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Scott Springwell did not ask for any of this.
His mother should not have died how she did, before his own too-young eyes.
His father should not have been taken by that illness that he could not prevent.
And yet, they were gone from the world, leaving Scott on his own, save for select few people that he was just beginning to know.
Upon coming to Blue Kingdom, Scott was shy as shy could be, unwilling to speak, spiteful of his conscription. His hope was to do his job for a while and then, perhaps the monarch would let him leave.
He’d only wanted to return home to his home and father.
But when it was all gone, when he failed to turn to his new friends for comfort and help, they came anyway.
Of course, there were people like Graecie and 4C, Owain and Shan, Eloise, but the ones who helped the most were Mae and Nom.
For the months the mage had spent in the Blue Kingdom, Mae and Nom had constantly been his companions.
His friends.
Mae was always there, whether to talk or just sit in silence with, she always understood. They both had their own problems, their own demons, and they recognised that sometimes, the voices in your heads were quieter just with company.
The rogue was bright and happy more often than not, up for some fun. Her very presence commanded that you have a good time.
Nom was similar to Mae in many ways but different in more. He was dedicated to his loved ones in a way unparallelled by anyone Scott had met. Often, he was brash and reckless but also soft.
It was obvious to all that the knight was always at war with someone, whether it was a friend, foe or his own mind. Scott had thought it was quite unproductive, but he never said anything. Nom was good company in a way that not even Mae was. It was like there was some connection between the two of them in a way that could not be spoken of, even if you tried. If something was wrong with one, the other seemed to just know. Somehow, they would always end up talking, one way or another.
More than once, they fell out due to Nom’s rashness, through some misunderstanding or lie, but they every time it was as if fate was working to mend their bond.
When Scott returned to the Blue Kingdom from his trip home, it was Nom there to comfort him. The knight did not hesitate to offer a shoulder to cry on.
They’d even swore that there would be no secrets.
It felt wrong to keep anything from Nom, like that invisible bond was insisting against it. He knew the other felt the same, even if he still lied. It seemed that whenever Nom kept anything from him, the knight was trying to protect him from something.
But when Nom told him and Mae about his deal with the Crea-king?
It was like the world was crashing down around Scott.
He’d known something was wrong for a while by then, he’d just felt it, and yet, Scott hadn’t anticipated anything like that. He hadn’t expected his best friend to go and do something that he knew could get him killed for only extra strength.
But Scott couldn’t find it in himself to be angry, even when he argued and reasoned with Nom, he knew he couldn’t.
Simply because, if Scott Springwell was put in a position where he could possibly save his friends and end the war, he had no doubt that he’d take it.
Mae didn’t seem to understand the knight’s reasoning, raging and sobbing at him, but he weathered her anger without complaint.
“Why’d you do it, Nom?” Scott’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“So I can do what I need to do to protect all of Blue Kingdom.” The waiver that had been in his voice throughout the conversation so far was gone, replaced with the resolve that told Scott what he needed to know: There would be no changing Nom’s mind.
Scott watched as Nom changed day by day, before his very eyes.
He tried every spell in his arsenal to cure his friend, but Scott already knew it was hopeless. Anyone with a magical talent could surely feel the ancientness of whatever the Crea-king was. It was not something any ordinary mage could undo.
Hopefully, when they killed the creature, Nom would be freed with it.
The mage was trying to ignore the feeling in his chest that had never been wrong yet. It was painful enough to watch his Nom change into something resembling the horrid creature that resided in the dungeon without the voice in his head telling him that there would be no freedom for Nom.
He’d convinced himself it would be wrong.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
That connection was not wrong.
Everything went so, so wrong, and although Nom had insisted that it wasn’t his fault, Scott couldn’t help but wish he’d done something.
When they set foot in the dungeon to take care of the Crea-king one last time, Scott had chosen to ignore the signs that had been right in front of him. It would’ve been clear to a blind man that Nom was becoming weaker and weaker with each heart they removed.
And yet.
And yet Scott didn’t connect the dots until moments before Nom told him. Until it was too late.
Until his best friend in the whole world was dying.
All over again, Scott’s world fell apart.
Unlike with his parents’ deaths, the reality of the situation hit Scott fast and hard, the sheer force of it nearly knocking the legs out from under him. The realisation that he was going to lose one of the people that had become his new family was like a ton of bricks to the head.
But still, Scott stood tall and strong, for both his friends and Nom.
Despite the pain that had been trying to tear his chest apart, Scott supported the man with all the features of a creaking to the place he’d chosen to...
To the cliff where Nom had chosen to die.
It had destroyed everything that Scott had rebuilt in himself after his father's death, everything he’d thought he’d fixed within his mind was being torn down with every single step he took with Nom leaning on him, toward his death.
As he watched the knight he’d grown so fond of stand atop that cliff, eyes fixed on his very last sunset, something so crucial inside of Scott shattered to pieces. It took every last bit of his self-restraint to not scream and cry, to not kick and hit, beg and plead for his best friend to not go.
Instead, only silent tears slipped down his face, one after the other.
“Promise me you don’t blame yourself.” There was an unrivalled pain in Nom’s face. He knew what he was asking Scott was not possible. He knew that Scott would blame himself, no matter what he said. “Tell me you don’t. Say it.”
“I promise.” It was a lie.
