Chapter 20: Synchronization

"Will you read me a story tonight?" a little girl's voice said; it was small and weak.

She was diminutive and appeared almost lost among ample bedding. Her skin was pale and held a sickly tinge. Her eyes were wide and a bit too shiny. They were unseeing eyes which usually looked upwards at nothing in particular. Long brunette hair fell around her recently brushed and her eyes were a deep umber.

"Of course I will," the tall elf replied, "Just as I do every night."

"I was just...a little worried."

"Worried? What has you so troubled?" Felix asked.

"I heard you...and Mom arguing downstairs..."

"Oh, you heard that? It was only a small disagreement. It was resolved quickly."

The little girl shook her head. "It was about me...wasn't it? I'm the reason why...you have to live like this..." she said weakly.

"No," he said shaking his head, "No, none of this is your fault. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me. I wouldn't trade the time I've spent with you for anything."

The little girl coughed before responding, "But you know that's a lie. I ruined everything for you. I ruined your life-

"I will not hear any more of this. I made my decisions and I don't regret any of them. It is not you that is wrong, but the world and that cannot be changed overnight." Felix sat beside the bed but now he bent over closer as he ran a hand down her hair which framed her face. "I will not hear any of it," he said in a softer tone, "I'm not angry, resentful, or otherwise unhappy. Perhaps I'm not one who smiles all the time, but I am quite happy to be here with you. Knowing that you're safe, knowing that I can keep you safe gives me peace of mind."

"When you say things like that..." Her eyes began to water up, "Sorry, I don't mean to cry. It's just, I've always been so alone...I didn't think anyone in the whole wide world would ever care whether I lived or died...and now I want to live because of you.

The bed began to disappear along with the room itself until there was nothing left. Then the room was there once again, the small child still there, but her eyes were closed. Felix stood there beside her bed along with a woman who could be identified as Arcangela.

"No, this can't be..." Felix said, his voice wavering. "I thought..." He looked back at Arcangela who's reaction seemed lukewarm at best.

"I tried the best I could, Felix, but her disease claimed her too quickly."

"What exactly were you doing down there anyway?" Felix questioned with a slight edge.

"I don't think I like your tone-I did the best I could. You as well. There is no one to blame here."

Then the elf's gaze returned to the girl. "Sorry..."

Tears began to fall from his eyes crawling down his cheeks. At first they came at snail pace, but they continued to come as he covered his mouth. Arcangela placed a hand upon his shoulder and then shook her head despondently before turning to leave.

"I think I'll...leave you two alone for awhile."

"Arcangela," he said, his voice sounded hoarse now as he turned to her sudden retreat.

"Please, don't mind me. I just...hate crying."

She left him without another word and closed the door behind her. When he was alone, Felix did not use the chair which still sat there beside the bed. He used his knees instead so that he could be closer to the bed itself as he laid his head upon it and sobbed into it. He continued to cry and cry and cry grasping onto the comforter as if holding on to dear life. When he was done, he turned his head to her still, silent form, his eyes still moist.

"Did you...did you want to hear a story?" he asked her weakly, "It's not one I've told anyone...You won't find it in a book anywhere...No one would be interested, no one besides you."

He lifted himself from the bed now so that he could speak clearer.

"There was a time when I hated school. I hated being ignored by everyone. I used to think so highly of myself, I suppose I still do, but back then it was the only thing that kept me from...doing something silly like suicide. I don't claim to understand what you've had to experience for most of your very short life, but I was alone as well. I was alone for a very long time. No one would be bothered with me and I wasn't the easiest person to get along with. I didn't want to be anyone other than myself and I didn't want to change just to fit in with everyone else. One day I decided I'd run home to prove something to myself. I wanted to know if my martial arts teacher had been right if I simply was not fit enough to manage any sort of training. I ran like my life depended on it and like an idiot I tripped and fell on my own clothes, those silly, pompous robes and skid my knee pretty badly.

