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Qualopec walked towards Tihocan, who was standing down by the stern. He had been standing there since they had set sail, and far from the only one, many of the citizens also looked on as if in trance. Still they gave their kings a wide berth, a semblance of privacy.
Well, kings. Were they really kings anymore?
The people in his way parted for him, few offering a bow, even fewer managing to tear their eyes away from their home.
Atlantis.
Broken and burning.
Maybe the people were stronger, maybe Tihocan was stronger, than Qualopec, for being able to look on as the continent they had loved so much was reduced to no more than pieces, rubble, flames and floods and so much smoke raising to the sky that the cloudless early afternoon felt more like dusk.
Tihocan moved his head, but not his eyes, towards him as Qualopec approached. “Do you think… it is somehow possible? That she somehow… cursed us, brought destruction upon the land in revenge?”
A spark of irritation flickered in Qualopec's mind. Even now, in face of such an unimaginable disaster, Tihocan just couldn't help but mention that person.
“No,” Qualopec answered curtly. “I have not been thinking of her at all.”
Tihocan chuckled mirthlessly. “Of course, I have forgotten.”
Qualopec turned his gaze towards the heartbreaking sight, slowly, only so slowly getting smaller as they sailed on. He wished they could go faster.
“It is important now to focus on the future, on our people. We must find a place for them to start a new life.”
Tihocan nodded, his eyes for the first time leaving the destroyed island to flicker towards a group of several people by the side of the ship, about half of them no more than children, huddled together in worn clothes.
Qualopec couldn't help a soft tug upward of his lips. Tihocan probably thought he wouldn't notice. And Qualopec wouldn't tell him otherwise, wouldn't reveal he knew Tihocan's deepest secret. Interesting, how in times of disaster people couldn't hide who they truly were. Not that Tihocan hadn't tried hard to assure the evacuation of the court, of the nobility, of the scholars… but anyone else would consider the orphans the bottom of the list, an afterthought at best.
Qualopec was absolutely sure that had it not been for Tihocan, these men, women and children would have been left for dead. No-one would probably have been able to find them quite so fast either. But Qualopec was well-aware that Tihocan had still been regularly visiting his secret family – family not by blood but by unfortunate circumstances out of their hands. Family that would plunge Tihocan to the bottom of society if the public ever found out about his origins.
“All that we have been working for...” Tihocan murmured mournfully.
“Much has been lost,” Qualopec replied just as quietly.
“Was it all in vain? All our… all that we have done… were our efforts a waste of time, a life squandered on chasing something better only to be robbed of everything so cruelly...”
Qualopec wasn't used to being the one to cheer up anybody, but the past day had been anything like what he had ever been used to.
“Not all is lost. We have saved many people. We carry with us our knowledge, our culture, our memories.”
“You are right,” Tihocan sighed, not visibly comforted at all. “Still, wherever we find ourselves, it will not be easy. It will be a long time before we can assure any semblance of safety for our people. Even if our political power keeps being respected, there are always possibilities for chaos, for someone else attempting to take charge, for order no longer being respected… It might not have been perfect in Atlantis but there were foundations upon which we could build and create. Now there are no securities to hold onto, those that lived well have lost it all and those we have been failing may experience hardships even beyond their imaginings.”
Qualopec chuckled at Tihocan's tirade and the younger man shot him a betrayed glare. Not very visible behind his glasses, but Qualopec was good at reading his expression from the rest of his face after all the long years they had ruled together.
Qualopec raised a placating hand. “I know how much you love order, everything being clear, arranged and neat. But maybe...” He dared to glance at the group of huddled adults and children, what with Tihocan setting his sight once again on the smouldering rubble, “...maybe this will be good for Atlantis. For her people at least. A fresh start of sorts. Difficult at first but with the possibility of a more positive outcome in the end. Who knows, maybe a law you have tried so hard to push through will be accepted without a complaint now, for a whole new legal system could very well be created out of the ruins of our home.”
Tihocan frowned, but it was thoughtful rather than angry. “A rather drastic measures to push through a few laws.”
“A few?” Qualopec repeated. “Despite the way you managed to hold yourself back – barely – it was clear to everyone how radical some of your ideas could sound. Starting fresh might actually make this easier for you.”
“You say this as if I should be happy for the loss of our home,” Tihocan tried accusing him, without any heat.
Qualopec didn't raise to the bait. “I simply suggest to make the best out of a tragedy. You often like to focus only on what you have lost. The laws and rules… The lands and buildings… Her...” he whispered the last word, nearly silent, yet Tihocan's sharp turn of his head towards him told him he'd been heard.
Qualopec turned around, overlooking all the people on the ship, and the other ships sailing on both their sides, filled with people as well. “Just try to focus on the future, on what we can do now. What we can salvage from the ruins of our home, and what we can make even better than it ever was.”
“How optimistic of you,” Tihocan spoke behind him and there was some tentative amusement in it. Qualopec considered it a success.
“Sometimes, I do have to be optimistic, when you forget how to do so.”
“Truly a miracle,” Tihocan moved to stand by his side, looking at their people, finally turning his back on the burning ruins. “I suppose, in this one small way, things are already starting to look better.”
Qualopec huffed out a soft laugh. Tihocan was right of course, they had lost so much, it was a tragedy that would be talked about for centuries, millennia to come. But it would do them no good to dwell on it now. They would rebuild. Perhaps nothing quite so impressive, nothing quite so awe-inspiring as Atlantis had been, but… maybe, just maybe, better in its own way.