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by
The warmth of spring was dull even though Tao sat propped up in a chair by an open window. The sunlight beat down upon him and a gentle breeze brought the delicate strands of heat to the ever-cold scholar. His bones felt thin and brittle with the cold. Sighing, Tao returned his gaze to the book in his lap and wondered if he'd have the patience needed to deal with the foolish young man who reminded him so much of himself.
Rana was out and about doing something of great importance to the young man. `Whatever that might be,' Tao mused wryly to himself. He knew most considered him an eccentric at best, and a crazy old man at worst, and therefore no one informed him about much of anything.
Of course, if he didn't have the bone knife in his possession, and always on his person, sometimes he would question his own sanity as well. No one could reconcile the sight of him, a crippled old man, with the Eiron scholar who'd traveled with the BeastMaster so long ago. Then, too, most of the stories about their lives were regarded as legend instead of fact, which didn't help his credibility any either.
If he'd chosen somewhere closer to Dar's kingdom to live out the end of his life then he would be respected, not indulged; listened to, instead of ignored. Well, perhaps not. It had been a long time ago that he and Dar had traveled together after all. It seemed like yesterday, but perhaps all old men thought that their youth flashed by without even realizing it. His heart ached, thinking about the man he'd left behind; the love that he'd left behind.
"Tao?"
Looking up at his name, Tao smiled in honest pleasure at the young woman who entered the room so hesitantly. Waving a welcoming hand to her, he said, "Come in, Ari, come in. It's good to see you."
The dark haired woman walked over to him, dragging a stool next to the chair to sit on. Tall and strong, she resembled her grandmother to an uncanny degree with only her more delicate features showing the difference. She was just as stubborn and loyal as her grandmother too, Tao thought with affection.
"You looked so sad, Tao. Is everything all right?" Ari asked hesitantly, looking up at him.
Resting a hand on her shoulder, Tao nodded. "Just an old wound Ari, but thank you for asking."
"Would you tell me about it?" Ari asked, dark eyes wide with a mixture of curiosity and compassion.
His lips twisted into a faint imitation of a smile. "It's a bitter tale, Ari. One probably best left alone."
"It might help for you to talk about it," she suggested.
The honest smile returned as he regarded the young woman. "You're a lot more subtle than your grandmother, I'll give you that."
Grinning suddenly, Ari winked. "That's what mother says. That and she wouldn't trust either of us in a china shop."
At that, Tao laughed out loud, picturing Arina at her prime moving through a shop filled with priceless baubles. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he said, "It's not that Arina couldn't have done it, she just wouldn't have cared about knocking things over. Actually, she'd probably just roll her eyes and not even go in."
"You should laugh more often, Tao," Ari said quietly.
Shrugging, Tao drew the blanket closer and looked out the window. "It's spring now. Dar will be in the Sanctuary most likely. It's a beautiful place, Ari. We lived there the first year after we met. Everything you could possibly need is there."
"It sounds lovely," Ari said, moving the stool a little closer.
Tao glanced back at her and nodded. "It is."
"Why did you come here instead of going there with Dar?"
`What can I say to that?' Tao wondered wearily. That he'd left Dar to protect the BeastMaster so that others wouldn't find out that he didn't age? That Dar belonged in the other realm, where magic still ruled the day and his unique powers still mattered in the lives of everyday people. "It's complicated."
"You love him, don't you?" Ari asked.
Sighing, Tao nodded. "I always have and I always will. Being without him, well, it's like missing half of myself."
"You don't have to answer this but, if he loved you even half of how much you love him, then how could he have let you go?" Ari questioned. "You're so wonderful, Tao. The kindest and smartest man I've ever known!"
He smiled at that, hearing the undertone of a crush on him despite his age and twisted leg. "Thank you, Ari. You're very sweet to say so. As for Dar letting me go…he didn't really have a choice."
He remembered the scene vividly though it was almost thirty years ago. His heart broke as though he again relived it. He'd forced himself to be cold to Dar for the first time in their lives together. He'd known that the only way to keep Dar safe was to leave him, but he'd also known that Dar would never voluntarily allow that.
So Tao had picked fights with Dar incessantly over little things that didn't matter. He built his case as carefully as any master craftsman would. Over the period of a year or so, Tao had slowly picked apart their love even though it was killing him. Dar had been baffled and hurt. Dar had tried everything to make things better, to fix whatever perceived problem Tao harped on.
Tao had refused his bed to Dar for the last two months, unable to continue the charade any other way because he desperately wanted his lover. The final scene had come when he'd found Dar being comforted by Arina. It had been too perfect an opportunity to waste and Tao had used it. He'd accused them both of disloyalty, of returning to their roles as lovers. The astonishment and hurt from Arina and Dar had almost swayed him, but Tao held true.
