Chp.35: Return of the brother

Rhaegal's return was obviously celebrated in every possible way. When he and Haku returned after running all night, they found their sisters ready to pounce on their lost and found brother the instant they saw him. They looked like a pack of puppies running to pet their master.

Haku had let Rhaegal and their sisters enjoy some time together. Even though technically they were still in enemy territory and that they would have to reach Zamor and their allies again, with their speed it would take less than two days, and by now the distance they had put between them and the tower of the God of Knowledge was enough from the his point of view. He could then relax and let his siblings enjoy that reunion.

Just as it happened when Haku was saved, also in this case the sisters' reaction was to give him a warm hug all together, with the result that they almost crushed him under their bodies. Even though they'd only been apart for six days, they were still overjoyed and unable to contain their glee. Some of them almost seemed to wag their tails as they embraced Rhaegal, and Serengal even had tears in her eyes and apologized to her brother for not being able to prevent his capture.

It took a while for everyone to calm down and be able to speak like normal people again. It was at that point that they all began to ask Rhaegal for accounts of what had happened to him, and he in turn did the same since he didn't know what exactly they had decided in the last few hours. Haku then took the opportunity to carefully explain to him what their sisters had chosen. When he was done, Rhaegal was a little down in the dumps. "So Maldor and Kotaru won't be back in their real bodies for a while?" he asked sadly, then looked at Sisna and Malchia. "And you will go away too?"

"It will only be for a while. We want to use this opportunity to acquire as much information as possible" Sisna answered. "But don't worry, I don't intend to stay away from my real body any longer than I have to. I like myself too much to give up my good looks"

Even as Sisna tried to play down Rhaegal was still somewhat downcast. He felt guilty because without his capture his sisters probably would never have been forced to give themselves up as prisoners, and therefore perhaps never would have had the idea of ​​moving for long periods in their avatars. Even though it was their choice, he still felt primarily responsible. "I'm sorry. It was all my fault..."

"This isn't the time to talk about it" Haku stopped him immediately. Rhaegal knew that when his brother said those words he meant: 'Now I'm holding back because we have little time and we have things to do, but as soon as we are calm and alone we will have a long chat'. In fact, from the look that Rhaegal had he was pretty sure that Haku was ready to smash his horns with fists: in his eyes there was mostly joy and happiness, but Rhaegal could also see a lot of anger. And this time she certainly couldn't blame him: he had behaved in a rather reckless way and had put all of them at serious risk, not to mention the fact that because of him some of their sisters had decided to abandon them momentarily. Even if he was directly concerned, Rhaegal felt he deserved a lesson about the common sense in the form of a good deal of beating.

Haku was avoiding bringing up the subject because he knew they would have to discuss a lot and that was neither the place nor the right time; moreover, he preferred certain conversations to be private. Unfortunately, however, their sisters didn't feel the same way. "But no, let's talk about it!" Kialandì exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how worried you made us? We thought Haku's situation was repeating itself! And all because you wanted to use your real body instead of…"

"Sister" Haku told her. "This is not the time for lectures"

Kialandì's eyes narrowed, clearly wanting to say something else, but she held back and she just turned away looking offended.

Haku turned back to Rhaegal. "Maldor and Kotaru won't be able to contact us for a while in the future, but they wanted to say hello to you at least once, so they'll be back in their real bodies any minute to at least make sure you're okay. So come on, let's get ready to receive them" he explained making him nod to follow him. "Girls, in the meantime, prepare an amphitrite to transport them. Unlike us, they won't be able to run since they will be in hibernation"

Rhaegal nodded and followed Haku as their sisters began preparing what would be their sisters' means of transportation. Haku led his brother to a small cave where Kotaru and Maldor were both in hibernation. They were so still and cold that they looked dead, but Rhaegal could still feel the slightest warmth coming from their bodies.

The two brothers sat down opposite them and waited. As they waited, Rhaegal tried to say: "Haku, listen, I'm sorry for everything I've..."

"Not now, brother. Not now" Haku stopped him again. "We'll talk about your blatant mistake when we're reunited with Zamor again, and when we're together with Darbi also since he's involved in a certain way too. Until then, just let me savor the happiness of having my brother back here with me, alive and... unharmed"

Rhaegal noticed that Haku had said the word 'unharmed' with some intensity and that his gaze was strange, as if he was worried about something but he wasn't sure what either. Rhaegal wondered if he hadn't realized that they had tortured him… or perhaps he just suspected it. After all, he wasn't the smartest in the family without a reason: it was very difficult that he didn't notice something. Rhaegal still hadn't told him about it. Normally he would have done it right away, so they could all take their revenge together... but every time he tried to tell him the truth, the strange priest's words rang in his mind. He had thought about it for a long time, but he still didn't quite know what to do. He didn't trust the priest, after all he didn't even know who he was or what his name was, but something inside him told him that his words weren't bluster. And he was afraid of what might happen if he took Haku out of the 'right way'... but what was the right way after all? Everything would have been easier if that priest had simply told him what to do.

In his mind he would try to imagine various scenarios, but no matter which scenario he chose, if it was one where he told his brother the truth, he would always explode in anger and make the destruction of the Jurao Kingdom his main goal. Which would have automatically made him the number one enemy of all neighboring nations, the target of numerous revenges, as well as could have caused the death of some of their siblings with the consequent descent of Haku on an ever darker path. None of these avenues seemed auspicious for becoming a king, much less for performing the glorious and wonderful deeds the priest had mentioned to him. On the contrary, it seemed that this would be the path that would lead Haku to be a tyrant feared by all. And Rhaegal obviously didn't want that.

