Episode 5: Elder and Apprentice

29th of Matrinalis, 5:03 Guardian

Aelita waited patiently as Edna redid the braids in her hair, or as patiently as she could. She looked at her feet, which were caked in a thick layer of dirt. She summoned a small wisp of water and cleaned them before she slid on her shoes. Aelita looked up at the sky, and Edna looked up as well. The sky was beginning to grow dark, and the stars were beginning to show.
"Edna?" Aelita asked, not moving her eyes.

"Yes, da'len?" Edna responded, secretly conjuring a yellow mountain flower to tuck into her braid.

"Why does the moon change its shape?" She asked, kicking up the dirt. Aelita knew that Eleanor would have a fit when she returned late and covered in dirt, again. But she'd stopped caring.

Edna took in a deep breath. "Before the Creation Father designed our world, he created the Destruction Mother to help him bring balance to the world, so she was called the Balanced One at that time. They worked together to create a beautiful sky for us in both night and day, but they created nothing without a purpose. The clouds that decorate the sky during the day bring omens, both good and ill. The stars hold our destinies, and show us the paths that lie before us to reach it. The sun that warms us and shines upon our world is a symbol of the Creator's influence. Similarly, the moon was a symbol of the Balanced, and in those days the moon was always full.

"But the Balanced One was unhappy with the world they had created. She was discontented with the mortals that slept during the time of her influence. Even the drow at that time preferred the day, though they were closer to the Balanced One than most. She rebelled against the Creation Father, and a great war ensued. During that time, the mortals took sides. The People stood with the Creator, and the drow stood with the Balanced. The dwarves aided the drow, but the humans were cowards, and they fled to the faraway land that we call Shiralan, where they remained for a thousand years."

Aelita was absorbed in the story. Edna moved with it, motioning with her hands and creating images with her magic. "And then what happened, Hahren?"

Edna smiled. "The war was long and hard, but no one knows how long it lasted because the days and nights blended together. The sky itself was divided, showing both the sun and the moon. The People and the Creation Father were far more powerful than the drow and the Balanced One. But much of the land had been destroyed. As punishment, he banished the drow beneath the earth, and he submerged the dwarven cities along with them. Then, he exiled the Balanced One, and when they spilt, he renamed her the Destruction Mother.

"The Creator did all that he could to lessen her influence, but he couldn't erase her influence completely because destroying all of it would create only more unrest. So he took her influence, the moon, and he warped it. Every night the moon takes a new shape. When it wanes, the Creator is telling us that the Destructor's influence is weak. When it waxes, he is telling us that her influence is strong." Edna stood taller and walked behind Aelita, as if she had finished her story and expected her apprentice to return home. "That's why monsters come out at night. Monsters like… werewolves!" Edna grabbed Aelita, ticking her sides until the child squealed with laughter.

Her laughter fading, Aelita asked, "What if someone comes after me? What do I do?"

Edna frowned. "The only person around here you have to fear is Thomas Vincent."

"Why? Isn't he just the Knight Templar?"

She looked at her student. How was she to explain to a child that such hatred existed? How could she say that he feared her because of what she was and what she could do? Aelita likely knew already, but Edna did not want to color the little girl's world with such ugly emotions. "No, he's a vampire. He tried to recruit me into his legion of the undead."

Aelita's eyes widened with wonder. "I knew it," She said, her voice somehow both surprised and unsurprised.

Edna laughed. After a moment, she said, "I love you, da'len. You're like the daughter I could never have."

The child looked up. She smiled, her eyes filled with tears. "I love you too." She hugged her mentor, who wrapped her arms around Aelita with the strong yet tender love of a mother.

15th of Cassus, 5:08 Guardian

Odd sat up suddenly, though immediately he decided that was a bad idea as pain seemed to explode from his temple. For a long moment he was stock still, his eyes tightly closed against the splitting pain until it receded some. Opening his eyes carefully he waited until they adjusted to the light and then looked around slowly. He was in someone's bedchamber, though he didn't remember how he got there and the surroundings weren't at all familiar. Seeing his clothes piled next to the bed only added to his confusion.