Even after it was all over, Scott found that it wasn’t the same. Nothing would ever be the same again.
“Were you serious about taking me with you?”
Scott wasn’t expecting the quiet voice as Mae crept out of the shadows behind him. “Oh god Mae,” he nearly leaped a foot in the air in shock. “Yes, of course you’re coming with me. If you want.” The mage’s voice was hoarse from disuse over the past week.
Everyone in both kingdoms was in mourning of some shape or form, but some were taking it harder than others.
Scott had heard most people’s voices across the wilting flower bridge, conversing in or near the castle. He could not figure out how they could be so normal.
It was like there was a hand in his chest, or rather, resin in his lungs, constantly crushing him. Breathing was a task now and Scott had resigned to spending most of each day in bed.
The tears had run dry on day two and now, the mage just lay there, turning his every moment with Nom over in his head repeatedly.
He couldn’t remember nearly enough.
If he had just spent more time with Nom, while he was still there. If only he’d committed each word and part of his face and tiny mannerism to memory.
The only time Scott moved from where he lay was to retrieve the food that someone had been leaving for him. He knew Nom wouldn’t want him to wither away, so he ate and he drank and he watered one single flower.
The rest could wither and die but not that lone dandelion.
The one that Nom had given him. No one had given Scott a flower before and it still sat where it’d been placed that day.
With the florist’s magic, that flower would live as long as he did.
Whenever he tended the dandelion, it was like the rope around his lungs loosened slightly. There was some part of him that just knew it was Nom smiling, wherever he was.
The feeling only gave him a break when he rose from bed, so he tried to stay up as often as possible.
And it was on one occasion that he’d poked his head out to collect his food delivery that Mae spoke to him.
He hadn’t seen Mae since the day Nom died, since he’d offered her a place on his travels.
Frankly, she looks awful. Her hair was askew and slightly matted, eyes dull and sunken. Her clothes appeared crumpled and unkempt.
Scott didn’t imagine he looked a whole lot better.
“Of course I want to come,” The small smile on the rogue's face was enough to outweigh the disarray that her appearance was in.
The journey would be better with Mae.
Yes, it was something he was meant to do with Nom, but plans change. Mae was suffering as much as him and maybe, this time, the grief would be easier to bear with another. “There is no one I would rather see the world with.”
When Mae lunched herself at Scott to hug him, he nearly wobbled and fell on still stiff legs. “We both know that’s not true,” her voice was muffled into his cloak. “But I’m honoured to be second.”
Scott couldn’t bring himself to tell Mae that she was wrong because they both knew she wasn’t. There was only one who Scott would rather go with, but it wasn’t like he was still around. “I think he’ll be with us,” he angled his head upwards, sensing something- or rather, someone, watching them. “I think he always will be.”
For the first time since Nom died, Scott felt the corner of his mouth tip up just a tiny bit as he flipped off the sky over Mae’s shoulder.
He knew his who was there. There was still that feeling in his chest, but it had lightened. It was almost comforting.
“I hope so,” when Mae drew back, she kept a hand on the mage’s arms, as if fearing he’d vanish before her. “It would be a shame if he never got to see our new ship.”
“Our...” Scott felt like he was going to cry again. “Our ship?”
Mae nodded frantically, “Graecie is having a ship built. For us. She says it won’t be long until it’s ready for us to leave.”
Despite everything, Scott found that there was excitement filling him.
Even though he would never get to see Nom again, he would live life to the fullest. That would be what their friend would want. He sacrificed himself so each and every one of them could live long and happy lives, friend or foe.
That was the kind of brave that Nominal was.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
“She’s beautiful,” Scott couldn’t help the grin that covered his face as he beheld his and Mae’s new ship.
The S.S Nom.
“Thank you Graecie,” he hoped his eyes could convey his appreciation for his queen because words could not. “You have no idea how much this means to me. To us.”
Her smile was bittersweet. “I fully expect you to return or at least visit,” she sounded stern, but it was just the voice of a woman bidding her friends goodbye for now.
“We will,” Mae assured the elf.
“Okay,” One last hug before Graecie left the mage and the rogue standing by the water, staring at their new vessel. “Be safe.”
“It feels weird, leaving,” Scott glanced over at Mae.
“It does,” She nodded slowly, tears glistening in her eyes. “Are we leaving him behind?” She spoke the words quickly.
Taking his time to answer, Scott responds, “No, I don’t think so. I’ve been able to feel him, here.” He brings a hand to his chest. “I know he’s with us. He’s there.”
Picking up her bags, Mae makes for the boat. “I guess you’re getting to travel with him after all.” The tears rolling down her cheeks could be sad or happy, possibly a mix of both.
“Yeah,” Scott follows her aboard, watching as the Blue Kingdom fades onto the horizon. “I guess I am.”
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Scott Springwell did not ask for any of this.
He did not ask to be shipped off to the capital, and he certainly didn’t ask to be part of a war.
He did not want to be a mage, and he didn’t want new friends.
Scott didn’t want to become connected on a deeper level than he thought possible to the knight they called Nominal, but he did, all the same.
When Nom died trying to protect the rest of them, Scott felt like the world was ending.
Now, he was setting sail with one of his closest friends and the spirit of the one he lost. They were all going to see the world together.
If there was one thing Scott regretted?
Perhaps it would be that he would mourn Nom for longer than he knew the knight.