A Miracle for Love (Caesar Drisdall from The White Knights Chronicles)

Chapter 5

After discussions about the next move that the group should make, they decide to investigate the cause of the purple mist that had been invading Greede to see if they could stop it. Caesar said that there was a monument on Flander Trail that he had discovered a few weeks before that described a disease that was centuries old and an unkillable monster. He still had not figured out the exact cause of the disease, but there had been a black dragon flying along the outskirts of the city for quite some time that had not directly attacked. With that, the group decided the first place to start looking would be Greede itself. Katelyn and Caesar packed up their things and set off for another long walk back to where they came. Yulie and Leonard took the lead on the hike, Eldore followed them close behind, as Caesar hollered out, "Katelyn and I have got the rear." After the first few minutes, Caesar swung his arm over Katelyn's shoulders as they walked behind the group. Eldore kept looking back every now and again as they walked, still a bit baffled by the whole situation, but not letting his emotions show through his partially squinted eyes.

After a few hours of uneventful walking, the group sat down on a few large rocks and ate a small lunch. Katelyn was talking to Eldore and Leonard, along with Queen Cisna through the help of the same bigelow bird from their previous journey. It was there that Yulie decided to ask Caesar, "Are you guys like a couple now? You seem really close for having just met." "Well, it's a bit complicated," he said, not looking Yulie in the eyes. "I do like her. We get along better than me and Kara ever did. But I also just miss Kara and she looks exactly like her." He let out a long sigh and said, "Can you give me some advice, Yulie?" "Well," Yulie said, "I wouldn't lead her on if you are going to end up hurting her. Also, get to know more about her and where she is from. You don't even know what she really looks like because you haven't asked. Maybe, before we leave Greede, if her real hair isn't blonde, I can help her dye it so that way she feels a little bit more herself." "I hadn't even thought of that," Caesar said, looking over in Katelyn's direction. "I need to ask her more about herself and get to know her for her." Yulie reached over and put a hand over his, "Look, we know it was hard having left Kara in the temple when it collapsed. We know that you hesitated and almost turned around, but we can't change the past. What we can change is your future. You can't keep pushing yourself like you have this last year. We all know that you haven't been sleeping or eating right, and don't try to fool us by telling us that you have." "I know it's going to sound crazy, but I've slept better the last two nights than I have in almost a year. It felt right having her next to me. I didn't have the nightmare and woke up feeling rested." Yulie gave him a concerned look and said, "After this is all over, we are all definitely taking a vacation and leaving the knights behind for a while." He laughed and said, "What would we do without you, Yulie." "I don't know, probably end up miserable or in an early grave," she retorted.

At this point, Katelyn had begun to walk back over and said, "Hey, no one is ending up in an early grave on my watch." "Well, it's good to know that there are two of us," Yulie said to her. Katelyn walked behind Caesar and put her head on top of his while looping her arms around his shoulders. Yulie decided to ask, "Hey Katelyn, what did you look like in your world?" "Well," Katelyn replied, "I was about your height with brown hair and brown eyes. I had very pale skin because I never had time to go outside. I always carried a little bit of extra weight in my hips and chest area, and because of my shorter stature, I was a little on the curvier side. My hips were definitely a bit wider. I have never been as skinny as I am right now." "Well, I am sure that you were beautiful where you were from." Katelyn looked at Yulie and said, "It may sound like it, but where I was from, stick skinny was always the definition of beauty. I was just average. I didn't attract attention or anything." Caesar cut in and said, "Well, I am sure that every person who didn't get to know you was a fool. You have an amazing personality that any person could love." "And don't beat yourself up. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the soul is what matters the most when it comes to true beauty," Yulie said. "Thanks, Caesar, Yulie." "Anyway, there are ways to dye your hair if you'd like. I can help you," Yulie told Katelyn. "I know it may not help much, but it could help you to feel a little bit more yourself." "That sounds wonderful, Yulie. Thank you for offering. We can do that after we figure out what is causing the plague in Greede." "You're welcome. I hope we can become great friends." Katelyn let out a slightly forced smile at that, not knowing how long she would be able to stay in this world. She never really had friends in her own world, which made her feel lonely at times. It was nice being surrounded by people for once.