Sector C.
The similarities weren’t lost on me, although I didn’t feel a great desire to voice my thoughts on the matter. I’d been doing a much better job lately on enjoying the happiness I felt as a wife and a mother, realizing long ago that I was never going to be happy, at all, if I’d insisted on mourning the memories of a life that’d never made me that happy to begin with.
And now, as I continued to blink myself awake, I spotted my husband sitting beside the bed, his eyes trained right on mine. I offered him a small smile before I leaned back against the bedsheets, sleep pulling me underneath for a second time. In fact, it took a few times of me waking up for the consciousness to take, the night sky now switched back to its morning brightness.
“Are you awake now, my love?” Wexxon’s voice was low and comforting as he stood over my frame. “Aldvirion said you should be returning to your usual wakefulness.”
“…I think I am,” I murmured as I stared up at him. I then noticed a small bundle of blankets in his arms, bright purple limbs sticking out from between the folds of fabric. A second or two later, I heard the bundle emit a low cry, my son’s hands reaching up toward Wexxon’s face.
“…Rexxon?” I’d decided on my son’s name before I’d been put under for the surgery. I knew that Wexxon would’ve appreciated a way to honor his late brother, but I also wanted to honor Wexxon, too, the great warrior that I’d fallen in love with.
I reached for my son as I called for him again. “It’s okay, my little Rexxon. Your mommy’s here.”
Wexxon then carefully shifted the child into my arms, a bright smile growing across his face. “He’s perfect, just like his mother. He has your eyes.”
Rexxon cooed almost as soon as he was in my grip, his small features lighting up with a delighted expression. And as I gently rocked him back and forth, I couldn’t say if I’d ever felt more at peace than with my son in my arms, than with my husband standing at our side and watching over his family.
And as I pulled my son even closer to my chest, I secretly hoped that this moment would never, ever end.
One Year Later
“Is this an appropriate outfit to wear to a wedding?” I asked as I sorted through the beauty parlor’s closet. “I don’t know everything about Xelxar customs just yet, but wearing a glittering dress feels like I’d be taking attention away from the bride.”
“Nothing in that closet is going to take away from Palqeet on her wedding day.” Wexxon seemed to chuckle at the suggestion. “Trust me. I’m sure she spared no expense to be as bright as the stars.”
“Can you believe she’s getting married, though?” I smiled as I looked over at Wexxon. “Honestly, from the way she spoke about relationships…I was worried for her. I thought that maybe she wouldn’t be open to anything new.”
“I was never worried about Palqeet.” Wexxon shrugged. “I’ve known her for long enough to know what she’s made of.”
“Still,” I replied. “I’m happy for her. And…I’m happy for an excuse to get out of the house.”
“My love, you could always take Rexxon to the arena,” Wexxon suggested. “I know you think a year isn’t old enough for it yet, but—”
“I just need a little more time,” I interrupted, as I shook my head. “And it’s not about his age. I know that younger children are allowed to go. It’s…”
I paused for a moment, trying to collect my thoughts. “It’s about me, Wexxon. I don’t know if I’m…I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to stare down at an arena, ever again. Not after what happened to you. Not after the worst day of my life.”
“I understand, my love,” Wexxon said as he walked over to me on the other side of the room. He then gently took my hands into his own, bringing my palms toward his mouth to press soft kisses against my skin. “Whenever you’re ready…that’ll be when our son will go to the arena. It is not something I would ever force on you.”
“I know you wouldn’t, Wexxon.” I smiled up at him, my heart almost bursting with joy whenever I thought about how lucky I was to end up with someone like Wexxon.
Just then, our intimate moment was interrupted by someone knocking on the open door. I turned to seek out the source of the noise, and I smirked when I saw Aldvirion standing in the doorway, Rexxon leaning against his chest.
“Please, tell me that you two are prepared to go?” Aldvirion scoffed, and I would’ve sworn that my son scoffed, too, matching Aldvirion’s mood. Surprisingly, Aldvirion had taken quite the liking to Rexxon, and Rexxon had returned the liking, too. When our son wasn’t in the library with me or following his father around the castle, he was with Aldvirion, pointing at things in his office and casually waiting for explanations.
And I’d spotted Aldvirion on more than one occasion patiently explaining the use of each of his tools, even going so far as to demonstrate on some of Rexxon’s dolls and toys.
Once I’d realized their sweet relationship, almost that of a mentor and his mentee, I accepted the possibility that Rexxon was going to be less of a full-time warrior like his father and more of a healer. And honestly, I was ecstatic about the possible career path for my son, unsure of how much stress I’d be able to handle if both my only child and my husband spent all their time fighting for their lives in the arena.
“We’re almost ready, Aldvirion,” I replied with a grin. “You’re free to spend more time with Rexxon until we’re finished picking out our clothes.”
“Such tardiness…” Aldvirion sighed before he playfully bounced Rexxon up and down, his attention soon going toward him. “You’re never going to exhibit such tardiness, are you? Are you? No, you’re not, because lateness is possibly a recessive gene—”
Aldvirion continued his conversation with Rexxon as they headed down the hall, a smile growing on my face as I heard Aldvirion switch between baby talk and scientific theory as if Rexxon already had the capacity to understand them both.
“Rachel!” Palqeet ran toward me from across the room, quickly scooping me up into her arms. “You made it! Thank the Gods! I was worried that you weren’t coming!”
“Of course we made it, Palqeet.” I smiled as she sat me back down on the ground. “We wouldn’t have missed it for anything—Holy shit.”
I eyed Palqeet up and down, her wedding dress shimmering so bright it almost hurt my eyes. There was also the fact that the fabric seemed to be changing colors every few seconds, too, shifting from red, to pink, to blue. And if I squinted for just the right length of time, I would’ve sworn that the fibers of the fabric were open to interpretation, parts of the dress suddenly becoming beaded while other parts of it became feathered, all out of absolutely nowhere.
“That is…” I pointed at her dress, almost made speechless by it. “Palqeet, your dress is the most beautiful thing I think I’ve ever seen.”
“Thank you.” She beamed over at me. “The male I’m to marry had it custom-made for me.”