As Clear As Crystal

Explanations

After all that had transpired during the day, sitting on the platform that looked outwards upon the city of Attilan was just the kind of get away needed to calm down and let everything fully sink in. Crystal had brought you here after Maximus' trial, you hadn't realised how late it had gotten until you saw the stars in the sky. Both of you remained silent as you sat down together before sighing in unison as you got the first chance to relax after the long and stressful day it had been. And the two of you remained silent for a moment, both of you looking at each other a few times to see who'd talk first - it was you.

"Some day, huh?" You asked and Crystal nodded her head, looking forward as she replied that it had been a long one to which you could only nod your head in agreement. Looking forward, you looked down at the streets below, lit up with street lights as everything seemed so quiet now. It was a stark contrast to how loud everything had been, even when there was silence it was ironically deafening.

Like now, there was tension in the air that led to another silence until Crystal spoke again. You didn't have to look at her to know she was frowning, you could hear it in her voice as she apologised to you. But why would she be apologising? What was the need for her to do so? You looked at the Inhuman Princess to see the frown you could hear, asking her what she was sorry for and she looked down again as she said she was sorry that she wasn't there for you when everything started to go wrong through the day.

"You were on your own when Maximus gathered that crowd, weren't you?" She asked but you countered with your own question of why she had to be sorry for that, her response being that you had to listen to Maximus spit his vile words about you with nobody around to support you but you told her that she didn't have to apologise for that. "I don't think everyone believed him, one kid even openly doubted him, besides, Black Bolt did put a stop to it" you tried to assuage Crystal, but she still insisted that she should have been there to back you up.

Shaking your head, you told Crystal that she didn't have to feel guilty about not being there in that one moment as she had been there for you more than enough before. "Besides, you were talking with Triton, he's more of a priority right now anyway" you told her but Crystal still frowned as she looked away, muttering something to herself that you didn't quite hear. You asked her to repeat herself and seemed nervous as she glanced your way before looking back into her lap.

It took a moment before spoke again, saying that it wasn't just because she visited Triton that she wasn't there for you earlier in the day. Her words made you tilt your head, wondering aloud as to what she meant as she didn't have any training with Gorgon as the Royal Guard was with Black Bolt when he intervened. So you asked Crystal what she meant by there; "where else would you be?" You asked and she slowly looked up at you, apprehensive as she told you not to be mad with her about it.

"But I went back to the human world" she spoke quickly, as if to say it too fast for you to comprehend her words, but obviously you heard her. "Crystal" you spoke her name and she held up her hands, interrupting to say she knew what you were going to say about how she shouldn't have, especially given the circumstances, but she asked you to hear her out at the very least as to why she did so.

"I just wanted to try and find proof that you were innocent, that you had nothing to do with what happened to Triton, I only went back to the home of the X-men, not the actual city itself" she spoke hastily, trying to explain herself but her words only raised more questions. She went back for "evidence"? What did she intend to do if she found any, reveal it to the others which would also reveal that she went to the human world to begin with? She would get into so much trouble for that!

You told her this, saying that you only went to the human world with the agreement you'd avoid getting caught. But Crystal knew that of course, she knew that even if she cleared you of any suspicion, she would face consequences for leaving Attilan herself. But that was why she went without you.