Left alone, Eda and Raine looked at each other for some time without saying a word. They both seemed to have a billion things to say each other, but neither knew how to begin. Every time they tried to think of how to start the conversation, their minds went blank.
In the end Eda started, and she said the first things that came to mind: "So, explorer, rebel, town liberator... you should write a song about yourself. It would be sung by bards all over the world... after all, it would be about someone who did the same profession as them, you would be an example for any generation!"
Raine blushed brightly. "Well... actually, I might think about it..." they said, scratching their head in embarrassment. "But I think I'll wait until I will be old and run down before I write a song like that. At least I'll be sure I don't skip bits of the story that haven't happened yet!"
"You learned your lesson when we were young and we went to the lake together for a week and one day later you already wrote an eighty verse song about how wonderful you looked while diving in headfirst, only to have to correct yourself the next day given that I discovered that I didn't like it and preferred bomb dives?" Eda asked him with a giggle.
"Hey, I was young and impulsive, okay? People get in a hurry at that age" Raine defended themselves.
"Heh heh! Yes, you were really impulsive... I remember certain events that make me laugh out loud even now!" Eda said. She was really getting old, she realized: she had already reached the phase where she was lost in the sea of memories.
"I was the one who was impulsive!? Sorry, we want to remember who was the one who, when we went to visit a nearby town, in order not to wait a couple of hours for our cart to go around a notoriously dangerous mountain, preferred to spread her wings wide, take me in her arms and go through it from above, resulting in us almost ending up in the belly of a fire-breathing dragon?" Raine retorted. "Every now and then I still feel the heat of the flames of that beast burning my butt! My left buttocks has never been the same after that time!"
Eda blushed and smiled awkwardly at that memory that she had tried with all her strength to erase from her mind... even though, technically, what she had tried to erase most was not that event but rather what had happened when her sister and especially her mother had discovered what she had done, and at that moment she would have much preferred to go back to the mountain and deal with the dragon again rather than stay in the same house with the two of them. That had been one of the few times in which her father had not taken her side but had left her in the clutches of the two women who had shouted reproaches at her even in dead languages, and Eda personally couldn't blame him. "We were really reckless"
"You were reckless. I was the one being dragged into danger by you" Raine replied.
"Yeah, but I don't remember that you ever did anything to stop me, or that you ever protested" Eda reminded them.
"Touché" Raine concluded, starting to giggle too. Then they said: "I'm glad to see that you're still the same. You're still the grumpy, reckless, sweet and slightly eccentric fairy you once were"
"And you are still the same bard capable of composing melodies worthy of a god of music, a little shy perhaps but who still knows how to assert themselves" Eda replied patting them on the shoulder, although immediately afterwards her fingers sank a little more than necessary under the skin of her interlocutor: "And... apparently you've also put on some muscles"
"Well, you can't lead a group of rebels if you're not even a little strong. Even if Darius was in charge of the battles, I still preferred to improve my physique a little too" Raine responded by slightly raising the sleeves of their shirt, revealing arms that although not very large were still sculpted and toned.
Despite wanting to keep a neutral expression, Eda felt her face heat up at the sight. "Y-Yeah" she murmured trying in every way to push away from her mind the desire to sink her fingers into those arms and maybe go up to the abs. "You know, I still struggle to imagine you in that role. Raine Whispers a rebel... if you had told me that twenty or even fifteen years ago, I would never have believed it"
Raine shrugged. "Well, I never thought you'd become a fairy godmother. You seemed to hate brats back then"
"Well... I've changed my thinking a bit. I've matured, let's say" Eda admitted, then she asked: "Anyway, why don't you ask me why I'm the fairy godmother of a wooden puppet?"
"What questions! Because I know you, Eda. Even when you do something that others do, you do it completely outside the box" Raine replied with a smile. "I would be more surprised if that... Luz, right? Was a real girl. The fact that you are the fairy godmother of a puppet fits perfectly with your personality"
Eda raised an eyebrow. Was she really so eccentric that Raine wasn't surprised that she had become the fairy godmother of a puppet, but rather that she had become a fairy godmother? "Um. Anyway, this is not the time to talk about these things" she said trying to change the subject. "Tell me about your travels. You were a little sketchy, but I admit that I'm curious. You've met a lot of people I presume..."
"Yes, although few have stayed with me for long" Raine replied. "Darius is of course the most obvious example, but there were others too..."
"You really seem to think highly of this Darius" Eda said.
"Of course. He's my best friend, the greatest I've ever had" Raine replied. Well, not that it was that difficult: when they were a young boy they had never had many friends, and the one they then considered their best friend had become their ex-girlfriend. But it had to be said that Darius had all the qualities to proudly call himself their best friend. "You don't know how many times he saved my ass, or cheered me up after a bad experience, or told me stupid jokes around a campfire while I was trying to make music and made me make mistakes because I was laughing like an idiot, or acted as my wingman in some pub while I was trying to attract the attention of some woman or man..."
