The stuck and unstuck

Solnm knew where he was and he knew this woman beside him was not his true Amethyst and still he could not help himself. Still his heart loved her and his body longed for her.

It seemed like he had sent her out of the illusion two or three lifetimes ago. Since then they had had a large family, three girls and five boys. They had built a business from nothing and had several stores, a fleet of fishing boats, research boats to help maintain natural balances and help them find new sustainable populations for hunting, and they even adapted ways to make long distant deliveries and their product still arrived fresh.

Then it happened. He noticed that his children were grown and Amethyst had aged but he was still the same. They never said anything, and why would they? His illusory loving family would never bring attention to such a thing. It had gone unnoticed by him because he loved them so much and he had never had an illusion be so blissful.

His mother, he now understood who had placed him in the illusions in the first place, had always made sure that there were trials, hard learned truths, and access to the next struggle.

There was never peace, love, hope, senses of worth and value, but he had always keenly understood these things. He understood what made one happy and what made them homicidal maniacs.

He had loved his family so much that he just allowed things to progress around him without need of pause or reboot. Amethyst became more and more beautiful as she grew older and he did not consider frailty that came with age.

One day she just couldn't do what she used to do. She had been a trouper and kept trying to be what he saw her as: a vital everlasting being that would be forever by his side.

She had died in his arms an the illusion cracked then shattered into an un-retrievable cacophony that threatened to destroy him.

His own innate nature caused him to reset the illusion and he became lost. Lost in what he knew to be illusion because he felt he needed to right his wrong.

He had felt that he had been selfish the first time. Only thinking about how happy he was, how in love he was, and how he had never wanted any of it to end or change.

What was he supposed to do?

He got lost in his second blissful life as well.

Now here he was again. Looking lovingly into the eyes of the most precious thing in his life and he could not stop himself. He could not walk away from the illusion. Even as Anabel spoke to him, and he knew her words to be truth, he could not tear himself away.

She had grown old again. Her body frail, her mind becoming slack, her memory a phantom lost in ancient pasts.

And yet he remained, virile, youthful, never-ending.

He held her in his arms, fully aware that this end was much worse than the last two. He realized that this was his curse. He was going to go through this over and over again with it all becoming a new and twisted horror and punishment for him.

Then he heard it. The subtle difference had told him it was no illusion. He looked to the amethyst in his arms and he reluctantly let her go. She smiled and him as if to say she understood and she wanted him to have this happiness.

The voice came to him again, this time clearer, more urgent, and with that bite in it that always told him she loved him, always would, and that no one would ever be able to love him more.

"Can you hear me Solnm!? Wake up you idiot! Stop loving an imitation of me and allow my mother to bring you out of this.

"Can you hear me?! Solnm can you hear me?!"

The more she asked the more he heard the pain, the worry, the tears being blocked. And all of this was being fed into a fury that both scared him and made his heartache for Amethyst even more.

He turned and embraced the disembodied voice. He both heard her gasp and felt that part of her that belonged only to him stir within his soul.

"I am so sorry. I got so caught up in a false happiness that I forgot how truly happy I am with you. No illusion can mimic that."

Outside the illusion Anabel breathed a sigh of relief. She had watched her daughter live over a hundred lifetimes in the blink of an eye. They had all been so wonderful in the beginning but then Caremela's intent was triggered and the illusions began to change and find the most efficient and devastating ways to cause Solnm pain.

Each one hurt and enraged Anabel and she kept redoubling her efforts to bring him out.

In the end Amethyst had grown impatient and said that she would go in and help to bring him out.

She found him quickly and he heard her almost just as fast.

As soon as he embraced Amethyst Anabel felt the hold the illusion had on him weaken.

And she slid a spell in to extricate him. Marg sat on her shoulder sending out tendrils of magic to strengthen Anabel's cast.

First the tendrils embraced Anabel's spell weave than it began injecting magics into the weave. As the weave strengthened and the spellwork became stronger and stronger the tendrils embraced the spell weave with a greater and greater intensity.

The weave snapped tight and Anabel cast the spell forward.

The spell was a spell of extrication. It moved through the weave of the illusion like an agile snake until it found the correct portion of the weave and it struck.

Anabel had never been afraid to put a bit of sentience in all of her spell work. They usually returned to her any way and with that bit of sentience it was easier for the spell to evolve, often times without any help from her.

The spell struck a weakness in the weave. As soon as it hit Anabel realized that it was a piece of weave that had lain dormant, waiting for Solnm to enter another illusion.

Fury bit at Anabel as she realized it was Caremela's weave that had lain dormant.

Spellwork especially the weave held tiny markers that were silent indicators of who the spell belonged to. Everybody's weave markers were different because no matter where you learned, who taught you, or how much you strived to be just like your teacher these markers were influenced by innate, subconscious factors that could not be easily faked or distorted.

Weave markers were always a spell caster's constant.

Solnm walked from the illusion, a broad smile on his face and, with arms opened wide embraced Amethyst as she fell into him. Anabel smiled but she did not watch the scene, she had to destroy this illusion and cut Solnm from it forever.

Allistar moved to help her. All of the delicate work had been complete. He could now go in and just start destroying things without thought.

Anabel began speaking to Marela.

"Have you begun the hearing against Caramela yet?"

"No. What's wrong?! Is everyone alright?!"

"Yes. We finally got him out but in destroying the illusion I found weave markers. I will send you everything shortly."

Fury rose up in Marela. If Anabel wanted to send her weave marker evidence that meant, for all intents and purposes, that Caremela was still trying to maintain a hold on Solnm.

Marela looked over to the prisoner box in the center of the room. Caramela stood there maintaining an air of innocence.

The prisoner box protected the prisoner and the hearing participants and spectators as well.

Marela wanted to strike this foolish woman down but the process had begun. She calmed herself and waited.

When Anabel finished she breathed a sigh of relief. She sent the evidence on to Marela then she turned to look at her children. Her eyes widened then she smiled and nodded her head.

When he realized everything was done Jolan rose and stretched. He walked over and gave Solnm an appraising look then nodded. Amethyst smiled at him but did not let go of Solnm.

"You finished that pretty quick little brother. Did you make any good gains?" She looked to Lase with a wry smirk on her face. Jolan ignored this, actually he had missed the look all together. He was use to his sister picking on him and had learned to ignore it long ago.

He shrugged. "I found some interesting things."

"Interesting things?! A time rift, a time dominant domain, a time specter, some type of guardian, and…"

Anabel aused with a frown.

"I am not sure what type of soulmate is growing within your soul it seems to be a shape shifter."

With that she looked to Lase.

"Are you going to introduce us to your friend?"

Jolan frowned and turned, following his mother's line of sight. His eyes went wide. Why was Lase still here?

"Oh…"

"By the Gods! You forgot all about her!"

Jolan's eyes went wide again. Lase stepped next to him, a wide amile on her face.

"My name is Lase. Jolan saved me. And yes I am a shape shifter. I was captured by that time domain a long time ago. I am also a prize given by the spell and Lase's new soulmate.

"I am not sure why the spell bound me to your soul though. It is very nice meeting all of you."

Anabel smiled broadly at Lase. Maybe her son still had a chance to survive his future.

Allistar squeezed her hand and she looked over to Dousan.

"So you have an entire island as well.

"You have been very busy."