The Lady knelt by the pool, crying. "I never meant for this to happen."
The Oracle sat next to her, his own face a mask of grief.
Behind them, emerging from the fog, came the Goddess.
Andrys ran at her, forgetting who or what she was, only thinking that she was the cause of Dan's death.
"This ends, now," the Goddess said, raising her hand.
Andrys was thrown to the ground, pinned.
pup dove at the Goddess, changing as she flew through the air.
The Goddess only laughed as she grabbed pup with one hand and threw her to Andrys side.
"Do you also challenge me, Magi?"
Xiona moved cautiously towards the Goddess, trying to project a shield as she went. In her hand she held the knife Dan had used to sacrifice himself.
The Goddess easily broke the Magi's shield and froze Xiona in place. She raised her hand and Xiona was lifted from the ground. Looking at her hand, the Goddess started to close her fist.
Xiona felt as if she were being crushed. As the Goddess clenched her hand, Xiona ribs started to crack. As the pressure increased, the knife fell from the Magi's hand.
"Stop this, sister."
"Why?" the Goddess asked, looking at the Lady. "Who's to stop me, you?"
"If I must."
"You know what will happen if we oppose each other. In order for one of us to actually defeat the other all of this would be destroyed. You, me, your lover, and all these creatures that you seem to care about, will die. Both of the worlds will be destroyed. Do you want that?"
"Sister, what did this to you?"
"What made me this powerful?"
"No, made you this angry and bitter."
"You did!" the Goddess screamed.
"What? How?"
"Always you knew what people thought, how they felt. You always knew how to be their friend and you always rubbed my face in it."
"I never did."
"Of course you did. You were always telling me how so and so felt and what would help me be better friends with them. You enjoyed being everyone's friend and you enjoyed being better than me in their eyes. Now, who is better?"
"Sister…" the Lady whispered.
"Don't bother. All I wanted was what you had, to be assured that I was loved. But I never could compete with you. Even my master loved you. I saw you and him."
"What? What are you talking about?"
That night, when you were together, alone, in the courtyard, sitting close and whispering. I saw it." The Goddess looked at the Oracle, "You never knew about that, did you?"
"Sister, we were talking about you."
"I'm sure you were," the Goddess sneered.
"We were! He was concerned about you. He knew you were unhappy. He wanted to find out why and try to make it better. And, yes, Mine did know about it. Your Master asked Him if we could talk."
"Why would any of you care?"
The Oracle looked at the Goddess. "We all watched you change from a sweet, loving child to a bitter, angry woman. We all loved you and wanted to find out why. You never told any of us what was wrong."
"I never suspected it was me," the Lady said.
"If you had, would it have mattered?"
"Of course."
"Right. It doesn't matter, though. I am what I am. It is too late to change that. No matter how much I may want to. Sister, take your Love and leave. I don't want to fight you anymore."
"Then stop this."
"It's too late, we can't change what we've become. We can't go back to what we were as children."
"Then let us move on," a new voice said.
"All three, the Goddess, Lady, and Oracle, turned to see a young boy emerge from the Mists.
"You," the Goddess gasped.
The Lady and the Oracle could only stare as the boy entered the clearing.
"Let them go, please," he said.
"I killed You," the Goddess said.
"No, you only thought you did. I thought so as well. Until now, I didn't even remember who I was. You took everything from Me."
The Goddess stepped back in fear from the boy. When she did she released the Elves from her power. Xiona fell to the ground gasping as Andrys and pup started to get up.
"Please, mine, end this. We can go on, together."
"This must be a trick."
"No, trick, love. It's really Me. End this," the boy said, a hint of authority in his voice.
"No, it's too late."
The boy reached down and picked up the knife, looking at the bloody blade. "It's never too late, mine. The choice is yours."
"Do you plan on killing me? Go ahead, try."
"Please, mine, don't," he said, walking towards the Goddess, his empty hand outstretched. "Don't push this any farther."
"Why not? Look at you all, even them," she said, pointing at where Andrys and pup were helping Xiona to stand. "Did you think I forgot about you, little people?"
The Goddess raised her hand to destroy the Elves who had opposed her.
The boy dove at her, thrusting the bloody knife into her breast. IT struck at the same place that it a pierced Dan's chest and was driven into her heart.
The Goddess fell back and reached for the knife. "You too, Mine? After all You said?"
The boy only looked at her, his face reflecting the pain he felt from what he had done.
