We ate together with our family. Demelza and Mother were still pretty soaked us three fared better from our river trip. Granny had only really had one glass; as a healer, she needed her wits sharp in case something did happen.
Eli, Liz, and I brought over plates full of cheese, sausage, grapes, apples, and bread, plus sweet sugar brittle for the kids. For a long time, we just ate and made various promises not to drink ever again. I quite enjoyed the food, and after all the wine, I felt great.
"They should be heading back by now... the sun is almost setting," Granny said, looking outside as she slowly got up. "Eli, come with me, and let's prepare in case of anything. I'm sure they didn't fight unless they had to. But let's be safe."
"Granny, what do you mean by 'if they didn't have to'?" I reached up and took her hand.
She stopped in her tracks and turned to me with a light smile.
"It's nothing, Lylly. On very, very rare occasions this time of year, Emet comes out of hiding early," she addressed those who were now paying close attention. "He gets too hungry, so once every few decades, it happens. We have the same date in the middle of August, so he really shouldn't be out." She got ready to leave again. "Divine monsters are a mystery... we don't know where they came from or why."
Her words didn't calm me one bit. From the looks of Demelza and Liz, they hadn't known this either. Granny saw us getting worried, so she continued.
"It doesn't happen, maybe, every forty or fifty years, if that. There are reasons no one knows, because it hasn't happened for so long," she said, with a nostalgic look. "If not for my own mother, I wouldn't know myself."
Those numbers scared me even more. If what she said was accurate, then we were overdue for a tragic year, and my Zephyr was up there. Previous fears rushed me like the wind. What if...
"You all need to calm down!" she raised her voice and put both her hands up. "This year won't be the one. And we never know anyway. The men will soon return, and then you'll all see. Now, Eleanor, let's go."
She left, but the previous happy atmosphere went with her. In the silence, I knew Demelza and Liz were having the same thoughts as me. I looked out the window and saw the mountain in the background. It was majestic, its peak high above the clouds. He was there, alive, and coming back to me, just like he promised.
"Vistellia is right... it's pointless to worry. They will soon be announced by the gate guards," Demelza did her best, as an experienced veteran at this, to calm us. "They're already headed back, laughing and joking around."
Liz soon became more positive as well. "Demelza is right. All we can do is wait. From the looks of it... it might be another few hours, maybe less, if they made good time."
Wait. Right, what else could I do? I went and sat next to Ilianna and let her presence calm me down, or at least take my mind off Granny's words. A few more hours...
Time went by at a turtle's pace. I felt every minute, and the silence among us didn't help. Demelza and I put the kids to bed, who were up early and nodded off when it got dark, then walked back to the main hall.
"It's close, right?" I looked up at the moons and counted in my head.
"Hmm... let's head to the gate and wait there." Demelza went ahead with quick steps, and I matched her pace.
We went and were soon joined by others from the hall. More and more people gathered, but the road ahead was dark, and nighttime had officially come. Time sped up, and there were still no signs of them.
"Something happened..." Someone voiced everyone's concern.
Then, from the far-off distance, we saw the light of torches and then the men who carried them.
I don't know who started running, but before I knew it, I was close enough to them to see. They carried someone on a quickly made stretcher. It was a blue-haired man who had changed everything...
I saw him, and from my peripheral vision, I caught Alexander walking to me and saying... words. But all sound disappeared, so I couldn't make them out. He looked dead. He was, he was...
"...TEN TO ME, LYLLY! HE IS NOT DEAD!"
He shook me hard by my shoulders, and it managed to wake me up. All sounds returned at once.
"Lylly... he is alive... Emet is dead." Lucian's voice came from somewhere, but I didn't look.
It was too much. I didn't question him. I just watched Granny check upon Zephyr. I forgot to breathe as she did her best to feel his heartbeat.
"He is alive! His heart beats strong!"
I knelt beside his body and put my hand on his chest. It was warm. He wasn't bleeding or looked otherwise injured. I placed my ear close to his mouth. I felt tiny little wind currents caressing my ears and hair. I left my forehead on his and listened until my heart and mind believed he was fine.
I heard conversations behind me.
"Emet is dead... h-he-he was... he ambushed us. Didn't bother with the animals. He just went straight for us! He killed and ate Rick... there was almost nothing left. H-he was crushed, broken..."
I turned and saw Alexander telling his wife what had happened. He seemed unharmed too... they all were.
"Calm down, Jartok!" Granny pushed people away to clear the road. "We need to take Zephyr into the hall, and then you tell us everything."
The men gently nudged me aside and lifted him with care. Alexander pushed one of them away and lifted him with sure hands. I stayed as close as possible without hindering their movements. Zephyr's face was calm, and no matter what angle I looked, he was just sleeping.
I felt an enormous weight off my chest and got further away not to distract them. I felt my mother's hand on my shoulders.
"He is not dead, Lylly..."
I couldn't hold back my tears and buried my face into her hair. They were tears of relief.
"Pull yourself together, honey." She grabbed me by my shoulders and set my priorities straight. "He needs you when he wakes up. Make sure to be by his side."
She was right. I wiped my tears away and went ahead with renewed steps.
Inside the hall, Zephyr was placed near the fire in the middle of the room and was surrounded by a crowd of people. I pushed my way there and sat right next to him.
He looked... how he always did. His hair was wet and his shirt damp with sweat, but other than that... fine. Good. Now, I turned to Alexander, who was just starting his story.