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Previous Chapter: ENDLESS Chapter 71: Farewell

Next Chapter: ENDLESS Chapter 73: One Talk

All Chapters HERE .

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CHAPTER 72: AFTERMATH

Malia’s world became blissfully simple during combat: the tingle of her tensed muscles, the fresh air against her heated skin, the anticipation of gratifying pain each time she blocked an attack, the satisfaction when she dodged another. In that narrow universe there was no room for complex emotions, or tears, or grief, or-

“Damn it!” Aldous’ frustration terminated the sparring match, “I yield. You win, you brute of a princess. This is the last time I indulge your weird sadism.”

“Come on,” she helped him get up, “you’re the only one I can count on. Fighting helps me relax, and you’re better at hand to hand than Bayard is.”

“Indeed.” Bayard confirmed from his comfy spot by the shade of a tree. He was calmly peeling a tangerine, its fragrance impregnating the surrounding Eirian gardens.

“I can be your opponent.” Gorken stepped in.

“Avenge me, boss!” Aldous cheered, “Anyway, you two have been exceedingly energetic since-” the redhead stopped abruptly, realizing what he was about to say, “…since you recovered. It’s only fair that you face each other.”

Malia pretended she was staring at the tree tops before talking, when in truth she was choking back tears with everything she had. She was tired of crying. “…I don’t want to fight you, Gorken. I can’t picture myself hitting you.”

“I see how it is!” Aldous took the chance to veer the conversation to a lighter tone, “You love him too much to hit him, but you’re just fine beating me up… and may I remind you I’m missing a forearm!”

“Aldous, I love you too.” Malia smiled, “Just in a different way. You’re my ideal of what a big brother should be… and I think it’s normal to tussle with your siblings. You’re a great warrior, so your missing limb is almost a non-factor.”

“I know you’re buttering me up, young lady, but I’ll let it slide because I really need to steal Bayard’s tangerine at the moment. His placid mood is irritating for some reason.”

“I can hear you.” Bayard said.

“I’m counting on that.” Aldous stomped toward his target.

Malia was about to follow the freckled man when Gorken pinned down her elusive gaze with his own. “If you won’t fight me,” he grabbed her arm, “then don’t run from me either. We haven’t talked about Kadem. About what she did for us.”

He was right. A few days had gone by, and Malia still couldn’t bring herself to understand what she felt. Thinking of Kadem’s name was enough to crush her composure, but the sadness took root in anger and resentment. It was better not to think about it. “What is there to talk about? I have nothing to say.”

“Malia,” Gorken somehow sounded both tender and stern, “I asked you not to run from me.”

“What do you want to hear?”

“The truth.” He clasped her hand gently, “How you feel. The reason why you refuse to look me in the eye. The reason why you obsessively focus on sparring to keep your mind occupied. Everything. I won’t know if you don’t tell me.”

“I’m not so sure about that. You seem to know everything already.” She grabbed his hand in return, pressed it to her forehead, and then kissed it. “…My master died as a consequence of saving my life. The dragon chose to die by my hand instead of killing me. Kadem’s essence is now coursing through my veins… What can I possibly do to live up to that? My own life was enough of a burden, and now… No matter what I do I’ll never be worthy of what was sacrificed to keep me here. And what for? I have no clue what I want to do-” Malia halted, “That isn’t even true. But whatever I want will never be good enough… Kadem didn’t even give me a choice. She didn’t ask, she didn’t explain, she just went and died for us… and the worst part of all is that I’m happy to be alive despite it all! I feel I want to be angry all the time, and yet I’m relieved, and that annoys me. I want to be angry at Kadem for dying of her own accord, but instead I’m grateful… I’m just weary of being confused and bitter about everything. I wish I could be noble, dignified, wise. I’m just a mess though. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

“I don’t know either.” Gorken confessed, “I’m the same as you. But we’ll figure it out, little by little, together. We owe the dead at least that much.” He held her close, in that unfair way that invariably convinced her that everything would be alright.

Aldous and Bayard soon joined the embrace, turning it into a group hug. The twins had been watching from a distance, and at the sight of the scene Hedera rushed to join in; Licorice was unwilling to participate in the excessive display of human affection, but she intended to show her support nonetheless, so she stood close and patted Malia’s back lightly.

A few silent instants had gone by when Aldous said, “That was a long ramble for someone who had ‘nothing to say’.”

“Thank you Aldous.” Malia stepped back, “Without you we wouldn’t have known the loving moment was over.”

As they walked back to Bayard’s spot under the tree, where they had left the basket of fruits, Malia talked once more, “The last silver child still has no grave. We should take her remains back to her home, I think. We can bury her there, make a worthy resting place.”

“We’ll do just that.” Gorken patted her head.

“We should make preparations for our departure then.” Bayard added.

“Preparations will have to wait.” Licorice stated.

“By the subtle grumbling of the earth,” Hedera completed her sister’s thought, “I’d say there’s a relatively big party approaching, horses and carriages and all. Frida and Clarissa are back.”

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You can also follow ENDLESS on TWITTER !