He reached down to collect his things, wanting to find his way out as quickly as possible. "Where are you going?" A voice behind him asked. It startled him, though in hindsight he should've expected one. Odd turned to see Talia lying next to him, and she sat up. Her long hair had come out of its braid, now around her waist. He had to admit that she was pretty but she still too closely resembled Aelita. What was more disturbing was that he had no memory of returning to the smithy where she worked, yet he must've gotten there somehow. He continued to gather his things, and Talia caught his arm. "Hey! I asked you where you're going."

"Obviously, away from you." Odd snapped, pulling up his pants. Talia sat up as well and pulled on her dress. She walked around and grabbed his shoulder, but he yanked it away. Talia grabbed it again. Odd now ripped her hand off of him. "What in Mediterra did you think drugging me and bringing me back here would accomplish?"

Talia didn't have an answer. "What's the matter? Aren't I pretty? Don't you like me? Didn't we have fun?"

He snapped answers off as he finished dressing himself. "Yes, you're pretty. No, I don't like you. And I don't remember! Honestly, you have some nerve! I'm going to report this to the guard!"

Talia laughed, and she leaned against the wall. "What makes you think they're going to believe you?"

"Why wouldn't they?" Odd asked, approaching the door.

"Because they know me, and they don't know you. And if they asked your friends, what would they say? Would they claim that you're an innocent little boy, or would they claim that you get around?" She smirked. "You may not remember, but even though you were drugged you were by no stretch of the imagination unconscious."

Odd's eyes widened and although he didn't say anything in return, he was startled by her words. He shook his head and walked out of the room. Like the headache however, Talia's words still floated inside of his head, and he tried to push them out of his memory.

Aelita woke up in the Sarethari estate. Her head pounded but she was alive, and she was grateful for that. She couldn't help but wonder what she'd done—she remembered passing out, having depleted her entire magic reserve, but she knew not what that had done. Aelita remembered seeing Edna but it was likely nothing more than a hallucination.

"Aelita, you're awake!" Jeremie said, and she looked to her side. He sat next to her, and he hugged her. "What were you thinking? What did you do?"

"I'm not sure. How did I get back here?"

Jeremie leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. "A woman carried you back here. She said that she would've healed you on the spot but she hadn't regenerated enough magic yet, so I called Laura back. She healed you. How are you feeling now?"

Her eyes widened slightly, but she tried to remain calm. "Fine, I guess. This woman… was she older? What did she look like?"

"That depends on what you mean by older. Older than us? Yes. She wasn't an old woman though." Jeremie tried to remember specifics about the woman. "She was in a brown robe. She had long brown hair but she asked for a dagger and she cut it."

"Was she an elvhen woman?" Aelita asked as she pulled her legs over the side of the bed she lay in. They felt heavy, like they'd fallen asleep.

"Of course! Who else would have carried you back here? I can't imagine a human or a dwarf would have, even if they lived here."

Aelita jumped up out of the bed, and she wobbled for a moment. Jeremie tried to catch her, and she waved him off. He chased the Outcast as she ran out of the room, sliding on the carpet before catching himself. Aelita spotted the elvhen woman with brown hair speaking to Anthea, and she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Edna," She whispered. Laughing, she ran up to the woman and hugged her from behind.

The woman was startled, but she looked down. Aelita looked up, and tears flooded her eyes. This was indeed Edna, not only that but she was unharmed, and she looked as young as she had that day. Edna smiled, and she hugged Aelita back. "Aneth ara, da'len." She whispered.

"Edna! You're alive! Thank the Creator!" Aelita sobbed. "But… how?" Jeremie looked in surprise from one elf to the other. 'How' was an excellent question.

Edna struggled to explain it. "I… honestly don't know. The Shaman said that my soul had been stored in the String of Second Chances and that Asha'bellanar Yolanda gave it to you, but I don't know how my soul came to be stored there or how she came to possess it." She raised one of her eyebrows. "I remember only a dark forest, and a spirit helped me retain my sanity."

Anthea seemed surprised. "You remember death?"

She smiled weakly. "If my soul remained tethered to the Garden then I was not truly dead, I don't think."

Aelita didn't care about that. She grabbed Edna's hands. "Let's go build a snowman!" She suggested with sparkling eyes. "Let's go dancing through the halls! Let's go throw tomatoes at the magistrate outpost about ten miles up the forest! Let's—"

Edna placed a finger on Aelita's lips. "Aelita, no. You're pushing yourself too hard. You need to rest now."

