A lot of this chapter is just me talking to myself. I am not ready for the hiatus, but I have to figure out which ending I'm doing- which in turn is how I'm going to plan future chapters. Please take the poll if you haven't already.
Thank you for reading!
There was probably another reason why students from Daybreak Academy were usually pulled from Departure County. Saying good bye to family that couldn't easily visit hurt. Anora was wondering about this the morning she and Brain were set to leave. It didn't help that Aunt Dawn had kept her at arm's length almost all morning.
"I can't believe you're leaving us already." Dawn sniffled as she hugged Anora good bye. "It seems just yesterday we were welcoming you back home."
"I'll be back soon." Anora promised, breaking away from her aunt's embrace.
Kieran, bringing the last of the bags out of the house and into the taxi, casually bumped into his mother before saying, "Don't be a stranger next time, you hear?"
"I won't." Anora grinned.
"I was talking to Brain." Kieran shot back with a teasing smirk. Anora looked confused for a moment, turning her head in Brain's direction. Turned out, he was just as surprised to have been the target of Kieran's comments. He gave a humble tilt of his fedora in response.
After the two were in a taxi heading to the airport, the rest of the ride was spend in a silent anxiety. Brain didn't like traveling- at least not over long distances. He watched their luggage like a hawk until it disappeared behind the counter. Anora remained close to him just because of how many people were at the airport. It wasn't as much as there could have been if they left right after New Years, but it was still a lot. Neither of them truly relaxed until the airplane was in the air. Even then, it was a moment's reprieve.
"Back to Daybreak in a few hours." Brain said to himself. "And then the madness begins anew."
At that, Brain let out a contented sigh as he relaxed against the seat. His hand happened to brush against Anora's as he reclined. He took a gentle hold of it, and he grinned without being aware of it. Anora stared at his hand in hers for a moment. Then she looked over at him and a part of her heart tugged in regret. Lost in thought, Anora absently reached over and tried to move a strand of hair away from his face. Caught slightly off guard by the gentle touch, Brain opened his eyes again to look at her.
"What's wrong?" he asked. For this, Anora shrunk a little.
"When we get back to Daybreak..." she softly said, "Can we… Can I…?"
Brain studied her, and in seeing her conflict, he frowned. "You still love him." It was a statement, not a question. It was a truth they both knew long before winter break started.
Anora flinched, then gave a small bob of her head. "I'm sorry." she genuinely apologized. "Especially after we..."
But Brain cut her off before she could finish. "You don't have to apologize, Razz." he told her. He held her hand a bit tighter before adding, "I knew I was the rebound, remember? A relationship like that never works out in the long run."
This did not stop Anora from shrinking further into her seat. Brain looked back at her with a gentle sigh. She'd grown quite a bit since he'd known her. But there was more she could do to help that growth, with or without someone there beside her. Unfortunately, he only knew of one thing that may help. The rest would have to be of her own doing.
"You know," he casually offered- gently placing his other hand on top of hers. "There's only one skate rink in all of Departure County. I hear that if you have a membership, you're eligible to be entered in some competitions."
A slight tinge of pink crossed Anora's cheeks. "Brain, I can't." she told him, but it was a weak excuse. They both knew it was. Brain held her hand even tighter.
"Grow, Anora." he encouraged, "You are your own person. Personally, I'd enjoy it if you didn't go back to Ephemer right away. I've got a theory that he's not all ready for a serious relationship yet either."
"I can't." Anora repeated. This time it was much quieter- less sure of itself.
Brain tilted his head at her for a moment. He then carefully brought her hand up so he could gently kiss her knuckles. "May your heart be your guiding key." he murmured in a soft voice.
. . .
Brain had neglected to tell her that he had called in a welcoming committee. Okay, so it was only Lauriam and Strelitzia, but it was far more than what Anora had been expecting. A lump formed in Anora's throat when she could clearly see Strelitzia eagerly wave to the taxi. It was Lauriam who opened the taxi door before her.
"Welcome back." he greeted with a smile.
That was when Anora started crying. Lauriam's smile did not waver as he helped her out of the taxi. Instead, he gently guided her to Strelitzia where the older girl was quick to wrap Anora into a tight hug. The boys then worked to get the luggage while the girls reconnected.