"I was alone, you see, just like always and those nearby pretended as if I was invisible. So I sat there crying like a baby, hating everything. Hating my teacher, hating the students who went to school with me, the damn cement which had the audacity defile my knee, the sky for being so bright and happy when I wasn't; everything. No one came to help me. From that moment on, I decided that I could not depend on anyone besides myself. If I couldn't do something, then there was no option B. I wanted to be a healer, I wanted to be able to protect myself against anything, and I wanted to be so clever that I would never be tricked or ridiculed again. I wanted to be perfect and totally self-sufficient. I limped all the way back home blood running down my knee and all. That night, I began to study and since then I've never stopped.

"They said they were so impressed by me, accolades from everyone, but I felt so very empty inside. I could not love, only hate. I cared so little about people. I took joy in others' pain. I was utterly lost and really, though from the outside my life seemed painted in gold, my future bright, I did not look forward to it. I did not look forward to life or even the next day. It would come and I would grudgingly play my role. And then there was you. They say you don't know what you have until it's gone-whoever doesn't are fools. You meant the world to me and I could not even bear to think of you not being there. I know you didn't set out to do it. You had your own problems to deal with and for some reason you saw me as your savior. You saw me as a far better person than I really I was. You believed in it so wholeheartedly, that even I began to believe and then I think I became that person. I didn't think I could change, I don't think I even wanted to, but...it simply happened. You had that power. If only people could have known you as I've known you, they would not be so quick to hatred.

"You were so concerned about being a burden. You were never that. In fact, there were days I wondered why you put up with me and my shenanigans. Yet you called me your father and I fancied you as a daughter and then there was Arcangela, the bedraggled woman you dragged home because she looked so hungry and lost," Felix chuckled at this, "You loved bringing home strays. If you could, you would have saved the whole world. It was as if we were a family. We were a family, we are a family. For all my prowess in healing, I could not save you. You don't mind...if I stay with you tonight. I promise you, I haven't lost all my senses-tomorrow, I will put you to rest; you who possess my heart."

He laid his head back on the bed and fell asleep almost instantly. The sun rose and then the sun fell again. The bed was empty yet freshly made up and Felix remained there, not sleeping on the bed properly but across it as if there was someone there in it. The door to the room whipped open and in stepped Arcangela. She was clearly upset.

"You pitiful man," the woman said angrily. "You've done nothing more than sit in this room staring at nothing. Now I know you're still a bit down because of Lisa's death, but when are you going to move on already?"

Felix was, in fact, not asleep, but staring at the square brown pillow where Lisa's head used to lie. "Easy for you to say," his voice cracking somewhat with disuse, "You hardly cared about her."

"How dare you! Just because I'm not a pitiful wreck-I thought you were stronger than this. I need you, Felix."

"For what?" he said despondently, "I'm completely useless..."

Arcangela sighed exasperatedly and then crossed her arms. "You know what? You are completely useless. Utterly! Honestly, I didn't think you'd still be like this after a are still things that need to be done and I had hoped that you would be at my side."

"What are you going on about?" he said drearily.

"Felix, are you going to stay there forever or are going to help me?"

"Help you with what?"

"Saving the world."

"Maybe I've actually gone crazy, but did you say 'save the world'?"

"Yes, silly, it is a grand scheme, I know, but I've been working on this for a very long time. Now is the time finish it all."

"I don't think the world actually needs saving," Felix said confused, "And even if it did, I could give a damn about it. How could they hate such a girl as Lisa-I was one of those people as well. You think the world is in danger, then let whatever comes come. We miserable bastards deserve it."

"I swear, Felix, I am done with you. I am tired of your attitude. I don't like that you've completely given up!"

She twirled on heels and moved smoothly out of the room slamming the door behind her. The sun continued to rise and set and after a few more days, Felix was found lying sprawled on the bed no longer sitting off to the side and his eyes were closed but he was not asleep. The door opened again with a calmer Arcangela.

"Oh, how I feel sorry for you, Felix. Has life ended completely for you? Did your spirit die along with Lisa?"

His eyes were opened now and he looked towards her. His expression could not be called despondent, happy, or even calm, it was simply blank, there was nothing there to be read.

