Video: Kiss from a Rose

Chapter IX - Sky Knight Tournament

The day after the fight in Cyclonian territory, Piper and Radarr went to the Sky Knight Council in Terra Atmosia to explain what had happened and why the Aurora Stone hadn't been retrieved.

"You are telling us that the Aurora Stone, the most sacred artifact of Atmos, has been destroyed?!" - the head of the Council said in disbelief as the rest of the elders spoke among themselves.

From what they could hear, the two knew they weren't saying good things about Aerrow and his decision to destroy the most powerful crystal of the world. The Princess clenched her fists in anger and frustration, then snapped at them.

"How dare you judge him?! You're a bunch of ungrateful uptight old men!" - she shouted at them, causing them to blink surprised - "You have no idea of what he had gone through there! He was severely injured, bleeding out a lot, and yet he used every last drop of strength he had left to do the impossible to stop Cyclonis! He saved us all! He's a hero!"

The Elders stopped discussing among themselves and remained quiet for a moment, looking down almost ashamed. She was right... That young Sky Knight had given it his all and had saved the Atmos. He had pushed his own integrity aside in order to protect the world.

"It appears we have been... Hasty, jumping to conclusions too early." - the leader of the council said - "From the detailed report of the event provided by the co-pilot... Which was a little hard to read... We decided that he took the best course of action in such a situation."

Radarr smiled triumphantly and a little bit cheeky too. Ha! Take that! Aerrow was the man! One of the Elders then stepped forward to address the two.

"We are sorry for your loss. We shall build a memorial for him." - he said apologetically.

Piper gave him a look and crossed her arms as if challenging him.

"What loss? He did not die." - she said.

"Princess, the report clearly states he's MIA." - the head of the council told her.

"Exactly. Missing in Action, not Killed." - she retorted - "I know he's still alive and I refuse to believe he's dead."

She certainly stood her ground there, and Radarr nodded in agreement. Aerrow would never leave them. He would come back, he had to.

"For his sake and yours... I hope you are right." - the old man said.

"He's coming back, you'll see. And then..." - she trailed off and even blushed a little at the thought that came to her - "He'll stay with me because he promised me he'd be my knight." - she smiled softly and looked towards the sky longingly - "I'll be waiting for you, Aerrow..." - she whispered to herself.

~~~

A few months had passed since Cyclonia had been destroyed and the war was finally over. The Atmos had entered a period of peace it had been in need of for years. Nobody had to worry about invasions anymore. The Terras were freed and the people acquired their territories back. Everyone was happy again. At least, almost everyone.

Piper and Radarr had gone to Terra Solaris and stayed there ever since they had last visited the Sky Knight council. The little guy had been named the official Princess' guardian. He'd be her right-hand man and protector, plus, he'd make an adorable mascot. He really liked his new position, not that being a co-pilot was ever bad, but the new position was a lot more respectful and gave him much more importance, plus, he had the chance to stay near the Princess, and he simply loved that.

The Princess also enjoyed his company, for he as the only one who could fill the void left by Aerrow the moment he disappeared, at least a little. Just like she had said in the council, she had been waiting for him for all those months. Radarr, who had known Aerrow for much longer than her, already seemed to be over the loss of his friend... She didn't know why she was having so much trouble letting go of him. Maybe it was because the animal didn't love him the same way she did. The kind of love she felt for him made it a lot harder to forget about him.