The Goddess fell to her knees, her hands dropping to her sides, the knife still embedded in her chest.
The boy knelt in front of her. "I'm sorry," he said, raising one hand to her cheek.
Andrys, pup, and Xiona went to stand on one side of the doomed lovers. The Lady and the Oracle stood on the other side.
"Love, I would give anything for this not to have happened," the boy said.
"We can't change the past."
"I know."
"All I wanted was love."
"I know. You had it. If there was any way…"
"Don't say it, mine," the Goddess whispered. And with that, she died.
The boy knelt, weeping over the body of the Goddess he had killed, the woman he had loved.
"It was her gift that twisted her," He said. "Without it she could have gotten over her jealousy. With it she thought she could force people to love her."
The lady knelt by her sister. "I know, if she could have grown up without that gift, or maybe I should say curse, she might have been happy."
"We'll never know, now," the boy said. "I wish we could have another chance."
"Look," Xiona said.
"The Goddess' body was beginning to fade.
"May you walk in love, always," the Oracle said.
"May you find the happiness you lost," pup told the fading body.
"May you always have friends," the Lady said.
"I'll always love you," the boy said.
With these four blessing, the body disappeared.
"And so it's over," Andrys said.
The eight stayed where they were for a while, looking at where the Goddess had lay.
"Where am I?" a young girl's voice asked.
Everyone jerked around to see a young Elven girl standing at the edge of the clearing. She was wearing an oversized tunic of a stile long forgotten. Her face was a younger version of the Goddess'.
"Where am I?" the girl repeated. "Who are you?"
Sist…?" the Lady started.
"No, mine," the Oracle said.
"Are you my mommy and daddy?" the little girl asked.
"No, child, we are more of an aunt and uncle," the Oracle told her.
"Where am I?" she asked again.
The boy stood and went to her. "Safe, with me," was all he said.
"Who are you?"
The boy swallowed and said, "A good friend, Cielte."
"Is that my name?"
"Yes, as mine is Durix." He took her hand and then hugged her. "Welcome back."
"What happened?" Andrys asked.
"A second chance," Tira replied. "We should take them with us. They will need a home."
The three Elves together walked over to the children
"Come with us. We have a home we would love to show you," Andrys said.
The boy nodded.
"Wait," the Lady said, walking over to the group. She touched the boys forehead. "Let go of the past, forget it. Make this truly a new start."
To the little girl she said, "I love you. Always know this."
With that she turned away and returned to the Oracle's arms.
Andrys led the group back through the Mists into their world.
They reappeared in the ancient, abandonded keep. The room they had left was now blackened, as if a great fire had cleansed it. Everything, the body of their friend was consumed.
They left the room, went up the stairs and gathered their packs from the hiding places they had been stowed in.
As Andrys went to pick up Dan's pack. Xiona started to cry.
pup sat her down and held her until the sobs no longer racked her body.
They started back to the Lothlorian Keep, trying to look forward to their futures but, remembering all that had happened. Finally, Tira got tired of the depressing conversation.
"Remember him with happiness. This isn't what he would have wanted."
"Tira, we are trying but, we miss him," pup said.
"As do I. But we have to look forward. We have to honor his sacrifice by living not by crying."
The group arrived at the keep, tired but happy to be home. No one challenged them at the gates. They were allowed to enter without question.
Andrys led the group to Tariel's great hall. Again, the doorman announced them as they entered.
"Andrys, pup, Xiona," Tariel said, "it's great to see you back. Where is Dan?"
Xiona couldn't help it, she started to cry again.
"What's wrong?"
"Dan sacrificed himself to allow us to defeat the Goddess," Andrys said. "He provided us with both the path and the weapon we needed."
The gathered Elves lowered their heads. A few sobs were heard, mostly from the gifted.
"And so his story ends," Tariel said. "I pray that we never let it die."
"No, Lord," pup said. "It never will."
That night Tariel led the remaining friends back to his clearing. Andrys sat with pup on his lap. Xiona sat near them staring at the stars as Tariel played his gitar.
"A lovely tune, Lord," Andrys said.
"Thank you," Tariel said. "I want to capture what he did for us but I don't know, something is missing."
Tira sat up from beside Xiona and raised her head to the sky. Softly she started to howl, her pain, her loss.
The group just stared at her as she let go with everything she had kept locked up inside, their hearts breaking from her song.
When she finished, she only said, "The song is perfect as it is."