"Miraj?" Vaskin called again.

"What is it?" Miraj asked.

"I think Khashmyr's cooking killed my insides. It hurts. Can I have some medicine?" Vaskin asked.

"Clout, can you check his pupils? I think he got a minor concussion." Miraj said as she finished stitching up Kaeoryn's first wound.

"What's a come-cushion?" Vaskin sleepily asked.

"What you definitely have. Now please sit still. Clout is gonna' check your eyes for me." Miraj gently replied.

Clout reluctantly walked over to Vaskin and looked at his eyes, before saying, "Are his pupils supposed to be the same size?"

"Yes." Miraj replied.

"They're not." Clout said.

"Miraj, I want medicine." Vaskin said.

"Drink some water." Miraj replied.

Vaskin was quiet for awhile, and Miraj was able to patch up another one of Kaeoryn's injuries which was a broken arm.

Soon Sorrelle ran into the room after hearing word that they had found her husband. As soon as she saw him, she buried her face in her hands and said, "You always have to show off with a large number of injuries in a fight, don't you?"

"Sorrelle...I'm sorry. I'm sorry I...left you." Kaeoryn wheezed.

"Oh, come here you. I know you're going to live through this, right? The Empress is having a grand celebration to celebrate the living and honor the fallen soon. And if your name is on that list of the fallen, I'll...I'll...I'll bring you back just to slap you for dying! Please don't leave me a second time!" Sorrelle said, before asking Miraj if there was anything she could do to help. Miraj had Sorrelle help her pull pieces of arrows and debris out of his chest and shoulders, and soon they were ready to bandage him. Clout sat and watched, wanting to say something but not knowing how Sorrelle would react if she knew who he was after the reaction he had gotten from Manx. When Miraj pulled the last shard of glass out of Kaeoryn's shoulder, she said, "If he can just hang on a little longer, he might have a chance."

Clout smiled happily, Glaedyn still sitting awkwardly behind him not knowing what to do. Vaskin sat patiently, until when they were done with Kaeoryn, and then he said, "Where's Manx?"

"She left." Miraj said.

"She should be here." Vaskin said slowly.

Miraj assigned Sorrelle to pull the arrows out of Clout's back while she walked over to Vaskin, held up two fingers, and said, "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"One bunny rabbit." Vaskin said. Miraj sighed and said, "No. It's two fingers. Now let's try again."

"It's a three eared bunny rabbit now." Vaskin said, when she held up a third finger.

"Okay, I guess this proves you can still count." Miraj replied.

She then held up four fingers and said, "How many fingers is this?"

"A two headed bunny rabbit." Vaskin said slowly.

Miraj then held up one finger and asked, "Okay, now how many fingers this time?"

"One narwhal." Vaskin confidently replied.

"How hard did you hit your head?" Miraj asked him, worried that she hadn't gotten to treating him soon enough.
"Lyrica hard." Vaskin said, clenching his fist.

"I can see that. You hit the floor really hard, and the force that pushed you backwards broke your ribs a little." Miraj said.

"It hurts crazy awful." Vaskin said.

Miraj held up a finger and said, "Alright, now will you follow my finger with just your eyes?"

"I'm good." Vaskin said.

"Vaskin, just watch the narwhal, okay?" Miraj asked him.

Vaskin then concentrated hard on her finger and followed it with his eyes, his pupils slowly going back to the same size. Miraj sighed and asked him, "Can you stand up now?"

Vaskin shook his head.

"Why not?" Miraj asked.

"I don't want to." Vaskin said with a slight shrug.

"Why not?" Miraj asked again.

"Because Manx isn't here." Vaskin said, deep in thought.

"I'll go get her then." Miraj said, standing up and saying, "Let me know if he moves." to nobody in particular. Miraj found Manx in a secluded closet and convinced her to come and check on Vaskin. Manx slowly entered the room and looked around wide eyed, staying as far away from Clout as she could. She slowly approached Vaskin, and looked him over, relieved that he was awake.

"Miraj made a bunny rabbit." Vaskin said. Manx looked at him with confusion, and Miraj shrugged. Manx sat down next to Vaskin and held his hand in hers, and then she said, "Vaskin, are you alright?"

"I think so. Some things feel a little fuzzy and Miraj said I had some sort of cushion, but other than that, I'm dandelion." Vaskin replied.

"Oh you adorable moron! Don't you ever scare me like that again!" Manx said, hugging him gently.

"Owowowowow!" Vaskin exclaimed, and Manx reluctantly released her grip.

"I saw the Empress earlier." Manx said.

"No. Leif's gone. I saw Lyrica go after her. And you're hurt! I left you safe. Everything's gone, isn't it?" Vaskin said.

"No, Vaskin, the Empress is alive. Lyrica didn't kill her for some reason. Now can you please start making sense?" Manx pleaded.

