"Hey," I say as his gaze focuses on me.
"Hi," he says with soft eyes. "What time is it?"
"Way too early," I say as he stretches. I check the clock on the wall. "Around six, it would seem."
"Nnnh," he mutters, burrowing his face into a pillow. "That is way too early. What time were we going to go to the festival anyway?"
"The parade walks past the king at noon, we figured that's the time Viper will make his move. But it's best if we're there before that... so we're leaving the inn around ten. We talked about this last night, remember?" I tell him. He turns his face away from the pillow but doesn't open his eyes. There's a stupid smile on his face.
"Nnno, too early for remembering," he says and I laugh.
"C'mere," I say and pull him closer. He snuggles against my side, his head on my shoulder. I kiss the top of his head. "You just keep on sleeping if you're so tired. I'll watch the time."
"Hnn," says Gil. He doesn't fall back asleep and I smile up to the ceiling as I can feel his thumb tracing along my collarbone. I kiss him again, and this time he raises to meet my lips.
A few hours fly by quickly as I let go of my worry and concentrate on him.
~x~
We run into Percy, Knute, and Eclaise, as they leave their room. There is a pause before everyone mutters their greetings and we continue in awkward silence into the room they serve breakfast. The girls are already there, and we join them around the table. The silence stretches on, no one knowing what to say or how to act. Judging by the bags under people's eyes I wasn't the only one who slept badly. Alica seems to be the only one unaffected, stuffing her mouth happily with porridge. Then again, she could sleep through the end of the world and wake up preppy. I envy her sometimes for it.
Knute has a minor meltdown during breakfast, suddenly certain he's going to accidentally kill the king or someone else standing close by, and we reassure him he'll do just fine. He seems, if not convinced, at least determined when we finally leave the inn.
It's a short way to the town centre, and we part ways soon after reaching it. I'm with Percy (though there was much protesting from Gil who didn't want to leave my side - eventually he agreed to following us from a distance with Alica) and we're walking up and down the road that the parade is supposed to come down, seemingly taking in the sights or what not. He doesn't seem very happy, though I can't say I blame him. This has got to be hard on him.
"Are you okay?" I ask him after we've wondered up and down the street for a while. We finally settle on a spot along the road, standing opposite of the stage the king is already sitting on. There's a lot of people gathered along the road, waiting for the parade to start so we don't seem out of place.
Percy shrugs. I frown. There is a soft glittering inside the scarf wrapped loosely around his neck.
"You think so?" Percy asks her and she nods enthusiastically. I don't know what she said but it seems to make him feel a bit better.
I'm about to say something when we hear music drifting down the road. The parade is approaching. We wait with bated breath as the line of people marches closer.
Suddenly the light dims. I tense. How is this possible, it's like the sun is suddenly not as bright. Other people seem to realise something is wrong too, and they're looking around confused.
"He's here," Percy whispers next to me. Smoke starts to rise from the middle of the parade.
People are screaming now, and we can see Viper levitate over the crowd towards the king. We nod at each other and start to push our way through the people trying to get away. He is laughing.
"I am Viper," he announces dramatically as he lands. "I am the one chosen by Gelotech to free all people magical from under the hand of injustice and discrimination."
A collective gasp passes through the crowd. We're almost at the stage.
"Now," he says, turning to the king, whose face is the picture of composed, not giving any way to the clearly mad man in front of him. "You are the reason for all this suffering. You are..."
"Stop!" Percy shouts as he lunges the final distance. "Please, stop!"
He does, if only because of the surprise. He turns to look at us, as we're standing at the bottom of the staircase leading up the stage.
"You don't have to do this, Arren," Percy says as he starts up the stairs. His voice is pleading and it's almost like there is a lump in his throat.
"That is not my name," Viper hisses. "Not anymore. And you are not my friend! You forsook me!"
"I didn't!" Percy cries. We're up on the stage by now. The soldiers on both side of the king seem very confused, and very, very scared. "I didn't forsake you! I was - I still am your friend! I want to help you!"
"You can start with helping me get rid of this vermin," Viper says gesturing towards the king. He doesn't flinch, but the guards point their spears at Viper. They go flying with a flick of his wrist. The guards fall down, limp.
"That's not what I mean," Percy says, his voice quiet and reserved. "You are confused, Arren, you need help. This," he gestures at the general area around him, "this is not... this doesn't fix anything. It will just make everything worse!"
"You want to help people with magic, we get it, but really this way you will just doom whatever chance magic still has in the country," I say and Viper's attention snaps to me.
"You didn't have enough back in the Academia, did you? You came back for more?!" he says lunging towards me but Percy steps in the way.
"Arren stop!" he commands. Viper tsk's. "You're making things worse! You need to stop now!"
"I don't need to do anything! I am chosen by Geltoech! I am - "
There's a loud scream in the crowd and we all look to see people pointing to the sky. A giant gust of wind blasts down as a huge dragon starts to descend. People are scrambling to get out of the way as Stevie lands and spreads his wing towards us. Sharon walks along it and hops off on the stage.
