A New Life (Ending)
Back at their tavern/home, Nate was behind the counter while Nora was taking dirty plates and cups left on the tables. The only other people were Nix and an eagle. The eagle had brown feathers on most of his body and white feathers on his head and tail. He wore a thick red poncho, black pants and no footwear. Though a little hard to see, he had a tasset (a kind of armor for the hips) and a chest plate underneath his poncho. He also had a metal ring around his right foot with a design on it. The eagle was just sitting there with his thoughts while Nix was sitting at the counter finishing his drink. With a hefty sigh at the end he said, “Thanks for the drink Nate. You always know how to make ’em”. “Thanks Nix, I’ve had a long time to perfect it. It’s a shame you don’t have any time to work on manners or neatness.”, Nate said with a grin at the end as he pointed to the black shirt the white tiger was wearing, which had some wet marks from his drink on it. Nix just shot him a look and laughed saying in a cheerful tone, “Hey, lay off! It’s my day off, I can get a little dirty if I want to.”. Nora put the dirty dishes on a table and told them both, “The both of you quiet down! If it was night, you’d wake the neighbors. I’m terribly sorry sir, that’s just how it is here no matter what.” and apologized to the eagle as well. It took the 5 foot 8 inch tall bird a second to process that before he turned to Nora and replied, “…Wha? Oh no, it’s ok. I wasn’t even listening. Also there’s no need for formalities, name’s…Adler.”. Adler slowed down at the end of his sentence. He had a certain tone in his voice that made him sound neutral, even his face looked neutral. He didn’t seem that expressive to begin with honestly. Nora just smiled and asked Adler, “Happy to have you here Adler. Can we…get you…something?”. She slowed down as she noticed the bird was looking at something. Nora looked the same way he was, Nix and Nate noticed this too and they both looked in the same direction as well. A picture. A family picture was hanging on the wall, that was what Adler was at. It was a picture of Nora, Nate, Laura, and Apollo. The picture was all of them in the woods with their parents sitting and the kids standing in between them both. Adler the eagle got up and walked over to the photo and asked, “When did you take this picture?”, in what sounded like a shocked and surprised tone, it was hard to tell. The tension was getting a little high. Nix sat up straight, Nate leaned over the counter a bit, Nora started walking back a bit, and all of them kept their eyes fixed on Adler. “A while ago. Why?”, Nate asked in a sharp tone.
Adler turned his head slowly and asked, “Who’s the otter? What’s his name? Is he-”. Before Adler could finish his next question, Nora grabbed an empty glass bottle that she picked up along with the dirty dishes and smashed it on the table! She held the broken bottle by the neck with its glass shards sticking out at all different angles and ways. Nate reached under the counter and picked up a dagger that they kept there in case of emergencies. Nix stepped out from his seat on the counter and raised his fists, getting into a fighting stance. Adler turned around fully and put his back against the wall, assessing the situation. Nora glared at the eagle and told him in a serious tone, “You either get out now and never come back, or you can stay and try us.”. “And if you leave and something happens to the otter, we’ll be coming for you.”, Nix added as he growled at the end, showing his teeth. Adler put his feathery arms and hands up and said, “His name is Apollo.”. No one was surprised. If this bird was one of the people who attacked Apollo’s home, they must have known him. Nora started walking forward slowly, raising the broken glass bottle. Nix stepped to the side, heading a little to the center of the room so he can catch Adler if he tries something. Nate put a foot on the counter, getting ready to jump over it and attack. Adler raised his head a little and said, “He’s 14 years old as of right now. His mother and father were both otters. He’s mostly dark brown except for his hands, feet, belly, chest and tip of his tail, which are all a light peach color.”. No one was buying it. The eagle and/or whoever he worked for could have found all that out if they did a little research, it meant nothing. Adler was getting more and more worried, he was hyperventilating. Knowing the worst might happen, he spoke in a frantic voice, “I understand if you do not trust me but PLEASE at least let him see me, he’ll know me and not in the way you think. We’re good friends. He’s my little master.”. Silence filled the room for a moment, everyone even stopped moving. Nix asked, “Little master?”. Adler lowered his head to look at Nix and respond, “Yes. I was his guard, his protection, his friend. He’ll know me.”. Guard? Protection? Is he being serious or is he just making stuff up? “I beg you, if that is the otter I think he is, let him see me! I can even prove to you I know him. I won’t do anything, I promise.”, the eagle said as he reached into his poncho slowly and pulled out a picture. Nora squinted her eyes and saw the eagle in black metal armor that looked to cover his whole body. She also saw a little otter on his shoulder holding a wooden sword up with his left hand. He was dressed very well. He had a white button up shirt over a black vest that had bright yellow designs on the edge. He had a black long sleeve with the same bright yellow design on the edge of the sleeves front. He had black pants in a lighter shade and shiny shoes. These clothes looked so expensive and fashionable that they looked like clothes only royalty could afford. However, the fancy clothes couldn’t change one fact. That otter was Apollo.