"Be with your family please. Your dad's dying, and you gotta' make it right. You won't lose me yet. I still got daisies in my vase." Vaskin said.

Manx reluctantly got up and limped over to her father's bedside, where her mother was sitting quietly and stroking the fur on his head.

"Manx..." Kaeoryn said softly.

"Dad, I...I can't look at you like this!" Manx said.

"I'm sorry...sorry for everything. Sorry I left you, sorry I didn't...didn't ever tell you...How proud I was." Kaeoryn replied.

"I thought I was never good enough. When you tried to train me with a sword, You always seemed so disappointed. I don't even know how I survived the battle." Manx said.

Kaeoryn slowly shook his head and said, "Daughter, my little girl...I was...was always proud. I was the proudest father when you came into the world, and..I knew you had to live without me. I knew I'd only...only screw things up or get you hurt. And yet my...biggest mistake...was leaving. And I missed out on so much, but the day I saw you again,...saw what you had become, I wished I had been a part of it. I wish I was there so hard, I wish I was there to see my baby grow up, yet I hid. I don't deserve you. I don't deserve this family. You don't deserve me. I'm a failure...I'm dying a failure. And here you have to sit and watch, with hardly any happy memories at all, but only a life full of endless pain and emptiness. I don't want...to leave that behind if I go."

Manx just stared and cried silently, her mother moving around the bed and hugging her from the side. Kaeoryn reached out and held Manx's hand, enclosing it in his larger fist, and looking into her eyes and saying, "I...love...you both! And...I could never be prouder of both of you."

Clout sniffled a little as Miraj worked on his injuries, and Kaeoryn said, "Sorrelle?...You remember...when I...told you about that spunky little brother...I had growing up...who always got me out of trouble and...fixed me up after I got into fights as a kid?"

Sorrelle nodded.

"That's him." Kaeoryn said, looking over at Clout. At that, Sorrelle leaped to her feet and tackled Clout in a bear hug and said, "Thank you so much for keeping him alive!"

"Pleasure is all mine." Clout said, before continuing, "Kaeoryn, your wife is an awful good hugger. I would like to kindly return her before she breaks any more of my ribs."

Sorrelle gently let go and then nodded politely and asked, "Kaeoryn, why didn't you tell me your brother was equally as charming and that he has better manners?"

"You wouldn't...have fallen for me. He takes all the...good ones." Kaeoryn mused with a slight smile despite his pain.

"Who said I was a good one?" Sorrelle said jokingly.

"You are...the best." Kaeoryn coughed out.

"That means she is out of my league, brother." Clout said with a wry smile.

Suddenly, Vaskin yelped, "I'm on the floor!"

Manx looked up through her tears and said, "Yes. You are."

"My ribs hurt but all I wanna say is I love you, Manx!" Vaskin called out.

"You hit your head a little too hard. Please just stop being so...so...so Vaskin!" Manx replied.

"He's a keeper for sure." Sorrelle mused with a little chuckle.

"Sorrelle?" Kaeoryn asked
"Yes?" Sorrelle replied.

"Get me my axe...the...the big one!" Kaeoryn said angrily.

"We've had enough of that for one day." Sorrelle said. Kaeoryn scowled.

"Boy, don't you...don't you touch her!" Kaeoryn called, trying to sound as menacing as possible which wasn't working through all his injuries.

"Manx, I want to stand up." Vaskin said.

Manx looked at him forlornly and limped over to him, helping him stand as best as she could. "Where's that Aurin kid, with the funny looking lizard? I wanna' thank him for getting me to not give up." Vaskin asked.

Clout smiled and said, "He lived. A little banged up, but in the end his basilisk saved so many."

"BASILISK? What? Where? Hadrix!" Vaskin yelped.

"I believe that was on our first quest together. Are you okay?" Manx said, looking at him with concern.

"Yeah! I just remembered something!" Vaskin said.

"And what would that be?" Manx inquired.

"I never told you how pretty your eyes are." Vaskin said.

Manx sighed and said, "Miraj, I think he's broken. He won't stop saying a bunch of nonsense."

"He needs to recover. He should be fine within a couple of days and able to walk about for short periods of time." Miraj said.

"I can't take it anymore!" Manx groaned. 

Ravenna strolled into the room and said, "Tell me about it. Mine's been staring off into space for hours on end and I don't know what he's thinking."

"Your what?" Manx asked, confused.
"Aurin is a little shocked from the whole battle thing. And Xolt has a bigger stick up his rear than usual. I'm thinking it's more like a whole tree. He keeps trying to kill the corpses of the enemy monsters, even though I told him he can't because they're already dead. Oh, and the Kapybara's giving out free haircuts. Of course I'm not going anywhere near her right now because Barnaby is freaking me out." Ravenna said.

