Chapter 50 - Mochi vs Goodbye

The sudden surprise arrival of the greatest mage in history caused widened eyes and opened mouths to all but Mochi and the queen. Even Velho himself playfully copied the looks on the twins' faces before entering the room.

“Noita, you’ve stopped crying. Good, good.”

Milly pointed a paw between Velho and her mother and cocked her head to the side.

“Yes, well. We certainly have a lot to go over, but we should make it snappy, you don’t have a lot of time left like that.”

Velho pointed a finger at the small dog floating, and she exchanged a worried look with Nao.

“I will prepare tea, please excuse me.”

Nao scurried over to the living area of the royal chambers, and went to reach into her dress for the kettle, but disappointedly stopped herself and used the available tea set on a trolley near the low table and couches.

Everyone except the twins sat down, and Velho made a large gesture with his hand, waving them over and patting the seat.

“We’re all involved now, you should relax.”

They did as they were told and soon everyone was politely sitting around some aromatic tea.

“Now then, I’m sure you all have questions-”

The queen shocked everyone, and was the first to speak up.

“What happened that day, Velho? You took her away... She didn’t cry.”

With a sorrowful look and upturned eyes, the queen clasped her hands together and trembled.

Velho began to recount the events.

“As I told you that day, your magic was too powerful and overwhelmed the child’s body. When she was born she was lifeless.”

Queen Noita’s eyes became glassy, and she squeezed her hands tighter.

“I took her outside of the room to try and remove the excess magic from her. It can be… a destructive process. Valta was meant to stay and keep you calm, but the fool followed me and left you alone.”

“My father?...”

“I know he was worried for you. But your mother…”

The queen looked away shamefully.

“Noita.”

“I… I remember feeling… overcome. If my magic extinguished your life, I wanted it to extinguish mine as well… I let it consume me as it wished.”

“When I returned to the room with you alive and well, your mother had vanished. All that remained in her bed was black stains and blood.”

Milly floated over and placed a tiny paw on her mother’s tightening hands. They relaxed and the colour returned to them.

“When I awoke, I was devastated to have survived while you had not. I wept for ages. It felt like days, or weeks but…”

“You cried for nearly two decades. Talk about dramatic.”

Velho slapped his legs and the tone shifted immediately.

“Let’s speed things up, shall we? Noita ended up in that cave, and by the time I found her she had become that beast. She wouldn’t listen to me, and my magic couldn’t stop all that black mist, so I watched over her as best I could. Then your father, fool that he was, promised my magic to the hero that could defeat his own wife. Granted he didn’t know, but still!”

Velho sipped his tea and cleared his throat.

“Then you kids came along and managed to make it past all those glumdrum towns. I was certainly impressed but it was rather annoying that you didn’t take the hint with everything I threw at you.”

“Please excuse me, Sir Velho, can you-”

“I cast so many inconvenience spells, and you ignored all of it. I only managed to slow you down. Feh.”

“Y-you were behind all of the weird and bad things happening outside of the last town?”

“Yep.”

“B-but… why?”

“Well, you were all gung ho to ‘defeat the Demon Lord’, and it’s a man’s duty to protect his sister. I honestly didn’t know you were the princess. Our white hair is indicative of our family’s magical prowess. You went and covered it in black. Awful.”

More dropping news left the group in stunned silence, and Zen was the one to break it this time.

“You’re Evuli’s uncle?”

“Who?”

Zen blushed and Milly pulled her ears over her eyes.

“Anyways. We really ought to get the princess back in her body. If she disappears there’s nothing my magic can do. Say your goodbyes.

Everyone spoke in accidental unison.

“Goodbyes?”

“Yes. Once I swap these two back, whoever your friend is will disappear for good.”

Milly and Nao got up into Velho’s personal space in a panic.

“Sir Velho! You can’t let that happen!”

“P-please uncle! Mochi is our friend!”

“Now now, there’s nothing to be done about it. Your friend’s life has been extended well beyond what it was meant to be. It was your magic, Princess, that kept her alive longer. You fading away is proof of that. You can only fool the gods for so long.”

The mood returned to sullen, and the friends excused themselves. Mochi was brought to the dining hall, and everyone enjoyed the feast she was promised. She ate until her belly protruded and she complained about her dress being too tight.

Then one by one, each of them began to praise Mochi for being such a good girl, and said their goodbyes, though it didn’t feel real. It was hard to say goodbye to someone who looked to be in perfect health, and was smiling and laughing along with them.

Nao refused to let Mochi go for a long while, and got all her princess cuddles in while she could. Mochi loved the attention and rewarded Nao with licks on the cheek.

Zen awkwardly pet Mochi on the head, and she just smiled at him with her tongue flopped out. He smiled back.

Milly tried to convey all her feelings and thanks for the journey they had been on together, but Mochi half ignored her for the sake of eating, and Milly cried in frustration and acceptance.

Soon Velho appeared in the dining hall, and nodded to the group.

Upon spotting him, Mochi squirmed and failed to stand from her seat until her third attempt, and pranced over to the aged man.

“Hey! Give me my ‘wish’!”

“Pardon me?”

“Nao said if I kill the ‘Demon Load’, I get a ‘wish’. I killed that big dog AND that lady. Gimme my ‘wish’!”

Velho looked to the others, who smiled with pleading eyes. He crouched down to Mochi’s level.

“And what exactly would you like to wish for, my dear?”

“I want to see Mama. I miss her.”

Nao and Milly became teary eyed, hoping that Velho could grant her wish, but knowing they would lose their precious friend in the process. Velho put a hand on Mochi’s shoulder and chatted with her a little while the others kept a respectful distance and waited for what he would say.

After they finished speaking, Mochi excitedly jumped up and down and spun around, falling on her behind. She dashed to the group and spouted her news.

“Nao! Zen! Milky! I’m gonna go see Mama!”

Zen and Nao both placed a hand on Mochi’s head, rubbing her hair, and Milly whimpered and let a tear fall. Mochi reciprocated and placed a hand on Milly’s head with a little more force, pushing her down as usual.

“Don’t cry baby, we can play again later.”

Everyone let quiet acceptance take over, and Velho beckoned Mochi and Milly to him.

He put his hands out and a bright but warm light engulfed them, similar to Milly’s light.

“Alright girls, give me your paws.”

Milly flattened her ears at the half joke, and placed her tiny paw on Velho’s outstretched hand. Mochi did the same. The light became brighter until Milly couldn’t see, but once it faded she looked beside her to see a small floating ghost puppy.

Mochi struggled to keep her eyes open and floated toward the ground, but Nao was instantly behind her, and scooped her up in her arms. The girls sobbed, and they gave Mochi a final pet, commenting on how much more endearing she was as a dog, and how sleepy she was. Zen turned away near the wall so no one could see his tears.

Mochi faded away, and the collar that was around her neck dropped to the ground with a quiet ‘plink’. The princess turned to Velho with her eyes red and filled with grief.

“Uncle…?”

“Yes Princess?”

“Will she get to see her Mama? Did you grant her wish?”

“Well, she did technically defeat the Demon Lord as she claimed.”

Milly let out a giggle and turned to her friends to repeat the funny sounding concept, and they shared a laugh together after.

“Princess Mochi bit the Demon Lord.”

Mochi: wins!