Chapter 21 – Late Easter

"Why have you showed up now, Rustizen Villers?" Crystal-cave asks, as I bring myself into this dark cave again.

"Well, just wanted to let you know that your plan worked. Aster rejected co-operation on leaving Earth. And Maison left."

"Brilliant. I knew I could count on you."

"But he seemed to know… he said he merely came here because a brown dragon is supposed to be-a pureness in dragons. And that finally the dragons are worthy of 'The Empire' or something. But he knew, I saw it in his eyes."

"But he lied. So it'll be fine. We can count on the possibility that he somehow understands and will keep this a secret."

"Will this be enough? Are you certain?"

"With humans having turned an ally, and your very leader not agreeing to leave… Rahambose will be pushed further into the future."

"Can't he just… not happen? Let's simple break the gem," I point at the red gem at the top of the pile-of-gems in front of me. That was the supposed gem of Rahambose. Waiting for the rightful owner to get it from here, and bring chaos.

"Only trying to look into it caused you pain. To touch… or worse: break it, even if we succeed… it may infuse itself to you. The energy. Or maybe corrupt every other gem here."

"Max and Aster will… never be a thing. And I have his gem, even when I'm not the reincarnation, right? What could go wrong?"

"We have only wrongly made it so that Maxwell, the actual reincarnation, never got his true gem. But you did. Before him. It is unsure if it is the gems, or the person. But… since all of them are existing so closely… it is only a slight stretch on luck, which could easily be nothing."

"Then what if I die in battle? And the gem goes away… does everything end?"

"That is brave of you to consider… but I'm afraid that the gem won't just break… Max may yet again be summoned, and get the gem which was his to start with. Giving you the gem was again only just a little play with the probability."

"Just don't summon him then…"

"Having given you his gem… is the best of what I can do. The summoning is due to a moment of worthiness, achieved or not by the dragon. I can't thank you enough to have agreed, but, it won't easily end. I require your further continued co-operation."

"Just remember our deal," I say and eye at Rahambose's gem again. "I don't want that guy anywhere near my sister… or any of them."

"As long as you follow my words… I can promise safety."

I nod, and let myself out of the cave, waking up in the helicopter.

"You tired?" Dad asks, right as I wake up.

"Lord… at least let me settle my mind," I sigh.

The others were flying outside, with Tar, Sam, and Fara: being carried. So I was struck here, with this man.

"Since you came alongside me, I expected you to talk… not sleep."

"As I said, I was just tired. Anyways, I'll be on my way."

"Wait," Dad says, before I move. "Just… can we please just talk?"

"Dad…" I sigh. "I'm sorry. Deep down, I know. I know that you also loved her. And after knowing about dragons… and moreover after knowing that we… even you, are partly a dragon… I understand. You were in pain."

"I still abandoned you, and I'm sorry."

"You better be… but me and Sam… I don't know if we would have gotten closer, if not for that. So in a way… selfish, but… I'm glad. And I'm okay with it. Please… let go of the guilt. I can't and won't blame you anymore… I forgive you."

Dad just concentrates ahead, not looking at me. But I feel him taking unstable breaths.

I tap on his shoulder and jump out the helicopter, transforming. Catching up with the others, I wave at Dad: bye.

Deep down… he thought that if Mom died because of him… he'd have to die too, in the battlefield. Maybe he knew and believed that biological curse: of either of the dragon or human lover dying, of a dragon-human love.

I was a bad person, to have blamed him all this time.

We all choose a different path to protect… or punish self, for the person we love.

"You feeling okay?" Aster asks, coming to me.

"Yeah. Yeah… just needed a little nap."

"Quite a small nap… but you can rest and not look out tonight. Line and Tony will be there," Aster happily and excitedly says.

+

"I have a question… two of our dragons became crystals-" Aster says, but without the full question, Maison interrupts to answer her.

"-Crystal-crash. It is ceremonial, especially to the royalty of dragons. Line and Tony are truly in love, is what caused it. Give it a day or little over it, and they'll be back to normal. It is totally un-harmful to either of them."

"A test of love? Sounds romantic. You dragons have quite a lot on the list," Tar says.

Maison chuckles. "The real test is in how they care for the egg. The right amount of parental love can bring rise to a healthy and strong infant."

"Egg?"

+

We stand in front of Line and Tony, as the evening arrives.

"I honestly thought it'd be ghosts," Sam randomly says. "When Dad mentioned something invisible. But dragons and end being near… guess still doesn't make them real."

