by Randi Darren
Ferris seemed to get control over herself, her hands smoothing out the dress she was wearing.
“I’m here to negotiate a stoppage to this war, Vince” said the goddess. “On their behalf.”
Ferris gestured to the two next to her.
“The war their people started? The war that cost me loved ones? The war that has bled my people all for the sake of wanting to take my land from me?
“That war?” Vince asked, his voice growing heated. “Is it that one you’re talking about?”
“Yes… that war,” Ferris said. “It was ill advised, and I cautioned them against it, but children will do as they will.
“I’m here to offer terms and negotiate an end to this for them.”
“On whose authority? If the war was ill advised and you cautioned them against it, why would they listen to you now, hm?
“I still think turning your land into one giant wasteland of graves seems the best solution.
“Three cities down, hundreds to go,” Vince hissed at her.
“Because they’ve now begged me to intercede. The deaths of so many have resonated deeply with my people.
“They want this to end. I feel an entire city dying right now, in fact.
“Clearly you’ve unleashed another of your monsters,” Ferris said softly, shaking her head. “The Tri-lliance don’t even know about this one, and yet they’ve already asked for me to solve this. Can’t you see they wish this to end?”
“Who’s to say my way doesn’t solve this permanently for me and mine?” Vince asked. He wanted this to end—needed it to end. But if he just went along with her, he was sure he’d get the short end of whatever deal was going to be proposed.
“I… I’ll give you my Dragon’s Word as part of the deal. I speak for the Tri-lliance at this time.
“I really do wish to discuss terms, and see this done and over with. Will you not be reasonable and see it done?
“I can be very flexible on terms.”
Vince stared at the goddess.
I wonder what she tastes like. Can I kill and eat a goddess?
What would happen… if I turned her entire country into a ruin, summoned her at her last temple, and struck her down?
Could I rip her heart out and eat it?
Eat it and have Alice on top of her corpse?
As if sensing his thoughts, Ferris took an actual step backward.
“I can promise you many things,” Ferris said, her hands folding together in front of herself. “Many things, all for the sake of ending this war.”
“Fine. Let us discuss it. I’ll tell you up front, I’m a greedy man.
“What do I get for ending this war your people started?” Vince asked, cutting straight to it.
Ferris blinked and opened her mouth as if to respond, but froze.
Sighing, she spread her hands out in front of herself.
“I offer you a hundred years of peace from the Tri-lliance. No act of aggression at any level shall be taken against Yosemite,” Ferris said.
“Let’s change that to any kingdom north of this point, on this continent,” Vince said. “Can’t have you attacking my neighbors and then applying non-aggressive pressure to me.”
“Fine, I can agree to that. You would of course swear the same, and make no move to colonize to the south.”
“From this point here. Anything south of this point is yours—north of it, I plan on taking to shore up my borders. I plan on turning everything around the dead-city areas into a demilitarized zone.
“I did it in such a way that there should be an entire line no one can cross without dying. Don’t test it.”
Ferris’s face scrunched up at that before she finally nodded her head.
“Alright. I can accede to that as well. It isn’t as if we could hold this territory past what you’ve done to the south anyways.”
Vince grinned at her, shrugging his shoulders. “I wouldn’t expect so.”
“We’d also offer restitution. A hundred pounds of gold.
“For that amount of gold, we’d expect you’d allow our soldiers to return home without being attacked.
“At that point we’d consider the matter closed,” Ferris said.
Frowning as he considered it from every angle, Vince only had one sticking point.
“No, I want more. I want you to send a young, pretty, female maiden Dragon of every type to me. Every color, every type, and every sub-race.
“They’ll join my wing and act as a show of good faith and hostages,” Vince said, an idea springing to mind in his head. “You’ll have two months to get them all put together and send them over to me.”
Ferris stared at him in shock, her face slack, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“Do that and I’ll agree to everything else.
“Also, how do you plan on getting your soldiers home? I’ll not allow them to remain anywhere north of this point.”
Ferris shook her head slowly, as if not quite understanding his demand.
“We’ll pick them up by boat from the coastline to the west and be gone.
“You… you want me to send one of every… type?” Ferris asked.
“Yes. You can send the red next to you for the reds. I’ll take it as a down payment and an act of good faith,” Vince said, indicating the shocked red Dragon. “Other than that, I’m willing to accept the deal as it stands.”
“I… I can’t…” Ferris said.
“Or I can go back to destroying your cities and armies one at a time,” Vince said with a shrug.
Ferris clenched her hands into fists at her sides.
“Fine. Fine, I’ll do it, but you have to assist in moving the troops south and provide them with food if they lack,” Ferris said.
“I accept your deal as it’s struck then, and we can consider this done and done,” Vince said.
“I’ll give you my Dragon’s Word on it, just as soon as you release Elizabeth,” Ferris said, indicating the silver. “Her life would be my last request on this deal.”
Vince snorted and stood up from the silver. Walking away from her, he sheathed his hunting knife.