"Good afternoon, my dear citizens! I am Sharon, the Grand Sorceress of Geltoech!" she says cheerily. Viper screams.
"Liar!" he seethes. "You lying wench! I am the one chosen by Geltoech! He chose me! He spoke to ME!"
"I'm sorry, dear, you're really not," she says, looking at him eyes full of pity. "I know this can be hard to understand, but you need to calm down. Take a deep breath and a step back, we can work through this. I'm here to help you, Arren."
"NO!" Viper shouts. "You are all against me! You've been conspiring to bring me down! But you will never bring me down, I have been sent by gods!"
"We are not against you!" Percy shouts back, braving a small step towards Viper, who makes an almost hissing noise and flinches back. "I am your friend, I want to help you! See?" He brings up his hand an points at the ring glinting in the sunlight. "I am still wearing it! Because I believe in you! I believe you can go back to your old self! I have to... I need you to..."
Viper is hesitating, glancing from the ring to Percy's face, and he is hesitating. I look up to the large clock tower. It's almost noon.
"Everything is in order?" I whisper to Sharon as the two men continue their... arguing, I guess.
"Oh, yes," she says. "I traveled to every corner of the kingdom, and even a bit over as well, and told everyone to get ready at noon. Let's just hope the boy is ready, too."
"He will be," I whisper, a little too much hoping than actual knowledge in the statement than I would like.
"I will not leave you!" shouts Percy.
"You already did!" shouts Viper.
The clock strikes twelve.
I don't know exactly where the boy is, I didn't have time to find him in the crowd, but he has visual contact, he needs to, so I give the signal towards the general crowd. There is a tension in the air, almost like electricity and we need to act now.
A blinding flash of light erupts from the crowd and flies towards Viper. He doesn't have time to react, and it hits him in the chest and he falls down with a voiceless shout. The mask flies off his face and clatters down. Percy lunges forward to catch his body before is hits the ground. I snap my attention to the direction of the flash and find Knute, out cold once again, in Laelia's arms. She's checking his pulse and then shows me a thumbs up. He's still alive.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." Percy is muttering to Arren's unconscious body. I put my hand on his shoulder for a bit and then walk over to the king. He's standing up now.
"Your majesty," I say with a bow sweeping much lower than I have ever bowed. I stare at the dark wood planks we are standing on, trying to figure out exactly what to say. "I am terribly sorry for the chaos that was caused by the actions of this man. He was... delusional. He had convinced himself that he was a messenger of the gods, and that it was his divine duty to free the magic of this land from the oppressive rules it faces. By any means necessary, I'm afraid."
"Rise up, my good man," says the king and I comply. "And explain to me from the beginning that which happened here."
I open my mouth.
"Oz!" comes a voice from the crowd and as soon as I turn around I have an armful of Alica. Gil is standing a little ways off, clearly uncertain what to do. I huff and pull him into the hug as well. Sharon clears her throat and we let go, Gil the only one with the decency to look bashful.
"Your majesty," says Sharon, curtsying. "It's lovely to see you've grown into a fine man. And a fine king, I hope."
"I'm sorry, madame, do I know you?" the king asks, frowning.
"Oh, I do apologize!" says Sharon, her hand flying to her mouth. "I have yet to introduce myself properly! I am Sharon Rey, although when we met, I believe I was still called Mary Shannon."
"Mary Shannon!" says the king, looking pleasantly surprised. This was a truly unexpected turn in events, and I watch with intrigue the exchange. "My goodness, it's been years!"
"Decades, really," says Sharon as the king takes her hand and places a kiss on it. "Around thirty two years and six months, to be exact. We were both quite young back then, weren't we?"
"And you still look to be so! Heavens, I couldn't believe you're a day over thirty five if I didn't know better!"
"Thirty five? I must be letting myself slip..."
"Nonsense, dear! You look as radiant as ever!"
"Why, thank you, your highness! Really that is - "
"Uh, excuse me?" I chime in and the two turn to look at me. "I hate to break up what is evidently a wonderful reunion, but there is something a bit more pressing here, don't you think?"
"Don't I know you as well?" the king says, squinting at me. "You're from some some noble family, are you not..? Let's see, hmm... Ah, yes! The Woodsham boy! Say, Mary, didn't your sister marry Duke Woodsham?"
"Indeed she did, Oz here is my nephew," Sharon says and pulls me into a one armed hug. "And what a bright boy he is, I say! He's the one that figured out the plot of this sorcerer and came up with a plan to stop him!"
"Aunt Sharon, please," I mutter and then turn to the king. "Your highness, I must implore you, do not be too harsh on the poor man. He is sick, driven by anxiety and depression to the brink of madness and he was not in his right mind when he did what he did. And I hope that you also not hold his actions against all your loyal subjects who have magic!"
"Don't worry, son, I have nothing personally against magic," the king says, surprisingly casually. I pause.
