Destiny's Serendipity

Episode Twenty: Parting of the Ways

A Thriller - Romance - Transgender Serial

From the Limoxian Universe

By Jo Dora Webster

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The airship hovers at the edge of Decretia's crystalline spires, its hull gleaming silver against the opalescent sky. I stand at the observation deck, my flowing emerald gown catching the strange light that seems to emanate from the very air here. The fabric feels natural against my skin now, as natural as breathing in this world where I've finally found myself.

"The energy transfer is complete," George announces from the control station, his voice carrying a weight I've never heard before. His uniform looks somehow diminished here, the rigid lines of Regalian efficiency seeming harsh against Decretia's organic beauty.

I turn to face my dearest friend, the one who followed me across the barrier when I was still Bart, still searching for who I truly was. The golden pendant at my throat grows warm—it always does when strong emotions threaten to overwhelm me. "George, I—"

"Don't," he says softly, his eyes bright with unshed tears. "Don't make this harder than it already is."

Terrance moves between us, his own transformation still settling into place. The energy reserves from the airship shimmer around him like a second skin, a protective field that will allow him to survive in Decretia for weeks, maybe months. His clothing has already begun to shift, the masculine lines softening into something more fluid, more beautiful. The change suits him, though I can see the uncertainty in his eyes.

"The readings are stable," he reports, checking the portable scanner George insisted we take. "The energy field should maintain integrity for at least forty-seven days, possibly longer if I'm careful."

Forty-seven days. The number hangs in the air between us like a countdown to another goodbye.

I smooth my hands over my gown's silk bodice, feeling the delicate beadwork that catches Decretia's ethereal light. When I first put on feminine clothing, it felt like a costume, like playing a role I wasn't sure I deserved. Now, wearing this emerald creation with its flowing skirts and intricate embroidery, I feel more myself than I ever did in Regalia's sterile uniforms.

"The Council of Voices is expecting us," I say, though my voice wavers. "They've prepared quarters for both of us in the Crystal Towers."

George nods, but I can see him memorizing every detail of this moment—the way the light plays across my face, how naturally I move in my gown, the confidence that has replaced the uncertainty that plagued me as Bart. "You look..." he starts, then stops, shaking his head with a sad smile. "You look like you've always belonged here."

The truth of his words settles into my chest like a warm embrace. I do belong here, in this world where my transformation isn't just accepted but celebrated. Where the pendant that appeared so mysteriously in my study now pulses with recognition, connecting me to energies I'm only beginning to understand.

"The barrier frequency is shifting," Terrance observes, his scanner beeping softly. "The airship needs to depart within the hour, or the return passage will become unstable."

An hour. After everything we've been through—the discoveries in the caves, the dangerous crossing, the wonder of seeing Decretia's impossible beauty—we have one hour for goodbye.

I move to the airship's elegant wardrobe, where my few remaining Regalian clothes hang like relics of another life. My fingers trace the severe lines of the uniform I wore as Bart, remembering how it never quite fit right, how it always felt like armor against a world that demanded conformity.

"Take this," I say, pulling out a small journal bound in soft leather. "It's everything I learned about the barrier frequencies, the cave discoveries, all of it. If anyone in Regalia asks questions..."

George takes the journal, his fingers brushing mine. "I'll tell them you're conducting extended research. That should buy us time."

"Us?" I ask, though I think I know what he means.

"Terrance will need to return eventually," George says, glancing at our friend who's now examining his reflection in the airship's polished surfaces. "When he does, I'll be waiting. And maybe... maybe we'll find a way to make the crossing permanent for him too."

The hope in his voice breaks my heart and mends it simultaneously. George has always been the practical one, the voice of reason when my scientific curiosity led me into danger. But now I see something else in him—a willingness to dream of impossible things.

"The energy transfer has changed me," Terrance says suddenly, his voice softer than before. "I can feel it, like something awakening inside me. The scanners show cellular modifications that shouldn't be possible."

I move to him, taking his hands in mine. His skin feels different, warmer somehow, and there's a glow beneath the surface that wasn't there before. "Decretia changes everyone who truly belongs here," I tell him. "The question is whether you're ready for that change."

He looks down at our joined hands, then at his reflection in the airship's curved wall. The harsh angles of his face are already softening, and his hair seems to catch the light differently. "I think I've been ready my whole life," he whispers. "I just never knew what I was ready for."

The airship's departure alarm chimes softly, a melodic sound that seems almost apologetic. George moves to the controls, his movements precise despite the emotion I can see him struggling to contain.

"The Council of Voices has prepared a communication array," I tell him. "We'll be able to send messages across the barrier, at least until the frequencies shift again."

"How long?" George asks.

"Days, maybe weeks. Long enough to let you know we're safe, to share what we learn."

I move to the airship's exit port, where a crystalline bridge extends to Decretia's receiving platform. The bridge itself is a work of art, its surface carved with spiraling patterns that seem to move in the corner of my eye. Two figures wait at the far end—members of the Council of Voices, their flowing robes shifting through colors I have no names for.

"Bertrice," one of them calls, and hearing my chosen name spoken with such warmth and acceptance makes my pendant pulse with recognition. "Welcome home."

Home. The word settles into my heart like a key finding its lock.

I turn back to George, memorizing his face, the way his uniform can't quite hide the gentle soul beneath. "Thank you," I say simply. "For everything. For following me into the unknown, for believing in me when I couldn't believe in myself."

He steps forward and pulls me into an embrace that feels like goodbye and promise all at once. "Be happy," he whispers against my hair. "Be who you were always meant to be."

When we part, I see my own tears reflected in his eyes. Terrance joins us, and for a moment we stand together as we have so many times before—three friends bound by discovery and adventure. But now we're also bound by transformation, by the courage to become who we truly are.

"Forty-seven days," Terrance says, squeezing my hand.

"Forty-seven days," I agree. "And then we'll see what's possible."

George activates the airship's departure sequence, and the crystalline bridge begins to retract. I take Terrance's arm, feeling the energy field around him humming with potential, and we step onto Decretia's platform.

The airship rises slowly, its silver hull catching the light one last time before it disappears into the barrier's shimmering embrace. I watch until the last gleam fades, my heart full of gratitude and sorrow and hope all tangled together.

"Come," says the Council member, her voice like music. "There is much to show you, much to learn. Your transformation is only beginning."

I smooth my emerald gown one last time, feeling the silk whisper against my skin like a promise of all the beautiful things to come. Beside me, Terrance's energy field pulses in rhythm with my pendant, two hearts beating in harmony with a world that celebrates change rather than fearing it.

As we walk toward the Crystal Towers, their spires reaching toward impossible heights, I know that this is not an ending but a beginning. George will return to Regalia with stories of extended research, buying us time to explore what we've found. Terrance will discover what his transformation means, what gifts the energy transfer has awakened in him.

And I will finally, truly, come home.

The pendant at my throat grows warm as we enter the towers, and I hear something like music in the air—the sound of a world welcoming its daughter back at last.