A Dreamer's Knight

Epilogue: Good Night, True Knight

Mikaen awoke from his dreams feeling more refreshed than he had in years. He sat up slowly and set his feet gingerly on the floor, a reflexive flap of his wings helping him off the bed.

Mikaen walked past the couch where Teria was currently napping and stepped out onto the balcony. He stretched his arms and back, his wings reflexively extending as far as they could go.

"Ah, you're awake." Teria wiped the sleep from her eyes and watched Mikaen with a smile as he stretched his wings, his feathers rustling slightly as a breeze passed through the window.

Teria rose to her feet with some difficulty. "You feeling okay?" she asked as she tried to rub feeling back into her legs.

"I feel great!" Mikaen let out his breath slowly, his wings retracting against his back as he let his arms fall to his sides. "Better than great, actually."

Teria grinned at him. "I'm not surprised; you've been asleep for three days."

Mikaen looked at Teria in surprise. "Three days?"

Limping to the rail of the balcony, Teria said, "Some kind of sentient Gineros recharge thing. Trystan tried to explain it to us, but I wasn't really listening."

Mikaen asked, "Where's Tirinia? Is she okay?"

"Sis? She's sleeping right now. Y'know, she sat with you for two whole days before she finally konked out."

Teria smiled and put a hand his shoulder. "She really cares about you. You feel the same way, right?"

Mikaen blushed, but his smile made his feelings on the matter quite clear.

"Ha! Good." Walking more or less normally, Teria headed for the door. "I'll let you get dressed now."

As she started to go, Mikaen asked, "Could you tell Tirinia something for me? When she wakes up, of course."

"Sure. Whatcha got?"

Rubbing the back of his head, he said, "Tell her ... thanks for watching over me."

She chuckled as she headed for the door. "Take it easy, Mikaen."

As she shut the door behind her, Mikaen caught a glimpse of his profile in a mirror. He spread his silvery-white wings wide, crouching as though about to take flight. He pulled them tightly against his back so that only the very tips were visible, brushing against his ankles. They fit his back quite naturally.

"What can I say, dude? The wings definitely suit you."

Mikaen smiled at the sound of One's voice. "You were watching over me too?"

"Nah," One said as he sat on the edge of the bed, "Just got here. How are you feeling?"

"It's strange," Mikaen said, stretching his wings out again. "I had trouble imagining what it would be like to have wings. Now, I can't imagine not having them."

One shrugged. "Genetic memory. Go figure."

As Mikaen spread his wings wide, a sudden thought occurred to him.

"One," he asked, "How did the Breath of Fire get here?"

"I'll be damned if I know. Don't worry; I've got her back at the Elsewhere, so there won't be any more accidents."

A rush of thoughts passed through Mikaen's head: the suspicious behavior of the monks, the kidnapped delegates, and the Breath of Fire belching fire into the sky all pointed to something, but what?