-Rythian's POV-
I take my guitar out of its case, feeling the smooth wood, warm beneath my hands. I strum experimentally, only to flinch at the discordant clashing of the notes. This thing is so far out of tune, I think to myself. But before I can do anything about it, I hear a voice from behind me. The only voice I have ever really listened to. The voice that belongs to the one person I have ever truly loved unconditionally.
My Zoeya's voice.
"Hey, Rythi." There is no doubt in my mind that it is her.
"Zoeya?" I ask, as I set my guitar down and turn around to face the voice. I catch my breath.
There, before me, is Zoeya.
I was so afraid that she would look like she did the day she died. Twisted, broken and covered in blood. But instead, she looks just like she did the day I met her, when she fell out of the sky next to me. That pond meant so much to the both of us- it was the place we met, but to me, it was also the place she died. But here she stands- no, floats- glowing just a bit, wearing jeans and one of my t-shirts. Her red hair is wild and untamed, and her eyes glow with the spark that nothing could ever take away. Then she smiles at me, and I swear, the sun came out right then and there just to watch her smile. She seemed to fill the room with soft, glowing light.
"Yes, Rythi. It's me. I'm really here." she says, still smiling
"Oh my god..." I say, and can't help trying to hug her. To my surprise, I can. I wrap my arms tight around her, and breathe in the scent. Her scent. Warm earth, mushrooms, fire, and the smell of magic. She hugs me back, and I start to cry.
"I don't have much time here," she says. "Prince Ridgedog and Lady Arianna sent me to try and set things right."
"Everything is OK now. You're here. Right?" I ask, even though she as good as told me she had to leave. She just shakes her head a bit, and then pulls back so she can look into my eyes.
"I forgave Lalna." she says, her blue eyes looking deep into my purple eyes, and those eyes are telling me what my mind is telling me isn't true; she truly has forgiven him.
"How- How can you forgive him? He killed you!" I try to contain the anger, rage and yes, denial in my voice, but it still shows a bit.
"Because he didn't know that you had changed. He thought you still had a cold heart devoted entirely to revenge. He didn't know that you had fallen in love with me, not until the end. Not until he saw you trying to bury me on your own, with your broken arm and all. He could have killed you right there, but instead, he helped you bury me. I've seen his soul, Rythian." Now she's serious; she's not using her pet name for me anymore, instead calling me by my full first name. "It's torn to pieces. His guilt is tearing him apart. When I forgave him, it started to heal. But he needs you to forgive him before he can be alive, truly alive, again."
I shake my head; this is impossible. "When did you talk to him?" I ask, curious.
"He went to my grave after he left the party. He was so torn up..." A single tear ran down the side of her face. I wipe it away with my thumb, thinking about what she had just said.
In the past few weeks, I had begun to care about the scientist, which confused me to no end. Every night, when I was actually sober and my mind was running on more than 1 cylinder, I had thought about Lalna. Dreamed about him. Laid awake, thinking about how he smiled whenever Xephos and Honeydew made a joke.
It started as a trickle, but then they started to come faster and faster, until it became a flood of memories.