Not long after Jarka finished her story, the two women from earlier came bouncing back up to the group. They reported that the town was gathered and waiting. Marley and his party nodded and followed the women to the square. The towns folk hushed as they approached, watching expectedly as Marley, Omnira, and Raeni climbed up on a podium made of crates. Reani stepped forward and addressed the crowd with a matronly smile. Her eyes were mostly, but her voice was clear and strong as she spoke.
"My dearest friends, Azaacar is pleased with you. You have endured, you have persevered, you have survived. Through it all, you have kept your faith. Today, Azaacar smiles on us. Our champion has returned. Our freedom is at hand. Our days of suffering are over. There is but one step left. We must use the power Azaacar has given us, to take back the land that Azaacar has given us. My friends, are you ready?"
The townspeople responded with applause and a spattering of cheers. Omnira stepped up with a big grin on her face, clapping and bending toward the crown as she walked. She yelled at the crowd, " Trench town, I can't hear you! Are you ready?!" The crowd cheered louder, raising their fists in the air. Marley caught Omnira's eye and winked at her. He flared his aura and spread his arms wide. He threw his head back and began to float over the crowd. When he spoke his voice boomed like thunder. "Trench Town! Are. You. Ready." The crowd froze for a moment, in awe of what they were seeing. All at once, they roared to life, cheering and screaming, lifting their hands toward Marley.
As Marley landed back on their makeshift stage, he looked over at Jarka with a smirk on his lips. She smirked back and shook her head before mouthing the words "show off" at him. Marley smiled and turned to the crowd, waving his hands up and down trying to get them to settle. It took everyone a minute or so to quiet down. Once they had Marley began.
"Some of you know me. Some of you only know of me. I am Marley, son of the late King Nigel III. I have spent my entire life thinking I was Rednasi. I was stolen from you. Taught that I was better than you. They groomed me to rule over you. Then I learned the truth. I am you. You are me. My people, my heritage, my flesh, my blood. You are my true family. Azaacar has empowered and given me a mission to free us all from those who would enslave us. She has sent me powerful allies to aid me. She has empowered you as well. Omnira has trained you to fight. Together we will take back what is ours. But, we must be careful. Our enemy is powerful and is developing a powerful weapon to stop us. We must strike first and strike soon, before these weapons are on line. This is war. It will be dangerous. We won't all survive. Trust in Azaacar and we will win the day. If you are afraid, I understand, please stay home. If you are ready, meet us here tomorrow evening. We will move under the cover of night."
Another cheer arose from the crowd. The cheer slowly dissolved into excited chatter. Marley dismissed them to go make their preparations, as he quietly squeezed Omnira's hand.
Hand-in-hand, the couple rejoined their group, which stood just behind their makeshift stage. Marley smiled at his friends. "I don't know if they're ready, but they sure are excited." He said with a chuckle. Moco shook his head. "No one is ever ready for the reality of war, but their spirits are high, and that's a good thing." Marcus nodded and grunted approvingly. "Yea they're getting something they didn't get twenty years ago, a fighting chance. Odds be damned, I can see it in their eyes, for many of them, it's liberty or death." They all nodded solemnly at these words, as a sort moment of introspection fell over them.
Once the moment passed, Marley and Omnira excused themselves from the group. They held hands, fingers intertwined, as they made their way to Omnira's home. Over dinner, they laughed and talked, telling stories from their time training over the past few weeks. At the end of one of many shared fits of laughter, Omnira's bright smile suddenly became much more mischievous as she looked deep into Marley's eyes. Marley's heart quickened as he returned her gaze, knowing full well what was to come next. Omnira stood and stepped close to Marley. She slowly undressed, never taking her eyes off him. Marley's eyes drank in her luscious form, his excitement clear and obvious. Without a word she took his hand and led him to her bed. She undressed him slowly, kissing and caressing his skin as she exposed it. She pulled him on top of her as she laid on the bed. She opened herself up to him, and they knew love.
Jarka, Moco, Raeni, and Marcus smiled and gave each other knowing glances as they watched the couple go off to be alone. Jarka smiled, "That looks like it has been a long time coming." Raeni giggled, "Indeed it has. Let's just hope she doesn't hurt the poor boy." Marcus laughed out loud. "The way he talked about her, it is a pain he will gladly accept. I feel sorry for the fool that tries to get between the two!" They laughed as they walked off to have dinner together. During dinner, they ate and talked, sharing thoughts of what they hoped the future would look like. It was a nice light-hearted atmosphere, but Marcus was a little surprised to see Moco and Jarka flirting with each other. After a while the two got up to leave, both heading towards Jarka's guest hut. Marcus smirked at them and narrowed his eyes playfully. "Teacher! On the eve of battle? Honestly." He teased. Jarka turned and smirked at Markus before shifting her form to a younger, curvier version for herself. "Young man," she began with a sultry tone to her voice, "tomorrow we could all meet our end. Why not enjoy the time we have, while we have it?" She smiled and bit her lip. "Why don't you join us, Beefcake. Let Teacher give you a new lesson." Marcus' mouth dropped open at Jarka's invitation. He looked, pleadingly at his new found sister. He felt a tinge of guilt for wanting to choose desire over reconnecting with his sister. Raeni laughed and swatted at his arm. "You better go before she changes her mind, 'Beefcake'!" Marcus grinned and jogged to catch up with his teacher.