EPILOGUE:
The High Demox Council was located on the island of Arolazia in the middle of the Neravien Ocean. Moracius has three oceans and each was named after one of our cities centuries ago. We took a ship there a week after the press conference. The island was covered in an ominous mist that filled with the power of magic. It was certainly a foreboding place. Atop this island sat a massive building that housed our judges.
Once we arrived, guards stripped Ashley and me of all our weapons and placed us in handcuffs. Star was secured by special handcuffs called Nullifiers which disabled her from using magic. Obviously, those hadn’t been needed for centuries, so why were they still in existence?
We were brought into a large, dimly lit courtroom. There was no jury, no audience. Only the three of us, a group of guards, and the eleven council members. The eleven decrepit men and women of the council sat high up in order to look down upon us. Not like they could sit up straight enough to look up at us. All of them at one time were Demox like us, but had long since retired. Their speaker, a woman about half their age, stood in front of the stand and stepped forward.
“Star! You are of Vermendian blood and yet you dare show your face?” she said angrily.
Star looked at the woman with despair in her eyes. There was nothing she could say or do. She was powerless as long as she was bound by those Nullifiers. Nothing Ashley or I could do. Star was silent.
“Well? Have you nothing to say for yourself?” the lady prodded. Silence strangled the room. Star began to cry. Ashley comforted her best she could even though she was bound by handcuffs.
I stood, the chains of my handcuffs jingling as I rose from the table. “She found us while we were lost in the Plains. We were headed in the wrong direction after being attacked by a tribe of Humanoids. She and I fell in love. She really didn’t have a choice whether or not to go back to Vermendis. They wouldn’t have accepted her back there either. They’d kill her! So she gathered the last of her things and joined us. Star left all she’d known and loved for me! A Demox from a group of people who cast them out! If you can’t respect love, then what respect do you have?” I said. These people, especially this woman just didn’t sit right with me for doing what they did.
The council members spoke amongst one another, their ancient voices debating. A guard took me by the shoulders and pulled me back to my seat. There was a long discussion among them, deciding our fate. After a while, the man sitting in the center slowly rose and raised his wrinkled hand. “All of you…come forth,” he wheezed. He was clad in a white robe with gold trim and his hand was adorned with pure gold and white gold rings. This was the Elder Priest.
Ashley had gotten Star calmed down so all three of us could step up together. Our faces were morose and full of sorrow. Things weren’t looking good for us. At least we didn’t think so. The Elder Priest spoke again, “We have come to a decision. Know that this decision will be made law and therefore will affect your lives as well as the entire planets lives forever! Do you understand?”
We looked at each other and nodded. “Yes, sir. We understand,” I answered.
He took a moment to catch his breath and continued. “With a vote of seven to four, the consensus is in your favor young warriors! Furthermore, the exile of Vermendis has been lifted and wiped clean. They are free to travel the planet as they please! Your words touched us, Dyron. For if we cannot respect love, if we cannot respect diversity, what respect do we have?” he announced.
Hearing the words pass his lips was absolutely overwhelming. I myself fell to my knees in complete astonishment. The girls cried, tears of joy streaming down their faces as the guards freed us.
A MONTH LATER…
“Morning!” Ashley called from across the yard.
“Hey Ashley!” greeted Star who ran over and received a hug. She’d just returned from the store and was holding handfuls of groceries.
I appeared from the back of the house and took most of them from her. “What’s up, baby?” I asked kissing her.
“Nothing! What’s up with you?” she asked sweetly as we entered the house.
I shrugged and replied, “Just working on my double chain scythe in the backyard.” Star praised me by kissing me and the both of us as well as Ashley entered the house. Life is a funny thing, you know? It works in your favor at the strangest times.
My parents were happy to have Star live with us. She slept in my room in her own bed. For now at least! The law spread across the planet like wildfire and there was mass movement almost immediately! Vermendis lifted their barrier, opening their doors to all, and with an increase of tourism, they are able to expand their city to accommodate people who moved in. Many of their citizens moved out and returned to the places in which their ancestors lived long ago.
As for the other teams. Well, we couldn’t call them teams anymore. Just our friends. We all kept in close contact. In the coming winter, we planned on taking a trip to see Vermendis! Who would’ve thought that seven teenagers could defeat the odds stacked against them. To play and win with the terrible hands they’d been dealt? Who would’ve thought you’d find love in the midst of it? Not me!
THE END
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