"I think I would rather tell you the truth before it eats me up inside. I think it would be therapeutic for me and perhaps your anger might move you to live once again." As she sighed, his eyes looked up towards the ceiling. "I killed her." She waited for a reaction, but he remained still. "I killed her, it was all a trick that you fell for hook, line, and sinker. I pretended to be this homeless woman; she brought me home. She became ill after I arrived at the house, don't you remember? I was looking for a subject, the perfect subject, with the perfect DNA. Lisa was that perfect specimen. I embarked on my experiment before I really knew you. I fell in love with you, but I had to finish my studies. I was so close to a solution. I fell in love with a man who could love a girl who was not his own as a daughter and you shared that love with me. No one had ever done that for me before. I knew that you would be torn up over her death, but what if I had stopped? I would have to find some other poor victim. You would get over it, you would have children with me and learn to love them as well. We would still have a family and my experiments would have been a success. All of this can still happen. You must understand, however, that I did this not maliciously but for the sake of the world. A world that may soon find its end if nothing is done soon. Well, Felix, say something, say something finally."

His eyebrows had creased, his eyes had grown wide. He sat up from the bed as if something had possessed him and he stared at her as if he had seen a ghost. "Do you mean? I could have saved her? I could have...revived her? What have you-?"

"Is that all you can say?"

"You watched her die. You watched her suffer everyday and you pretended to give a damn about her...At least...You were always so cold and distant...I thought it was because you'd lived a rough life, that you wanted to protect yourself, but it was really because you are a plain and utter bastard. You come in here..." He could no longer speak as his fists began tighten up. He gripped them so hard that his nails began to bite into his skin and blood began to seep from the crevices of his knuckles. They shook until they began to pale.

"Felix, please, calm down. I know you're angry. You have every right to. Speak to me, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking I want to watch you suffer," he said, his voice dark and terrifying, "I want to watch you die slowly, I want you to beg for mercy and then I want to watch as the life disappears from your very eyes. You would take another life so...so casually. There is not a single reason you could use to explain yourself."

"I...I had to do this. One day you'll understand."

The very ground she stood on began to rumble. The house began to shake violently and Felix gazed at the other with all-consuming hatred.

"Thank you, Arcangela," Felix said as he climbed out of bed, slowly spreading his hands out once again though sticky with blood. "I'd forgotten how to hate-it feels so glorious. Like an old friend I get to meet after such a long time."

The rumbling continued. Pictures fell to the ground, everything swung off their hinges, dishes rattled and crashed to the floor, chairs toppled over, lamps and light bulbs shattered easily. Felix slowly moved towards the woman and she began to back away from him at the same pace. This continued until they made it to the outside, the light momentarily blinding the tall elf who had not stepped foot outside for a long while. He fell to his knees in weakness as well, but not before the very house they'd just occupied collapsed upon itself. Arcangela seemed to regain her former confidence in the presence of his weakness.

"Don't strain yourself, honey," she said as she bent down along with him so that she could lift up his face to her.

A trail of blood crawled from his nose, but his expression was no less vehement.

"You haven't been eating properly, you've not even bothered to step outside of that room for much of anything-in short you were simply wasting away. I'm surprised you had even this much energy."

She leaned forward and kissed him whereupon he bit down on her bottom lip drawing blood from her. Instinctively, she slapped him sharply across his face, but he did not seem affected by it. He was looking down again in his apparent exhaustion.

"If you can feel anger, then in time, you can feel other things as well and eventually you will come to understand my decisions-you will forgive me and we shall join forces again. Until then," she said standing up and turning away from him. "Don't die. I will return to you in due time. Oh and I sent for the authorities. Since you're too weak now to defend yourself, expect to be apprehended with ease. In jail, you shall have time to think on things."

"How could I have been tricked so easily...? I never suspected you the whole time. I couldn't protect her...This pain that I feel right here in the pit of my stomach-it won't go away until I see to your death."

The very sky began to darken and soon the surroundings as well. Leona found herself once again. She was beginning to regain control. She felt as if she was floating in midair.

"Release me..." It was Felix's voice, she could tell immediately, but it sounded weary.

"Felix..." Leona said uncertainly. "Where are you?"

Her eyes strained to look into the darkness, but she could not see a thing.

"Right here," he said.

Then she began to see it; the silhouette of the mocha elf except that he was turned away from her.

"I try and try to open my eyes, but there is some force which stops me. I realized it was you. Always there. Always intruding."

