Chapter 77

The next morning, Evan and Katherine walked hand in hand to the throne room of King Ansel.  Katherine’s mind still reeled at discovering that she and Evan wanted similar things.  She wondered if getting what she wanted would always be this easy.  All she did was keep her opinions to herself.  Though, she admitted to herself that that had not been as easy as it sounded.  Certainly, there would be differences of opinion in the future.  Her mother often recited the axiom: “Where two or more are gathered, there will be a disagreement.”  Still, being patient had yielded good things.  Evan was more affectionate than he had been in years, she was not filled with anxiety, and she looked forward to what came next for them.

Upon entering the throne room, Katherine was surprised to see him already deep in conversation with Drex and Princess Lillian.  Embarrassed at interrupting them, the Golds tried to make a graceful exit.

“No, no, no,” King Ansel said, waving them closer.  “We were just wrapping up anyway.”

Drex turned to them.  He looked different to Katherine.  There was a certain – she couldn’t put words to it.  It was as if Drex stood straighter and looked stronger.

“We’ve just appointed our friend Drex to head up the rebuilding efforts back on Merlain.”  King Ansel placed his hand on Drex’s shoulder.  “Having spent many conversations with him, we are confident that he will do what is right to reestablish a culture in his home realm that cherishes self-government and quiet living.”

“I also hope to replant my family’s farm,” Drex beamed.

“It will not be easy.  Drex knows this,” Ansel said.  “The lazy mentality Dol’s rule allowed to fill the people will take a long time to reverse.  But with a consistent vision, we’re sure it will turn around.  As it will for all the other realms Dol’s tyranny decimated.  But,” Ansel turned to Drex, “you have our resources at your disposal.  Whatever you need to make Merlain free again.”

Drex turned to the Golds.  “I could always use a couple of scrappy freedom fighters to help get things off the ground.”

Evan squeezed Katherine’s hand.  Sadness at leaving hit Katherine hard.  She had been so excited about what would come next for Evan and her.  She hadn’t let herself realize what it would mean to say goodbye to friends.  Life would go on without them in this world, and she would never get to see if Drex had been a success.

“As tempting as that is,” she heard Evan begin, “we think it would be best if we got back to our lives and our people back in our world.”

King Ansel smiled and gave a sad nod.  “You’re leaving us so soon?” Lillian asked.

“Don’t get us wrong,” Evan said, “we love it here.  But we left some things undone back home, and we need to tend to them.”

Lillian approached them and swung her arms wide to embrace her rescuers.  “As hard as it will be to see you go, I think you are making the right decision.”  She eyed Katherine, “And how are you feeling about this?”

Katherine felt the weight of Lillian’s knowing look, and was happy she could look her in the eye when she said, “It was Evan’s idea.  I agree with him, but this was his decision to make.”  Lillian nodded.  Lillian turned to her father.  “Do you have any objections to the Golds returning to their world?”

“Only that I will miss their company.  You three have returned my daughter to me.  How could I deny any request you made?”

“So, I guess the band is breaking up,” Evan said to Drex.

“No,” Drex said, wrapping Evan up in his arms, “just spreading out.”

“When were you planning to leave?” Lillian asked.

Evan and Katherine looked at each other.  They hadn’t talked about timing.  Katherine wanted to blurt out, “As soon as possible to make the pain of leaving shorter,” but she held her tongue and smiled at Evan.  Evan winked at her and said to Lillian, “I’ve never been one to delay a decision.”  Katherine could not hide her wide smile.  “What do you think?” Evan asked Katherine.  She couldn’t speak her emotions had closed her throat.  All she could manage was tearful nodding.