“Done then. Now swear it on your Dragon’s Word so I can go home already.”
Ferris watched as Elizabeth pulled her horns free of the dirt. After the silver had gotten herself into a seated position, Ferris gave her a warm smile.
“This’ll be done momentarily, and we can return home,” said the goddess. Then she looked back to Vince. “On my Dragon’s Word, and as head of the Tri-lliance in this negotiation, I swear to the pact we’ve made, by the intent of our deal.”
“I swear on my own Dragon’s Word for my wing and Yosemite to accept and abide by the pact we’ve made, by the intent of our deal. Now get off my land,” Vince said, flicking a hand at the goddess.
Turning to Alice, he scrambled up into the saddle.
“Let’s go. We need to find the others and get to Thera. War’s over,” Vince said.
“I’m sorry, Mother,” Elizabeth said. The silver’s head hung low. “I was scared.”
“What? What do you mean you were scared? What’d you do?” Ferris said, her voice sounding panicked.
“He was going to kill me before you arrived. I swore myself to his wing.”
“On what terms?” the goddess asked, her volume now rising.
“No terms. I’m sworn to him. Completely,” Elizabeth said. “Without limit.”
Alice didn’t bother to wait around, taking to the sky with two beats of her wings.
“You did what!?”
And… that’s… that.
Vince felt strange as Alice climbed higher and higher into the sky.
They were heading home victorious.
Yet Vince felt empty.
The body count he’d piled up was high after turning three cities into little more than tombs.
Very high.
The cost in lives for his people wasn’t small, either.
He’d lost family.
Fam
ily he’d had with him for years now, suddenly gone.
Never to be seen again.
Yosemite was victorious and had held its own.
And it felt like a loss.
***
Thera was slumped in a seat in front of her map. Her hands were stroking her belly, her eyes lost in the middle distance.
“That solves our problems with the Tri-lliance neatly enough,” she said.
“So it would seem,” Vince agreed.
They were alone in her tent. Everyone else had stepped out quietly to attend to whatever other duties they had with the war ending.
“Doesn’t solve our issues with the emperor. Or what’s left of the East,” Thera said, shaking her head. “We’ll need to consolidate the East as quickly as we can and bring it into the fold. Though I think after this, the emperor will simply declare war on us.”
“More than likely. I leave it to you. I don’t really care,” Vince said. “I just want to go home and enjoy time to myself. Maybe actually be a father instead of a figurehead. With this coming to a close, it kinda wraps up most of our problems.”
“You seem rather unconcerned with the emperor,” Thera said.
“I am. Between the Dragons, the artillery, Mr. White, and the Wardens, what can he do?
“No. He’s not really a problem anymore. A hindrance to be certain, but not a problem. It’ll be harder to consolidate and control his land than it will be to conquer him,” Vince said. “I’m… going to go visit Petra, I think.”
“Not a bad idea. After that… are we going home?”
“Yeah… just… want to see Petra again before we go. That’s all.
“Then it’s all over.” Vince reached out to the map and pushed the figurine for the Tri-lliance onto its side. “Game over.”
Epilogue
Sighing, Vince looked up at Petra’s statuesque face.
“And that’s how it ended. I mean… I guess… we won. Doesn’t feel like a victory, though.
“It kinda feels… like a loss,” Vince said, shaking his head. “You, Karya, Daphne, and Green weren’t worth it.
“And yet I know many of our citizens lost as much, or more. Maybe I’m being selfish.”
“You’re not,” said someone at his side. “I mean, at least no more selfish than anyone else.”
Looking to the side as he scrambled to his feet, Vince found himself standing next to the strange, godlike being he’d met previously.
“Hey there,” the man said with a wave and a smile.
Vince went to draw his pistol and stopped, his hand wrapped around the grip.
It wouldn’t do anything, would it?
Slowly, Vince managed to relax, letting his hands fall to his sides.
“What do you want?” Vince asked.
“I promised I’d come back when this was all over. I said I owed you a favor, remember?” the man said, looking at the statue of Petra.
There was a strange sadness in his eyes as he looked at her. An appreciation of the memorial, it seemed like.
“Just… how much of a favor can I get from you?” Vince asked.
He’d thought on this in the quiet moments at night.
When the dark had overtaken him but sleep hadn’t come.
On this favor.
This moment.
He knew what he wanted to ask, but he was afraid to do it.
“Yes, I can bring her back,” the man said, a sad smile spreading across his face. “If that’s what you’re asking without asking.”
“You can? Truly?” Vince asked. “Can you bring all four of them back?”
“I could. Though I see no reason to bother with the other three.
“It’s a bit more of a favor than you honestly deserve.
“Besides, their souls have returned to their bodies. Two will wake up many years from now, and some of their memories will be missing. But they’ll know you, your children, themselves. They won’t even realize the memories are missing.
“The third is already awake. I believe she is named Karya? Her soul was quite strong. And angry.