"I'm not pushing myself too hard! You're alive, and I want to make up for lost time!" She protested, and while it looked like she was about to say more, she coughed into her hand. She opened her palm and looked in horror at the tiny specks of blood that had collected there.

"I've been speaking with your mother. I know what happened with Mehormanda. If your parents were both Blind, you never should've been born a magician. She wants to weaken you. Look, just being near the site of her magic burst has made you sick!" Edna pleaded.

Aelita narrowed her eyes. "I've had dealing with the same sort of spirit as Mehormanda before. I can handle her." She said flatly.

Edna seemed surprised. "You… have? Are you saying…?"

"I am a blood magician, yes."

Edna seemed both disappointed and angry to a degree. "Why would you do such a thing? Don't you know how dangerous that can be?"

"I thought that if anyone would understand, you would! You told me to survive, and if I hadn't turned to blood magic I wouldn't have!"

"Aelita… Do you still have Erahalam?" Edna asked, and when Aelita nodded, she held out her hand. "Return the bond to me."

She hesitated. "Murray's soul resides inside of the skull. If I return the bond to you, what will happen to him?"

She tilted her head. "Your durgenlen friend?" Aelita nodded again. "He is trapped because Erahalam was never intended to grace the hands of a blood mage."

"Then how was I supposed to summon the damned thing?"

"You shared a bond with it! You could have called it with your mind!" Edna shouted.

Aelita frowned, but she tried to summon Erahalam without the use of blood magic. She focused on the staff, and she pictured it in front of her. When she closed her palm, her fingers touched the wood of the staff. She then placed it in Edna's expecting hand, and she said, "I give you my staff. Carry it now. The bond is yours." She felt a pang of regret, but it was too late.

Edna bowed. "I will work on freeing Murray's soul. He will not return to the physical world but at least he can rest easy in death."

"Thank you, Hahren." Aelita said shamefully. She remembered looking at his skeleton, and regret filled her again. She'd killed him.

Anthea presented Aelita with a flute, though it was small and part of a necklace. It was white, but it had a faint red glow and it seemed to radiate energy, almost like laughter, yet it was vaguely sinister. "This belonged to your grandmother. She was a blood magician too, and she carried this wherever she went."

Aelita blew a note on the flute, and then she held it out in front of her. It grew, becoming a staff. It was long and apparently made of ivory, the bottom covered in what looked like shadowy corruption. At both ends were a crescent moon-shaped blade, and like the flute it was white with a red glow, though the glow seemed more like lines than an actual glow. The top of the staff held the larger blade. Raven feathers marked the first quarter of the staff.

Just holding the staff gave Aelita a great sense of power, and she could feel it coursing through her veins. Anthea explained that her mother had told her the staff had belonged to a powerful spirit in Bellanaris known for its laughter. "It is called Samahlin. Be careful with it." Anthea warned.

"Blood Laughter," Edna translated grimly. "Are you sure that it's a good idea to encourage her?"

Anthea smiled. "Not really."

Aelita looked between the two women with conflicting emotion. Her grandmother's staff felt a more natural fit to her than Erahalam and she was glad to have something of her birth family. But she couldn't shake the feeling that she had failed in Edna's eyes, that Edna requesting the staff back was final confirmation that she had failed miserably and was no longer worthy of being Edna's adopted daughter. She turned and walked away, willing the staff back to its smaller state.

Jeremie watched the two adults talk. Anthea was beginning to change the subject from Edna's misgivings to what her daughter was like and the family that had received her. Uncomfortable questions and conversation in general and nothing he needed to hear. Especially not with the way Aelita walked down the hallway. Her shoulders sagged and her head was bowed, her gaze concentrated on the floor and her steps were slow and wobbly.

"Aelita?" Jeremie called softly when he caught up to her. She turned her head sideways and nodded then returned to gaze at the floor. "Aelita?" Jeremie asked again and this time when she glanced at him he continued on. "There's still hope. I get the impression that elves don't really…" He fidgeted uncomfortably as he walked beside her, now doubting that memories best left to fade should be brought up. But he started so now he had to finish. "They don't think of blood magic as I did. Nothing you've said and done can't be forgiven in time."

She looked up at him, green eyes shining with moisture and just the faintest glimmer of hope. She said nothing, but for now, it was enough that she had listened.

