Anak stared back at Tzipora in a trance. His heart was leaping, but his head couldn't quite keep up. 'She loves me?' Anak circled this same question around his mind over and over. At last he was barely able to stammer out a response. "W-Why?"
At this question Tzipora burst out laughing. She pecked Anak on the lips then leapt back to the bed. "For one, you bring me food." She teased happily. "Toss me that ham."
Anak shook his head, at a complete loss, as he complied and tossed over the ham-hock to the woman who loved him. "I'm serious though. For your whole life I basically ignored your people's plight. The one time I actually tried something that mattered I failed spectacularly and blew up the city. I'm not worthy of your love."
"Well of course not," Tzipora leaned close and winked, "So work hard and earn it okay?" The truth was Tzipora loved Anak for a very simple reason. He had cared enough to bring her out of her hopeless fugue, and his compassionate heart and energetic personality brought excitement and meaning back to her life.
Anak realized he wasn't going to get a straight answer out of this girl. He shrugged in defeat, "Well, maybe after all that it's too late to say, but..." Anak stared deeply in Tzipora's eyes, "I love you too."
"Oh? Why?" Tzipora continued to tease him. She was just too happy after her hard search; she couldn't help but cut loose. She had walked nonstop for a week, first avoiding the Ischuros' guard and recapture, then stopping along every coastal village asking for sightings of a canoe or Anak. By the time she reached Mimma she was already sleep deprived and starving, with no sign whatsoever of her target. All at once all that had flipped around.
"How could I not?" Anak answered honestly. There were too many things Tzipora had helped him discover about the world and himself. When he was too serious, she would bring levity. When he lost his head, she was a voice of reason, unless they both lost their heads at once. He didn't know which he preferred in those moments. When he despaired, she gave joy, and when he felt lost, she lit the way.
If they had seen each other's thoughts, they would be surprised by how similarly each though of the other. They both mutually uplifted and encouraged each other in body and spirit.
Tzipora laughed her gorgeous laugh when she heard his equally non-committal reply. "Well, good. Now sit down and eat with me." She patted the bed beside her.
Tzipora and Anak eagerly consumed their meal as they caught up on the events they'd experienced apart from each other. When Tzipora told of her struggle to escape from Ischuros and follow him Anak once again felt guilty, but Tzipora immediately shut down his attempts to apologize. "I understand you better than you think, Anak. There's nothing to forgive." She left it at that.
Tzipora was anxious hearing the story of how Anak braved the storm, even though he was safely sitting before her. She would bite her lips as he described the waves and thunder. Getting to the part of the giant tentacled monster she gasped aloud. It would seem the multi-talented Anak also possessed ability as a story-teller.
Finally, Anak told Tzipora about the voice he heard in the Sea of Non and how he was dumped onto the beach.
"I knew it." Tzipora suddenly said extremely seriously.
"What? What is it?" Anak eagerly asked, anticipating some major insight.
"You're insane." Tzipora giggled, having successfully baited Anak with her declaration.
"Hmph." Anak snorted and tipped Tzipora over fully onto the bed. "You'd be the one to know." He retorted.
Tzipora threw a pillow at him from her sprawled position on the bed as she laughed. Anak caught it and smirked at her, but her laughing sprawled form on the bed made him freeze. His heart jumped, and he complained, "You're so beautiful, it's just not fair."
Tzipora noticed the look in his eye and giggled shyly, "You say that like you're not attractive yourself, star-child."
Hearing that Anak sighed. "Don't remind me." He sat down heavily on the bed, the mood from before completely vanished.
Tzipora slid close and grabbed his hand. "What's wrong? You always seemed proud of your lineage." She looked closely at his face trying to gather some hint through his expression.
Noticing her piercing gaze, Anak scowled slightly. "Stop that. You asked a question, I'll answer it. You don't have to investigate me."
Tzipora chuckled slightly at his annoyance, without retracting her gaze. Anak sighed and decided to just tell her.
"Azazel spoke to me." He confessed.
"Your father?" Tzipora warily asked. She knew this meeting had somehow gone wrong.