Nate and Nix saw Nora getting ever so closer as she stared and they both went closer to her and saw the photo as well. Despite being hard to believe at first, it definitely was Apollo. Nora and Nate recognized him more than Nix, in the photo Apollo looked a year younger than when they first met him. Adler spoke again in his natural, slightly monotone voice and said, “I knew Apollo ever since he was born. I even saw him the day he was born! I thought I lost him during the attack, but he’s alive. I couldn’t forgive myself if I knew I couldn’t save or find him.”. The three of them looked at each other then at Adler and saw his eyes watering, just a little though. He really did look like he cared. Nix unclenched his fists, Nora put the bottle down though still close, and Nate lowered the dagger but still held onto it. They believed him a bit, but still didn’t fully trust him. Still though, Nix asked, “How exactly do you know Apollo?” putting emphasis on the ‘exactly’ part but not in a rude way, but more of an explanation way. Adler put the photo back under his poncho and asked, “Did he tell you nothing?”. The three of them nodded their heads. Adler answered and said, “I’ve known Apollo’s dad ever since childhood, so we knew each other for as long as I can remember. He was born as next in line to rule the small but prosperous kingdom we lived in. My parents were highly respected guards who served and fought for the kingdom. With him destined to be king, I wanted to help him and our home however I could, so I became a knight just like my parents and vowed to do whatever I could. After a few years when Apollo’s dad…I mean Sebastian, was crowned king, he later fell in love with a kind, beautiful, fierce female otter who he ended up marrying. After a few years, they decided to have a kid, an heir to the kingdom.”. Adler waited for a moment to see if they would say anything. They were all just staring at Adler, amazed at what they just heard. They almost didn’t want to believe it. “Apollo’s dad and mom, they were royalty?!”, Nora asked loudly, still amazed by this information. Adler just nodded, staying silent. “And you served them as a knight?”, Nix asked, just wanting to make sure he had everything correct. Adler nodded again and said, “I was Sebastian’s right hand man.”. Apparently that was the name of Apollo’s father. Nate shook his head and asked Adler, “Wait. By that logic, Apollo is…!”.
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(A little while after, in the forest where part 1 ended)
“…a prince.”. Apollo told Laura, he held her wrists a little tighter. She was not expecting that, at all. She stayed silent, looked at her feet, then the woods they were surrounded by, then up at the night sky, processing the information. She looked at Apollo who was a little worried and she told him, “Ok, ok. That’s ok. Why does that have to change anything?”. Apollo looked at his sister and replied, “R-really?”. “Yeah, I don’t mind if you’re some rich boy. If anything it’s something to brag and be proud of. If you want to tell me more though, you can.”, Laura told her brother as she moved her left hand to his cheek. Apollo smiled and his tail started to wag a little. He walked forward and hugged her, she hugged him back as Apollo silently said, “Thank You.”.
