For all her life, and for all the lifetimes of her ancestors who had cared for the tomb, it had been just that: a tomb. The intensity of the deeds her great-great-grandmother had seen the aftermath of had faded into mere words; a mere legend.
Now the products of that legend sat before her, wiping their tears away. Naerie screwed up her face, trying to hold back her grief for these people---aside from that, tears would only smudge the ink that she had used to transcribe the tale as it had been told. Somehow she felt like to desecrate that ink would only be adding insult to injury.
"Don't be sorry." Sarah said meekly. "You had nothing to do with it..."
"Aside from that, your family did us a great service." Crowley said humbly, bowing his head.
"I... I don't know what to say..." Naerie admitted, "I'm still star-struck." There was something else, but she didn't feel like burdening them with it. It seemed so insignificant, but that could've been her own inferiority complex coming into play again.
"I wish I could have been there." Lagrey said, suddenly speaking up.
"Why the hell would you wish that?!" Crowley demanded angrily, "Are you insane?"
"N-no, I just wish I could've helped---" Lagrey began, but felt Donny's hand on his shoulder. He was just making things worse.
"I don't understand," Sarah said tearfully, looking straight at him, "I wouldn't wish that on anyone. No matter what. Just... just be thankful you weren't..."
Lagrey sat in silence, cowed. He wished now that he hadn't spoken up at all. His friend, as well, said nothing more.
The awkward moment became even more awkward a moment later as Crowley began to choke, gasping for air. He clawed at nothing, and doubled over, writhing on the ground.
"Crowley!" Sarah screamed. "What's happening?! Crowley!"
"I---ggchhk---" was all Crowley could sputter. Abruptly, he aged decades in mere seconds, and after one final spasm, his features were once more marred with deep wrinkles, his long hair gray and limp. He clutched for something and found Sarah's hand, gripping it tightly as he could.
"C-can you tell us why... why that happens to him?" Sarah asked, trying not to seem as horrified as she was.
"I believe it's tied to the sleep spell that was cast upon you both." Naerie said, her eyes bugging out, "I-if I remember right---" She checked her notes, "Yes... you said he was the last to be enchanted. I don't know anything about that kind of magic, but it's possible the spell was weaker and more easily damaged. During your long sleep, something must have happened to 'knock loose' the enchantment enough for you to age. However..."
Naerie flipped through her journal. Sarah and Crowley waited with their breath held to hear her next words.
"However, as the spell parameters go, this must be paradox. Part of the magic itself prevents the aging process from, well, proceeding. The resulting problem is that you are simultaneously two ages at once. Your body cannot decide which is the true information, and so arbitrarily switches between the two. That's all I can guess..." Naerie explained. She gave them a look of pity.
"That's terrible..." muttered Donny. "No one deserves that."
Crowley shut his eyes and tried to look restful. In reality, he was acting as if all this wasn't much news to him, even if it was. What did this mean? Was he going to be stuck like this? Would he be prone to death any day due to his accelerated age? He tried to be optimistic, but it nipped at the heels of his every thought. He held Sarah's hand tighter.
"One more thing..." Sarah voiced, concerned. "We came from Duck Village alone, but just as we got here, we fell asleep again. Do you know why, maybe...?"
Naerie thought to herself, and was forced to shrug.
"I'm no expert, sorry. But you were awake when I got here, so it doesn't seem like the full enchantment took hold again or anything... I'm just not sure." she said, thinking aloud.
"I doubt it was anything major, Sarah!" Lagrey said with a confident smile, trying his best to be reassuring, "After all, you woke up as soon as we arrived."
Something wasn't right, Naerie thought.
"What did you say?"
"I said they woke as soon as we arrived. I mean, we did wake 'em up originally." Lagrey clarified.
"You what? It was you??" she gasped. "What did you DO?"
"I, uh, kissed her." Lagrey said, gesturing to Sarah, somewhat embarrassed. He elbowed Donny.
"Yes. And I, um, heh, knocked the old guy over. Sorry." he said.
"That explains a lot, you know." Naerie chided, scribbling furiously, "I can't believe you didn't mention it before. But, anyway, what's done is done. I think I have an idea why you fell asleep now."
Sarah and Crowley perked up at that, the latter even opening an eye to gaze at the Alma Kinan girl.
"Well," she said with a blush, "It's almost romantic." She was met with confused and almost hostile stares, so quickly moved on. "You see, the spell was broken with a kiss! It's that simple. I don't think it implies love, or anything, because in this man's case, you just knocked him over. It supports my theory that his enchantment took on a weaker form that was later damaged. In any case, because they woke you, the Duck and Winger are now bound to the one they awoke! Apparently, the farther you get from them, the more likely the spell is to take hold again."
The reactions to this were mixed.
