Fates: Chapter Thirty-Nine

Seirra

It was an understatement to say that Marge had a panic attack upon seeing my father's transformation. She went pale in less than a minute, her body going rigid before her hand unconsciously reached out to try and help Kalus. Her feet were rooted on the spot though, and she could only watch as my father dropped to the ground, crying in pain.

And then something must have snapped in her because she was suddenly shaking me, demanding for me to do something. She started babbling, debating with herself whether it was worth the risk to bring a magical creature to a hospital or not. I continued to watch Kalus, my muddled thoughts stopping me from doing anything. I almost tuned Margaret out but I caught on her next worry.

"Do you think it's wise to--" she was saying before I heard her surprised gasp. "Oh my god! He's naked!" She abruptly turned her back as an attempt at modesty and continued with her blabber. "How could I not have noticed it a while ago? Seirra! Your father's naked! We've got to put clothes on him as soon as possible. The cold might be making it more difficult for him. Oh my god! What do we do?"

I should have found this funny but I could not bring about that kind of emtion. Right now, all I could think of was how much I did not know about my own father and how so many mysteries were being solved by his presence on land.

His cries turned to screams as the pain became more and more unbearable.

"Argh! Whatever! It's just a naked body anyway," Marge said to me or to herself as she spun around to face my father again.

He was still suffering like a wounded animal. This was obviously the effects of the curse that made human interaction fatal to us. The consequences weren't instantaneous but the abnormal rate of aging caused by magic was a torture that was less preferable than sudden death. I was lucky to be able to use magic that countered the curse but this week-long trip was not at a low cost.

Suddenly, Erwann's warning voice came back to me.

She's...she's dying, Seirra.

I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists. I wanted to lash out again because of how unfair everything was. I could take an attack against me but endangering the lives of both Margaret and Marina was a choice I never would have made. Unfortunately, I was helpless in this situation. Fate was not in my hands and I had to live with the fact that my friends and loved ones would always be at risk.

"Seirra! What exactly is happening to him?" Marge demanded for what seemed to be the sixth or seventh time.

His magic must have been what had kept his body from showing how fast he was aging. Now however, he was too weak to summon even a drop of magic to ease his pain.

"Seirra, your father's dying!"

Margaret was shaking me again and this time, the meaning of her words finally hit me.

Another person was dying. My father was dying.

I moved in a flash, asking the Key for his clothes and using my own healing abilities to at least slow down his torture. There was not much I could do seeing as I had not fully recovered from the fight so I decided that we could no longer stay here.

"Marge, we need to get him somewhere we won't be seen. We've stayed here too long."

She understood the implications of what happened and she looked around, trying to figure out if the fight and the screams had attracted anybody's attention. We were not anywhere near the streets and the gym was at the back of the school but we had already pushed the limits of what we could risk tonight. She saw nobody and nodded.

"We can go to the infirmary or we can go home. I'm not too keen with the infirmary but seeing as Sir Kalus seemed not well enough to go anywhere, maybe that's the best choice we can make?'

She had a point. We could get my father in a bed and even if my father was a merman, we could still use whatever medicine or facilities we could find for the wounds that kept showing on his skin. However, staying here was still too dangerous for the three of us. We still had to avoid human detection.

"We'll go to your place since it's closer."

There was a bit of surprise in Marge's eyes but she did not protest. I took hold of my father's arm and began to lift him but that small movement caused him to scream in pain and I had to use magic again to lessen the agony of his movements. After a few more tries, I finally managed to carry him on my back and Marge went behind me to make sure that we did not fall over.

I had carried men before but never when I was weak--both physically and magically. Sweat immediately broke out of my forehead as I continued healing my father. The Key was thankfully helpful tonight, and I took comfort in the added strength and magic that it gave me.

Marge and I were silent as we walked slowly toward Books and Covers. We passed a few people along the way but they mostly did not even bother to take a second glance at us. I was thankful for their lack of curiosity. I guessed it must have been because it was already late and seeing someone carrying another person was not the most bizarre thing that one could see at night.

The walk took almost thirty minutes but I was soon distracted to bother with my surroundings or the added weight on my back. I was thinking about all the possible reasons why Kalus did what he did. I wondered about the connection between my mother and Marge's father. Mostly, I thought about how much my father knew Grampa. More and more questions swirled in my head. Questions about Aquania, my parents, even Marina.

The next thing I knew, Margaret was opening the door to Books and Covers. We went inside, up toward Grampa's old room. My father was still squirming and whimpering even after we settled him on the bed.

"We won't be able to talk to him if he's like that. What are we going to do?" Marge said, her voice filled with worry.

