The night was unusually warm and stuffy. Tae woke up thirsty in the middle of her sleep. She was wearing a new nightdress they'd bought when the group was in the market district with Yarick. It looked a lot like the one Alice had lent her before.
Tae struggled up into a sitting position. She stretched, then let out a big yawn. She headed over to the spot where Gerai usually hung around. That was where the Tiriga kept most of their food. None of them were in the hideout anymore.
When Tae stepped into the other room, she found Zetto sitting there in half-light.
"Oh god! You scared the crap out of me, just sitting there in the dark! Zetto, why aren't you asleep?"
"Can't," he said quietly, staring at the floor before letting out a heavy sigh.
Tae walked over to the corner behind the earthen wall, grabbed a wooden cup from the shaky little shelf, and dipped it into the barrel full of drinking water. She downed almost the whole thing in one go, then let out a sigh of relief.
"Sorry, I was dying of thirst," she said, putting the cup back and sitting down next to Zetto. "Something on your mind?"
"Would you take a walk with me?"
"Y-yeah, sure," she answered, her cheeks turning a little red. "But this time I'm leading."
"Fair enough," he said with a faint smile.
They left the hideout and headed off together.
"Tae, back in the throne room…" Zetto began talking as they walked. "I… I was scared of myself. I didn't know what was happening to me. I thought I was pathetic for losing control like that. I don't ever want to let that happen again. I don't want you be afraid of me. For now, I'll only talk to you about how I feel. It's not that I don't trust the others, it's just… hard for me to open up. Doing it with even one person is already a lot."
Tae walked beside him, her heart pounding and her face burning.
I don't even know what to say. I'm just so glad he trusts me more. Oh, if only he knew how much that means to me! But there's no way to put that into words.
Tae grabbed Zetto's hand.
"I understand you, Zetto. Look," she said, pointing ahead.
"This is the same spot as last time," he said with a smile.
"Yeah. I brought you to this place again because you can see the moon so clearly from here."
How do I tell him what I really feel? I don't even know if he feels the same… our relationship started in such a crazy way.
And suddenly, Zetto did something she didn't expect, he took her other hand.
"Huh?" she said, surprised and embarrassed. They were holding hands, standing across from each other in the middle of the meadow.
The moonlight pulled back the curtains of the dark evening, shining on them like a spotlight, as if they were stars on a stage.
"Tae, there's another reason I want to open up only to you. I think you have an amazing personality, and you're beautiful. You're exactly my type. That's why… I…" – Damn, how do I even tell her this? What's the best way?
"Zetto –", all she could get out was his name, and it said everything. Her whisper, full of happiness, was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard
Zetto didn't hesitate for a second.
He kissed her, gently, not too roughly, but with the right amount of passion to make his feelings clear. When he pulled away, Tae just stood there, completely stunned.
What? What just happened? Did he…?
"You know that–" she said, her cheeks burning even more, closing her eyes, "you just… stole my first kiss?" she almost called out, holding his hand tighter.
I have to be careful. If I clutch too hard, I'll hurt him, my claws will dig into his skin. I don't want that.
" Well, I paid for that theft the same way" , he said with a smile.
"S-s-so I-I… uh… sorry. I don't know what to say, but I want you to know that…" – she fell silent, staring at the ground in thought, then lifted her eyes back to him. "To hell with it, words are sometimes really useless!" she said it a little louder, then kissed him.
Zetto let go of her hands only to bring her closer and hug her. They stayed like that for a while, kissing under the moonlight in a loving embrace.
The rustling trees around them played a beautiful melody.
A melody of hearts that they couldn't express any other way.
*
When they got back to the hideout, smiling at each other with one hand in the other's , Maghra had been awake for some time. She hadn't even noticed Tae holding Zetto's hand. Wagging her tail vigorously, she leapt at Zetto and knocked him to the ground.
"Where were you? When I woke up, you were gone! I was scared you were dead!" she said, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
"We…we were gone for like only five or ten minutes." he replied, a little surprised by her reaction.
"That felt like forever!"
"Get off him," Tae ordered in a strong, cold voice. Her eyes were blazing with growing fury, because Maghra was sitting on Zetto's lap. Maghra shivered, then backed off obediently, looking like a scolded dog.
"Wow, Tae, since when can you be this bossy?! I got chills!"
"Good," Tae said, puffing out her cheek and turning her head away.
"What a meanie!"
Zetto got up from the floor, brushing sand and dust off himself.
"Alright, alright, stop fighting. Maybe we should go to sleep, yeah? We've got an early start tomorrow."
"Yeah. I think that's a good idea," Tae agreed.
*
The next morning…
Three wagons were waiting at the edge of the forest, where the Tiriga's hideout was. Two horses were hitched to each one. The last carried building materials, food supplies, and the essentials for setting up camps, with Yarick at the reins. Unfortunately, he hadn't come with his students. They had refused, leaving the bearded man in a bad mood.
People from the Tiriga started climbing into the middle carriage. It was the biggest, able to fit twenty people along with their belongings. The Tiriga didn't have much stuff.
Zetto counted the group.
Five women and seven kids. Phew, they'll have some space. I was worried it might be too small.
One of the Tiriga – a woman with brown eyes and long black hair – approached Zetto. She had a dagger strapped to her waist.
"Thank you for everything you're doing for us," she said politely. "But just so you know, we can defend ourselves and our children if needed. We're not as helpless as you think."
"I know, I know. After all, one of you is in my team," he replied, and they both laughed.
Alice helped Maghra and Tae get into the wagon, then took the driver's seat herself.
Before Zetto climbed into the first coach, he looked toward the sunrise. Its colors, a mix of golden sunlight, red, bloody skies, and the first clouds visible on the morning horizon, seemed to reflect the conflict he had carried in his heart all this time: calm and rage, love and hatred, understanding and mercilessness.
Whatever happens, we have to stay strong and united. Nothing holds us in this country anymore; we can leave looking foward for a better tomorrow. I don't know what we'll face on such a long journey, but…", he thought as he got in.
"So, ready to go?" Alice asked.
"Yes," Zetto replied.
The zombie flicked the reins, and they set off on a new path full of unknowns, but most of all, hope.
…the most important thing, is that we have each other.