"Yeah, ghosts are the most unreal things," Tar says.

"Why do you feel so?" Fara asks.

"Why would anyone want to scare people after dying?"

"And also become a serial killer on the way, just so it can get new ghost friends?" Max adds.

"And it can pass through objects and also kill," I add.

"Then in that case when it does attack us, we must be able to touch and attack it, right? But we never heard of that part, ever… so fake. Just a scarecrow," Aster concludes.

"You guys are all so against ghosts, wow."

"Teamwork," Aster and Sam collectively say, and laugh.

"What did that dragon, Maison, tell you at the end though?" Max asks.

When we were leaving, Maison had a word… for a little while, with Aster.

"Well, nothing special, just that I must take care of the dragons."

"All that a true leader like you can do," Fara says.

"Yeah a true leader you are," Sam adds.

"Sounds like mockery. Well, I do suck at my job though," Aster scoffs.

"But you did give that great speech, damn good leader indeed," I say.

"Don't make me go on the-"

"-guys, you might not want to miss this," Tar says, pointing forward.

"What is it?" Fara asks.

"They… shined."

We concentrate towards them… but nothing happens, as couple minutes pass in silence.

"They are literal crystals; they'd of course shine," Fara sighs.

"No I mean…. you guys shine or something. I mean your gem shines before you use your powers. So, maybe they'll wake soon enough."

"That is acceptable now. Wow, someone's been concentrating," Fara praises Tar, the Buster Fabula.

As couple more minutes pass, Tar confesses. "Maybe it was a misinterpretation."

But we see it now, as we all are still focused on them. They shine, like Tar had said. A glow in between their gems, exactly at that point.

We stay silent, and make it known to each other: that we are aware and invested.

Then of course, a blinding light is always anti-climatic. And after such a blinding light, Line and Tony stand in front of us, in their human-forms.

"Oh my god," Tony says, picking an egg up, from the ground. "Did I give birth to an egg? Did we give birth to an egg?"

"I… what?" Line asks.

The egg had a violet pattern upon its creamy yellow shell. The pattern was more of an outline, incomplete. It was less than a foot tall, by the looks of it.

"That…" Aster says. "Actually is the gist of it. Are you guys feeling okay?"

"Just a bit dizzy. But… something happened, didn't it?" Tony asks.

"You were gone for a day," I say. "You should probably sit down for this."

Tony pukes a load, and Line grabs the egg from her hands, while tapping her back.

"Yeah, we'll take the chair or probably the bed, for her to lie down at," Line smiles.

***

As I sit here, bored, in this prison which Villers and Parzival had put me in, I think of the perfect ways I could kill both of them in the most painful and sure-

The door opens, and I hear a person stop behind the glass wall with holes, the one which prevents me from killing people. Or I'd have already finished Parzival, who had bothered me for the complete day.

Villers may have gone down the list, for not being present at all. But I was hurt. What important thing came up, than me? Besides, he didn't let me die.

I turn to the glass, away from the interesting wall and find a senior officer. A officer higher up than even Parzival.

"I guess you owe me an apology."

"Why? Because I didn't yet inform them of their general's mutiny…? That's so rude of you, Alta," I scoff weakly. They didn't even want me well fed.

"General Tsach in here… as that is what these idiots believe. And you wouldn't want to reveal your brother's identity, would you little sis?"

"Twin actually, seconds of difference. And you become a general somehow."

Quite frustrating. He sure was all the bulkier than me but… surely I was the better one for ANYTHING.

"Well, yes. You may have more evil than me. But they believe in a guy to be their leader, than a girl like you. Don't blame me for THEIR sexism."

"Ah… sex… why do you have to remind me of such a delicacy of others, that I miss?" I say, stretching my legs away. "You did hear I covered your name by saying it's mine, right?"

"By calling yourself as Esterine Alta, you mean? Great move, even for a 'queen'."

"Look at you, pulling my leg as always. You know I'm not a queen but a pawn."

So was he, in all honesty. And that was the fun of it. That even he, a well-famed general being just a mere pawn to them.

"Genderless and reckless, you mean? Of course I know," Alta scoffs.

"I had to. He was going for the decision to never invade them ever, and it was my only window."

"I'm in-charge. I could have handled it. But you go off, risking your life and acting like a damn pawn. I would have made you go back somehow! You don't have half the idea of how important you are to our organisation!"

"Aw… such caring brother I have," I say, forcing a wide smile. "When do I get out?"

"Soon… as soon as I take out Parzival, that is," Alta smirks, making me smirk.