by David Angelo
Kyu tilted her head and peered up into the night sky. “They’re in paradise now,” she said solemnly. “For the rest of us, this battle is going to replay itself in our minds until the day we die.” She turned to Chok. “I guess this is something we just have to get used to, seeing our brothers and sisters die in the line of combat.”
Chok nodded. “That’s what Chinaw’s been sayin’ for years, but I don’t even think he’s grasped it entirely himself, least until today, that is.”
Chok shuffled uncomfortably where he sat, the pain in his back biting him as he did.
“It’s times like these I feel particularly old,” Chok said. “I ain’t the kid I was when I first met you.”
Kyu smiled but said nothing in response.
“Before I get up and try to go back to sleep,” Chok said, “I want to speak to you about somethin’.”
“What’s that?” Kyu asked.
“Don’t mind me bargin’ around in your private life,” Chok said nervously. “It’s just that I never had a chance to talk to you when you…you…”
“When I came out?” Kyu asked.
Chok nodded meekly. “I wanted to speak to you about it before we went off to fight, but I didn’t know where to start.”
Kyu smiled and put her hand on Chok’s shoulder. “First off, if you’re thinking that you made me this way, you’re wrong. I always loved women, long before I knew you.”
“I know,” Chok said.
“I loved you, just not in the way couples typically love each other.”
“And I loved you too,” Chok said. “At least, I think I did…”
“What do you mean?” Kyu asked.
Chok sighed and hung his head. His face was wet with tears. “I don’t know, I just…don’t know how to love people. And for that, I’m sorry. You did everything you could for me after I escaped Triticon, but I didn’t do squat for you when Arch was born. When you told me we were going to be parents, I closed myself off to the whole world.”
Chok turned to face Kyu. “I’m sorry for hurting you all those years ago. I was broken, and you tried to mend me, but I kept tearing myself apart and expected you to keep picking up the pieces. You deserved so much better than me, and I really hope that whoever you found gives you the love and compassion that I didn’t.”
“Chok, don’t blame yourself,” Kyu said. “We both made mistakes back then. I should never have pursued a relationship with you, knowing now what I was too ashamed to admit back then. Neither one of us are blameless, but that’s not to say that we can’t try and move on and, you know, be friends.”
“I was gonna ask you that,” Chok said. “We made an awful couple, but we were good friends there for a while when we first met.” He turned to look at her. “You think we can just go back to the way we were, before we took things too far?”
“I don’t see why not,” Kyu said. “I miss being your friend.”
“Can you ever forgive me?” Chok asked.
“I will if you forgive me.”
“I do.”
“Then I forgive you.”
They hugged.
When they were finished, they leaned back against the wall, the hatchet they’d shared now condemned to the annals of history.
“There was another thing I wanted to ask,” Chok said.
“Hit me.”
“You mentioned last night, when you came out, that you wanted to take Arch back from your sister and possibly raise him with…What’s her name again?”
“Nickita?” Kyu said. “I’m sorry. I should have mentioned it to you before we stated our plans.”
“That’s okay,” Chok said. “I’ll do whatever it takes for you to get him back, and I’ll support you and Nickita however I can. But I was wondering, though, if I could still be part of his life. That is, if you want me.”
“Of course,” Kyu said. “Arch is just as much your son as he is mine.”
“Thank you,” Chok said. “I might be a terrible father, but I want to make it up to him, and to you.”
“You’re already helping to provide him with a brighter future,” Kyu said. “You and I. Why else did we put ourselves in danger today?” Kyu took Chok by the hand and gently squeezed. “Everything we do, what the resistance does, it’s for all of Edon, but especially the young. We’re fighting to provide them with a future without hate, without prejudice, where they can grow up to be whoever they want. And if and when we win this war, Arch will be rewarded beyond his wildest dreams.”
Chok smiled. He felt satisfied in knowing that his son, born into a cold, abrasive world, could at least grow up in a place surrounded by warmth and compassion.
Kyu got up, stretched, and offered Chok a hand, which he gladly took.
“Well,” Kyu said through a yawn, “no matter how uncomfortable the beds are, I think it’s the right time for me to hit the hay. What do you think?”
