The dream shook me to my core. The boy called me "papa" and had my eyes. But, he didn't really look like me. He had freckles, tanned skin, and white hair.
"You okay?" Luca asked me. I was staring at him, unintentionally though. I guess I must've wandered off.
"Yeah, just had a bad dream."
I sat up but felt a sharp pain in my torso. I winced and looked down. I was shirtless, wearing the pants I wore from the previous night. My chest down to my groin was covered in bandages, telling me where I sustained injuries from the battle with the Tiger-Fiend.
"Don't worry, you should be fine to travel. Wesely used his Seal Skill to heal you."
"He did?"
"Yep. His ability was always used on plants, but I guess it works on humans too. Surprise, surprise, huh?"
"Yeah...guess so."
Wesely healed me. I didn't think he cared about me that much, or anyone else. I mean, he did make a pregnant woman fight for her life. I am grateful for that, but I feel more disbelief if anything.
"How long was I out?" I asked as I slowly turned my body, getting out of the bed.
"About thirteen hours."
"The date?"
"March 8th."
"We should get going. Gwendolyn's baby might be already born by the time we're back."
"Yeah, I know, but don't rush. You're still pretty banged up and-"
"I said we should get going. Pack your things..." I groaned as I clutched my left side. I was still injured and my body wanted to remind me of that every time I moved. I clenched my teeth and started to walk out of the room.
"Musta been a bad dream, huh?" Luca asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"The worst." I answered as I slammed the door behind me.
I looked around me. This was the hall that held the guest bedrooms. That meant I was on the third floor. The king's castle held twelve floors, and the hall I left my briefcase in was on the second, two floors below the king's bedroom. I began my descent, treading lightly to my left where the stairs that led downward resided. My torso never stopped sending pain to my brain, making it hard for me to continue my walk, but I pulled through. The journey downstairs was a mistake, or, it felt that way. I regretted it more and more with every step. I felt like giving up and just wanted to sit down, but I wanted to make it to my briefcase before I took a seat.
At last, I made it to the second floor. I looked at the long hall with white walls and a massive black chandelier. It had a blue carpet with gold drawings of lions decorating it. I looked around the corridor and spotted my brown briefcase where I left it, in front of a suit of armor holding a shield with Wesely's face on it. With that, I limped to my belongings, enduring the pain in my torso and biting my cheeks to stop myself from whimpering in pain. As I crossed the long, narrow hall, I stopped in front of a lagre window due to a collaboration of melodic tunes coming from outside.
The citizens of Zelch Kingdom were playing many instruments. Flutes, bongos, maracas, and ocarinas just to name a few. It was March, so it would be natural for them to wear clothes more...cozy, you could say, because the chilliness of winter still lingered in this country. However, the local men and boys were shirtless, while the women wore bras and skirts made from leaves, while the girls wore floral patterned dresses. The boys and girls danced around with pets while the adults either partied or played music. A lot of people wearing flower crowns were also throwing petals of many colors around, creating the illusion of raining petals. This kind of thing never happened in the Continent of the Crescent Moon, or the Continent of Waves. If I'm going to be honest, it made me a bit jealous.
"Ah. Wonderful, isn't it?"
"What? Oh, King Wesely. My apologies."
"Don't worry, young one. You were clearly captivated by the beauty of my people."
"Is this some kind of celebration or festival?"
"Why, yes. They are celebrating the death of the murderer that has been attacking us under the red moon."
"It attacked the civilians too? You said it was only going after you."
"No, I said it was most likely assassin who wanted me dead, but multiple deaths of innocent people occurred in this kingdom over the past month."
King Wesely spoke more...polite. His demeanor changed from the last time I spoke with him. He was more sincere and less self-centered. Did I misjudge him? Definitely not. Did he have some kind of epiphany while I was asleep? Don't know. Maybe this is just how he behaves when he speaks about his people. Although he may be greedy and a bit of a coward, he's not a bad king, I won't deny that.
