Maghra jumped down from the carriage, yawned, and stretched.
"Finally! Two days on the road, my butt's killing me from sitting," she said, then looked out at the landscape ahead.
They stopped by a meadow that stretched all the way to the horizon. They had arrived late in the evening, the sky was already dark.
Alice laughed at her words.
"Sometimes I'm really glad I'm a zombie," she got down from the driver's seat of the coach. She petted both horses, and the animals happily nudged her for more.
"We're making our first stop," Zetto announced to the other caravan.
Tiriga, the woman driving the wagon – tall, with orange eyes, medium-length blond hair, and muscles bigger than Tae's – nodded at him. She repeated his words to her tribe. At the same time, Yarick rummaged through some gear and finally pulled out a few handy stakes. He hammered them into the ground near the campsite, and Alice tied the horses to them.
It took them a while to set up the camp. In total, they pitched six tents: three large ones for Tiriga, a medium one for Alice, Maghra, and Tae, and two small ones – one for Zetto and the other for Yarick.
A little later, everyone was sitting around the campfire. The kids were playing a few meters away, running around in tag. The stars twinkled intermittently in the sky, crickets played their melodies, and the crackle and comforting fire mixed with the laughter of the children nearby.
The evening's slight chill, the stuffy air, and the shining dark sky put Zetto in a melancholic, slightly nostalgic mood.
Earlier, Tiriga, the same woman who had been driving the second carriage, dug a guitar out of her things. Before she started playing, she nudged Tae, who was sitting next to her.
"You have to tell me how you met him," she whispered with a slightly teasing smile. "The rumors about you two spread faster than you think," she added, letting out a quiet laugh.
"Aunt Meime, please, not now," Tae replied, her cheeks lightly flushed.
"Hm, that boy really changed you. Since when have you been so shy? Where's my bold niece?"
"Aunt Meime…"
"Alright, alright," she sighed, then turned to the rest of the group. "It's been ages since I last played, but hope you enjoy this!" she said, taking a deep breath.
Zetto, sitting between Tae and Maghra, stared thoughtfully into the fire. Yarick and Alice sat next to each other, recalling funny moments from their service under the princess. Meime took a deep breath. She began to play slow, calm notes that, surprisingly, carried a refreshing, energetic feel. Her song flowed like a river or a stream:
Look past the horizon – in its reflection
There is a glow we cannot see for now,
Unspoken words of comfort
Wait for us in the distance, hidden
Beyond valleys of nightmares, or maybe gentle dreams,
Fate paints chaotic maps of the steps ahead,
Uncertainty should drive us forward,
From it something wondrous will arise,
Do you hear the song of trees and grass?
They tell us to keep moving,
Even as a terrifying crimson burns the sky…
Zetto wasn't listening to the rest of the song, he was lost in his thoughts.
Sometimes I wonder why Hiro did what he did. When I killed Yua and Asaki, I started thinking about what his real reasons were for bullying me. Was he just taking his failures and frustrations out on me? Should I care at all?
Even if he had a good reason, it doesn't excuse him – just like nothing can excuse my own actions.
I don't want what happened in the throne room before our exile to ever happen again. I was scared of myself then, and if I've ever felt like a stranger to myself, it was in that moment. That Zetto isn't me. That Zetto was anger I had to control, hatred and a sense of injustice still burning inside me, even as I try to keep them under control as best I can.
…
Tonight is so beautiful and so peaceful...
Zetto looked around. He glanced at Tae, laughing at her aunt's joke, then at his hand in Tae's – he didn't even notice when they had held each other. His gaze shifted to Alice and Yarick, enjoying the food from the fire, to Maghra, who wagged her tail and happily ate another piece of meat, to the smiling mothers and the children playing among them.
I'm glad they can feel joy, even now. It must be hard for them.
On one hand, they have a chance to give their children a better, peaceful future, away from fear and oppression, and on the other, the loves of their lives could die any moment in the uprising against Atoria.
I just hope they're not blaming themselves for having a good time this evening.
Zetto smiled to himself.
No, they definitely shouldn't. These rare moments of happiness are one of the few things they still have. They should get as much out of it as they can, as much as their hearts allow, even while they still miss their husbands and carry their sadness.
A gentle, cool breeze blew in their direction. Zetto looked up at the stars.
I can't remember the last time I had a night like this. I usually stayed alone in my room – in darkness, in rage, crying and grieving, in my little hideaway, out of sight of everyone.
Sometimes I wonder if this is a dream. I never thought I'd see so many people around me smiling.
I want to protect them. I want to protect their happiness.
I want to give them the joy I never had in that life – something that always seemed out of reach. I used to be convinced I didn't deserve it.
Despite the challenges ahead of us, I'm slowly beginning to understand what it means to appreciate the moment. I will defend the people I care about, no matter what I have to do to make it happen. To some, I will be the worst of the worst, but to others… well, I hope I'm at least a little better. Good and evil constantly mix in the human soul, huh? I used to think of it as a cliché, just part of life. But it turns out, sometimes the simplest truths are reached by the longest, roughest roads. And then their real meaning hits you twice as hard…
"Aunt Meime, play something else!" said the seven-year-old boy, amazed by her talent.
"It's getting late. The little ones should go to sleep soon."
"Pleeeease!" A few other children joined in, and some of the adults from Tiriga and Alice did too.
"Well, I guess I don't have a choice," Meime said, both proud and a little embarrassed. "Alright, this is the last song for tonight, and then you all go to bed nicely, okay?"
"Yes!"
Meime began a livelier song, though it remained serene:
No matter how many faces I might see – I will always remember you,
Even if harsh time blurs them,
A lasting impression, an unspeakable warmth
Always remains and lights the heart
In the bleakest moments of life.
So if one day I were to lose my memory,
Call my name aloud,
I don't want to die not knowing anyone,
Nor knowing thanks to whom my heart
Still makes me want to go on,
Despite the darkness that has already
Taken hold of my thoughts.
The magic of the moments we lived together
Will always stay with me,
Though I may lose the visage
Of that wonderful magician,
I will never forget his marvelous spell,
And all he did for me so that I could still
Pause somewhere – there.
As Meime played her song, Zetto felt Tae wrap her hand around his a little tighter. After a while, everyone went to bed with hope in their hearts and a slight melancholy in their eyes. Today, Tae and Zetto were on the watch.
They sat very close to each other, warming themselves by the fire.
"Everything okay, Zetto? You seemed a bit down today."
"It's nothing," he replied. "I was overthinking again, probably just my thing," he added, then laughed.
"Don't worry, everything will work out," she replied, adding her other hand. "Everyone believes in you and that our plan will work. I believe in it."
Her touch, so soft and soothing… like the comfort I had been longing for most of my miserable, meaningless life in the ordinary human world. I don't know what I did to deserve this.
I wonder… if I'd killed myself, would I ever have made it to this moment? Would I even have been reborn into this world and met the same people?
No, there's no point in speculating. I want… I want to start cherishing what I have.
"I know," he replied, looking straight into her eyes. "As long as I have your heartfelt, beautiful smile, everything will be fine."
A genuine, deep blush rose to Tae's face, but the tigress gathered the courage to overcome the shyness her strong feelings for him caused. She couldn't respond with words.
Their lips met, sharing a tender kiss.