by Billy Wong
"Don't, Rose," he said as she cried piteously over all her failings in the past few years, Julie's death just the latest on a long list of regrets. "You did the best you could, probably the best anyone could. You were always so considerate of us, always listened to us like peers though you're so much stronger. Don't blame yourself. If you need to, blame me."
She shook her head in dejection. "I could have stopped you and taken your place. That would have been the right thing to do, but I stupidly let you go into your folly..."
He squeezed her shoulder. "No one could have known what would happen. Let's not lay blame on anyone, except the man who delayed me."
Rose gave a slow nod. "I need to go to my room now. I can't bear to talk anymore."
"Feel better," he said, and they parted.
#
Having picked up the magic amulet and tossed it around her neck for safekeeping, Rose returned to her room, sniffing and sobbing all the way. She felt hatred burn like hellfire in her heart, towards the man that'd cost Julie her life and nearly taken Derrick's as well. She had done things wrong herself, but the druid was a more comfortable target for her rage. She imagined ripping him apart with her bare hands and smiled bitterly. It wouldn't take away the loss of her friend, but knowing justice was done might dull, just a little bit, the edge of her crushing hurt. How could that bastard try to kill such an innocent person like Derrick over a mere disagreement? Wondering if he would ever be happy again after the tragedy he'd gone through, Rose threw herself down on the bed and wept for hours. She wondered how much somebody could cry before they went blind, and wished Finn were here to sooth her heartache like he always knew how to.
She told herself that they—she, Finn, and Derrick—had constantly thrown themselves into grave danger since they met, and it'd been inevitable their good luck run out eventually. But it appalled that it was Julie, a person even less deserving of suffering than any of them—especially her, the greatest murderer of all—who misfortune had befallen.
She'd been so young, and hadn't even killed any humans in her short time as a warrior. Rose had brought the young couple here as if for a fun diversion, and now she was dead for it. It tore her apart to think of her role in her pupil's death, but she knew she had to be strong for Derrick—he surely suffered a great deal more than she did. So she slowly calmed herself, not denying the pain but letting it rip into her and accepting whatever scars it'd leave, and knowing she wouldn't let any of it stop her from taking care of her friends.
When her bitter anguish had diminished to a dull ache in her bosom, she stood and went for some food. She got a bowl of chunky stew that had delighted her the previous times she ate it during her stay, but the hearty taste brought her no joy now. Looking out the window over the cruel world, she wondered if she could still be strong or if she'd finally break after all. She wouldn't, couldn't allow that, but gods, it hurt...
Weeping, she gasped, "Finn, where are you?"
She realized after a moment that Brandon had come to sit by her side. "He's not here, but I am. I'll take care of you."
"What can you do for me now?" she choked out.
"Nothing I do can take away the loss of a friend. But I can give you some small comfort, that you'd take from him if only he would stay with you in your time of need. Come on, Rose, let's go."
She thought it might be nice to talk to someone not so personally involved in the tragedy, to let out her grief and get comfort, rather than only more grief, in return. Thus when he took her arm and led her away she didn't resist, but only leaned close to him, imagining that it was Finn who spirited her away in his loving arms.
#
Four days later, Julie's funeral was held. Derrick broke down in the middle of his eulogy so that Rose had to escort him back to his seat, wailing and screaming until he'd exhausted himself with his face buried again in her big chest. She felt on the brink of collapse as well, and Brandon's reassurances could not sooth her anguish, though he'd tried his best to help her. She noticed Ashleigh giving them a suspicious glance but didn't care, her need for the count's soothing embrace, as little comfort as she could draw from it, greater now than her concern for the wishes of others.
After the funeral, Derrick went immediately to his room and fell back to loud mourning, his grief contagious. Everyone in the fort grew somber at the piteous sounds. Soon Rose could no longer bear to hear her friend's suffering, and forced herself to leave the melancholy fortress in search of her lost love, the still-missing Finn.
