The Last Golden Rose

  Chapter 39: Family Reunion

  The next day life returned to a relatively normal state for Parli. All the roses, and swords, were returned and the people were back to their moving selves. Those donning yellow in the mountains had been taken via carts and boats to the rock in the sea before the rose was returned. Ijnus’s sword was taken back there to return each back to normal once inside a cell. It was a shock to some, especially those who were in movement at the time of their freezing. One was in full sprint at the time. When he came around he was still running and crashed into the cell door.

  Allard sentenced all of them to ten years in jail, since he had not remembered the original verdict for each one. To this Mitchum insisted that Allard start writing down the decisions he makes. For the first time Mitchum had a say in what happened in Parli. He was finally making a difference for the better, and it would not end there.

  In a ten minute conversation that took place in the superintendant office Mitchum convinced Allard that he needed a full staff to sentence prisoners, better food, and perhaps some way to make money so walls could be painted and floors cleaned. Allard wrote down everything he said, including the “umms” and “Hmmms”. Along the way he would ask questions:

  “How would we do that? . . . Are you sure that’s a good idea? . . . That would cost a lot don’t you think? . . . How do you spell that?”

  By the end Mitchum felt as though he really did something. Still feeling good he left the jail and headed for Rerum. It was a nice day out, the sun was strong but it did not matter anymore to him, not that it ever really did. At first he was afraid that he would be captured once again after entering Rerum. He tied the boat up on a post on the beach and headed for town. A small boy and girl ran up to him before he even left the pink sand.

  “Are you Mitchum?” The little girl asked.

  Not sure how they knew his name he nodded.

  The kids looked to each other excitedly.

  “No way, can I walk with you?” the little boy asked.

  “Um, alright.”

  Together they walked into town. He asked them if they knew where Mith or Ludus were. They said that they did and led him there. Along the way more kids came out of small huts and followed closely behind Mitchum. They were all small and only a few even came up to Mitchum’s waist. Older people started out of their huts and also joined the gathering. In minutes almost the entirety of Rerum had joined in. Among the people were half of the elders, including Clarin. She shook Mitchum’s hand and thanked him for everything he had done. Others followed her example and also greeted Mitchum, shaking his hand and sometimes bowing. He did not know what to do with so much attention. He nodded and bowed back.

  Mith and Ludus were found near the elder’s hut. When the crowd came up they laughed and shook their heads.

  “Sorry about that Mitchum, we told everyone what happened.”

  “You must have made me sound pretty amazing.”

  “We just said it as it was.”

  Ludus walked up to Mitchum and led him into the elder’s hut. Only the elders that were in the crowd followed. Mitchum tried to resist upon seeing Maows, but Mith pulled him forward.

  “This is Maows, he is the leader here.”

  Mitchum nodded, trying not to make eye contact.

  Maows stood slowly and held his hand out. “I think we’ve met, never a problem with meeting a person more than once, right?”

  “If I remember we did not exactly have the greatest meeting.” Mitchum said coolly.

  Maows lowered his hand. “I hear you want to take these two all the way to the forest.”

  “They’ve been farther than that.”

  The elder hut grew tense. The other elders who came in quietly sat down in their chairs.

  Mitchum continued. “Do you have a problem with this?”

  Maows was not used to being spoken to this way, and was trying very hard to keep from arguing. “I am perfectly fine with it – in fact I encourage our saviors to get a bit of a vacation.”

  Mith and Ludus thanked Maows and left before someone got heated. The gathering remained outside and instantly crowded around them. Everyone looked at Mitchum expectantly. He simply stared back, waiting for someone to speak.

  Ludus stepped up to the task. “We are now leaving with Mitchum, everyone go home.”

  The crowd dispersed leisurely. Mitchum agreed to meet them on the edge of town and headed there. Several minutes later, after saying goodbye to their families, they met up. Mith now wore a black traveling cloak while Ludus wore a silver one. Mitchum re-adjusted his hat and walked in the direction of his home. A voice came from behind them.

  “Could you use this?”

  Mr. Hardel came up with a horse drawn cart. Mitchum took the reins and thanked him. The three set off for the forest in the cart.

  It was nice to not have to walk for once. Over the last two days Mith and Ludus had been extremely sore, they could barely walk. Now they could walk but the soreness was still there.

  The fields of the Bay Region gave for little scenery. Mitchum had several things on his mind and decided now was as good a time as any to ask them.

  “How was your homecoming?”

  Mith, who was sitting next to Mitchum, thought for a second before responding. “It was good, most of it really happened in the jail. After we got back Maows had us over to discuss what happened. Although I really think he just wanted to see if the story was suitable for the children of Rerum. So instead of just telling him we went outside and told everyone the whole story.”

  “Was he mad?”

  “Oh yeah, we told him that we expect new treatment of the lies and secrets he tells. And would you know it—he actually was alright with it.”

  “Sure he was,” Ludus said from the back of the cart, “he had two choices: he could either pretend it was his great idea to reveal everything, or we would have done it and he would probably have been hated.”

  Mith nodded. “True, but I think he just did not want anything like that to happen again.”

  Ludus laughed. “Mith, you still see the best in people, even after everything we have been through.”

