Wildfire

Ninety Two

Shifting back to my human form is not even a conscious thought as my savior continues to smile at me... The twisting of the hilt of his sword done with a grunt to ensure the body it has been forced through is truly departed before letting go of the ruined blade and turning so that he might shrug out of his outer robe and offer it to me as I drift back into my human form... Papa's arms held out to steady me until I am fully back to myself before saving me the last bit of my decency by helping me shuffle myself into the borrowed robe... 

"P-Papa!" The moment I have at least a few of the ties fastened with my shaky fingers I find myself collapsing into my Father's arms and letting the tears I have refused to let fall this day come pouring out, finally free to express how terrifying it had been to do what I had just done... 

How even though I had willed myself to be the kind of Queen this Kingdom deserves... It had been so very hard to swallow my nerves and fling myself at Xiang like a madman... And I had to be willing to accept that I might not have been strong enough... That just now... I had seen that I needed to lay down my life for my people and my Kingdom... And I had been prepared to do it by taking that wretched man's flame knowing I would not live through it..."P-p-PA-PAPA!"

I cannot actually hear what Papa is saying back to me over my sobbing... But I can feel the comfort he is offering through the rubbing of my back and the careful way that he holds me close and carefully and keeps murmuring into my hair... And it isn't long before I feel another set of arms encircling us both and pulling the embrace even tighter... A panicked Emrys finally joining us with tears of his own over presumably how terrifying that must have been for him also... To have his brand new wife fling himself into battle against his very own father knowing full well... That the only thing giving me any kind of advantage was the fact that Xiang was unwilling to trap himself within the palace walls due to his beast's size...

...

Emrys

...

"Hush, Rayne, my Dewdrop... How many times have I told you that Mama and Papa will always protect you?" Akeno's presence had given me pause... But only because he managed to make it to Rayne quicker than myself and Thank The Gods for that... And yet still... The man apologizes to us... Not just to Rayne but to us both..."I failed you once, and I know that... But I swore to you both that I would never falter like that again... That I would keep a closer watch... I am so sorry that I was not here sooner... You should not have had to do that on your own you are both just barely old enough to be wed or take those crowns much less take the life of such a nasty man... But you did so well... Do you hear me? You both did so incredibly well..."

His words leave me unable to find a single word... A word to express to my father-in-law how much I appreciate him... Not only for protecting his son... But for not assuming that I was not man enough to take Xiang's life... Just that I should not have had to, and that even though Rayne had the most reason to want to take his life... He is so gentle that I had wondered whether or not he would have been capable of it... And I am glad that none of us shall ever have to know... 

And I am even more thankful... That we shall never have to know what the world would be like with one less Rayne Cloud and a blinded Xiang who I am sure would have turned three times as bitter than he was before for the slighting of his eyes... It is a blessing to have him gone and have my sweet Moon Beam still counted among the living... So that we all might start to heal from the wounds my father has left us all with... 

...

Rayne

...

I do not know how long we all must have stood so still all holding each other and weeping... But if even I realize that there is still fighting both outside and on the roof... That this battle that our wedding celebration has turned in to shall never end without bringing the rest of this palace down around us unless we remove ourselves from the bodies now strewn about this room that I never plan on entering ever again...

It is hard to pull myself away from my husband and my father as we comfort each other like the family that we are, but eventually, I find the will to untangle myself and realize that it is the very same will that allowed me to challenge Xiang the way I did just moments ago... And realize that receiving Emrys's brand did so much more than just make me feel beautiful... It was the moment that I felt for the first time that I was his Queen... And that this is my Kingdom and that this Palace will be so much more than my home... It shall be our children's home as well... 

And saving what is left of it is important to me, "We still have to deal with the remaining Hirai..."

"Him and whoever else Xiang was able to intimidate or bribe into helping him..." The way that Emrys speaks shows exactly how exhausted he is over this entire situation, and I do not blame him... I know that Cho's betrayal, while hurtful and scary on my end... It must have been so painful... I know that Emrys had looked at him as sort of a surrogate father when Xiang was at his worst and Papa wasn't here to help him...