The Warrior and The Wren No. 11

 

Chronicle 11

Love Hospital

Dr. Amina Idris knocked softly on the open door.

Phoebe looked up from the book she hadn't really been reading.

Armintie was sitting cross-legged on the bed beside her.

"They're about an hour away."

Neither girl spoke.

The room suddenly felt much smaller.

Amina stepped inside and quietly closed the door behind her.

"I wanted to ask you one more time."

She pulled a chair over.

"You don't have to do this."

"If either of you changes your mind..."

"...that's okay."

"We can postpone."

"We can wait."

"There is no pressure."

Phoebe stared down at her hands.

"I've thought about it all morning."

"So have I," Armintie admitted.

Amina nodded.

"...and?"

Phoebe took a long breath.

"I'm scared."

"So am I."

Armintie looked toward her.

"...but..."

Phoebe slowly smiled.

"...he came."

"He said he would."

"...and..."

She laughed nervously.

"...he actually came."

Armintie nodded.

"That means something."

"It does."

Phoebe looked back at Amina.

"I still want to see him."

"I don't know what's going to happen."

"I don't know if I'll cry."

"I don't know if I'll forgive him."

"...but..."

"...I want to see him."

Armintie quietly reached over and squeezed Phoebe's hand.

"So do I."

Amina smiled.

"I'll let security know they're expected."

---

Outside Purushapura

The Discovery crested one final hill.

Beyond it...

A sea of lights stretched across the evening.

Roads.

Buildings.

Traffic.

The city shimmered beneath the fading sky.

Joanna smiled.

"Welcome to Purushapura."

Arel-Sin stared through the window.

"It's enormous."

"It is."

Zas barely noticed.

His eyes remained fixed somewhere beyond the skyline.

His breathing had become noticeably shallower.

Joanna looked across at him.

"You've gone quiet."

He nodded.

"I am beginning to question myself."

"How?"

"What if..."

He swallowed.

"...nothing I say matters?"

"What if I have already lost her?"

"What if..."

He stopped.

"I do not deserve another chance."

The Discovery rolled silently toward the city.

Joanna waited before answering.

"Can I tell you what I see?"

"You may."

"I see a father..."

"...who drove halfway across the continent."

"I see a brother who came with him."

"I see two girls..."

"...who could have said no."

"They didn't."

She smiled gently.

"They want to see you."

"They're frightened."

"So are you."

"...but none of you are walking into a fight."

She reached over and rested her hand lightly on his arm.

"You're walking into a conversation."

"A hard one."

"Maybe the hardest conversation of your life."

"...but..."

"...not with your enemies."

"With your family."

Zas looked at her.

"They're still my family?"

She squeezed his arm.

"They never stopped being your family."

"They're just hurt."

He stared through the windshield.

The lights of Purushapura grew larger with every passing kilometre.

Finally he whispered,

"I hope they still let me be their father."

Joanna smiled.

"I think..."

"...that's exactly why they asked you to come."

Love Hospital stood before them.

Glass.

Steel.

Bright lights.

People coming and going at all hours.

The Discovery rolled to a stop outside the security gate.

Zas instinctively reached for the door.

The barrier remained down.

He frowned.

"...Why are we stopped?"

Joanna smiled.

"The gate."

A security guard emerged from a small booth.

"Parking?"

"Yes."

The guard pointed toward the payment machine.

Zas blinked.

"...We must pay before entering?"

"Welcome to the city."

Joanna laughed.

Zas dug into a small leather pouch.

Roman denarii.

Blade guild tokens.

African Community crowns.

He frowned.

"I know I have American dollars somewhere..."

Arel-Sin leaned forward.

"I think they're in the other pouch."

"...Right."

Several awkward moments later...

The barrier finally rose.

Zas drove forward.

Only to stop again.

Another guard approached.

"Good evening."

"Purpose of your visit?"

"We are here to see Dr. Amina Idris."

The guard looked at a list.

"Names?"

"Zasaramel."

"Arel-Sin."

"Joanna Goldsmith."

The guard checked his screen.

Then smiled.

"Doctor Idris has informed us."

"You may proceed."

"Thank you."