“I agree,” Chok said.
They started down the road from whence Chok came, where the barracks were located. The night was cool and quiet, save for the few trickles of rain that fell from the edges of the roofs.
“Kyu,” Chok said, “there’s another thing I think I should open up to you about, but now’s probably not the right time.”
Kyu stopped. “What is it?”
Chok sighed and turned to face her. “It’s about time I reveal all that happened to me at the plantation.”
Kyu fell silent, her words trapped in her throat.
“I’ve kept it a secret for a long time,” Chok said. “But I don’t want to keep no secrets anymore, and I think you deserve to be the first to know.”
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Kyu said.
“I know,” Chok said. “But I need to put the past behind me, where it belongs, so that it cannot hurt me or anyone else.”
Kyu nodded. “Tell me now, then.”
Chok shook his head. “You’re tired. I’ll tell you in the morning, once we’re both well rested.”
“We might not have time tomorrow,” Kyu said, “and if it means that much, we shouldn’t delay it any longer.”
Chok sighed and sat down against the side of another building.
“Well then,” he said. “Take a seat. This is gonna be a long one.”
Deep within the woods, beyond Fort Titan’s walls, a small, bubbly hot spring emitted white, puffy clouds of steam. The water parted, and Fin emerged from the depths. He took a quick breath of air and let himself float on his back. He felt the ripples carrying him toward the small dock, where his towel was waiting for him to finish. Fin lay there, letting the warmth envelop him. He could feel his muscles unwind, the aches he’d incurred during the day dissolving. He felt his sore bones relax and the throbbing in his head subside. He heard the sound of the water lapping the edge of the rocks, the music of frogs singing their late-night mating call, soothing the ringing that was still echoing off the inside of his ears.
Fin dove back under and disappeared beneath the milky surface. Beneath the water, there was only blackness. He let himself sink to the bottom, sit down, and cross his legs. He kept his eyes closed, exhaled only though his nose, and let his mind go blank. He emerged a few seconds later and pulled himself up onto the dock. He buried his face in his warm towel as a clock tower in the distance rang once, twice, three times.
Just as Fin was patting the side of his head, trying to get a clog out of his ears, he heard the dock creak. He turned and was surprised to see Scarlet standing on the other end.
“You’re up late,” Fin said as she approached.
“Black-Tooth told me you’d be here,” Scarlet replied. “I figured I’d check on you, just to see if you were okay.”
“I’m fine, Baby,” Fin said, shaking the water out of his frills. “When I heard that there was a hot spring nearby, I thought I’d stop by and take a little dip, figured the heat would do my joints good.”
“I bet,” Scarlet said, taking a seat next to Fin on the dock. “I wish I knew
how to swim.”
“It’s not too deep,” Fin said, laying the towel out behind him. “You can stand in it, and the water would go up to your chest. It’s like the communal baths in Notnedo we used to go to when we were younger, only hotter, and probably cleaner.”
“Oh,” Scarlet said absentmindedly. Even in the dim light from the moon, Fin could tell that she was upset.
“What’s wrong, Baby?” Fin asked.
Scarlet sighed. “I don’t know how else to put this. I spent all last night thinking of ways to tell you, but I didn’t want you to know before the battle, because I worried it would distract you from our mission.”
Fin took a deep breath and braced for the news, trying as hard as he could to act surprised.
“Fin,” Scarlet said, “I’m pregnant.”
“That’s…” Fin started. “That’s wonderful, Baby.”
“The tonic failed,” Scarlet continued. “Kemp made a mistake while mixing it, which rendered it useless and allowed us to conceive. I think, perhaps, it happened the night we tried the tonic for the first time. I didn’t find out until about a week ago.”
Fin hesitated, trying to find the right words, but he could tell that his unusually calm disposition was making Scarlet suspicious.
“Did Kyu tell you already?” Scarlet asked.
Fin sighed. “Yeah,” he said. “She told me yesterday, right after we finished our final practice run. She thought I knew already when she said it.”
“It’s okay,” Scarlet said. “I figured Kyu would say something sooner or later. I just wanted to ask her for some advice.”
