A Love Beyond Time// Eternals Druig fanfic

Chapter 8: Illusion

Present day.

Artemis pulled her thoughts away from the past as they began their descent to Australia. It was too painful to think about, even now, centuries later.

She wondered fleetingly what it would be like to see him again, if indeed they were going to go find him next. But she shrugged, trying to convince herself not to think about it.

"Hey Artemis," Kingo said carefully. Artemis looked at him, not noticing that his valet had started filming again. "What happened after we left you?"

She didn't need him to explain what he was talking about. She sighed, looking out of the window again.

"I had every intention of leaving," she told him honestly. "But the next morning, I just had to give it one more shot."

"I had hardly started looking again, heading towards the forest, when I realised that I was too tired, too heartbroken to carry on in my search."

"I had no voice, it was useless to try and continue shouting for him."

"I don't know how, or where it came from. But I suppose with the last of my energy breaking, I broke too."

"I screamed so loudly, that I thought it must be someone else, shouting instead of me. It was like it was a distant scream that went on for hours."

"I must have fallen to the ground, crying because when I realised where I was, maybe hours later, it was as though I got a last bit of courage back- a last bit of dignity."

Kingo was staring at her, slightly wide eyed and she saw Sprite staring intently at her.

"So I got up, and stumbled away," she told them. "And decided to head North."

Kingo sat, slightly forward as he watched her, listening to her story come to a close.

"You know," he began tentatively. "Sprite said that we should wait with you for a few days."

"Ajak was fine by the second day, but Sprite was worried about you. That's why we waited."

Artemis looked at him curiously before looking at Sprite. She looked away.

"Sprite wanted to make sure you were okay. And when you hadn't found him after a few days, she was sure you'd come with us."

Artemis nodded, without realising what she was doing. Taking in the words as they washed over her. Not daring to think that anyone had expected the worst of Druig.

As though in an attempt to explain hersef, Sprite began, "You could have joined us. We couldn't have gone far by the time you gave up. We could have gone back to Ajak and waited with her for the others."

Artemis turned slowly towards Sprite, frowning. But before she could ask a question, the plane had landed in a deserted part of the Australian desert.

Artemis followed the others in a daze. She couldn't think straight. She mulled the new information about her week-long search over in her mind, hardly noticing where they were or what they were doing.

She didn't even notice the dead deviant on the ground or an apron-clad Gilgamesh emerging from a house. She didn't listen as Ikaris told him about Ajak's death.

She only snapped out of her daze when she was addressed by Gilgamesh.

"Where's Druig, Artemis?"

"I don't know," she snapped and walked off to stand some way away from them all. She didn't need to hear Sprite recounting her story to know that she would.

She was still deep in thought when she saw them all heading over to a tree where Thena sat, and she followed.

They were met with a white-eyed Thena, who had clearly been triggered by the deviant attack. Artemis frowned slightly as she took in the scene before her, when suddenly it changed.

Sprite used her power to show Thena who she was. An illusion to break through her many thoughts.

Artemis stared, suddenly understanding. But she didn't dare address her newfound realisation. Not when they had more important things to worry about.

Even though she tried to listen to the discussions that went on around the lunch table, and even though she heard them laugh. Artemis couldn't bring herself to join in. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense.

Sprite must have created an illusion during her week-long search for Druig. But again, she didn't dare speek her thoughts on the matter.

Artemis only really snapped out of her thoughts when Sersei came back into the room. She didn't even notice her leave.

She listened aghast as she and the others were given more information about everything going on. Apparently, Earth was host to a celestial, Tiamut about to be born. The earthquakes and everything else were only part of his birth.

Artemis frowned listening to the information. So all this time, she had been on a suicide mission?

"Do you think Druig would be able to control Tiamut?" Gilgamesh was asking and Artemis snapped out of her thoughts again.

"There's only one way to find out," said Sersei.