Ever since I’ve been in this world, I’ve hated being asleep. In the beginning, I was given visions of my human world and waking up just reminded me I wasn’t there. A little later, I started seeing visions of death and destruction. Ominous omens of a fate that awaited us if nothing stopped Necrozma. And then came her. She became omnipresent in my dozing hours, whispering poison upon poison directly in my subconscious retreat.


So, of course, I didn’t ever want to sleep. I tried thing after thing to avoid it. Stimulants, dream repressers, meditation. Anything I could get my paws on I tried. And anything I ever tried never worked. I needed to sleep and sleep brought its own problems. Worse yet, it brought problems to others. The night terrors always made me scream out, trying to verbalize the fear and frustration I was feeling in my gut. I always felt so guilty whenever I saw someone woke up because of my outburst. They never seemed to hold a grudge but they also didn’t stop me when I moved into my own dorm. Of course, Axe moved in with me. He told me that he wouldn’t let me sleep alone, he told me he wanted to be there whenever I woke up so he could remind me that dreams weren’t real. I couldn’t hide my tears when he offered that. In part because of his compassion and in part because I had never told him, or anyone, the nature of my nightmares.


This was the first time, the only time, I was okay with being asleep. Mainly because for the first time ever I didn’t have a single dream to interrupt my rest. There was only darkness. I let it settle over and around me like a warm cloak. There was peace there, there was calm there, everything I felt entitled to after a year of fighting for my life and the life of every damn thing on this planet.


Yet, there were moments where I tried to make my way out of the darkness, return to the world of light. And everytime I tried, painful reminders clawed at the ends of each one of my nerves. Sore muscles, broken bones, overtaxed joints, blistered hooves, cracked armor. Wound upon wound made itself known to me. It hurt. I felt myself grunt out in pain and agony. Only to feel someone, somebody, place their hand upon mine. A soft touch among endless sensations of pain. That was the only thing that gave me hope that maybe there was something worth waking up for. It kept me sane, it kept me alive.


But everytime, I ran back down to sleep. Cowering away from the misery of being awake. The cloak of darkness was again laid upon my shoulders and embraced me back in its bosom. Cycle after cycle of reawakening and slumbering continued for sometime. Until finally I decided that enough was enough. I was sick of the quiet, of the silence. I wanted to move again and return to my one and only goal. Seeing Axe again.


The pains were just dull aches now, slowly my body had healed and again found it fit to listen to me when I opened my eyes. The room was gray and smelled of medicine. Hazy filtered light passed through minute cracks in the blinds that had been drawn around the window. The sun, I thought.


I recognized the room, with its beds and tables, its shelves of plants and potions, its smell of disinfectant and sterility. The medical room at our guild hall. I sighed out and felt a wellspring of calm set upon my back. Part of me was worried that I would have no idea where I was, or I would have been still fighting Celebi, or stuck between the worlds again. Or that I was just dead.


There was a pan of water and an apple or two. Both were gone in moments.


I didn’t see anyone else around the room, there weren’t any clues who my mystery attendant was, but I heard noises echoing down the hallway through the walls. My bones and armor creaked as I stood back up, new plates always took some time to adjust to. They never grew in identical to what they were before. Each step was stiff, not only because of my prolonged rest, but because of the many casts of roots I could feel around each part of me. Still, I forged on. I had been in bed long enough. It was time to move.


I passed by the mirror on the wall as I made my way towards the door. Normally, I avoid reflective surfaces since they were only reminders that I wasn’t human any more. But just this one time, I took a moment just to understand the extent of my injuries. The Lairon I saw was covered in roots. Each leg, around my chest, about my head. I looked more like a Grottle than a Lairon at the moment with the amount of foliage around me. The blue eyes though, they were glowing in the dim light.


‘Could be worse,’ I rationalized, ‘I could be dead.’ What a funny way of thinking, I never thought that way before. Facing Celebi like I had wasn’t anything that I hadn’t done before. Multiple expeditions, multiple battles with living legends, multiple times where I had ended up in this very room before. When sleep was torture and consciousness was constant conflict, sometimes I had wished I won’t wake up.


I shivered at that thought, pushing it away now like I did everytime it popped up. I’ve spent too long trying to get home to sit around and act like that.


‘Except I don’t have a way home anymore…’ I remembered. The realm of Time Betwixt Time. The fight against Celebi. The hatred she had for me and my guild and my hatred for her. I hung my head in painful acceptance. There was no way of coming back from that, I did not have a single shred of hope that Celebi would still help me get back home now.