Donny's brow furrowed. He wasn't sure how to take the news, honestly. The sudden feeling of responsibility for another person weighed on him somewhat heavier than he was accustomed to.
Sarah nodded timidly. If this was her fate, she would just have to live with it, for now. At least Lagrey was a good person... she hoped.
Crowley scowled. Being knowledgable about magic as he was, he was pissed that he hadn't figured it out, and even more pissed that his fate was tied solely to the proximity of a Duck. At least it wasn't the Winger (poor Sarah!), but... he wasn't pleased.
Lagrey's heart was soaring. "Bound," she had said. So romantic! At first, his attraction to Sarah had been purely physical, but after her heart-wrenching story, he felt closer to her than ever. He was surely falling in love, for real. He couldn't wait to tell her how much they had in common, and was nearly bursting from having to keep silent. To reveal his feelings here would be tacky.
Crowley sat up, and finally voiced the question on all their minds.
"So... now what?" His voice was gravelly and unfamiliar to Sarah, though not entirely. He hadn't let go of her hand yet.
She wished she could answer, but she didn't know herself.
******
"Let's go home," Lagrey had said. Why, then, did Sarah find herself sitting in a damp hut she had never seen before?
The answer was simple. She had no home. Not only was it gone, but only two people truly remembered it anymore. It was gone like the dust that had eroded its remains over the last century.
She watched out the window, which faced the lake that Duck Village was situated upon. No one bustled by, and there was nothing but the sky to keep her company. The world felt truly empty.
"This is worse than a nightmare..." Sarah cried, dabbing at her eyes again with a hankie. In the end, she couldn't decide if being trapped in her own subconscious, constantly chased by nightmares, or if feeling like the only person left in the world was worse.
Again and again the predicament of what to do bubbled up in her mind. She had nowhere to go back to, and nothing to look forward to. She may as well have thrown herself into the lake and drowned, and no one would be the wiser.
But, no. She couldn't do that. Who would look after Crowley, and what would he do when he found out what she had done? No, she couldn't do that to him. It was too horrible.
A knock sounded at her door, and she composed herself enough to answer it.
******
Crowley wanted nothing more than to tear down the four walls around him, and let out all his pent-up rage. But he realized, sighing as he plopped down on the bed he had been given to use, that destroying someone else's house would do nothing to bring back his own. That, and he didn't think his back could take it.
He was so sore. His every joint ached. He was fairly certain that stress and the sudden shock of his instant-aging had more to do with it than the age itself. His head was pounding, and he couldn't shut out the pain. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw his parents dying.
He grabbed his pillow and squeezed it. Perhaps with sleep, he could escape, but he'd had quite enough of that. He was wide awake, and just felt trapped by his reality. What could he and Sarah do? Stay in that incredibly stifling village? It was hospitable, but it would never be home. Travel? Not without the Winger and the Duck, and they would be unlikely to leave their homeland. It appeared they would be stuck.
Unable to hold it in any longer, Crowley opened his mouth and let loose with a horrible scream. Undoubtedly, the residents of the home, belonging to Lagrey's duck family, would be disturbed. Crowley no longer cared.
******
Lagrey couldn't sit still, all day. After getting back home, his mind had been buzzing with thoughts and ideas. He found himself thinking of his family... the one he no longer had. His mother, for all he knew, was enslaved. Or dead.
His father had never been there for him. And his brother had disappeared into the east. The latter, he found missing the most, though his brother had never been kind. At least he had been there. The feeling of having one's whole world snatched away? He could <i>identify,</i> dammit. He could feel everything Sarah was feeling.
But everyone else thought him to just be playing, up to his old tricks. It was different, he'd show them. Soon they would realize his true feelings for this beautiful woman, and everything would fall into place. Perhaps... she would even become his bride, and they could find happiness in each other's arms.
It was too soon to propose to her now, he supposed glumly, but the silver lining was that they were bound, anyway! He hoped she wasn't too attached to Duck Village. He had a great will to travel the world and search for his family, what was left of it. He could see his mother and brother smiling as he introduced his lovely wife to them! Well, his mother, anyway. His brother would probably only smile long enough to steal her away for himself. Still, the thought did nothing to damper his desire to find his brother again.
He glanced at the clock on the wall, ticking away. It was nearly dinnertime, and tonight would certainly be interesting. Before dinner was ready, he wanted time to tell his parents everything on his mind, so he went to find them.
******
Dinner was served. The meal was smoked salmon, flanked by a beautifully arranged salad Lagrey's foster mother had prepared for everyone. The table was packed--Lagrey, his parents and sister, Donny, Naerie the Alma Kinan, Sarah, and Crowley surrounded the food. Jyora, Lagrey's mother, did feel a bit uncomfortable and overcrowded, but hoped that everyone, especially their strange houseguests, felt at home.
"How is everyone liking things?" Jyora asked politely.
