DukeDaniel: These two are a MESS. Also Tekno will be fine - never dying is literally in his catchphrase. maybe one day one of my 47,987 other WIPs will get an update, God willing.
Okuri-chan: Mumza is having the time of her life. If you think she's not 100% aware of the romantic tension and also probably placing bets on the outcome with Phil, you're wrong. Also I forgot to answer last chapter, the Aaron I mentioned wasn't intended to be the Aaron from Aphmau, but I don't have any plans for him so sure! He and Aphmau can be having their werewolf valkyrie arc in the Aether while Evangeline and the gang fight Sirben.
Evangeline slumped forward onto the bed, burying her face in the sheets and muffling a scream.
"Feel better?" Meryl sank down on the edge of the bed, patting her friend's back in between her wings.
"No." Evangeline groaned. "What is wrong with him? We see each other for the first time in forty years and he- he all but ignores me! I would think maybe he'd just forgotten about me if he hadn't made a considerable effort to avoid traveling with me!"
"Well, us." Meryl corrected. "But unless he has some serious problem with me that I'm unaware of, yes, I would say he's avoiding you."
Evangeline sighed, turning her head to stare at the wall of the guest bedroom that they had been assigned. Herobrine had taken them (with little more than a word) up to the third floor of the castle where the queen's guests would reside. He had offered them each a room, but they had decided to share.
The room was just as lavish as one would expect for a castle, with rich furnishings that included a king-sized bed. The tall, narrow windows had panels of blackout curtains to block out the ambient lava-light from outside, and a glowstone lamp in the ceiling could be switched on and off at the press of a button. Evangeline had also finally gotten her answer as to how the Nether told time - a 24-hour clock hung on the far wall, which currently read 18 hours. Evangeline could only assume that such clocks were synchronized throughout at least the capital, if not the surrounding areas as well.
"Just because he's not talking to you doesn't mean you can't talk to him," Meryl pointed out.
"Yes, well, what am I supposed to say?" Evangeline grumbled. "'Hi, I know it's been forty years since you rejected me and told me there's no hope of us being together, that you'd rather disappear into the Nether forever, but I'm still in love with you so please give me another chance'? Notch, no."
"Hmm." Meryl mused over this for a moment. "It's quite possible that he has a good idea how you feel, and is trying to… preemptively drive you off?"
"Maybe." Evangeline recalled the moment that she had first recognized him on the platform, and her cheeks flushed red. "Ugh, I'm in trouble."
"You are." Meryl gave her a final pat, then stood up. "I'm going to get ready for bed."
"Alright." Evangeline's mournful gaze remained focused on the wall as Meryl crossed the room to change.
Evangeline had no idea how she was supposed to act on this mission. The thought of traveling with Herobrine, just like she had forty years before, and just accepting the silent treatment that he was giving her seemed too painful to endure. On the other hand, to be rejected again would be far worse. At least back then he had felt something for her, what if now he truly did not care? After all, he had been in a position to contact her, at least tell her that he was safe, for nearly as long as he had been gone - and, since Commander Zenith was here on a fairly regular basis, Evangeline could only assume that Herobrine had specifically sworn him to secrecy.
"I suppose I could talk to him about… something unrelated." She finally muttered. "About our mission, or something. At least get a feel for how he thinks of me." She waited a beat, then, when Meryl didn't respond, Evangeline lifted her head to find out what had captured her friend's attention.
Meryl had removed her robes, now dressed only in the dark gray jumpsuit that made up the inner layer of their uniforms. Her top was unbuttoned halfway down, and she was staring into the full-length mirror at the raised, darkened marks that riddled her chest.
Quietly, Evangeline rose from the bed, crossing the room to stand beside her. The scars on her chest were the only remaining sign of the night that Meryl was brutally murdered, stabbed a dozen times and her body left for Evangeline to find in their meeting place. Meryl remembered bits and pieces of the event - and, from the way she had described it, it had at least been quick. But no death was bearable, especially one where she had been set upon in a place that should have been safe and given no chance to fight back.
"If you want to go back to the Aether, I'm sure Zenith and the Queen would understand." Evangeline murmured.
"No." Meryl shook her head, hugging her arms tightly to her chest. "I want- I want to ensure that this b#stard never hurts anyone ever again."
"We will." Evangeline wrapped her arms around her friend, meeting Meryl's eyes in the mirror as she rested her chin on her shoulder. Meryl tilted her head against hers and shut her eyes.
The two of them stood still for a moment, just learning on each other, before Evangeline sighed and adjusted her stance. "How long do you think it will be before they get us up?"
"I don't know." Meryl glanced up at the clock. "Maybe… eight to ten hours. I'm not sure what they count as 'morning' here."
"Me either."
