The Lore Wain and Her Nephew Pt. 51

(It's been some months since I've written in this fanfiction but I recently got motivation to revisit it again. I just finished rereading all 50 parts for the past 3-4 hours so I'll quickly summarize what's happened so far but you can decided to go read the parts again if you wish. As I have been reading through the third book, I may have more material to work with too!)

Summary:

The High Queen, Throne Warden, and Song Master are dead after stranders sailed across the sea for an invasion. However, the Lore Wain (Celeste) and the High King (Echo, who was an infant) survived. The remainder stranders were imprisoned. Celeste had a complicated relationship with the royal Advisor (Ramger, the whiney, overbearing nuisance) and fought with him about reputation and appearances for she had a crew from all over Aerwiar with various species and pasts. Along the line, Echo was kidnapped with a ridgerunner (Zarabean) by a ex strander ex pirate (Captain Sealen Silver-eye) and taken by ship. Celeste pursued on her ship with her band of misfits and retrieved them both along with a girl with talon hands (Cynthia). They thought they had succeeded until they returned home to find that Castle Rysen had been burnt to the ground and the people chased in the streets by the stranders who escaped prison. Without much choice, Celeste and her people took to the ships and all retreated to The Hollows for supplies and regrouping. Upon arrival, the group splits leaving Ramger, the captain of the guard, Echo, and Alagatha (an ex pirate hag that's deaf in one ear) on the ship while Celeste, Clef (an ex strander with a love for Celeste), Zarabean, and Nibble (a good green fang with a love for banter) headed for an orchard owned by friends of Celeste they helped years prior when Zarabean joined the group. There, they were shown hospitality by Nala and Janner, her son. However, when Zarabean brother Pummi and a large group of ridgerunners ambushed them, they were all (except Janner and Nala) shot with sleeping darts with poison that had various effects. They all collapsed and Zarabean was taken. Cynthia was the only one out of the party who seemed to be able to fight the poison and she somehow managed to run off into a forest where she met another much larger ridgerunner named Till. There, she was cured of the poison and Till told her about her plan to introduce farming to her tribe that got rejected. After hearing Cynthia's friends were poisoned, she took the girl back to Nala's where she cured everyone of their ailment but they were still too weak to leave. Back with Zarabean, he was lectured by his brother for leaving without saying goodbye and for deceiving his tribe by protecting Celeste and her crew the last time they were in The Hollows. Zarabean's mother was revealed to sympathize with her son but wouldn't let him out of prison for fear she would be hurt herself. After seeing that they hadn't returned, Kinabrick (captain of the guard) and Alagatha journeyed to the orchard but not after hearing about why Ramger was such a pain in the neck. His wife had died from ridgerunner flu and his son was stolen by stranders shortly after. Alagatha felt bad for him when she found this out and connected that Kinabrick was his brother-in-law on the account Ramger's wife was Kinabrick's older sister. Ramger was told to stay back and protect Echo and he did so faithfully. When Alagatha and Kinabrick arrived (it was before Till came but we don't talk about that. They actually got there before they were cured), Kinabrick dealt with Clef's emotional outburst due to the effects of the poison and his fear of being found out he killed a man by accident and in rage back in Dugtown years ago. His disguise had slipped off when he awoke because Nala had loosened it around his face assuming his skin needed to breathe. It's revealed he was a pretty bad dude in his past and that his father was Captain Sealen Silver-Eye. Clef realized he was still loved by his friends and fell asleep with the rest of them. After this, Kinabrick and Till went to a well and Till saved Zarabean from his prison cell and carried him up. They all returned and Kinabrick and Janner set up barricades so he could return to the ship for some soldiers to help with supplies and protection. All the night, they silently waited and slept, hoping they wouldn't be harmed. Near dawn, Pummi accidentally fell into the house via chimney and tried t start beef with his brother but was slapped by Till and given a parody of Joseph's story from the Bible. Pummi felt guilty and his brother forgave him. As a result, he called off the scouts around the house and helped formulate a plan to help his tribe. Pummi, Zarabean, and Till all left for their tribe and somehow convinced them after a lot of explaining that stealing was bad and that they could farm thanks to Nala giving them seeds despite them having killed her husband years prior. They were touched and accepted her offer. Back with the humans, Celeste and Clef went to Nala's brothers for some supplies since Nala was helping the ridgerunners now and couldn't give them as much. It goes without issue and they return back to the ships without injury despite coming from a toothy cow farm. Ramger freaks out when he sees Clef without his mask and tries to take control of the situation to get rid of him. He's stopped and feels like everyone's against him but is soon persuaded into tolerating Clef. They start out toward Torrborro but a sea dragon soon pursued them. They stop the ship and Celeste receives news that her parents are still alive but Echo beings crying non-stop. Nothing could calm him so Ramger decided to use a special Annerian song and asked Clef to play it on his flute. Celeste was able to communicate with her infant nephew of pending danger involving Captain Sealen and grey fangs as well as the song of the ancient stones. However, it made no sense to anyone what this met and Celeste nearly fainted on the encounter. It's discovered after the song that Echo had become a 6 year old boy and was no longer an infant. Ramger became guilty and explained he didn't know the songs origins, only that he thought it would help them. However, Clef doubted the song is what caused the change. After a silly moment of boy Echo being reintroduced to everyone, Clef tries to find something special that belonged to him but discovered it was missing. He suspected Ramger and questioned him. During this confrontation, he found out his father wasn't really Captain Sealens but that he too had been kidnapped like others of royal families around Aerwiar because Ramger... Was royalty. Kinabrick checked on the two and that is where I left off in February this year. I'm gonna leave the first half of what I wrote pretty much untouched but I want to add more to it so if you notice a change in writing, it's just because I've had more practice. Anyways, enjoy!

