Chapter 354

354 Lights, Garland, And An Apology

Zazzy beamed at Murdoc as the people chanted her name. The man she had rescued was still hugging her tail as he cried. Half a dozen people would’ve been seriously injured, if not killed, had it not been for the young dragon’s quick thinking.

Murdoc was especially surprised by Zazzy’s amazing reaction time. She generally shook the ground when she walked because of her size, but the swiftness with which she moved in wasn’t logical. The only thing he could think of was a mental image of who her parents were..

‘Of course their ‘scaly bairn’ would be light-footed like her parents.. I think Ima startin’ ta get used to havin’ me expectations blown away..’

Shaking the thoughts aside, Murdoc cleared his throat, and spoke to his people; “Looks like we got even More ta celebrate tonight!”

After pausing to let the Highlanders cheer their agreement, Murdoc continued; “The stroke of midnight starts Yuletide Eve! If we wanna be ready ta surprise the Southerners, and be ready ta kick off the holidays right: we need ta get our arses movin’!”

Hundreds called out their understanding, then started to disperse, but Murdoc wasn’t done; “Since we no longer have a means ta wrap the lights, I’d like ta ask our Yuletide Angel here, a favor!”

Zazzy tilted her head in a quizzical manner as Murdoc asked; “Will ye help me ta attach the garland, and wrap the lights, lassie?!”

It was a good thing that the man had let go of her tail, because Zazzy would’ve flung him into next week; it was wagging so hard. She tilted her head up, made a kind of cooing-roar noise, then shook her head up and down. The crowds laughed at her adorable response, then cheered her on for her help.

Most found it funny that they were going all out for the Southerners’ sakes, but their dragon was doing most of the hard work. The man that Zazzy had saved decided to spearhead a special thank you project just for Zazzy.

.....

As the people ran around with ladders hanging ornaments and aligning the garland, Murdoc was pulled to the side as Zazzy went to take her place for takeoff. The man asked what some of Zazzy favorite things were.

He told them of the gifts stockpiled for her birthday, and said that; “I swear: the only thing that dragon doesna have is a blanket big enough to cover herself with..”

The man had grinned cheekily at Murdoc, knowing exactly what to do..

After the man had left, Murdoc immediately went about climbing up on Zazzy. She helped him up with her tail while giving him a confused expression. The language barrier was difficult for them both, but as long as she could understand him, and answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions; they could accomplish their goal.

The people cleared away both the decorations and themselves. To make sure that the gusts made from Zazzy’s wings wouldn’t cause problems. They had just avoided one major accident, and they didn’t want the opportunity for another to occur.

Since the lights connected to the star at the top, Zazzy found it easier to start the winding morion from there. There was only one string, but it was interconnected to many, to make it long enough to wrap all the way around without leaving any large gaps or dark spots.

From her angle in the air; Zazzy could see a kind of spiral pattern to the tree’s branches. It made it relatively easy to see where the string should be set as she flew around it. The entire lighting process usually took around two to three hours for the Highlanders..

Zazzy finished in twenty minutes.

The Highlanders came back outside and cheered as she landed back over in her launch area. They were going to start having her attach the garland at the top, then groups would wrap around the tree by walking around it together.

The lights had to be tightly wrapped so the string would sink into the branches a bit. This technique would make the tree itself look like it was creating the glow, and cast extra light on the ornaments. They wouldn’t see the finished product until midnight, but everyone thought that the tree already looked wonderful with just the lights..

Because it was still daylight, the tree didn’t glow as brilliantly as it usually did, but the gathered people could already tell that it was going to look stunning come nightfall. Once the power was cut off from the test, Murdoc and Zazzy got back to work.

As they attached another string of multicolored garland, Murdoc wondered if Tidas had had any luck tracking down Skye...

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

Tidas had literally spent the entire morning looking for Skye in the city, but it seemed like he was always five steps behind her. He has been missing her by ‘just a couple minutes’ all day..

Whether it was at Gavin’s, the weaver’s, the glass makers; Tidas had even tried Petrie’s house.. But he just kept missing her. He knew that she was doing it on purpose, considering she had doubled back to the glass maker’s place. The owner had told Skye that her husband was looking for her..

“And what did she say when you told her that?” Tidas asked apprehensively.

The shopkeeper flashed him a sympathetic look before replying; “Her honest words were to tell ye that ‘ye should’ve used yer words last night’.. Ima sorry, Prince Tidas.”

It was around three-thirty when he’d finally gotten back. As he came down the hallway towards the RMC bunker, he saw Klaus and Ronnie standing outside the spare bunker that he and Skye used on occasion for some private time together. As he came up to them, they both moved in front of his path..

“What are you two doing?”

“Following orders,” came Klaus’ standard reply.

“Special ones.. Pertainin’ to you, specifically,” Ronnie added with a smug tone.

Tidas sighed heavily, not in the mood for Ronnie’s antics; “What orders?”

Klaus’ demeanor never changed as he replied; “Not to let anyone in-”

“Specifically you,” Ronnie added with a cocky attitude that was very quickly grating Tidas the wrong way.

“I know I need to apologize to her, so that’s what I’m going to do. But you two need to move for me to do that..”