Her lack of anger bothered me but maybe she was simply thinking about our current predicament.

"Don't you even want him dead after what he did to you?" I asked testily.

"How could you even think that? He's your father!" she exclaimed. She realized how loud her voice had been so she took a calming breath. "Yes, he did try to kill me--us--but this is all so confusing and I'm actually quite all right while he's on the verge of death, so getting angry won't get us anywhere. You know what I mean?"

"There's a limit to being kind," I replied as I leaned on the window sill.

"Yeah but I'm not really being kind. I don't like what he did and I want to hurt him and shout at him but he's already suffering so what's the point? Right now, I honestly want to know why he did all of this."

She turned away from me as she sat down by my father on the bed.

"I've learned long ago that knowing the cause is as important as finding the solution. If I let him die, who would answer my questions? If I let him die, would that erase everything that he had done to me? To you? No. It won't. So I might as well let him live."

Her words were reasonable and again, I realized that she was a better person than anybody had ever given her credit for. Well, maybe except for Grampa. The way she could keep her emotions in check whenever needed was something not many people could do.

"Unnhh..."

My father was now sleeping but not peacefully. His eyebrows were drawn together and his head kept turning from left to right like he was having a nightmare. He was sobbing in his sleep but neither Marge nor I wanted to wake him. If this was the closest he could get to rest, then so be it, I decided.

What I had not expected was to hear Margaret's singing voice which seemed to calm my father in his troubled sleep. She chose a classical, something I also knew.

She was about to repeat it and without thinking, I allowed my voice to harmonize with hers. She glanced at me in surprise but she did not stop singing. I had heard this song played differently throughout the years but somehow, Ave Maria never sounded more beautiful than tonight.

Kalus had calmed by the time we finished the song. Both Marge and I watched him sleep for several moments, allowing silence to envelop the room. We had not moved either and in those quiet moments, the sounds of the night and our breathing seemed to have a soothing effect to the two of us as well.

"Maybe it's best for us to wait until tomorrow to get answers from him," Marge finally whispered.

Waiting meant that Marina still had longer to endure the suffering I should have been taking but forcing my father for answers right now would not be good for him. I could not risk it. Besides, I promised to give Margaret until Friday night.

"Okay. We'll wait."

"I have to attend our last day of rehearsals tomorrow. Promise me you'll wait for me."

I had a feeling that the delays Marge was raising were simply her way to give me time to go back to my rational self. She was entitled to the truth, however.

"We get answers tomorrow evening," I told her in a voice that would not allow her to challenge it.

She nodded with what seemed like relief. We went out of the room after that to allow my father an undisturbed sleep. I refused to give him any chance of escape so I left the door ajar and brought a chair right where I could still see him sleeping on the bed.

"You can't stay there all night," Marge told me when she realized I had no intention of leaving my current position.

"I'll be fine. Go get some sleep. You need to rest if you don't want to get sick and damage your voice."

"You need sleep too," she insisted.

"I'm fine."

I gave her a hard look to emphasize that I did not need sleep. She looked sternly back at me but relented after a few seconds. Her hand was already on the doorknob to her room when she stopped and turned towards the kitchen. I could not see what she was doing but soon, I realized she decided to bring me coffee.

"This is one thing I'll miss when we get back to Aquania," I told her as I accepted her offering.

She did not miss my subtle reminder of our agreement.

"I'll miss it too."

I was not able to respond quickly and she started to go back to her room.

"Are you really sure you want to go with me?" I asked softly.

It was a very dangerous question but I had to be sure. I did not think I could stand the idea that I was forcing her to doing something she did not want to do.

"Do I really have a choice?"

"Yes." I took a deep breath and looked at her, hoping that she could see the honesty in my answer. "If you don't want to, you can stay here."

She looked at me, first with surprise and then with something I interpreted as excitement. It was unexpected.

"I'll go." She shook her head slightly, as if she could not believe it herself. There was resolve in her eyes however, and I knew that her decision was final. "Since the day you came into my life, everything has become so different but somehow, I like my life better with you in it. I'm not sure why but I've never felt so alive, so useful until you came along. It's why I'm going with you. I want to be with you--wherever it is you're bringing me."

Her gaze was both intense and confused like she was trying to figure out what exactly she was feeling. She had looked at me like that several times before and I knew then and there that she loved me. It would take some time before she acknowledged it, just like the first time, but I was sure. And this time, we had no reason not to be together. I abruptly stood up and had her in my arms within seconds.

"I love you."

She did not say it back but I felt her bury her face in my chest as she hugged me back.