As he mulled this over, Maldor's body began to squirm; unlike usual, where she simply awoke, this time she seemed to tremble through, probably due to the fact that her limbs were reactivating after hibernation. As soon as Maldor opened her eyes, she leapt at Rhaegal and gave him a big hug. "Brother! It's good to see you safe and sound!" she exclaimed in ecstasy.

Rhaegal smiled and returned the hug. "I'm happy to see you too" he said. "Kotaru...?"

"She's making sure no one finds out that I'm not… well, really me" Maldor answered, breaking the hug. "At the moment we are alone in a carriage. She will come here as soon as I relieve her"

Rhaegal nodded. "Maldor, forgive me. Because of me you will have to..."

"Brother, don't worry. It's not a problem for me to do this thing" his sister replied. "And then, if you think about it, it will bring us enormous benefits. I can't wait to find out as much as possible about the rest of the world..."

Rhaegal let out a sad snort. While Maldor agreed, he didn't like the idea of ​​not being able to talk or interact with her for very long. "At least you'll get the fame you deserve" he said, referring to the formula she had discovered.

Maldor smiled even more. "See? Benefits! You're starting to see them too!"

"Don't forget, be careful" Haku couldn't help himself from telling her. "Don't do anything incredibly stupid"

"Don't worry, brother! I wasn't born yesterday" Maldor replied. "I'm going now, Kotaru also has the right to say hello. See you soon, guys!" and with that her body closed its eyes and quickly returned to hibernation.

It didn't take long before Kotaru's body also shook and woke up. As soon as the dragoness opened her eyes again, the first thing she did was look at Rhaegal. "Brother..." she said in a strangled voice, as if she was about to cry.

Rhaegal smiled at her. "Sister" he greeted her.

Kotaru quickly closed the distance between them and wrapped him in a hug as well. "That's because I love you, and I'm extremely glad to have you back, and that nothing happened to you, and that you're safe, and…and for many other things" she said, then she suddenly punched the cheek of his brother. "And that's because of the scare you gave me! You were thoughtless!"

The punch wasn't very strong; in fact, Rhaegal barely heard it. It was clearly just a way to show him how angry she was; if Kotaru really wanted to punch him, she would have at least broken his jaw. If the dragons didn't measure up their strength, not even the bones of other dragons could last long. "I deserved it" he admitted. "I admit that I have not acted very wisely..."

"To say the least! What does your brain tell you!?" Kotaru exclaimed angrily. "Do you have any idea how worried we've been? How many sleepless nights have you given us? At least Haku had the excuse of having to save us from the hydra to get caught, you didn't even have that! You almost gave us a heart attack just because for a few reason unknown to me you forgot the meaning of the word 'prudence'! I hope that after this story you have remembered it!"

"Kotaru, stop" Haku interrupted her before she could continue. "You won't see each other again for a long time. I doubt you want the last memory you have to be a scolding"

Kotaru looked at him, then she concluded that indeed her brother was right. So she took a deep breath and said, "Yeah... I need to calm down. I'm just a little tense... and glad you're freed"

"Don't worry, I expected this to be your reaction, and I don't blame you" Rhaegal replied. "I'm sorry for everything"

Kotaru said nothing, then she gave him another very tight hug. "You're forgiven… for now" she said. "Now I'd better go back before anyone decides to check the carriage. By the way, is there anything you want us to investigate in particular? It might be your last chance to tell us"

Rhaegal thought for a moment, then he said: "Could you investigate about the God of Knowledge? When I was in that tower, even though I was there for a short time, it gave me chills. I wonder what..."

"It's not a good idea to meddle in the affairs of a god" Haku interrupted him. "We are still too weak and have too little information about these entities. We cannot afford to risk disturbing them"

"Haku is right" Kotaru said. "Throwing stones into water is fun if you know it's empty, but if you don't have it, you risk infuriating a crocodile. I don't think attracting the attention of a god is in our interest at the moment"

Rhaegal wanted to tell them that the God of Knowledge already had his attention on them, and that his desire to find out more about him was due to the words of that priest and not to the bad feelings that the tower had aroused in him, but he said none of that. "Okay, I understand. But if you get the chance to find out something, don't miss it, ok?"

Kotaru nodded. "Of course. Well, bye guys. See you soon... somehow" she greeted them, then she closed her eyes and went back to hibernation.

Haku snorted. "Help me carry them out, so we can then transport them to where the Zamor army is now" he said, then he stopped. "Brother... can I ask you a question?"

"Huh? Certainly" Rhaegal replied.

Haku looked into his eyes intensely. "When you were a prisoner... did they really just drug you? Did they do anything else?"

As Rhaegal had guessed, Haku suspected something. Rhaegal thought carefully about what to answer. This was her chance to tell him the truth, and he wanted badly to go and seek revenge… but then he thought about what might happen if he did. He thought of all the awful things that could have happened, both to them and to everyone else. The priest's words rang in his head for the umpteenth time. "Obviously, brother. Why, what else were they supposed to do?" he finally answered with a smile.

Haku was silent for a moment, then he shook his head. "Nothing, it was just my paranoia" he replied. "Anyway, I haven't told you yet... welcome back, brother"

Rhaegal laughed. "It's about time you told me" he said, trying not to think that he was lying to him about a possible prophecy that could affect their entire future.