"You and Luca put a stop to this, Gou. So, in a way, they're thanking you. I'm thanking you too, Gou." He turned to face me. "From now on, consider yourself a friend of the king!" He held his hand out to me as if he wanted to shake my hand.
"Ah...thanks?"
"Shake my hand." He demanded with that same sudden demeanor change from yesterday when I declined his tea.
"Yes, Your Majesty." The two of us shook hands, albeit a bit awkwardly. "What does it mean to be a 'friend of the king'?"
"It means that if you ever need anything, just send me a letter and it'll be on your way!"
"Oh. Well, I really appreciate that. Unfortunately, I have to go very soon. I have a child on the way and I really don't want to miss their birth."
"Wait, for real? But Luca said you have two husbands..."
"Pardon!?"
Why would he say that?! Some joke! Luca, I swear, as soon as we leave Zelch, expect a Light Ray through your back!!
"Well, I don't have two husbands! I have two wives, okay?"
"Ah...okay then! I'd love to visit the family one day, maybe join you all at dinner sometime?"
"Y'know what? Sure. Just hope that one of my wives feels like cooking for an extra mouth."
Wesely chuckled and walked past me, ending the discussion. I looked back outside of the window, looking at the white sun and silver and copper buildings. Along this journey, I became friends with a king. I already had some royal friends, including the king of Karangan, Emperor Matthias and his seven-year-old, Prince Alta. However, Matthias and I got along from the start, but Wesely was different because I had a bad first impression, I guess. Either way, the job was done, more good came out of it than bad. Another day, another successful job.
□ □ □
The next day, Luca and I left the castle, accompanied by King Wesely. The people of Zelch Kingdom watched us walk, cheered our names, and threw pink and yellow flower petals at us. I saw a lot of them crying, but they didn't look like sad tears. A warm feeling in my heart began to blossom and a smile appeared on my face. As we approached the entrance of the kingdom, King Wesely stopped. Luca and I turned to him and witnessed a powerful sight. A king standing in front of an entire kingdom all with big, bright smiles on their faces. Wesely held his arm up. As soon as he did, his people did the same. Then, he waved us goodbye along with the citizens of Zelch.
"Goodbye, heroes!" A loud roar was emitted from the entire kingdom. Shivers ran down my spine and I couldn't help but smile. Luca let out a laugh and waved goodbye to them as well. I felt a lot better than I have been for the past few days, the smiles and laughs of the children who looked up to me was more than enough to make me feel a sense of joy. In the end, it was worth leaving home for this.
"Come on, Luca. Let's go home."
"Roger that, Gnome."
With that, we turned our backs to the kingdom and didn't look back, embarking on our trip back home. It would be a long trip, we would have to cross the South-West Sea after all. Despite that, I was ready. I'm coming home, Adeline, Eudora, Tsuki.
□ □ □
April 12th, Karangan Desert. The moon was blood red, an observation I had made as Luca and I traversed through the magnificent arena of sand. The stars were bright, and the sky was a beautiful dark blue, lighter than it usually was. The sand was extremely soft. If it wasn't so vast, the Karangan Desert would be a great place for locals to relax with their family, but they'd get lost very easily.
"A-ha! Finally! We're here!" Luca yelled as he finally felt the stone trail to Karangan Kingdom under his feet.
"Great! Now let's hurry. I need to see my daughters!"
"What about your wives?"
"I'm sure they'll understand."
Luca and I rushed along the stone trail, finding the vast capital city of the country Karangan, the kingdom. As we entered the city, many people watched us. "Hey, Gou's back!" We heard. "The heroes have returned!" We heard. But I didn't stop running. I couldn't. I felt a familiar feeling.
"Hey, Gou! Slow down!" Luca called out to me, but I didn't listen. The red moon affected me. Not literally, in a sense that it made me act irrationally out of fear. Fear for my babies. Please, God, tell me my babies are okay.
