Crusade Across Worlds (18 page)

“When he saw that you’d been hit—”

“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you.”

“What?” I laugh as a piece of hair unravels
from the others. “I’m not looking for an apology.” I fiddle with
the black strands. “But when did…
how
did you guys…?”

“It was right after you left. We were all in
such shock over the whole thing and he was walking me back home.
And he kissed me.”

I move the rogue hair into place again. “Go
Able.”

Mae giggles. “It was definitely
unexpected.”

“Was it good?”

She bites her lip with a nod. “It’s good
every
time.”

I burst out laughing and then stop suddenly
as a new thought overrides the others. “Have you two…?”

Mae blushes a deep scarlet.

“What!” I laugh again. “I’ve been gone three
months and two of my best friends are hooking up?”

“But we don’t want everyone to know,” her
joy turns serious as she looks at me pleadingly. Before I can
comment, the expression falls from her face, her eyes drifting from
mine. “Although they probably do now.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I doubt it’s much of a secret after
today.”

I select a new section of hair and begin
braiding it like the other. “Why don’t you want anyone to
know?”

“It’s not that,” she fiddles with her nails.
Mae inhales and lets it out again, like she’s working up to some
great reveal. “It’s just… well… I like him a lot, Fallon.
Really
. I don’t want everyone to think we’re just…”

“Screwing around?”

She nods.

“Why would you think that? It’s obvious how
much you both care about each other. I doubt anyone thinks you’re
just screwing around. Besides,” I fold a layer of black hair over
another, “you guys aren’t the type.”

Her face reddens. “He told me he loved
me.”

“What!” I drop her hair. “When? When did
this happen?”

“A few nights ago.”

“And you said it back?”

She offers the tiniest nod.

“Mae, that’s wonderful!” I throw my arms
around her in a tight squeeze and when I pull back, she’s grinning
from ear to ear with the same enthusiasm. “I’m so happy for
you!”

“Thanks,” she’s nearly laughing at my
overzealous reaction. “I wanted to tell you at some point.” She
fiddles with her fingers again. “I wasn’t sure if… I didn’t want to
tell you if Reid hadn’t said—”

“He did.”

“He did?”

“The night before I left.”

“Fallon, that’s—”

“He asked me to marry him.”

“Wait!” she springs up, her mouth falling
open. “Now it’s my turn to be shocked. When did this happen?”

“Last night.”

“He proposed
last night
? Does anyone
else know?”

“Uh… Clarence sort of listened in and then
told Sampson. And I’m pretty sure Reid told Tucker. But that’s
it.”

“Oh my God!” she wraps her arms around me
this time. “This is wonderful! I’m so happy for you!”

“And I’m happy for you!” I hug her back.

“And I want to know what’s going on!” Pratt
stands in the tunnel, arms crossed and scowling.

“Oh…” Mae pulls back. “Um…”

“You can’t say nothing,” Pratt moves in. “I
know something happened. Out with it.”

Blushing, Mae looks at me. Even if everyone
already knows about her and Able, I don’t think she’s ready to
confess the other part just yet. I’ll have to take this one.
Turning to Pratt, I let out a breath. “Reid proposed.”

“WHAT!” Pratt screams with such force that
I’m sure everyone in the Great Hall can hear it.
“OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD!” she races over and jumps onto the bed with
us. “Tell me everything! What happened? How did he do it? Was he
down on one knee? Did you start crying?”

“Uh…”

“Do you have a ring?” she looks at my left
hand and frowns.

“I don’t need—”

“He’s going to get you one anyway,” she
throws her arms around me in a tight hug. “I’m so happy for
you!”

“Thank you,” I’m laughing again, completely
stunned by her reaction.

“So how’d he do it? I want details!”

“Me too!”

“Well…” I start and then stop. Shit
.
How do I tell them without
telling
them? And what will I say
when everyone else asks how Reid popped the question? Do I admit
the truth? “Well…”

“DETAILS!” Pratt demands.

“We were sort of… in the middle of
things.”

Both girls pause.

“He didn’t…” Mae turns red again, “…while
you two were…?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.”

“Really?” Pratt makes a face. “During
sex?”

“Um…” I rub the back of my neck with a
nod.

