Chapter 37

Leo and Jade stood in the middle of an expansive forest near a stone altar with pieces missing out of it, and a circular stone ground around it, overgrown with weeds. They had their runes laid out on the altar, each of them glowing with more power than Jade had ever seen.

"This just got more real." Leo shook his head as he looked at it. "Is something wrong? Chickening out?" He noticed Jade looking around.

"No. Nothing's wrong."

"Come on; you can tell me." Leo nudged him. "Is it Ariel? I feel for you two, and I thought she'd be here."

Jade's pointy ear twitched.

"It is about her. You thought she'd be here, too?"

"I understand why she isn't. I've already said my part, so we should get on with the ceremony."

"You say that, and yet you keep looking at where we came from. Admit it; you were hoping she'd show up even after the goodbye you gave her."

"Some part of me does, but another part of me thinks it'd make all of this even harder than it currently is."

Leo nodded and looked at his watch. "I get it. Based on our findings, we're almost at the time with the strongest disturbance here, but it lasts a while, so we can wait longer, if you want."

Jade double-checked his armour and all of his things packed in a bag. "We don't have to wait any longer. Let's do this." He couldn't help but think about her curled up in the bed with a tear-stricken face.

"How much further?" Ariel huffed as they trekked through the woods. "I'm not built for this."

"Funny; you used to run around all the time, and I had a hard time catching up to you. What happened?" Conner asked.

"You got busy in the military, and I had no one to run around with, so I turned to books. Not much exercise there, outside of lifting stacks of books." I still didn't think I was this bad, but hiking isn't the same as walking on the sidewalks.

"Noted..." He cringed and shook his head. "We should work on that."

"You'll be too busy to, and I don't want to take part in a bootcamp."

"It doesn't have to be a full-blown bootcamp. It could be as simple as going hiking on the weekends. It's both family time and workout time."

"Sure, whatever." He'll probably forget about it, anyway.

"Okay, stop." He pulled on her arm and knelt down. "It's too hard to watch you go on like this. Get on."

"You're going to give me a piggyback ride there?"

"Why not? I could use the workout." He laughed. "Hurry up. If we keep going at your pace, we'll miss him for sure."

"Fine," she huffed and climbed up. "Been a while," she mumbled and clung onto him as he took off in a sprint.

"Yup. You used to love this."

"A little scarier when we're in a forest."

"Don't worry; we're getting close." They could hear Jade chanting and ran into an opening in the forest. Leo stood outside the glowing stone circle with runes placed on the altar in front of Jade, who started to glow.

"Are we too late?" Ariel asked as she hopped off Conner's back.

"What are you waiting for? Go." Conner gave her a push, and she ran towards him.

"Jade!" Ariel called out to him, and he turned, eyes wide.

"Ariel? What are you doing here?"

She slammed into him, her arms wrapping around him in a tight embrace. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything back. I'm going to miss you more than you can imagine."

"Step back, Ariel. I don't know if this will drag you with me."

"I'm sorry, but I had to see you off." She swallowed hard and stared into his eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't say it back, but I love you, too, Jade."

Unable to contain himself, he wrapped a hand around the back of her head and waist, and kissed her. "Thank you for telling me." He held his hand over his heart. "I'll always keep you in here with me. Goodbye, Ariel." He could feel the pull from the runes, so he gave Ariel a light push, and she stumbled back into Conner.

"Goodbye..." She reached out, but Conner held her back.

"Ego te semper amare."

The glow finished consuming him, and he vanished into thin air.

"Wow." Leo walked around the altar and waved his hands around, making sure Jade was gone and not invisible. "It worked?"

"It worked as in he's gone, but we have no guarantee he's back where he came from," Ariel muttered, staring at the space where Jade was a moment ago.

"I guess you're right. And there's no way to find out. What a bummer."

Conner hugged her from behind, resting his chin on the top of her head as he stared at the same space as her. "Goodbye, Jade," he whispered.

"I'm going to miss him, too," Leo said. "I had so much more to learn from him. The rare chance to talk to an actual rune user. Who knows if I'll ever find another one?"

After giving time for everything to sink in, Conner released her. "I think we should head back."

Ariel nodded and followed him, but was silent the entire way back, no matter how much Leo rambled. At home, she stopped at the stairs. "I thought telling him was supposed to make it easier?"

"Easier? No, not really. It's closure, and that's not easy, but it is necessary for your future self. You'll thank me later."

"Sure..." She went upstairs to her room to lie down, sighing as she wondered what Jade was doing.

"Sorry, Conner, but it's going to be rough on her for a long while." Leo patted him on the back.

"I know, Leo. I know. I wish I knew how to help her." Conner shook his head.

"Hang tight and be there for her. It's all you can do. I don't know if my presence will help any, but I can check in on her when you're not able to come home."

"Thanks, Leo."

The world distorted, and Ariel's figure blurred until a white light took over, blinding Jade. When the sense of weightlessness subsided, and he managed to pry his eyes open, he was under a darkened starry sky with multiple moons, in the middle of a forest. His bag managed to stay in his hands, teleported with him.

"I'm home..." Jade sat up and looked around at the animals starting to surround him. "Hello, my forest friends. Any chance you know the way out of this forest? Preferably to the closest town."

The closest bunny-like creature nipped at his hand on the ground. "You will? Thank you."

Jade stumbled as he stood, still disoriented from the teleport. "I don't remember it being this bad last time," he grumbled, leaning on one tree to the next as he followed the forest animals leading him out.

He took a deep breath, trying to combat the weight on his chest. "At least the air is cleaner."

After a long trudge through the forest and down a hillside, he came to an open, familiar field with the castle town way out in the distance. Closer than I expected to be.

Hoofbeats thundered towards him from a small group on horses coming from the castle.

Jade's eyes narrowed as he focused on the leader. "Orsted..." He must've sensed me. "Thank you." He bowed to his forest friends and continued on his way, slowly.

"Jade!" Orsted yelled from atop of his horse as they grew closer. "It's really you!"

They stopped their horses and hopped off.

Erik and Arnid blocked his path. "Please wait a moment, Your Highness, as we confirm—"

"I can confirm it." Orsted thumped his chest. "I can feel that it's him."

"We still need to make sure he's not compromised, especially after disappearing for so long," Arnid said and turned to Jade. "I hope you don't mind."

Jade held his arms out to the side, dropping his bag. "I would expect nothing less." Orsted... He couldn't help but notice the deep, dark circles under his eyes, and his bony face.

"Tch." Orsted pushed Erik aside and approached Jade. "We were working on getting you back, even though we had no idea where you were."

"Oh? What was the plan?"

"Drain the witch of her magic and use that."

Jade's eyes widened. "You caught her? Emerald?"

"Yes, right after she sent you away. She isn't one to talk, other than laughing at us being useless, and that you would be gone forever. It doesn't matter anymore, though; all that matters is that you're back home safe and sound."

"He's clear." Arnid stepped away.

"Of course he is." Orsted swayed his hand towards his horse. "Come along. I suspect you have quite the tale to regale to us."

"Yes, Your Highness." Jade bowed to him, and Orsted picked him up in a bear hug. "I'm glad you're back."

"Glad to be back." Ariel's face flashed through his mind, and he shook it off.

"Looking a bit unsteady. Here, I'll help you up." Orsted made sure Jade was up on his horse before hopping on behind him.

"If you're going to force me to share, I'd rather walk."

"This isn't the first time we rode the same horse."

"Last time it was during a war, and one of our horses took off."

"So? Suck it up. Royal orders." Orsted and his group set off.