It was late in the afternoon when Jeremie called all of the Heroes back to the estate via telepathy and now having gathered together once again in the dining room they waited for dinner. "Aelita, I just want you to know that I prefer you to the human the elves took to occupy your space." Odd said flatly.

"I… ma serannas?" She said in confusion.

Anthea looked at Odd. "Oh, you met Talia Dorfalas?" When he nodded, she added, "Oh, yeah, she's a bitch. We don't talk about it."

While Odd nodded his agreement, Edna looked to the humans sitting around Aelita and considered. Jeremie sat next to her, staying just a bit closer to her than the others. Ulrich was on the other side, casting a questioning glance to Odd that the boy ignored. The one known as Yumi sat across from Ulrich and beside Odd, looking somewhat more mature then the others. She bore no ill will towards them, though she noted that Laura, who seemed to be seated as far from Aelita as still being in the general group would allow, was a princess. Bearing no ill will however, was not the same as believing they were the best group for Aelita to remain with, especially in light of her blood magic and the part they seemed to expect to play in the war. Frowning slightly, she spoke up. "You cannot spend much more time in Halamshiral, da'len."

Aelita nodded. She felt like an abyss had grown between them. "I know."

"I know that many of the Aloten remained in Arlathan, and I'm sure that they will be more than willing to return to a nomadic lifestyle when they learn that I yet live. So, Aelita, I was thinking that you should come with me to Arlathan when I go."

Jeremie looked at Aelita, who looked up at her Hahren. "You… want to take me to Arlathan with you?" She asked, the shock making her voice lower than normal. Aelita had been denied entrance to the city when she had finally made it there, though no answer she received for her denial was the same, nor were they satisfying. Jeremie stood and excused himself from the table, and the others watched him leave. "I… don't know what to say."

Edna smiled. "I thought you wanted to see Arlathan?"

"I do, but… I have a duty. My friends and I… we're fighting against Xana. I'm a Hero chosen by destiny." Aelita explained. "I guess now we're trying to gather an army."

"But you do not intend to fight her right now, do you?" Edna asked. "I beg you; reconsider. There is no need for you to be alone."

"I am not alone." Aelita said firmly, glancing to the empty seat beside her. She tried to excuse herself, but Anthea asked that she at least try to eat some before she went to bed. The Outcast managed to eat a little of the soup prepared for her but swallowing hurt, and she began to worry about Jeremie.

Immediately after being excused she searched the estate for him, and eventually she spotted him in her father's workshop, tinkering with the centurion. He looked content enough, and Aelita wanted nothing to do with the machine, so she decided he could wait and went to explore a bit more on her own. She discovered a staircase that led up into the attic, and she climbed up there. Inside the attic were many old things—one such thing was a stylized image of her mother and father. She cursed, seeing no way to pick out any of her father's facial features from the stylized image except his vallaslin.

Aelita looked over and saw a trunk. She opened it, and inside she found many journals. She grabbed one and flipped through it. It was all written in the Common, and Aelita sighed as she closed it, coughing as she jumped back and away from the mushroom could of dust the quick action caused. She looked to her other side and saw a dress on a mannequin.

The Outcast moved closer to the dress, and she learned very quickly that it was her mother's wedding dress. The white silk was soft to the touch and across the bodice where seashells that she couldn't help but wonder how they were acquired. Aelita looked nervously towards the staircase, and quickly she pulled the dress off of the mannequin. She changed into it, and she looked at her reflection in a nearby mirror.

Aelita was a bit too small for the skirt so it brushed against the tops of her feet, but otherwise it fit her like a glove. The neckline of the actual dress was a sweetheart, if Aelita correctly remembered Mamae Asha's lesson on formal attire, though sheer fabric covered her up to her neck. The bodice was slightly uncomfortable because of the seashells but they were beautiful to look at. The sleeves hung off her shoulders, and they collected at the silken bracers.

She could only imagine how beautiful her mother had looked in the dress as she walked to meet her father. This thought could only lead to a wonder of where she would be if her father hadn't been obsessed with his centurion.