#
Looking around the cool marsh, Rose saw no sign of the dragon. Feeling nervous and guilty, she yelled with some hesitance, "Finn! Where are you? Come out!" Hearing no answer, she grew worried. Derrick had told her what happened, but assured her Finn had been fine, and she'd figured he must have returned here by now so she could find him when it was time to leave. If not, why? She wondered how she'd possibly recover if she lost Finn too, so soon after already losing Julie. Her heart quickened with fright, and she screamed more loudly, "Finn! Where are you?! Please come out!"
"So the dragon is your husband, hmm?" a cold voice stated. "I'm disappointed to tell you he's not dead, yet. But he'll soon join you in grief, and then in death."
Rose guessed who it was before she looked, and her sight confirmed it. Graham, the man whose betrayal had cost Julie her life, stood atop a soft ridge. In some way she was glad she already got the chance to face him, though she'd expected to meet him sooner than later knowing he sought to destroy all who desired to revive the arcane arts.
Rage filled her at his presence, but she still noticed the strange brownish veins bulging all over his face and demanded, "Gods, what is happening to you? And what did you do to Finn?!"
"It's the Earth Mother's blessing," he said calmly, "the gift which will allow me to destroy all of you. The scholar was almost too easy. As for your reptile husband, I haven't done anything to him yet. But he'll be the next to die."
It relieved Rose to know Finn was apparently unharmed at least by this enemy, though she wondered all the more where the hell he was. She wasn't about to reveal Derrick's survival to one who'd surely try to kill him again should he survive the day, and just growled, "No, now's when I avenge my friends on you, you scrawny ass. You cost an innocent girl her life, and never gave her a chance to grow into the great woman I know she would've become. You'd try and pick a fight with me, as much as I loath you now? That tells me you're a fool, who's about to meet a fitting end."
The druid pulled off his back a wide glaive, its blade the color of dried blood. "Your death will benefit the earth. It doesn't please me to take life, but it's a necessity of the world. So you're the one who'll die today."
"You say you don't enjoy killing, but you don't really care about people either, do you. We're no more valuable than any other animal, is that it?"
"Correct. But you're animals who threaten nature, and as such must be put away."
Rose glared hatefully at him and proposed, "Since you love nature so much, how about we have this fight the 'natural' way? No weapons, so the matter between us can be settled with the purity of bare hands."
Graham dropped his glaive without a trace of fear, to her surprise. He was no taller than her, the thickness of his limbs did not nearly match hers, and he must have heard of her great strength, right? "You asked for it. Now suffer the consequences." Suddenly the veins on his face bulged larger and blacker, and his whole body began to grow. Soon he was seven feet tall, then eight feet, nine, half again as tall as Rose, and his body far wider and more massive. He smiled for the first time, his transformed skin like black bark and hair like roots. "I am the champion of the Earth Mother. In the face of her power, you are no more than your namesake flower!"
Rose frowned. Stupid rhyme. Uncowed, she charged like a bull, and ramming her shoulder into his gigantic tree-like torso sent the druid into the air and onto his back. True to her word, she hadn't drawn her sword. "Maybe, but I do have thorns."
The flustered Graham st
ood faster than she would've thought possible and stretched out a huge gnarled hand to grab her. Dodging branch-like fingers, she seized the great wrist and twisted, forcing her much larger opponent to move where she directed him or have it snapped. She levered him into a crouching position, then onto his belly, and tried to break his arm with the strength of her whole body while keeping him pinned to the ground. But with inhuman flexibility he reached over his back using his other arm, and tore at her with sharp wooden nails. To her shock they ripped through her thick armor, slicing her arm down to the bone and forcing her to release the hold.
Before he could rise, she leapt onto his wrist with both steel-booted feet, and heard a satisfying crunch of bones breaking. He stood and Rose launched a powerful punch right into the damaged joint he clutched, making him stumble back and fall on his rump. Rose dashed at him and punted his rough face, cracking bark which passed for skin. It pleased her that he did not fall down, as when his head snapped back it collided hard with a mangrove tree behind him. She stepped back and kicked his head into the trunk again, leaving a brown bloodstain on the smooth bark. Graham sagged against the tree, weakly covering his face with a massive arm.
