She Bids Farewell to Paradise

Sir Drago sighed. The little master it had accompanied for almost a millennium had finally been laid to rest. He blinked as he stared up into the painfully blue sky. But, in the end, he kept his silence.

'Farewell, young master.'

Christian hesitated, but decided to let Sir Drago mourn in peace. Instead, he used his nature magic to have the ivy bring him up to the rooftop. Jasmine was watching Robin, who had a somewhat conflicted, bitter expression on her face.

"Do you regret it?" Jasmine asked. "Do you regret ending their twisted, unnatural lives?"

"No. The dead should remain dead. Those who sin will eventually face their judgment. I don't regret it." Then Robin sighed. "But, that doesn't mean I can't sympathize with the Wilbur who once lived. No matter what manner of life, everyone wishes to continue to live under the bright sun in freedom."

Jasmine and Christian listened quietly.

"Do you know, before I came here, I had not killed a single person?" Robin told them. "I know that in this world mercy is considered a weakness. But...I can't help but wish that there had been a way which didn't require killing." She sighed, and placed her head in her hand, covering her eyes.

"I can see your heart is pained. Do you need to stop and rest?" Jasmine asked.

Robin gave a cheerless laugh. "You know, I once read these words in my world: 'Life is pain, Highness. Whoever tells you any different is trying to sell you something.' It was around that time when I decided. If I am to suffer pain anyways, I might as well make something of myself."

Robin's expression softened into a quiet, lonely smile. "For the dead to be put to rest, it is enough for me to remember that they once lived."

Christian and Jasmine saw that Robin was unwilling to say any more, so they discreetly pretended they were convinced.

During this time, the dome had spread out again, this time, covering the entire castle. Shrieks of pain began echoing out of the hallways. Christian didn't want to see Robin continue to hurt her heart by listening to the spectors of the past.

"Come on Robin." Christian put his hand on Robin's shoulder, which seemed as if it bore a great weight. "Let us leave this giant tomb."

Robin nodded, allowing Christian to lower her into the courtyard again. Once they touched the ground, she paused, seeing Sir Drago standing there.

Then she looked at Christian an unspoken question in her eyes. Christian glanced at Sir Drago and understood. He nodded, and backed away, going over to stand by Jasmine.

Robin approached Sir Drago, stopping when she stood next to him, looking up into the blue sky alongside him quietly. After a long silence, Sir Drago spoke.

"I didn't save him because the collar forced me to." His voice sounded a bit hoarse. "I saved him because I wanted to. He was...like a brother to me."

Robin nodded. "I know." There was another long silence.

"How do you humans accept this?" Sir Drago asked, in a hoarse whisper. "Your lives are so short. The people who you wish to see,soon enough, you cannot see anymore. Why does the world that once seemed so full now suddenly seem an empty shell?"

Robin listened quietly. After another period of silent thought, she spoke.

"That's probably because, even though they are gone, we still treasure them in our hearts. The things they gave us, the things we shared, the happy times we spent together: even if it's painful, we can't help but look back upon those things fondly."

She tapped a fist to her heart. "Look into your heart. What are the words you treasure from him? What are the things he gave you? If you keep treasuring those things, then, even if you can no longer see him anymore, you might one day be able to smile once again."

There was another long pause before Sir Drago sighed. "You'll be leaving soon, I'll take it?"

"Yes. But there's one thing left to do before we leave." Robin said, looking out at the late afternoon sky.

"What's that?" Sir Drago asked.

"I'm going to hold a funeral for the dearly departed." Robin said, walking away. "Even though I did not know them, they deserve this much."

-------

That night, the whole city was put to rest by the army of web slimes that had made their way there from the dungeon. When there was nothing more to devour, they returned back to their dungeon.

Robin sat before the fireplace of the now-empty inn, staring quietly into the flames. She did not move from that spot, even when the sky began to brighten once again, and the new day arrived.

Christian didn't say anything, but his heart began to hurt, seeing Robin like that. Even so, he was not sure how to ease Robin's pain. Finally, when the sunrise shone through the window, Robin heaved a sigh, and stood up.

Despite being pained, Robin had not shed a single tear. All her tears had been cried out six years ago. They had long since dried up.

"It should be about time." Robin said. The company, which had already packed up yesterday followed her out of the inn, and down the silent streets that were filled with smiling people only yesterday.

Even the greenery had disappeared. The long dead trees, after losing the parasites' vital support, disintegrated into dust. Now all that was left were empty stone houses and broken flagstones.

Robin led the company out of the town gates, and looked up. There stood Sir Drago, waiting for them. A single strip of black hair had turned white. She nodded, then turned around, staring at the town in silence.

Then she opened her mouth to speak.

"Paradise...

The land where the young and the old lived side by side without fear of death...

Your battle-worn walls,

And paved cobblestones,

Will be remembered, to my last breath.

Your faces, to memory, I will recall;

Your sins, unforgiven, forgive.

Your name I'll remember in memories halls,

for the people within you, who once chanced to live.

As the one who brought you to unfortunate end,

I will tell to the living your tale of legend.

So, rest in peace, city of Paradise.

No more will blood pour here, no more here will die."

Robin finished, and silence once more fell. Then Sir Drago returned to his dragon form once more, and unleashed a firey breath upon the city. The wooden houses collapsed to ash. The stones melted. Everything was reduced to ash and dust within those walls.

Robin looked at the dragon with surprise.

Sir Drago returned to his human form, and watched the flames destroy it all. This empty place, this was not his treasured Paradise. The only Paradise that needed to exist was the one within his heart. He turned his back on the city.

"A tomb is no place for the living." He finally said, in answer to Robin's unasked question. Looking up to the sky, he stretched his arms.

"I suddenly feel like travelling. You wouldn't happen to have any need for a dragon to come along, would you?" He asked, as if a weight had fallen from his shoulders.

Robin blinked. As if the solemn mood had never happened, a smile crept up on her face. "Of course we do! Always glad to have the company of a good friend."

"Friend, is it?" Sir Drago asked. "Very well, then. As your friend, I shall accompany you for a while."

"Glad to have you!" Robin clapped his back, in a friendly manner.

In a nearby copse of trees, the carriage stood. It's wheel had been replaced good as new. The horses grazed upon grass that had already been cleared by the web slimes last night.

Robin patted a horse's nose, as she felt the last vestiges of gloom slip away for a bit.

"How was your stay?" a voice sounded out behind her. Robin whirled about, and the knights un-sheathed their swords at the familiar bard. He stood there in the middle of the clearing, the same silly smile upon his face.

Robin waved at the guards, telling them to put down their blades. She looked at Quinn, and a smile grew on her face as she stepped forward. Then she punched Quinn in the face as hard as she could, causing him to lift up in the air and fly backwards about five feet, before landing heavily on the ground.

"Of all the things you could have said, that one was the worst." She said, holding her throbbing hand.