The Patron Quadrilogy: The Legend Begins

Chapter 21

Monday, October 16th, 12:00 a.m. 2018
Mount Silver Summit (campsite)
Brendan woke with a start, breathing heavily, and frantically looking around the room. He was back on Mt. Silver, with May's hand on his chest, her gentle breathing reassuring Brendan that it was just a nightmare. He sighed in relief, and carefully got up, gently lowering May's hand by her side. He decided to go on a walk, unwilling to fall back to sleep for awhile. As he quietly exited the tent, he saw Steven on a boulder, staring at the brilliant night sky.
"Why's he awake? Did he have one of those nightmares too?" He walked up to where Steven was sitting. He didn't turn to face him, his eyes still fixed on the night sky. "Maybe he is asleep, just with his eyes open. He usually turns to face people when they walk up to him."
"Today's the day I lost her, Brendan," he said in a quiet voice, raising his right hand, staring at the diamond ring he always wore. "Today's the day I lost Evelyn, three years ago."
"Your fiancé?" Brendan asked. "Is that why you're awake?"
"Yes, I suppose it is," he sighed. Brendan could feel the pain in his voice. He didn't know Evelyn too well; they'd only ever met once or twice, but he knew she meant the world to Steven. If memory served, Evelyn was also the Lieutenant of Team Vortex, Steven's old Team.
"You never told me what happened to her," Brendan said, looking at the sky with him. "If you don't want to, that's fine, but-"
"She was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer," Steven said, his voice shaking. "A few months after I proposed. When she said "yes" on the twenty-third of January, it was the happiest moment in my life." A tear rolled down his cheek, and his voice began to break. "We'd planned on getting married in the spring. The doctors said her chances were slim, and they said she wouldn't last the year, even with the therapy. I did what I could, and I even managed to get the wedding pushed to October seventeenth of that year. I wanted to be with her, even if it was only for a little while. I was excited, and I was determined to make our wedding day the day when we could forget about the bad news. I was at the pond; her favorite place, and where we wanted to get married. I worked tirelessly through the night to make sure that everything was perfect for our wedding day, when I received the news I had prayed I would never hear. At five thirty that morning, I was told by the doctors my dear Evelyn had passed." Steven couldn't hold back his tears any longer, and began sobbing. Brendan felt his friend's pain, and felt tears falling from his own face as well.
"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked Steven. "I-"
"Because what could you, could anybody do to make everything better?"
"I could've been a shoulder for you to lean on, but you just became cold to me, to everyone after that. You even disbanded your Team. Why? We all would've done anything to help you through it."
"Because I was scared! Okay!?" He snapped, tears still flowing from his eyes. "I didn't know what else to do, and I didn't want to trouble anybody. I wanted to do everything I could do for her. She was my entire world, Brendan. I felt completely helpless, and I couldn't bring myself to ask my friends for help. I just.... I-"
He was cut off by Brendan putting his hand on his shoulder.
"Steven, do you think I don't understand? I know exactly what it's like to lose the people you care about. Hell, I damn near fell apart because of it! You aren't alone. I don't know what I could've done to make you feel better, but I would've tried something! I was your friend! I still am!"
"I know all about what happened to your parents, Brendan. But what I don't understand is how you kept yourself together. How did you get rid of the pain of losing the people you love?!"
"It's simple. I didn't. Steven, that pain you feel will never go away. It will always linger. But Wally, Claire, Damian, Giri, Nathan, Marilyn, Red, Blue, Leaf, Yellow, April, you and May helped me through it. They helped me cope, and I'll admit, at first I didn't want help. I just wanted to be alone, but all I could think about when I was alone was that pain. And I thought that was good, that I needed to shoulder that pain and eventually it would disappear. But instead, it just kept getting worse. When I finally allowed my friends to help, that's when I began to feel better. Even though I'll never be rid of that pain, the knowledge that my friends will always be there for me alleviates it." Steven remained silent, staring at his ring, which caught the reflection of a shooting star.
"Maybe you're right, Brendan," Steven said, staring at his ring. "Truth be told, she'd probably agree with you. It's really something, now that I think about it. She never felt sorry for herself, she never even cried when we were together after we received such bad news. She just kept being Evelyn, always joking, being friendly, and caring. Actually, I think she became even more loving, like she wanted to make sure that I could accept it when she was gone. I can't believe it took me this long to realize that. She treasured our love so much, that she wasn't afraid. I want to believe she's watching over me. And I know she wouldn't want me feeling sorry for myself." He took a deep breath. "Thanks, Brendan. And... I'm sorry. For everything."
"You don't need to apologize, Steven. Actually, I should apologize. I shouldn't have assumed that you just didn't care about our friendship."
"Well, it's in the past now, isn't it? But I want you to know that I'm sorry about freaking out about you and May. It's just... It reminded me of Evelyn and I. And I didn't want to accept it."
"So, what'll you do now?" Brendan asked. "Well, after everything settles down?"
"Well, to be honest, I don't know. I don't know if I'll ever feel for another woman like I did for Evelyn. But... Who knows."
"Steven, I think everything's going to work out for you in the end. You'll see."
"What about you and May?"
"Well, after we deal with Harley, I'm going to focus on our relationship, and maybe a little while later, I'll marry her. And before you say "that's against the rules" I already-"
"I wasn't going to say that," Steven interrupted. "I was going to say, go for it."
"Really?" Brendan said, surprised. "What changed?"
"I did. This conversation we just had, it reminded me of one crucial thing; that love is worth more than the rules. Also," he added. "Most of the Patron Order wants that rule gone, after all. So it probably won't hold any sway for much longer. But we'll need to worry about Harley first. But we can talk more about that tomorrow." He looked at the sky. "I think it's close to one o'clock now. You should probably go get some rest."
"Yeah, I will," Brendan said. "Those nightmares are just that. Nightmares." Aloud, he said, "What about you, Steven?"
"I'm gonna stay up, for Evelyn," Steven said. "It's a tradition I made."
"Fair enough, I just don't want you to be tired for the meeting."
"I won't be, trust me."
Tuesday, October 16th, 1:01 a.m. 2018
Mt. Silver Summit (campsite)
After his conversation with Steven, Brendan walked back down to the campsite Wally had set up. Casting one last look at his friend, who still sat above, Brendan couldn't help but notice something peculiar.
"How strange, in the light of the full moon, it looks like he isn't alone." He grinned, closing his eyes for a moment. "Hey, Evelyn. Guess you really are watching over him. I wonder if Mom and Dad are watching over me right now."
He entered the tent May and him were using, relieved to see that she was still sleeping peacefully. He got back onto the waterbed, trying not to wake her, and gently held her close. He felt her hand gently grab hold of his, and he smiled, closing his eyes.
"I don't know what's going to happen when we face Harley, but I'll do everything in my power to protect her," he thought, as he drifted off to sleep. "I'll protect her, and my friends, and I know they'll do the same for me."
To be continued....
Well, what'd you guys think? I decided to try to make this one a bit more emotional.

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So, that's about it for this chapter, and yeah this story was updated quickly, I know XD. Two chapters within a week! And a third on the way!? Well, I hope you guys are still enjoying this story, and also thanks for the 999 views! I'm glad you guys are interested in this story! I'm really surprised that this little idea took off so well, and I truly want to thank all of you for sticking with this story. And if you're making a side story (well I preached the whole "I hope you asked first" thing last time), thank you for your contribution to the series!

Edit: the dream sequence is going to be it's own chapter. It's been decided. Don't worry, that chapter will be up soon!