"What are you talking about?"

"I assume your ignorance is not pretend. I know for a fact that it has been more than a day since I've been in this state and I have better things to do."

"I don't understand. Those things I was seeing-were they real?"

He finally turned to her, his expression the picture of calm. "You always ask that and it is of no consequence. Time is becoming a precious commodity and yet you lie here as if you have all the time in the world."

"Yes, I remember. We were fighting Arcangela and then-I'm not sure what I did at the end. Those words were elvish, weren't they? Did I somehow...? Did you make me do that?"

Felix frowned at the other. "I've never forced anyone to do anything they don't want to do. You spoke the very words I was thinking verbatim and you had no business attempting such a technique. You could have died right then and there."

"I had no idea. I just...wanted to take down Arcangela. She's the reason we're even in this mess in the first place."

"You had no idea?" Felix asked, his annoyance coloring his tone. "Think, Leona. Did you suddenly learn a new language in the span of a split second? Do you always spout every random thought that comes to your mind?"

"I-well..." It was difficult to explain her actions logically. It had all been in the spur of the moment. She'd desperately wanted to do something and then it had simply fallen into her lap. She hadn't even been thinking, she'd simply reacted.

"And now, you've trapped me here, where I have little control."

"What is 'here'?" Leona asked intrigued.

"What can only be assumed to be your mind."

"So before...it was the other way around? But why then was I still seeing your dreams or memories?-I have no idea which."

"I don't have the answers nor do I care to."

"If only you'd be more upfront with me and stop being so secretive, we could figure this out together. You need to tell me everything you know about this. You were able to send me back last time. How?"

"I don't claim to understand what 'this' is, but I've heard of similar occurrences. Obviously, I'm not physically here nor were you vice versa. Your thoughts control this world and it is your thoughts that can shape it in any way you see fit. 'Sending me back' would be as simple as not thinking about me."

"Not thinking about you?, but you're all I ever think about-" She realized she'd spoken too soon, but it was already done and it could not be taken back.

"I-I see," he said. She began to blush. "I had no idea I was so...popular. Would it be too much to ask to spare a thought for something a bit more constructive? Like say, how in the world are we going to stop Arcangela's scheme? Is it already too late to save Lucas?"

"Arcangela," Leona said suddenly, "Did I...?"

"Your guess is as good as mine at this point. Anything could be happening and we'd have no idea. Leona...would you please release me from your state of unconsciousness?"

"I'll try," Leona said closing her eyes.

There was always the fact that she had no idea what was happening to the other two who had been with her. They could both already be dead. What if Arcangela had remained unscathed even after that attack? What was she doing anyways besides making things far more difficult than it needed to be? When she opened her eyes again, he was no longer there and she gave a sigh of relief. She wondered why thinking of the elf had become an all-consuming thing. It was embarrassing to say the least and to make it even worse, now he knew about it. How would she ever be able to look at him in the face again without turning red?

It felt as if it was only moments later when she was opening her eyes to the world of reality. She could tell immediately when this was the case and not another dream. That she was lying in a bed came as a bit of a surprise to her. For some reason, she had thought her circumstances to be a bit more precarious. It was quiet as well and the bed that she found herself in was made for someone much bigger than her.

Slowly, she stepped out of bed. She was still in the same clothes she'd been wearing prior; perhaps it hadn't been too long. She walked out of the room she was in. As she looked around, she knew she had to be in someone's residence. There were framed pictures on the wall, many of them old, some a bit newer. But what she found odd about them besides the fact that the individuals in them were all elven possessing varying degrees of brown skin tones were their characteristic plumpness. Some were rotund, especially the women. All of them had some degree of chubbiness to them. The more she looked, the more she began to wonder who's home she was currently occupying. Eventually, she turned from them and walked down the stairs directly in front of her which led straight to the living room where she immediately found Cathe playing with a deck of cards. Carefully the girl placed the cards into a pyramid form on the ground clearly intent upon finishing it.

"Cathe?" Leona said interrupting the girl.

She jumped up as soon as she knew who it was and ran over to her to grip her in a tight hug.

"Leona! Oh I'm so glad you've finally woken. It's been three days!"

