A Tale of Sorrow
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A (Not So) Normal Family

A Tale of Sorrow

Far was the word he had been looking for. He was far not of the physical distance, but of emotions as of late. Distant and cold, bitter by the cruelness of it all. And yet, he stood firm. Of weeping and mourning, the town they live in now lay desolate in ruin. He could've done so much more. So much more...

Hurt is the feeling that linger on the both of them. Had it not been for their decisions, they could've stopped this. They could've stopped such insolence and madness. And yet, they didn't. No, they couldn't. They chose to fight, and now they face the consequences of doing nothing.

Now they rest, and for another fifteen years, they weep and mourn on one specific day. The day they chose to fight and defend their home. He sighed and breathed, smoke coming out of his mouth as he gazed into the night sky ever present in the outside of their cave. A cave of which they lived in for fifteen years. No other man can claim that spot, yet they claimed the outskirts of that cave to be a new town. A town that flourished for fifteen years without their presence. A good thing too, for he is tired of it all.

Too much of being in the way can cause more harm than good. Whatever happens to that town stays in that town. No longer would they try and insert themselves to be heroes. They would just live. And if their neighbors wish them well, then so too would they, but never would they defend another town. They shall only defend their own. What they consider their own was their only home, a large cave entrance, and inside was a well maintained fortress long abandoned by the dwarves who built it. Was it a large fortress? In comparison to the other fortresses, no. It was mostly a fortress to defend materials and resources. When the dwarves deemed it to be a waste of space, they all simply left with the resources. And now the couple find themselves in a fortress of their own.

Quite a lot of space, yet no other person lives in it other than he and his beloved. He grumbled and sighed as clouds blocked the only relief he has at such a peaceful night. "Dear?" A voice called out, breaking the silence. It was his wife, walking towards him with an apron on her chest. "You had another nightmare again, haven't you?"

"No," he said as he gently nuzzled his wife. "I simply wish to observe the night." She gently hugged her husband as she stroked his arm. "You are having trouble sleeping lately. Is everything alright?" He slowly got up as he looked back at the night sky. "It's been fifteen years..."

"I know," she said, "and you haven't slept in the first five years of it..." She slowly sat gracefully beside him as he pondered through the things. "It's okay. He's up there, somewhere."

"That grief struck me more than any sword has." he said quietly. As the chirping of the crickets overtook the silence, he looked back at the sky, the moon visible once more.

"He loved looking at the night sky, talking and playing, saying that one day he'd make his own constellation... Do you think he's made his own... up there?" He said as he nearly choked. "Oh honey... wherever he is, he's in a better world, far beyond us and the problems in here."

"It still hurts..." he said, no longer looking at the night sky.

"I know," she said once more.

"How do you hide it so well?" He asked as he looked at her. "I don't... I guess it's part of being human... as human as I can be." He simply gazed at her beauty as he nuzzled her cheek. There was no cure for the pain in their hearts. They simply needed to move on. A wound can be healed through different means. From magic to medicine. But the hurt in the hearts of many can never be cured by mere medicine or magic. It's there, permanently, until there is no life left to give.

"Must be nice to have such an ability," he said begrudgingly. "It isn't an ability, it's merely moving forward..."

That of which is true, it must feel nice to move on and keep going. For dragons like himself, a mere fifteen years is like a minute in his life. For his wife, however, it would have been just that. And yet, she is no longer human. She too, experiences time so slowly, yet her humanity perseveres. Still, he found himself annoyed by it all. "And what is that supposed to mean? To simply let his memory go?"

She shook his head. "No, it's to keep moving forward with him in our hearts. Tell me," she said as she slowly got up, "do you honestly think that he would be happy if he saw us like this?" He snarled at her, but then he stopped. He looked at her, guilt in his eyes at what he has done. "No. No he wouldn't."

He gently nuzzled her once more, "I'm sorry... I just..."

"It's okay... We all have problems dealing with grief," she said as she kissed his cheeks. "You already have too much to bear." He closed his eyes as he felt the kiss. He still had her, after all. Losing her would only bring more pain. "Come back inside once you feel better. I'm preparing the both of us some soup." He chuckled at her as he bowed. He loved her cooking, it was tasty and refreshing. As she went inside, he was, once more, alone. "I hope you are happy, wherever you are..." he said.

As soon as he was about to get up, however, he spotted what appeared to be a wishing star. Only, the bright light was something else. It had some sort of magical residue, one of which he had never seen before. As the star disappeared into the horizon, a bright blue beam of warm light emerged. Not knowing much of the magic of men, he decided to call out to his wife. His wife, talented in the arts of magic, came outside frantically, wielding a shortsword in case of an enemy. He grabbed her surprisingly and flew towards the light, not even bothering to give an explanation.

When they landed, his wife shivered. "There is quite a lot of magic residue in here, what exactly happened?" He shrugged, not really knowing what this is. He may be proficient in his kin's magic, but never in the magic of men. "Do you know what type of magic did this?" She sighed as she got down from his back. "No," she said. "Unless I've seen it with my own eyes, I don't have a clue." Suddenly, a loud noise can be heard. Preparing himself to attack in case it was an ambush, he got up on his hind legs and flared his wings, with smoke coming out from his snout. His wife unsheathed her blade and brought forth her staff.

