Chapter 28 – Speeding through (4)

"GUYS!" the voice of the guard-dragons, Line and Tony, wakes me and Minerva.

We exchange glances, but Tarragon seems to already be on his way out. We hurry too, coming to the sense that it was important.

The guard-dragons… the ones who came out safe, from being crystals. What would they be in the hurry for, to shout that way?

I locate the entirety of the dragons at the castle's first floor. That was where… their doctor was, I had known that since last night.

"Sam!" I call, without knowing where she was. And as answer to that call, the dragons make way for the two of us.

"You alright?" Tarragon, in a distance, asks Max. Sam, Rusty, and Aster were with them too.

+

"Mr. Ivor," Aster says to me, with seriousness on her face. "I need to ask you, about an important matter."

"What would that be?"

It was just the two of us, like Aster had requested for it to be. Max and Sam were to be married in a while… what was this now? An urgent situation at such a time would be… displeasing, to Sam. No wonder Aster is reaching out to me.

"What do you think of me?" Aster asks.

"Hmm," I say, and fix my tone to be serious. "I think what you do for the dragons… with consideration of weaker beings you live alongside… is great. It may not be all you. But I respect you, for having made the truce. And will consider you as an ally, forever."

"That… aside."

I wait for her to say something else, but she only looks at me for an answer. "A great person, with the past in consideration."

"Well, then if I may… I want to ask you permission, for a certain important thing," Aster looks at me, calculating her words and anxious a little. "I'd like to ask permission, to have your son's hand… I'd like to marry him, I mean. Tonight."

Ah, that's the complication Sam mentioned.

+

Aster nods towards me, and I just smile.

"The egg started shining," Max says.

"How much are you people sure about…" I ask, and look at them.

"As much as you could be aware of," Aster says.

"Oh… no wonder they would be tensed. Is there anything we can help with?"

"Our doctors… are healers. They use dragon magic… I think everything should be fine. And in a matter of seconds…" and as Aster says, the door opens.

"Only…" the doctor in coat, with a shining chest, visible even through her shirt, looks at us. "Quite a crowd. Could scare the baby. Please make less of a crowd, you could scare the baby."

Everyone let's Aster go in first. Rusty follows, after asking everyone's permission.

As time passes, even Minerva and me get to go inside, seeing that the baby didn't react in a different way after the others had entered. Fara already seems to be inside.

"Take," Sam says, halting mine and Minerva's footsteps. "Slow steps. He is… anxious, on new and… well, sudden movements scare him."

I take slow steps and look into the crib, and find a very small, but the largest, new-born baby.

"He is a dragon," I say, looking at the small dragon with wings. He was looking right at me.

"Well, of course. His parents are dragons," Line says.

"But… you need to have a gem."

The little dragon transforms back into a baby. A tiny baby, closing his eyes. He had a gem on his chest, a tiny piece of rock, on his tiny chest.

"He… Tony," Line says, acting surprised. He then looks at me. "Will you be Tyle's godfather, and godmother?"

"Huh?"

"See, he turned dragon, and got scared of us. But he… seems to be fine with you," Sam says.

I just stand there, without saying a word.

No one seemed to have a look-alike compliment for the kid, with regards to his parents. The kid just sleeps it off, after realising that his parents would protect him. And so… we take our leave, making sure we congratulated Line and Tony properly.

Back at the house… Parz was nowhere to be found. Me and Minerva glance at each other, calculating the options.

***

The doorbell rings, making me and Ivor glance at each other. Parz wasn't here for a whole week, so his task of being tensed alongside Ivor; was mine now. The worst part was… even Alta wasn't at Ivor's house. And all we did, was wait. After letting Tar know, of course.

"I'll get it, it could be Tar," I say.

"I'm not some coward, Minerva. I will get it. Please sit down," Ivor says, getting up too.

I don't sit down, and freeze further after I hear Ivor call out Parz's name. I don't move, I just stay there: waiting for Parz to come running to me. And he just casually walks alongside Ivor and simply glances at me, and looks away.

"Parz," I make a whimpering sound.

"I'm sorry, Minerva. I should have… left a letter," Parz says.

"Where in the hell were you? Do you know that Alta got out?" Ivor says.

+

"Hands in the air!" a person holding a military gun says.

