PART IV: HEIRLOOM

"What w-w-was that about?" Pixyl asked as Callie rejoined the others.

"He was just giving me some advice," Callie replied. "He thinks the Commandant has some kind of plan for me, so he had a few things he wanted to share."

"Plans?" Ambria asked.

"Nothing specific, just strongly implied."

"Well, you led both the missions, so that makes sense," Lhawni said.

"I didn't lead the second," Callie said. "I just took over for Vanis for a few minutes."

"You took over when it mattered, Callie," Ambria said, rolling her eyes. "Without you, things could have gone differently."

Jasryn timidly raised her paw. "What missions?"

With that, Ambria excitedly started to tell the stories of what had happened. Jasryn's shock showed on her face as the Faun, with a little help from Lhawni, slightly embellished a few things. Callie occasionally butted in to keep the story reasonably accurate. The details were kept sparse in the interest of time, but after a few minutes, the Gnoll's eyes were wide in surprise and wonder.

"Wow!" Jasryn said. "Do you think they might promote you to sub-captain too?"

"Oh, that could be fun!" Lhawni said, her eyes going bright. "Both of us, together at the Officer Academy, I mean. We'd get into a lot of fun trouble."

"Nah," Callie said. "Remember? I got promoted and demoted in less than a day. I have a feeling I'm not good officer material."

"I'm still not even sure how in the stars I am," Lhawni said. "I tried to talk to Maugra about it, but she just suggested I talk to the Arkan before he left."

"Did you?" Ambria asked.

"No! He makes me nervous."

"Ugh!" Callie groaned, rolling her eyes. She took the Goblin's arm and pulled her from the group. "Go ask him, before you miss your chance and he leaves. He doesn't bite. And if you don't, you'll regret it."

"But…"

"Go!" Callie gently, but with purpose, pushed her friend toward the Arkan, who was currently talking to the Legate. When Lhawni stopped and looked back, Callie waved her hand in a shooing motion. "Go!" she said again. The others soon joined in the shooing.

Nervously, the newly minted sub-captain took a deep breath for strength and then walked off.

"Eh, she'll be fine," Callie said. "I'm sure it will only be mildly traumatizing."

After a minute or so, Callie saw that Lhawni and the Arkan had started talking, the Legate stepping away. Even better, he was taking her on one of his "walk with me" tours, so it looked like Lhawni might get some of the clarity she was seeking. This was good, because the poor Goblin had been going on and on since the dinner about how she didn't understand the why of her promotion and was generally certain it was either a mistake or a joke at her expense. Everyone else saw it and had told her that, but nothing seemed to get past her disbelief.

"Callie," a voice called. Turning, she saw Nekini. He gestured with his head for her to come over.

"Be back in a bit," Callie said to the rest of the group. She hadn't talked to any of the band members that morning, since they'd be busy packing up and getting ready for the trip home. They'd all agreed to say their goodbyes the previous night for that very reason, so she was a little perplexed that her fellow Gnome wanted to talk.

"What's up?"

"Do you have a few minutes?"

"Sure," Callie nodded. "At least until we're called into formation, but the ten-minute bell hasn't rung yet." Then she noticed that Nekini was strangely quiet, as if something important was on his mind. He started walking off, and Callie followed. "Is everything okay?"

"It is, or it will be."

"Did something happen?"

Nekini shook his head. "No, nothing bad. Just… as a warning, Deduxia is a bit of an emotional mess." He stopped and looked at her, his face full of a swirling mix of his own emotions. Sadness, grief, worry. It was… odd. Emotional mess? Something was definitely wrong, despite Nekini's assurances.

"Just let her talk for a bit at first, okay?" he asked.

"Sure," Callie said, still confused but willing to follow his lead.

They walked a bit more, soon coming to Deduxia sitting on a small hillside beneath one of the trees, surrounded by wildflowers. She'd obviously been crying; the lines of wiped-away tears still glistened on her cheeks. Even though she immediately put on a big smile at seeing Callie, she looked sad. No, not just sad, something deeper and heavier than sadness.

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Callie didn't say anything. She simply sat down next to the Bard, followed Nekini's request, and kept quiet. Nekini had backed away a bit, leaning against the tree to give them space.

Of course, Callie really wanted to ask what was wrong, and it was hard not to. Instead, fidgeting, she reached down and picked a small flower. It looked much like a daisy, with seventeen little yellow petals surrounding a red center. She plucked a few petals off before handing the flower to Deduxia, who was also fidgeting. She began pulling petals, too, while Callie picked another. The two sat like that for a few minutes, saying nothing. Callie eventually provided them both with new flowers when the ones they had were picked clean.

"I've been lucky," Deduxia finally said. "I've married two of the most wonderful people I've ever met. I was young and silly when I married Kilichar, for a while just seeing him as wise and caring and wonderful. As time passed, that awe wore off, allowing us to actually live our lives together. I was so happy. And eventually, that ended."

She'd told this story the evening before, although more boisterously, making fun of her naivety and how much older her husband had been. They'd all laughed, glossing over how things ended to keep things light. Maybe telling that story had dredged up some memories?

