A Welcoming Beginning to a New Life

We sat in our wagon, sun beaming through the gaps in the leaves above us, waiting behind another wagon that was just behind Yara's.

A distant voice echoed, "Forward!" followed by gradually closer rangers yelling, "Forward!" until Yara did so and crept her cart forward.

"HYAH!!" Dannas slapped his reins down.

The mule turned its head and grunted at him

"Hyah?" He lightly moved the reins.

The mule slowly trotted forward, pulling the wagon with it.

The path was winding and bumpy, turns being taken often. Sometimes our wagons would split along two paths and reconvene in perfect formation. They seemed very used to navigating untamed land on wagons. Dannas just followed Yara. I noticed the wheels on all the wagons I could see moved up and down a slot their bars ran through, reacting to the sudden bumps, almost following their angles. It reduced how much our wagons moved on them. We were moving slower than I thought we'd need to, about a snail's pace. It made every bump long and anticipated.

"Why are we moving so slow?" I asked.

"Ah, well, you see," Dannas started like he was the wisest in the lands, his face held high, until he almost hit a tree. "Shit." He corrected the mule's path. "As I was saying, it's for the scouters and clearers."

"Hm?"

"The scouters scout ahead to make sure the path is safe and would work. And the clearers clear the path and make it work. That's what the messers are for. That and fighting. But it helps a lot to have them to clear the plants and bushes and stuff."

"I see." I noticed we were heading west. "Are we stopping by Moltenbell?"

 "I d'know. Maybe. HEY YARA!!"

"WHAT?!" she reacted, immediately annoyed.

"ARE WE GOING TO MOLDYBELL?!!"

"IT'S MOLTENBELL, AND YES!"

"THANK YOU!!"

She didn't respond.

"Hey Ladon, turns out we are going to Moldybell."

"Yeah, I heard. Thank you."

"No problem. I hope we get to see them."

"Who? Meg and them?"

"Mhm! They were cool."

"Mm. I wouldn't mind seeing them one last time."

Dannas gasped loud enough to take in all the air in the world.

"What?"

"That means we're stopping by Thernan's Bend! I hope Tulas made some yummy cookies. Or a pie! Ooh! Or a cake!"

"Therrin's End."

"Yeah!"

So the journey's south.

My eyes met Mi's, who was mostly looking around us the whole time. "How are you feeling? It's been some time since that night."

"Hm? Oh. I'm okay. I'm just tired mostly. But I'm feeling a lot better! I can eat full meals, which is a lot better I think."

My eyes grew heavy once more. "That's good to hear."

We shared a smile, the easiest I've given in years.

"Thank you," she said.

"For what?"

She smiled, nervousness in the eyes. "For saving me."

"I'm not the one who entered my dreams, woke up my inner dragon, saw the future, and used all of that to save myself."

"I'm not the one who went on the journey to save me without knowing it was me, fought like two dozen people, even elves, and killed a mansion full of guards to save me. Also I didn't fight a dragon."

"Touché."

She chuckled, before her eyes slowly grew wide, the inner end of her eyebrows raised, sadness becoming her expression. "I wish it could've been different."

"What do you mean?"

"There was so much violence; death. Just for me."

"..."

"Am I worth all those lives?"

I sat as tall as my pain would let me. "I don't know the exact worth of a life. I believed life was priceless, but I've come to think some aren't. The potential to do good with your life is priceless at least, but I've seen some who kill with it. Like Malkan or Cornelius. I don't think they ever would've changed. What I do know is we can do everything we can to make it worth the price."

"You sounded like Abraxas just now."

I chuckled a bit. "According to the tree of life, we have a great purpose, whatever the hels that means. Maybe it was necessary for that. Besides, you would've died that night. If what I did was the only way to change that, then I can't regret it. I don't like what I did, not for a second. But I don't regret it."

She just continued to look in my eyes, some mixture of worry and sadness.

"I'll protect you, til the day I die. I think I decided that when I first saw you in that mansion."

She smiled. "You better not die then. Ever. I'm counting on you."

"Alright," I chuckled.

We shared a silence, feeling the discordant rhythms of all the bumps our wagon rode over.

"It's hard to believe," Mi said.

"What is?"

