With Talis perching herself on my shoulder, I followed behind Lily, walking through the forest that I knew, like the back of my hand, which caused me to frown slightly as I knew exactly where we were heading. Exiting the forest, we arrived in the clearing, the same place where I've been living for sixteen years, almost seventeen, and while this place is full of lovely memories, currently, this is the last place where I want to be.
Standing to the right in the distance, I spotted Simba and Marlin near the edge of the clearing, seemingly waiting for us.
"We'll give you a minute, Alexander, but try not to take too long." Said Lily with a soft smile as she looked at Alexander before turning around and approaching Simba and Marlin while accentuating her large ass by swinging her hips.
"Haa, thanks, Lily." Replied Alexander softly as he watched her bubbly ass shake with each step, but unlike usual, he felt no lust building up within him, just emptiness.
'Heh, if not even a Succubus can stir my sex drive, maybe I've gone impotent?' Thought Alexander with a shake of his head as he ignored Lily and approached the tree house in the middle.
Walking toward Master's, or I should say, my tree house now, I was honestly a little sad to leave. Ever since I was reborn, this is all I've known, yet now I was going to leave it all behind. I knew this would happen one day, but it felt a thousand times more painful than I expected. Hoping from branch to branch, I arrived at the front door, and after hesitating, I grabbed the handle and opened it; walking inside, I closed the door behind me and basked in the familiar presence of the house, though I noted it no longer felt like home to me.
It's the first time I've been in here since Master passed; actually, it's the first time anyone has been in here since then, and everything is the exact same as how we left it. Approaching my room, I looked inside, eyeing the bed Master and I made love on not even a week ago; granted, because of how weak she was at the time, we only did two rounds, and I didn't even get to climax. Entering, I inhaled the air, and although faint, I could still smell the lingering scent of her love juices wafting about in the air; approaching my bed, I reached down and grabbed my small blue blanket. The same blanket my birth Mother had given me, it's the only thing I have to remember her by, and while I've never met her, I've always slept with it.
"I think it's only right for you to accompany me on my or our adventure; you're tagging along, right Talis?" Remarked Alexander as he grabbed the blue blanket and wrapped it around his neck, using it as a scarf before glancing at Talis.
"Of course, Alex! Wherever you go, I'll be flying right behind. Besides, life will be rather dull without you." Replied Talis energetically as he leaned forward and rubbed her beak against Alexander's face, causing him to smile while lightly scratching her sweet spot.
"Life with you will be rather exciting; I've just got a feeling you're going to get us into some crazy scenarios." Said Alexander while enjoying the cat-like purrs escaping Talis's beak.
Turning around, I headed toward the door and gave my room one final look before exiting and closing the door; one day, I'll return, but that'll most likely be years from now; I just the tree house has been left untouched. Walking down the hall, I arrived in the kitchen and couldn't help but sweetly smile as I remembered all the times Master complimented me on my cooking skills, though that sweet filling quickly turned into a bitter one when I was brought back to reality.
'They say you don't know how precious something is until you lose it. I've always known Master was dear to me; I guess I just had no idea how truly precious she was.' Thought Alexander while gliding his hand across the table before walking toward the pantry.
Opening the pantry, I reached forward and grabbed my apron before stuffing it into my pouch; there weren't many things I'd take, but that was definitely one I'd have as a keepsake. Leaving the kitchen, I quickly walked past the bathroom, which I've hardly used since my body is very efficient; I don't know whether it's because I'm a High Human or because of my golden blood.
Leaving the bathroom alone, I took a few more steps and arrived right before Master's office, the place where she spent most of her time and the place where I would occasionally test her potions, treating me like a guinea pig. Walking around the office, allowing the numerous memories to come flooding through, I stopped before her desk and noticed the carousel she'd been working on for the past months; curious to see if she finally managed to fix it, I pressed the button on top. Immediately after, the horns on the unicorns lit up with various colors as the carousel came to life, spinning around in a circle while singing a song in the druidic language.
Once it stopped, I picked it up and stored it in my space pouch; the carousel didn't hold much significance to me, but it held a lot for Master, and the least I could do was return it to her sister, who has most likely died since apparently, a Druid's life span is only one-thousand years.
Giving a quick look around the office, I turned off the mana torches that lit up the room, closed the door, and left it be as I headed to my last stop, well, last stop in the house. Approaching Master's room, I didn't need to open it as it was already opened, allowing one to view the destruction I had caused when I learned of her inevitable death. I was not one prone to violence, but in that moment, I was so angry I didn't know how else to vent my emotions. Walking around her destroyed room, remembering the hundreds of hours we'd spent making love throughout the night, I couldn't help but smile amidst the pain.
Approaching the closet, I entered, and after doing a quick search, I found our wedding attire in rather battered shape, as we had gotten a little too impatient with taking our clothes off. Softly chuckling, I grabbed both Master's dress and my suit before folding them nicely and storing them in my pouch, along with Master's old space pouch.
Leaving the closet, I left the room, walked down the hall, passing the Master's office, the bathroom, the kitchen, and my room before finally arriving back outside; closing the door one last for the next several years, I leaped to the ground and walking around the tree, approaching Master's grave.
Despite Master apparently being an "SS" class adventurer, one of the greatest in all of existence, and an actual Princess, her gravestone was simple as that's how she wanted it.
[Here lies Lavender Vestalis, the Hero's Master and Wife of Alexander Vestalis. "Love you"]
Why did she want her headstone to say that? When I asked her, she said, "I've lived a long time and done many things, but being your Master and your Wife are the greatest two things I've ever accomplished."
"Same for me, Master; being your disciple and Husband will be my greatest accomplishment ever." Muttered Alexander softly with a lovely smile as he rested his hand atop her headstone while a single tear trailed down his face and landed on the ground below him, only to be absorbed into the soft soil.
Practically seeing Master softly smiling at me, I said my final goodbyes before standing up and walking away.
"Farewell, Master; as your disciple, I'll make you proud. I'll make my name resound around the world for your sake." Said Alexander with a determined expression as he walked away, missing the phantom of Lavender briefly manifesting before disappearing with a gust of wind.
"So, you all set, Alexander? Everything ready? You've said your final farewells?" Questioned Lily as she, Simba, and Marlin all looked at Alexander, who nodded in response.
"Yeah, I'm all ready to go." Replied Alexander with a nod while wearing his armor with a blue blanket wrapped around his neck, causing the three to raise their eyebrows, though they didn't question it.
"Well then, let's get moving." Said Marlin with a nod as he and everyone else gave one final glance before entering the forest, leaving the clearing behind for good.
While walking through the forest, by coincidence or not, we happened to stumble across the same spot where Master originally found me, the exact spot where she also buried my birth Mother.
Breaking away from the three for a split second, I swiftly approached the tree that had grown atop my mother's grave and got onto one knee as I spoke to her.
"I'll be leaving Mother; at least while you're overlooking me, you won't be lonely anymore; Master will be there to accompany you. She can tell you about my life and the outrageous things she put me through." Said Alexander softly while resting his hand atop the tree before standing up and quickly returning back to the three, who were all giving him weird looks.
"Ahh, sorry; that was just my Mother's grave." Remarked Alexander with an apologetic smile, causing the three to nod their head and glance at the grave before turning back around and continuing their trek through the forest.