"We chose to never have children," Deduxia continued. "It wasn't the Beastkin way. They're supposed to have so many. But because he was with a Gnome, that made the pressure a little easier for him. As for me, I knew I was too young to be a mother. I wasn't ready. Soon, it was too late anyway. He got sick, like all Beastkin eventually do, and died as I held his paw."

She gestured toward her husband. He walked over from the tree carrying something, and then gently laid her guitar across her lap. Idly, Deduxia plucked at a string. It sounded out a single, beautiful note that felt strangely hollow and mournful.

"About six months before he died, Kilichar bought this for me. He had it custom-made, because I'm so small. I honestly thought it was a silly gift. Growing up, we couldn't afford Bard schooling. And while I was married, despite how much he pushed me, I never pursued it. I was happy with our life."

She quietly plucked two strings, one after the other, and their purity slowly faded away.

"He told me so many times I needed to become a Bard. He even called it my 'destiny.' Looking back, I think he was trying to give me a direction to go after he was gone. And when he was… I found I needed it."

Deduxia laughed. It was a hollow laugh. "Then I met this fool eight years later." She smiled. So did Nekini. "I still can't believe I got pelted with fruit during the contest! I hated him, you know. Absolutely loathed him! For a few hours, anyway."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. I wanted to smash Nekini's face in with this very instrument."

"Thank you for not doing that, by the way," Nekini said, sitting down on her right. The three of them laughed, quiet and simple.

"We woke up the next morning in bed together, and ten seconds later he said we should get married," Deduxia said with a sigh. "I still sort of hated him, but I just knew I had to say yes. I've never doubted that decision in all these years."

She strummed another chord, listened to the notes fade for a moment, then silenced them.

"Kilichar asked me to do three things after he was gone. First, to follow this dream of becoming a Bard, a dream I didn't even know I had. Second, and he was quite insistent on this, to move on and find new love. And third…" She choked up. "The third was to give this guitar to my own child. He told me that it wasn't really mine, but it was a gift for them. I was simply its caretaker until it was time."

She sniffled. "I got pregnant, a few years after Nekini and I were married, you know? We'd planned it. Welcomed it even. We had this crazy dream of being a family of traveling minstrels. It was going to be wonderful, and my baby would grow up learning to play on this gift from a long-gone love."

Her tears started to fall again. "But the baby died inside me. A boy. I don't know why. I think I did everything right. I avoided stress and wine, I even cut back performances. But he still died. One day he was kicking, the next… gone. It took days before it was over. He was so, so tiny. And so, so beautiful."

She looked at Callie and took her hand, squeezing it gently.

"He would've been about your age now."

Callie couldn't speak. The words just wouldn't come. Instead, she plucked at a flower again, tears of her own slipping unbidden down her cheeks.

"So," Deduxia said, taking a deep breath, "I instead give this to you."

Gently, she placed the guitar in Callie's lap.

"What?" Callie gasped, dropping the flower. "No! I can't!" Then she caught herself, remembering where she actually was. "No, really, I can't. Not with where I'm going!"

"We talked to Thorn," Nekini said. "He approved it. Endorsed it, even. Said music is always welcome, as a way to boost morale."

"Still," Callie said, shaking her head, "I can't accept this. It's too much."

"You can," Nekini said softly but firmly.

"But…"

"Please," Deduxia said. Her eyes were filled with grief. And also filled with relief. "I know you aren't my child. But you're an echo of what he could've been. A beautiful, wonderful echo. Take it, please. Someday, pass it on to your own children, and maybe share the story of how it came to them."

Callie was simply stunned. "I… I don't know what to say."

"We've packed everything for you," Nekini said, clearing his throat slightly. "A rugged case, picks, replacement strings. Even repair parts. Everything I could scrounge. I'll send you more if you need me to."

"You're… sure?" Callie asked. "This means so much to you."

"Which is exactly why I want to give it to you," Deduxia said. "I was only ever its caretaker, remember? Until it could go to its true owner."

Callie opened her mouth to object again, but then the ten-minute bell rang. She looked over her shoulder toward the courtyard, panic flickering in her eyes.

Then she looked into theirs. She saw something in them, a kind of parental connection. Sure, they were Gnomes, but now she was too, and she couldn't help but feel a sudden familial kinship with them.

She sighed. "I really don't know what to say. Thank you! A thousand thank-yous. A million."

Nekini stood and took the guitar from Callie as she stood too. "I'll pack this up and bring it over. Go do your army thing."

Deduxia stood as well. Her eyes were still wet, but also happy.

Callie hesitated, torn. Then, doing the most Gnome thing she could, she hugged Deduxia, and then Nekini.

"Thank you so, so much!" she squeaked out again.

The Gnome couple watched as Callie ran off, nearly tripping twice, before disappearing over a rise.

Deduxia hugged her husband's arm tightly, her head leaning on his shoulder. They stood in silence, just being together.

"She's not your daughter," Nekini finally said, his voice almost a whisper.

"I know."

"You're not her mother either."

"I know. I don't care, though."

Nekini was quiet for a moment. "Neither do I."

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