Klaus looked like he wanted to move, and Ronnie just looked cocky when the door behind them crack open, and revealed Skye. She was wrapped up in a fluffy robe, with a towel around her head.

“Tis fine. You can let ’em in,” she stated in less than a welcoming tone.

Tidas nodded, then smirked at Ronnie as he passed. He stuck his tongue out at him like a child as the door closed behind him. The two stared forward a few moments before Klaus smacked Ronnie in the back of the head.

“Ouch! The hell was that fer?!”

“Pissin’ off the Commander, idiot,” Klaus chided.

“...Oh yeah. I kinda forget that’s his job sometimes,” Ronnie replied with a dopey grin.

Klaus sighed...

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

Tidas stood back and watched Skye go back into the bathroom. After a few moments, she came out with her hair brushed, but still had the robe on. Her clothes were laid out in the bed, and they weren’t her usual RMC issued ones, either.

“Where did those come from?”

Skye stared at him flatly for a few moments, then replied; “Amara gave ’em to me fer tonight. It’s a thick wool dress, so I’ll be warm, and the leggings are made of the same material.”

“Are you sure that you should be walking around without your armor on?”

Skye flashed her husband the same flat look as before before she replied; “I havena worn armor almost since Malcolm’s arrest. No one in the Highlands wants ta risk a war over nonsense. And the only one who cared to organize their hatred is locked away until his trial.. Ima not worried.”

“But I am,” Tidas stated as he took a step towards her.

“Ohh! Yer worried now, are ye? Weren’t too worried about me last night,” Skye replied with a scathing tone.

“You told me to sleep outside!” Tidas bellowed indignantly.

Skye sighed; “Actually, if ye recall: You volunteered ta sleep wit Zazzy. I simply said that ye needed ta find another place ta sleep. And ye didna even Try ta come and talk ta me after!”

“I was gonna, but you were talkin’ with Amara then! I went to sleep before you did!” Tidas yelled back.

Skye placed her hands on her hips; “So you were fine with sleepin’, knowin’ that I was upset wit ye?!”

“What was I supposed to do?! Risk pissin’ you off more, or let you sleep on it?! Obviously I made the wrong choice, but I didn’t want you madder at me than you already were,” Tidas was standing in front of Skye by the time he had finished speaking.

The pained expression on his features was hard to see, but Skye had to drive the point home. She’d seen too many good men ruin themselves by overindulging when they couldn’t handle the emotions bottled up within them..

‘Like hell am I gonna let that happen to me hubby!’

“Ye did make a mistake.. Ye have Never talked like that ta me seriously before, and it was because ye been drinkin’ too much lately. Tis partly my fault fer healin’ ye, but I won’t be doin’ that anymore, ye hear me?! If ye choose ta get hammered like that, don’t be expectin’ me help!”

“I won’t be gettin’ like that anymore, I promise,” Tidas replied as he opened his arms for a hug.

Skye hesitated; “Are ye gonna tell me Why ye been drinkin’ like that? The whole truth if it?”

“...Not yet, but I promise I will as soon as I’m capable. Is that okay?”

Skye studied her husband’s face a few moments before she walked into his arms. She understood that he may need time to sort himself, but alcohol only mucks the mind, it doesn’t clear it.

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It was a stall tactic to avoid dealing with a problem directly, which bothered Skye greatly. Her husband had never been one to turn a blind eye to any problem.. ‘What could be weighin’ on his mind so much that he feels the need to escape from it?’

As Skye wrapped her arms around his waist, she said; “Yer place is here, with me, Tidas. Don’t go too far, okay?”

Tidas tightened his grip; “I’m sorry to worry you, love. But this is something I have to decide on myself, before I trouble anyone else with it. I’m sorry if that bothers you, but I’m....uncertain of some things. It has nothing to do with you, so don’t worry..”

Tidas leaned back to look his wife in her eyes directly before speaking; “You are my comfort space. You’re the one I go to when I need peace and honesty. I know that we’re supposed to decide everything together, but I need to figure out what our choices are before I talk to you about them.”

The amount of fluster in Tidas’ voice made Skye’s heart feel heavy. She was honestly upset that he hadn’t attempted to make amends last night, but it seemed shallow now. She didn’t comprehend the level of struggle and contemplation he was going through..

“Ima sorry, too. I didna know that somethin’ other than yer friend’s death weighed upon ye.. And I don’t expect ye ta make every single decision wit me, either. Just the ones that directly affect Us. Yer still yer own person, husband. Bein’ married doesna mean bein’ consumed by the relationship itself.”

“I love the man ye are.. I don’t wanna lose him,” Skye added right before she kissed him.

Tidas wanted to tell her his worries, but neither of them were ready for the choices to be made yet. His biggest concern, after dealing with his uncle, was his brother. Seeing the lengths to which he was willing to go just to spy on his loyal-to-the-crown little brother; Tidas feared for the future of Alcon.

He had sworn to himself a long time ago that if it came down to it, he would overthrow his brother’s rule.. But could he follow through with it? If Marco couldn’t be reasoned with, and he sent their kingdom back a hundred years in rights and laws: would Tidas be capable of taking the crown from his brother?

As the two embraced each other: Tidas and Skye both worried for the one they loved most...