I was stuck here. Stuck as a human turned into a Pokemon. 


“Dammit!” I swore. “Damn you, Witch!” Her disgusting features came to mind, and I stewed in my hatred of her for a bit before letting it drip away. That wasn’t what I needed to be doing right now.


‘If no one else is here, it means that no one’s injured!’ I put together. That meant that none of them were too hurt, and that was damn good news. I stepped out into the hall to try and find them, find anyone.


The halls of my guild were familiar sights for sore eyes as I limped down them. Despite how much better I felt, casts of vines were hampering my mobility. I rested along the wall to keep me upright and moving. I was currently on the bottom floor, the top two were the dorm rooms. The Men’s, the Women’s, and mine with Axe. Down here was where the kitchen, the medical room, the common room, and the meeting hall were. The latter of which is where I heard the voices coming from. The sounds were too indistinct to distinguish who was all in there, but odds are that’s where Axe would be so that was my destination.


The sliding door was slightly ajar and I reached towards it to head in when I heard it.


“-say I wanted him gone!” The emotion in that voice gave me pause. There was a lot of anger and frustration. I wasn’t sure who was speaking but it halted my hoof in midair.


“Well it’s clear you don’t want him here anymore.”


“Don’t you dare put Frackin’ words in my mouth, Ada!”


“Axe, please calm down!”


“Calm down?! Calm down?! Why the Frack would I be calm right now!?”


“Please stop yelling, please.”


“Shut up, Pat! I’ll be as loud as I want!”


“That’s enough!” Those words cut through the tension in the room. Boss could take control with two words and even in the hallway I felt the number of eyes that turned towards his way. I felt drawn in by the strength necessary to make decisions and lead others. Except, I still couldn’t move. I hovered just inches away from stepping into that room, but after overhearing what I did, I couldn’t. Boss continued talking.


“I know there’s a great deal on everyone’s mind. I too have a lot of confusion regarding Ron and his connection to Celebi. There’s a lot we don’t know right now. But control yourselves! Especially you, Axe! The next person to yell at their fellow guildmate is going to know what my Manly Fist feels like. Am I clear!?”


The silence is deafening. They were fighting about me. That shouting was about me. ‘That’s right. I told them.’ I had admitted my lies to them. Of course they were confused. Of course they were angry. Of course they were arguing about me. I didn’t know what to do. To enter and face those emotions or run and hide from my friends, each choice felt impossible.


‘Maybe I should have stayed asleep. I can’t do this. I can’t do this. I can’t do this.’


‘Still a weakling, I see.’ That voice was in my head. It stunned me out of my cycle of thoughts.


‘What? You? You’re still here?’


‘Like I have told you before, Ron. I desire to see what lies beyond, what rebellious spirit yet dwells within your body. You’ve intrigued me. I think I shall yet stay by your side and see where you go from here. And you have your promise to keep with me as well.’


I was stunned. I had believed that voice was just a figment of my imagination or just a brief delusion or insanity. But here it still was, just as real.


‘Who are you!?’ I demanded of it.


‘I am an observe-’ It started.


‘No, I mean it! Who are you!? Answer me or get out of my head!’


I felt hesitation in its response, the first amount of emotion I’ve ever perceived from it. ‘I will not part with that knowledge at this time, perhaps one day. But just know this, I am one such as you, a renegade. One with my own fate to oppose.’


‘Quit being so Fracking vague and give me a real answer, or even a damn name!’


‘Ron, I recognize this is selfish of me, but please understand. There are rules and I cannot break them without suffering reprisal. I have said all that I can.’


‘Well, Frack you, then.’


‘Peace! This agreement is not without benefit to you, all I ask is that you keep my presence confidential, at least for now.’


‘Or what!?’


‘Then I’ll retract my aid. And with it, your benefits.’


‘Benefits? What benefits?’


‘You still yet draw breath, do you not? You have my powers to thank for that, but there will be time for that later.’


‘We’re not done here!’ The voice did not respond. But voices returned from inside the meeting hall.


“Boomer, what do we do now then? Ron’s connection with Celebi remains uncertain. Yet what has me concerned is his health. His condition is improving but at an extremely unnatural pace. The damage he had sustained should, in my professional opinion, have been fatal. Yet he lives. I find the entire situation unsettling to be honest.” Ms. Olivia the Arboliva.


