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Maevis had more or less told him not to interfere when Skye’s time came, which nearly sent him into a rage. The disembodied voice had said the same thing, but with the added bonus of glossing over catastrophic consequences if he didn’t listen. When she reminded him of it, he’d basically dismissed her opinion.

As he angerly flipped through one of the research books, Tidas muttered with disdain; “Like hell I’m gonna let Skye die.. That thing probably has No idea what it means to love someone!”

Maevis huffed and flew over to Tidas; “And from the sounds of it neither, do you..”

“What?! How can-”

“Because you’re acting just like I did! I tried to force your ancestor’s hand, and all of us nearly died because of it. If Tiberius would’ve done what I wanted, thousands would’ve died instead of just him..”

Maevis hovered just high enough so that Tidas would have to tilt his head up slightly to look at her. It was a technique the Empress had taught her. It helped to give the illusion of having the upper hand in negotiations.. Because that was exactly what Maevis saw this as. It was her chance to talk Tidas out of the same mistake she’d made.

“I know how much you love Skye, and I understand the fear you feel whenever you think of the possibility of losing her. But you have to remember that Skye is Strong. Much stronger than any other human I’ve ever met, and not just in magical power, either. She’s the most stubborn human I’ve ever seen, and that’s saying something considering how many MacArthurs I’ve known in my time.”

Tidas sighed deeply as he tried to keep his anger in check; “I won’t pretend to know of the love you had for my ancestor. I like you, Mae, but don’t act like you know of mine either. Skye is the only reason I’m breathing.. seeing and being with her are what sustained me through everything.. Not just my training and fighting, but every time I wanted to give up on this world; she brought me back.”

.....

“What do you mean give up?!”

“Exactly how many broken lives do you think I’ve seen? How many men with dead eyes? How many women that had taken their own lives because of what they’d been through? How many children do you think have begged me to see their parents again, but they were already dead or gone? Can you guess?!”

Peggy came and stood next to Tidas; “Don’t ye talk to her like that! And quit actin’ like an entitled arse!”

Tidas flinched at Peggy’s harsh tone. Every time she used that tone, instincts he’d developed as a child forced him to curve his attitude. After he apologized to Maevis, Tidas asked; “What do you mean thousands?”

“We were on the brink of continental war. We’d engaged in battles with the Sync, Ital, and Toku kingdoms separately, but the whole of the continent was gearing up for a war that would span the entirety of the Star continent. If Tiberius would’ve lived, then the war would’ve happened.”

Curious, Tidas asked; “How did he prevent it?”

Maevis’ expression went somber; “He killed both Sync’s and Ital’s kings with the Ethereal Spear. After that, the spear claimed him. Bella was already on the battlefield, and forced the broken armies to flee. With their kings gone, the generals fled back to their respective kingdoms to secure their places with their new rulers.”

Everything Maevis had said stung at Tidas. He only knew that his great, great grandfather had died during battle. Most historians made his ancestor seem like a demigod; only brought down by Fate itself. No where did it ever mention Fae companions and magical spears. The prince had suspicions that the records from the past had intentionally been altered or destroyed by his family, now he was beginning to understand why. If it had been written accurately, either the Fae would’ve been exposed, or the entire history would’ve been written off as a fairytale.

‘Based off of previous conversations with Mae, Nic, and Zas; it wasn’t until my great grandfather took power that the Fae empress attempted to establish connections with humans.. Was it the war that caused them to stay hidden? Wait, didn’t Nicolas say he’d tried multiple times to get peace talks going? What other times did he try?’

When Tidas asked about it, Maevis explained that Nicolas did try to use her connection to Tiberius to form a peace treaty. The Empress had supported the idea until Tiberius had requested aid during the upcoming war. She refused to get involved once she learned of it. Saying that it was a conflict between humans, and that Fae were not meant to interfere.

Nicolas didn’t get another chance for peace talks until Edmund had come of age. Bella had refused any attempts at a peace treaty. She feared that her precarious position, and her son’s would be jeopardized if she put such a spotlight on Alcon at the time. While they didn’t suffer as badly as the opposing kingdoms, Alcon still needed time to recover before contending with the entirety of the world.

After Maevis finished, Tidas commented; “I suppose I can understand her point a wee bit. We’re currently not at war, nor recovering from one, and the amount of requests for you two is quickly becoming staggering..”

