A Ride and a Skip

The next few days passed by in a blur, and soon it was time for Prince Taemor and his men to return to their palace in Dorl.

The men had secured their belongings to their mounts as well as many choice morsels packed up for them by Jaelan's sisters. The food would last them to the end of their journey back to Dorl. Kovis could already feel his mouth water at the thought of the cured pork that lay wrapped in a satchel. It had been the most delicious thing he'd tasted in a long while. He patted the secured leather and sighed, swallowing his saliva before turning around and marching to stand with his troupe.

Raygar and Dellos were already standing at the ready behind the Crown Prince. Each warrior stood with their legs parted and a sword hanging from their hips.

The two Chieftains and Prince Taemor gave their parting bows to one another before the Prince turned to Jaelan and Wylen. They, too, exchanged bows. Now married, the two young men felt incredibly indebted to the Crown Prince for all he had done for him. If it hadn't been for his traveling troupe, they would have never made it back to the village in time. Of that, Jaelan was sure.

As they stood together at the edge of the village, watching the Prince and his retinue make ready to get on the horses, Jaelan took a step forward.

"Please visit whenever you can!" He called out, waving his arm as Prince Taemor made himself comfortable in his saddle. The sash holding his hair up flapped in the swift wind that blew as he continued to wave his arm wildly, ever thankful for these men and all they had done for him.

The three warriors, Raygar, Kovis, and Dellos, all grinned back, assuring the younger man they would.

"Any chance I have at leaving the palace, know that I will be racing back over here." Prince Taemor exclaimed in a bright manner. His smile was stretching from ear to ear.

In actuality, he felt greatly disheartened at having to leave this place. He didn't want to go back to the palace filled with politics, snooping noses, and resentment. If he could, he would stay here with Wylen and Jaelan and become a part of something truly spectacular.

These last few days had passed in a blink of an eye. And he couldn't remember a time when he'd been happier. Here amongst the world of prophecy—seeing divination bearing fruit—he just was in awe. Everything he'd thought about the world had changed. He had changed.

Alas, he had a responsibility that he could not simply shrug off. He had to return no matter how he wished to stay here. He sighed to himself and gave both young men a heartfelt wave.

"I wish you two all the best of luck." He bowed his head from atop his mount. "I will be back as soon as I can."

"Any time!" Wylen bowed and waved back with as much enthusiasm as his lover. The amount of gratitude he felt for the Crown Prince of Dorl and his entourage—he would never be able to repay in this lifetime. He was sure of it.

"We'll have a room and good food waiting for you! Come visit as soon as you can!"

"We will come with him, don't you worry!" Dellos assured with a hearty laugh, his boyish face bright. "As soon as we can, we'll be back! And I'll duel with you again, Wylen of Aldor!"

"Just Wylen!" The young warrior called back out, one hand tightening in Jaelan's as they both grinned at their friends. "No need for honorifics amongst us."

"W-Wylen," Dellos stuttered, feeling incredibly honored. He bowed his head. "Thank you, Wylen."

Smiling with the radiance of the sun, from a few feet away, Heekam watched with his arms crossed as Prince Taemor lifted the reins and ushered his horse into a gallop, his guard following behind him with a cloud of dust.

"Farewell," Heekam whispered, watching their forms become smaller and smaller. "My Prince."

:::

Two months after the transference of the egg, Wylen and Jaelan were sitting outside in front of their home. Lady Senisari was alongside them, embroidering details to a baby blanket in silence as Minow and Kovis grappled a few paces away. Both men determined to win the spar while Heekam sat in one of the chairs, sleeping the day away.

"Yah!" Jaelan pointed as Minow triumphantly tripped the older warrior and sent him tumbling to the ground. "Minow!" He gave a congratulatory laugh, "Not bad!"

From on the ground, Kovis winced as he took Minow's outstretched arm. Grunting, he stood to his feet and motioned to the basket of persimmons set up on a small wooden table between Jaelan and Lady Senisari.

"Hey…aren't you going to eat any of that?" He whined sourly at the half-god, hoping to turn the attention away from his loss.

Both Lady Senisari and Jaelan turned to look at the gift sent to them by the Crown Prince.

"You know I can't get back unless you do," The fox featured warrior grumbled, wiping off the dirt from his backside as he and Minow walked over to the group.

Wylen smiled, cheeks stretching to accommodate his grin as Minow immediately bent over and took a persimmon in each hand, starved.

"YAH!" Kovis eyed him with disapproval, "They're not for you!"

"Like he'll know who actually ate them." Minow snorted, feeling the ripeness of the fruit with the pads of his fingers. "All you have to do is bring back an empty basket and assure the fruit had been eaten before your eyes."