“Well, it’s pretty dang clear to me. Ol’ Thunderbutt kicked Ms. Fungus into next week all on his own and came back. In this humble ‘Mon’s opinion, he’s still one of the good guys.” Ditz the Salandit.


“Yeah, he was just trying to get her to leave! He was trying to help us.” Pat the Patrat.


“Pat, I don’t think it was as simple as that. If he wanted to help us, wouldn’t he have fought alongside us? Instead he told us to stop fighting her.’ Lux the Lampent.


“So you think he was an ally with Celebi all along?” Boss Boomer the Rillaboom answered.


“I… I don’t know what to think, Boss. Cause if he wanted us to not fight her, he would have said something when she showed up and not after we were all defeated the first time. And then, when he fell from, from who knows where, he begged me to stay with him. I can’t imagine the pain that he was in, he looked horrendous, but if he was fighting Celebi then they are not really allies in my opinion in my eyes. I realize… it’s complicated.”


“Don’t be fooled, that guy has been playing us from the get go. All that talk trying to figure out how to get home and return to his own world, and he knew the entire time. He doesn’t deserve our pity! He owes us for everything we’ve ever done for him, and he betrayed us. It couldn’t be more simple.” Ada the Ariados. She sounded so angry. More angry than I have ever heard her.


I took a step back from the crack in the door. The weight of emotion in that room was pressing on me even out here. The weight of my actions was just as stifling. What a fool I was, thinking that just because I admitted my lies would absolve my crimes. Ravenous, monstrous guilt welled up from the cage I kept pinned down. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, each leafy root seemed to restrict me tighter and tighter.


‘No… Ada. It wasn’t like that. It wasn’t like that. I, I just- I couldn’t...’ 


Couldn’t what? Couldn’t be honest to them? Couldn’t be real with them? I chose to lie to them, again and again. And now what I’ve sewn has come to be reaped. And all I wanted to do was run away. Run away and not look back. The guild was fighting over me, cause of what I’ve done to them. I wanted to run away, but I couldn’t. It wasn’t responsibility that kept me rooted in place, it was more fear. The same that kept me from entering that room was the same that kept me from running away. I had no idea which option to take. Neither of them were going to do me any good.


“Really, Ada, is that what you think?” My eyes lit up as Tim the Timburr asked her that question. There wasn’t any answer from the Ariados. “I wasn’t there to fight Celebi, I wasn’t there to hear what he said. But I was there for everything before, that guy fought hard. Ron fought harder than anyone to save the world. And I know you know that too. We all watched him time after time push himself to the brink of exhaustion to save our planet. If Celebi was simply an ally, who could have sent him home at any time, he wouldn’t have gone that far. He wouldn’t have needed to.”


“So.. so what? It still doesn’t mean he’s not her ally. Cause I was there, he said it himself. I mean…” her words faltered, “why complicate it any more? I mean, he wanted to go home. That’s all… right?”


“Be honest, Ada. What are you thinking?” Boss said again. I heard my guildmate sigh.


“I don’t know why he’s back. If he wanted to go home, and he left with Celebi, why’s he back?”


No one answered her. I couldn’t answer her. I was paralyzed with guilt and indecision.


‘Ada…’


“I appreciate all of your viewpoints, but there’s one of us I’d like to hear from too. Out with it, Axe. You knew Ron the best of all of us. What’s your take?”


“Boss, I- I can’t.” That was the least sure I have ever heard him speak. I looked to the ground. Of all people, of all Pokemon, Axe the Fraxure had never been unsure of himself. He never once faltered. He never once wavered. But there he was. That worried me more than anyone else's testimony.


“Enough of that! Bare your Manly soul! You don't have to be right. Hell, half of us are just as confused as you are. But they aired their thoughts, it's time you have told us yours.


“I can't, Boss!! I can't say anything! I have no idea what to think! I have no idea what to believe! We could talk about it for the rest of Fracking time! We could argue and yell at each other forever and it still wouldn't be enough. Cause it doesn't matter what I, or you, or anyone says. I'd never accept it until I heard it from Ron. He's the only one who knows! And he's still asleep!”


All I felt was guilt. To hear Axe yell like that, to Boss, to the guild, and know I was the cause. I was the cause of all the chaos and confusion. It hurt. More than the wounds I still had.


“I'm with Axe.” That was a voice I hadn't heard often. Orlov was a Snorlax of few words. I had only spoken directly with him a couple times, usually he just grunted and nodded and left it to us to interpret his intentions.