"Not so long ago, we were scared kids in a scary world."

"I wouldn't say it's too different from then."

"True. Maybe I've been hiding it, but I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"What the future might bring."

I yawned. "I don't feel too dissimilar myself. These past couple of months have had one clash after another. Now I'm just tired."

"Well you are an injured demidragon. Sleep calls us when we need to heal, or at least that's what Abraxas told me."

"He's right. Always is."

I wrapped up my cloak, then lied down on my seat using the cloak as a pillow.

"Let me know if something happens."

"Alright."

Like a blink, I fell asleep and woke up. I felt even more tired, but my body was restless nonetheless. Quickly I noticed we were out of the forest, in a line on the side of the road. The new palisade wall was close. Mi had been leaning on top of the pile of our stuff, asleep.

"When are we going in?" I asked.

"Oh!" Dannas shouted.

I saw Mi jolt in place.

 "You're awake. Any minute now, probably."

Mi slowly pushed herself up. A line of dry drool ran from the corner of her mouth and across her cheek. She rubbed her eyes. "Where are we?"

"Just outside Moltenbell," I answered.

"Already?" she yawned. "Doesn't feel like it took that long."

I nodded. "If you don't want to go in, I understand."

"No, I'll go. I only ever saw it once. Besides, they're gone."

"Alright."

I saw Yara turn her head toward us. "If any of you'd like to go in there, now's your chance."

Dannas set the mule to move forward, slowly pulling us around Yara.

She stretched her back before looking at me. "Come see me before we head south, Ladon. I'll need to check on you then."

I nodded. "I doubt no's an answer."

She smiled. "No it's not."

By the lack of sound, I knew Gin-me's wagon wasn't following.

Before long we made it through the open wooden gate of Moltenbell. The people were still busy, hauling lumber, animal feces, and other construction materials about. Most of the buildings were built, though many vacant spots were still left. The town only had maybe half of its people now, so it made enough sense. Moving down the main road, I could see the town square through gaps that used to be buildings. The drunkenbell was being rebuilt. I couldn't catch a glimpse of the bell.

I heard the sounds of impacting lumber from ahead, and turned to see Terin, staring at us.

"Hey, Terin!" Dannas yelled.

His stare turned to excitement. "Hey, Dannas!"

"Is he one of your friends?" Mi asked me

"Yeah. Terin, Percy, Meg, and Holind. We met on our way here for our mission," I answered.

"I see."

"Is Ladon here?"

"Oh yeah, he's right back here." Dannas pointed a thumb behind himself.

I saw Terin lean to the side and squint his eyes. His met mine.

He gasped. "What happened to you? Actually, nevermind. It's probably a story for everyone, right?"

I nodded.

"I'll go get everyone. Uhm, you guys can meet us at my place."

"Okay!" Dannas answered.

"Terin!" I shouted.

He came to a full halt. "Yeah!!"

"Your wood!"

He looked confused, then saw the pile of wood in the middle of the road. "Oh yeah!"

He ran back, picked it all up. "I'll bring these where they need to go, then get everyone."

I nodded.

"Sounds good," Dannas responded.

Eventually we made it to the crossroad. From here I could see the hill where the mansion used to be. In its place, the scaffolding for a building maybe a quarter of its size was settled.

"Good riddance," Dannas said.

I saw Mi staring there for a while, even as we turned right.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"It's just… It's like it never happened."

"I suppose that's how you move on. Tear down the decrepit structure and rebuild better ones for yourself."

She nodded. "It's just weird to see it gone. I'm glad it is, don't get me wrong. I don't ever want to see it again."

"I feel the same. Though, I am surprised."

"By what?"

"I thought you'd feel stronger about it."

"I—" She looked deeply into my eyes. "Who… who says I don't? I just don't want to think about it enough to do that."

I nodded, mostly to myself. "I understand that. Too much I don't want to think of."

"LADON?!?!?!" A voice screeched from our right.

I turned and saw Meg, just outside her front door.

She started sprinting over.

"That's Meg, Mi. She's always been kind. To me at least."

"Because you saved her life?"

I didn't like how that sounded. "I don't know."

"Hey Meg!" Dannas yelled as she made it halfway.

"How many people have you saved?" Mi asked.