“Did she give you any?” Fin asked.
“Some,” Scarlet said. “She told me a little of the basic stuff that every mother should know, but I was still worried about what you’d think, seeing as this wasn’t planned and all.”
“Baby,” Fin said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder, “do you honestly think I would leave you at a time like this? I love you too much to do something like that.”
“I know that,” Scarlet said. “But that’s not what I’m worried about.”
“What is it, then?”
Scarlet sighed, her feet grazing the water’s surface.
“We’re fighting a war,” Scarlet replied. “We have enemies who want to rip us to shreds, led by a literal monster who hates every fiber of our beings. If they find out that I’m carrying your child…”
Scarlet embraced Fin and buried her head into his shoulder.
“I’d hate to think what would happen,” Scarlet whimpered, “if they get their hands on our child.”
Fin wrapped his arms around her and held her as she cried.
“It’s okay, Baby,” Fin whispered. “I’m afraid too. But before they could touch our child, they’d have to go through me first.”
Scarlet looked up at Fin through tired, limpid eyes.
“Can you promise?” Scarlet asked.
“As long as my blood flows through our child’s veins,” Fin said, “I will be there to protect him, and if anyone threatens his life, I swear I will tear them limb from limb. I’ll die before Rixis can lay his hands upon our future son or daughter. That I can promise.” Fin laid a hand on Scarlet’s belly. “You and the one you’re carrying are the two most important people in my life, and you can bet that I’ll do everything in my power to give you both the best life that I can provide.”
Scarlet smiled and nuzzled closer to Fin.
“Several months ago,” Scarlet said, “I wouldn’t have thought you’d be able to keep that promise. But after all that we’ve been through, there is not a doubt in my mind.” She glanced over at the pond. “When you left the pub to train, you were still a boy, a kid barely able to fend for himself. But when you came back, there was something different about you that I wasn’t able to pinpoint, until now.”
“What’s that?” Fin asked.
“You grew up,” Scarlet said. “You’re not the boy I used to know. You’re a man, who I love more than ever.”
Fin leaned over and gave Scarlet a tender kiss on the cheek. “You’re not the girl I used to wink at from behind the bar,” he whispered. “You’re a strong woman who not only saved my life today but also helped save countless dragons from starvation.”
Scarlet turned to Fin and kissed him on the lips. “It was just instinct,” she whispered. “I saw that nothing else was working, and I went out to find a solution.”
“Instinct or not, I still owe you everything,” Fin said.
“Nonsense,” Scarlet said. “You blew the fort’s doors open when nothing else worked. For that alone the resistance is in your debt.”
“I can’t take all the credit for that,” Fin said. “This is going to sound very, very crazy, but I heard a voice on the battlefield today. It told me to land in the fort, and it showed me what to do.”
“Was it Blizzard?” Scarlet asked.
Fin shook his head. “It’s hard to explain,” he said. “I recognized her voice, but I couldn’t place it.”
Scarlet smiled. “You know, they say a dragon can always recognize the voices of their parents, even if they’ve never known them.”
Fin’s eyes widened. “You don’t suppose…”
“I’m not an expert,” Scarlet said, “but it could be that your mother helped you out today.”
Fin started to say something but stopped. The thought that maybe his mom hadn’t abandoned him entirely comforted him beyond words. He smiled and pulled Scarlet closer.
“We really are two peas in a pod,” Fin said.
“Soon to be three,” Scarlet said.
They sat on the dock, listening to the sounds of night.
“I know of a way you can thank me,” Scarlet said.
“And what would that be?”
Without another word, Scarlet slipped off the dock and splashed into the water, letting herself sink to her neck.
“Ah, it’s so warm,” she said, looking up at Fin. “Aren’t you coming in?”
Fin smiled and pushed himself off. The heat from the water sent tingles up his spine. He sank to Scarlet’s height and moved over to her.
“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Fin asked.
Scarlet nodded. “I’ve got another idea too.”
“What’s that?”
Scarlet replied by wrapping her arms around Fin’s neck and her legs around his waist.
They kissed, and the steam covered them.