Leona's eyes widened at this, "That long? Was...Felix alright?"

"Huh? Felix? Yeah, he's fine. For a short while, we thought he'd lost consciousness too, but he was fine. Man, that move you did on Arcangela really did a number on her-"

"Is she dead?"

Cathe shook her head. "I don't think so, but she did retreat afterwards. I guess she thought it wasn't worth the effort any longer. It was her one against the rest of us."

"So everyone's alright," Leona said relieved.

"After a few gels, yeah, everyone made it out alive."

"And how in the world did we get here? Are we in Heimdall? Where's the others now?"

"Woh, woh, slow down. Come, sit down with me. I'll tell you everything."

Leona realized that Cathe had barely finished embracing before she was drilling the other with questions. "Sorry..." she said realizing she might have been being a bit insensitive.

"There's nothing to apologize for," Cathe said sitting down on the plush carpet, "I know everything has to be so confusing now. One moment you're out there fighting Arcangela, the next everything's all quiet and cozy."

Leona sat down cross-legged upon the carpet. There were sofas as well, but they had decided to avoid them altogether. Not that she minded, but obviously Cathe was a bit more interested in continuing her solitary card game of pyramids. As she spoke, she continued to lay down the cards.

"We made it, first of all. We're in Heimdall right now. It was night and the guards at the door knew Felix and they just let us in no explanation. In fact...I think Felix knows a lot of people here as far as females go."

Leona's eyebrows creased at this. "What do you mean?"

"What do you mean 'what do you mean'? I'm saying that a lot of females know him. Another woman who was on guard duty took us on a route in which we wouldn't be seen. Then we made our way to Felix's parents' house. We would have went to his, but it has long since been abandoned after his banishment-it would raise too much suspicion if it seemed like it was being lived in again."

"Oh, you should have seen his parents. Just very happy, jolly people. You wouldn't think a guy like Felix was surrounded by all that positive energy at home. Turns out, it'd been years since they'd heard hide or tail of him-it was a happy family reunion. They were just glad he was alive. And they made us this big dinner and said we could stay as long as we needed. I swear, we talked all night. They're just so understanding. I think I learned more about Felix than I ever would have otherwise."

"Like?" Leona asked.

"Like after he was banished from Heimdall, he was later arrested for the alleged murder of the half-elven girl, Lisa, the same one who he had been banished for. That at the time, he'd been seeing Arcangela. She slowly and methodically killed the little girl for her own selfish gains and then pinned her death on Felix. And he said all that to his parents without any sort of sugarcoating. Their reaction?-Well, they just wanted to know why he didn't come to them for help. And his response was that he simply did not want them involved with all of that. They were considered good, upstanding residents of Heimdall-he didn't want to throw their lives into turmoil over his decisions. Leona, what's wrong-it's like you've seen a ghost."

"No," she said shaking her head, "I'm fine...it's just a lot of information to take in," she lied.

In reality, Leona was a bit surprised over what she already knew. She wondered if their candid evening had been because of what she already knew. Perhaps he simply did not think it pertinent to continue on not saying anything if she could simply blurt it out anytime.

"Well, anyway, the very next day, bright and early, your mom and Felix headed over to the academy to begin research on the strange malady that Lucas is able to place on so many people at once. They left me here to look after you when you wake. But really, I think they just wanted me to stay out of the way while they researched."

"I'm sure that's not true."

Cathe grinned at her, "I can't say I was ever good at school...and research was always a disaster. Concentrating on one thing?-always a torture."

"So all we can do now is wait," Leona said with a sigh.

"Want to play a card game with me?" Cathe asked.

Leona looked down at the cards and admittedly, she had no interest in them so she politely declined. "Did you see any books lying around here?"

"Hmm..." Cathe said thoughtfully, "Try the den over there," Cathe said pointing to a closed door.

"Am I allowed in there?" Leona said concerned.

"They said we could go into any room we wanted," Cathe said with a smile.

"Well...alright."

