"Andrea?" she said looking at him with large doe eyes.
Andre stared at her, dumbfounded, for a few moments. Yamila was more haggered looking than before. Her dark hair was plastered to her face with sweat. The silks she had on were plain compared to the extravagant clothing she'd worn earlier. Most of all she didn't even look like she would be able to walk if not for the aid of the healer. He found himself smiling. That was his Yamila, stubborn to a fault.
The last time she'd given birth she hadn't looked like that. He'd been in the middle of a heist when he got the message she was in labor. By the time he was back to their little cottage in an underdeveloped world his mind was racing with all the things that could have gone wrong while he wasn't there. And she'd been standing at the doorway, waiting for him with a beautiful baby girl in her arms. He remembered it so well. The golden reflection of the sun on the field surrounding their home had given her dark skin an ethereal glow.
She was definately more worn out than she had been then, but she still held herself with grace.
Somewhere, deep inside his mind, he felt his defences against the trauma he'd pushed away begin to crack.
She was the first to break the silence, "I'm glad you made it..."
He shrugged and mimiced nonchalantness as best he could, "You know how it is with me and my kind; if it isn't one gallows it'll be another."
A ghost of a smile dashed across her tired features, "I'm sorry. For everything."
"...Yeah. Me too." That was all he said before reaching out with his hand and gently tracing it along her jaw, before guiding her face up to his. They kissed, sweetly, sorrowfully. After all the time away from him, she still tasted like the most exotic spices, her hair still smelled of jasmine. Having her body so near to his, her presence overwhelming his senses was what caused the shields at the back of his mind to shatter; opening the floodgates holding back the pain of losing his hand, the pain of losing Yamila again, and the mental problems that were destined to arise from facing one's own mortality. Quickly, he broke away the kiss.
He turned and walked away in the hope that she couldn't see the tears slipping down the side of his face.
Later, in an abandoned corner of the palace, he made a seat on a piece of rubble. The tears came first. Then the sobs. Then the crushing pain in his chest. After that came the uncontrolable shakes from the leftover adrenaline in his system.
He stayed like that for a long time.
VVVVV
I watched what transpired between the woman in red silks, and Andre. I realized that my assumption about her earlier had been correct. So that was Debbie's long lost concubine mother. Andre's long lost wife. I don't quite know what was said, or what wasn't, but in the end Andre turned and left. This left Debbie to approach the tired out woman. The two of them walked inside with the healer. I assumed they had a lot to discuss.
So, I turned my attention to Reza. "So...what do I need to do now?"
Reza shrugged, "You could search the Five Center worlds...but they are massive, and there's just as much a chance he could have disapeared into a smaller world to recurperate."
"...So what do I do?" I must have sounded like an idiot, but I was still not going to go around searching for an Emperor in multiple universes without even a clue of where he was.
There was a slight roll to her eyes, "You may return to your home and await further instructions."
"Oh," I said, a little snippily, "I'll wait for instructions, will I?"
"Yes," Her tone became just as clipped as mine, "That's exactly what you'll do."
"Is it?"
"Yes."
"Really?"
"Now you're just being infantile," She snapped. With an exasperated sigh she ran a hand through her dark hair, "It will take a while for myself and my spies to locate him. You might as well go home and rest up for the next battle." There was a slight glint to her eyes, "However, remember that the Wildflower is connected to the magical plains. It may potentially effect circomstances and bring you into situations where you aid is required. Meaning it could very well take you to the Emperor itself after enough of his strength returns to make a dent on the spiritual plain."
Oh goody. But it seemed that, at that moment, nobody else needed me. I could return to my home, my bed, my computer, my tv, my bed. It seemed like such a foreign concept now.
I got ready to will myself home. But I had a thought.
"Reza, what do you benefit from helping me destroy your Emperor?"
She smiled, "That infant that was born today is now the heir apparent to the throne. If somehow the current, cruel Emperor could be replaced by that child, and the child were bred to be a true leader of men and beasts, then the Empire would be a beautiful place. That is what I seek to accomplish."
I nodded. It was fair enough. Even if I didn't totally agree with her methods. "Oh, and tell Andre and Debbie that I'll see them around."
She nodded an affirmative.
With that, well, I guess the best comparison I can make is that I clicked my ruby slippers and willed myself home.