Before leaving the palace, Tao had made Dar swear not to follow him. Finally driven beyond capacity, Dar had snarled and thrown his knife into the floor at Tao's feet. Dar had ordered him to take the knife if he trusted Dar so little, that way Tao could use it on him if Dar followed. Even now Tao could see the shock on Arina and Dar's face when he had calmly pulled the knife out of the floor and tucked it into his sash.
Realizing that Ari was still waiting for an answer, Tao marshaled his distracted thoughts and replied, "I lied to him. Over and over until he finally let me go."
There were tears in Ari's eyes as she asked, "But why?"
"To protect me."
Tao froze at the voice, recognizing it instantly. Closing his eyes, he whispered, "Dar."
He heard a gasp from Ari but then it seemed as though her presence melted away. A few moments later, strong hands rested gently on Tao's shoulders. Heat seemed to radiate from them directly into Tao, warming him for the first time since he'd left Dar so long ago. Gentle lips pressed against the top of Tao's head as Dar's hands slid down his shoulder, then around his chest to hold him tightly.
"Life's been hard for you," Dar observed, his voice filled with pain. Tao nodded, unable to speak. His hands gripped Dar's arms tightly to reassure himself that Dar really was there.
"You've done what you set out to do, Tao. And you were right to do it," Dar murmured, kissing just under Tao's ear. "Without you, I did marry and have children. My eldest daughter rules now. It was hard without you but the land prospers, the balance of nature is maintained and I made sure that the Eiron way was passed down, along with the Sula and Eldor. Our people live in the new generations that have been taught their traditions. Now...now it's time to come home, Tao."
"I can't. I'm a liability to you now," Tao whispered back. "My leg, it was broken when I fell into a ravine a long time ago and never healed properly. I'm old and weak, Dar, not the man you knew."
"The man I love," Dar murmured, squeezing briefly before moving to kneel before Tao.
Looking down at Dar, Tao felt as though time had flown backwards. The golden warrior in his prime was kneeling in front of him. Nothing had changed for Dar; he was still as strong and beautiful as that fateful day the knife had been thrown down. Reaching out, Tao's hand shook before cupping the faintly stubbled cheek. Clear golden-green eyes looked back at him, smiling with love and forgiveness. "You figured out what I had done almost right away, didn't you?"
The half-smile Tao remembered so well lit Dar's face as the BeastMaster nodded. "I promised I wouldn't follow and I didn't. I hoped...hoped that you would return."
"But I didn't."
"But you didn't," Dar agreed. He leaned forward to lay his head on Tao's knee. "I respected that you'd made a difficult decision and stood by the promise."
"And now?" Tao asked, succumbing to the urge to run his fingers through the soft golden hair.
"And now it's no longer a necessary sacrifice," Dar answered. "My daughter rules in my stead."
"But..."
"Trust me," Dar interrupted. "My time there is done, has been done for a long time. Just as your time here is done. We no longer have to be alone, Tao."
Bending forward, Tao encircled Dar with his arms and relished the contact. "It would be so good...not to be alone."
They stayed that way for a long time before Dar shifted and pulled out of Tao's embrace. He stood and held a hand out. Tao looked at it for a long moment then took it, finding himself immediately pulled into Dar's strong arms. Wrapping his arms around Dar's waist, Tao hid his face against Dar's chest. "I've missed you unbearably. I love you."
"I know," Dar murmured in his ear. "Are you ready?"
Tao nodded and pulled away, hobbling back a few steps before he realized something was different. Frowning, Tao waited, trying to figure out what it was. He glanced over at Dar's broad smile before he understood. His leg didn't hurt! Then he looked down at himself and saw he was in different clothes, familiar clothes though. The green tunic and brown pants from when he and Dar had first traveled together. "Dar? What's...what's going on?"
"It's time for our next journey together, Tao. It's one that I have waited many years to go on with you," Dar answered.
The knowledge struck Tao and he gasped, "We're dead?"
Dar nodded. "I died years ago in an accident. I've been waiting for you all this time, watching over you as best I could."
"I thought I was going mad," Tao whispered, only just now looking towards the window where his empty body lay, still and unmoving in the chair. At where Ari was crying over him. He didn't remember dying but it must have been just after she'd asked him why Dar had let him go. Looking back at Dar, he said, "All those times when I heard your voice, or felt a touch that I knew was yours...it really was you?"
Dar nodded. "I only wish that it could have been more."
Crossing the short distance, Tao threw his arms around Dar and hungrily kissed him. They were free of everything now, they could be together for eternity and Tao would have it no other way. All those empty years fell away as Dar's love and warmth and strength saturated into him. Tao could feel the reality of Dar's body against his, the hunger his lover felt as strongly as he. Whatever this new journey of the after-life brought, they would face it together as they hadn't been able to do in life.
"Beastmaster: The Legend Continues" is the property of Tribune Entertainment Co.
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