They drove another minute.

Then...

Another stop.

"This is the wrong parking lot."

Joanna looked around.

"Oh."

"He told us Visitor C."

"This is Staff B."

Zas sighed quietly.

"So..."

"...we continue."

Eventually...

Visitor C.

The Discovery finally settled into a parking space.

Zas switched off the engine.

Then stared blankly ahead.

Joanna looked at him.

"What?"

"I believe..."

"...we have arrived."

"You still have to pay for parking."

He looked genuinely wounded.

"...Again?"

She couldn't help laughing.

"I'm sorry."

"It isn't funny."

"It is a little."

He sighed dramatically before searching for yet another handful of coins.

---

Inside...

Automatic doors slid open.

Another security desk.

Another polite smile.

Another explanation.

Another identification check.

Another set of directions.

Then...

Reception.

"Good evening."

"Patient name?"

"Phoebe."

The receptionist smiled.

"One moment."

More waiting.

Every minute felt like ten.

Zas found himself looking toward every corridor.

Every elevator.

Every opening door.

His foot bounced impatiently against the floor.

Joanna quietly noticed.

Without saying a word...

She rested her hand over his.

He didn't even realize he'd been shaking.

Finally...

A familiar voice.

"Zasaramel?"

Dr. Amina Idris approached with her usual calm smile.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting."

Zas immediately stood.

"No apology is necessary."

Although...

He clearly looked relieved.

Amina smiled knowingly.

"I imagine you've had quite the introduction to modern hospital administration."

"I believe..."

He chose his words carefully.

"...your hospital has more checkpoints than some fortresses."

She laughed.

"We do try."

"Come with me."

She led them through a set of secured doors.

Down one corridor.

Then another.

Past nurses' stations.

Past waiting rooms.

Past quiet conversations behind half-open doors.

Eventually...

She slowed.

"They're just through here."

Zas stopped walking.

So did everyone else.

The relief of finally arriving...

Vanished.

In its place...

A completely different fear.

He stared at the closed door.

His breathing became shallow again.

"What if..."

He couldn't finish.

Amina looked at him kindly.

"They're nervous too."

"They've asked me three times whether you were really coming."

She smiled.

"They're waiting."

Joanna gently slipped her hand into his.

"You've come too far to turn around now."

Zas looked at the door.

Then at Arel-Sin.

Then at Joanna.

Finally...

He nodded.

"I'm ready."

He wasn't.

...but he opened the door anyway.

The door opened.

For a brief moment...

No one moved.

Zas had imagined this meeting hundreds of times.

Sometimes Phoebe ran into his arms.

Sometimes she screamed at him.

Sometimes they both cried until neither could stand.

Sometimes he delivered the perfect apology.

Sometimes she forgave him immediately.

Reality...

...was nothing like any of them.

Phoebe stood first.

She looked older.

Not because time had passed.

Because suffering had.

Her eyes immediately found Arel-Sin.

Without thinking...

She crossed the room.

...and wrapped her arms around him.

Arel-Sin hugged her back so tightly that neither noticed they had both started crying.

No words.

Just relief.

Zas watched.

For a split second...

The old fear returned.

She didn't choose me.

Then Joanna's voice echoed quietly inside his memory.

"Don't mistake hurt for hatred."

He took one slow breath.

Phoebe wasn't rejecting him.

She was greeting her brother.

There was a difference.

Only after several long moments did Phoebe gently let Arel-Sin go.

She turned.

Looked at her father.

Neither of them spoke.

Not because they had nothing to say.

Because they had too much.

Armintie quietly stepped beside Phoebe.

Armintie didn’t hesitate.

She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Arel-Sin as well, pressing close beside Phoebe.

For a moment, the three of them stood together- silent, clinging, breathing each other in as if afraid one of them might disappear again.

Zas remained where he was.

Unacknowledged.

Unseen.

He didn’t move.

Didn’t speak.

He simply watched. Understanding as much as he didn't like it.

Joanna remained near the doorway.

Not hiding.

Simply allowing the family their space.

Amina stayed even farther back.

Watching.

Listening.

Ready if she was needed.

She silently prayed she wouldn't be.

