Doors to Utopia

Chapter Ten

Worldly

The hoard of elves stood in front of the entrance to Eurel, led by Evan. He has discovered a burst of confidence; this was proceeding with massive success. According to Freud, elves were naturally a curious bunch but had a tendency to crush their natural curiosity under laws and traditions. He also added that eventually, the curiosity tended to win out over the laws and traditions. Evan figured that was why Athena still strayed from Eurel; she loved her traditions but felt affection for the curious world outside of her hometown. The elves following him seemed to see on an equal plain.

Freud had walked next to him and chatted with a taller elfin man. Evan had listened in a bit; his predecessor was trying to suck pearls of information out of the townsfolk. It almost made the boy laugh. Freud was mature and intelligent but very willing to build onto his knowledge. Evan knew from day one that the redhead would NEVER claim to know everything; he had straight out said that no one did. The boy edged towards the older man slightly and looked up to him uneasily. Freud smiled back, but it seemed equally uneasy. The scholar bowed down on one knee next to the boy.

"This is where I'm leaving you, Evan."

"What!" Evan said incredulously.

"I already told you that if Mercedes sees any of the humans that you unconsciously created, the spell will make sure that they are eliminated. Whether I was her ally or not…I count into that equation." Freud sighed. "Besides, it's not like you can do this on your own. You rallied these people just fine."

"But Mercedes will be harder to handle…"

"Mercedes heart ultimately lies within the happiness of her people. It's what she strives for. She joined the Heroes in an attempt to crush a force that would crush her people." Freud explained. "Like any good ruler, she only means the best for her people. Whether it defies her dream or not…well, she made assumptions about the desires of the elves. And I suppose she'll be learning differently. Even though they are loyal, they were bound to not like being dragged completely away from reality."

"You think I can do it?"

"That's what I just said, child." Freud said comfortingly. But his smile slowly formed into a frown at Evan's next question.

"You've been in every dreamland so far. Will you be there in Luminous's dreamworld too?"

"…I'd like to help you, Evan. Don't think I don't want to help you. But I cannot manifest in Luminous' dreamworld." Freud replied morbidly. Before Evan could ask why, the man proceeded. "There is a power there that cancels me out completely. Luminous is infected with the Black Mage's power—and I can assure you that will prevent me from manifesting to assist you. I'd like to help you, but I think this is the last time you'll see me in these dreams."

"What about Phantom?" Evan questioned. Freud laughed bitterly.

"Yeah. Good luck with that." His tone was derisive and unpleasant. The man didn't elaborate; he just stood up with a blank expression. "I wish you the best of luck, and the fondest of goodbyes."

"Yeah…thank you." Evan mumbled. He didn't know what to make of Freud's statements—it didn't bode well for him. The redhead man disappeared past the crowd and out the cave entrance. Slowly, Evan turned back to the entrance to Eurel and stepped forward into the bright light clearing. The town was completely empty at first glance, until Evan caught sight of Phillius and Astilda sitting on the stages jutting from the sacred tree. He glared at the brown haired elf; Phillius paid him no mind at first but flinched when he saw the Eurel citizens emerging from behind the child.

"Good afternoon, Elder." Evan said; he tried to be as courteous as possible. It was simply how he was raised. Phillius stood to his feet to speak but was silenced as his blonde queen emerged from behind the tree. Pink leaves fell into her hair but did not distract from her stern expression. The small woman pushed her Elders out of her way to stand imposingly above the elves and the Dragon Master. To Evan's amazement, his fear of her attitude and belligerence was gone. Freud had tamed the fear.

"It is far too early for your return…" Mercedes' voice betrayed her stern expression; it was timid and upset. Evan figured that would happen to anyone faced with a crowd of determined elves. "Recitals generally take far longer than that…the Elders and I have yet to even finish ours. What is the meaning of this?"

"Your people have something to say to you, your highness." Evan said. He felt filled with a sort of confidence that he had yet to feel in a very long time; the confidence that Hiver and the Black Wings had crushed was restoring itself. "Athena? Step forward. And don't take her by her appearance, Mercedes—we both know who Athena REALLY is. And it isn't this little girl."

"Your highness." Athena stepped forward out of the crowd. Mercedes sat down slowly at her throne. "You know what I shall say. I know I am not a child. I know I have skills beyond what this child's body provides. I know I have knowledge that exceeds what is available in Eurel. And I know there is a world outside of Eurel."

"…Of course there is, Athena." Mercedes said morbidly. "But what has it provided us with? Nothing of value. Just humans and their destructive ways. The Black Mage. Horrible visions and nightmares of so called innovation."

"There is always a flip side." Athena replied. "People have provided us with knowledge as well. They have provided us with help when we allow ourselves to accept it. They have provided us with expansive culture, and delicacy from world round. We trap ourselves in a bubble, your highness, and we cannot live in it forever!"

The crowd mumbled in agreement. Mercedes sat back on his throne, impatiently tapping her fingers on the armrest. Her expression was stubborn but extremely conflicted as she looked around her people. Evan was silent as he watched the woman think, mind full of both expectation and desperation. He truly wished they'd pay off but he knew he couldn't speak the opinion of the people. It was up to both them and Mercedes. Finally, Mercedes sighed and shook her head. The boy's heart plummeted.

"Is that truly what you all want? Interaction with the humans and interaction with the outside world?" Mercedes asked. "It's dangerous out there. You all know it. Do you truly wish to mingle with such a dangerous world?"

