Elisa rushed across the bridge, barely noticing the water that lapped at the sides of the wall or the greenish lighting it gave off. Her breath hastened as she neared the coffin, disturbing some white butterflies as tears stung her eyes.
Elisa's heartbeat rushed in her ears but she felt her heart stop.
Her mother.
For three years, Elisa had only seen her mother's face in one photo; one that was in a locket given to her.
A hand rested on her shoulder, it was broad and warm, comforting as tears slipped down her face. Elisa looked up to her father's face for answers but saw that he too, needed a moment before they spoke. The two stood there, silently, as the butterflies began settling around them once again.
Clearing his throat, Gabriel still kept his hand on Elisa's shoulder, for her comfort or his own, he wasn't sure. Elisa looked at him, and he felt his heart squeeze as he saw her eyes; icy pools that he conditioned his own to remain steely and hard to read. He patted her shoulder and stepped towards the coffin-like container, clasping his hands behind.
"Your mother- " He choked, but continued, "she hid it from me at first, in Tibet,"
Elisa numbly stumbled closer, suppressing her tears when she saw how peaceful her mother looked, as though she was asleep, waiting to be awoken like in those fairy tales. "How did she- how did this happen?" Elisa touched the glass, the coldness shocking her.
"We did something dangerous, something I wish to reverse to bring Emilie back," Gabriel took a heavy breath, preparing himself to share this burden he carried, "Near the end of our visit, we- we stole something that caused us to be chased and ended up nearly trapped in a snowstorm."
He watched his daughter, looking for what, he didn't know. Simply any sign, he thought, to show him that he was making the right, or at least a good, choice?
"Emilie was quick, she used the- one of the artifacts to create a sentimonster to help us escape, but one of the monks did something that damaged it, yet she held out until we got out of the mountains," he felt a warm hand clasp his own, and he held strong, refusing for his eyes to soften. "Afterwards, before we came back to Paris, Emilie slipped into some sort of coma, yet doctors couldn't find the source. That's when I knew that the damaged artifact had affected her, deep inside and that the only way to bring her back is to either go back and stop ourselves or use other Mira- artifacts."
"Does Adrien know?" Elisa's voice was soft, as though not to disturb anything with her question, but still nudging it, almost to make it seem he thought of it.
"No, haven't told him," He thought back to memories of his son and wife together. "You know how close they were, and how this would break him, more than before,"
He felt the hand squeeze tighter, reassuring him that he made a correct choice, at least. But he pushed on before relief made him hesitate. "Elisabeth."
His voice was clear and strong as he let go of his daughter's hand, looking into her eyes that were still so young. "Would you do anything; even endanger the lives of others, and your own, to bring your mother back?"
Gabriel expected hesitance, possibly clarification, but instead met fiery eyes pushing back tears.
"I am willing to give my life to see Mother alive and well for a moment if that's what it takes." Her fists were clenched, her body barely trembling as she held her gaze with her father's.
Gabriel briefly nodded, whispering a short "Thank you," before sinking to his knees in exhaustion, the weight lifted from his shoulders allowing him to show how weak he was behind his stone front.