Zas had prepared an apology during the entire drive.

He had rehearsed every sentence.

Every pause.

Every admission.

He opened his mouth.

"...Phoebe..."

His voice broke immediately.

He tried again.

"I..."

Nothing.

Everything he had practiced vanished.

He looked down.

Laughed softly at himself.

Then shook his head.

"I had..."

"...so many things prepared."

"I knew exactly what I wanted to say."

Another sad laugh escaped him.

"I seem..."

"...to have forgotten all of them."

To his surprise...

Phoebe smiled.

Only slightly.

"So did I."

That tiny admission dissolved some of the unbearable tension.

Not all of it.

Just enough.

Zas finally found a few words.

"I came..."

"...because I was wrong."

"I spent weeks trying to decide exactly how to explain that."

"I still do not know."

He looked directly at her.

"I only know..."

"...that I was."

Silence.

Phoebe didn't interrupt.

She didn't forgive him.

She simply listened.

Zas continued.

"I thought..."

"...that protecting you meant making decisions for you."

"I thought tradition..."

"...was wisdom."

"I thought..."

He swallowed.

"...that because I loved you..."

"...I already understood you."

He shook his head.

"I did not."

His eyes filled.

"The greatest mistake I made..."

"...was believing I had stopped needing to listen."

Phoebe stared at him.

Those words...

More than anything else...

Reached her.

Joanna noticed it immediately.

She didn't say a word.

She simply watched.

She was beginning to understand this family.

...and...

To her surprise...

They were beginning to understand her.

Armintie was the first to smile at Joanna.

Then Phoebe.

It wasn't a big smile.

...but it was genuine.

Joanna smiled back.

She hadn't expected to become part of this moment.

Yet somehow...

She no longer felt like an outsider standing in the room.

She felt...

As though she'd quietly found a place within the family.

Across the room, Amina allowed herself to exhale.

She had seen family reunions collapse before.

She had watched accusations spiral into shouting.

She had watched doors slam.

People walk away.

Old wounds reopen.

This...

Wasn't that.

No one was composed.

Everyone's emotions sat painfully close to the surface.

...but everyone was listening.

Everyone was choosing their words.

Everyone...

Wanted the same thing.

They simply hadn't yet figured out how to reach it.

For Amina...

That was enough.

It meant there was still somewhere to go.

The conversation drifted into a quieter rhythm.

The worst of the first shock had passed.

No one felt relaxed.

...but no one felt trapped anymore, either.

It was Phoebe who unexpectedly broke the silence.

"...Joanna?"

Joanna looked up.

"Yeah?"

Phoebe smiled shyly.

"I have..."

She laughed softly.

"...about a thousand questions."

That earned a few chuckles around the room.

"Ask away."

Phoebe looked toward Zas.

Then back to Joanna.

"How did you meet my dad?"

Joanna laughed.

"On a bus."

The room blinked.

"...A bus?"

"I sat beside him."

"I thought he was incredibly handsome."

Zas looked down at the floor.

Joanna smiled.

"He refused to talk to me."

"I did not refuse."

"You absolutely refused."

"You simply continued speaking."

"I noticed."

Everyone laughed.

Even Amina.

Phoebe shook her head in disbelief.

"So..."

"...you just kept talking?"

"I've been told I'm persistent."

Armintie grinned.

"I can believe that."

Joanna continued.

"He eventually watched one of my wrestling matches."

"He started giving me advice."

"Then somehow..."

She looked at Zas.

"...my vacation turned into falling in love with a mountain warrior."

Zas quietly smiled.

Phoebe watched the exchange carefully.

Then asked the question that had really been on her mind.

"What do you see in him?"

The room became quiet again.

Joanna didn't answer immediately.

She looked toward Zas.

"He doesn't know this..."

"...but the first thing I noticed wasn't how strong he was."

"It was how gentle he tried to be."

She smiled.

"He'd spent his whole life protecting people."

"He just forgot..."

"...that protecting someone isn't always the same thing as understanding them."

Zas lowered his eyes.

Joanna reached over and gently took his hand.

"When he realized he'd been wrong..."

"...he didn't make excuses."

"He changed."