The elves looked around at each other; their expressions were turning hesitant. Evan's confidence was quickly fading away until Athena grabbed his elbow to push his hand above his head. The boy looked incredulously at her but trusted the girl's judgment; Athena held high respect in Henesys, and it didn't disappear from him even when she was six years old in this world.

"This boy has told us of wonders! Do you not want those wonders?" Athena shouted. The elves looked more hopeful at her words. Mercedes' hands tapped faster and harder against the wood of her throne armrest.

"Mercedes is right." Evan spoke up suddenly. Athena looked incredulously at him and Mercedes raised a brow. "The world outside of Eurel is dangerous. It's scary, and bad people are around every corner. But that's why we have judgment and the ability to tell when something bad might happen. We have things that are around to HELP us from ending up in a dangerous situation. We have things that are around to guide us to the good and help us LEARN from our mistakes. Yeah, stuff is dangerous and mean people will hurt you. But…that the world. You take the good with the bad because you can't have a world with just one."

"…Speak, my people." Mercedes said quietly. "What do you think of his words? What do you feel about Athena's words?"

"I want to go to the outside world." One woman spoke up determinedly. The elves around her began to nod in agreement, determined smiles spreading across their faces. "I want to explore their culture and find out what these people are really about. I want to learn about the foods I can make with their new ingredients."

"…Hrrmmh…" Mercedes sighed irately. "…Evan. I'm rather impressed."

"Oh? Why?"

"You are smarter than I thought." She said calmly. "Going to my people to find their opinion…it is certainly a strong weapon to use against me. I am weak against my people…but I suppose I have made that clear to my human allies. I will sacrifice anything, including my own happiness, for these elves. It was awfully clever of you to go this route. I don't know how you did it…but it is certainly impressive."

"…Let's just say it was a blast of realization from, uh…the past, I guess." Evan said timidly. Mercedes laughed, although her face showed a tad flavor of confusion. She stepped down from throne and held her hands out; Phillius and Astilda stood beside her. Slowly they chanted and the elves around them slowly disappeared. Their souls flew back to their true bodies in their real world. Evan smiled as Athena's hand disappeared from his elbow. She was going home to Henesys.

"Let's go, Evan." Mercedes said as she strode over to the boy. Her tone was commanding but kinder than before. The boy nodded jubilantly and pulled Kairos from out of his shirt. The sleeping woman kicked a bit as he shook her. Mercedes looked at the boy calmly; Evan knew she couldn't see Kairos, but was well aware of Kairos' existence.

"K-Kairos…uh, sorry…" He said apologetically. The miniature creature shot him a disapproving look. "Could you take us back to the Temple of Time? Mercedes has agreed to come home. She wants to be with her people."

"You could at least be courteous about it." Kairos snorted, but lifted her tiny fingers in the air. Immediately, the world began to crash around them; Evan were left standing at the shattered remains of the door while Mercedes' body twitched a little to signify her conscious returning. Evan was greeted with Rhinne's smiling face and Aran's cold expression. Evan perked up.

"You're awake!" He cried. Aran nodded solemnly, though she didn't rise from her seated position. Evan figured the woman was tired.

"I see you rescued the elf."

"Yeah. It was kind of difficult. I ran into some big problems." Evan said sheepishly. "But…I ran into some encouraging faces, you know?"

"I can imagine." Aran said quietly. Rhinne cast a glance at the woman's face but didn't interrupt. She knew that Evan had business to attend to but it was obvious that the tan woman was hurting a bit, even if she wouldn't show it. Their duty here was to help the Heroes, but helping them was bound to hurt them. Rhinne knew that made it their duty to comfort them as well.

"Aran, are you alright? I'm really sorry…" Evan began but the woman shook her head.

"Don't be. You did the right thing. Even if it shattered this dream of mine." Aran sighed. "I won't lie. It hurts. I enjoyed having what appeared to be true memories. But I can't imagine it as true happiness. It was fake. Those weren't my memories. It was made up of fragments of what I assumed to be true and fragments of what I've been told. That's no dream world; it's a nightmare pretending to be happiness."

"…It's okay to miss it."

"…I know." Aran said softly. "I know. But you still did the right thing. I can only be sorry for what my dream did to you."

"…Oh. Oh! No, it's fine!" Evan reddened visibly. "I…I mean, you were trying to cobble me into your dream. It was the spell, not y-you…! Buh…but, I don't mean that I'm not flattered! Oh geez, I'm doing bad here…!"

"It's fine, Evan." Aran smiled. It was one of the first times Evan had ever seen it, and it was surprisingly warm. Normally when she smiled, it was full of determination and confidence. This smile was less guarded and more soft. More…friendly. Sucking in his breath, Evan strode forward and plopped down in front of the woman. She raised an eyebrow. Quickly, so he wouldn't lose confidence, Evan wrapped his arms around Aran's neck and held the warrior against him. Her eyes immediately went wide as her fingers dug into his skin. But she quickly calmed.

"It's all fine, okay?" Evan said. "You'll get your real memories eventually. I'm still a friend. You treated me like one when you were a kid in your dream, and I want to be your friend in real life too. But, uh, not really a…uhm, Kada."

Aran finally laughed. "No. Not a Kada. A helpful and good friend sounds good to me."

He let go and sat back. Rhinne stepped forward solemnly.

"It is time for this to get even harder, Evan."