The other side. [II]

They went silent. I expected them to berate me or ask me who I was. I expected them to ask me to not play with their emotions. I expected them to-

"El... Is El re-really alive?" They asked without a shadow of a doubt.

"Yes!" I replied with a stupid grin on my face.

Tears started to flow down their eyes. Even in this darkness, the moon was bright enough to make the water under their eyes glisten. This time it wasn't because of grief that they cried out, it was happiness.

I could almost taste the sweetness in their tears.

They came stumbling down the rubble and one grabbed onto my shoulders.

"Where is he?" It was a calm yell.

"Uhh, he left for Rottheim after he saw you with the prie-" Damn it, I shouldn't have said that.

"He saw us?!" A pang of hurt filled her eyes. Self-deprecation maybe. "That weak boy wouldn't be able to handle that. What have I done?" She held her head. Her emotions were going through a marvellous crash. I could see them change at every given moment.

But weak? What was she on about?

"No no no! It's fine! We can fix this, you only have to meet him. Tomorrow- yes tomorrow we'll find him for sure. Or actually-" I was having a hard time putting my thoughts together too. But I realised that since Master Elyan was fighting against Luoris he would be in hiding. "If not tomorrow then in the future, definitely. He is alive after all!"

"He wouldn't even want to meet us. He wouldn't want to see us, it'll hurt him." One complained. My words weren't getting through to them.

"Talk it out, please. I know it'll make him happy and drag him out of the hurt. Right now, Master Elyan isn't in the right mind, and no one can help him. No one but you. So I- SO please don't give up!" Things were messy, our relationship was messy. I didn't know how to address them, I didn't know how I could make them believe me.

"I don't know." The sister went silent.

"What does he look like, is he fine? Has he been eating alright?" I got bombarded with questions from the mother. I too had questions.

Both of us had things we needed to know. And answers to questions that only the other knew how to answer. It was a mutually beneficial relationship.

So we spent the rest of the night listening to each other's stories. I told them about how Master Elyan and I met. About our journey here. About Luoris. Sadly even I didn't know how Master Elyan ended up in that situation before he met me, but I told them about everything I knew.

And they too opened up- A week after the news of Elyan's death had come, they spent their savings hiring people- trying to look for Master Elyan. Anything they could find if not about his survival then at the very least his body. So that they could find some closure. So they could give Master Elyan some closure.

But nothing came up. Then their innate human nature took over. In absolute despair, you cling to the slightest hope like it's everything. They wanted to believe that he was alive. After all, there was no evidence of his death.

After some time the people looking for Elyan suddenly stopped investigating altogether. That was the first time the church approached them. From then on they started to "negotiate" and pull strings. Slowly but surely the slight hope that they clung to was getting snatched away by the church. They weren't even allowed to look for him anymore.

No one accepted their request to look for Master Elyan, as if they had been bought off. It was obvious who was behind this all.

So they decided to look for him themselves. Of course, having blown through their savings they didn't have the means to move to Rottheim and look for him. So they were almost about to turn to lenders before they remembered the bribe the church was offering.

It wasn't a vow the church made; just a reassurance. So taking the money was fine as long as they pretended to have done away with Elyan. It was free required money with no strings attached.

Or so they thought but fate did attach a string. Right at the worst moment. When they pretended to betray Master Elyan, the man himself showed up at the scene.

One thing led to another and after this downward spiral, we sat here together as the sun started to rise.

"I'm just happy that he's alive. Relieved to the point I could let all my air out in one sigh." The mother leaned back. In the morning her skin glowed beautifully. You wouldn't expect her to be a mother of 2 old kids. In fact, she barely looked old enough to be a mother at all. Not a single wrinkle and a body that was more in shape than mine.

She must have been as young as me when she birthed the sister.

"I still can't believe that oaf of a man rescued you." This sister was nothing to scoff at too. No wonder Master Elyan looked so good. It ran in his family.

"I wouldn't call him an oaf, per se." I twiddled my thumbs.

"Ehehe... look at the kid blushing. You know he has a fiancee right?"

"He does?! First I've heard of it."

"I mean, he went to Rottheim to meet her there." I was curious and disappointed. I hadn't ever heard of her mention. Even once.

"I see."

"Well, it's alright. You can have him. Since you gave us the best news we could have asked for, you rank higher than her now."

"Thanks, I guess." The tip of my ears was burning up. And then suddenly-

"I'm sorry." Eh? An apology out of nowhere? I turned to see the sister with her bittersweet expression.

"Wha-"

"Even after Elyan entrusted you to us, we are leaving for Rottheim, the place that tortured you to that extent." Oh, so that's what this was about.

"I'm going too."

"Huh?!" They promptly turned towards me, faces plastered with surprise.

"I can't just let you go into that hell of a city all alone. Now that I told you about everything that is going on, it is my responsibility to make sure you are protected."

"But-"

"Or else I won't be able to look Master Elyan in the eyes."

It was true that I still feared Rottheim, but I was already mentally prepared to head back to the town had Master Elyan wished for it. I'm just following another party. That's all. If I'm stuck in my past forever, the future will run away.

And I don't have the courage to chase it. So I won't let it get away.

Was this out of love? I can't tell. I did feel something towards Master Elyan, but I don't think it was romantic. I idealised him in the short time we spent together. After all thanks to him, I had a goal now. Not a one-track path I was forced to follow, but multiple avenues I could take.

I lied. I didn't feel any responsibility for their safety, I just wanted to do one more thing that could lead Master Elyan towards happiness.

"Then we can't stop you. I hope our acquaintance remains blissful." The two of them offered their hands. I took them.

###

The rumbling wood under me. The red curtains grazing my nape. The clatter of the wheels on the never ground. We were in the carriage the same morning. Mister Gern was up ahead as the rest of his family was all around us.

"By the way Anino." Linda, the older sister tugged my sleeve. I was still wearing the t-shirt Master Elyan lent me.

"Yes?"

"Won't they recognise you there?"

Suddenly, a lightning bolt of a tragic realisation hit my head.

THEY TOTALLY WOULD! No calm down, there had to be a way to fix this. My appearance. How do I? Uhh... Appearance. I looked over at my reflection and then just as quickly an idea overcame me.

And another lightning bolt of inspiration hit my head.

"Mr. Gern can you stop for a minute?"

"Ehhh? What happened? You wanna puke?" He said while having the driver pull the reigns.

"No, just a minute." I took a shard and ran outside.

In the middle of the woods, with the birds chirping. I gave my hair a swish and the rest flew with the wind. I thought cutting it off would be refreshing or would indicate a new start.

How naive. None of those happened. But my head did feel a lot lighter.

I let out a long sigh. I wasn't quite sure what I was doing anymore. I never expected myself to be the type of girl who would jump out of a carriage to cut her hair on impulse.

But the fact that I could do this without any repercussions made me happy.

'Washing my hair would be a breeze.' I hopped into the carriage again. And looked at my reflection again. Bangs that covered my forehead and hair that barely covered my nape. These small breasts of mine helped too.

"Oh my. What a pretty boy."

"Ehehe." I ruffled my hair and found some stray strands. "Mr. Gern can I take a belt?"

"Yeah, sure."

And with that, all the pieces were in place. And all of them were starting to make the move. Things were going to get messy.

But that's what you get for messing with Master Elyan.