"Some god your mommy is!" she taunted him.
This seemed to revive him, and when she charged for a third kick he lunged up and tried to skewer her with his nails. She twisted past the stab, and grabbing his arm spun him around to throw him facefirst into the tree. He stumbled backwards and tripped. As he fell, Rose smashed an elbow into the base of his neck, cracking more bark. Graham splashed down in the shallow marsh water, eyes dazed. Now Rose wrapped massive thighs around his head and began to squeeze. He reached up to savage her legs with his claws. But she released her hold before they reached her, quickly rising to catch him as he sat up with a series of knees to the back of his head.
The battering was weakening the monstrous druid, but he flailed his arms behind him and a lucky swipe of his fingertips opened a cut under Rose's eye, making her recoil. He turned into a kick with all his mass behind it, connecting with Rose's face hard enough to shatter a bull's skull. The blow sent her flying, and as she struggled up stunned to her hands and knees, Graham followed up with a running kick which pitched her into the air to land ten feet away, gasping in pain.
Seeing him charge again, Rose scrambled up, and slipping a massive punch grabbed his arm and threw him over her back. He rolled to his feet, agape at her strength. She proved that strength again when her punch to his solar plexus lifted him onto his tiptoes, and he dropped to his knees. Suddenly he reached out to the side with a long arm, and she realized they'd moved back near where Graham dropped his glaive. But her awareness didn't quite save her when he pulled the weapon off the ground and whipped it upwards with a desperate shout, carving a long gash along her ribs though she tried to dodge. He stood smiling as he watched Rose stumble away, blood welling out of the gaping wound.
"Cheater," she managed to gasp before falling on her back.
Graham raised his glaive to finish her. Before the blade came fully down she sat up and punched into his crotch, involuntarily cringing when she felt something give beneath her knuckles. "Sucker, too," she remarked as he fell screaming in agony next to her. She closed her legs around his head and good arm now, denying him the ability to use the claws of that hand to cut her. She almost killed him then and there, except that with teeth as strong and sharp as his nails he bit into her thigh, freeing himself while she yelped. But Rose stood up quicker than him, and threw herself onto his back as he tried to rise. She wrapped her legs around one arm and her arms around the other, meaning to rip both his shoulders right out of their sockets.
The druid stood with Rose on his back and tried to drive her backwards into a tree, but she released her leg lock and swung herself in front of him while he backpedaled. She slammed an elbow into his throat, driving him against the trunk coughing and choking. Their eyes met, and Rose saw he knew her his better. Glancing at his dropped glaive, he feinted to her right, then tried to dart by her left. But she tripped him as he passed, catching him by the leg. Thinking of Julie, Rose trapped the limb between her legs and twisted it with all her brutal rage-fueled strength. Graham screamed as she felt ligaments give, and she knew she had him. Then barklike skin and the muscles beneath too tore, and the druid's leg ripped away at the knee in her grasp. But the spraying brown blood, like muddy water, blinded her momentarily, and she wiped at her eyes to resort her vision. While she did so, she heard a splash. When she could see again, the druid was gone, somewhere in the water. Hopefully, he was dying.
Rose sat. Looking at the limb in her hands, she felt a bit of revulsion, remembering that the being it'd come from had once been human. But she couldn't resist holding onto it for just a little longer, at least until she could show it to Finn, who she knew would appreciate the story of how she got it. Despite the supernatural powers Graham had displayed, she doubted if he'd truly been blessed by a god, and thought maybe some strange magic had cursed him only for him to convince himself that his powers were granted by his goddess. But what—if anything—did he have to do with the monsters? That was something to ponder later, though. For now, she put down the grisly trophy she'd taken and inspected her wounds. They weren't too bad by her standards, and she treated them as best as she could before continuing her search for Finn.
Chapter 7
What do you mean you don't know where she is?! Finn demanded as he glared impatiently at Count Brandon. He worried deeply about Rose in her distraught state after learning of Julie's death, and Derrick and Brandon's ignorance of her whereabouts somewhat annoyed him. The news did sadden him, but he had only met the girl a few times himself. His concern lay mainly with Rose, knowing his love capable of reckless actions when upset enough.