“Olivia?” Boss asked.


“I do not know what to tell you, Boomer. Like I mentioned, his recovery has been beyond my expertise. How he managed to ward off death in that state was not natural. It could be today, tomorrow, or even in another week. I just don't know.”


“It's today.” Orlov said.


“What makes you say that?” Boss asked.


“He's been at the door listening for the last few minutes.”


I was stunned, I had been caught! My legs wanted to run. I stepped back, frantically looking left and right for an escape. I saw the front door to the guild. I could be gone in seconds and I didn’t have many of those. I lifted a leg, and froze.


‘Do I really want to run?’ I didn’t know. If I ran, I don’t think I would ever forgive myself but if I stayed then I would have to face all of them. And their anger. There’s no way out!


‘But if I ran, I would be running from Axe.’ I couldn’t handle the contradiction and in the end my own indecision is what failed me. The door shot open, the hallway was flooded with light and shadow. The presence of a very large and very angry Pokemon stared down at me. I couldn’t turn to face him. And there was no way I could have run from him. It seemed that decisions were made for me.


“Take one more step and you’ll regret it.” Boss threatened. I believed him. There wasn’t any humor in his voice. The words were soaked in barely contained hostility. He was at the end of his rope and I had no will to resist. I put my foot down. “Your ass. In here. NOW!” I shuddered as he stepped to the side.


The first step. That was the hardest. I didn’t want to. I still didn’t want to face any of them. There wasn’t anything in there for me. But I still took a step. And then another. And another. I was limping still, unsteady on my feet, but I moved into the guild hall.


I kept my eyes on the ground, the well used floor of natural dirt and soil. Boss said he wanted to feel the earth beneath him at all times. Though I looked down, I felt them all, nine sets of eyes. The most amazing Pokemon I have ever met, the heroes, the rescuers, the most kind and compassionate and selfless and virtuous Pokemon in this or any world I was certain. But I felt zero of that kindness now. I felt the divide between them and I. All I could do was stare at the ground and trot into the center of the room.


Boss closed the door with a slam behind me. He could have hit me directly, that would have felt better actually, Boss trying to contain his rage was not something I ever liked to see and never wanted to be on the receiving end of.
 
My heart pounded in my chest, I was having trouble breathing. No one talked. No one moved.


Eventually, I had enough of the pressure. I needed to alleviate it or I was going to implode. But what do I say? How do I bridge this canyon?


“He- Hello… Everyone…” The words were flat. And even I knew that it was a pathetic attempt.


“Can it, Ron! We have questions, you’ll answer them. And you’d better if you know-”


“No!” Ms. Olivia’s voice interrupted Boss demands. “He’s still my patient, you won’t do any such thing till I clear him.” Boss growled behind me but sat down with a thump, I didn’t miss the way he put himself between me and the door.


Our matron walked up to me. I couldn’t look up at her, I was grateful for her stalling my interrogation but it wasn’t as if I could avoid it indefinitely.


“Ron, how are you feeling?”


“Um.. I’m okay.”


“Look at me when you speak to me.” There was a demand for respect in those words. They made me cringe, but I bucked up. I couldn’t just sit here cowering in front of her, of any of them, or Axe. My head was heavy, but I raised my eyes. I needed to look at her. If I couldn’t meet Olivia’s eyes, the one person I could perhaps even count as my ally, then I’d never meet any of theirs. I needed to be stronger than this fear.


She stood above me, her eyes were a mix of emotions that I couldn’t place besides concern. I just hoped it was concern for my well being.


“I’m okay, Ma’am.” I repeated, with a stronger conviction.


“No pain?”


“Just some aches, but otherwise I feel fine.” She squinted at me, clearly in disbelief.


“Allow me.” Olivia did not stall before she extended her roots across my body. Seeping through and around the casts that still covered me. They made me feel itchy, there was an… urgency with the way they scoured across my frame. It felt so foreign, so unlike any other time she examined me. I couldn’t hold her gaze for more than seconds at a time, but I tried. I didn’t want to run from her.


The tendrils retracted across my body and she stepped away. As she did I took a chance to peek around the room. The other members of my guild were looking at me, all somewhere on the spectrum between confusion and contempt for me. They all met my eyes, one by one, various forms and features of my once companions. I was unsure where they considered me.


