{-Alfonse-}
Now was that awful point in time where he could do nothing. Whatever Sharena was dreaming of, it seemed like she was always either frantically mumbling something completely incomprehensible or crying; sometimes talking to her—trying to be reassuring—helped as if she really could hear them, though occasionally it didn't do anything. He couldn't even claim to find something worthwhile to read in the library, since he was nearly certain nothing was here and something useful couldn't magically poof in front of him. Of course that didn't stop him from trying with the hope that maybe there was something that he missed.
Anna had come earlier that morning to ask for his opinion about telling the Heroes what was going on. Some of them were already beginning to piece together that something was happening, after all. To her it felt like the time for Sharena to step up and explain it had already passed, but somebody needed to clear it up before they started to make up their own explanations for it. It couldn't just be about the álfar because, in order to make sure everything was understood, Lekra had to be mentioned too. There were a few that, like Eir (and the álfar, judging by something Peony mentioned), could sense the nightmare; even more Heroes were simply observant enough to see the difference, however small, between Sharena before and after meeting them.
Alfonse, of course, didn't want anyone to disclose anything without Sharena's knowledge and permission. He was sure it wasn't their place to try to explain anything, especially when they knew so little about it. However, he had to begrudgingly accept Anna's point and agree to it. It was better the Heroes understood what was happening than to continue making guesses that might even suggest something worse.
Peony was also a frequent visitor in the two days that he'd known her. Most of it appeared to be out of boredom, with everyone else being at the Order's castle and Henriette staying with Sharena. Sometimes she would just stand there, staring at the books on the shelves, occasionally sounding out a word (then asking him if that's how it was pronounced and what it meant). Other times, she was directly trying to start a conversation with him. She always talked about something Sharena had told her, then asked him for more details about it. It usually got to a point where she just started rambling, barely giving him time to make a comment on the topic before moving on to a new one. He couldn't help but wonder if it was a sign that she was nervous or trying not to think about something.
"I wish it wasn't so cold." Peony had just come in a minute ago and was already reaching that point of rambling. "I would've gone out and gotten Sharena a couple of flowers. But flowers don't grow when it's snowing. I also realized I don't like the cold. It's nice in Ljósálfheimer, kinda like the perfect balance between hot and cold. I haven't actually been chilly in a long time. I was huddled under three blankets last night wondering how you guys dealt with it every year. Then I remembered I used to deal with it too. It's kinda weird to look at everything here and remember that I used to do all those things, too. I'm sitting there watching you eat breakfast and feeling bad because I swear Henriette was getting worried that I wasn't eating anything when I technically don't need to eat. I don't even remember the last time I ate anything, is that weird? I probably didn't eat anything before becoming an álfar. I remember being really cold and hungry that night. Then Freyr gave me the dream nectar and I haven't felt like that since! Well, I'm cold now, but at least I can sit in front of a fire and get warm."
She wandered a little, but still remained where he could hear her without shouting. Every now and again she would pause to look at a book, though she never stood still for long. One book title in particular caught her attention: "An Outlook on the Myth of Ljósálfheimer. Well, that's rude. We're just as real as the rest of you!"
"It's not like there's a lot of ways to prove it," Alfonse remarked casually. "Usually when something can't be proven we tend to stop wasting time trying and call it fake."
"All of you seem pretty casual despite looking at something 'fake.'"
"After the past few months, you stop paying attention to how much happens that logically shouldn't be and just focus on getting through it."
Peony stared at the book a little longer before hesitantly asking, "What did she do in the five years before now?"
"I'm sure Mother already told you everything she knew by now, and if I told you you'd probably get bored by the details. Suffice to say Sharena's grown a lot since then but, in a way, hasn't really changed at all."
"Is it… weird that I'm kinda proud of her? I mean, really I haven't contributed anything compared to Freyr… I was just a fellow kid, after all. But I remember how happy she was and I credited myself for a bit of that happiness. I guess I should probably take it as a sign that she never needed us to begin with, but… it's nice to hear she's still the same person that I remember and has also adapted to the circumstances she was brought into." She slowly began to wander back over to Alfonse. "I wonder what she'll do with the memories. All that heartache and suffering she had to go through because of us… I wonder if she'll embrace it and grow stronger because of it, or shove it deep down to a place she doesn't think it will hurt her anymore..?"
((A/N: And as I said in the previous chapter, Peony will also sing "What did you do without me? What did you do? Did you play games without me? What did you play?" it would still be much merrier than Spinel.
This chapter wasn't even supposed to have Peony in it. Yet she snuck her way into the chapter and, since the real purpose of this chapter—to reveal that Anna's telling the Order Sharena's secret—was done, I figured she could stay. Also don't ask me how Peony is able to read "Ljósálfheimer" when she can hardly read at all.))