"She just disappeared," Brandon said. "Left here shortly after the funeral. I guess she found my company inadequate."
What do you mean by that? Finn asked testily.
The count raised his hands in a gesture of peace. "Why do you sound so angry, are you friends with her husband or something? I only meant I was unable to give her the support she needs in such depressing circumstances. She needs the man she always pines for, her Finn she misses so dearly, for that. You can fly, why don't you fetch him?"
Brandon's ignorance of his identity amused Finn, and he smiled draconically (at which Brandon took a half step back) to hear of Rose's undying love for him. So you're sure you don't have any idea where she went?
"Maybe she went to seek revenge on Graham. Or maybe she went to look for Finn."
Hopefully, he agreed, Yes, that must be it! He flew back to the swamp. It didn't take long to spot her wandering around calling his name in an anxious voice, and he swooped down to land before her. Rose! I'm here. What the hell is that in your hand?
She broke into a grateful smile at the sight of him, and happy tears sprang forth to run down her face. "It's the leg of Julie's murderer. I tore it off with my bare hands after he turned into a monster, and I hope it ended him. So how are you, Finn? Where were you?"
He recalled days of feverish hell as he lay slowly recovering from his injury. I was down and out in the forest. But I'm better now. I wish you could say the same.
Rose hugged his neck while he bent down for her. "I am better, now that I'm with you again. I wanted to see you so bad, when you weren't around. It's Derrick you should really be worried about. I'm used to being hurt."
I know you must be beating the hell out of yourself over this. Don't blame yourself. What can I do to help?
"You don't need to do anything besides stay with me. I'm so glad just to see you again," she said shakily. "No one could ever sooth me the way you do."
The way she said that last bit somehow disturbed him, but he shrugged it off thinking of course the others had and should have helped her cope. It must have felt good ripping off his leg, eh?
She gazed at the grotesque limb and answered after a pause, "No, dealing with it the 'manly' way hasn't done much for m
e. It seems only time will dull this pain, and who knows how much. What's worse is how Derrick didn't have anyone to support him. I tried, but I'm not strong enough to fight someone else's grief when I'm suffering the same. Especially when it's my fault his love's dead."
Finn nodded, knowing how much more challenging things were when you stood in the middle of them. Let's help him together, then. Two friends are better than one.
Rose slapped his neck. "Yeah, we'll do it together as we always have."
You know what was funny? When Brandon was talking about me to me, thinking I wasn't me. She frowned, apparently confused at his cumbersome wording. A little disappointed he didn't reveal anything incriminating, though. Rose laughed—with perhaps a touch of nervousness?—and they returned to Fort Resnick.
#
Rose walked into Derrick's room to see him on his back in bed, and scared to hear his response said, "Derrick? I found Finn, he's okay. It's time to go home." He didn't answer, and walking closer she saw his eyes were open, but looked at nothing. For a terrifying moment, she thought he might've committed suicide. But his chest slowly rose and fell, and she waved her hand over his eyes. When he didn't follow the motion, she begged, "Please don't be this way. I know it hurts, but we're still alive. Life goes on.
"Go away," he said in a flat tone. "What good is my life now?"
She felt a surge of panic. "You've only known her for less than a year. You lived without her before." Immediately, she realized she'd said just about the worst thing she could have.
"So forget about her and pretend she never existed? I know you want me to be happy, but what about her? I thought she was your friend too."
"She was. I'm so sorry I got her killed. After all the success we've had, I might have forgot somewhat how dangerous the world really is. You can put all the blame on me, if that's what you want. But she'd wouldn't want to drag you down with her. A week before she died, when she thought she was at the end, she told me she wanted you to be happy. So let's honor her last wishes." Julie hadn't exactly said anything like that, but Rose thought she would have if she'd been asked, and she couldn't bear to see the once cheerful scholar a grief-broken shell of a man.
