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Sunlight Raye - Part NINE |
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Raye woke up in her tent a couple of weeks later. She sat up and looked around, Kuto and Enari were asleep not to far away. They were safe, she tried to remember what had happened to her. She remembered Hagnu and killing Darak. She looked down at herself. She looked human now but she was still in the dress. She remembered being stabbed and she looked down at her side in a panic. There was not even a scar. Had her father actually healed her? Where was he? Where was her squad? Were they okay?
“Kuto, wake up, what happened?” asked Raye as she kicked her friend over.
“Ow,” said Kuto, “Raye, you’re awake.” He jumped up and hugged her.
“What happened?” asked Raye and Kuto told that Naro had carried her back to the camp. There had been a meeting to decide her fate. Pretending to be a man was punishable by death. Hinaka had convinced the others to pardon her because she had killed Darak and Hagnu. So she was free to live and leave.
“That’s basically it,” said Kuto.
“My dad?” asked Raye.
“He’s dead,” said Kuto, “For real this time. He died healing you.” She swallowed.
“My friends?” asked Raye.
“They’re fine,” said Kuto, “They haven’t come to visit though.”
“I figured,” said Raye, “I have a feeling I am going to become very unpopular very fast. I think it’s best if we just leave before they change their minds about me.”
“I thought you would,” said Kuto, “Your stuff’s packed and Haza’s ready. Do you want to leave now or wait?”
“I’m fine,” said Raye, “Lets just go.”
“Okay,” said Kuto, “Let’s go.” He woke Enari up and started loading Raye’s stuff onto Haza as she talked to Dagus.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come home with us?” asked Raye.
“No, and you know better. I have to stay here until they give me my punishment,” said Dagus, “Besides this is where I’m needed.”
“I know,” said Raye and she looked outside to see how far Kuto was, “It looks like I got to leave in a couple of minutes.” Dagus looked outside as well.
“Looks like it.” He turned back to her.
“Thank you, Dagus, for everything.”
“Anything for you, Lady Raye.” He squeezed her tight in his arms.
“I’ll see you back in Shano when you visit.”
“Of course.”
“You will come and see me, I’ll order you to if I have to.”
“No need, I’ll see soon. Before you know it.” Kuto stuck his head in.
“All done, we need to leave,” said Kuto.
“I’ll be right there,” said Raye and she looked at Dagus, “I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too, now you better get a move on.” He gave her a gentle nudge out the door and then she left. Kuto and Enari rode on Haza, while Raye just walked. Kuto had tried to force her to ride but when did not want to do something there was nothing that could make her do it. She felt like walking anyways.
“By the way Raye,” said Kuto, “Sano? Really?”
“I had two seconds,” said Raye, “Give me a break.”
“Whatever,” said Kuto.
“Hey Raye?” asked Enari.
“Yeah?” asked Raye.
“Are you okay?” asked Enari.
“I’m fine,” said Raye.
“Raye,” said Kuto, “Why haven’t you changed out of that dress?”
“I don’t know,” said Raye and she looked down at her skirt, “I guess I like it.”
“Well that’s strange,” said Kuto, “While you were pretending to be a guy you’ve finally learned how to be a girl.”
“Shut up,” said Raye. Soon it was nighttime and time to settle down for the night.
“Raye?” asked Kuto.
“Yeah?”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.”
“You’re right, I’m not.”
“Will you be okay?”
“Eventually.”
“Are you sure?”
“I think -, yes, I’m sure.”
“Okay.” There was a pause.
“Kuto?”
“Yeah?”
“Will it ever stop hurting?”
“Yes.”
“How can be sure? This pain is so horrible.” She grabbed her arms.
“You’ll be fine.” The fire started to spark out.
“I’ll go get more wood.”
“You sure?”
“Of this? Yes.” Raye went to go get firewood. She stopped on a cliff and thought about the demon inside of her. She looked at the scar on her arm. It was the only scar she still had. When her father had healed her he had healed all of her other scars, besides the demonic one. Her face was back to the way it had been before she had cut it up. But the demon scar had faded so it was a barely noticeable, thin green line. There was a demon inside of her now. Hinaka had told Kuto, who had told her, that they had locked in her. She could bring it out if she needed it and she could put it back inside of her. It was weird, like a transformation that she could use in a tough battle.
What she didn’t know was that Naro had finally figured things out for himself and her squad had actually come to check up on her on that morning. When they realized all of her stuff was gone they’d gone after her. They’d just caught up with Kuto and Enari and Naro had headed into the woods to find Raye, and he did. He spotted her on the cliff, staring at the moon in deep thought. The moon was very large tonight and from her spot the moon glowed behind her, giving her a silhouette. The long train on the back of her skirt was billowing in the breeze, revealing her well-toned legs. Naro looked at her and thought that she looked like an angel.
“Were you even going to say goodbye?” asked Naro and Raye twirled around, her skirt flying softly about her legs from the furry of her turn.
“Naro?” asked Raye and Naro walked over to her, he stood on the cliff next her.
“It’s Raye, right?” asked Naro, “Raye Tani?”