"Aelita?" A voice said. She turned to see Jeremie standing in the doorway. She smiled at him briefly before returning to the mirror. Jeremie walked up behind her, and he seemed to be staring. Suddenly she became very self-conscious, remembering that the sheer fabric could not cover up the scars from her life as a slave. Aelita also remembered Jeremie asking her if she wanted Laura to heal them which did nothing to help her self-image. She pulled in her arms, and shifted the fabric of the sleeves, trying her best to cover up her scars. "Is that a wedding dress?" Jeremie asked.

"It belonged to my mother." Aelita said quietly.

"You look beautiful." He said with an honest smile. Aelita smiled too, but her self-consciousness had not yet faded. "Actually, I… uh… wanted to talk to you about something."

Aelita turned to face him and she took a few steps back, not because she was afraid of him or what he had to say, but because she didn't want her scars to show up in her reflection. "What is it?" She asked.

Jeremie took a deep breath. "Does this all feel strange to you? I mean, we've been travelling for so long, it will have to feel weird when we stop travelling."

"You can always keep travelling. The People never stay in one place for very long, at least not without purpose." Aelita replied. She wasn't sure, but she could have sworn she saw Jeremie wince when she said you.

"I know. That isn't what I mean. What I'm trying to ask is…" He struggled for the words. "Okay, so all of this time we've spent together—tragedy, brushes with death, constant battles with drow, zombies and constructs, the whole war looming over us… will you miss it, once it's over?"

Aelita was silent for a moment. She walked closer to him. "Miss the constant doom and gloom… or miss you?"

Jeremie hung his head. "I… know that Edna asked you to rejoin the wilders and go with her to Arlathan. I know that life must be a lot more appealing than any other."

"Jermeie…"

"Let me finish." He interrupted her. "I know that this must sound strange, especially coming from a human, but I've… come to care for you. A great deal. I think maybe it's because we've gone through so much together, I don't know. Or maybe I'm imagining it." He finished solemnly. He looked up at her, and nervously he took a few steps closer to her. "Am I fooling myself?" He asked, "Or do you think that you could ever feel the same way about me?"

Aelita couldn't breathe for a moment. "Do you… mean that?"

He smiled. "I've never been more honest in my entire life."

"Even though I'm not human like you are?"

"Contrary to what Laura might tell you, it makes no difference."

Aelita smiled. She nervously took his face in her hands, and he wrapped his arms around her. They kissed, and when Aelita pulled away she looked more nervous. "That… wasn't too soon, was it, ma vhenan?"

"I don't know. More testing is needed, I think." Jeremie suggested.

Aelita laughed. "I'll have to arrange that, then, won't I?"

He laughed too. "But, gods, you are beautiful. I am a lucky man." He looked like he was about to say something else when Odd charged in.

Odd looked confused. "I'm not interrupting, am I?" He asked. Aelita held back a groan as Jeremie released her. "Anyway, your mother's gift to us just arrived."

The trio left the attic and entered the main hall where the others examined a specially-made Eluvian. Aelita at first assumed that this was not the gift, for most wilders would never in a million years consider giving something so valuable to a group of teenage humans. "I had this Eluvian built with a special function—it can find and show a person from your memory so long as they are alive. If you want it to, it also sends a spirit bird out to them, and those birds can carry letters." Anthea explained.

"So you mean we can use this mirror to contact, say, our parents or other family members?" Yumi asked, lightly touching the glass.

"Yes. In addition, it can also be used to contact anyone with a physical Eluvian in their presence, and it performs other functions as well. Every Eluvian contains the knowledge accumulated by the elvhen. So we never have to be apart again, da'len, even when you are far away." Anthea smiled at her daughter.

"This is a fine gift. You have our thanks." Laura said formally, and she touched the glass. It reflected an image of her father, and she smiled before pulling her hand away.

Each of the Heroes took turns touching the glass, picturing their families and getting more excited as their parents and siblings were proven to be alive. Deciding to leave the next morning, they stayed up half the night writing letters for the spirit birds to carry to their families.

16th of Cassus

It was late and cold when the heroes set up camp on their first night back on the road to Cortex. Yumi was just starting first watch and all but one of the others had crawled into their tents for the night. That one was looking apprehensively at Jeremie's tent and she jumped when Yumi, who had finally had enough of watching her pace back and forth as if she couldn't decide whether to go in or to retreat to her own tent, tapped on her shoulder. "Sorry Aelita, I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's alright." She said quietly.

