I've had Ephemer and Skuld's reunion planned since I decided that Skuld would do something unintentionally drastic. Gotta make that final moment when Ephemer and Anora finally get together worth it, darn it. And if you hate this, then you're really gonna blow a fuse when the summer chapters come around. It's gonna get tense.

Thank you for reading!

A week did not feel like enough time to recollect after Skuld's collapse. Ephemer hated every moment he was at practice when he could have been visiting his friend. Anora went for him, even though she never told him that she was. Skuld was happy with the gesture regardless- anything was better than either sitting in the hospital bed all day or going through the 30 minute exercises the doctors had her doing. The world still seemed to move so slow, her knees turning to gelatin every time she stood up. The whole ordeal was obnoxious at best, only lessened by Anora's constant presence.

"I have some good news." Skuld announced when Anora arrived two days before the new play date. "But you have to promise not to tell Ephemer."

Anora's face twisted into confusion at the request. Skuld gave a bemused smirk in response. In the past few days, the older girl could come to see why Ephemer had taken a shine to Anora. What with her big green eyes, dimples, and her overall, dreadfully adorable, demeanor. There was just something about her that made you want to spill your soul's secrets to her, even if you knew she wasn't listening. But that didn't mean Anora could easily stand out in a crowd. Nah, her lack of voice and opinion stopped that train dead in its tracks. Skuld was almost certain that the day Anora uttered more than two sentences to anyone would be the day all hell broke loose.

Tilting her head at Anora, Skuld finally revealed, "The doctor told me this morning that I'll be discharged the day of the play. I'd need an escort out, of course, so I was wondering if you could."

She expected the surprise on Anora's face- the strawberry-pink haired girl's eyes growing wide. So Skuld felt the need to continue her thought process.

"I don't know when they'll discharge me," she admitted, "But I was thinking we could immediately go to the play once I was. Then, when it's over, we'll visit Ephemer in the dressing rooms and surprise him. What do you say?"

The only answer Skuld received were multiple, still rather confused, blinks. She waited as Anora took time to think it over. It was not a bad idea, but -like everything else this month- is just seemed so… weird. Sure, Anora had taken the time to visit Skuld in the past week. But they were still a far cry from being called bosom buddies. At the same time, Anora wondered if Skuld even trusted anyone outside of Ephemer to help lead her back to school grounds- spare for one of the headmasters, of course.

Anora looked back at Skuld and slowly, carefully, gave her a nod of agreement.

Two days later, both girls were sitting in the audience, waiting for the play to start. Skuld hated having to rely on Anora to walk. She hated it even more that she still felt dizzy while sitting down.

"I won't pass out." Skuld told Anora, although she was likely talking to herself more. "And if I do, I'll let you know beforehand."

While unsure if Skuld even saw it, Anora gave a small nod. It was in that moment when the lights started to dim and the audience started to hush. Out from the wings was Ephemer- not recognizable at first from the brown wig he was wearing.

"Greetings and welcome," the boy announced, his voice clear and direct. "The story you are about to see tonight is one expertly crafted by the students here at Daybreak Academy. Any events depicted here are purely of their own imaginations, and any resemblance to persons (living or dead), places, or scenarios are entirely coincidental. So please, do enjoy."

The audience erupted into an applause at the introduction as Ephemer took a small bow. He then started to step back into the closed curtain with a particularly cunning grin.

. . .

All the actors took a bow at their curtain call while the applause from the audience was nearly deafening. If either of them had felt like it, Skuld and Anora would have been cheering the loudest. But as it stood, Skuld was still too weak and Anora had never gotten used to using her voice that loud. The curtain closed after five whole minutes of applause, after that it was another five minutes before the audience was permitted to leave.

"Let's go to the dressing rooms now." Skuld whispered to Anora. "This will be a good time before they all head for refreshments."

Anora nodded before helping Skuld up. The duo had no issues getting into the dressing rooms. If anything, once the students who had worked on the play realized that Skuld was there, they immediately made room for her to pass. It was Skuld who knocked on Ephemer's dressing room door.

"Come in." came Ephemer's tired, less than enthused voice. Skuld didn't need to be told twice. She opened his door and made quite a few deliberate steps in before smiling. Anora had smiled as well, but that changed when she saw Ephemer sit at the dressing room table. He had already changed back into his street clothes; but his shoulders were slouched and his fingers absently laced themselves into the fibers of the wig he had worn.

Skuld put a hand on her hip, using her other hand to steady herself on the doorknob, before saying, "You did a great job out there."

Ephemer jumped a good foot in his seat before spinning around to look at the girls. He immediately scrambled to his feet and over to Skuld. The boy's whole body shook as he gently held her by her shoulders.

"Don't give me that look." Skuld snorted. "It's not like I di-" but before she could finish her sentence, Ephemer quickly took her by the face and pulled them into a worried kiss. He refused to let them go for several moments, and when they did separate, both were breathless.

"If only you kissed me like that when we were actually dating." Skuld then retorted. But her voice was soft, gentle, even. Anora had never heard that tone of voice in anyone before. Ephemer refused to say a word. He shook his head before pressing it against Skuld's, tears starting to trickle down his face.

Suffice to say, seeing it all made Anora felt really, really out of place.

"Are you able to go out to eat?" Ephemer asked as he gave Skuld some breathing room. "I'm sure there's some place still open."

"I think I can do that." Skuld agreed with a smile. "Maybe nothing deep fried though- that stupid hospital gave me nothing but sandwiches and pudding for the past week."

Ephemer gave wide grin as he took Skuld by the elbow. The two friends happily made conversation as they left the dressing rooms. They hadn't meant to forget about Anora, but she stood there, respecting their privacy. The lone girl returned to her dorm in silence. She was happy, but at the same time she couldn't help but feel left out. Ephemer and Skuld didn't even acknowledge her before they left. She could understand that the two still needed time to process what had happened to Skuld, really. But it hurt. As Anora sat on her bed, pulling Chirithy close to her as she absently stroked its ear, a very, very horrible thought crossed her mind.

No one needed her here. Everyone had a life before she arrived. They still did. One could even argue that their lives were worse with her here. She had no place with them. She was alone.

Anora shivered as she laid her head against her pillow. Her eyes burned as she closed them to rest. She would not know it until morning, but she cried in her sleep all night.