“Give me your right hand,” Lillian said to Evan.  He placed it in hers.  Lillian turned it so that the fetterseal was on full display.  It no longer glimmered but only lay on his palm like an ordinary, if ornate, tattoo.  “It was by this seal I hid the secrets that would bring an end to Zungher Dol’s power over Merlain, and it was by this seal you both came to my rescue.  With the mission completed, these marks have served their purpose.  Since they will raise unnecessary questions in your world,” at this, Lillian covered Evan’s hand with hers.  Her hand glowed dimly for a moment and when she removed her hand, Evan’s was back to normal.  The fetterseal was gone.

Lillian repeated the process for Katherine.  Katherine noted the warming sensation spread throughout her body, and in her mind, she saw the new skin replacing the mark reserved for Merlain slaves.

“How will we get home without these?” Katherine asked, remembering too late that it was by those marks that she and Evan had traveled across dimensions.  Lillian leaned close to Katherine and said, “We have our ways.”

Lillian called an attendant to her, and she whispered something to him before he exited the room.  “Just needed to get the preparations started.”  Then, the five of them — King, Princess, Drex, and the Golds — made their way to the Coellum transport facility.  Katherine had never seen anything like it.  The golden rays of the star shone on the copper-colored walls, turning them into a vision of a warm, burning fire.  Vessels were aligned back-to-back as crews loaded them with various cargo.

“What is all this?” Katherine asked, astonished at the efficiency and fluidity of the workers as they diligently loaded the vessels.

“Supplies for Merlain mostly,” King Ansel said.  “Between us and Dol’s men, we left the place a little worse for wear.”  He clapped a hand on Drex’s shoulder, “We want to make sure Drex and the other good people of Merlain have the best chance possible of rebuilding quickly.”

Lillian pointed to a small vessel tucked near a bay door on the far side of the dock.  “That is the transport to take you home.”  Kathrine noticed a line of workers loading items into the transport and performing maintenance checks.

“What are you loading?” Katherine asked.  “We barely arrived with the clothes on our backs.”

“These types of ships, how should I say,” replied the king, “require a great deal of energy to skip from this dimension to another.  All that you see there should get you from here to there easily while also leaving you without any evidence of it once you’re back.  Handy bit of creativity, don’t you think?  We don’t get to use them much except for the occasional exploration expedition, but Lillian set this one aside, thinking it would be needed sooner rather than later.  Turns out she was right, as usual.”

“All you should experience is a lot of light and a little bit of heat.  But you’ll not feel like the trip took any time at all.”

“And then we’ll be home,” Katherine said, turning her attention to Evan.

“I don’t know how to thank you,” Evan began, “for everything.”

“The same is true for us, too,” Lillian said.  “I’m glad I found you, Evan Gold, and I wish you and Katherine many years of happiness together.”

They said their final goodbyes, and the Golds entered the transport, found their seats, and took in their last views of Coellum.

“Can you imagine,” Evan said to Katherine, “going back to work after fighting in a war?”

Katherine crinkled her forehead.  “What do you mean?”

Evan pointed out a window to the handful of workers putting the final details on the transport.  Each of them had some marker of service in the Merlain battles: a scar on the cheek, a mask covering part of a face, a limp in a gait.  “They’ve given their best for this realm and continue to give.”

“I suppose we should do the same when we get back.  No one will know the war we were in, though.”

Just then, a worker interrupted them, “I think you’re all set,” he said.  The Golds turned to thank him and saw that he was another battle-scarred Coellum with the right half of his face covered in bandages.  He was hard to look at, but Katherine was filled with compassion for him.

“Thank you for your help,” she said.

“Don’t thank me.  I’m happy to do what I can to ensure you make a safe return.  All you need to do, when you’re ready, is to press that knob there and the vessel will do the rest.”

Evan smiled at the man and nodded his thanks before returning his attention to his friends on the outside.  Ansel, Drex, and Lillian waved goodbye.

“Are you ready?”

“No,” Katherine said, then smiled sadly, “but yes.”

Evan reached over and gave her a kiss.  “I’m glad we got to go on this adventure with you.”

“I hope there are many more.”

Evan reached out, pressed the knob, and in a flash of brilliance, they were gone.