Leona climbed to her feet again and made her way inside. It wasn't quite a grand library. In fact, there was only one full shelf of books and as she glanced through the titles, she realized that they were all romance novels. Just as she was trying to convince herself to settle for one of them, she found one book which looked promising, at least it wasn't a novel: Finding True Love Could be Just Around the Corner. Sure, it was still about love, but it seemed like an informative read. There was an illustration of a no-nonsense woman on the cover, a bit heavy-set and completely dolled up. Leona was reading even before she could take a seat. Just like that she was absorbed into the book.

She didn't think she'd like reading about love, but she enjoyed the frank tone of the literature juxtaposition to the topic. She'd made it halfway through the text and she wanted to find a more comfortable spot. She completely ignored Cathe as she stepped out of the room and traveled all the way upstairs back to the room she'd woke in. It was then she arrived at a chapter that truly piqued her interest.

A rare occurrence which only happens among elven folk is something called Love Synchronization. Every once and a while, a person may find their true love, eternal partner-a mate in which you are so perfectly synced that your minds are as one. No two minds are the same of course, but you would come to understand each other so well that it would be practically the same. So how does one know that this phenomenon is occurring to them? A very good question. Reports say that it starts out gradually. So if any of those reading became a bit frightened about the prospects of having someone else's entire life dumped into their laps-have no fear. Most say it occurs in dreams at first. Of course, since these are ones that you can remember without having been awakened in the middle of it, they cannot be defined as "dreams". It is a misnomer. In reality, it would be more accurate to say that you would be experiencing someone else's memories. Here is where the accounts become a bit varied. Some say that they experience the memories as if they were that person, others say that they've only experienced them by looking on the outside in. Still others say they experience it as if they were in many places at once. The wackiest account being that they experienced all three ways at different times. That does raise a question about memories in general. Intuitively, many would assume that one would experience them looking through the eyes of another. But what about those who detach themselves from the situation? And what about those who are extraordinarily self-conscious? If it is indeed memories that one is seeing, it is then dictated by the perception of the person who's memories you are experiencing.

Leona turned the page. She was now reading at an almost lightning fast speed with an increasingly eerie feeling coming over her.

However way you experience them, it is indeed one of the most impacting ways of learning about the other even if that person hasn't said a word to you. Often distressing situation occurs when the synchronization is with someone you don't know very well. Then the question becomes, is that person experiencing the same thing? Does that person like me as well? By all accounts, the answer to those questions should be yes if this phenomenon is true. There is only one way to find out-ask the person and see what they say. But far worse is the situation in which this occurs with someone other than the person you're already involved with...That, however, is another can of worms that we will not get into at the moment.

A feeling that reports have described as warmth and peace is often felt by tactile events. It could be as simple as a finger tapping a shoulder or even looking at the person in the eyes. Later, as the connection deepens, you begin to feel what the other is feeling especially if it is traumatic or life-threatening. And finally, at the last stage, you would be privy to the other's thoughts at any given time. As headache inducing as this sounds, most have claimed to be able to control such things.

She closed the book then so that she could calm her racing heart. The symptoms described here matched her own almost exactly. One thing was for certain though, Felix did not spend exorbitant amounts of time thinking about her. Then again, she wasn't sure what he was thinking about half the time. Apparently, that was about to change in due time. The text mentioned having control over such things and Felix seemed to have that, she did not. But there was one thing she had to keep in mind-there could still be a reasonable explanation to it all. It was difficult not to jump on the bandwagon when the text had been so clear and she could find no other explanation. Really, the only way she could know for sure was by asking Felix. She wondered how in the world she would work up the courage. If she was to ask, she would ask plainly and quickly just to get it over with. Even so, would he elect to be honest? And what of their age difference? She knew he couldn't be young and she had only just turned 13 which was old enough to marry in the eyes of the government so said her father. What if it was her youthfulness that was the only problem? Better yet, was she concerned about those things? She found that she did not care so long as the feelings were there, but would her parents feel the same? She was getting a bit ahead of herself, though. The feelings had to be mutual or else there would be nothing. She knew that much about love even if she didn't know a lot. Of course, after reading this book, she had a better understanding of it. From what she learned, there wasn't a soul in the world who knew love. Love was a leap of faith. Love was taking a chance and exploring one's feelings. Whether one was a novice or a veteran, that was always the case.