She looked back at Phoebe.

"I've met a lot of people who say they want to become better."

"Your father actually did."

Phoebe quietly absorbed every word.

After a moment she asked,

"So..."

"...are you moving to the Blue Shield?"

Joanna laughed.

"I honestly don't know."

"What about Cleveland?"

"I don't know that either."

She smiled.

"I seem to be making a habit of not knowing."

That earned another small laugh.

Then Phoebe grew serious.

"Can I ask you one more thing?"

"Anything."

Phoebe looked directly into Joanna's eyes.

"Why?"

Joanna blinked.

"Why what?"

"The post."

"You barely knew us."

"You didn't have to help."

"You didn't have to get involved."

"You certainly didn't have to make millions of people care."

Her voice softened.

"So..."

"...why?"

Joanna sat quietly for several seconds.

Finally...

She answered.

"Because I met your father."

Everyone looked toward Zas.

"He talked about you every single day."

"Every conversation eventually came back to you."

"Or Arel-Sin."

"Or Armintie."

"He never stopped wondering where you were."

"He never stopped hoping."

She smiled sadly.

"I've wrestled in front of thousands of people."

"I've met celebrities."

"I've met politicians."

"I've met fans."

"I've met people who said family came first."

She looked at Phoebe.

"Your father was the first person I'd ever met who truly believed he'd failed his family."

"...and who was willing to admit it."

She squeezed Zas' hand.

"I didn't make that post because I knew your family."

"I made it because..."

She laughed softly.

"...I wanted one good man to get one more chance."

The room fell silent.

Phoebe swallowed.

Then asked the question she'd been carrying from the beginning.

"Do you..."

"...believe in us?"

Joanna smiled.

"I wouldn't have crossed half a continent if I didn't."

"I don't think everything is fixed."

"I don't think tomorrow will be easy."

"I think there will still be arguments."

"I think there will still be tears."

"I think there will still be days when one of you wants to walk away."

She looked at each member of the family in turn.

"...but I also think..."

"...every single person in this room showed up."

She looked back at Phoebe.

"You."

"Your father."

"Arel-Sin."

"Armintie."

"All of you had a chance to say no."

"None of you did."

She smiled.

"So yes."

"I believe in this family."

She paused.

Then added quietly,

"I think you're already becoming whole again."

No one answered.

Because, for the first time since they'd entered the room...

Everyone allowed themselves to wonder whether she might be right.

Joanna smiled softly.

"Can I tell you one more thing?"

Phoebe nodded.

Joanna looked over at Zas.

"The other thing that struck me about your dad..."

"...is how much he cares."

She laughed quietly.

"I mean..."

"...he cares a lot."

She looked back at Phoebe.

"The very first day we met..."

"...he watched one of my wrestling matches."

"I expected him to tell me I was good."

"Or that he liked my performance."

"Or maybe even flirt with me."

She grinned.

"He did none of those things."

Everyone looked at Zas.

"He started correcting my footwork."

Even Zas smiled a little.

"He told me where my balance was wrong."

"He showed me how I could generate more power."

"He explained why I kept putting myself in vulnerable positions."

"He spoke to me..."

"...like I was his student."

She shook her head affectionately.

"I remember thinking..."

"'This man isn't trying to impress me.'"

"He's trying to make me better."

She looked toward Phoebe.

"That told me everything."

"He believes in people."

"He genuinely wants people to improve."

"He wants them to become the best version of themselves."

She laughed.

"Then he came backstage."

"I thought he was just going to watch."

"He didn't."

"He saw two wrestlers struggling through a rehearsal."

"So..."

"...he climbed into the ring."

"I don't even think it occurred to him that maybe he wasn't supposed to."

That drew another laugh around the room.

"He just..."

"...helped."

"Then another wrestler."

"Then another."

"Before long..."

"...half the locker room was asking him questions."

"The producers thought he'd been coaching wrestlers for years."

"The head trainer offered him a job before the day was over."

Joanna looked at Zas with unmistakable affection.

"That's who he is."

"He sees someone struggling..."

"...and he wants to help."

She became more thoughtful.

"Now..."

"...does that mean he was always right?"

"No."

