Cordayl and Yesseia are enjoying a quiet evening in the living room when, suddenly, a tap is heard on the window.
Yesseia looks up, but Cordayl ignores it, brushing it off as just the wind and continues reading. Then another tap is heard and Cordayl ignores the stare Yesseia is giving him.
When a handful of dirt is thrown at the window, Cordayl takes a deep sigh, calmly closes his book, and tells Yesseia he will be back.
Cordayl exits the front door and walks around the house, where the window is.
Hearing a noise, he sees a deer looking at him from the edge of the woods. The deer gives him a nod, motioning for him to follow, and Cordayl sighs again as he does as it wants.
The deer travels further into the forest but stops when it notices that Cordayl is now in front of it.
"You've been such a quiet spy these past few months. Why are you bothering me now?" Cordayl ask.
The deer transforms into a man and stands up. "Apologies for ruining your evening. But my boss would like to speak to you." The spy tells him, pulling out a cell phone.
Cordayl takes the phone and isn't shocked to hear Ajaccio on the other end.
"Hello, Cordayl. How have you been?" He asks.
"We're not friends. What do you want." Cordayl says.
"As usual, straight to the point." Ajaccio chuckles. "I called as a courtesy to inform you that you must prepare yourself."
"For what?" Cordayl ask.
"War," Ajaccio answers.
Cordayl's jaw clenches as he contains his anger. "So much for your word, huh?"
"I have held up our agreement, Cordayl. Have the months not been peaceful for you?"
"They have, so why is that about to change?" Cordayl ask.
"My father sees you as a threat. And he refuses to just let you live as you please if it's not under his command. I have tried many times to change his focus, but he will not let it go." The son explains.
Cordayl rubs his eyes, frustrated. "When will he be here?"
"He's currently en route to the continental meeting. Rough estimate about 3 weeks. 1 for his return, 2 for him to pull an army together. He plans to make sure you are permanently removed from his side." Ajaccio tells him
"Does he plan on being here himself?" Cordayl asks.
"He does." Ajaccio responds.
"Well, as a courtesy to you, cherish the next month with him. You won't get another chance." Cordayl promises.
"Before you hang up,". Ajaccio stops him before he ends the call.
Cordayl walks back into the cabin, and Yesseia can feel the change in his mood.
"Everything okay?" She asks.
"No. We have to leave. Tonight." Cordayl tells her, heading to the bedroom.
"Wait, what happened?" Yesseia asks, following him.
"The truce is over. I just got informed that they plan to take me out soon." Cordayl states, packing their bags.
"So what? We'll just run and hide. Nothing new, right? Why are you so upset?" Yesseia ask.
"Because I am tired of running. And I'm tired of fighting. Fuck!" Cordayl shouts, slamming clothes into a bag. "Here I was, thinking a normal life was possible," he shakes his head, continuing to pack.
Yesseia walks up behind him and grabs his hand, stopping him momentarily. She places his hand on her stomach and reminds him that they are in this together.
Cordayl calms himself down upon feeling his child, but that doesn't distract him for long. "Come on, grab what you need," Cordayl says.
Yesseia does as he asks, but upon further inspection, she sees that Cordayl isn't packing a bag for himself, just her. "Where is your bag?"
"Don't need one. I'm not staying with you." He responds.
"Excuse me? You're not coming with me?" She asks.
"That's what I said," Cordayl says, continuing to pack.
"Yes the hell you are. Cordayl, you are not leaving me to raise this child alone," Yesseia states.
"You won't be alone. I'm taking you to my mother's village, where you'll have plenty of help, resources, and safety." Cordayl states, walking out of the room.
Hot on his heels, Yesseia grabs him and spins him around. "And what about a father? A family, huh?"
"And what about a home, or friends, or even a childhood? What about a good night's rest? Or cherishing its first steps. Or teaching it how to ride a bike?
"Those things don't exist with me in the picture. If I am there, we will continue to be hunted. The moment it walks, it will have to run, and the first thing I will be forced to teach it is how to throw a punch. Is that the life you envision for our child?" Cordayl angrily responds.
"That is just the life of a warrior! That was how we were raised and the generations before us. It made us strong!" Yesseia reminds him.
"And it killed us! That undeniable strength made our egos flare and our enemies shiver, and their fear led to genocide. It's just us now. If it were just me and you, we could run and fight till we died together.
"But it's not just us anymore, and we have to do what is best to protect what we must. Now, please, go finish packing." Cordayl tells her.
Yesseia's eyes are locked on to his with so much anger after Cordayl's words but she walks away.
Cordayl sighs and stands by the door until Yesseia is ready. She drops the bags by his feet and walks out of the door.
Cordayl and Yesseia walk in silence as they traverse the lands back to his mother's village. Yesseia refuses Cordayl's help as often as possible, but sometimes, she has no choice but to accept his hand.
At night she doesn't want his warmth, forcing him to stoke a fire by himself to keep her warm.
Eventually, they arrive at his mother's village and are escorted inside, where they receive a lot of love upon their return.
Their smiles are forced, but once the guards take their bags and Cordayl hugs his mother and explains the situation, she kisses his cheek and stands by Yesseia, placing her arm around her.
Cordayl stares at Yesseia who doesn't return the eye contact, choosing to look away. Cordayl's heart stings, but he takes it on the chin and waves goodbye to the villagers as he leaves.
Before he gets midway through the tunnel, Yesseia catches him and embraces him fully one last time. Cordayl holds her tightly in his arms and has to remind himself why he must tear himself away.
He kisses her stomach and places his forehead on it for a second, mentally saying goodbye to his unborn child.
Standing he gives Yesseia one last kiss and she watches heartbroken as he walks away before the waterfall blocks her view.