"You... don't?" I ask, dumbfounded.
"No, not at all," he says. "It was my father, Geronos, who was so adamant about banning magic. I, personally find magic to be infinitely fascinating, though I of course can't do it myself."
"If you don't mind me saying," says Percy, almost so quietly we miss him completely. "Your highness does have the potential to learn."
"Really?" says the king, eyes wide. "That sounds exciting!"
"Well, yes, though it is rather small," Percy adds, hesitantly. "But I believe that with proper tutoring you might be able to learn some basic spells.
"Oh, aren't you a curious one! A forest faerie, correct?" says the king and extends his hand. Zeze lands on it, sitting down cross-legged.
"I must say, this is all very exhilarating," the king says. "Although I was slightly worried when the madman appeared."
"Your highness, there is something I wish to discuss with you," I say, deciding to steer the conversation back into the tracks we need. "I must ask you to consider the anti-magic laws."
"To release the ban on magic?" he says. "I was under the impression that it was what the people wanted?"
"Some... new things have come up, concerning the events of thirty years ago. The murder of private Jacobs?" I say. The king motions for me to go on. "Turns out, that never happened."
"I'm sorry, how is that possible?" he asks, understandably confused.
"He faked his death and framed the sorcerers wrongfully. One of our professors back at the Academia found him earlier this week, he recognized the man because they served together. Jacobs is locked up in Lonchester as we speak."
"That... certainly changes things," the king says, rubbing his beard. "Assuming it's true. I will have to check this personally, because this is not light matter. But if you're right, and private Jacobs was never assassinated, we're going to have to seriously reconsider the steps that lead to the banning of magic."
I exchange a relieved look with Gil and Alica. They're as thrilled as I am. Laelia walks up to us, Tauria hanging onto her arm and Eclaise walking behind them with Knute on his back. He's still unconscious. The king turns to them and the girls curtsy, while Eclaise tries to bow, which doesn't go too well with someone on his back.
"This is the young man that used the spell, correct?" the king says, as Eclaise lays Knute down on the ground. Tauria kneels down with him, taking his head on her lap. Laelia's face tells she's ready to tear even the king a new one to protect Knute. The king laughs. "Don't worry, young lady. Given the circumstances, I will pardon his crime on account of saving us all." Laelia settles down, slowly.
The guards are finally coming to and they look confused and worried.
"King Merthur!" one of them calls. "Are you alright, sire? What happened?"
"Not to worry, not to worry, everything is under control thanks to these brave young men and ladies," the king says. The guard's worry lessens, though he remains confused. The other one is holding her head between her hands and groaning. "That's right, I suppose I should calm the people as well," he says, almost absently and turns to the crowd lurking on the edge of the stage.
"My beloved subjects," he says, his voice carrying amazingly well over the crowd. "I deeply regret the incident that just occurred, but you need not worry. The situation has been resolved and will be dealt with accordingly! All of you can now return to your festivities, while I, unfortunately, have to leave to settle this unfortunate business for good. I hope you all have a wonderful Midsummer festival!" He turns back to us as the people start to move around and chatter among themselves. The parade starts to move too, after a moment of hesitation.
"Now," the king says to us. "We should probably move this indoors. So, if you don't mind coming with me, so you can explain properly exactly what is going on and why, and what is the deal with private Jacobs." He motions to the guards who snap into attention and then fall behind the king. We follow them through the streets towards the king's castle.
I take Gil's hand in one hand, and Alica's in my other, and squeeze them lightly. They smile at me, before we let the contact slip away. I walk over to Eclaise, who's back to carrying Knute and I ruffle the boy's hair lightly. He doesn't stir.
"You did it, my boy," I whisper to him, though I know he can't hear. "Everything is going to be just fine."
FIN.
__________________________________________________________________
That's it. That's the end. Holy shit.
It's not actually the end though, there's a lot of ends to tie, and I was thinking about writing an epilogue sometime next week. I don't know when though, I guess we'll see. (I've also been thinking about finally fiNISHING OFF THAT STUPID CAROL SEQUEL JFC WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME THAT'S FROM LAST MAY but we'll see)
We are both rather exhausted from the giant ordeal this thing has turned into, and so we've decided to take a small hiatus, at least for September (although the epilogue and the ending for mayday might come during that time so... idk drop by once a week?) and we'll see what happens after that. We might start a new story, ooh an autumn story!, before diving into a Christmas one, because let's be real neither of us really likes writing regular posts. So yeah. We'll see about that. But for September we're on a hiatus.
Uhh, I guess that's all for me for now. I hope you guys enjoyed the ride and do let us know what you thought about the story in the comments, feedback is always welcome! I'm also kinda curious which ones of you bothered to decode Zeze's "liitespeak", hah. I know dad did, and Hanna, but did anyone else?
So that's all for real this time. I'll see you guys in October (*chants* halloween halloween hallOWEEN HALLOWEEN)
Pie out.
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