Chapter SEVENTEEN: Senselessness-TALIA

...

It had been three long years since Aydan had held his mother's spell book. It had been too painful for him to open, after what had happened. But even before, his mother did not allow him to touch it; she thought he wasn't ready. However, now the large leather bound book rested on the table top with a purpose.

Aydan immediately began to flip through it in search of a soothing potion his mother used to give him when he was little. As he quickly scanned the titles of each potion, a small piece of scroll paper slipped out onto the ground. It was old and wrinkled, he noticed; but at the same time he found the soothing potion as he gazed up at the book again. As he picked up the tattered parchment, Aydan stuffed it into his pocket with no further thoughts about what it was. He had no time for side tracking; he needed to get to Talia soon.

"She needs someone to be with her," he told himself as he quickly stirred the ingredients in the bubbling cauldron.

When the potion was finished, he found a vial and poured the light green potion through a funnel, carefully corking the top, and then ran out into the corridors.

When he arrived at Talia's door, everything seemed to be calm and quiet as usual. Could she be sleeping? he wondered. After all, this was the end of her day as the Dreamer. So he decided to place his ear to the door to listen. Hearing nothing inside, he hesitated for a moment and then teleported into her common room, then quietly pace forward to her chambers. He quickly found her in her room sleeping.

Talia's face was flushed from crying. She was still wearing her priestess robes and boots. He knew that he shouldn't be there, but he didn't want her to wake up alone. So after finding a blanket to cover her with, and removing her boots, he sat on a chair far off to the side of her bedroom.

Several hours went by, Aydan watched Talia carefully as he made a pile of white roses on the ground to kill time. The sun began to pour in through the window, a reminder that he should go to Aveyond for his duties; but he would not leave her side yet.

The rays of light through her window suddenly struck a small golden circle sitting on the night stand beside Talia's bed. He walked over to it and held it in his fingertips. This was the reason for his sleepless nights, over the last few days. Most of all, it was the reason why Talia had not turned to him upon her grandmother's passing. He could have melted it then out of self-anger and spite, but did not. Putting it back down where it had been, he concentrated on what was most important. Besides, he was too tired to do sun magic and sat down again, falling asleep in the chair.

What felt like only moments after he had fallen asleep, Aydan was suddenly startled and nearly hit the hard stone floor as he got out of his chair. Talia was whimpering aloud in deep sorrow: a cry that could have broken anyone's heart. He quickly burned the mountain of roses he had made into ash not wanting to make her think otherwise, and slowly moved to her side.

"...Devin!...Devin!...Please don't leave me!" Talia gasped half asleep.

Suddenly waking up in full, Talia immediately saw Aydan through her glassy water filled eyes as she sat up straight. He kneeled on the floor beside her anxiously waiting for her to speak as she mourned uncontrollably.

"SHE'S GONE! SHE'S GONE! AND I'M HERE FAR FROM ALL OF THEM! I'M ALONE! I DON'T WANT TO BE THE DREAMER! I NEVER WANTED TO BE! ASK TRIN TO TAKE MY PLACE! SHE WANTS ME TO LEAVE SO MUCH!" she yelled, hysterically.

Aydan tried grabbing her hand, but she swung it away.

"...AND YOU, AYDAN, SUN PRIEST! ARE OUT OF PLA-ACE.. JUST, JUST, JUST... please...Could you just!..." Talia couldn't finish, she was just too hysterical for anymore.

"Talia look at me! It's okay, I'm here...You are NOT alone!" Aydan tried his best to console her. He got up and held her close, practically cradling her now.

"Please, take this. It will help you," he said and quickly reached for the vial of potion and held for her to take. After a moment, Talia relaxed and was able to act calmly again, though still she cried despite the potions mild effects.

"How...long...have you been here?" she asked after a moment.

"Not that long. I heard what happened and I did not want you to be alone."

"I'm sorry for what I said, Aydan...My dream...it was so vivid! I wanted to find my grandmother, but I did not," she whimpered as she painfully recollected every detail. "I saw a light in the mist overhead. A star, I think, but I'm not sure what it was. But I followed...Devin was under it...he was very sad and...and he would not tell me where he was. I told him to go to Elden to bury my grandmother. As I reached for him...he-he was gone again, and now I'm here again," Talia finished, feeling numbed and worn out.

Aydan wanted more than anything now to ring Devin's neck for his little appearance. He also wondered how she could have possibly found him after being unable to find him in the Dreamworld before. He reasoned that it must have been a fluke, perhaps, never to happen again, he hoped. There had to be a solution that would end their foolish relationship sooner or later, he thought furiously.

He looked over at Talia and saw her glance at the ring and then to him in dismay. He knew what he had to do now to make things right between them again.

"I wish you would have come to me as your friend, but after what happened the other day, it's my own fault," Aydan began and picked up the ring. "I know now that I have been too forward, so I taking this with me and hopefully you will see me as just a friend from now on," he had to lie, but he had no choice if he wanted to stay with her.

She sighed knowing that it wasn't that easy to pretend that nothing had happened, but she wanted a companion right now.

As they sat there, Aydan playfully began to show off the ring, attempting to put it on his smallest finger. Talia laughed a little since it barely went over the top of any of his fingers.

A short while later, the calming potion became stronger; and oddly enough, they both yawned together. Talia realized that he was sleepy also and told him to go rest, but he would not leave her side as usual and insisted on staying.

Tired, Talia thought what she was going to do next would perhaps be a mistake. She gazed up at him and pulled his arm over her shoulder, and they rested side by side until the sun began to set.

...

With the last shallow beams of light dancing and withering away slowly, Talia knew that it was almost time for her to go to the Dream as the light dimmed more and more on her bedroom walls. Aydan remained asleep at her side, his arm over hers. Talia rolled to face him and wondered if this he meant more to her than she thought. He had done so much for her in so little time, and here he was again at her side. Here for her when she most needed, ring or no ring.

Talia leaned in over him carefully and kissed him, knowing that he would never know what she had done. Yet, she was too grateful for everything and a kiss seemed fair.

Now we are even, Talia thought to herself as she got up and left him sleeping on her bed.

When she returned in the morning, he was gone as expected. However, Aydan had left a note requesting that they meet later on.