgency, “We have no choice but to go. The whole point of accessing Mt. Caspen’s core was to propel us away from universal time and space and into the physical waters of human time in hopes to preserve Atlantis. I don’t even know how the impact of this downward shift of energy from the isle sinking is going to influence the planet. If we somehow manage to stay, we have no clue how human time will affect our bodies, and Avalon needs us. We can’t just abandon our people because we experienced a great loss. We can mourn for our daughter on Avalon.”
She looked to the spot where she last saw her daughter. “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” Feeling the gut wrenching pain of her heart falling to her stomach, she started rocking herself.
Oberon, in his own decrepit state, folded his arms around her and in a low voice stated dryly, “Come on, we need to get to the boats.”
Slowly responding she replied, “I’m not going.”
“You have to. I can’t lose you both.”
“I can’t go on without her.”
“Love, you have got to try. What is born on Avalon, returns to Avalon.”
“I don’t have the faith to believe such nonsense,” she said. The isle rumbled as it sank further into the ocean. The roar of the hungry ocean grew louder as it approached them.
“We need to load up. The isle is quickly going under, and if we don’t leave now, we’ll be pulled under with it.” Oberon looked to his fleet. Spotting the lead elf at the stern of another ship waiting for his orders, he shouted, “Captain, start sailing toward Avalon. We’ll be following you shortly.” He turned his attention to Seth. With shaky hands fueled by a flash of white-hot anger, Seth drove his sword into the ground with such force that Oberon jerked back out of shock. Seth slowly wiped the tear falling from his eye. Deep in his thoughts, he was tormented by Anthony’s words. They were like a dark foreshadow that he had ignored. Anthony was right. He never did know how deeply he felt about her until she was gone.
Seth’s face was cold and somber. Oberon could tell Seth was too devastated over Pandora and was about to crack, but he needed his assistance. Shadow was not strong enough to help him. In a soft pleading tone, Oberon spoke up, “Seth, I need your help!”
He looked up at Oberon with a distant stare as he stood up to assist him. Like a voiceless summons, Seth turned his eyes and looked at Sorbek. Though a quarter of a mile away, Sorbek felt Seth’s stare and knew he was needed. Seth responded to Oberon, “What do you need me to do?”
Oberon was shocked that Seth seemed so calm. For all he knew, it was the calm before the storm. At any rate, he was going to jump at the opportunity, even if their truce was temporary. If Seth cracked within the next few moments, he would have to deal with it then. For the time being, he was just glad to have the help. Gesturing to the Lady, Oberon said, “Help me get her onto the boat.”
“You really think that’s safe?”
“Yes, why?”
“Don’t deny it; we all saw what she did to that dragon. If we take her against her will, will she do that to us?”
“She’s too weak. Here, take her shoulders.” Said Oberon reclining the Lady back.
Seth saw a pair of strong gray furry hands find their way behind her back. He looked up at Sorbek, thankful for his help.
Kajaka watched as Sorbek splash down into the water, leaving him alone on their boat. He mumbled quietly to himself, “And then there was one.” He shot Shadow a glance.
Shadow, realizing that all he was doing was standing there like an idiot, knowing that there was nothing he could do for Oberon and the Lady of Avalon, he shouted to Kajaka, “I’ll be there in just one moment.” Kajaka started to feel uneasy wondering if he could wait that long by himself. Shadow turned to Selené, who had stood up for a moment to stretch her legs, “Are you ready?”
Selené looked at little Rowyn, “Hold on, let me try one more time.”
“Geez people, can’t we just load up the boats and get the hell out of here?” Shadow asked in disgust.
She glared at him and went on with her business. As she crouched down again, her shadow softly fell over Rowyn. The little girl was tracing the edge of a flower’s pink pedals created from Pandora’s blood. Rowyn looked up at Selené when she asked, “Where’s your family?”
“Gone,” came the little girl’s simple reply.
Selené probed further, “Were you going to go to Avalon with Pandora?”
Rowyn didn’t answer; she just shrugged.
“You can either go to Avalon or come with me. It’s your choice.”
“I think I’ll stay here.”
“That’s not an option. Pandora wouldn’t want you to stay here.”
“How would you know what Pandora wanted?”
“She was my best friend. We grew up together. I was about your age when we met. There will never be anyone quite like her.” Tears welled up in Selené’s eyes. “Will you come with me?”
The little girl looked at Oberon. Still fearful of him, she was reluctant to go to Avalon. Selené, on the other hand, was warm and caring. Rowyn accepted Selené’s outstretched hand. Standing up, Selené said to Shadow, “Okay, we’re ready. Lead the way, Shadow. Let’s get this show on the boat!”
“Finally,” sighed Shadow, rolling his eyes and shaking his head as if Selené was hopeless. “Hang on tight,” he said as he grabbed hold of them and flew them back to the boat. Once they reached the modest boat, Selené was the first to rush to the side rail. Selené couldn’t take her eyes off of the Lady of Avalon and wondered if they had really said goodbye to each other. They watched the events surrounding Lord Oberon and the Lady of Avalon. All were hoping the Lady was fine and that Sorbek would return so they could be off on their way.