  “I’m not going to change now.”

  For the rest of the journey Mitchum told as much as he could remember about the Forest Region. About all of his childhood memories and of what he would like to see there on this trip. He told about one particular tree that was so much taller than the others, and of a tree that was very small for its full height. Mith and Ludus thought the region sounded rather boring, but did not tell this to Mitchum.

  The excitement grew for them to enter the region. It did not take as long as they thought it would to get to the boundary. With the cart they got their so much faster. They would not have known where the boundary was if there was not a sign that read: Forest, the birthplace of true happiness.

  “Wow, not being modest are they?” Ludus asked.

  “That’s not the real sign, when I was about ten some people stole the real sign and replaced it with this one. I’m just surprised that it is still here.”

  Mith suddenly blurted out. “What do people do who do not see the sign?”

  “I guess they just have to remember where the boundary is, or they just end up there accidentally.”

  The three crossed into the forest. The name fit it very well. All they could see in any direction was tall trees. It was as if one tree was cloned many times. Every single one of them did not have a branch that was less

  twenty feet off of the ground. That made it good for seeing, bad for hiding. There was only one person in sight, a familiar one.

  “Orman?” Mitchum asked the shaggy man nearby.

  Orman turned around and threw his hands up. “Quinn, what brings you back to the woods?” He suddenly spotted Mith and Ludus. “I mea, how are you, little oes?”

  “It’s alright Orman, you can drop the act. How did you get all the way out here?”

  “I wa
s lovin’ the idea of having nothing but Rough so I started seein’ what the world looked like in its original. Then, the other day—all of a sudden the trees spring up. Well I’ll tell ya what, I was over one and was lifted fifty feet into the air. I had to climb down as far as I could and then just dropped the rest of the way—hurt myself a bit.”

  “Do you know if any of the houses are alright, did any break when they hit the ground.”

  “No, they just sprouted back up into the trees, it was a sure sight.”

  “That’s good to hear, it was good to see you, buddy, but we have to go now.”

  Orman waved good bye and went to his carpet that was now tied to two trees that stood very close together. He sat under it and watched the travelers leave.

  The trees did not speak or move as they did near the palace. They just stood tall and still as normal trees do. The horse’s feet and the cart wheels crunched the layer of leaves that covered the entire ground. A warm breeze blew by them, and Mith was wishing she was not wearing the large traveling cloak.

  Soon they found a dirt trail that weaved throughout the forest. The horse seemed to like this better than the leaves, though there were still some leaves on the path. The horse clopped along for some time before they saw anything interesting. Mitchum pointed out a large rock off to the right. He said it was the only large rock in the entire region.

  Half an hour later Mitchum swung the cart off of the trail and into the leaves. He started to explain why he left the forest. They already knew part of the story thanks to Bern and Lapp, but listened intently anyway. He told about how his family was known as rippers, how his parents had left the entire operation to him when they died, and how he left as soon as he found out because he was afraid of his brothers and sisters, who all wanted the operation themselves.

  The trees got closer together the farther off the trail they got. They had to leave the cart before too long and continue on by foot. Ludus noticed something high above them. It was a tree house, and there were many more. They were hanging between two or three trees, depending on the size of the house, all with bridges connecting to others.

  Mitchum had his head back, looking for something. Finally he saw it and led the way over to a rope ladder that was hanging from one of the houses. “Must be off hunting,” he had said as he tugged on the ladder. Mith climbed up first, followed by Ludus, and finally by Mitchum.

  It was a long way up but they made it all right. Once at the top Mitchum sighed heavily, a look of nostalgia beaming from his face. “This was my grandmother’s house, before she died. I don’t even remember who moved in.”

  A wood walk circled each house. They walked along it, wishing that there was a rail on the edge. The bridge creaked horribly as they crossed it. On the other side was a house that Mitchum was hesitant to go near. It was much larger than the first one they had seen. He mumbled to himself and put his hands on Mith and Ludus.

  “This is my home, where I grew up.” He said softly. “I wonder . . .” He took off his hat and peered inside it. After rummaging around inside it he took a small key out. It had been tucked under a flap in his hat. Slowly he went up to the door and tried the key. A turn and click later the door swung open. They all looked into the darkness. Mitchum stepped in and looked around. Very carefully he touched a hard armchair. Suddenly lights came on and a voice followed.

  “Who do you think you are?” a stern voice said from up above.

  With the lights on it was much easier to see the inside. Several armchairs were scattered around a brown carpet. On the right wall was a staircase that went to a small landing near the ceiling. A rather large man stood on the landing and stared down. When he saw who had entered his jaw dropped. He quickly ran down the stairs and hugged Mitchum.

  “Gai, you came back, you’re here.”

  “Only because of these two.” He pointed out Mith and Ludus.

  The man nodded happily in their direction, and then continued to speak to Mitchum. “Everyone will be so happy to see you again.”

  “They will?”

  The man looked at Mitchum in disbelief. “What? You were gone for twenty years; did you really think nobody would miss you?”

  “Twenty-two years. When I left you were just about to burn me alive.”

  “No we weren’t”

  Mitchum looked at him sternly.