Anak nodded, then shook his head. "No. Edo's my father. This guy just impregnated my mom." Anak declared. "Still..." he closed his eyes as he told Tzipora everything Azazel had told him about his destiny and reason for living. As he went on, Tzipora's face continued to grow a deeper and deeper crimson shade, and her eyes narrowed to slits.
Finally Tzipora could bear it no longer. "That son of a bitch! And he dares to call himself your father! I hope he chokes on a living weapon!" She cursed him vociferously with rude gestures with her free hand thrown in for good measure as she vented her rage on Anak's behalf.
As Anak watched her rail against his birth father, he felt leagues better. He slowly smiled, "Thanks, Tzipora." he squeezed the hand holding his, expressing his gratitude.
Seeing Anak feeling better, Tzipora calmed down a bit. "Well I'm glad your better, but now I'm upset." She joked.
Anak wrapped her in a sudden embrace, squeezing tightly, and he playfully pulled her down to the bed with him. "How's that? Feel comforted?" Anak teased.
"Hmm. Yeah," Tzipora traced a nail across Anak's chest that was held close to hers. She looked up into his face with a brilliant, beaming smile. " But I could stand to be comforted a bit more."
Anak returned the smile and enveloped Tzipora's lips with his own, as they fell into a passionate embrace.
...
A grand procession marched through the streets of Ischuros, but the atmosphere was gloomy and oppressive. King Gel-ad had commanded the enchantment barrier be closed for the day, leaving the sky blanketed with heavy black clouds. They were so thick it was as if they were making up for all the time they'd been shoved aside, as thunder rumbled ominously within.
In the midst of the procession, a polished wooden box lined with divine copper was being carried. It was the coffin of Prince Sig, who had tragically gotten himself killed by following an angry demistar. The people lining the streets all feigned tears for the sake of their king, the only one who truly mourned his oafish son. He carried the heavy bottom side of the coffin with ease, but the burden to him felt enormously weighty.
Sig had been boorish, bloated, and self-serving for most his young life. There wasn't a single sibling he had who liked him, and even his mother kept her distance. However, Gel-ad had doted on him unhesitatingly. He was his first born son, the symbol of his pride and the child he most loved. In his eyes Sig was a beautiful soul who had yet to fully blossom; the immaturity and mischief would be ironed out through time and experience. However, now there were no more experiences to be had for Sig in this world.
As the procession neared the palace, someone took the king's place as he made his way onto a stage that had been raised just before the gate in preparation for the funeral. On the stage a large curtain was raised behind where the king stood.
Finally, Sig's coffin lay on the stage. Standing by the coffin, King Gel-ad stroked its surface sadly for a moment, before raising his head to the crowd. "My son, my first born, lies in this coffin. I don't want to believe it myself, but it's true. He was-" The King's mouth twisted and he was unable to speak for a moment, "He was on his way to greatness. But... no longer." The crowd was eerily silent as only rumbling thunder highlighted the king's cold, quiet voice.
"For this past year..." The king seemed to choke up, before he was able to continue. "This past year, we all looked in awe at a particular individual. I myself was bowed by his strength, and as a city we rained praise upon him." The silent crowd stared up as one, united in their knowledge of who this man was. Some angry murmurs began to stir through them.
"Then, in return, he condemned our very way of living, making a scene in my palace, before conducting a malicious assault on the middle of the city. He harmed almost a hundred people, killing two. A guard in my retinue, and..." The King swallowed heavily, "and my own son. This is the gratitude we received."
The attending citizens of Ischuros roared out in anger at this statement. King Gel-ad held up his hands to still them. "I, too am angry. More than anyone I'm angry. Don't you see that? But anger solves nothing." He allowed these unexpected words to sink in for a moment, "What solves problems is action. Henceforth I declare Anak Edo-ur a traitor to the Haskud Kingdom! I have men searching for the traitor's location night and day across the whole kingdom. We will arrest his co-conspirators in the slave quarters and determine their punishment! Lastly," King Gel-ad gestured grandly to the curtain, which swiftly pulled apart. Behind it was revealed a marble statue of the goddess Lisma in all her strangeness. "We have a new patron goddess of Ischuros, who will watch over and protect our city. We will never have to suffer such disaster ever again!"
King Gel-ad concluded his speech to uproarious applause and cheers, as he offered up a prayer to Lisma. "Please," he implored, "grant me vengeance."