"With Gerickst dead, I don't know."

"Well I mean, outside of that."

Not more than I got killed, I wanted to say, but didn't, knowing the guilt it'd cause her. "A few."

She gave a knowing look, a grave understanding and appreciation of my awareness. I didn't forget this time that she could read my mind.

Meg finally caught up, leaning onto her knees, breathing heavily. "What happened… to your… head?"

"Oh he's got more bandages allll over," Dannas added. "Not just his head."

Her eyes intensified, Dannas's words obviously not helping. "WHAT?"

"I—"

"What happened to you?!?!"

"A lot."

She rolled her eyes. "Well I got that much."

"I fought Gerickst."

"W—" She was at a loss for words. "D-dragon?"

"He's dead now. The other rangers are probably gonna inform the town."

"Y-you killed Gerickst?"

"Not quite."

"He did most of the work," Dannas added. "He got his eye, a wing, his foot, and something else."

"I'm still stuck on… You—fought a dragon."

"..."

"Well no wonder you're all bandaged up. Gods. A dragon? Really?"

"Yeah. He won't be coming back."

"Well alright then." She looked around. "Terin should be around here somewhere."

"Oh yeah we saw him," Dannas responded. "He said he's gonna grab everyone, and that we should meet at his place."

"Alright."

We made our way to his house, leaving the wagon and mule in front of it. Dannas and Meg helped me to the door, then inside, then to the same seat at the long dining table I sat on when we played scraps. Meg went back to help Mi in, though she needed less assistance than me, ironically. Everybody sat down at the table.

Meg looked to Mi, bouncing on and off her eyes. "So… uh… who are you?"

 "Remember the demidragon Cornelius apparently killed, with the help of Malkan?"

"Yeah…" Her confused brows rose. "Oh! She's—"

"I'm Mi."

She looked at her, then to me, then back to her, then to me once more. "Well, it's nice to meet you."

Suddenly the front door burst open. Instinctively I place my hand where the handle of my messer would've been, not that it would've been needed anyway.

Holind jumped through the doorway. "WE'RE HERE!! W-WOAH!" His foot slipped as he passed the entry to the dining room with a crash.

Terin rushed in, to him. "I told you not to do that on the way here!"

Percy hobbled in, crutches under both his arms. "Long time no—" His eyes found me. "What happened?"

Terin came back to view. "Oh yeah, you were going to tell us about that."

"Ladon killed Gerickst," Meg said without hesitation.

"I wouldn't say—"

"WHAT?!" Percy yelled. "He could die? A dragon?!"

"I—"

"Yeah Gerickst is super dead," Dannas gleamed.

"I can't believe it," Terin said, scratching his head, sitting down at the table.

"I didn't kill him, but he is dead."

"What do you mean? You fought him, right?" Terin asked.

I nodded. "Yes. But I didn't get the finishing blow."

"He did most of the work," Dannas added.

"Nothing wrong with taking credit then," Terin said.

"I don't think anyone should want credit for killing a dragon," I responded.

"Wellllll… I dunno… it's pretty cool."

I had no response.

I noticed Meg was staring at me, a lot.

"So what's been going on here since the attack?" Dannas asked.

"A lot actually," Percy started. "We've been rebuilding most everything. As it turns out, Yennen was the leader of the rebellion. In hindsight, it made sense. He was always leading and helping people for the past ten years, since that dragon attack. He's been taking charge, making sure our priorities are straight, helping us rebuild, and communicating with other towns and villages that he can. He's been real busy with this town. It's not official, yet, but he's practically our new mayor."

"Oh wow…" Dannas said. "So everything's looking better here then, huh?"

Holind finally came into the room. "You betcha!"

"That's good," I said.

A muffled voice called from the street. "All rangers, regather. We're leaving shortly."

"Awww, already?" Dannas said.

"We were delayed," I added.

Dannas sighed.

"Hey, Ladon, can I talk with you in private before you go?" Meg asked.

"Sure."

She stared expectantly at everyone, knowing I couldn't quite walk on my own.

"We'll be outside then," Terin said as he walked sideways, followed by everyone.

She waited no more than a few seconds after the door closed behind them.

"So…"

 "Yes?"

"That Mi girl… She's special, huh?"

"Yes."

