Quest (OLD: the new version MIGHT be posted shortly)

Chapter 16-Jae

“You want me to name my babe ‘Peter’?” She was teasing, but a twinge of jealousy came through me.

“Of course that’s what I mean,” I said, instead of pointing out every flaw that I could find in Pete, instead of pointing out that he had gotten over her.

“What if my babe’s a girl?” She thought for a while, trying to think of a serious name. Her eyes roved over and rested on Serenity, who had woken up and was making tea, looking over at us. “If she’s a girl, I’ll name her Hazel.”

“What?” I asked, not seeing how Serenity could inspire ‘Hazel’ by making tea.

“Hazel,” she said quietly, “is used for long life, wisdom, and for serenity. It’s what I want for my… my child. Not this, not this hell that we live in.” I noticed her stutter. She still wasn’t used to the fact that she was pregnant, even if she had the protective mother instincts already.

“It’ll be alright, Sage,” I said hollowly. I knew that I couldn’t promise that, and so did she, but she nodded her thanks.

“Here, Sage dear, I brought you some tea,” Serenity said.

“Thanks,” she replied. “How are you doing, Serenity?”

“As well as can be expected, I suppose,” she replied.

 “Sage,” Landon said, walking over to us. “Carson had this in his bag. I didn’t know if you wanted me to snap it or save it.” It was Carson’s wand.

“Save it. When we get back, we’ll give it to his family,” she replied automatically.

“Carson’s family is dead,” Serenity said quietly. “They were killed by trappers. It’s why he joined.” Sage sighed, rubbing her head into her palms.

“Alright, then we’ll give it to Emily’s family,” she decided. Landon gaped and Serenity nodded solemnly. “Do you doubt that it should go there?” Sage shot at Landon.

“No, I guess not,” he stammered. “I mean, I don’t doubt it. You’re right.”

“I know I’m right. Anyone who saw them together would say that I’m right,” she snapped.

“What’s the big deal about giving his wand to Emily’s family?” I asked. Landon answered.

“There’s an old, mostly unused, tradition from when mages married mages and men married women.  Basically, when a mage loves another mage more than they love themselves, they present that mage with their wand. If they exchanged wands, then they were basically bonded as one. The thought is, since a wand is specified for one person, and they share wands, they are one person. That ties into another old myth.”

“What myth?”

“Well, they say that humans were originally made with four arms, four legs, and two faces. They were too powerful, however, and were split, each human making a man and a woman. Now each person seeks the one who completes them, to form the original human,” Landon explained.

“So, since Carson and Emily were soul mates, basically, his wand should be given to her family,” I summed.

“Yes,” Sage responded resolutely. Landon’s mouth went into a thin line.

“It’s an old tradition, and most people don’t even remember it,” he stated.

“Everyone remembers it,” Sage argued. “No one follows it, that’s the problem.” Now everyone was awake and listening to the argument. Pete spoke up for Sage.

“My dad taught me about it, but it’s hardly used because mages and non-magicals fall in love all the time.” He absentmindedly ran a hand over Heather’s arm.