Even though Eda didn't stop smiling, a small veil of darkness passed over her eyes. "Yeah... you've traveled around the world a lot after all, I assume you've had a lot of relationships..."
"Not many actually" Raine hastened to say. "Most were one-night adventures or no more than a week. The only real relationship I had was with Katya, a member of BATTs. We were together for almost five months... then it ended. I mean, she wasn't a bad woman, but I didn't feel very close to her, and even she in the end admitted to me that the feeling was mutual. And then... well, she was a half-vampire. She didn't get burned in the sun and she didn't need human blood but only animal blood to live, but even so often at night I woke up with her teeth planted in my neck because unconsciously in her sleep she had become hungry and her body had reacted accordingly. And believe me, when vampires are hungry, it's a monstrous hunger... literally. I had to call Darius to shake her off because she was like a mussel clinging to me, and he had to grab her by the jaws and open her mouth while I held her still, so to allow me to slip away. Let's just say... it wasn't exactly a pleasant experience. However, we remained on good terms, she is currently one of the members of BATTs who continues to follow me, and she is a dear friend of mine"
Even though she knew it wasn't a good thing, Eda still felt jealousy forming in her chest and gripping her heart like an octopus, refusing to let her go. The mere thought of Raine with another woman gave birth to very negative feelings in her soul, even more so that such a woman was still part of Raine's life even if only as a friend. But after all she knew she couldn't complain: she was no longer part of Raine's life, and they had the right to be happy and to look for someone to share their home and their bed with, and she couldn't object to that.
Although she tried to hide it, Raine probably noticed her discomfort, because they let out a few indecisive coughs and then asked: "Um... and you? What about relationships?"
"I haven't had any" Eda replied simply. Raine looked a little surprised and uncomfortable at the same time (and maybe even a little heartened?), and she said with a sad smile: "Are you surprised? Did you believe that after I left you for those reasons, I would run into another man's arms? Did you think I would really be so hypocritical?"
Raine bit their tongue. "Eda... I never thought of such a thing" they said, then they added: "And... this is not just a courtesy visit"
"Yeah, I imagined it" Eda grumbled looking at them with stern eyes. "Please, tell me you're not about to say what I'm afraid you're about to say"
"But I'm afraid I'll say it" Raine replied. They closed their eyes and sighed as if to give themselves courage, and then they said: "Eda... I still love you. Even though years have passed, my feelings for you have never changed. It was you who occupied my heart at all times, it was your face that I saw in the clouds, it was your smile that I imagined when I saw the stars. That's why I asked Darius to find you... because I can't live without you"
Eda shook her head. Even though what Raine had just said made her heart race, she forced herself to ignore it. "I knew it, you said it" she murmured. "Raine... I haven't changed my mind since that day many years ago. I don't intend to commit to a relationship ever again. Fairies and humans are not meant to have that kind of relationship. You should just forget me and move on..."
"I tried, and seriously too, but it wasn't enough for me to cross the entire world to forget you" Raine said firmly. "Eda... I know you're scared and you have every reason to be so, especially after what happened... I don't blame you for it. But I still want to try. I'm tired of running away from a love that I know will never fade. If you want me to walk out that door and never come back, I will do it... but first I want your honest answer: has nothing changed for you too, or are your feelings different?"
Eda looked them straight in the eyes. She couldn't remember ever seeing Raine so determined, so confident... so strong. They had remained the same in some ways, but in others they had changed... and for the better, at least from what she could see so far. They stared at each other for about a minute, then Eda nodded. "I love you" she replied. "I love you with all my soul, and not a day has gone by when I haven't thought about you. You are my only love, no other person will ever have my heart. But I still don't intend to have that kind of relationship with you again"
Raine seemed over the moon anyway. "So you still feel the same way about me… you don't know how happy this makes me" they said, then they added: "Eda, I know you'll be furious with me for what I'm about to say, and feel free to slap me or perform some magic on me... but I don't intend to give up, not a second time. All these years of my life, as beautiful as they were, I have always lived with the regret of having lost you. If you love me... then I will stay. I will find a way to change your mind, that's a promise"
They expected Eda to resist, perhaps to yell at them, but instead the fairy just let out a deep sigh, and suddenly she looked very tired. "Humans are always quick to make promises, but rarely they realize what it means to keep them"
"You've become more philosophical, I see" Raine commented a little surprised. "If you don't want to believe that I can change your mind, feel free to. But I believe I can. I don't know how, but I will"
"Do as you wish. Just, please start from tomorrow. Today I have already experienced enough emotions with that witch Odalia" Eda replied in a condescending tone.
