I felt mana activate, and suddenly, in my mind’s eye, I saw Master and Gramps fighting side by side.
“…”
I could hear Gramps’s voice! I could see him standing there. Tears spilled down my cheeks without my realizing it.
“It’s something Ragi left behind for you. I’m not beastfolk, so I can’t teach you how to use their power. It won’t be easy, but you’ve decided you want to be strong like Ragi, right?”
“Yeah! I’m gonna be strong, just like Gramps. And like you! I promise I will!”
“Right. I’m sure you will. So don’t forget the day Ragi and I fought each other. Don’t forget what you just said. And if you ever feel scared to keep going or start to lose your way, just remember what Ragi left for you.”
“Okay. I will, Master!”
He nodded and gave me that gentle smile of his. Master’s face almost seemed to glow against the colors of dawn.
“Looks like a painting…,” I blurted out.
Master looked up at the sky. “It does. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
I meant he looked like a painting, but I guess he thought I meant the sky, so I looked up at it over his shoulder.
“It kinda looks like twilight.”
“It does a bit, but this is actually dawn, and…” Suddenly, he stopped speaking.
I looked up at Master, who was staring up at the sky with an odd, faraway look in his eyes. He looked so lonely in that moment that it reminded me of when I’d found him standing alone out here.
“Master?” I called out to him without thinking. He slowly lowered his gaze and shook his head as if to say it was nothing.
“Alto. Ragi is resting here.”
I looked down and saw a gravestone carved with Gramps’s name. All the white flowers in the garden had been planted around it. Gramps’s soul had departed for the Waterside, but his body would remain here on the earth until it returned to the land. The cool morning breeze made the flowers sway like a cradle rocking him to sleep.
Gramps…
I knelt down in front of the gravestone and repeated my promise that I’d become strong. I prayed there silently for a moment, then stood up. I’d had an idea. I asked Master to wait, then ran to my room, found what I was looking for, and came back to the garden.
“Alto?” Master gave me a curious look when he saw what I held in my arms.
“Jackie will stay here with Gramps. That way, he won’t be lonely. And Jackie’s really strong, so he can protect Gramps, too.”
I didn’t know exactly what had happened here while I was gone, but I could tell Master had fought someone.
He looked surprised for a second, but then he slowly nodded. “You’re right. I’m sure Jackie will guard him well.”
I nodded back.
After a while, Master let out a long sigh and turned to face Cyrus. “Well, Cyrus?”
Cyrus had been standing behind us this whole time, watching everything happen.
“Yeah?”
“I’m fairly certain I asked you to keep Alto away from here.”
“Yeah, you did,” the knight replied.
“So what are you doing here with him now?”
“You didn’t really mean it, right? Leaving it to me was a bad idea in the first place.”
Master had an exasperated look on his face. “So that was your plan all along.”
“Well, since I didn’t meet your expectations, how about we just forget about the payment this time?” Cyrus said. “You can put in another request later.”
“Why are you acting so smug about failing to keep our agreement? Do you even know what the word ‘integrity’ means?” There was a dangerous glint in Master’s eyes.
“Hey, wait a minute! Alto, don’t just stand there! Help me! You promised!”
I remembered the promise I’d made him.
“Master, I’m the one who asked him to do it!”
“Fine. I’ll drop it, for Alto’s sake,” Master said, letting out another big sigh.
“You can just make another request later.”
“Like I said, why are you acting so high and mighty? You’re the one who messed up.” Seeing Master with that wry smile on his face always made me feel strangely happy inside. “Though, honestly, I already feel like I’ve been well compensated, considering how much you helped with Ragi.”
“That’s not true,” Cyrus said, his voice firm. “I did that because I wanted to, not because you asked me. I did it for Ragi.”
“You’re a lot more conscientious than you look, Cyrus.”
“Was that really necessary?!” Cyrus protested, and all of us burst out laughing.
Once we calmed down, Cyrus’s expression turned stern. “Seriously, though. Look at yourself. Your clothes, your face… You look terrible.”
“Do I?”
“You can’t tell?”
“Not really.”
I realized I hadn’t seen Master eat much at all since Gramps became bedridden. And he’d already been awake whenever I’d woken up. He looked a lot thinner than before.
I started to feel worried, so I grabbed his hand. “Master, the food at the castle is really good.”
Plus, there were a lot of kind people there. I wanted Master to feel some of the warmth I’d felt.
“You’re right. It is delicious.” Master smiled like he was wondering what had come over me all of a sudden.
“But you know,” I went on, “they always bring out so much food I can’t finish it alone. You should eat with me, Master.”
“Ah, I’m not really that hungry…”
“But haven’t you finished everything you needed to do?”
“I guess so.”
“Then come with us! And you’re gonna eat!” I pushed Master’s back, making it clear that I wouldn’t take no for an answer. I was pretty sure Cyrus was worried about him, too.
“Hmm”
Even then, Master wouldn’t budge, so I gently took his hand.
“Master, the food at the castle is really good.”
“All right, Alto. I’ll go back to the castle with you.” It sounded like he’d finally given up and started walking forward.
The sky was growing brighter, and the stars began to fade, one by one. The three of us walked together down the path in the pale light.
When we stepped out of the garden, I let go of Master’s hand and stopped to look back. Even now, when I thought about Gramps, I still felt like crying.
Even so, I turned away from his gravestone and hurried after Master so I could keep my promise to him.