“Huh,” she sits back. “Thought he’d be a bit
more romantic than that.”

“It was sort of…” I take a deep breath and
replay the moment. Warmth tingles through me as I imagine the
serene, awestruck gaze in his eyes when he asked me,
“…perfect.”

“Did you expect it?”

“No. We were…,” I gesture with my hands,
“…and then he just said it. Marry me. I wasn’t sure I heard him
right, so he said it again.”

“How many times did he say it?” Pratt
asks.

“Like three.”

“He’s wanted to marry you ever since he gave
you that Callix,” her eyes drop to the flower secured to my wrist.
“That’s what that means.”

On instinct I wrap my fingers around the
pink, peach and red petals. “I know… but to hear the words…”

“What else happened?”

“I said yes.”

“Well
obviously
.”

“I don’t think you want the other
details.”

“If they’re gross, no,” Pratt moves to her
knees. “But did you decide when? And where?”

“This only happened last night,” I laugh.
“And besides, we have other things we need to be focusing on right
now.”

“So?” she shrugs. “Who cares? We’ve had
enough bad news for awhile. I think this is
awesome
. Wait!
Can I be your maid of honor?”

“I’m not really sure we’re going to have
that kind of—”

Vix appears in the tunnel’s entrance.
“Sampson is requesting everyone’s presence in the Dining Hall. Mae,
I will carry you.”

Pratt turns back to me. “This isn’t over. We
have wedding details to discuss!”

“Wedding?” Vix looks between us. “Who is
getting married?”

Before I can answer, Pratt jumps off the
bed. “Fallon and Reid.”

“Oh?” Vix smiles warmly at me, genuine
happiness radiating from her eyes and upturned mouth.
“Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” I rub my arm.

“Does Clarence know?”

“Yeah. Still having trouble controlling my
channels. I guess he sort of listened in.”

“I will congratulate him as well,” she
approaches the bed and scoops Mae into her arms. Vix spins and
carries her to the tunnel again.

“Congratulate him?” I follow. “For
what?”

“Marriage always precedes children. I am
sure he is expecting great-great-great-grandchildren.”

“What?” I choke just as Mae and Pratt start
in a laughing fit. “I don’t think… we’re not really planning—”

“Planning has very little to do with it. It
is either meant to happen, or it is not. The Mother will either
grant you children, or she will not. So Clarence can expect and you
can do your best to plan, but there is no use deliberating over
what fate has in store for us,” she looks at me. “Best to be
prepared for the onslaught of questions.”

“Questions?” Mae asks this time.

“Of when Fallon will be giving him
great-great-great-grandchildren,” Vix heads down the tunnel and
toward the Great Hall. “As soon as the wedding is over, the
questions—and expectations—will start.”

“Can we please talk about something else?” I
ask. “
Seriously
.”

“Who knows…” Pratt giggles, “…you might’ve
already started on it.”

“Pratt.”

“What?”

“Vix,” I move to her side. “Not everyone
knows. Do you mind keeping it on the D.L.?”

“D.L.?”

“Down low. I’d rather tell people myself and
I don’t think now is the right time.”

“Of course,” she leads us into the Great
Hall where a team of Mybyncians work to clear the broken fragments
of debris. We step over the coral boulders and head for the passage
to the Dining Hall. “It is your business, after all.”

“Thank you.”

“But I would not wait too long. With
information like this, it is always bound to get loose before you
intend it to. If you really want to be the one to inform the
others, I would suggest doing it sooner rather than later.”

“But the FH was just attacked! Princess
Sansa was…” I stop that train of thought and refocus. “No one cares
about a wedding.”

Vix looks over at me. “Sometimes the only
way to get past the dark is to seek the light.”

“People
do
need something positive to
focus on,” Mae agrees.

“I doubt our marriage is it, but okay,” I
roll my eyes, feeling way too wrong about all of this. “Soon, but
not today.”

Vix nods as she leads us to the Dining Hall.
When we reach it, I instantly feel the sting of claustrophobia. The
room is lined with bodies but Sampson, along with the other
Dofinikes, Reid, Tucker, Walker, Ariana, Chancellor Keller, Ehan,
Norhra, Ghion, King Thias and Warze are all seated at the central
table. There are only a couple of empty seats and as we approach,
Sampson gestures us to sit.

