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

Chapter 16-Jae

“We should still keep it,” Sage stated. She stood up and went to Carson’s bag, pulling out one of his shirts. She took the wand from Landon and wrapped it in the shirt, then set it carefully into her own bag.

“You really do stick to traditions, don’t you?” Landon asked.

“Yes,” Sage replied bluntly, “But I’m not so dumb as to put them before other things.”

“I didn’t mean it as an insult,” Landon backtracked.

“I know, I know,” Sage sighed. “Calm down, Landon.” She rubbed the talisman in her hair, gazing at the ground. After a while she seemed to snap out of it and took a sip of tea. “We should get going,” she stated. “We have seven tasks to go.” She got us all up and moving. Austin and Serenity passed out food to eat as we walked and we moved on, down the path and whatever horror awaited us next.

~*~*~

“Hey, Heather,” I said, slowing down to walk next to her.

“What’s up, Sage?” she asked.

“I just realized that I’ve been shirking on my best friend duties,” I admitted. I hadn’t gotten a lot of time to just be with her. Admittedly, it was nearly understandable under the circumstances.

“Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” she confided. She slowed us down so we were at the back of the group. It felt odd, but nice, not to be in the lead. “It’s cool with you that Peter and I are, um, getting together, right? I mean, I can see that you’re totally into Jae now, but I wanted to make sure.”

“What?” I asked, shocked. Argus and Serenity, who were closest to us, looked back briefly. I looked up and saw that the men we were talking about were way in the front.

“Heather, I’m over Pete. He’s amazing, but you two are perfect together, okay. As for Jae, I have no clue what you’re talking about.” Even as I said it I felt the seed of the lie inside me. I thought back and realized how much I had come to rely on Jae, how much it hurt that he looked at me as if I were fragile and needed help.

“You’re arguing with yourself; I can see it,” she smiled. I couldn’t answer and she laughed. “Listen, Sage, he’s a good guy. I’ve chatted with him and Pete says only good things about Jae.”

“He’s a good man,” I agreed hesitantly. “I can’t really think about that right now, though. I mean, with everything else going on…” I mentally shook myself. I really and honestly shouldn’t be thinking about this sort of thing.

“Aw,” Heather pouted through a grin, “but I miss girly chat. Of course, you weren’t much into that even before-” She immediately stopped talking and looked at me, afraid that she’d stepped over some line in the sand.

“I forgot to ask, did you hear from Kyle recently? Is he still abroad?” Her elder brother was working for some scientist halfway across the world.

“He writes about whatever their working on, but I don’t understand what it means,” she laughed. “He also met a girl. He didn’t come out and say it, because of the taboos and such, but I’m pretty sure she’s a mage. He found her eyes ‘enchanting’ or something, so I’m pretty sure that’s what he’s hinting at.”

“Good for him,” I smiled.

“I think that means he’s not coming back any time soon, though,” she sighed. “I mean, if they actually stay together, they can’t come here, or, home.” I put my arm around her waist and hugged her.

“He sounds happy.”

“I think he is,” she smiled. “I just miss him, is all. Oh, let’s think of something happier.”

“Like what?” I chuckled darkly.

“Um, how about your baby shower when we get back and everything is all peaceful again?” she asked. I crinkled my nose in disgust. “Come on! As the godmother I get to plan it.”

“Heather, I can’t keep the babe, you know that, right?”

“I guessed,” she nodded, “but that doesn’t mean we can’t be happy about it. You can find an adoptive mother and she’ll be part of it too.” I glanced at Serenity, who had walked up the line and was out of earshot. I sighed.

“Yeah, that works,” I smiled.

“We have to know the gender,” Heather stated. “Argus, can you tell the gender?”

“Not without charms I left at home,” he said. “Austin!” The White Magic mage looked back and Argus waved him towards us.

“Do you want to know?”

“I don’t see how it’ll hurt,” I shrugged as Austin walked with us. “Can you tell the gender of the child?” He nodded. “I’d like to know.”

“You’re having a girl,” he told me, smiling a little. “She’s healthy and happy.”

“Thanks,” I smiled. I looked down at my stomach, which appeared a little distended to me. It may have been because I was use to bone-thin and starving. Underneath the skin I was carrying a little girl, Hazel.

“No problem,” Austin shrugged, jogging to reach Landon, Pete, and Jae.

“I’m naming her Hazel,” I told Heather. Her eyes grew wide and she beamed.

“I’m telling everybody. Hey, everybody! Sage is having a girl named Hazel!” I looked down, embarrassed.

“What’s her middle name?” Landon called back. I shrugged, I’d only thought of the first. Landon came back to walk with us. “I have an idea, if you don’t mind me butting in.”

“I’ll hear it,” I said.

“Montana,” he said. “My mom had a miscarriage a while ago. My little sister didn’t get a chance to be born. She was going to be named Montana. It tore my mom up, when it happened. I always imaged the girl as someone kind and intelligent, you know, a better version of me.” He blushed a splotchy red. “It’s all personal, but an idea.”

“Hazel Montana,” I said. “It sounds nice.” He coughed awkwardly.

“I looked the name up; apparently it means ‘mountainous,’ which is kind of obvious, I suppose.” He walked away, back to the rest of the guys.

“And here I thought he was like a computer, smart and unfeeling,” Heather said. I chuckled a little.

“People surprise you, I guess, when you let them.”