“Yes,” said Raye and she looked down at the ground. Naro put a finger on her chin and gently forced her to look up.
“Look at me,” said Naro softy and Raye looked into his eyes.
“Naro,” said Raye, “I’m so sorry, I wanted to tell you, but-.”
“I understand,” said Naro, “You had your reasons. Raye you confused me so much when you were a guy. I liked you but I couldn’t like because you were a guy and I was a guy. But you’re really a girl and now I am even more confused.” Raye thought her heart had stopped beating.
“Naro?”
“Just tell me why.”
“Huh?”
“Why’d you do it? Why?”
“For Kuto of course.”
“Right, he’s your best friend and he told me it was your dream. But I can just tell there is something more. Something you’re not telling me. Please, Raye, don’t lie to me anymore. Tell me why.”
“I already have.”
“What?”
“I told you, how I survived the Tani Massacre. A boy looked in and saw the bodies of my family. That boy was Kuto. He saved my life. He would have never looked inside. He was always afraid of the Tanis but he was picking me up that day and I was late. I was always late but he knew, somehow he knew that something was wrong. So he faced his fear and looked inside. He saved my life. Because if he hadn’t, Darak would have killed me the way he killed my family. And it was him who found me in the alley where I lived both times that I tried to kill myself. He was the one who took me to the hospital and made me get help from the Magi.” She shivered at the thought. She knew now how Darak would’ve killed her. She also knew what she’d done because of it. She’d nearly taken her own life so Darak couldn’t. Naro couldn’t stand it. He knew everything he needed to know and he knew he loved her. He loved her with all of his heart. It was complicated but he loved her. He held her close.
“It’s okay. You’ll never be alone again. You’ll always, always, have me.”
“Naro?”
“I promise, you will never be alone again.”
“You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.”
“I can keep this one.”
“Naro?
“Yeah?”
“Just shut up and kiss me already,” said Raye and she grabbed him. He leaned forward and kissed her. And he knew it was about time too. It was the most lovely thing in the world. His arms felt so warm around her waist.
“I really love you,” said Naro. It was the perfect moment, the perfect kiss, with the perfect guy. She’d never dreamed that anything like that could ever happen to her. Especially after everything she had been through and learned. Darak had seen her face as a child and started a war that resulted in the death of thousands of people and it was all her fault. Her mere existence had cost endless lives, including her father’s. She couldn’t change what Darak had done because of his vision of her but she could change what she did about it. She couldn’t dwell on the past, she had to focus on her future, her future with Naro. Her past was bad, full of horrors and things that would most likely haunt her for the rest of her life. She wouldn’t be able to completely forget those things but she would be able to focus on anything else. And Naro was the perfect thing to focus on, her love for him and trying to make up for all of her lies and the pain she had accidentally caused him. There were just a few more things she had to deal with before it was over and she could finally live her life without the war. That was a new strange thought surfacing all around Gaselu. The war was over after all of these years. Some had thought that it was something that would never be achieved and suddenly it had.
“Hey Huja,” thought Raye.
“Yeah?” thought Huja.
“How do feel about Jaso?” thought Raye.
“I, uh, I mean, I,” thought Huja.
“Good answer,” thought Raye, “Tell Jaso that.”
“What?” thought Huja but Raye ignored him, “What do you mean?” Huja was left looking a little it weird.
“So what did Raye want?” asked Kuto knowingly.
“How did-?” asked Huja.
“I make the same face when she hacks inside my brain,” said Kuto, “So?”
“Nothing,” said Huja, “I just, I need to talk to Jaso.” He grabbed Jaso’s hand and dragged him into the forest.
“What is it Huja?” asked Jaso.
“I, I don’t know exactly how to tell you this but,” said Huja, “I’m sorta gay.”
“Me too,” said Kuto.
“Really?” asked Huja, “Because I also think I like you.” He leaned forward over Jaso. Jaso leaned back slightly.
“What?” asked Jaso, “I don’t-.” Huja interrupted him by kissing him. When he stopped, Jaso fell over.
“I mean I really like you,” said Huja.
“Good,” said Jaso and he stood up, “Because I really like you too.” He kissed Huja as hard as he could. They all walked back to the campsite happily.
“So you’re a girl?” asked Huja, “And he’s Kuto?”
“Yes,” said Raye.
“I have a question,” said Jaso, “Why’d you pretend you couldn’t sew?”
“Huh?”
“Girls can sew but you pretended not to.”
“Oh, she wasn’t pretending,” said Kuto and Raye made a noise, “She can’t sew, cook or clean, anything girly really.”
“You can’t clean?” asked Naro.
“I probably could if I wanted to,” said Raye.
“Raye’s a first class slob,” said Kuto, “You wouldn’t believe it.”
“Shut up.”
“Her house is a total pig sty.”
“That’s not true, it’s called organized clutter.”
“It was so not organized. I discovered a new level of filth I never knew existed.”
“Kuto, you didn’t?”
“Yep.”
“You cleaned my house!”
“Yep,” said Kuto and he ran.
“Now I won’t be able to find anything,” said Raye as she chased him.
“Yes you will. It’s organized now.”
“I had a system!”