"You go in, I'm sure he's decent by now." Aelita's cheeks colored slightly but she nodded and went to the flap that served as the door to his tent. She looked back over her shoulder as Yumi called her. "Odd's got next watch so if you've had enough of his teasing over how he caught you two in the attic, I'd stay in there until Ulrich's watch."

"Thanks Yumi." Aelita smiled.

"Just don't do anything you'll regret." Yumi replied with a wink. Aelita merely shook her head in reply then turned back to letting herself in.

Once inside, she lowered herself down beside him, loosening her coat as she settled herself. In the darkness she turned her head to see him smiling gently at her and said the only thing that really came to mind. "Hi."

"Hi." Jeremie greeted back with an amused tone of voice. "Shouldn't you be resting?" He asked with genuine concern.

"You need sleep too," She answered gently. "But since neither of us is sleeping…" Gathering her courage, she sucked in a breath. "Do you remember the attic? The dress?"

Jeremie grinned, "Of course. You were stunning."

She wrapped her arms around herself. "Even with my visible scars?"

At this, Jeremie propped himself up on his elbows and gazed at her with a serious expression. "You had scars?" He asked in a surprised tone. Aelita couldn't help it and she laughed. Her laughter proved to be contagious because soon Jeremie was laughing with her. The moment of levity passed and the frown returned to her face, causing Jeremie to slowly stop laughing as well. He avoided frowning by pressing his lips into a straight line. "Aelita?" he asked quietly.

"You asked me to let Laura heal my scars once, do you remember?"

He nodded. "I thought it would help you." Jeremie answered kindly. After a moment of staring into Aelita's doubtful look he glanced down at the floor. "I guess I also hoped it would help all of us by making your status as an escaped slave less visible to those who saw you and perhaps it would help the rest of us in some other ways."

Aelita's expression darkened slightly and she was more hesitant as she spoke. "Help you by making me more beautiful?"

He breathed out "Oh honey, no, that's not…" His voice trailed off on seeing that she wasn't convinced and he closed his eyes tightly for a moment. When he opened them he saw that she was shifting uncomfortably and looked like she was preparing to get up. He mentally kicked himself before coming up with an idea, one which created wagon wheel sized butterflies in his stomach and set his hands shaking. He sat up slowly, with Aelita eying him questioningly and gestured for her to set up as well. She shifted and pushed herself up, tucking her legs underneath herself and still looking unsettled, even fearful.

Slowly, he reached out and took hold of one side of her coat, whispering "please" as he gently pulled the garment off of her shoulder. Then he reached for the sleeve of her shirt and whispered "trust me" to her. She thought for a second then closed her eyes and nodded, hoping that she could banish the memory of the last time a guy had gotten this physically close to her. But Jeremie was different, and she really did know that because if she hadn't, he'd already have been sent screaming though the side of his tent. She still shuddered at the sense of vulnerability that came from Jeremie pushing the sleeve up until her shoulder, and the scars there, were exposed to the night air.

In the darkness she felt the air around her change what had to be a hot breath tickle the skin of her arm. Her eyes shot open and she saw a mass of blonde hair and the side of Jeremie's face as he leaned in close. Panic filled her for a moment, replaced as quickly as it came by something else entirely when she felt something warm, soft and somewhat moist press down against one of her many scars. The realization struck her with enough force to make her gasp; he was kissing the thing she hated most about her body.

All the terrible memories, all the searing pain, all the terrible things she'd seen at Arak-Muna. The other lessons she'd been forced to watch, the ones she didn't tell anyone about and had never used. The scars she carried were so much more than skin deep and yet here was her Jeremie, kissing the most visible reminder of what might be the worst thing humanity could put her through as though it didn't make her ugly. As though it was nothing that he should fear or feel put off from or… She didn't know and as she felt another kiss pressed to a different scar she lost any semblance or care for introspection. Instead she relaxed and leaned into him, wrapping her free arm around his body and nuzzling her head into his shoulder. Tears dripped freely from her eyes and she didn't hold back from crying.

A/N: I'm going on vacation this week, so this is the last update for a while. Although I promise that I will get right back on this as soon as I am able. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Kwanza, Happy New Year (normally I'd say Happy Hanukkah as well but this year we had Thanksgivikah)! I'll see you all in January.