“Fallon,” he indicates the chair across from
him.

I sit and Pratt finds a seat as well. Still
holding Mae, Vix moves to the wall and stands behind me.

Threading his fingers together, Sampson
leans in. “I had hoped to meet with everyone in another few days,
at which point I would have presented the Gifts and described in
detail how we would lure Reuzkimpart to the Nerwolix valley and
capture him as he attempted to steal the Gifts. As you know, that
is no longer the situation. A massive assault was launched by the
Muskos earlier this afternoon and although the casualty count has
been great, the loss of Princess Sansa…” his voice softens, “…is
unfathomable. Queen Ravan,” Sampson pauses, his eyes heavy with
grief. “Queen Ravan is under no obligation to assist us further in
our endeavor to stop Reuzkimpart. She is not only a queen, but a
grieving mother, and we must leave her to her mourning during this
difficult time. Without permission to seek the Shadow Bag and our
inability to locate the Floating Ruby…” Sampson inhales, “I’m
afraid… there is no choice other than to invade Dellapalania.”

“This not what you want,” the Zingfinold
king says.

“I would not seek to invade my homeland at
this time, no.”

“But what other choice do we have?” Jothkore
asks. “If Reuzkimpart will not come to us, we must seek him out!
Put an end to this genocide.”

“You all know my fear comes from the
endangerment of my Arizal brothers and sisters. What good is it to
seek the end of a universal genocide when a small one may occur in
the process? How can we protect the Arizal Dofinikes still living
and trapped on Dellapalania?”

“Surely they can present themselves—”

“It is not that simple,” Blovid cuts off
Ehan. “They are unable to show themselves as—”

“When fighting start, Arizal join in,” King
Hozfin says. “Where confusion?”

“The Arizal Dofinikes will want to join the
cause and stop the Vermix, yes,” Sampson agrees, “but my concern is
that the Zingfinolds or the Nerwos will strike at them before they
are able to identify themselves as allies.”

“And the Mybyncians,” Ariana’s strong voice
joins the conversation. “We are still participating in this war.
The Vermix did attack us nearly three months ago searching for
you,” she focuses on Blovid. “We are not going to sit idly by and
let Nerwolix handle it.”

“But you’ve got your hands full with the
Muskos,” Clarence says. “Do you really think your mother would
want—?”

“It is not a matter of want. The Vermix
assaulted our land, hoping to steal from us our most precious
possession. It would be unwise for us to sit by when we could
vanquish this threat for good. Yes, we have to deal with the Muskos
and the threat they pose as well, but we are a strong World and
possess a united force. We can fight two wars at once; I am sure of
it.”

Sampson and Clarence exchange glances.

Leaning in, the Fychu holds his breath a
moment before beginning. “Your highness…Perio has recruited nearly
five thousand supporters.”

“And what is five thousand against
twenty-thousand?”

“He means to kill—”

“Oh I am aware of his plan. With Sansa’s—”
she pauses, tears glazing her orange eyes. Batting them away,
Ariana takes a moment, then restarts. “Varielle is after the
throne. She wishes to destroy everything my mother has worked for
and I refuse to let that happen. My obligation to protect this
World will not lessen by aiding the Arizals who wish to stop
Reuzkimpart. His goal is just as treacherous as Varielle’s. I plan
to extinguish both.”

Chancellor Keller sits forward. “Perio has
been recruiting heavily these past few months. He has persuaded
many others to abandon their belief in the Way and join, what he
calls, the
true
loyalty. They are, as I assume, similar to
the Vermix in the belief that each World possesses a sacred and
magical Gift; but the communion between the Worlds, the idea that
we are all one, is not of the highest importance.” He sighs with a
look over at Sampson. “I suppose it is easy to fall into
identifying with those who are like you, who look like you and
speak as you do. Giving up the idea of universal peace and
acceptance can be easy for some and Perio is monopolizing this
weakness as a way to build his army. It may be five thousand today,
Princess,” he turns back to Ariana. “But it could be ten thousand
tomorrow.”

“Then I am sad more of our people will
die.”

Chancellor Keller releases a breath, as if
she is forcing him to say something. “Perhaps it is not wise to
chase a foreign enemy while a domestic threat sits in our
waters.”