“There was no system.”
“Says who?”
“Says all of the old food and bad smells.”
“Shut up, or next time I won’t save you.”
“Yeah right.” Hinaka had told the rest of her squad to go home because the war was over. But because they weren’t expected anywhere for a couple of days, they decided to go to Shano with Raye for a while. They were all going to stay at her place, which was now clean. It might not have been much but it was home. When they got there they were greeted with a parade in Raye’s honor. Raye felt strange being back in Shano after being gone so long. So much had happened to her since she had left. Everything felt so different; she was a hero now, not a criminal. She had love and friends and family. There was no difference between friends and family anymore; her friends were her family. Also to their surprise General Hinaka was already there in a meeting with the other rebel leaders. He invited Raye and her squad to the meeting.
Raye walked into the room and looked around. She saw General Hinaka and he stood up to greet her. She did not expect anyone else to greet her. She knew no one but her squad and Hinaka would understand everything that she had done.
“Miss Tani,” said Hinaka.
“General Hinaka,” said Raye and she bowed.
“Don’t bow to me,” said Hinaka, “It is we who should be bowing to you.” The others in the room stood up and bowed to her in unison. She felt her face go red.
“So what’s up?” asked Raye.
“Still not much for small talk I see. We’re trying to decide who the new leader of Gaselu will be and what kind of government we will now have in the absence of Darak,” said Hinaka, “We were wondering if you had an ideas?”
“Like hell we were,” muttered one of the older men. Hinaka hit him and Raye pretended like she didn’t notice. That was what she expected. None of these men would care what a girl had to say, let alone one that they felt deserved to die for a huge crime.
“I just kill things,” said Raye, “I’m not good with politics.”
“Figures,” muttered someone. She looked at him, not being good with politics didn’t mean she didn’t have any ideas.
“What do you got?” asked Raye.
“Well we have limited it down to two options,” said a man, “The first is a bloodline monarchy.” She sighed slowly when he smiled at her.
“That would get too corrupt too easily,” said Raye.
“Or we can have a death battle system,” said the man, “Where who kills the previous leader takes control, thus insuring a powerful leader, in which case you would be the new leader.” She nearly laughed.
“First off I can barely take care of myself, so me taking care of entire country is not a good idea. I might be a noble but even taking care of half Shano was way too stressful for me that’s why I handed over my power,” said Raye, “Second, you’ll just end up with an insane, unstoppable evil maniac in control.”
“So what do you propose?” asked Hinaka.
“I don’t know,” said Raye, “Why not let the people choose their leader? He’ll serve for some time then we’ll pick someone new for the role. And you should limit his power with a system of checks and balances that cannot be controlled by anyone person. A government for the people, by the people.”
“Ingenious,” said the man, “I thought you said you weren’t good with politics.”
“How’d you think of that?” asked Hinaka.
“I don’t know,” said Raye, “I just sort of did.” She was lying, when she was kid she had found a small notebook in her house. Kuto had told her exactly what it said. These were her parents’ ideas for the new government. It had come from both her mother and father and then a little from her. This was what they’d been fighting for, what she’d believed in. She understood these ideas now, she knew they would work. She also knew that she wouldn’t get any credit for the idea and she didn’t want any. It was her parents who deserved it.
“Well, we don’t want to bore you,” said Hinaka, “If you and your squad want to leave, go a head. The small details can be quite annoying to listen to.” Naro grabbed Raye’s hand and dragged her out of the building to the last park in Shano. There was practically no natural land left in the village.
“Have I told you that I loved you lately?” asked Naro.
“Yes, you told me it when I woke up this morning, three more times on the way to the meeting, twice more at the meeting and one more time on the way here,” said Raye and Naro looked a little disappointed, “But not in the last couple of hours.”
“Well I love you very much,” said Naro.
“I assumed,” said Raye, “I love you too.” Naro grabbed her hand.
“Raye, I love you so much, I can’t imagine my life without you,” said Naro as he knelt on bended knee, “Raye, will you marry me?” It felt like her heart would explode.
“Yes,” said Raye as she nodded. Naro slipped a small golden ring of her left ring finger. It looked like two thinner bands wrapped around each other with a small diamond on the top. When he pulled his hand away he jumped up and kissed her. When they parted they heard clapping, they jumped in shock. They turned around and saw their friends coming out from their hiding spots. Apparently they had followed them.
“Well it’s about time,” said Kuto and Raye smiled. She leaned her head on Naro and saw Jaso do the same to Huja. Everything was perfect, her town and her friends were safe. Now she was going to get married to the one man in the world that she was meant to be with. There was no doubt about that.
“Well, it really was one hell of an adventure,” thought Raye, “It was a little more complicated than I had first expected but hey, life with me is always complicated. I could never have a boring life. I can only imagine what lies ahead of me now. I sure hope it’s as interesting as the last few years have been and maybe even just as dangerous. I know that I can get through anything as long as I have my friends and my love by my side. But the one thing that I can honestly say is, is that I can’t wait to see what it is.”
THE END
 Zegwarian310 · Fri Aug 10, 2007 @ 04:02pm · 2 Comments |
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