"I missed you so much." Strelitzia told Anora, her own voice cracking. She peeled the two apart so she could look at Anora better. She didn't mean to, but Strelitzia let out a soft sigh of admiration. "And here I thought I was the sensitive one." she joked as she used her thumbs to brush away Anora's tears. "I guess we're both disasters, huh?"
Anora let out a small laugh through hiccups before pulling Strelitzia close to her again. Was it a bit odd? Maybe. They'd never actually hugged before now. Strelitzia wondered for a moment if winter break really had been that stressful for Anora. It was better than assuming campus itself was the stressor.
Whatever the reason, the familiarity of campus was enough for Anora to follow everyone back to the dorms. The boy couldn't enter the girls' dorms for obvious reasons, so Strelitzia had helped her put everything back into her room. Anora almost started crying again in realizing that this room was just as familiar and foreign to her as her room back at the farmhouse had been. If she didn't want to worry Strelitzia, she definitely would have.
After everything had been placed in the proper rooms, the four of them met back up again in the cafeteria. Apparently, a lot of students had yet to come back to campus; the cafeteria was completely empty for the first time in Anora's memory. The group of four found a spot that was a bit out of the way before they started to talk about their vacations. Lauriam had gone more into detail about the chalet, Strelitzia gave Anora her belated Christmas gift, Brain went into a tangent on how far away Anora lived, and Anora herself simply listened and took in the company around her.
Daybreak Academy was another home for her, she could see it now. And she'd missed it. She missed it just as much as she missed being in her hometown.
"How are you two personally doing?" Lauriam had asked at one point. "It feels as if you've gotten quite close since break started."
"Funny thing about that," Brain mused, "I think it's time we call it off."
Everyone looked over at him in surprise. Anora looked the most surprised of all. What was he doing?
"Oh?" Lauriam then wondered. "Do you mind if I ask why? No offense, Anora- but it is more satisfying to see you two together than with Ephemer dragging you everywhere against your will."
Brain gave a sagely nod before saying, "I agree. However, it's also time for us to learn more about ourselves. This year will be the year of personal growth." He looked directly at Anora with a fond smile crossing his lips. "Besides, if we truly love something, we let them go."
Almost immediately, Anora bashfully looked away.
"And if it comes back, it's yours." Lauriam agreed. "I understand completely."
"I'm sorry." Anora quietly piped up. All the attention focused on to her with Strelitzia and Lauriam at first assuming she was talking to the latter. Only Brain knew who she meant at first.
"Don't be." he insisted. "You weren't my shortest engagement, nor will you be my last. This was the first time I got to meet the girl's family though, so thank you for that. Think I'm going to keep talking to Kieran though- if only to find out more embarrassing things about you."
"Kieran?" Strelitzia asked- almost in a slight attempt to change the subject.
"Anora's cousin!" Brain grinned. "He's practically my brother now."
"I see." came the little snort from Lauriam. After that, the conversation went to talk about Anora's family. Not that she really minded. With Brain calling out the end of their relationship, it led her thoughts back to how she was going to find a certain someone. She had almost a complete plan when the small group departed for the night. Brain had offered to take her to her dorm, but Anora had to refuse.
Instead of going straight to her dorm, Anora instead went to the Leopardus dorms instead. She debated, for only a moment, on which one she was going to visit before taking the left to the girls' dorms. If memory served, the one she needed to find was on the seventh floor. Assuming they didn't change rooms over summer break. Anora doubted it though- they would have said something about it if they had.
That didn't stop her from having a momentary freak out when she knocked on their door. What if it wasn't the right one?
It was a silly thought, because the person she was looking for answered immediately.
"Anora?" Skuld asked when she realized who was on the other end of her door. "I didn't know you were back on campus already."
"Just got back." the younger of the two smiled. Skuld wasn't surprised at the three word sentence she got, it was Anora's tone that had caught her attention. It had almost been assertive- completely sure of itself and what it wanted. For a moment, Skuld blinked just to make sure that it was truly Anora standing there.
"There's something about you that feels different." Skuld noted. She looked Anora over before looking back up. She gave a light chuckle before admitting, "I think I like it."
Hearing this made Anora recoil slightly. But she quickly shook her head. She had a mission, and Skuld was her only confidante for it.
"Skuld, I need your help."
Skuld quirked an eyebrow at this. She casually leaned against her door frame with her arms crossed in thought. "With what?"
The expression on Anora's face hardened. Skuld was almost surprised to see her look so serious. In a tone that meant business, Anora informed her, "I need to find Ephemer."