"Will this place even be a refuge for the others?" Frederick paced.
"I wish we could see them again. Wouldn't that be wonderful?" Chessa's eyes sparkled.
Frederick stopped and turned, looking upon the hopeful girl. He smiled faintly. "Such hope in your eyes."
"Why not? It's better than despair!"
He came and sat next to her on the small bench beneath the crystal. "Do you think they'll come before the crystal fades completely?"
"No doubt."
He looked up at the great blue stone. It seemed to fade every second, making his smile fade as well. He sighed and lowered his head.
Chessa placed her soft hand on his. "No doubt." She repeated.
He looked at her solemn expression and forced a smile. He didn't want her to be so sad. He turned his hand so that hers was placed inside it.
She leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "No doubt."
.
Miach gazed at herself in the glass, dressed beautifully in white, with a small veil. She looked through that veil. She sighed at how symbolic it was. Everything was symbolic to her these days. "I'd rather marry a toad," she squeezed her bouquet, "at least it will believe me to be something worthwhile." She smoothed out her dress. "He hasn't even once complimented me. Just insults. Terrible, down-grading insults." She sighed.
"Just think, my dear!" Her mother bounded in. "In a few moments you will be a princess!"
"Princess…" she whispered. No. She won't have any power. She won't have anything.
"Hurry now, darling. The ceremony will start soon!"
Miach watched her through the mirror as she left. "Hurry. I'll hurry alright." She ripped off the veil and dress, putting on her normal clothes. "I'll hurry home. Home, that's right." She looked out the window. "It's still there, and it seems to be shining still!" She smiled. That kind of symbolism she liked. She hopped out the window, landing hard but not stopping. "Hurry." She repeated.
.
"Dhiren! Why don't you show me the meeting place?" Sophronia pleaded. "It can't hurt!"
"That place is forgotten. It represents nothing but lost hope." He was solemn again.
"I don't think so." Sophronia insisted. "Look! I still say that crystal hasn't lost its shine, its beauty." She took his hand and pulled him outside.
"I say it's nothing but void darkness."
"But that book in your arms! And that ring in your hand! Let them show that there's still something left of your friends!" She kept pulling. "Come on! I've always wanted to see that magical land, anyway!"
Dhiren was reluctant, but he agreed that it wouldn't hurt to pay a visit to his old home. And she was right; the crystal did seem to sparkle as he started to approach it.
.
Uday slid out of the room, slowly, stealthily. He wrapped a cloth around his bleeding back, for he had just been whipped. He was caught trying to escape, and he was escaping again. He looked up, out to the land before him. There it was, the crystal. Who cares if he's caught? He's grown immune to the whip. He walked, as if in a trance, onward, to that shining blue light before him.
.
That shining crystal, the symbol of a friendship long lost…