She flipped the book open again. She still had less than half of the text left and finally it had moved on to other interesting subjects. She estimated it would take perhaps another few hours to finish it all off and then she supposed she'd take a nap as it was beginning to get late and she'd heard no news from the others. Her mother could easily spend days researching on one topic and she was sure Felix was the same way.

After finishing off the book, she finally closed it and placed it on the nightstand beside the bed. There was a window nearby. She opened the curtains a little to peer outside. All she could see was forest and more forest. A knock on the door-frame drew her attention immediately and there in the doorway was none other than Felix who looked quite well and had changed into something that was not his usual attire of robes. He looked halfway normal with dark tan culottes, knee-high boots, and a maroon colored leather jacket. Still he wore his hair in the same hairstyle as always as if he had never once dreamed of not wearing a ponytail-and Leona knew that wasn't true. In his hand he held a hot cup of tea on a saucer. Leona could smell it even from where she was sitting-Chai Tea, her favorite. He seemed to have a knowing look on his face.

"Like the view?" he asked her, "I'm sure the dark and foreboding forest should perk up anyone's mood."

Sarcasm she thought. It was almost always his go-to form of communication. She watched as he set said hot tea on the nightstand near her.

"You made that for me?" Leona asked. He gave her a quick nod. "But it's my favorite. How did you know?"

"I know a great many things about you, Leona."

"I guess Mom wouldn't shut-up about me."

"Who, Boss Lady? The only thing she talked to me about was what books I should look through and which she would be looking at as if I hadn't the faintest clue where to start. Or when she looked through my notes she complained about how horribly garbled they were. It was getting late so I decided to leave her to what she seems to do best. We're practically finished and just as I thought there is a viable solution to our problem. The only issue is in it's execution, but I would hate to steal her thunder so I will speak no more on it until she thinks we're ready to."

"Today must have been pretty trying," Leona commented.

"Only the parts in which I had to communicate with her which was far in between."

"But that still doesn't answer my question about the tea."

"I'm sure you wouldn't like the answer 'wild guess'." Leona shook her head no. "By the way, did you really leave poor happy-go-lucky Cathe down there by herself playing card games whilst you become lost in some book?"

"You're changing the subject," Leona said matter-of-factly.

"Hm, I am, but that girl was practically begging me to play with her as soon as I stepped through the door. So I stayed down there for a good hour-or was it two?-playing countless games with her. And it was she who suggested I bring you something like tea since you hadn't eaten nor drank anything since the day began."

"And then she told you about the tea."

"It doesn't take much to get her started. Let's just say that. I don't think I've ever known a person who could talk for hours straight. It's a gift really. Cathe and uncomfortable silence don't belong in the same sentence."

"Oh, I see," Leona said hoping she'd hidden the disappointment from her tone.

She had spoken with Cathe at length about tea and a plethora of other topics. She'd thought she'd found the perfect segue into what she wanted to talk to him about, that he'd finally "slipped up". But that would be too easy.

"Although, I didn't come up here for my health."

Leona's ears perked up-if that was possible-when he said this.

He sighed heavily. "There's something that's been bothering me."

She waited for him to continue, but he didn't immediately. "About?" she asked.

"Geez, I've never been this tongue-tied before. I think it would be easier if I just said it plainly." Then he began slowly. "You are like an open book to me. I think I know almost everything there is to know about your life, about your wants, your likes, dislikes, and everything in between. I know it sounds crazy and it's understandable that you would-"

"No," she said interrupting him, "I believe you."

"You do?" he said incredulously.

She could only nod.

"Well, this is going far differently than what I imagined."

The same phenomenon as before was occurring at this very moment. When he looked at her, she became utterly caught up in his gaze and she could not look away, she could hardly even speak and her heart was racing. She wondered if he felt the same, but she doubted it. As always he seemed in complete control.

"That time when we first met. You remember-with the exploding caravan, your feisty little friend not knowing when to shut-up? Yes, I think it was then when I heard your voice in my mind. It was you who stopped me from doing what I had planned to do in the first place."

"And what was that?" Leona managed to say.

"I was just so angry at the time. It was a smoldering hatred in which I wanted nothing more than to destroy anything who happened to be in my path. I wasn't really thinking at all, working off of reserves I didn't know I had, beyond exhausted, delirious even. That little girl was going to catch her death and then I would have hated myself for all eternity. But then I heard your voice, before you ever said a word, before I even caught sight of you."

