“Bella… hasn’t returned,” Orenda admitted to Gareth, trying to help him sit up by bracing the pillows behind him.

“Should he be sitting up like that?” Mary Sue asked, rushing to his side, “His insides are all jumbled.”

“My outsides are all jumbled too, missy,” Gareth snapped in his ill-used voice, “Hasn’t returned? Where the hell did she go? And where’s your father? You tell that little bitch to get his ass in here and explain to me why I’m dying!”

“Here,” Falsie approached the bed and held a bowl of stew outstretched for him, “Eat something and quit your bitching.”

“Where’s Bella?” Gareth demanded again, “Where’s my goddamn hand? Where’s my mask!?”

Sonny came running back into the room, which startled Orenda because she hadn’t notice him leave. He held Gareth’s arm in one hand, but didn’t have either of the gloves he normally wore over it.

“Someone get me a drink!” Gareth demanded.

“Eat your soup,” Falsie said as if he was trying to start a fight, but Orenda had become so accustomed to them that she was beginning to feel that it was merely how they interacted, just the way they were.

“Here, Mr Firefist,” Sonny pushed his way past his sister to help Gareth strap his arm in place.

“Why the hell did you let them take my hand?” Gareth demanded of Falsie, “There should be two protective gloves. Where are they?

“I don’t know, my brother took it to his lab and I didn’t see any gloves.” Sonny said as Gareth flexed his fingers. They did not move as fluidly as they normally did.

“Well go find them!” Gareth snapped, “If I spill something on it, it’ll rust. And tell your father he needs to come down here and explain to me what the hell is going on. I assume we’re underground, right? In a goddamn rabbit warren?”

“How did you know that?” Orenda asked, but she was ignored because Mary Sue spoke over her, and her information made a much greater impression on Gareth.

“Daddy’s dead, Gary.”

Gareth paled.

“Xac is dead?” He asked, “Xac is dead and Bella is missing? Was it the Emerald Knight?”

“No,” Mary Sue shook her head and Sonny departed, presumably to look for gloves. “No, daddy could outrun the Emerald Knight. We’re pretty sure Lappy killed him. We found his body in the nursery- found the head in the nursery too, but not in the same place.”

“I’ll be goddamned,” Gareth sighed heavily and took the stew from Falsie, holding the bowl carefully in his mechanical hand. He looked into it and asked, “There’s not any starfruit in this is there?”

“No,” Mary Sue promised.

“Is Lappy the kid who tried to claw me in half?” Gareth asked.

“Yes,” Mary sue said.

“Son of a bitch,” Gareth scooped up a bite and chewed. “Finally… some fucking food.” He swallowed and said, “How long was I out?”

“About two days,” Orenda said, “they gave you my blood. You would have died.”

“Oh,” Gareth blinked at her in alarm, “You gave me your blood? It’s inside of me?” he looked into his bowl and said, “We’re blood-brothers…”

“That boy did a hell of a job on your mask,” Falsie said, “Knocked some of the crystals loose, bent it all to hell. I can fix it, or make another one, but I’ll need a forge.” He looked at Orenda and continued, “Or just a set of tools and a powerful fire mage.”

“Of course,” Orenda said.

“If Bella was chasing him,” Gareth said, “When the moons set she wouldn’t have remembered where she was or what she was doing. She’ll be all alone out there without even the clothes on her back. I have to get up and go after her.”

“I don’t think you can walk,” Falsie told him.

“I found the gloves,” Sonny came back in carrying them, and Junior rushed in hot on his heels.

“Mr Firefist!” he exclaimed, “That hand of yours is the most beautiful piece of clockwork I’ve ever seen.”

“Thank my friend here,” Gareth nodded towards Falsie, then his eyes flickered between the three Brigaddons, “Thesis’s glowing eyes you all look so much like him. I find it hard to believe a teenager could take out Little Bunny Foo Foo. He must… god, I bet Xac wouldn’t fight his own child. He always loved you all more than life itself. Lapus is going to be pissed. I wonder if he already knows…”

“Uncle Lapus?” Mary Sue asked, “I’ve not seen him in so long.”

“He’s still a Knight of Order,” Gareth explained between bites, “Working on the fire continent to restore order there. Will one of you please get me a goddamn drink? You wouldn’t believe the amount of pain I’m in. Or some pipeweed or literally anything?”

“I’ll tell my sisters,” Sonny said and disappeared again.

“Did Draco go looking for her?” Gareth asked as he handed Falsie his empty bowl.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Yes, Captain,” Falsie said.

“And?”

“No word from him either.” Falsie walked away to set the bowl on the table.

“I’m too old for this shit,” Gareth slumped against the pillows, “We never should have come here, chasing some jackassery.” He stared at the ceiling and pulled his waterproofing glove on in silence for some long minutes before he began to sing, softly:

“Little baby Bunting

Daddy’s gone out hunting

Gone to get a rabbit skin

To wrap a baby Bunting in…”

“Are you alright?” Orenda asked.

“No,” Gareth said and turned slightly to face her, “No, not in the slightest, darling. I feel so weak… and Bella is gone… and I don’t know that I can save her. Perhaps I should die here. Why did you give me your blood? I got you the staff. You can’t need me for anything else.”

Orenda didn’t answer him, so when the silence between them grew too painful he spoke again.

“Xac was the most hearty of us, really,” Gareth said, turning again to stare at the ceiling, “The man was literally made of stardust. No spell could hurt him. He killed people, en masse, for the pleasure of those Urillian sons of bitches, for years. He was a shifter, so he healed. He… he was a damn near perfect survival machine. His children were his one weakness. I always knew he would lay down his life for them. Lapus Brigaddon… is the most ungrateful little shit imaginable. Imagine having a loving family… Imagine having a father who would die for you and..”

