The Beast That was Promised ✔

ONE: Catching Up

The Mother and the Father panicked when they saw Emrick shuffling down the path alone, shivering and struggling to move his feet. Their questions fell on deaf ears as they wrapped thick blankets over his shoulders and walked him into their cosy home. He curled up in front of the fire, but it was nothing like the warmth of Ishin's stone.

For a long while, he sat in the living room of the Mother and Father's home, staring at the crackling flames. The Mother supplied him with soup and hot tea, watching his face carefully, but he felt so cold that if he tried to move his mouth, it would fall off. He was chilled to the bone and it was as if nothing would make him warm again.

But as he slowly got moving, bringing his hands to his face to eat, warmth seeped into his muscles once again. Even though Rina had healed him hours ago with Belganine's stone, his body ached from the cold. He'd gotten far too used to Isiah and his powers, only a few hours without them had almost frozen him to death. But he'd lost all his supplies when he fought with Jonin. He had nothing to keep him warm, left on the other side of the chasm with Rina and Isiah.

"The Beast- Isiah," the Father said, a hint of panic in his voice. "Is he..."

"He's alive," Emrick said in a hoarse voice. Relief flowed through him when he said the words, even though he'd seen Isiah on the other side of the falls only a few hours ago. All three of them had come so close to dying; all he could think was that they were lucky.

The elderly siblings shared a look. "Your name, child, what was it?" the Mother asked. They hadn't bothered to ask him his name when he'd shown up with Isiah and Rina. He wasn't the Beast or the Crown Princess of Minisia, he wasn't as important as them.

"Emrick," he answered, too tired to acknowledge his irritation.

"Emrick, what happened up there?" she asked, her eyes narrowed in concern.

It took him a moment to speak, his throat sore from breathing in the freezing air and his mind racing. "We were ambushed," he said, holding up a hand when the Mother gasped and went to speak. He explained it all as best he could, Jonin finding them, the ensuing fight, Rina's impalement and Isiah getting his stone. The Mother and the Father gasped when he explained how he killed Jonin, but he felt no real sense of accomplishment. He'd won through underhand means. If he hadn't cut the bridge, he would have lost, but at least Jonin was dead and there was no more threat to Isiah from him.

"And the bridge?" the Father asked.

"It snapped completely, I'm sorry," he answered, guilt settling in his stomach. The Father had mentioned that he was the one who travelled up there. It was a sacred site to the followers of the Old Gods and he had cut them off from it. They wouldn't be able to rebuild with the war on. "It was the only thing I could do. I couldn't let Isiah die."

The Mother waved him away. "We will rebuild when the time comes. As long as the three of you are safe. But how did you survive if you were on the bridge?" she asked.

"Belganine's stone healed me," he explained. He still had no idea if it had been Rina or Isiah who had healed him, but if his possession of the stone was anything to go by, it was safe to assume that it was Rina. Saying it was Belganine was the easiest way to explain it until he caught up with Isiah and Rina.

He shuffled closer to the fire and pulled the blanket tighter around himself. Even though he hadn't known either of them long, not being with Isiah and Rina felt strange. All he could think of was Isiah's fear, losing the people he cared about, but at least they were all still alive even if they were separated. It would make things difficult, but he would get back to them, get back to Isiah as fast as possible. He'd promised to protect him and make him happy, he would fulfil that promise.