The songs of the Treants danced through the air around Kei Lumennura as Adaine sat at the back of the van with the doors open wide. Her sister was curled up and unconscious inside, restored back to her unfortunate past self. There had been an abundance of pain seeing her sister weak and broken and vulnerable, but there had also been hope. Hope that maybe this would be a new start for the sisters. Aelwyn had spoken to her in a way that made Adaine finally feel like her equal, finally feeling like she wanted to care for her instead of casting Ray of Sickness at any chance she got. But the world was cruel and unforgiving, so the walk through Aelwyn’s mind had torn her heart out and then had given her no time to grieve.
The old Aelwyn was back, her father was possibly dead, and her mother was working for somebody who definitely wasn’t good. The anxiety was mounting, quickly. She’d taken her meds upon waking up this morning but that just took the edge off enough to keep her from being incapacitated by her panic attacks. Holding Boggie tightly to her chest, she was lost in her own thoughts as the rest of the group carried on. After some time, she was interrupted by a familiar voice.
“So… It’s been a uh, wild few days, huh?” She lifted her eyes from the spot on the ground they’d been focused on to see Riz standing in front of her.
She scoffed lightly and nodded her head, not saying anything.
Riz didn’t say anything else for a long moment either. He moved to lift himself up and sit beside her in the back of the van, his legs swinging slightly as they dangled over the edge. There was a heaviness in her chest.
She wanted to be back home, with Jawbone there to help her through any crises she may have, or at least to have her group therapy once a week to keep her grounded. She wanted to be far away from Fallinel, far away from those who had captured her and were most likely going to execute her. Adaine missed Elmville terribly, and she missed the comfort of familiarity and regularity that it brought to her just as much.
“I’m really glad you’re back,” Riz finally spoke again. He rubbed the back of his neck and turned his head to look at her. “We weren’t really sure what was happening to you, or what they were going to do with you, and that was…” He sighed, “The not knowing was scary.”
“I’m pretty sure they were going to execute me.” Adaine said quietly.
Riz’s brow shot up in surprise. “What?!”
“Yeah. I mean.. I was basically given a choice. Either stay and be their Elven Oracle and do everything they told me to do.. Or they were going to kill me, so the gift of the Oracle could be passed on to somebody else, somebody who would stay in Fallinel and do what they wanted.” The weight of the words leaving her lips fell on her shoulders like boulders. She felt too numb to cry.
“Holy sh*t Adaine… And your dad was fine with that?”
“Of course he was, Riz. He’s a foul little worthless excuse of a man. We already knew that.” She spit the words out venomously.
Riz said nothing in response, just pursed his lips together and nodded his head silently.
Boggie let out a soft ribbet as she held him in her arms.
“They tortured my sister there for so long… She was like a shell of a person when I found her. So broken and helpless… When she woke up here she asked me if we escaped or if we died and honestly, I’m not sure which answer she was hoping to hear from me…” She was silent for a few seconds before continuing, “Then I thought maybe we’d have a chance to really get to know each other, for the first time like… ever? Maybe we could be on the same side for once… But now that version of Aelwyn is gone and she’s back to being exactly who I always hated her for being.” Adaine let out a shaky breath and pulled her feet up, crossing her legs criss-cross beneath her.
“Does that make me a bad person? For wishing she could be in pain again, and wishing she could remember what she went through these past few months just because it hurts me more if she doesn’t?” She turned her head to look at Riz.
He laughed and she furrowed her brow at him.
“Sorry, I’m not— I’m not trying to laugh at you.” He shook his head and turned to meet her eyes, “It’s just funny to me that you think you could ever be a bad person.” He offered a small smile.
She held his gaze for a moment, searching his face and finding nothing but genuine care and honesty. They’d talked about her family before. She’d told him bits and pieces about her parents, about how they were growing up, about her sister. There had been times when she’d even confided in him how she wished she and Aelwyn could’ve been close. He’d heard her say that it didn’t matter how much she hated and resented her sister, there would always be a part of her that wished things had gone differently. There would always be a part of her that longed to be close with her sister, and a part of her that loved her.