"You two seem pretty close."

"I guess we are. She's my childhood friend from that orphanage."

"Another survivor of that carnage."

I nodded.

"I'm glad you saved her. Who knows what she went through."

"Exactly."

She looked equal parts mournful and accepting. "Remember the question I asked you that night?"

"It was about liking people, right?"

 "Yeah. Is there anyone you currently like?"

I paused for a moment. "I'm not certain. I want to protect Mi, no matter what. If that counts, then yes."

She nodded to herself, a bittersweet smile rested on her face. "I guess you should get going, huh?"

I nodded. "It was nice seeing you again, Meg. Tell your mother I said hi, and good luck in the future."

"It was nice seeing you too. I'm sure you'll need more luck than me in the future."

I chuckled. "Probably."

"HEY, TERIN!" she yelled

"WHAT?!" he responded, bursting through the door.

"We're done. Come help Ladon out."

"Alright. Dannas, come help me out will yuh?!"

"Okay!" He rushed in. "Let's get you on that wagon."

Terin and Dannas brought me to the wagon, and helped me back to my seat, opposite Mi.

I exhaled a long breath. "Meg, Terin, Holind, Percy. Be well. If I see you all again, we'll have to play scraps."

"BYE GUYS!" Dannas yelled

"BYE!!!" They cheered as the mule slowly pulled and turned the wagon away, back down the road.

I watched as they grew distant, until our turn at the crossroad led us out of view of each other. On our way out, I saw Yennen, wearing a loose, light button-up shirt and pants, giving orders to one, and advice to another, all the while entertaining a bored child. He looked exhausted, busy, and fulfilled.

"Man, this town's really is doin' better, huh?" Dannas said.

Mi nodded, though he couldn't see it.

"Yeah," I responded. "I hope it stays on that path."

"Yeah… yeah. Yeah. Hey Ladon?"

"What?"

"I've been thinking."

"Okay."

"How do you confront things?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you've fought a lot. And I mean A LOT. I know you hate it, but you can confront it anyway. I mean, you fought a dragon, and I can't fight a petty thief. Even other things, you can confront."

We passed through the southern gate of Moltenbell.

"Hm. I'm not entirely sure. I guess it's more right to say the issues confront me. Can't really say I chose my fights for the most part. I just stopped running, and hiding. That's all it is."

"Mmm." He stared off down the road. "Just stop," he repeated to himself.

All the wagons reconveened for the journey, keeping to the same order as before, packed against the side of the road. The front wagons turned onto the road and slowly rode south, and like an uncoiling rope, everyone followed suit. Being closer to the back, we waited a long time to start moving.

We uneventfully rode through the day and long into the darkness of night before we stopped and rode off the road, making several separate circles of wagons. Each circle was started by a section leader. Ours was led by Yara. I couldn't say much for the other wagon circles, but in ours, we unloaded everything we needed in the circle, made our fire inside it, and slept in the circle, almost as though our wagons were a makeshift wall.

Just as dawn began, everyone either woke up, or was woken up, and we began traveling again.

Not long after midday, we caught wind that Soras's section, far out of my sight, had to deal with some twig vipers. No one got hurt, luckily, venomous snakes being what they are. Eventually we set up camp in the same way, just more confined, and up against the forest's edge this time.

We went through another mostly uneventful day, and slept through the following night, before Therrin's End was in sight. The damp morning allowed the stone wall to reflect the warm light of the rising sun, beaming through a light mist. It was a cool morning, causing the sunlight to feel like a warm blanket from the cool air. This time, everybody rode into town. I heard the heavy gates shift open long before we got close to it. The guards yawned at the morning, a dull yet aware tune to company those of the birds. The town hadn't fully woken up; maybe a few houses here and there shone with light. Many healthy beats of a heart in, I smelled something. Apples and cinnamon, apricots, pomegranates, cherries; pastry and bread. Mi was still asleep, resting her head on our center pile. We reached a crossroad, the same one that straight ahead would've led us to the stables.

"Right," I said.

"What?"

"Go right. Trust me."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Alright."

And right we went. A few minutes passed by as we rode past the sturdy houses of buildings, all having a foundation typically used for castles: stone.