"Does it mean he never crossed lines?"

She smiled.

"Absolutely not."

"He sticks his nose into places where it probably doesn't belong."

Even Amina laughed quietly at that.

Joanna nodded toward Zas.

"...and if you asked him..."

"...I think he'd be the first person to admit it."

She grew serious again.

"...but here's what matters."

"There are people who make mistakes because they don't care."

"They're selfish."

"They're indifferent."

"They're oblivious."

"They don't think about anyone except themselves."

She gently squeezed Zas' hand.

"Your father isn't one of those people."

"He makes mistakes..."

"...because he cares so much."

"Sometimes..."

"...too much."

"He tries so hard to protect people..."

"...that he forgets to ask them what they need."

She looked directly at Phoebe.

"That's still a mistake."

"A big one."

"...but it's a mistake made by someone who's trying."

"...and people who are trying..."

"...can learn."

"They can grow."

"They can become better."

Her voice became softer.

"I'm not telling you this because I want you to forgive him today."

"You don't owe anyone that."

"I'm not even asking you to let him back into your life before you're ready."

She took a slow breath.

"I'm only asking one thing."

She smiled gently.

"Phebs..."

"...don't lose your belief in your dad."

"You don't have to let him in today."

"You don't have to trust him today."

"You don't have to pretend everything's okay."

She glanced briefly toward Zas before returning her eyes to Phoebe.

"...but..."

"...don't close the door."

"Leave it unlocked."

"So when both of you are ready..."

"...you can walk through it together."

The room became completely still.

Phoebe lowered her eyes.

She didn't answer immediately.

Instead...

She quietly reached across the space between them.

Not to her father.

Not yet.

She took Joanna's hand.

...and held it.

It wasn't forgiveness.

It wasn't a promise.

...but it was enough to tell everyone in the room...

...that the door Joanna spoke of was still open.

Phoebe stood quietly for a long moment.

Then...

Without warning...

She walked toward her father.

Zas instinctively tensed.

He had imagined this moment countless times.

He'd imagined being pushed away.

He'd imagined tears.

He'd imagined forgiveness.

He hadn't imagined uncertainty.

Phoebe stopped in front of him.

Then...

She wrapped her arms around him.

Gently.

Tentatively.

As though she was testing whether it still felt right.

Zas froze.

He almost looked to Joanna for permission.

Then slowly...

Very carefully...

He hugged his daughter back.

Neither spoke.

Neither cried.

They simply stood together.

When Phoebe finally stepped away, she patted him lightly on the chest.

A familiar gesture.

One she'd done since she was little whenever she wanted to reassure him.

She lowered her eyes.

A small...

Reserved...

Almost shy smile crossed her face.

"I never thought you stopped caring."

Zas looked at her.

"I didn't."

"I know."

She nodded.

"That wasn't what I wanted."

She searched for the words.

"I think..."

"...I only figured it out today."

She looked back up.

"I wanted you to listen."

"Really listen."

"I wanted you to see me."

"Not who you thought I was."

"Not who tradition said I should be."

"Me."

She smiled sadly.

"You do this thing..."

"...where you think you know what's inside someone else's head."

"You think you know what they need."

"What they're thinking."

"What they want."

She gently tapped his chest again.

"Stop."

"At least with Armintie and me."

"If we're confused..."

"...ask."

"If we're hurting..."

"...ask."

"If we don't want help..."

"...believe us."

"...and only step in if we ask..."

"...or if there's genuinely no other choice."

Zas listened without interrupting.

Every word landed.

Phoebe continued.

"...and..."

Her voice became quieter.

"You might not have understood..."

"...what sending Armintie away actually meant."

"You left her in the wilderness."

"If Vera hadn't found her..."

Phoebe couldn't finish.

Armintie quietly lowered her eyes.

The room fell silent.

Finally...

Zas spoke.

"I did understand."

Phoebe looked surprised.

"Not then."

He shook his head.

"I understood later."

He swallowed.

"When my anger disappeared..."

"...it was replaced by horror."

He looked toward Armintie.

"I wanted to organize another search."

"I wanted to bring both of you home."

"I argued for it."

"The Elder refused."