The guard prickled, "You are re—"

"It's alright, Kovis." Lady Senisari said in a soft voice. Her sapphire irises clear as the morning sky. "I'm sure the bringer of nations can make do without two persimmons."

Feeling heat rush into his cheeks at her words, Kovis coughed into his fist and looked away.

Wylen shook his head from side to side, amused. Giving a loud sigh, he stood to his feet just as both Nokiel and Soral came bounding towards their abode, faces flushed from running as fast as their feet could carry them. In their hands, like prizes, were rabbits held by the ears.

"Let's roast them!" Nokiel cried out, the metal ornaments in his hair clinging together as he moved his head swiftly from side to side in his excitement. Eyes trained on the only woman present among them. "Rabbits are good for growing babies!"

Lady Senisari smiled, her fingers stopping as she halted her embroidery and went to help Jaelan and the boys make ready to roast the meat in the outside fire pit.

In the meantime, Kovis signaled to Wylen, intending to have a word as the others grew busy with the roast.

Once they stepped away from the group, the warrior cleared his throat and began. "How are things? Everything going alright? Heekam didn't say much in his last visit to Dorl."

Wylen shrugged his shoulders, having not much to say. "Everything is progressing just fine. Although Lady Senisari has grown a lot quieter—well, I would say more subdued from when I remember her. Though I can't blame her at all for it."

"Mhm." Kovis nodded in affirmation, feeling the weight of the warrior's words. "It's a pretty big sacrifice."

Wylen remained silent, feeling the guilt weigh heavy on his shoulders. At the time of the egg transfer, neither he nor Jaelan knew of the great self-sacrifice Priestess Senisari was making for them. When they had found out upon the girl's awakening, they were both stunned into silence. Nothing could be done—the Great Priestess had assured them of this before getting into her palanquin and departing. The young woman's fate had been sealed as soon as her body glowed.

Knowing this, the two warriors were determined to make the Priestess's last few months the most comfortable and carefree.

However, when they told her of their intentions, Lady Senisari had refused to be treated in such a manner. She did not want her remaining time to be a sad one. All she desired was to be allowed to live in the way she saw fit. She also asked for one particular favor…to name the child when it was born.

Both he and Jaelan readily agreed to her request, ready to do anything for the woman who had saved them.

So for the past two months, they had taken care of Lady Senisari to the best of their ability. They made sure she had a few of her friends residing in the village so she wouldn't grow lonely. And they constantly created entertainment for the young woman. Nokiel had a storage of jokes in his arsenal, while Soral had his various forms of music. Jaelan sang all the Ellos songs he could think of, Wylen entertained with dances from the Aldor clan, and Minow engaged Lady Senisari with his wit.

Although most of the entertainment surely came from Heekam. The eunuch had seen much of the world from beside the Crown Prince. He always had a story to tell and had such a talent in narration that the lot of them would gather and collectively listen, awed during his recitals.

"I think the child is draining her," Wylen murmured and cast a glance in the young woman's direction. The dark circles under her eyes had become a constant presence, as were the pallor of her complexion.

Kovis nodded. "He'll drain her dry before birth, that's for sure." He caught Wylen's eye. "Wouldn't it have been better if one of the women from Jaelan's tribe had taken her place? They're all half-gods. Couldn't they take the pregnancy better?"

Wylen shrugged. "It's too late for that now anyway. What's done is done. If we had some more time…maybe we could have thought of something else—do something else."

The two men grew silent—their thoughts far away in the past.

They knew there was no use dwelling upon the matter. However, it didn't stop the men from doing so.

A loud yelp brought them out of their thoughts, and the two turned to the commotion. Nokiel jumped on one foot as he nursed his other, his expression pitiful. Apparently, one of the logs had fallen onto his foot.

"How is the mountain settlement coming?" Kovis asked as he watched Jaelan and Soral light the fire in the pit as Nokiel sat down, hugging his limb.

The hustle and bustle had awoken the eunuch, and now Heekam was helping the arrangements for the outdoor roast.

"Well," Wylen answered in truth, nostrils flaring as he thought of the move. "We're going to relocate there within the next month. They're just about done establishing everything over there."

"I should hope so!"

Both men looked to the side to see Heekam walking towards them, arms crossed over his chest and a stray line of soot on his chin, vexed, no doubt one of Nokiel's tragic miscalculations had stirred the eunuch's ire. It could have been that the log hadn't accidentally fallen on the young half-god's foot as they thought. "The Crown Prince supplied us with enough manpower to build a city if we had to."

"No talk of work!" Soral yelled to the men and gave them a look. "Come! Let's roast these up!"

Wylen grinned and grabbed Kovis by the arm. He tugged the man towards the fire.

Shaking his head, Heekam grumbled something about noisy half-gods under his breath before following.