  “Alright, but we got over it—we missed you.”

  “And of the business?”

  “Done, never again, in fact it was losing you that made us all realize that.” The man paused. “And we could not do anything without your signature.”

  Mitchum slapped his hand on his leg. “There’s the real truth.”

  “No, no, no I was just joking—mostly. Wait, what are we doing here, the others need to see you. They should be back soon so just make yourselves comfortable.”

  It was hard to make anything comfortable in that house. The chairs were overly hard and creaky. The man, who turned out to be Mitchum’s brother Travari, went to the kitchen and came back several minutes later with biscuits. They were hard as rocks, and Ludus swore one had green spots. They tried to eat them but found it impossible. When Travari wasn’t looking Ludus threw his out a window that was right behind him.

  Mitchum and Travari caught each other up on what had been happening in the last twenty-two years. Travari found Mitchum’s story incredibly exciting, especially the last week. He jumped from his chair at some parts and even ran circles around the same chair when it came to fighting Oldo. Mith tried not to laugh at this while Ludus looked on the man as though he were insane.

  Travari told his story, which was much less exciting. Every day for the last twenty-two years had been the same, save for the last week. For most of the story it seemed he was failing at romance, while too afraid to leave the forest. He did not remember anything about the last week. When the rose was replaced he had been face down in the sand.

  The door opened unexpectedly right as Travari was finishing his story. Several people crowded in and started upstairs. One went in the direction of the kitchen holding a large dead bird. None of them noticed Mitchum. They all went through doors and it was quiet once more. The man who went into the kitchen came out and finally saw Mitchum. He looked as though he were about to faint or wet himself when he realized who it was.

  “Hey everyone, Gai is back.” He yelled.

  The doors above opened quickly and everyone rushed down the stairs to get a look. There were five new faces total. The tallest of the lot, who looked extraordinarily like Mitchum, went up to him and shook his hand vigorously.

  “What a treat, a sure treat I say.”

  “It’s alright, Nerge, I might want to use that hand again. Everyone, this here is Mith and Ludus.”

  “Hi, Mith and Ludus.” They all called in unison.

  “This here is Nerge,” he pointed to the man who had just been shaking his hand. He now was back with the others, “and this is Elva, she and Risa are twins.”

  Mith saw that they were identical twins. If one did not have shorter hair she would have not been able to tell them apart.

  “Over here we have Mortya, don’t worry he is not as smart as he looks.”

  “Hey.” Called Mortya, there definitely was something about him that looked smart.

  “And finally we have—wait a minute. Is that you Uris?”

  The woman who was called Uris nodded. She was rather short and very pretty.

  “You really grew up.” Mitchum seemed stunned by his sister’s beauty. “Now who’s missing, where are Oyer and Bilt?”

  Travari stood from his chair. “They left shortly after you did, they moved to Altis. Now isn’t that just terrible.”

  “Is it?”

  Elva, the shorter haired twin, answered. “You know we don’t like Altis, they are our rivals in our new business.”

  “Which is?”

  “We sell wood.”

  “Wow,” Ludus whispered to Mith,
“that must be hard to come by here.”

  The family was eager to hear what had happened over the years. They all sat in their chairs to hear the story. Mith and Ludus were sitting in Oyer’s and Bilt’s seats so they did not have to move. Mitchum was sitting in his own chair; he was surprised that they even kept it.

  Most were quiet during the entire story; Travari kept entering in side comments. “You have to hear this . . . Here it comes . . . Oh, oh, oh, listen to this part.” The others told him to be quiet but he did not.

  When the story was over everyone took a walk around the town, Mith and Ludus were in the back having been forgotten about, though they did not mind. They took them all around the places that they used to go, even the place where Mitchum had fallen out of the town to the ground. He rubbed his back and laughed along with the others. They passed the small school house where he had learned, and even the office where their parents ran the first family business. The office now stood vacant, the sign peeled away so only the ‘Q’ and first ‘N’ in Quinn remained.

  When the tour was over they headed back to their home. A voice came from somewhere behind them. Mith and Ludus turned to see a very pretty woman standing there, standing on tiptoes trying to see over everyone’s head.

  “Gai Quinn is that you?”

  There came some whistles from the family.

  Mitchum found his way through his siblings to her. “Wia, it’s so good to see you.”

  They hugged. Nerge leaned over and whispered in Mith’s ear. “They were sweet for each other before Gai left, though she is a lot younger than he. I think she was only like fifteen or something when he left.”

  “How have you been?” they asked each other. They caught up quickly on what the other person had done. “Are you . . . ?” they asked simultaneously. Each seemed to know what the other meant and answered with a “No.” They both sighed in relief and hugged.

  Mitchum turned to his siblings. “I think I might stay here, besides the Rough was getting . . . well, rough.”

  Nerge nodded jokingly. “So you missed us that much did you? Or was it something else that changed your mind?”

  He was ignored. Mitchum clasped Wia’s hands. “Would you like to come with me to a party in the palace?” He turned to the others. “You all are invited.”

  Norge whispered to Mith again. “I was about to say ‘if he does not invite me . . .’”

  Wia accepted the invitation, as did the entire family.