The whole dark house was getting lit with the flashlights from the outside. There were about thirty or more of them. Nothing I couldn't kill if I wanted to.

"I told you Parzival. I warned you," Alta laughs hysterically.

I move quickly and hold his neck, he was tied to the chair – yet, not like he could do anything.

"No boys, I need him alive," Alta says, and I squeeze tighter making him cough.

Somebody shoots me with some kind of a tranquilizer, I feel it… but shake it off with ease and look at Alta, unfazed. Alta's grin wipes off, as he sees me…

No, I can't… I shouldn't do this.

My hand around him loosens.

"What in the fuck are you, Parzival?" Alta asks, as around ten more darts shoot and I stand unfazed.

"I'm the beast of the prophecy," I hiss.

I travel like a bullet and shoot towards the closest guy and push his dead body to the floor. One body on the floor becomes two, two becomes four, and when I reach around twenty, while missing all the real bullets coming towards me, I stop mid-air – as something feels to hold my body.

No, no… this was bad.

+

"Yes. The military came searching and found him at your house. And I just… was providing them proof all this time. But you know how hard it is to believe that a General was evil, all this time."

"Proof? What proof?"

"It is impossible to not have a record, Ivor. And we found one on Alta. No big deal… but Saturn had to be… it was quite tough. But it is done."

"So… what happens to Alta?" I ask.

"He will be investigated. Properly."

"By…?"

"She means… what if he is interrogated by one of them? That was the whole point, right? Saturn is among everyone."

"But it is done, Ivor. They found him. Now we just… take this risk. And they want us nowhere near him. But I negotiated terms for at least me to be there, on the side lines. Only… I could be gone for a while."

"Again?"

"Saturn is working harder, Minerva. This is the only way we make sure it fails."

I purse my lips and just stand there. He had gotten colder… the last week must've taken a huge toll, even on Parz. No… I had to make sure-

"-what about Esterine?" Ivor asks.

+

"Aw… this is interesting," Esterine's voice comes, and I see her standing in a distance.

She was the thing binding me this way… with some kind of… magic.

"Esterine," Alta says.

As I look towards Alta, his bindings come loose… heck, the whole chair falls apart, and he rises from the rubble. All that, with just a sign of hand by Esterine. She could do this, all this time?

"Funny that you got caught," Esterine says.

"Funny that you took eig-"

"-shh… don't whine brother. I could break your neck in a snap," Esterine says to the choking Alta, and finally seems to let him go. "Which I believe, our friend here could too. But… huh, let's take him back safe. It seems to like him."

It?

But before I could ask, or they could further say anything; what the tranquilizers couldn't, Esterine does. And I fall unconscious.

+

"No proof on the two being siblings. She'll stay the same way. But she'll yet be investigated. I'll make sure, Ivor. You get some rest."

"Rest? Esterine would've killed Sam, Parzival. And she holds a grudge, even we know that."

"Yes. And you need to trust in me, that I'll take care of it. While I put trust in you, that you'll look after Minerva. When I'm away."

Ivor just stares at Parz for a while, and nods. Parz then looks at me.

"It'll be fine, Min."

I just smile.

Parz leaves again, just the next morning. Doesn't even stay for an exact day. This goes on and on, Parz disappears for a week, and he comes back barely for a day. Sometimes he was gone for two weeks.

We got the news that Sam was pregnant. Ivor wanted to visit, but didn't want to leave me at the same time. So Sam herself came, alongside Max.

"Our… baby, is supposed to be Rahambose," Sam tells me, looking concerned.

"Sometimes Sam… we set people up to be what they aren't. Never let your child be caught up in the mind, with that word. With parents such as you both… the child will be fine. Trust me."

Max was mad that Parz wasn't here. They couldn't wait around either, so they left soon… again.

After knowing the news about Sam's pregnancy, Parz just didn't seem fazed. He even claimed that he was busy protecting them, and put me off.

On the twentieth of March, nineteen-sixty-one, Sam gave birth to a baby girl. Elena… Max kept the promise which I had given to Tar.

Some unknown day of December… I can't seem to find Ivor either. I was left alone in this house. Unable to contact anyone… just confused and wondering… was it time now? For the end? Rahambose…? Because, there is an old saying which haunts me to this day… in the end, it is always Rahambose.