"I had no idea I was thinking of something so positive as to halt your original plans," Leona said flabbergasted. She was surprised because firstly, he could already read her mind so early on and she could not do the same to him and secondly, it was because of her that they'd not been killed outright. The thought was a bit frightening to say the least. But she knew she could become caught up in the world of "what ifs". What mattered was what did happen.

"No, it wasn't what you said. Your voice was indecipherable as far as words go, but the sound of it...It was calming for whatever reason and I did not realize that it was you until I heard you speak more than once and then thought about it later. That was the first time and then on many other occasions, I heard you as clear as day even though you hadn't said a word to me physically. I knew your thoughts even when you were nowhere near-

"But how?" Leona asked a little too loudly.

This seemed to startle the other. "I know it's hard to swallow-

"No, it's not that," she said calming down now. "It's just-this whole time. Why is it I could never tell? That whole time I was wondering and you knew and you never thought to tell me anything, just continue to watch me be confused."

"I'm sorry."

This gave her pause. She hadn't been expecting an apology. She expected him to have some excuse.

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "I suppose that makes me quite a devilish person. But I enjoyed-

"Watching me suffer?"

"No," he said shaking his head, "listening to your thoughts. Watching as you slowly began to make sense of things in your strict logical manner. You saw the world so differently from me. Everything was so new to you, everything was...a puzzle to be solved. Everything had a solution whether you could find one immediately or not. It was a nice distraction from my own darkening thoughts. When I thought so little of the world, you believed the opposite. And I did not want to tell you because it was so incredibly bizarre and you would not possibly understand."

"You, Felix, are far too good at hiding things. This whole time-I thought I was alone. I thought I was going crazy. I'm sure you can hear what I'm thinking even now-

"I've gained sufficient control over that. At the moment, I have no idea what you're thinking. Besides, I needed concentration for all that lovely research I had to do today."

For the first time, Leona was able to look away on her own. The spell was finally broken. Slowly, the unknown was becoming more and more defined. He was less mysterious than he had been before. Still...

"I can't read your thoughts and I don't know everything about you, just a few things."

"Perhaps it's better that way," he said taking the time then to lift himself up from his chair, "Knowing what's on my mind wouldn't exactly be therapeutic and my life isn't one that would give you warm and fuzzy feelings. I think we've talked enough for one night. There's quite a bit for you to rummage over as you usually do for hours on end."

"It's hard to imagine. You listening to my thoughts...the whole time. I must have said a million and one embarrassing things. I don't want to think about it, but I know I will and I know you'll be listening the whole time."

"I won't," he said. "Now that you know, it won't be nearly as amusing. You'll be more careful, more self-conscious. Besides, I've been waiting for you to say how rude of me it was to do that. Perhaps a bit more anger on your part for intruding on your privacy so arrogantly."

"I'm not angry," she said slowly, "I'm just not angry. I should be, but I'm not. There's a part of me that's glad that another person could find me so interesting. I'm glad that I'm the reason you made better choices."

"Hm," he said with the beginnings of a smile. "My parents will be here soon and they'll want to make their usual feast and force feed us at the table. In leiu of you not eating anything at all today, you should join us. Hopefully, Boss Lady would have made it back here as well."

"Sounds like a date," Leona said before she could stop herself.

"Then your idea of a date differs greatly from mine."

"Wait," Leona said to the turning elf. He stopped as he stood at the doorway with his back turned to her. She paused when she suddenly grew cold feet in saying what she wanted to. "Wait," she said a bit softer. Yet the words wouldn't come forth.

"It's getting too heavy," he said wearily, "Let's save it for another time."

Leona wasn't exactly clear on what he meant by "heavy", but he had already left her presence and she was left to her own thoughts-well, she supposed she was being left to her own thoughts. She looked up when she heard what sounded like the front door opening and an increase in voices downstairs. It sounded like everyone was in high spirits save for her. She wasn't altogether sad, but perhaps her mood was too "heavy". Still she didn't know what it meant, but it seemed to describe her mood perfectly.