| One must never forget the importance of a family. -Dragon�s Words; vol. 3, pg. 24 Part 52 � Fine! I�m not afraid to do it!� The emperor lunged and he waited until the very last second, when the emperor couldn�t stop, to draw his fist back and strike the emperor square on the snout. Well, actually it was his head because Zidane had miscalculated the speed. The emperor let out a wail as he flew into the wall and crumpled to the floor. He struggled up and staggered to the window, his ear dribbling blood. Tumbling over the side, he disappeared into the brush around the base of the castle. Zidane bent over his fist. � Damn!� � Zidane?� � I�m okay. I just punched his horn along with his ear. It stings a little, that�s all.� I got to my feet and limped to the door. Nosing it open, I paused to watch Garnet hover nervously while Zidane examined his heavily bruised hand, then continued out. I made my way slowly down to the courtyard and laid beside the stream that emptied into a large pond. The cool water soothed my throbbing left front leg-- it was probably dislocated--and I stretched out to rest. When I woke I found that someone was sitting near me. Looking up, I was somewhat surprised to find that it was Garnet. � What are you doing here?� � He�s looking for you.� � Who? I know of two emperors who would have even the vaguest interest in my whereabouts.� � Both. You were supposed to meet Tiovex in the library for more research and when you didn�t, he went off on Zidane. Now neither will even be in the same room until you�re found.� � And why haven�t you told anyone you found me?� She shrugged. � Too lazy, I suppose. I sat down right here about an hour ago and realized fifteen minutes later that I should probably tell someone. But I didn�t feel like getting up, so I stayed.� I shifted so I was propped on my elbows and my rear legs still laid out to the side. � There are other reasons.� � It�s quiet here. We�re almost right against the market and all I can hear are the birds and the wind.� There was a long silence. � He�s worried.� I snorted and stood. � Both of them are hatchlings in emperor bodies.� I limped away a bit, then laid back down when the pain got to be too much. She followed. � You�re hurt. Let me see.� As she inspected my leg like a nurse, she said in a lecture-type voice, � Tiovex needs someone to love and be loved in return. You could be that, if you�d stop hiding.� � What would you know about having your heart ripped in half too many times to bother counting?� � Zidane needs a mother,� she continued, without even acknowledging my question. � You�re the only one he�s ever known. It�s natural for human children to rebel against their parents. You need to be patient.� I snorted and stood again. � I have no reason to be patient. He left on his own at twelve years and stayed away for four years afterward. If this hadn�t�ve started, he probably would never have returned. In my eyes, he is an adult. He needs me no longer.� � That�s where you�re wrong,� she replied, following me. � He needs you.� � He does not.� � Just because you didn�t have a mother and survived doesn�t mean that everyone else can be the same!� she yelled, stomping her foot. � You were lucky enough to not have known her at all, which made it a thousand times easier! I�ve lost two mothers and I don�t understand how I�m still alive!� I turned on her, baring my fangs. � The world is a cold place! I have been shunned and hated my whole life! It is useless for me to pretend that anyone cares!� Garnet�s eyes grew sad and she backed away from me. � You live in a lonely place, Kitiane.� She turned and went inside, leaving me alone. Alone. As I have always been. As I will always be. Alone. I was by myself for half an hour before there was the sound and vibration of someone running at breakneck speeds. I climbed into a tree and perched in the higher branches where I could see without being seen. Zidane stopped right under the tree and looked around. � Mother?� With a heavy sigh, he flopped down on the grass and leaned against my tree. � Damn it, you were just here a second ago! . . . Why do I even bother? It�s not as if she believes me when I tell her I love her. Hmph, wonder why. Maybe because I�m such a jerk the rest of the time. I promised her before I wouldn�t do it again and the very next thing I did was break it.� He sighed again. � Two people in this whole world could control everything I do, but one doesn�t want to and the other doesn�t even know she can because I hide that fact from her. My own mother! � Why won�t you just come back? I know I�ve been an idiot and I�m sorry, for whatever it�s worth. I know I�m making your life rough, as I always have, but I need you. I act the way I do because I�m afraid. The Conde Petie incident was the closest I�ve ever come to losing you. I don�t want you to die. I want you to stay alive so I know you�ll always be at my side. So that maybe someday, you can have a clutch and be happy. That�s all. The only reason I�m so cruel is because I have no idea what I�d do if I lost you. � Mother, if you haven�t gone back down to the surface to drown yourself or fight a battle you know you�ll never win and are within hearing range, I�m sorry. I mean it like I did before, but this time I won�t promise not to be a jerk. I�ll try to check myself, but I won�t promise again because I know I�ll break it somehow.� By this time I�d inched down the other side of the tree and shifted to my human form. I moved silently around the tree and dropped to my knees beside him. He jumped and looked at me. � Mother? . . . Mother!� He all but threw himself at me, hugging my neck and going on and on about how sorry he was. I freed my wings from under his and wrapped them around him, subsequently drawing him closer. � Calm down, Ziaden. I�m still here. It can wait.� He paused to declare, � It�s waited long enough!� and promptly returned to babbling. <--Part 51 Part 53--> |