"Mm." Lagrey said, his thoughts obviously elsewhere.
"Great as usual, ma'am." Donny replied.
"Oh, it's delicious." Sarah said a bit too earnestly.
"Yes, wonderful." Crowley agreed.
"I'm enjoying it as well. Thank you." Naerie said, though her eyes betrayed her heartbreak at the lack of a dessert. Daisy said nothing and continued chewing, as did Jyora's husband, Makis.
Sarah poked at her salmon absentmindedly. She hadn't been lying, it did taste good. Her mind just wasn't on this little dinner party. They continued to eat, mostly in silence.
Suddenly Sarah burst into an uncharacteristic giggle, a kind of sad laugh. She put her hand to her mouth, embarrassed.
"What's so funny?" Lagrey asked.
"Oh, it's nothing. I was just remembering a houseguest of my own from... a long time ago, I guess." Sarah said dismissively.
"What did he do?" the Winger she was bound to persisted.
"Well, he was something of a jack-of-all-trades, you see, and to understand him was to understand he liked to jump from job to job a lot. He was very talented." Sarah said. Crowley gave her a look, but she wasn't paying attention.
"Uh, okay. Go on."
"No, it's just that once, early-on during his visit, we also had smoked salmon, and before dinner he bragged to us about how he could smoke a salmon without so much as coughing..." Sarah said, getting into the story as she told it. At this, even Crowley grinned.
"Ha! But he wasn't so big when he found out that salmon were fish, and not a brand of cigarettes!" he interrupted, finishing the tale for Sarah.
Everyone laughed uproariously.
"What a guy he must've been, to confuse such a thing!" Makis chuckled. Sarah held up her hand to stifle some of the laughter.
"In his defense," she said with a smile, "He really did try his hardest at everything he did." Her smile faded quickly. "Even when... even when he didn't have to."
Silence fell like a shroud over the table. All eyes watched her, curious.
"Even when..." she said, choking up. "Even when he shouldn't have, he tried his hardest." She broke down.
Jyora rose from her seat immediately and went to Sarah's side, putting her hands on the girl's shoulders.
"Now, now, it'll be all right. Don't you worry about a thing, now." the maternal duck assured her.
"It's okay, Sarah..." Crowley's gravelly voice came. "It's been hard for all of us..."
Sarah tried to control herself, but just couldn't.
"I... I'm so sorry, I'm... ruining... your... dinner..." she sobbed in gasps. Jyora shook her head.
"Don't be ridiculous, dear. I wouldn't presume to think such a thing. I know you've been through a lot---I heard it all." she insisted.
"I just... I'm just so lost right now. I feel like I'm being a burden on everyone because I don't belong here. I feel like I don't have a purpose to live anymore." Sarah wept.
"Oh, you poor thing, don't---" Jyora started.
"Please, Sarah, listen!" Naerie blurted, interrupting the duck woman. As everyone stared in her direction, she began to feel even more uncomfortable, but there was no turning back now. "I know you may think that what happened to you was entirely horrible, but there is a silver lining to everything."
"What are you talking about?" Crowley demanded sharply. Naerie winced, but forged onward. She had to get this off her chest. She could only hope it would make them feel better about their predicament.
"I... you DO have a purpose. I don't know what or where, but I know you'll find it for yourself someday. As for me, I owe my life to the both of you." Naerie said, taking a deep breath. "There's one thing in my great-great-grandmother's journal that I haven't told to you yet. It didn't seem relevant, but now, I think it might help to hear."
"W-what...?" Sarah said, fearing more bad news. She wiped her face with the cloth napkin beside her.
"Laerie, the one who enshrined you both, went to Arana Cane that day because it was the most beautiful place she'd ever been. She found it more beautiful than even Alma Kinan." Naerie explained. Her voice rang clear above all else in the room. No one dared speak, or even eat. They all listened. "My great-great-grandmother always loved your Clan, and its village, and the surrounding area. The fact is... she went there that day to end her life."
Sarah's hand shot to her mouth, in shock.
"It doesn't matter how she arrived at the decision, but she's written that it was her foremost thought. Until she found you two. She felt she had to help you, and changed her mind. If... if she hadn't... I wouldn't be here today..." Naerie confessed.
An awkward silence followed. Naerie felt obligated to add something.
"Just... just don't think it was all bad. It shouldn't happen to anyone, what happened, but it did save Laerie's life. She made sure no one ever forgot your village. It'll live on in all our minds, in yours foremost of all." she said quietly.
"Naerie..." Sarah said after a moment, "Thank you. Thank you for everything."
"What will you do?" Makis asked of Sarah and Crowley.
"Please stay here as long as you like." Jyora put in.
"We have to think about that for a bit." Crowley said. Sarah said nothing, but rose from her seat and went to her room to do said thinking. Crowley followed immediately.