The two walked back together through the forest while Apollo answered some questions that Laura had, one of those questions being, “Did you ever think of telling us you were a prince?”. Apollo got on his belly and slid a little on the slightly wet grass to catch up to Laura and answered, “When I first met you guys, no. I didn’t know if I could trust you all, no offense.”. “None taken.”, Laura told him as her brother got up to walk again and continued. “I’ve been thinking about letting you guys know, but I didn’t want to say anything because I was worried it’d change things between us and I don’t want it to. I have a new life now, one with you and your parents.”. That touched Laura’s heart and she moved closer to his side and teased him saying, “Awwww! You love us!”. Apollo rolled his eyes and smiled and said jokingly, “Guess who I love the least.”. Laura giggled and answered, “At least I own up to it.”. Even though they’ve been through the same fights, agreement, highs and lows siblings go through, they both truly did love each other like siblings. Teasing banter like this was one of the many ways they showed it. They walked in silence for a while until the two were getting close to home and Apollo told her, “You all should know what really happened to me, I’m going to tell you and your parents when we get home.”. Laura stayed silent for a minute but then told him, “You don’t need to if you don’t want to.”. “I want to, you guys deserve to know.”, Apollo said as he walked up to the door of the house and opened it, letting Laura walk in first. They both walked in and saw Nora, Nate, and Nix talking to a bird sitting at the counter, it looked like an eagle. Laura saw this and asked, “You want us to close up early to talk about this or do you want to wait?”. She waited a while but Apollo didn’t answer. She looked and he was staring at the eagle with eyes as wide as frying pans and his mouth opened a little. Nate was behind the counter again and saw Apollo and Laura, he waved his hand at them but bit his lip when he noticed Apollo was looking at the eagle. Nora and Nix turned around on their seats shortly after. Adler noticed this and turned around as well. His stoned face changed and he had the same expression as the otter in front of him. The eagle got off his seat and took a knee. “Apollo?”, he asked the brown otter. Apollo didn’t respond. He just ran into the eagle and hugged him, wrapping his arms around his neck as tight as he could. Adler was surprised but didn’t say anything, he just hugged him back. Laura tilted her head, she had no idea what was going on. The 3 other adults did know what was happening, and knew by this that Adler was telling the truth. They smiled but Apollo didn’t notice, cause he couldn’t see them through the tears of joy he was crying.
“I still can’t believe it. You’re a prince!?!”, Nix asked in astonishment. Apollo, who was sitting down at one of the round tables just nodded as he drank the water in the cup he was given. “I know it might be hard to believe but it’s true. I’m sorry for how things happened a short while ago, I hope we can forget about that.”, Adler said as Apollo grabbed his arm and squeezed it hard. Adler didn’t say anything, but he flinched and looked at the little otter. Apollo quickly said in a joyful tone, “Sorry just, still can’t believe it’s you!”. Adler smiled and replied, “Same here.”. The other 4 who were sitting at the same table just smiled, feeling happy that the two of them were reunited. “It’s ok. Sorry for not believing you and I hope you can forgive us.”, Nate told Adler. Adler, who was still smiling, told him back, “There’s nothing to forgive, plus I’m glad to have found Apollo and the lovely family he’s been staying with.”. “Aww, you’re too kind!”, Nora said in a sweet voice. The eagle took a look at Laura and asked her, “Laura, right? You didn’t really seem fazed when it was revealed that Apollo was a prince. Why is that?”. Nora and Nate quickly looked at their daughter, as they were wondering that too. She responded with, “Oh, Apollo already told me.”. “WHAT!?!? WHEN?!!?”, Nix, Nora, and Nate all asked in shock, very loudly at that, making her cover her pointed ears. “I told her today! A little while ago actually. We were with the fairies and I saw her without her headscarf, she told me why her ears were pointed and I told her I’m a prince.”, The otter answered before Laura could, worried she would be accused of knowing his secret for years. The three of them calmed down and Nix said, “I was wondering why you weren’t wearing your headscarf when you came in.”. Apparently Nix knew too, news to Apollo. Nate then asked, “So, You don’t have to answer if it’s hard for you, but what happened?”. Adler and Apollo knew what he meant. They could hear the hesitation in his voice, showing he was nervous and unsure of asking that question. The otter and bird looked at each other and Apollo nodded at him, showing he was ok with talking about it. “Of course, If you all wish to know that is.”, Adler asked. Everyone nodded and Adler cleared his throat and started.
