Sebastian's Spirits: Part Seven

     "I'm so sorry."

     Everyone turned to see Sebastian sitting on the floor, fur matted and skin bruised. "I'm sorry for getting everyone in this mess. Guys, you were right. I should never have brought you here. You were just following my orders... but I wasn't thinking of what could have happened."

     No one said anything, but Fredrick knelt beside Sebastian to comfort him and was soon followed by Ava and Jerome. A disapproving Viktoria looked on while Carolyn said nothing. Even though the room was silent, there was unspoken mutual understanding that Sebastian was forgiven.

     As soon as Nikoli had burned the box, the spirits that were eternally confined to it began to change. Though already translucent, their colors began to fade. Merely thin outlines remained and their voices were becoming strained.

     "Guys?" Sebastian murmured as his thoughts recollected as everyone abruptly stood up in horror. "What are you doing that for?"

     "Sebastian, we're not doing anything, I can assure you." Viktoria twisted her forearms and winced as she noted the color was fading.

     "What's going on?" Ava shrieked as her dark pink self became pale. "Did the box break or something?"

     Jerome's shadow body was becoming lighter. "We're fading! Something must have happened to the box! That Zafara did something!"

     "Nikoli must have destroyed it! He actually destroyed the box! Is he mad?!" Fredrick snarled.

     Sebastian was stricken. The four spirits were disappearing fast and he was powerless to do anything. From what they had told him before, they were going to vanish into oblivion. "Stop this somehow!" he pleaded to Jerome who had faded away before his eyes.

     "Sebastian!" Ava and Viktoria cried out as their figures waned and then completely diminished.

     "Carolyn..." A flash of fear emitted from Fredrick's eyes before he too disappeared.

     "Father! Stop this!" Carolyn stumbled forward, her arms outstretched in hopes of stopping Fredrick. She collapsed to her knees and began to sob. "They're gone! This can't be happening!" she wailed.

     "Fredrick! Ava! Jerome! Viktoria! ANYONE!" Sebastian began to turn in every direction to try and catch a glimpse of one of his four friends. No one returned despite his pleas. "Come back... please come back."

     But the room stayed silent.

     "No, no, NO!" Sebastian screamed. Clenched fists attacked the portrait of Vandor that hung in the parlor as Sebastian pulled the frame off and hurled it into the wall. The golden frame cracked and the canvas snapped in half, and after it fell to the ground, Sebastian stood over it with his shoulders heaving as he cried. "If any one of you can hear me... I'm so sorry."

     Be still, my dear Sebastian.

     There was an abrupt flash of light, but that was all Sebastian saw before he met darkness.

     ***

     "Sebastian? Wake up, Sebastian."

     Sebastian awoke to blinding white surroundings. He was lying on the ground in the same position when he awoke in Faerieland, but he felt no fear as he saw the familiar Kougra standing above him. "Grandfather? Where are we?"

     But Roger did not answer his grandson's question right away. "You freed them."

     "Freed who?" He sat up and rubbed his eyes.

     "Fredrick, Viktoria, Ava, and Jerome. The jewelry box was destroyed and the curse was lifted. They're in the flesh again."

     Sebastian shook his head. "But they were fading away forever-"

     "Fading yes, but only to be returned into normal bodies. Apparently Vandor never fixed that part of his spell." Roger grinned. "And the mystery of 'what would happen if the box was destroyed?' has been solved."

     The Lupe smiled, realizing his dream of the four having a life to live had come true. But then he frowned. "I didn't free them," Sebastian said in a huff. "It was that Zafara that had the box. He must have destroyed it."

     "If you hadn't gone to Vandor's mansion, they still would have been trapped. You helped, Sebastian, and I'm proud of your determination."

     Sebastian cradled his head in his paws. "What happened to Vandor?"

     "He won't be coming back," Roger insisted and his mouth formed into a half smirk

     Sebastian squinted. The young Lupe was bright, but his intellect could only be taken so far. "I don't understand."

     "To have the one you love leave you willingly is enough to send anyone into a downward spiral," the Kougra explained. "Vandor thought that for all of those years Carolyn truly loved him. But at the presented opportunity, she took it upon herself to perform a fleeting moment of escape. Vandor thought he was protecting Carolyn, but in the end to have her choose life over 'love' as he thought they shared, he was devastated. His efforts are dead, his will to practice his sorcery is gone, and his mind and soul are numb. The rest of his life will be spent hidden."

     "The mighty Vandor has fallen," Sebastian mused.

     Roger nodded. "He'll die of a broken heart."

     "And Carolyn?"

     "She's fine, Sebastian. Not the same young girl that Fredrick remembers, but nonetheless fine. I'm certain her and Fredrick's relationship will need some building upon, but the love is there to make it work."

     "You know, you still didn't tell me where we are."

     "You wouldn't believe me."