Tidas understood his ancestor’s perspective. More and more invitations and requests to meet the Fae representatives were flooding the palace daily. It was getting to the point where his father had asked his opinion on the matter. The king used to ask his son for his opinion often, now it was a rarity. Marco was both the future king, and his most trusted adviser, so he was the one their father went to the most for advice. It irritated Tidas concerning certain subjects, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

After they discussed the requests a bit, Maevis circled back to her original point; “Regardless of what you think, I do comprehend how much you love Skye. I loved Tiberius just as fiercely. I nearly sacrificed half the Star continent trying to save him.. But he Never would’ve forgiven me for it, and Skye wouldn’t either; you know it.”

His heart felt like it was being shredded from the inside out. Tidas knew that everything both the voice, and Maevis had said was true. The pain in Maevis’ voice and features was unnerving him in an almost foreboding way. Like no matter how much he struggled against it, Fate would have its way with his life.

With utter defeat etched in his voice, Tidas asked; “How could I possibly let her go? I can’t..”

The sadness in her voice deepened as Maevis replied; “It’s not a choice, dear.. It’s just something we all must accept.”

“....Does it ever get better?”

Maevis sighed heavily; “Not really, but the pain dulls after some time.. It helps to remember that every person you pass on the street is there because of them.. Every voice you hear, or child you see smiling; they can do that because of your loss.. The pain never goes away, but new happiness can make you forget sometimes..”

As Tidas, Maevis, and Peggy stood in contemplation, they could hear Skye’s voice from the hallway. The three looked at each other with small smiles as they listened to her awkwardly thank the guards. It was at this point that the two finally realized Peggy was crying. She quickly wiped her tears and cleared her throat right as Skye came into the room.....

************

Maevis didn’t tell Skye the whole of the conversation with Tidas, just the informative bits. She didn’t want Skye to worry about Tidas when he hadn’t told her of his feelings himself yet. It would come to a boiling point eventually, but with the Summer Games, Mage Trials, and Highland Raid approaching quickly; Tidas didn’t want to pile on her plate.

As they discussed everything, Skye was also attempting to decipher the legend. Between what Magnus, Maevis, and the voice had said; death was inevitable. ‘Wait.. Didn’t the voice say something about saving a vase? No, not vase.. Vessel? Like the blood one or the container-type one? Probably the container one, hehe. Why does that voice tell us things that aren’t in the legend? Well, the Catalyst legend, anyways.. WAIT!’

“That’s it!” Skye screamed out of no where.

Maevis and Peggy were jarred by her sudden outburst, but listened as Skye began to rant; “The voice! He’s givin’ us clues! He Wants us to connect the dots!”

Maevis and Peggy shared a confused glance; “Dots?”

Skye exhaled deeply; “The legends! I don’t think that the Alchemist legend is the only one. I think All legends are connected! They’re influenced by the region and culture of the author, but they’re all pieces, don’t ye see?! It’s the world’s biggest puzzle!”

It took Maevis about three seconds to catch on; “So you think ALL of the world’s legends are connected to the Catalyst one?”

“Well, Ima sure there’s a few that don’t, but I bet more do than don’t.. At least all the major ones. I think that the Catalyst legend is like the instructions, and the pieces and rules to the game are hidden within other legends.. Does that make sense?”

Peggy’s expression became quizzical; “So what yer sayin’ is that the legend tells ye what will happen, but not how?”

“And that other legends will explain what you need to do?” Maevis added.

“Aye! What do ye think?”

Peggy scoffed; “I don’t get paid enough for this.. I draw the line at the baby dragon! Ye can rope frick and frack into helpin’ ye when they show up for their guard duty tomorrow. Ima far too busy to stand around readin’ all day.”

Skye chuckled at the level of surliness the subject had incited in Peggy; “That’s perfectly fine, Peg. I know yer plate already overflows with work. I wish Felicia could’ve come, but I don’t blame her for sayin’ no.”

Maevis’ wings fluttered involuntarily in excitement; “I think we’re gonna have a lot of reading to do..”

As Maevis finished speaking, Skye jolted in her seat; “Haha! We might not need to.. There’s two people I can think of that many be able to help. One we just met, and the other, well.. Peggy? See if Marie is available for dinner tomorrow. Tell her that her worldly wisdom is requested; that should catch her interest..”