Savior (A Yogscast Fairytale)

Chapter 33

I watch as Lomadia and Nano smile, stepping forward. "You did it, Rythian. You convinced the inconvincible. You managed to earn Xephos's trust." Nano says. I smile as well, but shake my head. "What is it?" Lomadia asks, frowning. I point to my hand, the one in the sling, and gesture to my neck. "Your injuries? Joakim's sacrifice?" Zoey guesses. I nod, and she sighs. "I don't know what to say." She concedes. "But I do." Joakim says, appearing in front of me. "Brother, I know that you mourn me, but know that I did it for you. You broke the prophecy's control over Xephos and Lalna, and that is amazing. I know that you wish it had been you, but I knew that I had to save you, because the princess had fallen in love with you, and I knew that her and her family's suffering could end. Lalna was not entirely truthful about what the prophecy entailed, and the book Nilesy showed you wasn't, either. The people you see around you are the children of the ones in the prophecy, other than Zoey. The princes had kids, their kids had kids, and suddenly, time stopped for them. Nilesy, Sips and Sjin, and Benji's fathers, along with Lalna's, were killed by previous attempts at Zoey, and their mothers, other than Nano, fled, afraid. But Zoey grew up, died, and was born again. For ages, Nilesy has been trying to find a way to get a boy to Zoey, but failing. Most of the boys died before they and Zoey even met. And then there was you."

Martyn and Toby run into the room, grinning. "Nilesy sent us. You beat the prophecy!" Toby exclaims.  Martyn smiles and picks up the story. "That Enderman was spawned by someone, we don't know who, so that you would meet the princess, save her, and win her heart. As soon as you met, the prophecy spun into motion. Xephos only bought you so that he could get you to trust him until he sent you to Lalna, who would execute you. Your mother's execution was planned, Lalna just needed an excuse. He wanted to provoke you, because he knew you had a temper, and that someone was going to die. It worked: you killed, and they had a reason to kill you." He finishes. I nod slowly, my eyes still fixed on my dead brother. "Its okay, Rythian. I died so that you could live, so that all of the people around us could live. It's worth it. Now then, let's start planning this wedding." Joakim says, smiling.

I sit on my bed next to Zoey, who has a book open on her lap, planning our wedding. "What color scheme should we use?" She asks, twirling a strand of her red hair. I smile, pointing to her hair and then my purple mask. "Red and purple?" She asks. I nod, and she smiles. "Oh, I know! The day you came back after Lalna took you when we were 13, Teep was picking roses in the garden. He had red-orange ones, and purple ones. They looked great together. Let's do red, purple, and orange!" I smile under my mask, nodding as well. Zoey turns back to her book, writing it down, then starts mumbling about a wedding dress. I sit next to her for a while as she talks to herself, then stand, wondering if she wants to decide on her own. Zoey's arm immediately shoots out, grabbing my hand. "Rythian, are you going to wear your mask?" She asks, her face full of hope. I nod, and her face falls. "Please take it off, just this once." She pleads. I pause, then finally nod, smiling as her face lights up again. "I know we want to have this as soon as possible, but I wish we could wait until you can talk again." She says randomly. I nod. So do I, Zoey, so do I.

After a while, Zoey pushes the book over to me. In it is a picture of me, wearing a black suit with a purple tie, standing next to Zoey, who is wearing a light red dress with an orange bow on the back. My mask is off, and every scar on my face is outlined perfectly. "Do you like it? That's what I envision the wedding looking like." I take the pencil from her hand and fix one little detail. Zoey is smiling brightly in the picture, but my face is grim. I realize then that Zoey has never seen me smile without my mask, so she didn't know what to draw. I smile, then draw the lips of my picture self up slightly, bringing them into my usual smirk. Zoey smiles when I hand her the pencil, and I nod. That's exactly how I picture it, too.

A few minutes later, Joakim appears in the room, and Nilesy steps through the door. I smile as Zoey greets the two, waving when she says hello for me. "You have your wedding all planned out, I see." Nilesy comments, looking at the picture. "Is that what's under your mask?" He asks, turning to me. I nod stiffly, and he smiles, satisfied. "That's very good, Zoey. Can I take this and give it to the seamstress so she can make the suit and dress?" He asks. Zoey nods, so he picks up the book, leaving the room. "Rythian." Joakim says, waiting for me to turn my attention to him before continuing. "I wish you luck on your wedding day and the rest of your life. I would love to be there to see you, but my time here is up. I fulfilled my duty in this world, so now I must move on. I will be able to watch over you, but you will not see or hear me until the day of your death. Your rightful death, after a long life. Goodbye, brother, and may Notch be with you." He says solemnly. I stand, walking over to him, and put my arms around him, surprised when they don't go through. Joakim seems surprised as well, but he puts his arms around me as well, and we hug goodbye until he fades away for the final time. Goodbye, brother. And may Notch be with you as well.