“What is going on, Relkir?”
Relkir had only just started feeling better as they arrived home, but as the front door opened up and Gath stood in the doorway in front of them, Relkir suddenly felt uneasy again. They were also wearing a face mask, a vague attempt to pretend that they still had a cold.
“H-hello…” Relkir stuttered. “May… may I come in?”
Gath grunted, then moved to one side and led Relkir inside. Once Relkir was indoors, Gath closed and locked the front door, then led Relkir to the dining table, sitting them down. Two cups of hot chocolate were waiting for them.
“Sorry…” Relkir whispered.
“You are apologising and we have not even started talking!” Gath growled, ever so slightly. “Relkir, please. You are keeping things from me and I am concerned. I want to know what is going on.”
“You… seem angry…”
“I am a little angry, because I think you are lying about having the ‘flub’, as Litvir keeps on calling it. But I am holding my anger and my tongue until you have had a chance to explain why you lied to me, and why you have not been right since Retvik was laid.”
Relkir remained silent for a moment, rubbing their eyes to hide their future-seeing powers, but also to hide some tears. Gath was right. Relkir had been acting weird for a while now. They deserved to know the truth. And even though Relkir’s time powers suggested that Gath would be upset if they were completely honest, Relkir knew they had to tell Gath everything. Gath WAS Relkir’s everything.
“I… I will explain. But I must warn you, you… what… uh… What I am going to say is… you cannot tell anyone. It is pure insanity. And pure luck.”
“Very well. Please, Relkir, say what you want to say.”
Relkir took a deep breath, trying to organise their thoughts.
“Well… um… the first thing is… I… I have been terrified of being a father… No, not terrified. Just very nervous. I… I think that was clear from the start. Thinking back, I am not sure if I was quite ready to become a parent to a new baby. Of course, I have put all that aside. I will do anything for my kids. I made a promise that I would do ANYTHING for them. When you got egg-ridden, when we called your parents, you asked me if I was willing to kill to protect my family. I said yes. And when I said yes, I meant yes. Because… I… I have killed.”
Gath blinked in confusion. “What?”
“Let me explain… You know that trip to the Great Library?”
“Yes. You were invited by that nice old Skyavok. I told you to go so you could have fun…” Gath trailed off, then blinked some more. “I am sorry, I am trying to work out who you killed.”
“I… I killed the Dragon of Time. Apparently. With some help. While I went Defensive Stance trying to protect Litvir.”
“You… you said you went Defensive Stance and just… protected people though!”
Relkir sighed. “The gods told me to lie. The Allmaker Herself, our Lady of All, SHE told me to hide the truth, that I have the blood of the Whenvern on my hands. I do not remember what I did, I do not remember what happened, all I know is that I saw Litvir in danger and in agony, and I… I just lost my mind. And somehow, I… I do not know… I have no idea what happened, those memories are gone forever.
“But whatever happened, it does no matter. That moment cursed me. I… I can glimpse into the future now. It is a traumatic thing. It terrifies me. When Litvir took me to the doctor yesterday, it was not because I was coughing and sneezing. It was because I glimpsed into the future and saw something horrific, and it froze me in fear.”
Relkir rubbed their eyes again. But they weren’t doing any time stuff, they were crying and trying to wipe away the tears.
“I hate all of this. I just wanted to be a normal Rethan, a normal partner and a normal father! But everything is weird and strange and… I am struggling…” Relkir looked up at Gath. “I am sorry, Gath. You married a train wreck. You married a fool who keeps on getting into weird messes and keeps making weird secrets and… and… I am not a good partner…”
Relkir gave up trying to explain and put their head in their hands, letting the tears flow. Gath watched Relkir sob for a moment, then got up and made their way to Relkir’s side. They wrapped their arms around Relkir in a big, warm hug.
“You are a good partner, Relkir. You are just… a little… messed up…”
“I am bad…”
“You are not bad. You… you are unlucky. Things have always gone wrong around you. But that is not your fault. Because you always try to protect everyone from everything in your own way. What you told me is… insane… but I realise now, you did not tell me because you were trying to protect me. And you did what you did to protect Litvir. Like you said, you are willing to do anything to protect your family. I forgive you, Relkir.”
Relkir blinked, then stopped crying, their tears turning into whimpers. “But…”
“No buts. You are a good person, Relkir. I am sorry for being angry at you.”
“You… do not need to apologise.”
“I do. I upset you. We upset each other. But we talked things through and we worked out what was going on and we will be alright. Yes?”
Relkir nodded. Gath sighed, and let Relkir settle down.
“I think we need an early night. The baby is asleep right now. You are exhausted. Let us have some quiet dinner, then we can go to bed, and start fresh tomorrow.”
Relkir sniffed, and calmed down completely. “You are absolutely right, Gath. We should do that.”
Gath smiled, and gave Relkir a hug, before lifting them from their chair. “Of course I am right! Come on, Relkir. Let us have something to eat. We have leftovers.”
“Yes, my dear…” Relkir sighed. “I love you, Gath. I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Relkir. Do not fret. Everything with be alright…”