Axe, however, he had secluded himself in the corner. The window painted him with silvery gray light from clouded sky. He didn’t look at me. He looked so haggard and tired, so just utterly defeated. This wasn’t the Axe that said he’d save me. I think I had killed that version of him. The only saving grace is that he didn’t look injured, none of them did.


I looked to the ground. ‘So that’s it. I saw him again. Nothing matters now. Whatever happens, happens.’


‘Pathetic.’ The voice said.


‘Shut up!’


“Well, Olivia. Out with it.” Boss commanded and brought me back to the present. The Arboliva didn’t answer immediately. She seemed to be contemplating something deeply, yet she turned back towards Boss and myself.


“As I said, it’s unsettling, however Ron’s injuries are no longer life threatening. I had trouble even finding evidence he had been injured in the first place. It’s a miracle. A couple more days of rest and it will be like nothing ever happened.”


“So?”


“Ask your questions. I myself long to understand just what secrets Ron has been hiding from us.”


I had my own questions to ask, but this clearly wasn’t the time, not with the energy in the room. And now that Olivia has cleared me, there was no longer any barrier to hide behind. I steeled myself for the inevitable assault.


“Ron! I’ll only ask this once. What is your relationship to Celebi? What did she want with you?”


I snorted. Of course, the hardest question to answer was the first question asked. Tumultuous emotions welled around my skull and heart.  I didn’t know how to even begin with such a question. A year of history, the events only known to me and the events I lied about to all of them. I had no idea how to untangle that plethora of corruption.


“I-”


“Ron!!” Pat charged forward and clamped his body around my leg. His fuzzy form gripped me tightly. I could feel the dampness about his eyes as he nuzzled me. There was something in me, something that told me to let him hold me. Because then I was at least being held too.


“Pat..” I whispered at him.


“Ron, you need to tell them! I tried! I tried but they wouldn’t listen to me! They think I’m too small. But I’m not! I’m a member of the strongest guild! You wanted to save us! That’s why you lied to Celebi! Right?! You saved me from Celebi! Tell them Ron! They’ll listen to you!” I heard his pleas. The desperation in his voice. Each word only cut me deeper and deeper.


‘How long?’ I wondered, ‘How long had I been away? How long has everyone been fighting?’ I thought the battle was over for now. How wrong I was. Every single one of them was still fighting. Ever since I left with Celebi.


“Pat.. I…” I had no words to say to him. Anything I thought only made me feel worse. This was actually harder than fighting Celebi. Those wounds were physical, these were mental.


“You need to tell them!” He begged me, looking into my eyes. A never ending cascade of tears were pouring from them. And every instinct in me wanted to tell him he was right, that it was okay, that it was all just a lie or a bad dream. Then he wouldn’t have to cry. I could tell him he was safe. “Axe is sad all the time. Ada wants you kicked out! Lux and Ditz won’t play with me anymore! They’re all scared but won’t admit it. But I knew, I knew you would come back. I knew you wouldn’t lose to Celebi. You wouldn’t lose to anyone. You’re a hero, Ron! You need to tell them that!”


My blood ran cold, all the sparking feeling of happiness from his words was torn asunder. He called me the worst thing imaginable. I had hoped to get through this unscathed. What a fairy tale. What a pipe dream. There was no getting through this unharmed. They were all fighting still, against the ghost I had been for the past year.


I’m not a hero. I’m a liar. Waging a battle of words and too many consequences.


‘And no one is coming to save me…’ I told myself.


‘What will you do?’ That voice asked.


I looked up from Pat. I looked at the faces of my guild. From my spot in the center, I couldn’t hide from any of them. I sighed out. There weren’t any words I could say to take away his pain, any of their pain. A hero could, a rescuer could, but I couldn’t. So I had only one recourse. I had to take it instead. I can take it.


“Ron…” Pat whined at me.


“That’s enough, Pat. I asked him a question! He needs to answer it.” Boss’ stern voice sounded from behind me.


“And he will! You’ll see, Boss. You’ll all see! You’ll see that he’s a hero. He was lying to Celebi. You’ll see-”


“Pat.” I stopped him mid sentence. I rested my snout on his head. His sobs stopped immediately. I rested there for a minute, just reminding myself of how amazing everyone in this room was. I had enough of lies, I had enough of running away from them. “Thank you, Pat. You stood up to Celebi, that was very brave of you. It was amazing watching how you stood up to her to save me, you must have been scared.”


He nodded and gripped me tighter.


“I was scared too, so scared I couldn’t move, but you did. You saved me. So I need to thank you. I need to thank all of you.” I looked at each one of them in turn.


