Part 5
Xolarand was a bit surprised to see who was coming in through the demon entrance with Xellma when he looked up from his desk.
"Old Beer? What are you doing here?" Xolarand asked. "Xellma, what's going on?"
"He never got to say goodbye to Sirene, Xolarand. I'm doing this as a favour for him." Xellma explained, to which Xolarand simply nodded and bowed.
"Enjoy your stay in hell, my friend."
When they arrived at the farm house, Xellma noticed it was relatively quiet. She spotted Gallus working in the field, and waved at him, to which he waved back. At the door of the house, Xellma decided to be polite, and knocked. Within seconds, Sirene opened the door, her famous robes gone, replaced with something more practical for farm work.
"Xellma! It's good to see you!" Sirene exclaimed. "You brought Vaust!"
"Sirene, how are you?" Vaust asked, a smile on his face.
"Oh come in, I can tell you all about how I'm doing." Sirene said, a beaming smile on her face. "Come on my mum's made lunch."
Sirene turned around and ran inside, leaving Vaust slightly confused on the porch.
"Is that really her?" Vaust whispered.
"This is who she was supposed to be, Vaust. Without the suicidal despair over the loss of her home, you see her for who she really was." Xellma gently explained. "She really is a lovely girl at heart. Come on, she's waiting."
Inside, Vesuvia was just setting the table, and Xalgaman was having a nap on a chair in the corner, much to Xellma's amusement.
"He's still here, huh?" Xellma asked.
"Oh pay him no mind." Vesuvia said, waving her hand. "He likes to help Gallus in the field now and then."
"So, Sirene, Vesuvia, how have you been?" Xellma asked, sitting down at the table. "I'd eat but well, you know. Vaust, do you?"
"Oh I suppose I can."
"This is what I needed, Xellma." Sirene said, still smiling. "I haven't felt this happy since I was a little girl. Every single moment is just pure bliss. My time of worries is long past. The 2400 years I lived was my hell, Vaust."
"We never got to properly say goodbye Sirene, you know." Vaust said, a sad look on his face. "Of course, with the way you did it, I don't think we could have."
"I went out like I lived, old man. With a bang." Sirene laughed. "I'll miss our long winter chats, but I won't miss the long winters spent crying at my parent's graves."
"Why did you wait so long to tell any of us?" Vaust asked.
"Because it was my burden, Vaust." Sirene said, through bites of food.
"She was always like this, you know." Vesuvia said, admonishing her daughter. "She never let anyone help her when she was sad as a child."
"Despite her lifelong depression, she still became one of the greatest heroes Karand has ever known." Xellma said approvingly.
"I was no hero, Rebecca." Sirene answered. "A hero would have stopped you, instead of helping you."
"So you finally admit Rebecca Ashe was a villain? After all this time?" Xellma asked, curious. "She tried to tell you, you know."
"I wanted to believe even she could have been changed." Sirene admitted.
"That's what makes you a hero, idiot. You saw the good in everyone, even those who souls were black voids." Xellma answered, smacking Sirene on the head. "Shit, you probably think Old Xalgaman is a nice guy don't you?"
Xalgaman continued to snore in response to his name being spoken.
"He doesn't look like much does he?" Xellma asked. "What if I told you he's directly responsible for the deaths of not thousands, but millions?"
"What? Really?" Sirene asked, looking over at the short demon who continued to snore.
"He told me one time, about who he was when he was mortal. What he did to be made into a demon. He told me of technology that doesn't exist yet in this kalpa, of the things he did. I had a hard time even comprehending it. Bombs so powerful a single one is enough to destroy an entire city. He ordered the deaths of millions he claimed, simply because they were not the same race as him."
"But he's so friendly and jovial! He helps us all the time. I don't get it." Sirene said. Vesuvia just nodded, as if she understood right away.
"Your mother understands, don't you Vesuvia? Explain it to Sirene."
"Sirene, dear, it's like the Demon Queen says. Most evil is directed at certain people. Xellma tortures people for fun, but look how nice and polite she is when she visits us. Xalgaman is a demon, which means he was evil enough to be made into one. Remember that when you talk to them, they were all wicked mortals at one point."
"This is why you were the greatest hero Karand ever had. You can't comprehend someone being unchangeable. You saw good where ever you looked, even in vampires." Xellma said, smiling. "This is why you had so many friends, so many lovers."
"Sirene. I'm going to miss you. That infectious smile of yours, the arrogant laugh, the passion in which you'd tell me stories." Vaust said, looking sad for a moment. "Though, that's why you revived Isca, isn't it?"
"I knew you'd be lonely, old man. What better than to have regulars come talk to you everyday?"
"What do you mean, revived Isca?" Vesuvia asked.
"On the day of her death, she declared, as the sole living resident of Isca, that it was to be rebuilt around my inn, with the name it once had, no less. It's going to take awhile, but Eigengrau herself strong armed the Dragon King into giving approval. Sirene they're insisting on a statue for you."
"A statue?" Sirene asked, bewildered.
"The greatest hero of Karand." Xellma said, repeating herself.
"Oh shut up." Sirene said, laughing.