Through Time and Space: A Love Story

Alternate Ending

   The first year of marriage was the happiest time Maeve had ever had in her life. Following the wedding, she and Ash had spent four months traveling between Jaguar Falls, Serpent Beach, and Frog Isle for their honeymoon. They never left each other's side, always holding hands and doing everything together. They would often watch fireworks on the beach at night and cuddled together. Ash even recreated her Valentine's date that they never got to enjoy before. Each and every day they spent together, Maeve found herself falling in love with Ashley over and over again. Their marriage was a blessing to her, and she couldn't possibly be happier.
   Their marriage wasn't the only blessing to happen, however. Not long after their honeymoon ended, their first child finally came along. Maeve had given birth to a beautiful baby girl that she had decided to name Elizabeth Josephine Rhodes. She had Maeve's turquoise eyes, which she took pride in. Maeve felt like she and Ash did a wonderful job as parents, taking care of her and working as a team. The arrival of their daughter brought them even closer together and the Paladins were smitten with her beautiful daughter. Everyone loved having the first baby to be born into the Magistrate as a Paladin. Elizabeth had been equally keen on the Champions. She loved all the attention she got from them.
   Ash and Maeve were celebrating their first anniversary with the others when Elizabeth finally learned how to crawl. They all cheered for her and Maeve picked her up, kissing her cheeks.
   "Mama's so proud of her big girl," she cooed. Maeve held her up high as she sat on the floor, which made Elizabeth giggle. She sat her back down on the floor and started playing peek-a-boo with her, which everyone found amusing as well. Maeve felt like her life was finally complete, her heart full of love and her wife at her side. Ash watched her play with their daughter with a smile on her face. Elizabeth decided to turn her attention to Ash, who picked her up and started blowing raspberries on her cheeks. This made them both laugh and Maeve's heart fluttered at the sight of her wife and their daughter interacting with each other. Ash's laughter was interrupted by a loud cough. She set Elizabeth back on the floor to cover her face.
   "Are you alright, dear?" Maeve asked, slightly concerned.
   Ash nodded and said "Yeah, I'm fine. I've been feeling a little under the weather the past couple of days, but I'm gonna be okay. Don't worry about me, babe."
   "If you say so," Maeve sighed, a little unsure. She felt uneasy for some reason, but she decided to ignore it. About five minutes later, Ash started coughing again, this time more harshly than the last.
   "Are you sure you're okay?" Maeve asked skeptically, her concern becoming apparent.
   "I'm fine, sweetheart," Ash answered between coughs.
   "It certainly doesn't sound like it," Maeve said. Ash opened her mouth to protest, but she started coughing violently before she could speak. That's when Maeve's fears came to life: blood splattered out from Ash's mouth as she continued to cough. This sent everyone into a panic. Maeve handed off Elizabeth to Imani.
   "Take her to her crib," she instructed. Maeve, Furia, and Seris immediately rushed to Ash's side and held her up. Pip came in with a stretcher immediately and they got Ash onto it, covering her mouth with paper towels to soak up the blood. When the coughing stopped, Pip placed a mask attached to an oxygen tank over her face and they all rushed her to the infirmary. Once inside, they got her onto a bed and Pip went to work straight away, hooking up different medical devices to her. Furia cut off Ash's shirt and placed a translucent green gel onto her stomach. She held up some strange piece of equipment that was used for ultrasounds and they monitored her internal organs for any sign of internal bleeding.
   "I don't get it," Furia said, puzzled. "She looks perfectly normal."
   "Let's get an x-ray, see if we can spot the problem with that," Pip suggested. Maeve waited anxiously as they ran tests and got her x-ray images developed. She was worried about her wife, unsure of what was making her sick. She braced herself for the worst, but also tried to remain hopeful that whatever was wrong could be cured. Furia finally returned, her expression grim.
   "Any idea what it is?" Maeve asked nervously. Furia held out an x-ray of Ash's heart and Maeve took it from her. She then pointed to a black spot in the center of her heart.
   "Jenos was able to identify this," Furia said. "It radiates the same kind of energy Aurox had. This is his doing. It's a disease, one that's been imbued with a curse. He must have placed it before he died."
   "But....how? How is that possible? Ash said she never sustained any injuries in the fight," Maeve asked in a shaky voice.
   "It must have hit her when I blocked his attack," Furia said in a guilty tone. "I shattered one of his energy blasts with my blade. One of the fragments found its way into Ash's body, slowly flowing through her bloodstream until it finally reached her heart."
   "She can be cured, can't she?" Maeve asked frantically. "You're the goddess of the Pyre now. You have to be able to cure something like this."
   "I'm afraid not," Furia sighed, her head dropping. "He was stronger than me. I underestimated him and Ash is paying the price for my arrogance. I'm sorry, Maeve." Just then, Jenos entered the room and Maeve ran to him. She fell to the floor, hugging him tightly.
   "Please tell me you can save her," she cried. "You're the most powerful god in the universe. You have to be able to cure a curse like this." Jenos tossed his mask to the floor, tears flowing from his eyes.
   "I tried to cure it," he said frustrated. "I thought I would be able to, but a curse this powerful can't be reversed. It isn't in my power to cure her." Maeve felt as if the ground was yanked from underneath her. She struggled to stand and stumbled.
   "It may not be in your power, but it is within mine," a deep voice said. Maeve looked around the room frantically, trying to find the source. There was no sign of whoever spoke, so she looked back at Jenos. There was a look of shock and confusion on his face, as if he recognized the voice.
   "Who are you? Where are you?" Maeve asked in a panic.
   "My identity isn't important," the voice replied. "All you need to know is that I can help save your wife. Jenos may not be powerful enough to break a curse like that, but that's because he isn't me." Maeve continued scanning the room until she found an inky black shadow in the far corner of the room. She couldn't make out any sort of silhouette. It was as if the darkness itself spoke. She thought there was nothing to see....until a pair of glowing silver eyes appeared within the darkness.