Consciousness came slowly, by stages. It was probably the light that woke her, because the room was in absolute silence. It was a room, with a bed, she noticed after a while, when she finally managed to open her eyes just a bit and squint around. At first the sight was familiar, maybe it was the atmosphere; clean, well lit, slightly upper class. Eina blinked a few times, trying to get a sense of where she was and in what condition. Everything ached in her body, but when she tried to recall how she'd ended up there the memories immediately struck her: Tirnoch, the fight. Alyn Shir saying... oh Alyn. She looked around and found she was alone in the room, and there was no sign of Alyn Shir except for perhaps... a hunting knife on the night stand, small all things considered. Eina was sure she'd never owned such a thing.
Now, there was light in the room, and so there was a window behind her. She came closer cautiously to discover the landscape of a city she recognized; Rathir. The sun was shining brightly, the clouds floated away taken by a sweet breeze, the seagulls cried in the distance. She almost cried. It was too much; to be alive, with all her memories back. To have gotten out of the fight and... where were her friends?
Eina searched around the room for a set of robes or something she could wear and discovered all her possessions were stashed away in a drawer, at leat the one's she'd taken with her to the last mission. But there were some clean clothes too, including shirt and trousers, so she put that on, but did get the hunting knife too, just in case.
.
Opening the door slowly, even more light filled her vision as she walked into some sort of living room with a tall gallery window looking out into the gardens. Next to the window, napping in what looked like a very uncomfortable position, was Agarth. His breaths were audible, so she never thought he might be dead, which was a very good sign.
A sigh escaped her, and then a low chuckle, and limping she went to sit by his side. She didn't want to disturb him but his sleep must've been shallow enough that he stirred and then awoke suddenly. He blinked in her general direction, clearing his vision for a moment.
"Eina!" He pulled her into a crushing hug that made all of Eina's bones and muscles creak.
"Ow ow ow!"
"Oh, sorry. Ah damn. Welcome back, sparrow! I am glad to see you awake."
She smiled, "Agarth, likewise. Can I ask... what happened?"
He raised his eyebrows, "How much do you remember?"
"Enough I think. I just want to know... did we... is the war... won? What about Alyn Shir, is she here?"
He shook his head, but was still smiling, "I'm afraid Alyn has left. She carried you out of the ruin... I thought you were gone but not this time. She didn't tell me anything but she couldn't stay..." he rummaged through his pockets, and finally pulled out a small roll of paper that had the plain wax seal still intact, "She left this for you."
Eina took the letter between her shaking hands. At least she had left her something... after all the revelations and discoveries, she felt she needed Alyn more than ever. Even so, she had the impression she'd not seen the last of her.
"She stayed for as long as she could," Agarth whispered, perhaps feeling her disappointment.
She bit her lip and nodded, "And what about... the war."
"That, I have good news about, Sparrow." He looked radiant, happy to be the bearer of good news and happy to see her awake. Eina hugged him again and Agarth took care not to crush her weary bones.
...
Eventually, and after giving some thought to Alyn's letter, she gathered her strength to go outside, and even put on armor for it. It was already late afternoon when she walked out of the house and a cool breeze was blowing through the buildings, but still not cold enough to completely erase the warmth of the sun. She wandered out of the gardens slowly and into the streets. The neighborhood was good, probably courtesy for heroes of the war, but she started to make her way down to the market square, anxious to be once again in the Rathir she so loved.
The estate exited into a small avenue where there was a big magnolia tree. The dark, leafy kind, with thick leaves that barely let any light pass through, and precious few huge white flowers scattered around its branches. Under the shady foliage and barely visible to any distracted passerby, there was figure; hunched over, and enveloped in shadows. Almost without realizing, Eina stopped her strut and stared at it, assaulted by the powerful yet improbable thought that she might know that figure.
It couldn't be, what were the chances? She swallowed hard and took a step forward, "All good?"
The figure stood, still enveloped in shadows, but in two long strides it came in view. The sun filtered through the branches enough to light up its smile. The figure removed the hood to reveal a face Eina knew well. All air left her.
He panted, and his smile broadened, "You've got some luck, dove."
Eina rushed towards him and jumped into his arms. Grim laughed quietly when he heard her whimper softly at the pain so gladly inflicted on her aching muscles. "I really do, huh? Grim... how are you here? how are you here?"
"I heard the stories about the war's end, had to come check them out for myself."
They were not letting each other go, in fact, Eina hugged him even tighter in spite of the strain.
"I have also noticed something funny since it's end... seems we're not special anymore, seems Fate no longer has a hold on us."
"I am just a lowly mortal, Grim. Will the travelers still have me?"
"Ha! They'll be lucky! And me..."
"And you?"
"I am your shadow, dove," she held his face between her hands and smiled, and Grim's voice was full of peace when he said, "the future may no longer be our business, but in the present, you can trust that I will be."
Aaaaand that's a wrap! Fine. Thank you to anyone who has made it to the end, I hope you enjoyed it even if it was only a little. Again, if you liked it or had any thoughts about it, a comment is much appreciated. For the rest, so long have fund and see you after the remaster!