The Arrow of Time

The Battle

"Wait, but the way you said all that... did you know the whole time?" Kirby asked. "How long have you been waiting to say this?"

"In hindsight, I should've seen it a lot sooner. I didn't actually realize it until about an hour ago." Magolor was audibly annoyed with himself.

"Oh, okay. So, um, what now?"

"Let's stay here for a bit. Tell me when you feel better, okay?" Magolor tucked Kirby into bed, then sat in a nearby chair and gazed out the window. "What the..." His ears bent backwards, pointing behind his head. "That... what?"

"What? What is it?" Kirby twisted to see what he was looking at.

"I'm sorry. I think I have to go. Like, now. I'll be back when I can." He got out of the chair and bolted out of the door, forgetting to close it on his way out, and leaving a confused-looking Elfilin in the doorway.

"Um, Kirby? Are you alright?" He flew in.

"I'm okay! Just need to rest a bit." Kirby waved.

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Taranza woke up in his bed, slightly dismayed by the bedside clock saying it was two in the morning. He then remembered what he had inadvertently said to Sectonia. As soon as the memory appeared, his face flushed. He shouldn't have said it. It didn't need to be heard. Nonetheless, it was said, and the person it was said to heard it loud and clear. Here she was now, bringing a serving of mashed potatoes from the previous night. Taranza often looked back on this moment, among many others, though he was never quite sure why. Or maybe he was, and just wished he wasn't. Back to the flashback at hand, though, he immediately tried to take control of the conversation. "So about what I said earlier-"

"Taranza. Let me make one thing clear right now." She cut him off.

Every time Taranza thought about what followed, he became more and more sure that it was maybe the best conversation the two of them had ever had.

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"And here's the park. I come here a lot." Taranza gestured broadly at the clearing in the forest. It had a fountain in the center where small frogs tended to nest, a swingset, and some benches.

Sectonia sat on one of them. "It's nice. Do you come alone?" She was clearly trying to get him to say something, but before he could respond, she continued. "Because, you know, I really hope we can... pick up where we left off?" She extended two hands.

Taranza stared at them, quietly mulling something over. Then, he stared her dead in the eyes. "Are you out of your mind?"

"Wha-"

"No, I don't want to 'pick up where we left off!' Do you have any idea how much I've suffered on behalf of 'Queen Sectonia?' If you want to see the measure of a person, look at how they treat those in their power. She wanted a friend. Someone who cared about her. And she had that, because I had nowhere to turn. I needed her, and always thought she was so much better than everyone else! If she wanted a friend, she could've been one. But NO! She had to constantly reinforce how helpless I am alone, chastise me on the RARE occasion that I dared to think for myself, all to make sure I stayed loyal to, and admired her! And the worst part is, it worked! I believed her that I'm just a useless idiot without anyone to guide me. It took me years to start realizing otherwise! So no, I'm not going to pick up a single. Fucking. Thing!"

Sectonia listened, unamused, then cocked an eyebrow when he was done. "That's great. One question, though: Why were you referring to me in the third person?"