Chapter 22
“You never realize just how much stuff you accumulate, until you have to pack it up,” Mariah said, three days later. They had been given a month to vacate their rooms, the only place they had ever known.
But Desmond thought it was best if they went as soon as possible. Starting a new life waited for no one, and he wasn't sure how many years either of them had left. As he packed Mariah's possessions into boxes, he looked around the single room. “How many hours, days we spent in here,” he said. “It's a room I will always think of when I think of you.”
“Laughter, tears, all of it.” She sank onto the bed. “Retiring means all our magical usage is reported back to the Jurors. Every time we open a cupboard, flip a switch, we have to tell them. I don't know how we are supposed to do that.”
“We do it the same way we always have,” Desmond answered with a shrug. “Walking a grey line, getting away with mischief/”
“Is that your answer to everything?”
“Perhaps,” he replied. “I did have a question for you, though, while we were in here.”
“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow. “You sound like you're up to something.”
“Down, actually,” he knew she couldn't see him, but he crouched down on one knee. His leg cracked and it ached slightly to touch his once strong leg to the carpet. He took her hands, pulling a box out of his pocket. “I was wondering if you would pledge yourself to me.”
Her face was no longer smooth, and her hair was no longer solid and dark. She had laugh lines, wrinkles, and scars. But he was not young, either, his own face tanned and weathered, his hands knicked and twisted.
Neither of them cared about their outer appearance. Forty years of love, of longing, surged in the room.
“I could do that,” she said, casually, although she couldn't keep the smile from her face. “If you wanted.”
“Yes,” he said. “If that's what you want. I don't know how many years we have left, Mariah, but I would like to make the most of them.”
“Then yes, I will pledge myself to you,” she said, leaning in and landing a kiss on his lips.
He breathed in deep, touching her face, kissing her neck. He was so grateful in this moment to just be in the same room as her. The idea that they were never going to be separated again was mind blowing.
“How shall we do it?” she asked. “It's not as if there is a space here for pledge ceremonies.”
“We could just go into town,” he replied. “Today, if you like?”
“Today?” She chuckled. “I think we should at least wait for Sybil to come back. She'll be angry to miss such a defiant move. She's due back tomorrow, if you can wait.”
“That I can do,” Desmond answered. “I've waited forty years for you, my love, I can wait another day or two.”
“Good,” she said. “And I'll assume you want yours with you?”
“Of course,” he said. “I'll show Nathaniel how it's done.”
Mariah chuckled
“Did you hear him after the Jurors? Speaking about how he had a dream to sit with them one day?”
“I often wonder where I went wrong with him,” Desmond said, with a smile.
“Are you surprised by his choice, though?” Mariah asked and Desmond paused.
“No, not really. I had to give him a little nudge, but in the end, Nathaniel always chooses the right thing. He knew long before me that this path had come to an end. He was just so attached to her, that was all, as one often is with their first Tiro.”
“You should tell Reynolds,” Mariah spoke the words both of them had been thinking. “He's in the dungeon, it's just a short lift ride.”
“And security clearance,” Desmond said. “Which we don't have if we are retired.”
“Surely, they will let you see your old Tiro,” she responded. “Just to say goodbye. There is a chance we could never set foot in here again.”
“I don't think the Jurors will be swayed by emotion.”
“Then sway them with fact,” she said. “Maestros always have a right to their Tiros, no matter what path they have taken. That's part of the bond, the strength of magic. It's forever.”
He sighed, staying silent.
“Mariah, there have been so many who have thought me strong. They have relied on me for so much. They have walked through the mouth of hell, knowing I would pull them out the other side. But I am not sure I am strong enough for what you ask.”
“It is because you are not strong enough that you must go see him,” Mariah replied. “It doesn't have to be today, and it doesn't have to be before we are pledged. But I will not let you leave here until you have said goodbye to him. For him. He needs to know that his Maestro also chose a different path, and there is a chance of happiness down it.”
He raised up to kiss her forehead. “You always know the right things to say.”
“I try,” she said. “Now, we should get back to packing.”
“And you are also always business,” he said, as he stood up. “I do wonder how you've accumulated so many things. I've got one bag, at most, and it's half-empty.”
“Keep packing,” she said, settling against the wall. “Complaining never got us anywhere.”
She was fully capable of packing. But he was happy to do it for her, as he was happy to do most things to make her happy.
“Pledged?” said Nathaniel, with a wild grin that night at dinner. Sienna and Devon had spent the day in a similar manner, packing her things, and they were reunited for a cafeteria dinner like nothing had changed. Only Nathaniel still belonged in the cafeteria, Desmond noted, among young Tiros and old Maestros. “Of course, you will, that's brilliant.”