"He believed..."

"...that because I had argued for your exile..."

"...my change of heart was only guilt."

"He believed I was no longer thinking clearly."

Phoebe absorbed that.

"So..."

"...you tried?"

"I did."

"I failed."

Another silence settled over the room.

Then Phoebe asked quietly,

"Are you still angry?"

Zas opened his mouth automatically.

"I know I should have-"

"No."

Phoebe interrupted gently.

"That's not what I asked."

She held his gaze.

"Are you still angry?"

The room waited.

Joanna held her breath.

Even Amina leaned forward slightly.

Zas could have lied.

Instead...

He answered honestly.

"...Yes."

Phoebe nodded slowly.

"I thought so."

"I'm still angry."

He didn't look away.

"I'm angry that you disappeared."

"I'm angry that you frightened everyone."

"I'm angry that Karim died while searching."

His voice softened.

"I'm angry that people tried to hurt you."

"I'm angry that the world can be so cruel to children."

He closed his eyes briefly.

"...but..."

"...I am no longer angry at you."

He opened them again.

"I'm angry at what happened."

"I'm angry at myself."

"I'm angry that I still don't know..."

"...what the right answer should have been."

He laughed quietly.

"I wish I did."

"I wish I could tell you..."

"'This is exactly what I should have done.'"

"I can't."

"I only know..."

"...that what I did..."

"...wasn't enough."

Phoebe studied him for several long seconds.

For the first time...

She wasn't looking at the leader of the Blue Shield.

She wasn't looking at the warrior.

She wasn't even looking at her father.

She was looking at a man...

Who had finally admitted...

He didn't have all the answers.

Phoebe hesitated.

Then she looked toward Armintie.

"What about her?"

Zas followed her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you still angry with Armintie?"

The room grew quiet again.

Phoebe continued.

"Are you still angry with us..."

"...for crossing the line?"

There was no accusation in her voice.

Only curiosity.

She genuinely wanted to know.

Zas didn't answer immediately.

He thought about it.

Longer than anyone expected.

Finally...

"...Yes."

Armintie lowered her eyes.

"I am."

He looked at both girls.

"I still believe the two of you crossed a line."

"You disappeared."

"You frightened everyone."

"You put yourselves in terrible danger."

"I cannot pretend I believe those things were acceptable."

He paused.

"...but."

He took a slow breath.

"I also know..."

"...that I helped create the circumstances that led you there."

Phoebe listened carefully.

"I believed that every new fear required another rule."

"Another restriction."

"Another warning."

"I thought I was protecting you."

"In reality..."

"...I was slowly teaching you that I would never trust you."

His voice became quieter.

"I was wrong."

He looked toward Armintie.

"I cannot apologize for every decision the Blue Shield made."

"I cannot speak for The Elder."

"I cannot speak for the Council."

"I cannot even promise they all agree with me now."

He swallowed.

"...but I can speak for myself."

He stepped a little closer.

"Armintie..."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry I stopped listening."

"I'm sorry I believed punishment would teach you what conversation should have."

"I'm sorry I sent you away."

"I'm sorry that my decision left you vulnerable."

"I'm sorry that when you needed another chance..."

"...I believed you needed another lesson."

Armintie quietly wiped away a tear.

Zas looked at Phoebe.

"...and Phoebe..."

"I'm sorry that I made you feel unheard."

"I'm sorry that I believed loving you was enough."

"It wasn't."

"I should have listened."

He looked down.

"There isn't a day that passes..."

"...that I don't wish I could go back."

"I would give almost anything..."

"...to make different choices."

His voice cracked.

"My fear..."

"...is that changing now..."

"...has come too late."

He looked back up.

"I worry that I have already damaged something..."

"...that cannot be repaired."

Nobody spoke.

Finally...

He continued.

"You told me today..."

"...to listen."

"I hear you."

"I truly do."

He smiled sadly.

"...and listening..."

"...means accepting that I might hear something painful."

He took another breath.

"So if one day..."

"...you decide you cannot forgive me..."

"...I will listen."

"If you tell me to leave..."

"...I will leave."

"If you tell me you need more time..."

"...I will wait."

