ODE TO THE END: A BALLAD OF BROTHERS

CHAPTER 42

NAOMI

Fire sprang from the holy cathedral. Naomi could see it from the dinghy at the edge of the flood zone. She screamed at the sky as it glowed red above the flames, but her mother, her savior, rowed across the brutal waves. "Achim!" Naomi cried for him, her plead an indirect prayer for his safety.

"We are not safe yet! Be quiet, Naomi," said the cold Caitlyn Queen.

The sun-kissed girl turned with a face flaring with rage. "Why did you leave Achim behind," she shouted. Naomi was so hot with anger that her freckles looked as if they would catch fire. Her teeth ground and her hair stood like rising flames. Indeed, the Caitlyn Princess was the very visage of fury.

Her mother was startled by the contempt on display, but she responded with anger just as strong, but far better restrained. "That boy made his choice! We both made it! Now sit down or alert them to our presence," she commanded. "If that happens, all that he has done will be for nothing. Is that what you want?!"

Naomi felt her mother's biting demeanor. It domineered over her just as it always had, but she could no longer care. Not tonight, not at this moment.

As the rushing waves and the high winds whipped their boat across York's crumbling coast, Naomi's flaring glare held firm. If looks could kill, Mave would have died thrice. Mave must have sensed this, because, as a result of her brutalizing blame, Naomi saw her mother make a face she had never seen before.

"You should not worry about your friend. He's stronger than even he thinks he is," said Mave as she rowed. "Of that, I am absolutely confident."

It took a moment for Naomi to properly hear her mother's words, but she would eventually hear them. The fire in Naomi's face gave way to a bedrock of fear. Her mother's words offered some comfort, but the truth was that Naomi could not deny the need to look upon the distant inferno. Across those rolling waves she saw the church slowly succumb to the fire. It was inevitable now, the destruction of that burning structure, but she could at least envision the dark boy escaping if the flames slowly ate the church.

The cathedral exploded in a plume of ash and fire, completely engulfing the building in an instantaneous spark! Only the charred frame could be seen beneath the fire now, leaving Naomi's hopes dashed by the blaze. Wrought with worry, the girl turned to the only one she could. "Mom!" Naomi was in tears. "We have to go back! We have to!"

"And do what, Naomi!?"

The truth her mother told by posing the question hurt. "But Achim! He could need help! Please, Mom!" Naomi was blinded by her unmastered emotions, so she did not see her mother's face warp with another unfamiliar expression. Mave stopped and took in the roaring sea air. She then continued to row.

"...I am taking us to shore. From there, we will radio Warden. The faster we get you secured, the sooner I will be able to support Mr. Arbitor. Just follow my orders and we will make it through this. All of us! Is that understood!?"

"Understood," said Naomi. She saluted through her sobs and tears upon receiving the objective, and the sun-kissed girl quickly exchanged her panic for a prevailing sense of purpose: Help Achim. That was her goal now, and to that end she would wipe her eyes and pick up a piece of loose wood from inside the boat. Naomi plunged the stick into the chaotic waters and rowed as hard as she could in order to assist her mother with steering them to shore. The Caitlyn Queen shouted her objections – Naomi's arm was still broken after all – but the fire in her daughter's eyes burned true. There would be no stopping her. For this reason, Mave relented - a rare conceit all its own - and led her daughter through their combined efforts.

Upon sharing their gifts of strength, the heavy waves were routed by the mother-daughter duo. The Caitlyn convoy disembarked at the rim of a flooded neighborhood ,where the ground had not been completely submerged. Naomi was assisted out of the dinghy but, as she stepped onto the bloated earth, she lost her balance. Mave caught her daughter by the hand.