I heard sniffing from the center pile of our wagon. Then a yawn. Mi rose her head slowly. "Is that?" She gasped. "PIE?!"

"Well it was going to be a surprise."

Dannas sniffed the air. "You know what, I think I smell that too." He gasped. "Tulas! We're going to Tulas's bakery, right?!"

"The Brick Oven Bakery, yes."

"I remember Tulas, I think," Mi said. "Glasses, right?"

"Yup!" Dannas said, as peppy as ever, though the mule didn't match him with its speed.

Eventually we took a left around a corner, and there stood a whitewashed building. Timber frame, lacking the same stone foundation that elevated the others. There was a door on the left, but right in the middle of the front was a counter, appearing like an oversized windowsill, opening the inside of the building to the outside. Pies and cakes, and small pastries lined the top of the counter, some letting go of a small stream of steam that rose into the roof that extended from the wall. Also under that same roof were four small, circular tables with chairs around them. As we neared the building, a soft hum made its way to us, giving a soft, jovial tune to the morning, better matched with the birds than the guards were.

We rode up to the front and saw Tulas's back, the string of an apron tied against the back of his shirt. He stretched his back, humming through a groan before he turned, and stopped humming.

He squinted, quickly took his glasses off, wiped them, then put them back on. A smile beamed from his face. "So it really is you guys."

"Hi—"

"Hey Tulas!" Dannas yelled.

"Well come on—" He looked at me. "What in the—"

"Oh yeah, Ladon got hurt," Dannas responded.

Dannas began helping me down.

"Uhuh…" He pinched his nose on the bridge. "I'm not sure if I'm surprised or not. Do I want to know the story behind it? Actually, I do. What happened?"

I plopped onto my feet and leaned against the wagon while Dannas helped Mi down.

"I fought Gerickst."

"WHA—You—Gerickst? And you're alive? Well mostly alive."

"I did. He's dead now."

"He's dead? Did you?"

"No. Someone else finished him off."

"I see. Who is this cryptic 'Someone else', if I may?"

"It has to be a secret."

"I'll lock it away with the—" He placed his hand, like a wall, on his cheek and whispered, "Elves."

"He was killed by another dragon. A dragon that until recently, I lived with."

"Oh! Wait? What?"

"He's good; under house arrest."

"For?"

"Disagreeing with subjugation."

"Ah." He scratched his head, grasping the situation, yet clearly confused. "Okay. So Gerickst is dead now, and you fought him. Good thing you made it out alive."

"I know right," Dannas said. "It was so crazy. He threw Ladon into the sky! Ladon cut through his wings and fell to the ground just before him. I've never seen anything like it."

"You survived falling from the sky? How high specifically?"

"The redwoods were below me."

Shock stretched his face in disbelief.

"Trust me, I still feel it."

"Yeah, no kidding. Well," a half smile rose on his face, his glasses shifting just a little. "Anyone hungry?"

Dannas gasped until he was out of breath. "Whatdoyouhave? Cookies? Pies? Cake?!"

"Slow down there, pal. I'm sure there's something for everyone."

"Sorry, it's just been soooooo long since I had any sweet goodness."

Tulas chuckled to himself. "Sweet goodness?"

"Do you have any apple pie?" I asked.

"With cinnamon?"

All I could do was stare, like saying yes was too hard.

"I've got exactly what you want then."

He walked through the door on the left and went back behind the counter. He fiddled with something I couldn't see behind there. Dannas helped me to a table, and the three of us sat down. In no time, Tulas rose a small, thin wooden board from behind the counter with a slice of pie.

"One apple cinnamon pie coming right up." He put a spoon on the board, and placed it on the counter.

"How'd you get cinnamon?" I asked?

"There's this trader that comes by once every year. Sometimes twice. One day I bought all the spices of his that I'd use for my bakery, and he kept coming back with more and more. Cinnamon's still a tough one to get, so I use it sparingly; just enough to boost the goodies."

Dannas got up and brought it over. "Man that smells so good!" "Can I have a chocolate cake?!"

"Nope! Not until spring."

"Lemon?!"

"Sure thing!"

As Dannas got up, I broke off the tip of my cake slice. I couldn't remember the last time I smelt something this good. I was almost afraid to eat it, as if that'd somehow ruin what was right in front of me. I took a bite. The tartness and sweetness of the apple, and the delicate punch of spice from the cinnamon negated any thought. All I felt was satisfaction and joy.