I continued running to my house. It was located in the southwest side of the kingdom and we entered through the east section, so the distance was extreme. I jumped over fences, ledges, and horses. I slide under carriages, shimmied my way through narrow alleyways, and maneuvered my way through the Kingdom of Karangan.
At last, my house was in my vision. Its burgundy roof was all too familiar. I was running out of breath, but I couldn't stop running. I needed to see my family as soon as I could, and I didn't want to waste a second. The gap between my house and I became less and less spacious. I was closing in. I'm almost there!
I leaped over my fence. I landed on my knees, but I didn't care, immediately springing up back into action. I ran up to my porch and pulled my key out of my pocket. It stumbled in between my fingers, as frustrating as it sounds. As soon as I got a firm grip, I forced it into the door knob, twisting and unlocking it. I forced the door open with all the strength I had in my body.
I was met with my living room. Vacant. Near the living room furniture was the kitchen. Near the kitchen were the stairs. No one was there. I looked up the stairs and ran up to my second floor. The first door led to room of my daughters, so I opened it. No one. I was getting extremely worried, no idea where my family was after a long journey was not what I needed.
"Hello?" A voice called out to me. A high-pitched voice that could only belong to a young girl. It was Adeline's voice.
"Addy?!"
Adeline popped out of the fourth room on the second floor, looking happy to see me.
"It's Papa!" She called, running right to me.
I hugged Adeline as tightly as I could. I looked up and saw Eudora running towards me as well. I scooped her up along with Adeline, hugging my little daughters with all of the power in my body.
"Papa! Papa! I'm seven now!" Eudora informed me.
"Yes, I know, baby. I'm sorry I missed your birthday, can you forgive me?"
"Of course, Papa!"
I'm so glad my daughters were so nice. The kindest girls in the world, no doubt about it.
"Gou?" I looked away from my girls, and put my attention to the mature feminine voice that called my name. It was Altris, looking as beautiful as ever. Her brown skin and black curly hair was a sight for sore eyes. She was wearing her jirab, so I couldn't see her entirely, but I'm not complaining.
"You look amazing, darling." Altris had tears in her eyes, but wiped them away. She walked up to me and placed a kiss on my lips, which was met with an "Ewww!" by our children.
"Welcome home, dear."
"It's great to be home. Is Gwen also in the guest room?"
Altris was silent for a moment and wore a somber expression. After a moment, she finally spoke up.
"Yes. Come on."
I put Eudora and Adeline down as I walked into the guest room with Altris. There, I saw Gwendolyn, sitting upright on the bed. Near her, was a nurse with a tub nearby. She looked beautiful. Her long, golden hair flowed all the way down off the bed. Her long ears were angled up as if she were awaiting me, which she most likely was, since Oraphim have exceptional hearing. However, something was off. Her eyes were puffy, she was sniffling, and she was holding a baby in a swaddle using a purple blanket.
"Gou..." She whispered as she became teary eyed. Her voice quivered as she tried to speak. I walked over to her, trying to comfort her.
"Gwen? It's okay, I'm here. What's the matter?"
"Gou...I'm so sorry...I'm sorry I gave birth to a cursed child." Gwendolyn broke, she began crying in front of me, the nurse, and Altris. I could hear Adeline and Eudora beginning to cry as well. I turned back and saw Altris comforting them.
"Waaah! Waaaaah!" Adeline cried out.
I hugged Gwendolyn and rubbed her back. While I did that, I took a chance to look at the baby.
I froze. My mouth agape. My heart sank as I gazed upon the sleeping baby. He looked healthy, no doubt. Gwendolyn's light skin was passed on to him, but he's nowhere near as pale as Adeline. That was the least of my concerns.
A tuft of white hair on top of his head. Tiny, pointed ears. But the most bizarre part of it all was the tiny black horn protruding from the left side of his head.