The Lizard King

Epilogue

The doe walks carefully along the trodden trail, making sure not to disturb the surrounding plants too much. She is seeking that last bit of autumn food that will complete her fattening before she must switch completely onto her winter diet. Her search is going well. She's sniffed out a familiar scent. She looks into the clearing ahead and there it is. Grain. Beautiful and golden. She cautiously steps into the open, her eyes and ears up at all times. One slip could mean her end. She suddenly freezes. Something is up. A new scent on the air. She has to run. But she's too late. The arrow hits her heart just a split second before she could react.

Kayla moves forward to collect her prize and wrings its neck for good measure. She leaves the arrow in for now. She needs the blood to stay in and keep the meat moist. She hails the deer over her shoulders and carries it. As she walks, she remarks at how quiet it has been. Winter has definitely come. Why this one deer had insisted on staying out and looking for new growth, she'll never know.

A little while later, she reaches the gates of the town. The town square looks different now. Just a week ago, the place was a bloodbath. A place of death and suffering. Now that everything was cleaned and the gallows were removed, it was just as nice as ever. People were even working on constructing an official marketplace for the town right there. A perfect stop for the caravans which would come rolling through on the winter routes any day now.

Kayla wasn't going there with the deer, however. Instead, she took it to Brenner's pub. Vernharte hasn't been able to bounce back quickly thanks to the winter slowing down hunting and gathering, so some of the hunters and gatherers sell to Brenner directly now. He pays them for the spoils and then cooks low-cost meals for everyone in town.

After a quick sell, Kayla heads over to Marlana's to give her some herbs. Marlana has been busy as well. A lot of people got injured on account of the rangers. Thanks to this, she's practically worked nonstop. Though it has been noted that, for whatever reason, she seems to be in a relatively better mood.

Kayla steps in the door and is immediately met by a quick "Shut the door, my tits are freezing!" So yes, relatively better.

"Got some more herbs for you Marlana." Kayla said.

"You're gonna put me out of business you are," Marlana said, "Ahh these will do."

"I'll take 20 pieces for them."

"That's insane! Done." She pulls out her coin bag and drops twenty pieces into her hand. "You do at least know what good herbs are. Better than I can say for these others."

"I try my best." Kayla said, a grin on her face. "Dinner at Brenner's tonight?"

"You're buying, seeing as your twenty pieces richer now."

"Fair enough." She said. "Have you seen Riptheil?"

"Oh yeah," Marlana said, "Your boyfriend's sitting up in his usual spot."

"He's not my boyfriend Marlana." She said getting up.

"That's what they all say at first." Marlana mumbled as Kayla walked out.

After shutting the door, Kayla felt another body bump into her's. "Hey watch where you're—" Kayla's sentence immediately cut off after seeing it was her own mother, covering up one of her hands with a bloody rag.

"Mom," Kayla said, "are you okay?"

"Oh this?" She said, holding up her hand. "Just a little work accident. Hit my hand with a hammer and broke the nail."

Kayla backed up a little bit and looked at her funnily. "I thought you didn't work?"

"I didn't," she started. "But I figured it would be best to start again. I've been getting hurt on the job all week, Marlana's been snatching almost everything I'm earning." Kayla tried to hide a smile. That sounded like Marlana alright.

"Kayla," she began again, "Marlana told me the whole story of what you did. And I have to say, if you were willing to do that for someone you barely knew then clearly you are far better than me."

Kayla watched as her mother's eyes got watery. She watched as this woman, who abandoned her and by all accounts she should hate, was about to cry. And strangely, she didn't hate her. She felt something else.

"I should have been there for you," her mother continued. "I should have been there to help you grow up but I wasn't. I'm sorry."

That was it. That was what Kayla felt. She could see it the moment her mother's tears slid down her cheeks. It was longing. Pretty soon, her eyes were watery as well. And she couldn't stop herself from wrapping her arms around her.

"I missed you Mom."

"I missed you too." The two stood there for a moment before they broke the embrace and they went on their own ways. Kayla looked at her mother one last time before she slipped through Marlana's door. Finally, no more gut wrenching.

Kayla walked across the square and up to the station. She opened the doors and walked down the hallway. The same one she had been in when she had accepted her death. She walked up the stairs to the upstairs hallway and went up to the door marked PRIVATE. She knocked gently and heard a familiar voice on the other side. "Come in."

She opened the door and found Riptheil sitting in his usual spot at the desk. He could move around inside pretty well despite not being able to stand up straight. When he saw Kayla, he smiled a little and she did the same. He motioned her over and as she walked, she noted that he was a little quieter than usual today. Even when she was walking over, he seemed consumed in his work.

She looked down at the sheets of parchment covered in ink. Drawings of minimal, yet well-constructed houses lined some of the sheets. Large, spiked walls were on others. Still others boasted odd looking sets of tables. Riptheil's architect career was definitely taking off.

"They're beautiful drawings." Kayla said.

"Thank you," Riptheil said in reply. "I've been working hard on them."

"You've been quiet today, and yesterday too. What's wrong?"

Riptheil's pen stopped for a moment as he sighed. "I'm not confident that the empire will leave us alone. They'll send out more troops to hunt me down."

Kayla looked down. She knew exactly what he meant. The empire isn't one to take losses lightly.

"Are you worried about us?" She asked him.

"I always am." He said, turning to Kayla. "Problems come every day. It's my job to solve them."

Kayla stood back for a moment. Such a king was he. One that knew exactly what was asked of him.

"Yes," she said, "it is. But not alone." She held her hand out to him gingerly. He looked at it a moment, and smiled as he took it. She smiled back and the two of them left the room together.