Then Xolt walked into the room and Ravenna said, "I'm staying away from you, buster."

"Xolt, what's wrong?" Miraj asked him, seeing the intense look on his face.

Xolt stared for a long moment, before he violently grabbed a spare chair and threw it across the room at Ravenna, screaming in fury as the leg of the chair hit her hard in the gut. Ravenna yelped in pain and then she groaned, slumping down to the floor.

"Yep, that's definitely leaving a mark." Ravenna said through clenched jaws.

"Back off, Xolt!" Manx yelled, standing her ground. Xolt growled and lightning crackled in his fists.

"Is this about Mieraux getting out of the dungeon?" Miraj asked coldly.

"NO!" Xolt snapped.

"I saw that evil vixen in the battle, and she couldn't have gotten out on her own. Manx almost died because of the elemental wound you friend gave her, and Mieraux couldn't have gotten out of the dungeon alone." Miraj said angrily.

"I let her out, and for good reason. But that isn't why...AAAUGGGH!" Xolt yelled.

"What has gotten into you lately?" Miraj asked.

"SHEENA!" Xolt screamed.

"Alright. Alright. Tone it down with the screaming, please!" Miraj said.

"You could've saved her, Miraj! You, Manx, this is all your fault! You raised that monstrosity that killed my dragon! I HATE YOU!! I HATE YOU ALL!!!" Xolt hollered, lunging for Manx who teleported out of reach, causing him to fall.

Glaedyn stretched her neck out towards Xolt and bared her fangs, saying, "I dare you, harm another one of them again or even try, and I will kill you!"

"You can't kill me. I've killed creatures twice your size before with just my silver helix ability! Now go on, dragon! Fight me!" Xolt said, getting to his feet.

"You take my dragon on and you are taking me on as well. I've lived my entire life with this lug as my brother and I know how to throw a punch. Powers or none, kid, you don't stand a chance. Now leave before there is any more bloodshed." Clout said calmly, pointing at Kaeoryn.

"HER PET KILLED MY DRAGON!!" Xolt screamed, pointing at Manx.

"And you killed my friend! I want my Xolt back!" Manx snapped.

"He died with Sheena." Xolt said in a quiet fury.

"Leave now or you fight us all, Xolt Wilderwynd." Manx said calmly, standing her ground.

Xolt glared at her for a long time, before turning with a flash of his cape and leaving the room.

"Why must our world be so broken?" Miraj said, a tear running down her cheek as she watched her brother leave.

Manx looked out the broken window, over the broken and trampled and bloodied palace courtyard, and then she looked back inside at the broken and bruised and bloodied people, she thought long and hard for awhile, and then she said, "Our battles make us who we are. And every battle has a price. Even in times of peace, life brings us battles. And yet in the aftermath of all the destruction, what can we do but simply cry and tend to our wounds and try to repair what was broken. We can't choose battles just to fight or we will end up destroying everything we work so hard to create."

She looked around the room, so deep in thought she felt like her mind was drifting somewhere far away. She looked at them and paused for a moment before saying, "The world is broken. All worlds are broken. Everything dies and fades away. Years ago, the dragons built this palace to have it stand forever. And yet I can already see cracks in its walls and blood on its floors. And yet, amongst all these broken worlds and all these broken places and all these broken people, there are shards of what we once were before we had battles to win. And as we are breaking, we are being repaired into something newer and stronger and more beautiful than what we once were. The Creator didn't make a broken universe. I understand that now. It is the creation that broke it. I lived most of my life in physical chains, but everyone is in chains one way or another."

Manx sighed, a long deep forlorn sigh, and through a heart overwhelmed with emotion, she said, "And now, I finally know why there is so much pain. It is because you have to break things to make them better sometimes. Because everything is broken. But we have to choose to become whole. And it hurts. It hurts more than we can bear at times. And yet our brokenness is what makes us stronger, it forces us to challenge the things that break us. And one day, we break free. Sometimes we become so broken that we can't be recognized as what we once were, and it takes someone who sees those fragments of the real us behind the pain to help us be free of the chains of our own brokenness."

Manx stood up taller in that moment, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders and she said, "Like an old friend once said, 'a lily must grow deep roots to weather the deepest storm, and those roots can only be formed through pain and sorrow', our pain is a part of us. We can choose to let our pain become us, or we can let our pain help us to become something better."

They were all stunned by the sudden meaning and depth of her words, amazed at how far she had come from that terrified young girl who didn't want to leave her world and her family behind.

And with that, she looked over at her injured father and at Vaskin and Miraj and Ravenna and Clout and her mother with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes, and she said aloud, "I accept it now. And I am not going to let my pain become who I am. We still have a future. Sure, It's broken, but so is everything else. We can't let that stop us from moving on."