Solace of the Phoenix
Explanations (part 2)
Both Princesses were worried, I could see that now. For a few seconds I thought that the younger should not be, but this was a part I had not told her about. After taking a deep breath I managed to continue my tale.
‘’While I could not sleep for years, and I barely aged a day, those twenty-five years were the best of my life’’ I managed to stop a sigh and look at them… To this day I admit that, seeing a pair of Alicorn Princesses with nothing to say is still an amusing image in my mind.
‘’But, as all good things, those came to an end. One night I finally managed to sleep…’’
Remember how I told you that the Human Mind is limited? Well, this is amongst the things mine can still remember after one hundred and eighty millennia… Sixteen years of dreamless sleep might not sound like a thing to remember, but trust me, when it is your first time you never forget that.
‘’When I woke up, I was in a hospital, and sixteen years had passed’’
I closed my eyes, I really needed to take a small pause. Either that, or I would break in tears. Their eyes were still upon me, but before either of them could again offer me to continue at another time I managed to pull myself together.
‘’She was gone, the doctors had thought that I was in a coma, but it turns out that I was merely sleeping… in the meantime an illness had claimed her...’’
Again a pause, I just expected them to ask her name…
Thankfully they didn’t.
Remember, the Human Mind is limited, and names are amongst the things it forgets with relative ease.
‘’After that I abandoned the cities and took to the forests. I hoped to meet my end there, instead it saved my life...’’
They seemed confused, but worry not, that it is about to be explained.
‘’By staying away from the cities, I did not notice when the bombs fell again. Not until the rain was poisonous and the people fled to the wilds, Civilization had burned, and a new one was about to rise’’
They were still confused, I would really be if I were them. When one reaches my age, it becomes hard at times to avoid… divagating…
‘’At first I decided to remain far away from others, but with time that proved impossible. So I started doing something simple… I would arrive to a different as as far away as possible settlement at the beginning of my ‘day’ cycle, then, shortly before it ended, I would leave to a hideout I had previously built to spend my ‘night’ cycle… It has worked so far’’
Again they looked at me, I waited for them to say something…
‘’How many times have you done… that?’’ It was the eldest sister asking, By now I was expecting that question.
‘’Around four-thousand times’’ I said with a small bow, now all that was needed was to wait for a judgment…
You see, the damage to one’s psyche from such a life is something beyond imagination. It is a testament to how sturdy the Human Brain and Psyche are, that I am still here and reasonably sane, if that’s a thing, instead of being like the Joker, or this Discord fellow I had heard so much about lately.
I have to admit, changing the topic, that I could not help but find amusing the shocked and confused expression of the Royal Sisters...
‘’And… how long do you plan to stay?’’ This time it was the younger one
The truth being said, I had never thought about that. I came here to avoid what was happening on Earth, I knew that the attempts to put to use the technology to do what was being attempted were usually met with failure, but I could not risk it...
‘’I… I do not really know’’ I said, barely managing to stop myself from calling them princesses…
For the first time in the day I was the one at a loss of words.
I guess it is Karma.
‘’Maybe I could stay here for a while...’’ I really wanted to say a century or two, but we all know how fast things change, and admittedly, it is impossible to predict such things.
An awkward silence fell upon the Throne Room for a few minutes, at least until a butler -or that is what it looked like- came
‘’Breakfast is ready!’’ he called, he apologized for interrupting, then retired
In hindsight, maybe I should have waited until we had eaten before I threw this bomb on them, but it is called hindsight for a reason, isn’t it?
The elder looked at me with a gentle smile so typical of her and walked down
‘’you must be hungry, come on, we should have breakfast...’’
She said, motioning for me to follow, I did. We walked down the halls of the Palace, the sunlight gently bathing them through the windows, until our arrival to the dining room, the only sound I could hear was our steps. Yet for some reason I felt a peace I had not felt in a long time…
Maybe, just maybe, In this strange realm of multi-colored sentient equines I could finally find that Solace I had been looking for so long
The End.