I actually finished this chapter two days after Don't Stop Dancing. I wasn't totally confident with the ending of this chapter, but rereading it now, it's not a bad way to end it. As it will be revealed in the next chapter, Ephemer's got a lot on his chest when it comes to his relationship with Skuld. It might even be affecting his relationship with Anora too...

Thank you for reading.

Anora hadn't felt this alone since her first day at Daybreak Academy. In fact, this felt just like that moment when she was waiting for the house results to come back. Everyone around her was going about their usual business, and here she was, sitting on a chair and looking like she wanted to be anywhere but there.

She could have sworn that Skuld had stopped breathing. After that, everything Anora experienced became a blur. Gula had run into the room, dropping immediately at Skuld's side and started to perform CPR- at the same time he asked Anora how long she had been on the phone with 911. Apparently it had only been five minutes. It took another ten minutes for the ambulance and first responders to arrive. Skuld had been taken away by the paramedics, and Gula had insisted that Anora go with them; something about 'shock.' The ride to hospital was definitely something Anora couldn't remember for the life of her- maybe she blacked out or fainted at the point.

The next thing she could remember coherently after that was a nurse getting her hot chocolate. In the distance, the nurse had told Anora that Skuld was still alive. She had mentioned something about a 'detox' and 'taken too much' of something. When Anora had looked up at the time, it was well after 10 in the evening. Neither she or Skuld returned to Daybreak that night. Today, Anora didn't have the strength to enter Skuld's hospital room yet, despite a small stream of visitors (including all five of the headmasters, Ms. Tremaine, and some students that Skuld was working on the play with) coming in and out for a visit.

"Anora!"

The girl slowly looked up to see Ephemer quickly coming toward her. Before she could get up, the boy had scooped her out of the chair and gave her a tight squeeze around the middle.

"I'm so sorry." he told her, his voice cracking slightly, as he held her even tighter. "I never would have made you go if I had known..."

The boy buried his face into her shoulder- his whole body shaking. It was then that Anora suddenly realized he was crying. Not sure of what else to do, she brought a hand around to his back and gently squeezed him. Ephemer clung to her in reaction- his fingers digging into her shirt as he only continued to cry. Anora closed her eyes as she waited for him.

"It's not your fault." she whispered, just loud enough for only him to hear.

Ephemer only wept harder.

What snapped him out of his grief was the doctor coming out of Skuld's room. At first, the doctor didn't seem to notice the kids until Ephemer tried to clear his throat.

"Oh," the doctor noted. "Are you here to see Skuld?"

Words failing both kids, they only gave a small nod.

"Well it's a good time to do so." the doctor smiled. "She is awake and stable. However, her brain is still trying to 'reboot', as it were, so I would keep conversations short and simple. You don't want her to pass out again from too much info, do you?"

Despite it being intended as a joke, Ephemer paled at the suggestion.

"We won't overwhelm her." Anora promised, taking Ephemer by the arm. She hugged it just slightly before adding, "Promise."

"Skuld has some good friends helping her along." the doctor grinned. "Remember, try to keep conversations short. She still needs to rest as she recovers."

Anora gave the doctor a bright smile and nod in agreement. The doctor returned the smile before going to visit another patient. Anora turned back to Ephemer- his face was pale and his eyes were red from crying. The girl gave her friend a small pinch to get his attention.

"What?" he asked, sounding far too exhausted to even bother talking.

"Repeat after me." came the careful answer.

Ephemer looked at her, confused and a bit wary, before he slowly started nod his head.

"We'll go together." Anora told him. Her voice was certain and very sure of itself. Ephemer unconsciously held his breath for a moment. He couldn't decide if it was because of her, or what she was trying to make him do.

"We'll... go together." he reluctantly repeated.

"May my heart be my guiding key."

"May my heart be my guiding key…?"

Anora smiled back at him. Her wide, genuine smile that always made Ephemer feel a bit better.

"You're right." Ephemer agreed. "Thank you."

With one last nod to each other, Ephemer led the both of them into the room. As the two came in, Skuld had been dully looking at the small collection of cards and flowers she had received. She turned her head when she recognized their presence.

"There you are." she mused with a broken smile. "I was wondering how long it was gonna take for you to show up."

Ephemer went up to Skuld, knelt down beside the hospital bed, and placed his hands into one of hers. Tears started to well into his already puffy eyes as he admitted;

"Skuld… I… I'm sorry."

Skuld immediately snorted. "For what?" she questioned.

"Everything." he quickly claimed, holding her hand tighter. "How I ignored you before, how I was ignoring you now. I've always been the absolute worst friend to you. I… I'm so sorry I let this happen. If you… if you had..."

Skuld looked at her friend as he started to cry again. She wiggled her fingers a bit to get his attention. "Ephemer- hey, look at me for a moment."

Reluctantly, the boy looked up at her.

"You're not a bad friend." Skuld told him. When Ephemer tried to open his mouth to argue, the stare Skuld gave him was enough to make him close it again. "Listen; even if you think you're a bad friend, you're still one of the first to care about me. You're always taking care of me when I think I don't need it. You always think of me when something goes wrong. Ephemer, if it wasn't for you, I probably could have died in my dorm. If it wasn't for you, Anora would have never come to check. In fact, if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have known Anora at all!"

Despite herself, Anora gave a small smile. This also seemed to have cheered Ephemer up a bit- his tears falling down onto a weak smile. Skuld moved her hand a bit to press it against his face.

"You'll never guess what the doctor told me to do to reduce stress." she then smirked.

Ephemer looked at her with a wider grin. "Start baking?"

"Start baking."

Through hiccups, Ephemer started to let out a small laugh. Skuld smiled along with him. As Ephemer stood up to give her some space, Skuld gently trained her eyes from her friend and onto Anora.

"Anora," Skuld wistfully sighed, "You sent me a card."

Anora blinked. For a moment, in that particular tone of voice, she wondered if Skuld had lost part of her memory. Carefully, Anora gave a small nod of her head in agreement. Skuld then gave her a lazy half smile.

"The nurse tried to read it for me." she said. "Apparently, you have a very lovely script, but it's hard to read."

Not sure of what else to do, Anora offered a sheepish smile as she scratched the back of her head. There were rare times when she put her formal calligraphy to use- she never once considered that it was hard to read. It's not like anyone's ever mentioned it before. But then again, she was shaking when she was writing it; something to distract from the fact Skuld had been lingering between life and death for ten whole minutes.

"Why did you want to read the card?" Ephemer questioned. To this, Skuld gave a small raise and lower of her shoulder.

"It looked like a lot of thought went into it- it's not some generic dollar store 'get well soon' card." she claimed. "So I wanted to know who sent it."

"I made it on a piece of printer paper..." came the small reply. "The ink even blotted on the other side..."

"It was still really thoughtful." Skuld told her with a calm expression. "Thank you."

Anora looked down at the floor, shuffling her feet a bit in humbled embarrassment. For the next ten or so minutes, Ephemer and Skuld talked to each other- mostly to catch Ephemer up on the situation. Not once did either of them bring up the play. When they were finished, and when Ephemer and Anora were about to leave, Skuld spoke up once more.

"Before you leave, I want you guys to make me a promise."

"Anything." Ephemer immediately replied. Anora have a firm nod of her head as well.

"Make sure you tell Ms. April that this wasn't her or the headmasters' fault. Especially Miss Ava's. She probably won't believe you, but tell her anyway. Okay?"

Her two friends gave a solemn nod of their head. Skuld smiled at them before she tilted head back and fell asleep not long after. Anora left the room soon after, but Ephemer lingered behind. The boy bit his lip before finally following Anora. He hated feeling guilty.