Olivia, Orlov, Lux, Ditz, Ada, Boss, and Tim. I tried to look each of them in the eye. At least the ones that met mine. I looked over at Axe, he was still looking out the window. Still avoiding me. I couldn’t blame him.


“But you can stop now, Pat. You can stop fighting for me. I’m not scared anymore. I’m not running from this.”


“So you’re going to tell them? Tell them how you’re the Chosen One? That you’re the hero that saved everyone?” He perked right up, eyes brightening and tail wagging. He looked so innocent, so honest. I wanted to simply tell him the truth, every miserable little secret in my heart. Let it boil over and evaporate off my soul. But that would crush him, he wouldn’t understand.


‘But he needs to know.’ I needed to tell him.


‘So what will you do?’ That annoying voice asked.


‘I’m going to do what I do best. I’m going to lie. Tell the realist lie I can.’


“Pat, I need to tell you a story.”


“Oooh! I love your stories!”


“Hey! I told you, Ron, I need to know-”


“I need to tell everyone this story.” I looked behind me. I held Boss’ gaze. The angry eyes of the strongest Pokemon I’ve ever known. I needed to tell him. I needed to tell every one of them. I think he understood. The hardest eyes I had ever seen from him squinted at me, trying to probe me for weakness. Like I was an enemy to defeat. I understood the fear. Celebi came down from who knows where, put the town and every citizen at risk, fought with the entire guild and they all barely walked away. That defeat was probably weighing on him the most of all. And I had been at the center of the entire conflict. “I swear I’ll answer every question you have when I’m done.”


Ada tsked off to my right. “What good is the word of someone who’s already admitted to being a liar?”


“Look, Ron.” Lux followed her. “I want to listen to you, but we’re having a hard time after… everything that’s happened.”


I looked at her, at all of them. I was losing them. I wanted to give up. But I just shook my head. Trying to curb those thoughts. They deserved honesty from me, I deserved distrust from them.


“I won’t ask you to trust me. We’re clearly beyond that.” I spoke aloud, more so to myself than towards any of them. “What’s done is done. But you all deserve to hear this story.”


“Is it a story from the human world?” Pat asked, he always loved my stories.


“Well, it’s a story about a human.”


“Is it the story about the bean stalk and the giant?”


“No, Pat. I’ve never told you this one. I’ve never told anyone this one.”


“I want to hear it.” The deep base of a Pokemon who almost never talked. Orlov rested on the wall in the back. It’s odd to see him looking so intently. He almost never seemed to move. I imagine that as a Snorlax, there’s difficulties involved.


“Well, we’ve got time till dinner.” I heard Ditz say, offering his support in his own odd way.


“I trust this story is relevant to the current discussion, Ron.” I looked at our matron. Ms. Olivia had retreated to the side of the room next to Axe, also staring out the window.


“Yes.” I answered, it wasn’t lost on me that she used the word trust.


“It better be.” Ada admitted. Lux and Tim just nodded at me.


“Boss?” I asked. He sat crisscrossed on the floor. Finger tapping on his knee in thought. His agitation was evident, but he was at least contemplating it. And that was enough of a victory.


“The second that this gets off topic, Ron, I’m stopping you. You hear me?” I expected to be relieved that he accepted, but it just made me more on edge. The pressure was mounting. Almost everyone had accepted, just one left.


“Axe.” He didn’t turn towards me. “I know I have a lot to answer for. To you most of all. But… I need you to hear this. My story doesn’t mean anything unless you’re willing to listen to it. Please.” I was already tired, clearly I wasn’t completely healed yet. And this was going to be a long tale. But before I could start I needed his assent.


He stared out the window. I couldn’t even tell if he heard me. I had burned every bridge I had with my lies. Like a boat at sea I was set adrift, tossed about my seas and winds and currents unimaginable. I could take it. I wasn’t going to be weak again. I fought like and through hell to get back here. To them, to him. I wasn’t going to run away without trying everything I could.


When he finally spoke, it was with resignation. He looked like he needed a couple days more sleep. “Do what you want.”


“Thank you.” I turned back to Pat. He was still clinging to my leg. I didn’t realize how touch starved I was. I felt his heat even through the casts of roots.


“This story is a long one. Are you ready?” He nodded. I breathed in deeply.


‘I can do this! I will make them understand.’


“It starts like it always does with tales such as these, with an encounter. Between a noble prince, and a fool.”