"If you reject me..."

"...I will respect that."

The words hung heavily in the room.

Phoebe stared at him.

She hadn't expected that answer.

Not because it sounded dramatic.

Because it sounded...

Real.

For perhaps the first time in her life...

Her father wasn't asking her to follow him.

He was acknowledging that she had the right to choose.

...and somehow...

That made her feel closer to him than any speech ever could.

The room fell quiet.

Not an awkward silence.

Not an empty one.

Simply...

A silence that felt complete.

Dr. Amina Idris looked around the room.

She had deliberately said very little throughout the meeting.

It hadn't been her conversation.

It belonged to them.

Finally she smiled gently.

"I think..."

"...this is probably a good place to stop."

Nobody argued.

Everyone seemed to reach the same conclusion at the same moment.

Not because everything had been resolved.

...but because no one had anything left to force into words.

Phoebe stood first.

Armintie followed.

The two girls looked at one another.

Then...

Without hesitation...

They crossed the room toward Arel-Sin.

Before he could even react...

Both wrapped their arms around him.

He disappeared between them.

"We missed you."

"So much."

Arel-Sin laughed through watering eyes.

"I missed you too."

Phoebe squeezed him tighter.

"We're not angry with you."

"Not even a little."

Armintie nodded.

"We never were."

"We love you."

"We always will."

Phoebe pulled back just enough to look him in the face.

"...Besides."

A mischievous smile slowly appeared.

"You'll always be Fartacus."

Arel-Sin closed his eyes.

"Oh no..."

"The bean incident?"

"The bean incident."

Phoebe nodded solemnly.

"You will never escape the bean incident."

Armintie burst into laughter.

"Oh, absolutely not."

"I'd almost forgotten that."

"You poisoned an entire cabin."

"It was one cabin!"

"It was three."

"It spread!"

"It wasn't my fault!"

Phoebe folded her arms.

"It was absolutely your fault."

Arel-Sin sighed dramatically.

"I see..."

"...I've made this trip only to be slandered."

Phoebe grinned.

"Some traditions deserve to survive."

For the first time that evening...

Everyone laughed.

Even Zas.

Even Amina.

The tension eased just a little more.

Eventually...

The girls turned toward Joanna.

There was almost a hesitation.

Not because they were uncertain.

Because they both wanted to be first.

Then they gave up trying.

They hugged her together.

Joanna barely had time to react before both girls had wrapped their arms around her.

"Thank you."

Phoebe's voice was muffled against Joanna's shoulder.

"For finding us."

Armintie nodded.

"For believing in us."

"For believing in him."

Joanna hugged them back just as tightly.

"I didn't do this."

"You all did."

Phoebe smiled.

"You started it."

Joanna laughed softly.

"Fair enough."

Then...

Only one person remained.

Zas.

The room became quiet again.

Phoebe looked at Armintie.

Armintie looked back.

Neither spoke.

They simply walked forward together.

Zas remained where he was.

He didn't move.

He didn't want to presume.

Then...

Both girls hugged him.

It wasn't the fierce embrace they'd given Arel-Sin.

It wasn't the effortless affection they'd shown Joanna.

It was gentler.

More careful.

Still healing.

...but undeniably real.

Zas closed his eyes.

This time...

He allowed himself to hold them.

Only for a few seconds.

Then he let go first.

Phoebe looked up at him.

"Dad..."

He waited.

"I've always loved you."

"I never stopped."

Her eyes shimmered.

"I just..."

She searched for the words.

"I don't know if I'm ready to move past what happened."

"I honestly don't know when I will be."

She lowered her head.

"I wish I had a better answer."

Armintie nodded beside her.

"I feel the same."

"I love you."

"...but..."

She smiled sadly.

"...I'm still hurt."

Zas nodded.

"I know."

He didn't ask for more.

He didn't ask for another chance.

He didn't ask how long it would take.

He simply accepted what they had given him.

Because it was honest.

...and honesty...

Was exactly what he had promised to listen to.

Amina quietly opened the door.

No one rushed to leave.

One by one...

They walked into the hallway.

Not as a family that had been repaired.

...but as a family...

That had finally begun repairing itself.