     "I've just met four spirits, went to Altador in the blink of an eye, went head to head with a sorcerer, and that's just the beginning of the crazy adventures that I've had. At this point I'll believe anything."

     Roger sighed. "You were always stubborn, boy. If you must know, then I'll tell you, but it isn't easy to explain. You see... we're at the end of the road for me."

     The realization hit Roger's grandson hard. Sebastian felt a lump begin to form in his throat and tears formed in the corners of his eyes. "The curse wasn't lifted off of you?"

     "I'm afraid not. Things don't always work out the way you want them to work out. But Sebastian, listen to me. I'm so, so proud of you. After the four of them disappeared, you had no concern over if you were going to be cursed to the box. You only cared about the others and their wellbeing. My, how you have grown. You are selfless, you are noble, and I wish that when I was your age I had half the goodness in your heart. Continue to be such an example to your cousins and tell them all the stories that you can."

     "I will," promised Sebastian with a heavy heart. "Every chance that I get, I will."

     "I must go now, Sebastian," Roger said with tears in his eyes. "I love you with all of my heart, my beloved grandson, and I will never forget you. Vandor may have hurt me, but he was unable to hurt the most important thing to me, and that is my love for you. Whenever you need me, I'll be in that brilliant mind of yours as well as your heart."

     The Lupe then said something that he had not said in a long time.

     "I love you, Grandfather," Sebastian whispered, and the two embraced for the very last time. "I may not have said it a lot, but I always have. And I swear, I always will."

     ***

     "Guys, I know Grandfather isn't around anymore. I really am just as sad as all of you. I know you'll all miss him and his stories. But don't worry, because I'll tell stories just like him," Sebastian announced to his cousins, having assumed the seat of Roger that overlooked the little ones sitting on the rug.

     "Grandfather's stories were the best!" Mitzy, Sebastian's tiny Blumaroo cousin, wailed and wiped tears from her eyes. "You can't tell them like he did, Sebastian!"

     "Give me a chance." He held up a blue paw to try and calm down the unruly crowd. "I think you'll like this one."

     And Sebastian told the story of how he met Fredrick, Ava, Viktoria, and Jerome, right up to when he met his grandfather for the last time. The entire time his cousins sat captivated, gasping and laughing and squealing as Sebastian told his story with emphasis and passion that was at first believed to only be achievable by their grandfather. When Sebastian was finished he was met with the cheerful applause of his cousins.

     "Sebastian, that was really good! Tell another one! Please!"

     "All right, I will," Sebastian agreed as he looked past his cousins and towards the living room entrance. "But I'll need a little help from my friends."

     "What story, Sebastian?" came the lightened voice of Fredrick. Standing beside him in the doorway were Jerome, Ava, and Viktoria, happily eyeing Sebastian and his cousins. The four were no longer ghastly shades bound by a jewelry box, but now had bodies that housed their souls. Their colors were brilliant hues and for once Sebastian could not see through them.

     "The time I played a joke on Fredrick... that was a good story." Jerome sighed mockingly, nudging the Gelert in the rib.

     "All those instances were annoying," Fredrick barked. "And are you Sebastian?"

     "Freddie, calm down!" Ava chirped.

     "Now that I'm not confined to a jewelry box, I find all of you much more tolerable," Viktoria purred.

     Sebastian's cousins laughed at the bickering group. Sebastian grinned and with a little help from the others told another story full of more adventure. As Jerome began telling a part, Sebastian leaned over and whispered to Fredrick, "Where's Carolyn?"

     "In the backyard." Fredrick pointed out the window. "She hasn't seen the blue sky in years. She really likes the garden you have back there."

     Sure enough, Carolyn was leaning over the fence of the garden, curly violet hair brushed over her eyes. She was smiling as she carefully held the dainty flower petals in her paws.

     "Tell her that she can pick every flower she wants as long as she always comes back to plant more." Sebastian grinned.

     In turn, Fredrick nodded. "Roger would love that."

     "So you're well aware that you are all welcome to stay here as long as you want, right?"

     "It won't be long until I'm back on my feet, but I thank you. A few days should suffice for all of us."

     "Will you go back to Neovia with Carolyn?"

     Fredrick tilted his head as a thousand thoughts clouded his mind. "Maybe. I haven't completely thought it through. But I don't see why Ava, Jerome, or Viktoria wouldn't return to where they're from. It's just that we haven't aged, and the rest of the world has, so things are going to take a little getting used to."

     "If you ever need some reassurance and support, you know where to find me," Sebastian answered, and Fredrick nodded with joy.

     Jerome had concluded the story. Everyone was looking at Sebastian for his usual enlightening conclusions. Sebastian usually had his own bits of wisdom, but this time he chose to use the quote of someone incredibly special.

     "Let that be a lesson to you all to never give up, even in the face of danger. You never know what..." Sebastian looked at the four gratefully. "...or even who will come about your courageous acts."

The End