Ramger glanced at Clef and then back at Kinabrick. He looked a little more sad but he wasn't letting it keep him from being happy he found his son. "Of course I remember." He responded solemnly. "But we've found him now, isn't that worth celebrating?"

Kinabrick sighed, "Are you even sure Clef believes you?"

"I think he does... But ultimately..." Ramger sighed shakingly, trying not to start crying again. "He can make his own decisions." He turned and walked back toward Clef, who was standing there speechless.

Kinabrick watched Ramger before he went over to the wheel of the ship and made sure they were still on course.

"I would... Understand that... You weren't proud of me." Clef started before being interrupted.

"No... I know I was... Very much rude to you when we met and... Well, just yesterday." Ramger looked at the ground. "I'm sorry for that."

Clef shook his head, "No, you had every reason to not like me, especially after my mask came off... In fact, you still have reasons you could dislike me... Especially after hearing what Kinabrick had to say..."

"Your uncle just... He doesn't want me to be disappointed again..." Ramger looked over at Kinabrick.

"Uncle?"

Ramger looked back at Clef and nodded. "He was... Your mother's brother. He helped me looked for you after months before telling me it was no use. The fact it dragged so long was because I couldn't accept that you were gone and it drove me to madness..."

"I see..." Clef responded before taking a deep breath in attempt to change the topic. "Well, um... Why don't we go back down stairs to Celeste? They've been waiting on me to return so I could play Echo a song."

"Of course, let's go." Ramger smiled brightly.

Clef paused and stared at Ramger a moment, having never seen him so happy before. He just hoped in his heart that this was for real, for his sake.

Afterward, Clef headed back down to the main deck with Ramger behind him.

Celeste spotted them and waved. "What happened up there?" She asked upon Ramger look like a wreck.

"Uh... I don't know how to answer that. I'm still trying process it myself..." Clef rubbed the back of his neck.

Ramger, on the other hand, was eager to share the news. "He's my son, Henry!"

The sound of someone spitting out their drink could be heard. The source was Nibble, who had just taken a drink of water from a cup but choked on it when he heard Ramger's news. He started to cough.

Alagatha patted Nibble's back. "Really?!" She exclaimed with obvious excitement.

Zarabean's eyes narrowed and one of his eyebrows rose as he stared at Ramger and Clef in confusion. He wondered if he was the only one who noticed that Ramger's hair wasn't tied back anymore.

Clef sighed and nodded. "Yes, it's true... Let's not make such a big deal-"

"Your name isss Henry?!" Nibble coughed and gagged as well as laughed.

Alagatha shoved Nibble. "AYE, ye choking lizard! Focus on tryin' to breathe before ye laugh!"

Echo giggled in response to Alagatha calling Nibble a lizard.

As for Celeste, she dropped her lute on the ground in shock. She couldn't believe after all the grief Ramger gave Clef, that he was so excited to be his real father. Nor could she believe the insanely happy look Ramger had on his face. He never smiled like that before.

"Celeste, careful!" Ramger quickly picked up her lute off the ground. "What's the matter? You could have broken your lute, it's a very fragile instrument."

Celeste slowly looked at Ramger and then back at Clef and then back at Ramger. "I-I... I can't believe... What...???"

Ramger kept grinning ear to ear. "As you know, I'm from Torrboro... My son was kidnapped from there. I've deduced that Captain Sealen is the culprit and that my Henry was stolen because they thought he was royalty!"

"Royalty?" Cynthia puzzled, having heard her city by name.

"Royalty?!" Nibble hollered with laughter. "Clef is royalty?! Have you heard him burp?! He doesn't say excuse me half the time!"

"I assure you, I'm quite serious." Ramgers demeanor changed to a quite serious one as he stamped his foot against the wooden plank floor beneath him, silencing Nibble's laughter. "There was a misplacement in our ancestry and we were a forgotten lineage of the Torr Dynasty. Why else do you think I lived there so long? Why else would Clef have my- our- family seal?"

Cynthia stared up at Ramger with wide eyes. "Are... Are you a family member then, Samger?"

"Ramger- and yes, little monarch!" Ramger smiled down at her and gave a little bow.

"Aye... Could this really be true?" Alagatha questioned aloud.

Celeste pondered the very same question until she looked back at Ramger and Clef. "... Well... You both do share an uncanny resemble... I knew you reminded me of someone when you took off that mask." She spoke to Clef individually. "I must have been thinking of Ramger..."

The party became quiet in the midst of this new information and change in atmosphere. They had been through so much just in these past few days that anything could be believable at this point.

"Well?" Ramger cleared his throat awkwardly when he realized that everyone was unsure of how to respond to this. "What about those songs you two were going to play? I believe our High King has been waiting patiently."

Echo looked clueless for a moment before remembering that he was the High King. He grinned and giggled as he pointed at himself. "That's me, right?" He asked.

Celeste smiled and nodded to her nephew. "That's right." She looked over at Clef, who was puzzling himself. "Henry, why don't you take the lead?" She gently teased to lighten the air.

Clef caught on that she was being playful and his rolled his eyes with a smirk. "Only if you don't call me that again."

"What's wrong with the name Henry?" Ramger asked in a mutter as he stood beside Alagatha to watch his son and the Lore Wain play.

"Don't mind them." Alagatha snickered like the old hag she was. "They're youths with no mind for fancy ol names. Yer son was raised as opposite as prim as ye could be, give him time."

Despite usually complaining about such comments, Ramger found himself simply being content in watching Clef and Celeste play. For the first time in twenty-four years, he felt at peace.