Words Unspoken - A Hermitcraft Story

The Advice

"Isn't it pretty?"

Hels turned his head to the voice. Ex stood there with a smug expression. Hels turned his head back to the stars.

"What do you want?"

"You don't have to be rude."

"You don't have to be here." Even without looking, Hels could tell Ex's smirk turned into a frown. "What do you want?"

Ex didn't respond. It seemed the reason he was here was difficult to admit. "I need some advice."

Hels laughed. "And you came to me? That's rich."

"Please Hels. You're the smartest person I know and..."

Hels turned back towards the former Watcher. "And you wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."

"Exactly."

Hels took a strained breath and exhaled slowly. Ex looked genuinely nervous, which was definitely strange for him. "Tell me what happened."

"Thank you."

"Hurry up before I change my mind."

"After Zara gave me control to distract you, I made sure the door was open for me to regain control after he took it back. And when we made it back to the compound, he talked to Scar. And y'know, he was the one who locked me up inside Zara's mind. I was so... mad... I took control, broke the holding stone and killed Scar." A shudder went through his body. "Zara is really angry with me. He won't even talk to me. I know it's my fault, I just want to give him his life back."

"What happened to Xizara?"

"Tango is holding him in the new compound. Runes everywhere to keep us from using our magic."

"Have you tried apologizing?"

"Obviously, he won't even hear it."

"Then stop trying. Respect his wishes and leave him alone. One day, maybe he'll be open to hearing your explanation."

"I hoped you wouldn't say that."

"So you already knew what to do."

"Yeah... I think I just needed someone to tell it to me." He opened his mouth and closed it.

"Go on."

"Mind if I sit here with you for a while?"

"Go ahead."

Ex smiled and plopped on the ground, sending tufts of misty magic up into the air. Hels sat down beside him, softly displacing the particles. There the pair sat, watching the sleeping souls travel across the sky.

"Why did you take another student after me?" Ex asked, his voice cutting through the comforting silence. "After everything I did, why did you even consider it if they could just hurt you again?"

"I was never supposed to. The Counsel asked me to never take another student and I agreed. But Xelqua chose me. He refused to be taught by anyone else. When I asked him why, he said I had a different glow than the others. He said I was hurting, and I needed someone to take care of, to teach. At the beginning, he scared me with how easily he could read others. It's hard to understand how I didn't figure out what he was way sooner."

"What do you mean?"

"Xelqua's a Seer."

"And Seers can only protect other Seers. But that means...."

"Mhm."

"Grian's a Seer too."

"Bingo. In the beginning, all Scar wanted to do was fix the monarchy. In turn, he set in motion a sequence of events that will end with Grian wielding the most powerful magic in the universe."

"But how? So many pieces had to fall into place to get us here."

"Someone's been pulling the strings. And I think we both know who."

"But most of the things she's done isn't to get Grian to Ren's camp where that mercenary would try and kill him."

"The story isn't over yet, Ex. Something big is about to happen and everything will fall into place."

"How can you believe that?"

Hels drew his hand across the mist and flicked it upwards, spreading colorful particles across the sky. "I've spent my entire life waiting for what's about to happen. I have to believe it will all work out, or nothing in my life will make sense."

"Not even Wels? Even if nothing else works out, isn't Wels worth it?"

Hels stayed silent. Ex was right.

"Zara is worth it too. Even if he is really p*ssed at me right now."

Hels chuckled. "It's good to see you again, ̇/╎ᓭᒷ∷╎."

"You too, ⍑ᒷꖎᓭ."

They spent the rest of the night staring at the stars. 

721 Words