Riz knew what she struggled with. He knew how hard she tried to be the opposite of what her parents were, of what they’d turned her sister into. And he’d always been quick to reassure her that she was far from resembling anything close to them.
Adaine sighed softly before she looked out over the elven sanctuary, taking it all in.
“Are you okay?” He asked after a few more moments of quiet between them.
She scoffed again. “My sh*tty dad might be dead. I didn’t even get to have one nice day with my sister after saving her from being tortured for months on end. My mom is working for the Nightmare King or Kalina or whoever it is exactly that we’re dealing with. I almost got executed while I was in Elf prison and now I’m basically a fugitive, so,” She shrugged, throwing her hands up a bit as she did. Riz grimaced and she sighed heavily again, dropping her hands onto her lap. “I’m fine.”
Riz looked at her, skeptically raising his brow.
“You don’t seem fine.” He challenged. She turned her head and shot him a look, opening her mouth to say something, but he continued before she had a chance, “You don’t have to talk about it. I’m not here to be a dick, I was just worried about you. I was really worried about you while you were gone and I thought maybe that I’d feel better now that you’re back with us but… I’m still worried.” It was his turn to shrug, lifting his shoulders and letting them fall gently back down.
“I don’t know what’s gonna happen with you and your sister or you and your family and these f*ckin’ elves. There are still so many things we don’t have answers for and I don’t.. I don’t like not having answers. But when you weren’t here it just became so much more clear to me that nobody—” He stopped himself short, scrunching her nose in thought for a moment before continuing, “We can’t— I can’t do this without you.” He adjusted the hat atop his head. “This isn’t gonna happen again. I won’t let it happen again.”
“Well we seem to have taken down Calethriel Tower so I don’t think it could even if you wanted it to.” She said teasingly.
“Yeah I wanted to ask what happened with all that but there hasn’t really felt like a right time?”
“Oh, Fig played her bass and it cracked a gem that made the whole thing come crumbling down. It was kind of rad, honestly.”
Riz chuckled softly. “Wild..”
“Yeah, but I didn’t really expect anything less.” Adaine laughed along with him.
Another silence, comfortable and soft, settled between them as they looked out into the sanctuary, Fabian still dancing as the rest of the group encouraged him.
Still looking forward, Riz spoke again, “I’m sorry you got kidnapped and held as a prisoner, Adaine. We should’ve protected you so much better than we did. I wanted to come break you out sooner but we had some hang ups when we first got here, a bit of culture shock that set us back longer than I wanted and then the usual nonsense that set us back even more. I didn’t want you feeling like we were partying and having a good time and enjoying ourselves while you were being tortured or whatever... It felt f*cked up.”
“That’s because it probably was a little f*cked up.” She said, an ever-so-slight grin on her face as she teased him.
“I know,” He sighed, not completely acknowledging her teasing tone, “I couldn’t enjoy any of it. Fabian’s grandpa is too much to handle, honestly, and I thought the trees were kind of a nice vibe but then they started singing and it’s just…” He shook his head, clearing his thoughts and refocusing, “I’m just glad you’re with us again… This whole thing,” He gestured around to the rest of the party, to the van, to their surroundings, “Isn’t the same without you.”
She pursed her lips and gave a small smile, nodding her head slightly.
“I’m here if you ever want to talk, you know that, right?” He turned his head again to look at her, holding eye contact with her.
“I know,” She parroted the words he’d said not but a few seconds before, but sounding much gentler. “Thanks, Riz.” She smiled at him. It was a saddened, anxious, and broken smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Anything for my best friend.” He replied, giving her a small smile and nudging her side gently with his elbow.
After a few more seconds of silent eye contact, communicating thoughts of understanding and concern and care that Adaine felt too exhausted to have exchanged out loud, they both looked forward again. Sitting in silence, no longer alone, the comfort of Riz Gukgak’s presence beside her helped her feel like maybe she’d be alright outside of Elmville for a little while longer after all.
