5th September, 1005
Ava,
I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I didn't come to say goodbye. I could give you a whole list of excuses for why I didn't bid you farewell, but the truth is I didn't think I could face saying goodbye. I regret it now, of course, that you're gone.
I miss you, a lot. I make an effort to keep myself busy so that I do not sink into a depression. I've started spending more time with my brothers, it's not the same though.
What is England like? My father visited once in his youth and said it was most delightful. My father says this about a lot of places though.
I hope that you can forgive me for not saying goodbye.
I miss you.
Elijah.
25th October, 1005
Elijah,
I won't pretend that your absence when your family came to bid us goodbye didn't hurt me. We've been friends ever since we were tiny children. I don't understand, surely you would have wanted to see me just one last time? We may never see each other again, Elijah. The last memory I have of you is not a good one. I had hoped we could reconcile before I left but, I suppose it is too late for that now.
I forgive you, Elijah. I miss you too much to remain angry with you.
England is…different. It's colder, but the people are pleasant though I wouldn't describe it as delightful. I miss France. I never knew how much I loved it before I left.
Mother has been encouraging me to make friends with the local girls. They are nice most of the time but they really do not compare to you. Sometimes, they treat me like I am stupid, possibly because I am French and they think that I do not understand them. Louis has settled in rather nicely. He has made friends with one of the local boys named Henry. One of the girls that my mother encourages me to mix with is Henry's sister. Her name is Adeline. I don't like her much. She seems to look down her nose at me. Whenever she speaks to me, she speaks very slowly and very loudly. I suppose she thinks that I won't understand otherwise.
Please tell your brother, Bryden, Happy Birthday for next week! He's growing up so fast!
Ava.
27th December, 1005
Ava,
Bryden said thank you very much and that he misses you and your brother. He asked when you were coming home. He looked a little short of heartbreak when I told him that your home was in England now. I don't think that he understood that you were leaving for good when you left. I think he was under the impression that you were going on holiday.
I'm sorry that the local girls aren't nicer. I know that the girls here miss you. Belle, especially. She sought me out yesterday specifically to tell me that she misses you just as much as I do, and that if I should want to talk about it then she would be more than willing to listen. It was a nice gesture but I don't think I'd be comfortable talking to Belle about it. I don't think I'd be comfortable talking to anyone about it, really.
I really do miss you, Ava. As much as I enjoy spending time with my brothers, especially Klaus, it's not the same as spending time with you. I suppose I will get used to it after time.
My mother asked me to pass on her well wishes to your parents. She said that she hopes you have all settled into your new life and are enjoying England.
Elijah.
Elijah and Ava continued to swap letters for a few months. It was difficult to keep up a conversation given the fact that each letter took so long to arrive. Elijah felt a jolt of excitement whenever a new scroll of parchment arrived for him. He loved reading Ava's words, they were a comfort to him. He was pleased that she hadn't seemed to forgotten him so far.
However, as the months passed, the letters that they sent grew further and further apart until they dried out altogether. The last letter that Elijah received from Ava was shortly before his 16th birthday. Their conversation had been dwindling in content for months now and he could not bring himself to reply to her last letter. It was with a slightly mournful air that Elijah placed the last letter he received from her into a box which contained the rest of her letters and placed it some where safe. He had decided against replying, because there had been nothing to reply to. He assumed that she wouldn't mind. They had both known that this moment would come. They had both known that the end of their friendship had been a certainty the moment she had left. He had found that he was able to live without her. He had made other friends that filled the hole that Ava had left. Of course, he missed her, but it was a feeling that was lessened with each day of her absence.
1st September, 1006
Elijah,
You don't write to me anymore. I can't say I'm surprised; it was always going to come to this, given the fact that we live so far apart. I'm not really sure why I'm writing. I feel lonely today. Lonelier than usual. Mama says that I'm being ridiculous and that it's time to move on with my life. She says I should make more of an effort with my new friends. I know that you have moved on and that our friendship is nothing but a memory to you anymore, but I just need to tell you something, something that I should have told you a long, long time ago.
I love you, Elijah. I have always loved you and I miss you so much it hurts. I could never bring myself to tell you this before I left because I didn't want to ruin our friendship. I'm sorry to spring this on you like this so suddenly, I just had to tell somebody and who better to tell than you?
Anyway, I'm sorry to have bothered you with such a pointless letter. I promise that, after this, I won't write again. No doubt you have much more important things to be doing that reading the insignificant ramblings of an old friend.
I wish you all the best.
Ava.
Ava set down her quill and read over her letter. Elijah hadn't replied to her last letter and she saw no reason why he would reply to this one, either. She hadn't planned on writing him another letter until earlier that day when she'd felt a sudden pang of loneliness when she saw her brother and Henry talking animatedly about their plans for the weekend and had been forcibly reminded of her and Elijah in the height of their friendship. She looked over her letter again, checking over her spelling and ensuring that everything made sense when she realised how utterly stupid she sounded. Elijah wouldn't care for what she had to say, even if she was declaring her love for him! They were friends - or at least, they had been - that was all. Embarrassed at herself for believing for even a second that Elijah would be interested in hearing from her, she tore the letter into pieces and dropped it into the fire.