{-Sharena-}
Peony had left by the time the others got there, so she wasn't included in the conversation (though she did take Iztali with her). The only reason Sharena realized they came so quickly was because she heard Fauna talking to Iztali, and a part of a conversation between Alfonse, Anna, and Henriette that she didn't hear enough of to understand what it was about.
Alfonse came in first, followed by Henriette, Anna, and finally Fauna. A quick glance between them seemed to settle who would explain, which ended up being Alfonse.
"First of all, we didn't cover this up. We acknowledged that you were unconscious, but we never went into detail why; if not just because we didn't know what really happened either." He sounded like he was waiting for her to argue with him, though she couldn't blame him for it (she honestly wasn't happy with their decision, but knew there wasn't anything she could do about it). Of course, that was before he continued to something she took a little more personally. "The Heroes were an exception. They got to hear the fill story about what's been going on with you… between you getting sick, occasionally seemingly talking to yourself, and this, they deserved to know why."
"Plus there was a couple of them that could sense Lekra like Eir can," Fauna added thoughtfully. "Both the Fell Robins were really excited about it until they learned Lekra was a friendly dark presence…"
"They all understood it. I didn't tell them anything I didn't know for sure, and they're going to ask questions when you're back. What it comes down to is that their big question was ours: why you tried so hard to keep it from them. It didn't help that I was the one telling them while you were here sleeping." Anna finished it off, which meant that their part of what happened in that time was over.
Sharena knew how to take cues, and she knew that they needed to hear what she'd been doing too. No one else could explain her reasoning except for her; even if the others could've heard Lekra, she knew that they didn't know any more than the rest of them did. All they saw was another reckless decision made on a whim, and she needed to be able to convince them that she did have a plan and purpose behind it. It wasn't like she had much hope that they'd believe her anyway.
"How much of that last part did you hear before you came in?" She figured this was as good as a place as any to start, saying that the rest of that explanation depended on that. At least she'd be able to built off of that.
"We came around when Lekra was saying 'complete control over you,'" Anna answered. "From there we tried waiting to figure out what was happening, but Peony got impatient."
She'd kind of been hoping they would've heard more than that, which would've meant that she had less to explain, though really the majority of it didn't depend on how much they did or didn't hear. "Triandra brought me and Lekra to Freyja, were she filled in a couple of details that Freyr didn't mention. It wasn't really anything important… at least not anything important enough worth mentioning." That was her indirect way of saying "can you maybe not make me do that, I don't want to," which everyone seemed to understand; at the very least, no one made any more comments to that particular part of it.
"I don't really understand why, but Freyja wanted to have me under her control. I could keep people from getting hurt and she'd let me remember… she might be a lot of bad things, but I know that she isn't a liar. She meant everything that she told me and I believed it." The only reason Sharena felt somewhat ashamed to admit that was because of what she expected the others to say about it, honestly finding herself a bit surprised that they continued to wait until she was actually finished first. "There was one thing she got wrong, though. She said that if I took up her offer, then I'd be an álfar… but if I was, then I wouldn't be here right now; I'd be with the other álfar in the dream realm. I don't think she completely realized that whatever that 'shove away from being something so much different' was closer than it was. I may have drank the nectar, but I was never any part álfar to begin with. The reason I was as close to dreams as I was was because I… was one. I don't know when I became one, or if I was even anything else before that, but I'm a dream."
Though there was silence, it wasn't the kind that came from confusion about what she meant. They all knew, at least to some degree, what she was talking about; she knew that Anna likely had the best understanding of it, and that she had probably told Fauna and some of the Heroes as they explained Sharena's connection to the nightmares to the Order.
She gave a quiet, short laugh as she mumbled, "It's funny how the most important things about you is what you tried to hard to keep hidden. Hide something so well that you don't even think you're hiding anything at all…"
"I believe that's enough for now," Henriette decided after a moment's pause. "You should rest a bit more, dear. I know you want things to go back to normal but you've got to remember that you've only woken up a day ago…"
…
For a moment, she'd feared that Alfonse had changed the patrol routes around the castle; the seemingly age-old things never did cover the important parts most of the time, which made it that much easier for people to sneak in and out of. One of these people being the princess, of course, ever since she had been confident enough to know she wouldn't get caught. Whether she be five or eighteen, it was easy to get through without getting noticed.
Since she'd shown to be recovering well and had visited the Order's castle with Alfonse earlier, the nightmare crystal piece had been returned to her, which now served as a necklace. Lekra noted feeling better a little while ago (along with an off-handed remark about how they were recovering at a normal-person speed unlike Sharena), which was reassuring. She also knew they were doing whatever form of sleeping nightmares could do, treating themself to whatever other nightmares other castle residents were having as she traveled outside of the gate for some fresh air.
"You and your mother both. You've never liked feeling confined to the walls of the castle, did you?" She felt someone walk beside her, but she knew who they were and wasn't really surprised.
Sharena didn't move from where she sat, not even looking over at her visitor. "Do I have to come back in yet, Osaiten? The sky's so clear tonight…"
"It's chilly out here, and you hardly have anything on you. I know you wouldn't care but I'm sure the queen would if you ended up catching a cold." Osaiten put a hand on her shoulder, and even offered her a small smile—even if the maid clearly wasn't used to it. "You should come in and try to get some rest. There might finally be a light at the end of the tunnel, but that there's still a while left to go. You've gone far enough that it's too late to turn back now."
No one could say that it was false: they'd all made some form of commitment somewhere along the line, and it definitely wasn't getting weaker as time went on. The future wasn't something they could ever determine, but they could put their goals in front of them and figure out a way to solve their problems. It was about time that they faced the gods, wasn't it?
((A/N: Thus, another story has ended! Thanks to everyone who's read it, and please send me a review about the story! Keep reading for the preview for the next story and other places to find me and my works.
Preview: Through a confession, ball dance, and reading, more facts present themselves. With all this information coming ever clearer, there's no denying the end point… Find out what happens in Uncovering Secrets, coming February 16th, 2021!
Where to find me and my works: DeviantArt under puppy-luvr06, and Wattpad and ToyHouse under PuppyLuvr06!))
