Chapter 3991: The Hard Part (Part 2)

"Gods, I’m so sorry." Friya looked around and discovered that after serving Eryl, she had made one mess after another. "I don’t know what’s wrong with me."

She rushed out of the field hospital with tears already streaking down her cheeks. Nalrond had to jog to catch up with her and Warp them back to the tower.

There, Friya broke down crying, flooding the Agni with a torrent of jumbled words that were meant to express the depth of Drenya’s betrayal and the pain that the reopening of the old wound inflicted on Friya.

Nalrond held her tight, nodding from time to time and handing her a handkerchief to blow her nose when necessary.

"Can you believe my birth mother is such a bitch?" Friya sobbed. "Because I can’t!"

"Me neither." The Agni replied.

"I don’t know what’s worse, whether discovering that she’s still alive or that she’s going to die a dog’s death. If she’s lucky." Friya sniffled. "I know she deserves everything that comes her way, but..."

"But there are things you don’t wish even to someone like your birth mother." Nalrond completed the phrase for her.

"Yes." Friya hugged him tight.

Nalrond remained silent, lulling her until she calmed down.

"So, what do we want to do?" He asked once Friya’s expression became a mask of focus, and he could hear the gears in her head turning.

"Right now? Maybe go back to our patients and then lunch." She replied.

"That’s not what I meant, and you know it, smartass." Nalrond kissed her forehead. "I was talking about Drenya."

"What about her?" Friya grunted. "For all we know, she’s the one who betrayed the Black Stork tribe to climb the power ladder of the outlaw tribes."

"Unlikely." Nalrond shrugged. "Drenya wouldn’t have put so much effort into developing her village if she intended to tear it down all along. Also, she’s too smart not to know that a traitor rarely outlives her usefulness, and with the Black Stork gone, she has nothing to offer the Yellow Wind.

"There is no way that she was smart enough never to reveal the crimes for which she’s wanted in the Kingdom, and then she blew up nine years of work for nothing, and you know it. You just want a reason to wash your hands of her fate."

"I’d love to, but my stupid brain doesn’t let me." Friya sighed. "Do you think I’m stupid for feeling bad about a woman who hurt me so much?"

"You’re not stupid. Just human." Nalrond replied. "I know it’s not the same thing, but I put everything on the line to save Salman, and I hated the guy’s guts. I understand how weird it feels to want to help someone you despise."

"Thank you for helping me make up my mind." She held him tight one more time before stepping away. "Now, however, comes the hard part."

"Yeah, that’s going to be brutal." He nodded.

"We need to find a way to talk Lith into coming with us and tracking the Yellow Wind tribe with the Eyes of Menadion." Friya said.

"We need to find a way to tell Jirni we’re bailing out on her vacation to rescue your birth mother." Nalrond said.

"Wait, what?" They said in unison.

"Why would you waste your time talking to Lith when you know he has a wallet beating in his chest? Just ask Solus. She has an actual heart, and when she says yes, Lith will follow." Nalrond said.

"How can you worry about my mother in a moment like this? I mean Jirni." Friya said. "I’m sure she doesn’t mind if..."

Her voice trailed off as the realization dawned on her.

"If we drop everything and you put your life and that of our children on the line to save the woman who abandoned you?" Nalrond said.

"Yes. I mean, no." Friya shook her head. "There’s no risk involved. The Yellow Wind is a tribe of humans. They can’t do anything to us."

"Unless you just jinxed it and their leader is an Eldritch. Or Meln. Maybe Arthan." He replied. "There’s no way to know for sure until we get there."

"Gods, you’re right. Mom is going to kill me." Friya said.

***

As predicted, convincing Lith to help was a herculean task.

"We’re not going to waste our time rescuing a bunch of ingrates and a piece of work like Drenya Solivar." He said. "I’d rather spend the afternoon rearranging my sock drawer by color, and I only have black socks."

Convincing Solus, however, presented a much easier challenge.

"Of course, we’re going to help you, Friya. That’s what friends are for." She hugged Friya. "You owe Drenya nothing, but you owe yourself closure. You deserve to close that Chapter of your life on your terms."

"Seriously?" Lith snorted, crossing his arms.

"Yes." Solus snorted back. "If you don’t want to come, you are free to stay here."

"Is this really about Friya, or are you that desperate to give Jirni a good reason to forgive you for Dripha’s ’mama’ accident?" Lith asked.

"Both." Solus blushed a bit. "Is Jirni still angry about Dripha mistaking me for her?"

"It’s hard to say with Mom, but if I had to guess, I’d say she’s fuming." Friya replied.

Jirni considered Dripha her opportunity to make up for all the mistakes she had made with Phloria, yet so far, she couldn’t catch a break.

The impending threat of the Gernoff had ruined the happiness of her pregnancy, and after giving birth, Jirni had to hide in the Verhen Mansion for months. After that, Dripha had learned the word ’damn’ first, then ’dada’, and lastly, she now called Solus ’mama’ whenever she saw her.

"That’s great." Solus sighed.

***

"You don’t have to worry about me, dear." Much to everyone’s surprise, Jirni didn’t bat an eye at the news. "This is your life, and Drenya is your mother. You have every right to do what you think is right."

"No, Mom. Don’t you dare say that." Friya, instead, took Jirni’s reaction personally. "Yes, this is my life, but you are a part of it and deserve to have an opinion about anything I do. As for Drenya, she’s not my mother. She just gave birth to me.

"She never cared for me. She only cared about what I could do for her, and her choice to seek asylum among her fellow outlaws proves it. You, instead, nagged at me and tried to manipulate me more times than I can count, but your goal was always to help me, not yourself.

"You have supported me with the academy, my mercenary guild, my pact with Faluel, and my relationship with Nalrond. You are my mom. Also, you are the only woman my twins will call grandma."

Friya brought Jirni’s hand to her still-flat stomach, making Jirni’s eye twitch for a fraction of a second.

"Thanks, dear." Jirni said. "Please, be careful out there."

"I will, Mom." Mother and daughter embraced for a long moment.

Orion said nothing as his desire to stay by Jirni’s side and his fatherly worry about Friya warred for control of his heart.

"Don’t make that face, Dad." Friya hugged Orion tight. "I’m not going alone."

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