"Show yourself, or suffer my infinite wrath!" He loudly proclaimed. The noise, muffled by the magical residue, was getting louder and louder, until they realized what they were hearing. It wasn't a noise of challenge, it was a noise of whimpering. A noise ever so familiar. It was crying. A crying of a newborn.

They followed the noise as they cautiously trekked the forest. What they saw was... surprising. It was a foal, with a horn typically found in unicorns and wings found within pegasi. Perhaps a hybrid? Yet, foals don't cry like newborn babies. This was something different.

"What is it?" he asked. "I thought you know everything, oh great one," she said as she giggled a bit, though her focus was still on the foal. "I am known to have a vast array of knowledge, not the all-knowing," he said unamused.

"Perhaps she's a pegacorn?" she said as she got closer. She gently picked the foal up, to which the foal stopped crying. Instead, the foal whacked her face, though it didn't hurt. The foal chuckled and proceeded to do so again and again. "It looks like it's amused," he said as he went closer. Surprisingly, the foal didn't cry, instead, it did the same thing to his snout. "It's a she, dear. She's a filly."

"Hmm, interesting," he said as the filly chuckled and giggled, nuzzling and hugging his wife as if she has... imprinted on her. "Oh no," he muttered to himself. "Hmm? What's wrong, dear?"

"Can you sense if there are others within these woods?" His wife simply shook her head. "Unfortunately, she's the only one here." The filly then yawned as she rubbed her face with her hoof, something that foals couldn't do. He looked at her, knowing full well what is about to happen. "No, we can't take her."

"Why not? She's all alone in this place!"

"She can fend for herself," he grunted.

"She isn't a dragon like yourself! She's just a baby!" she said as she glared at him.

"A baby with a lot of magic. No other creature would dare attack her."

"And what about what she would eat? By the looks of it, she's barely a year old!"

"She's a horse, she can probably eat the leaves in here!"

"A horse that can't even walk yet! Please, you're not thinking rationally!"

He sighed and grunted. "I know, but..." She sighed as she looked at her husband. "But what?" she asked, disdain present in her voice. He shook his head once more. "I can't... not again." She realized now what he was thinking. "Oh dear, she isn't going to be a replacement, you know that right?" She then moved closer to her husband as she kissed his snout. "Tell you what, we'll only take care of her for a few months. Horses mature quite fast, and we'll give her to the magic council, is that ok with you?"

He nodded once as he lowered himself on the ground, allowing her to climb in his back. What happened next shocked the both of them, so much so that he lost balance. "Ma," the filly blurted out. "Oh dear me, she can talk," his wife said. No longer is this a situation where they could simply sell her to a stablemaster or a wizard in the magic council. This was an actual baby in the form of a horse. "What do we do?" she asked as she gently carried the baby. "We'll talk about this once we get home..."

Frantic were they when the baby vocalized something. It was gibberish, but it was obvious. It was not a mere horse, it had a consciousness, no, SHE had a consciousness that of like a baby. Indeed, she was a baby. As much as it hurts him, he couldn't let the baby go, not like this. But at the same time, he told himself never to participate in any mortal dilemmas again. But this wasn't a mortal dilemma from any of the other races. This was simply a baby lost in the world. Would he be betraying his own son or would this be a change? "We'll have to keep her, don't we?" he asked, looking at his wife with guilt. "I'm afraid so..."

"We can't keep her as a horse now, can we?" she asked, to which he simply shook his head. "No, we can't..."

It was a unanimous decision. They have to take care of her. It would only bring guilt if they don't. As such, his wife, using her mastery of different magic, transformed the baby to a human. A human with a weak magical signature, in the hopes to avoid certain distasteful beings. Both promised to teach her how to shapeshift once she grows older, and both promised to be better parents. They just hope this wouldn't be mistake that would bite them soon. For now, the girl giggled at the soothing warmth of magic, though, she stopped giggling when she became hungry. Now a human baby, his wife decided to nurse her as she gently caressed the baby's head. "Remember the time when we discussed about names?" she asked as her husband was about to leave. "Yes..."

"I believe we should call her... Etherea." He simply smiled. "Ah, the name that made you bite me if I didn't accept it," he giggled a bit, only a bit, as he decided to walk back towards the entrance. "It is... a nice name, though I do have another name to call her."

"And what is it?" she asked as the baby giggled. "Luna..." He stated as he continued to walk. "I'll probably nickname her as Luna." She smiled. "Because of the moon?" He turned around to look at his wife. "No," he said, "it's because it's what he would've wanted had he been here." She smiled warmly at him. "Then why not combine both? Luna Etherea Ithilmoore."

"I like it," he muttered. And then there was only silence. A warm and comforting silence as he looked at the moon. "Luna Etherea... looks like you'll be a brother, Rohnorhor..." He said as he rested his head within his arms, trying so desperately not to cry. He has to stay strong if he needs to protect their new child. He has to...