“Will they still let you stay retired, if you are pledged?” Sienna asked. “Or will you be cast out?”
“If they haven't cast me out yet,” Desmond answered. “I highly doubt this is going to make them change their minds. We'd like you all to be there, of course, if you could. A day or two, at most.”
“You move fast,” Nathaniel replied, in surprise
“Or slow, depending on how you look at it,” Desmond answered, and Nathaniel smirked. “You'll attend then?”
“I will,” Nathaniel answered. “Sienna, eat.”
“You're not my Maestro,” she answered, with a smirk, but she did pick up her fork. “Of course, we will come.”
“We'll get ideas for our own day,” Devon answered, and the older two Maestros froze, turning to him with such a hard stare that he felt shivers going down his spine. “Not right now, I mean. Perhaps…in a few years.”
“Years?” Sienna echoed and Devon swallowed hard, stuck between a rock and a hard place.
“In some…time?” he tried again, and she appeared to accept that.
“Where's Laura?” Nathaniel asked and Devon shoveled food into his mouth like he hadn't eaten in years.
“She'll be back in a bit,” he said. “One day quest to a moon. She's been taking quirky quests lately.”
“Do you remember that quest we had?” Sienna answered. “To a planet that felt like it was stuck in the stone age?”
“Earth?” Desmond asked her, naming a well-known planet that was mostly a human settlement. She really should have known that.
“Yes.” She blushed. “I suppose I'll forget a lot of the planet names, now that I won't be constantly looking them up on a map.”
“Eliza will put you to work. Don't worry,” Nathaniel answered. “From what I can tell, she plans to have a base on Natrine, but continue to rule from Jeffro. At least, until Natrine uprises.”
“Which will only be a matter of time,” Sienna said, softly. “And when it does…”
“When it does, little one, you can call me,” Nathaniel promised her. “And I will come, in an eye blink.”
She exchanged a smile with him. There would always be a special bond between them, no matter what their status.
Both of the youngsters finished early, leaving the two Maestros at the table as the cafeteria began to clear out. Glad for a moment alone with his former Tiro, Desmond cleared his throat.
“You'll be all right here, after we leave?”
“I will be,” Nathaniel assured him. “Don't waste your remaining days worrying about me.”
“Days?” Desmond asked. “I should hope that I have more than days left.”
“Ha,” Nathaniel grinned. “My humor has rubbed off on you.”
“It'll stay here,” Desmond replied. “With your bad knock-knock jokes. Have you seen Christa, by the way? Mariah wants to borrow an outfit from her. I don't know why. She looks beautiful always.”
“Women like new outfits,” Nathaniel replied. “And Christa is in the hanger. I can go, if you want?”
“I wanted to ask you something, actually,” Desmond said. “If you wouldn't mind…being my pledge assistant.”
Nathaniel's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.
“Your pledge assistant?” It was the greatest honor at a wedding, to stand beside the groom. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Desmond answered. “I would be honored if you accepted.”
“Of course, I accept!” Nathaniel grinned. “Thank you!”
“It means that you will be responsible for our rings,” Desmond said. “And generally guiding the ceremony. And I remember the last time you were responsible for rings.”
Nathaniel grinned. “It was one time. It will be fine.”
“Of course, you can bring your Tiro,” Desmond said. “If they assign you someone before then.”
“Oh.” Nathaniel faded for a moment. “I don't think they will. Do you?”
“I don't know,” Desmond answered. “They may have someone already in mind, or they may be watching the tournaments late in the year. They will likely give you a warrior, Nathaniel. And you should be prepared for that.”
“I know,” Nathaniel let out a breath. “I just think I've grown so much since then.”
“You have,” Desmond answered. “And I'm sure the council sees that too. For now, don't dread the future. Whoever you get will join into our family, our bond.”
“Our bond,” Nathaniel said. “Is growing mighty large.”
“It is,” Desmond replied. “And one day, when you look back on all of this, you will see your accomplishments not in the quests you win, but in your Tiros, and their Tiros. It may seem a long way off, but trust me, Nathaniel, it will come full circle.”
“You've been a wonderful Maestro, Desmond,” Nathaniel said, in a rare moment of emotion.
“And you will be better still.” Desmond rose. “There is much to do. I'll see you tomorrow, then?”
“Yes,” Nathaniel assured him. “And by sundown tomorrow, you'll be pledged. No longer free.”
“Or more free than ever,” Desmond answered, “depending on how you look at it. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” Nathaniel called, unable to keep the smile off his face. There was a time when these past few days would have been a nightmare. But now, they seemed like a good dream that was just beginning