“She fed part of her memories, spirit, and maturity to come back as quickly as possible. All things that will heal with time, of course.
“She’s rather annoyed right now, being buried and all. She’s been waiting for a Dryad to come check the grave this week so she can get out.”
Vince let out a choked sob, his right hand pressing to his stomach.
“They’ll come back?” he asked, not quite believing it.
“Yes. As I said, they were all quite strong in spirit. The other two really will take a while, though. Don’t count on it anytime soon,” the man said with a casual flick of his hand. “A decade or two.”
“And… and Petra?”
Snorting, the man lifted a hand and pointed at the space next to Vince.
“She never left. She fought the collectors off at every corner. You’ve been haunted this entire time,” the man said. “You are the single most haunted location in this universe.”
Looking to where he was pointing, Vince felt his heart skip and fall over itself.
A glowing, ethereal Petra stood next to him. Hovering over him. Glaring at the other man.
Then her face tilted down toward Vince.
She looked confused and began to slowly move her head to one side.
Vince frowned, watching her move.
“He can see you right now—and relax, my collectors have been told to leave you alone,” the man said.
Petra glanced up at the man, then back to Vince. Then she broke out into a wide smile and moved in close to him.
Her eyes inches from his own.
Her mouth moved, but no sound came.
“He can’t hear you, though. That’s just not something that can change, not without me fixing a bunch of things. Sorry.
“Anyways, yes, I can bring her back. But… I wonder… would you hear me out on a suggestion?” the man said, turning away from the statue.
Tearing his gaze away from Petra and laying it on the other man, Vince nodded.
“Of course,” he said neutrally.
“Petra died for the cause. She’s been martyred. And quite well. This area is just… oozing… with faith magic and worship.
“Given time, and a temple, this could be the cornerstone of a religion for Yosemite.
“Let Petra lie. To remain dead.”
Vince opened his mouth to immediately reject the idea.
“Hold on—hear me out,” the man said quickly. “Let Petra remain dead. She only had maybe ten more years anyways. She would have died of old age.
“I can bring her back. Easily, since her soul never left. How about you let me put her into a new body? One that won’t age or decay. One that simply will remain exactly as you see it today.”
Frowning, Vince couldn’t help but want to immediately say yes.
The idea of Petra living forever appealed to him. Her demise due to old age had been bothering him.
“Can I see the body she’d inhabit first?” Vince asked.
“Of course, though you’ll find it looks just like Petra did. It’ll just be a human, instead,” the man said.
As he held his hand up in front of himself, a body simply appeared in between the man and Vince.
It did indeed look just like Petra. Everything was the same.
The only difference was she was human and not a soldier ant.
Though she didn’t seem as tall, which made her bust seem significantly larger.
Petra’s soul moved in close to the body, and she began to seemingly inspect it. Even going so far as to get up close and personal with her would-be privates.
“Heh, feel free to step into it for the time being,” the man said. “Give it a test drive, so to speak. Wouldn’t want you driving it off the lot without getting a feel for it.”
Petra looked to the man, then stepped into the body.
Her blue silhouette vanished, and the naked woman’s staring eyes blinked.
>
Before she immediately fell to her knees, her hands pressed to the grass.
“This one does not know how to walk,” Petra said. “These legs make no sense.”
Vince fell to his knees next to Petra, pulling her into his arms.
“Oh, Petra,” Vince said, pressing her face into his neck.
“I take it you’ll accept the deal?” the man said.
“Yes. I accept it.”
Nodding, the man pointed a finger at Petra and then sighed.
“Now if it were only that easy every time. That’s done, and my favor to you is paid.
“You get to skate free with a bit of deus ex machina,” the man said with a flourish of his hand.
Seemingly ignoring the man, Petra held to Vince tightly.
Her hands clutched at him, and she rubbed her face back and forth against his throat.
“So… I suppose that’s the end for now. You’ve sealed the Tri-lliance to the south, brought victory to your country, and your personal losses have magically gone away,” the man said. “Almost as if you lived a life from a story book.
“Though, I wonder… would you be willing to barter for another favor from me?”
“Another favor?” Vince asked, his gaze lifting from Petra to the man.
“Why yes, another favor. After all… your Fes won’t live forever. She’s rather mortal, no?” the man said with a smile. “What if the favor I wanted to barter would give her immortality?
“And depending on when my favor came, restore her to her prime. Her youth, that is.”
Vince swallowed, trying to stop himself from immediately agreeing.
“My deal is rather simple. At some point, I’ll need your help. It’ll be something you can accomplish, and well within your abilities.
“It’d come with some risk, of course, but what doesn’t?
“All for the low, low price of immortality for Berenga,” the man said.
Vince thought on it. Mentally chewed at the problem.
There really weren’t many options available to preserve Fes. To keep her with him.
Which left him with only one answer.
“I agree,” Vince said.
“Good, good, grand, grand,” the man said, nodding his head. He folded his arms across his chest and looked back to the statue. “I wonder if I could commission whoever did this to make one of her.