Lagrey couldn't eat another bite, but dared not go after them.
******
"What do you feel we should do, Sarah?" Crowley asked pointedly after barring the door to her room.
"I really don't know. I don't think we should stay here, but..."
"Those two jokers will never leave, face it." Crowley said bitterly, tossing another scowl her way. Sarah chided him.
"Don't you feel the least bit grateful for what they did for us, Crowley? They woke us up from that nightmare, and they took us in..." Sarah said defensively.
"Oh, all right, I'll be nice. But the point remains. We can't go anywhere without them, and we wouldn't know where to go if we could."
"I... I wish I knew, Crowley." she murmured.
"We can get through this if we only focus on a goal of some kind... y'know, get our minds off of everything long enough to build a new life for ourselves." Crowley said.
"I suppose."
"You know... there IS something that's been bugging me a lot since we woke up."
"What's that?"
"I never got a chance to ask, but... we were having the same dream, weren't we? Running about in that blackness..." Crowley brought up. Sarah nodded, trying not to think about it in too much detail.
"Yes... what about it?"
"Didn't you feel two presences in your dream, besides yourself? And, besides me? For me, it was someone besides you, too."
"N-now that you mention it, I did... but I was afraid to speculate. I thought it might be HIM." Sarah shuddered.
"It wasn't. It wasn't evil. In fact, it was friendly." Crowley clarified for her. "Do you think it might be..."
The possibility dawned on Sarah that they might not be the only survivors.
"You don't mean... you think he's been alive all this time? Master Mazus?"
"That Naerie did say she thought the enchantments were permanent. What if underneath that petrification... Master Mazus really is still alive, and just waiting to be freed?" Crowley said, getting excited. Sarah's eyes widened.
"Oh... oh my... if we could find him..."
"That's IT, Sarah! That's it!" Crowley cried triumphantly. "We should search for Master Mazus! We're his only hope!"
It was then that they decided what their course should be. Now, they needed only to convince Donny and Lagrey...
******
Fortunately, the aforementioned task was not as difficult as they had previously thought it might be.
"Sarah, Crowley! Please come with me!" Lagrey begged them as soon as he could corner them outside his front door.
"W...what?"
"I want to find my real family. I made my decision, and I know I could run off and leave you no matter what you say, but I'd feel really awful if I did, and so would Donny." the Winger said.
"Er... nicely put, man." quacked Donny.
"Where would you look?" Sarah inquired.
"Everywhere. Mostly to the east of Grassland, I think... they can't have stayed in this country." Lagrey assumed.
"Well, Lagrey..." Sarah said. They could easily accomplish their mutual goals this way. "Only if you come with US to look for our Master."
"Your mentor, the one that...?" Donny asked, surprised.
"Yes." Crowley said. "We think he's still out there somewhere."
"Of course!" Lagrey said. "I'll follow you anywhere, Sarah!" His eyes glowed with eagerness and overflowed with love. And maybe a little bit of that old lust, too.
"We'll... see about that." Crowley said reservedly, giving the Winger a look of semi-worry.
"When shall we set out?" Sarah wondered aloud.
"Immediately!" Lagrey shouted, "...just as soon as I bid my family farewell!" With that, he dashed back towards his house.
"I should take care of that, too. I'll pick us up some supplies at the general store, too." Donny said, running off. "Don't go anywhere!"
"We can't." Crowley muttered, rolling his eyes.
Naerie emerged from Lagrey's house, a bittersweet look on her face.
"I heard you were leaving..."
"Oh, Naerie, I can never thank you enough." Sarah said, throwing her arms around the surprised Alma Kinan woman.
"I can't thank you two enough either. You've changed my life..." Naerie replied. "I don't know where you're off to, but please come back sometime. You'll always have a home in Alma Kinan. I'll even bake a cake."
"Really?" Sarah said, overjoyed.
"Well, I'll buy one, at least. I can't cook." Naerie admitted.
"You can come back here any time, both of you." Jyora chimed in as she came out to say goodbye to them, and her foster son.
"Thank you, Jyora..." Crowley said, hugging her with his bony frame.
"Look after Lagrey, if you would..." Jyora said, leaning in to whisper, "I don't know if there's anything left of his biological family. If not, tell him not to be disappointed. We'll always be his family and we'll be waiting for his return."
Sarah nodded.
******
It wasn't long before Lagrey and Donny were ready, and the foursome was on its way.
"Here we go!" Lagrey said triumphantly. His family, and Naerie, had parted with them at the edge of the village, and as Sarah looked back, they still waved. She waved back, breaking out in a smile.
She couldn't completely forget her sadness, nor could Crowley. But as they set out on their journey, she came to realize that perhaps this new world wasn't so empty after all.
We're coming, Master Mazus. Just hold on.