Previous Chapter: ENDLESS Chapter 71: Farewell

Next Chapter: ENDLESS Chapter 73: One Talk

All Chapters HERE .

Watch the Trailer: ENDLESS Trailer

CHAPTER 72: AFTERMATH

Malia’s world became blissfully simple during combat: the tingle of her tensed muscles, the fresh air against her heated skin, the anticipation of gratifying pain each time she blocked an attack, the satisfaction when she dodged another. In that narrow universe there was no room for complex emotions, or tears, or grief, or-

“Damn it!” Aldous’ frustration terminated the sparring match, “I yield. You win, you brute of a princess. This is the last time I indulge your weird sadism.”

“Come on,” she helped him get up, “you’re the only one I can count on. Fighting helps me relax, and you’re better at hand to hand than Bayard is.”

“Indeed.” Bayard confirmed from his comfy spot by the shade of a tree. He was calmly peeling a tangerine, its fragrance impregnating the surrounding Eirian gardens.

“I can be your opponent.” Gorken stepped in.

“Avenge me, boss!” Aldous cheered, “Anyway, you two have been exceedingly energetic since-” the redhead stopped abruptly, realizing what he was about to say, “…since you recovered. It’s only fair that you face each other.”

Malia pretended she was staring at the tree tops before talking, when in truth she was choking back tears with everything she had. She was tired of crying. “…I don’t want to fight you, Gorken. I can’t picture myself hitting you.”

“I see how it is!” Aldous took the chance to veer the conversation to a lighter tone, “You love him too much to hit him, but you’re just fine beating me up… and may I remind you I’m missing a forearm!”

“Aldous, I love you too.” Malia smiled, “Just in a different way. You’re my ideal of what a big brother should be… and I think it’s normal to tussle with your siblings. You’re a great warrior, so your missing limb is almost a non-factor.”

“I know you’re buttering me up, young lady, but I’ll let it slide because I really need to steal Bayard’s tangerine at the moment. His placid mood is irritating for some reason.”

“I can hear you.” Bayard said.

“I’m counting on that.” Aldous stomped toward his target.

Malia was about to follow the freckled man when Gorken pinned down her elusive gaze with his own. “If you won’t fight me,” he grabbed her arm, “then don’t run from me either. We haven’t talked about Kadem. About what she did for us.”

He was right. A few days had gone by, and Malia still couldn’t bring herself to understand what she felt. Thinking of Kadem’s name was enough to crush her composure, but the sadness took root in anger and resentment. It was better not to think about it. “What is there to talk about? I have nothing to say.”

“Malia,” Gorken somehow sounded both tender and stern, “I asked you not to run from me.”

“What do you want to hear?”

“The truth.” He clasped her hand gently, “How you feel. The reason why you refuse to look me in the eye. The reason why you obsessively focus on sparring to keep your mind occupied. Everything. I won’t know if you don’t tell me.”

“I’m not so sure about that. You seem to know everything already.” She grabbed his hand in return, pressed it to her forehead, and then kissed it. “…My master died as a consequence of saving my life. The dragon chose to die by my hand instead of killing me. Kadem’s essence is now coursing through my veins… What can I possibly do to live up to that? My own life was enough of a burden, and now… No matter what I do I’ll never be worthy of what was sacrificed to keep me here. And what for? I have no clue what I want to do-” Malia halted, “That isn’t even true. But whatever I want will never be good enough… Kadem didn’t even give me a choice. She didn’t ask, she didn’t explain, she just went and died for us… and the worst part of all is that I’m happy to be alive despite it all! I feel I want to be angry all the time, and yet I’m relieved, and that annoys me. I want to be angry at Kadem for dying of her own accord, but instead I’m grateful… I’m just weary of being confused and bitter about everything. I wish I could be noble, dignified, wise. I’m just a mess though. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

“I don’t know either.” Gorken confessed, “I’m the same as you. But we’ll figure it out, little by little, together. We owe the dead at least that much.” He held her close, in that unfair way that invariably convinced her that everything would be alright.

Aldous and Bayard soon joined the embrace, turning it into a group hug. The twins had been watching from a distance, and at the sight of the scene Hedera rushed to join in; Licorice was unwilling to participate in the excessive display of human affection, but she intended to show her support nonetheless, so she stood close and patted Malia’s back lightly.

A few silent instants had gone by when Aldous said, “That was a long ramble for someone who had ‘nothing to say’.”

“Thank you Aldous.” Malia stepped back, “Without you we wouldn’t have known the loving moment was over.”

As they walked back to Bayard’s spot under the tree, where they had left the basket of fruits, Malia talked once more, “The last silver child still has no grave. We should take her remains back to her home, I think. We can bury her there, make a worthy resting place.”

“We’ll do just that.” Gorken patted her head.

“We should make preparations for our departure then.” Bayard added.

“Preparations will have to wait.” Licorice stated.

“By the subtle grumbling of the earth,” Hedera completed her sister’s thought, “I’d say there’s a relatively big party approaching, horses and carriages and all. Frida and Clarissa are back.”