"Can I try some?" Mi asked.

"Oh."

I broke off another small piece, and held the spoon out to her, horizontally, so she could grab it from me. She calculated what to do, and decided to move her head in front of the spoon and take a bite while I still held it. My face flushed with heat, though she quickly returned to her sitting position, chewing it up.

I was frozen.

"Mmm! That's good!"

"I'm glad somebody likes it."

"Wait," I said. "I like it alo—"

"I know, don't worry. I was only teasing you. I know you."

Tulas leaned over the counter. "Would you like a slice, Mi?"

"Yes please."

"Coming right up."

Dannas sat down as he said that. "Oh come on… I have to get up again?"

Mi's face grew concerned. "If it's too much of a both—"

"No no I'll do it. He pushed himself up, grabbed another board with a slice of pie from Tulas, and brought it back.

We all continued eating as Tulas sat down with us.

"So. How is it? Everything you hoped for?"

"Are you kidding me?!" Dannas yelled. "This is amazing!"

"Really good!" Mi said between chews.

I kept eating without a response.

"Well that's good news. I'm glad to see you're doing better, girl. Last I saw you was in Trelanwi. I'll wrap up a second slice for each of you to take, to eat later."

"You don't have to do that," I said.

"Why not?" he responded. "It's all on the house."

"Oh thank the gods, because I don't have a lot of money," Dannas said.

"If you ever stop by again in the future, I'll expect payment."

I nodded.

"That works for me!" Dannas responded.

"I'll be right back then." He stood up and went back inside.

We finished at roughly the same time, except Mi who only ate half, and sat satisfied the whole time. Tulas brought over two slices of the pie, and one of the cakes wrapped in linen and tied with string, as well as some extra linen, then wrapped and tied Mi's unfinished slice.

"They won't be as good as each day passes, so I'd recommend eating them by the night of the day after tomorrow."

"Thank you, Tulas," I said.

"Anytime, friend."

Dannas stood up. "We probably need to get going."

"Already?" Mi asked.

"Well it's almost fall," I responded.

"Yeah, I don't think we'll be staying anywhere for long, because we have to make it back to Heurithkə by the first snowfall."

I heard a call, what sounded like distant gibberish in Soras's voice. "I think you're right."

"Yeah, I'm pretty smart like that."

Tulas chuckled. "Is that what you are now?"

Dannas grunted as he helped me up. "Nope." He helped me back to and on the wagon.

Tulas walked Mi to the wagon and helped her up. "Alright. This is goodbye then."

"Goodbye, Tulas," I said.

"By Tulas!" Dannas cheered.

Mi waved silently, shyly.

"Stay safe in your journey, and don't fight any more dragons."

I chuckled. "I'll try."

He smiled as the wagon moved forward. We all waved for a moment, but eventually he put his hands on his hips and walked back into his bakery.

Before long, we made it back to the long line of wagons, and rejoined at our position. Once again, I heard a distant, heavy gate shift open. We slowly followed south, through the gate I only used once before. By the time it was in sight, the people's cheers roared through the town, many making up songs on the spot about "the dead dragon". We passed through the gateway and down the wide dirt road.

Making our way down the beaten road stretching beyond my horizon, hugging closely to an enormous forest that seemed to stretch just as long, I pondered how far we'd ride from the village. Once, I felt like walking away, moving on to a new area, but I've already done that, I've found people different from everyone else, and soon enough a place different just the same. The majority of my life had just been surviving and drifting, and now I have others to do so with; people I care about. I knew where I was, and where I'd be going; I just had to get there now.

We rode through the rest of the morning, following the line like a snake, around a crater in the road, dust and dirt long since settled from the impact of a well-missed father. Therrin's End was past the horizon, and yet the road south still was too, along with the gigantic forest wall. The crushed path into the forest was still there, though mostly regrown with young trees and grass and bushes.

We rode past, leaving it behind, following the horizon farther than I did that day. It seems so much was over; so much of a journey finished, and yet, I knew the horizon would bring more. It always does; always will. Hopefully, I'll be ready for it, whatever it brings.