Orenda saw something flash across his eyes and knew that he was thinking of her grandfather, of Shiron Firefist.

“What was my grandfather like?” She asked, because she regretted not asking those kinds of questions when she thought she may never have a chance to ask them.

“He was a good man, really,” Gareth said, “He just… expected a lot from us, and I resented it. He pushed us too hard, I felt. He wanted us both to be priests, to take the test and follow in their footsteps. He was strict but… he knew how to temper my mother. She was the one who,” he chuckled and clutched his torso as the pain shot through him. “Mom would get so angry at us. She wanted us to… I’m not sure, to be good people I suppose. But you didn’t want to cross her. She could silence any dissent with a look. She had to be like that, I think; her position was so important and she was used to leading people. But she couldn’t lead me, not in any meaningful way. I was a terrible child, Rendy. You had to be… overly patient with me to get me to do anything. She wanted me to be better but couldn’t teach me. Dad could. He could… slow down, grab me, get me to focus. He could calm her down when I did something evil, or stupid.”

He had a soft, comfortable smile on his face as he spoke again.

“Do you remember the clockwork toys we saw in the midway?” He didn’t wait for her to respond before he continued, “I stole a lion, from that merchant. She never saw me, had no idea it was me. I had wanted it for so long, and it was so expensive, and my father gave me money but I could never seem to save it…”

He chuckled and continued, “Mom beat the shit out of me. She whooped my ass so bad I couldn’t walk- I’m being hyperbolic of course, everything seems more intense to a child- and then we went back and she made me return it. I was more embarrassed than hurt. That’s a terrible reason to steal you know, just because you want something and don’t have it. It wasn’t even that I was upset that I got caught, I was embarrassed that I had done it.”

“How did she find out?” Orenda asked.

“I don’t know. I always suspected Ronnie told on me, but he would never admit to it.” Gareth said, and Orenda didn’t understand the look on his face, because this seemed to be a happy memory to him. “Anyway, my father gave me a lecture, the normal things that you would expect, about how stealing was wrong and all that. He made me do extra lessons, going over the sacred texts on the subject. I was bored out of my mind. I would have rather had the beatings. Ronnie actually stayed with me, even though he wasn’t in trouble. That fucker just liked to read, genuinely liked the sacred texts.”

“That solstice,” Gareth continued, “I came downstairs to the living area, and what do you think I saw there? It was sitting on the floor, because it was too big to fit in my stocking.”

“The lion?” Orenda asked.

“Yes,” Gareth smiled.

“That’s really sweet, Uncle Gary,” Orenda said.

“I miss them,” Gareth said, not, Orenda suspected, because he wanted to convey that information to her, but because he wanted to say it out loud. “They would have loved you.”

He turned to look at her and his eyes focused on the tiara she wore.

“Where did you get that?” he asked her, “We looked for it for so long.”

“Toli gave it to me,” Orenda took the tiara off and held it out to Gareth.

“No,” he shook his head, “You should have it. She would have wanted you to have it. My father got it for her, before we were born, as a wedding gift. They were in love, you know. They thought they were soulmates, and… some people think that’s why they were able to have both of us, Ronnie and I. Soulmates have nearly identical magical signatures, and they really did. You could see it when you looked at them. And they balanced each other out. Mom was always so serious… but dad could make her laugh. Even when they were fighting, he could make her laugh. And she kept him on track, made him focus, made him reach his potential. They were really good for each other. I… I always hoped that if I ever got married I could find someone like that. Ronnie found it twice, which seems excessive when most people don’t even get it once.”

He closed his eyes and said, “She has to be alright. She’s a survivor. We both are, I think. It seems like nothing can take us out. If she were dead, I would know it. She’s not.”

“You really are,” Orenda said, “The doctors said that you were the worse case they’d ever seen.”

“No one in this burrow has ever been to medical school,” Gareth said as if the idea was ridiculous. “I can’t believe Xac’s gone. I’ll kill that boy myself. Xac… he loved my brother. They were good for each other. And both of them loved Soko… they all had problems, but everyone does. God, I’m so tired. I can’t live like this. I can’t keep doing this. There’s not going to be any of me left if people keep cutting it away piece by piece.”

“I’m sorry, Uncle Gary,” Orenda said, and began to absentmindedly twist some of his hair at the temples to lock it.

“I’m sure that looks a mess,” Gareth said, and added, “Orenda?”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry. I know I’ve said it before but I know you don’t believe me. I’m sorry for everything I put you through. I suppose I should have kept you on the ship with me.” He turned to look at her. “So much of this is my fault. It’s… you never think that one person can have that sort of effect on the world. It’s so easy to believe that nothing you do will matter, but I… I fucked up so badly. I don’t think it can be unfucked.”

“I appreciate it,” Orenda said, “I’m not angry anymore. We have to keep moving forward.”

“I love you,” Gareth said, “I don’t think I told you that.”

Orenda didn’t know what to say to this confession. She wasn’t really capable of returning the affections of the family she had recently had thrust upon her. She was sure, somewhere in her heart, that Gareth did love her, did think of her as even perhaps more of a daughter than a niece, and that he knew he had not done right by her. She wanted to forgive him, wanted to love him back, with the sort of desperation that she had once wanted her parents to be alive. But she didn’t want to lie to him, so instead she said:

“Thank you, Uncle Gary. That means a lot to me.”