The two of them got ready for bed, chatting quietly about their mission as they did so. Meryl had never been to the Nether before, having not been a part of the force that was sent to dethrone Herobrine, so this was all a new experience for her. They agreed between themselves that with the Queen of the Nether herself accompanying them, they likely had nothing to fear from the natives.
Eventually, once Meryl had wrapped her hair and Evangeline had turned out the light, the two of them sprawled out on the king-sized bed together and went to sleep.
"Good morning, ladies." Queen Trixtin called out as Evangeline and Meryl followed a piglin into the courtyard. "I trust you both slept well?"
"We did, your majesty, thank you." Meryl responded politely. Herobrine could feel Evangeline's eyes on him as soon as she came into view, and he took care not to acknowledge them. She shouldn't be focused on him, she had a job to do.
In his forty years in her service, this was the very first time that Herobrine had seen the queen leave the capital city. And for good reason - other than her Notch-given immortality, she was as vulnerable as any other human, and could easily fall to a well-aimed arrow or blade. Herobrine had attempted to talk her out of it after dropping Evangeline and Meryl off at their room, but she could not be swayed, and he had been forced to concede. It was, after all, only a reconnaissance mission, and she had himself, three valkyries, and one of the best fighters he had ever faced to defend her.
"Provisions and supplies have been readied for both of you." The queen gestured to a bench, upon which rested two knapsacks with thin straps that would not impede their ability to fly. "Have you eaten?"
"Yes, your majesty." Evangeline said as she collected hers.
"Very good. Then let us be off." The queen turned around to find Alex. "Miss Alex, lead the way." With a bow, the human girl turned and began to walk towards the gates.
Evangeline made no attempt to speak with him as Herobrine fell to the back of the procession, crossing through the gates and out onto the basalt bridge. He could tell that she was angry with him - which, of course, she had every right to be. She had clearly been happy to see him again, and he had all but brushed her off, then proceeded to fail to get out of traveling with her. His hopes that she would have forgotten about him by now had proved in vain… and he could not claim that he had forgotten about her, either.
It had taken him the better part of the last forty years just to get to the point where Evangeline wasn't constantly on his mind, and to see her in front of him now dashed all that work to pieces. Once again he was captivated by her snow-white wings - as full and unmarked now as if they had never been injured - her golden hair that shimmered in the light of the glowstone lamps, and her face that he had once cupped in his hands to kiss her. Worst of all, despite his feelings, he was in no better a position now to return her affections than he had been forty years ago.
He could hardly claim that he didn't love her now, not when he was just as distracted by her as she was by him (perhaps even more), and it took all his effort just to maintain a pretense of aloofness around her. Perhaps it was better for her to be angry with him. They could simply finish their mutual assignment, Evangeline would return to the Aether, and Herobrine would continue his work as the Queen's aide.
A selfish thought demanded his attention, that he didn't want her to leave, but Herobrine firmly pushed it away. Let her leave. Let her be angry with him, and let her leave, and forget about him and find someone else to mend her broken heart. It would be for the best for all of them, and a fitting fate for him.
"Herobrine," The queen's voice caught his attention, and he blinked, looking up to seek her out near the middle of the procession.
"Yes, your majesty?"
"Come here." She beckoned him over, and he obeyed. The queen made for a curious sight in her traveling clothes, lacking the large hat and veil that she usually wore in favor of a smaller veil that clipped to her long, flowing hair. Gone as well were her long, sweeping robes, as she was dressed not all that unlike the human girl that guided them. Commander Zenith, walking on her left side, seemed rather flustered by this.
"You've been quiet lately," She stated as he fell into step with her on her right. "Is there any particular reason why?"
"I…" He hesitated, mindful of the fact that Evangeline was likely listening. "…have a lot on my mind. You know, of course, what my last encounter with Sirben was like."
"I do." Queen Trixtin nodded. She knew a lot about him, coaxed out via numerous conversations that had occurred over the last forty years. "Does this situation worry you?"
"I would be lying if I said it did not."
"I understand. That's why I brought Commander Zenith and two of his finest warriors in to assist." She patted her companion's arm and he smiled at her. "Oh," She exclaimed suddenly. "I nearly forgot." Reaching into her bag, the queen drew out a sealed envelope, stamped with green wax and an image of a simplified oak tree. "A letter from your brother arrived this morning."
"Thank you." A small smile lit up Herobrine's face as he took it, giving her a small bow before falling back again to the back of the procession. They were nearing the edge of the bridge, now, but they were still far too close to the city to worry about being attacked, leaving him free to let his guard down and devote his full attention to his brother's letter. Breaking the seal, he drew out the paper inside and unfolded it.
"Herobrine.
It is always a pleasure to hear from you, but what grim news to receive. I had hoped we had seen the last of that fiend…"