Raine knew that Eda didn't believe their words, but thry didn't care. They knew it would end up like that; if a nice speech had been enough to make her change her mind, the two of them would never have separated, and perhaps in that moment they would have lived together under the same roof and they would have called her their wife. "Witch? Wow, Eda, I hear around the town that the Blight matriarch is a bit obnoxious, but to go so far as to call her a witch..."
"No, no, you misunderstood. That woman is a real witch. You know, one of those who fly on brooms" Eda explained to him.
Raine's eyes widened. "Really!?"
"Yes, and apparently her daughter is also a witch, a daughter who my pupil Luz considers her best friend and who secretly has a crush on that sweet puppet who hasn't noticed yet. Oh, and that daughter is also Lilith's pupil. Yes, she also lives here in Bonesborough" Eda replied.
It took Raine a few seconds to understand it all in. "Uh… this is… complicated" they admitted. "I really need to catch up on a lot of things..."
"Yeah, so you can understand why I'm tired today. So I have to ask you to leave this house now" Eda said, then she motioned for them to follow her. "Come, I'll walk you to the door so I can say goodbye to your friend and tell Luz and King they can come back in"
Although Raine would have much preferred to stay, they understood that Eda had had a long day and they preferred not to pressure her with their presence, so they accepted that the brief chat they had had was enough for that day and followed her. Too bad that as soon as they opened the door they found Luz with her eyes completely wide open in the doorway, who as soon as she saw them appear jumped up and exclaimed in a shrill voice: "You haven't made babies, have you!?"
Raine nearly fell to the ground in shock; Eda for her part spat out her saliva and became so red she looked like a pomegranate. Neither of them seemed to have a clear idea of what to say, at least until they heard the epochal laughter of Darius who was literally rolling on the floor. "Darius, what did you say to her!?" Raine exclaimed.
"I just gave her an anatomy lesson" Darius replied through laughter. "Apparently your old flame hadn't yet told her pupil the story of the bee and the flower, so I did it. And since I always want to guarantee maximum education to the kids, I also went into detail, explaining the advantages of certain positions and also how..."
"Darius! Do these seem like things to say to a young girl!?" Raine screamed turning redder than Eda.
"Oh, come on, man, she's fourteen! At that age, knowing certain things is a must" Darius replied without the slightest regret. "Rather, you should answer the girl, she seems quite anxious. So, have you defile her fairy or not?"
"DARIUS!" Raine screamed at the top of their lungs, which only resulted in making him laugh even more; then they turned to Luz: "Er... I can assure you that nothing happened between me and..."
"WE HAVEN'T MADE BABIES!" Eda screamed, clearly only just now managing to recover from the shock.
Luz looked at her carefully, and suddenly relief dawned in her eyes: "Yes... yes, there aren't the signs Darius talked about... you're not sweaty... and your hair isn't messy... and not..."
Eda shut Luz's mouth, preferring not to hear anything else to maintain her sanity, then she dangerously glared at Raine and Darius: "You two have five minutes"
Raine cringed under those murderous eyes. "For what?"
"To increase the distance between me and you. Running" Eda replied in a threatening voice.
Raine broke out in a cold sweat: "But... but why me too? It was Darius who..."
"You brought that idiot into my house, you're as guilty as he is! So start running, and hope you still have fast legs!" Eda growled, and Raine felt like fire had just emerged from her mouth. Without thinking twice they turned and ran off towards Bonesborough, followed by a still laughing Darius; as they went away it was possible to hear them bickering.
Eda knelt down and looked Luz straight in the eyes: "Kiddo, whatever that man told you, I swear I did nothing like that"
Luz nodded, clearly reassured. Seeing the expression the puppet had on her face, Eda thought she probably should have put that day on Luz's list of traumas. "Okay, I believe you... but next time we meet Raine, no matter what you two will have to say to each other, I'll stay in the room with you! And if I'll not be there then you'll stay with Willow, or Gus, or King, or... "
"Okay, okay, kiddo, we'll do this" Eda replied; she wasn't surprised that Luz wanted to prevent her from doing 'those' things at all costs, especially given the fact that the person who explained them to her didn't seem like a competent educator at all. At the mention of King Eda also panicked, fearing that the young Titan had listened too, but then she realized with relief that he was still asleep near the door. "Look… now let's go back inside, we'll both get a good night's sleep, and you think about anything but that, okay?"
Luz nodded vigorously: she desperately wanted to find something, anything, to focus on that wasn't what Darius had explained to her. Even though she hadn't seen what he said, the man's description had been so accurate and full of details that it had still formed an image in her head of her fairy godmother and Raine in intimate attitudes, and now she felt the strong impulse to wash her eyes with muriatic acid in order to make that vision that seemed to have glued itself to her retinas disappear.
Sooner or later someone had to explain to Luz how children, at least real ones, are born. Fortunately, the good Darius took on the arduous responsibility