“I was, as I said, the highest ranking knight in our kingdom. I was also a personal guard to Apollo. He was only 7 years old when it happened. That day started like any other. Until it was near noon, our kingdom was attacked. We heard that a powerful ruler and their kingdom were planning an attack. We thought we had nothing to worry about, but we were fools. Worst part was we couldn’t win. Our kingdom was hidden with very few people knowing of it or being able to find it. It was somewhat small but very prosperous, so we never worried about getting attacked. However, their army was stronger and bigger than we thought. Sebastian, Apollo’s dad, ordered his citizens to evacuate and run before they could trap us, but he didn’t run. Sabastian decided to stay and make a final stand in the throne room. He told me to take Apollo and escape through the hidden exit. Apollo cried and protested, saying he wanted to stay and fight with his dad. However, his dad convinced him to go with me and that he would be fine. They hugged one last time and then we left. I ran as fast as I could with Apollo in my arms, but when we got out, I got caught in the battle with our army and the opposing kingdoms. I got attacked, an orange tiger with full silver body armor stood before me with his greatsword draw. I got knocked down and dropped Apollo, I made sure to keep him close while I took care of the tiger. He was incredibly strong, I bet he could even hold that greatsword with one hand. I ended up dodging one of his swings and his blade got stuck in the ground. I took this opportunity to push him away from his blade and attack him. With one slash, I hit his eye so badly that he couldn’t see through it! He ran away with his tail between his legs. I was about to pick Apollo back up and keep running. But when I looked back, Apollo was gone. I ran through the soldiers, pushing them or swinging my sword at them, it didn’t matter if they were enemies or allies, I was told to escape with Apollo and I intended to find him. But I didn’t. I stayed as long as I could but I heard an enemy soldier yell, ‘King Sebastian has been overthrown. We, Have, Won!’. I knew that the citizens who couldn’t escape in time and what was left of our army would be enslaved or worse after that, so I ran away. When I looked back, I looked enough so I could see if I was being chased. I didn’t dare look back at the kingdom. The place I called home and spent my entire life was gone. I failed to protect it. I failed to follow my last orders. I failed Sebastien.”.
Adler took a pause, there was a sad tone and slight break in his voice. Everyone looked at him with emotions and expressions that were a mix of shock and sorrow. Except Apollo, who leaned over and hugged Adler, saying, “You didn’t fail, you found me.”. Adler looked down at him for a moment and then smiled. He put his hand on Apollo’s back and rubbed it and said, “Yeah, I did.”. Everyone at the table smiled at the two. “Is…that why you were so scared of me when we first meet? Cause I reminded you of the Tiger that separated you and Adler?” Nix asked Apollo, who shook his head. Apollo was terrified of Nix when he first saw him, but now the otter sees him as his closest friend. Nora then asked Adler, “I’m sorry if this is a sensitive question, but what did you do after…that day?”. She didn’t know how to word her question. Adler thought for a moment, put a hand on Apollo’s back and responded, “I kept walking for a long time. I was able to survive on my own but I eventually made it to a town like yours. I rested there for a while and just kept to myself. The people were very caring and very persistent however, I told them my story and asked them to keep it a secret. They understood and helped me out of a really rough point in my life. I stayed with them for a few months and after that, I decided to leave and travel. I didn’t know anything about the world outside my home, and I wanted to try and find Apollo even if the chances were small. I’m glad I decided to travel, and even more glad that Apollo ended up with such a nice family.”. It was hard not to smile after Adler finished talking. Apollo then asked, “So what are you gonna do now? Are you gonna be staying here?”. The excitement could be heard in Apollo’s voice. Laura and Nix were a bit nervous because they didn’t think Nate and Nora would be able to give up another room like they did with Apollo. The couple looked at each other, they couldn’t afford to give another room but they couldn’t just ask someone that’s been there for Apollo all his life to leave.
Before they could say anything, Adler answered, “I would happily stay with you Apollo, but I wouldn’t want to burden the family you’re staying with.”. Before Apollo could fully process what he heard, Nate and Nora spoke up. “Wait!”. All eyes were on them. Nate started with, “Adler, you can stay with us if you want.”. Nora then took over. “You could share a room with Apollo. It might be a little cramped-”. Before she could finish, Adler stood up and shouted “That’d be great!”, with enthusiasm and even smiling. The bird quickly realized his actions and sat back down and straightened himself up, like he was embarrassed that he broke his own character. “That would be pleasant, thank you.”, Adler said. Apollo hugged Adler while shouting, “YAYYYY!!!”. The little otter immediately then ran over to Nate and Nora and hugged them while they were sitting. “Thank you Nate and Nora! I love you both!”. The parents, their daughter, the tiger, and bird all smiled with Apollo. The little otter couldn’t stop smiling. He didn’t care about his old home anymore, even though he missed it oh so much. Now he had a new home, one he would grow up in, and start a new life.
