章 563: Death and Destruction
The first individual that the Guardian and his group came upon was actually the person they were most anxious to see.
For, after Jaymes told Alaron about his mother's flight across the sky, the silver-eyed man had fully expected to find Aurora's body broken on the ground. He had been preparing his heart for the loss so fully that when the Empress appeared before his eyes, he nearly mistook her for a ghost.
"Mother!" he cried, not caring who heard him. Forgetting his injuries for a moment, he ran with all his might up to the fiery-haired woman and wrapped his arms around her neck.
Aurora gasped. She, too was afraid that she had seen an apparition. When the lake erupted, the Empress had not dared to hope that her son had lived through the upheaval.
"How did you survive?!" they asked in unison.
"Reyan rescued me from a pool of boiling water," Aurora answered.
"I tied myself to the underboat and made a crash landing," Alaron's voice overlapped hers.
The two stared a moment, each was having difficultly believing the other.
"Boiling water, huh?" the Guardian looked around, realizing they were in the general direction which Dania had sent Gandr. It was also very close to the spot which he and Renat had first entered the camp.
Only now they were at the end of the row and standing before a massive bowl which had once been filled to the brim.
"Reyan chilled the water right before I went plunging in. Otherwise I would have been boiled alive. Still cannot get over how close I came to that fate..." Aurora blew out her cheeks.
"I'm thinking of changing my name to Hero," Reyan announced as he sat in a tree overlooking the scene. When an abomination nearby began to wake, he froze it in place for the imperial troops to apprehend.
"Quite a coincidence," the halfling looked down at the pool, "That was the water this scientist was using to transform people into the bats, Your Majesty," Gandr informed her as he threw Yumeto unceremoniously on the ground. The shrewd scientist had been gagged, but his eyes were wild with concern.
Aurora's countenance darkened. "That is a crime for which you will be tried when we return to Valiant. And I do not think you should hold out much hope for leniency. You nearly wiped out humanity with your actions."
Yumeto lowered his head, unable to answer. Whether his contrite attitude was for show, from actual regret or --most likely-- from the gag in his mouth, no one could know for sure.
"Have you seen Mair or Father?" Alaron asked in a lower tone. Although his original outburst was uncontrolled, he now realized that there were quite a few people around who might ask questions. He checked to make sure he had remembered to put up his hood.
Aurora shook her head and looked towards the mass of tents. "I have not yet. Every part of me wants to go and seek them out, but I cannot leave until we are certain."
"Certain?" Alaron sat and leaned against the tree in which the fairy resided. The pain in his leg demanded he rest it for a moment.
That is when the Guardian noticed what those around him were really doing. While some troops were rounding up the former abominations, others were pumping what was left of the water out of the large cauldron.
Most of the water had left the huge container when it had tilted and lost two of its supports. But when the lake rained down, the other supports gave way, leveling the basin so that it could refill.
'Why does mother care if this is holding water? It will all leak out eventually.' Alaron noted the crack in one side of the metal. Sooner or later, the pot would empty itself.
But the Guardian knew better than to doubt the Empress. It wasn't long before he and the others realized what she was after.
The pumps, which had been painstakingly used by the abominations the day before, flew up and down at blinding speed to clear the pool. At first in the darkness of the cauldron's water, the pale figure seemed like merely a reflection of the sun.
But as more and more of the water was displaced, the dark hair floated to the surface. Then the forlorn face. Finally all of Taran's body was revealed.
It was a ghastly sight, and Dania and Eliana had to turn away before the task was complete. Not just because the man was naked, but because he was badly mangled. When the curse had been revoked, Taran's leg had not been returned to him. It was barely a nub coming off of his torso.
His other leg, which was the source of the hole in the bottom of the basin as well as the crack up the side, had been broken by the hard metal upon impact and then pinned in place between the ground and metal when supports gave out.
So when the man returned to his normal body, not only was he bleeding, he had no way to get above the water's surface. Taran had drowned.
"Serves him right...and a fitting end if I do say so. Don't mess with the Great Lake!" Reyan had no sympathy for the dead man. In his eyes, the healing water had administered its own justice.
Aurora heaved a sigh of relief. She turned to the soldier overseeing the pumps. "Fish him out and take his body to the beach. The same for any of the other of the enemy who have died. We will burn their bodies and allow the ashes to help rebuild the forest they disturbed. Spread the word."
After the soldier nodded and saluted, Aurora turned toward Alaron and the others. "The work has just begun," she said sadly. "If all of you want to join me, I would be most glad of the company.
Straightening his back to its full height, Jaymes marched away from his sisters' side and offered his arm to the weary Empress. "I would be honored to accompany you, Your Majesty."
The action seemed both childish and yet wise beyond the boy's years. There were none in the group who could help but smile at the tender action.
Aurora graciously looped her arm into Jayme's elbow. "You are a good man. Someday a woman will be very lucky to be in my place."
"Hopefully not too soon! I have a lot to do before then," Jaymes said seriously.
"The right woman should spur you forward, not hold you back," Alaron said. Then he realized he had spoken aloud. "Isn't that right, Alvar?"
The elf who was slowly recovering gave a lopsided grin. "It has been my experience, yes. Now if it is all the same to the rest of you. I would like to find my own spur--uh wife-- as soon as possible."
As Aurora was anxious to find the rest of her family as well, she simply nodded and leaned lightly on Jayme's arm to begin the journey. While she put up a brave front, her body was in quite a lot of pain from both being lifted by one shoulder and then dropped unceremoniously from a dizzying height.
Now that she knew for sure that her Fate's chain protected her body and helped her heal, she wondered how much more pain she would be in without her constant companion. She doubted very much that she would be able to walk at all.
Leaving Yumeto behind with the troops, the war-worn company of allies slowly made their way along the edge of the camp. The mess caused by the water's destruction meant that walking through it was not possible without great effort.
Above the camp the fairies were freezing in place any naked being who was awake and did not have a bandana. While there was a misfire or two, the method seemed to be effective in preventing both further attack as well as the escape of the enemy.
The imperial soldiers, upon awakening, had found soggy garments among the wreckage or fashioned their own from the fabric of the tents. While not ideal, it was still better than facing the Empress without them.
And now that the fairies had officially brought winter, it was quickly becoming very cold. Which brought a question to Alaron's mind.
"Why were the fairies so late in changing the seasons?" The Guardian asked Reyan.
Scowling, the curmudgeon turned up his nose. " The fairies are never late! All of you just have unrealistic expectations." Then his face softened slightly. "They said that they ran into some trouble in the far South, and that after that everything just seemed harder than usual. The farther they traveled, the further behind they got. Based on what I was told, we are lucky they are here at all to help."
"I do appreciate their help very much," Aurora smiled at her friend. "I hope I can find an adequate way to show them just how much."
"We do like cookies," Reyan laughed and touched his stomach.
The Empress nodded. "I am not even sure a mountain of cookies would be enough..."
"You're right," Reyan stroked his chin. "Maybe two mountains! I might even give you the family recipe. Since I saved your life (again), you are practically family."
Aurora thought about all of the people who she had "adopted" over the years. "Quite a family I have," she chuckled lightly, "I wouldn't change it for anything."
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