Every step away from home is a chance for an adventure and Darcy is on her first one. She's been dreaming of finding her father for as long as she can remember. He's out there and she's got a list of clues and a crappy map, but it'll do. Less than a...
"You did as well as I thought you would," Azmerah said to the three seated on the couch across from her.
They'd found her in just the same place on their return. She looked somehow tired somehow, if a goddess could be tired. Once again she'd offered up the water of her home, the Ulmaran Islands, to heal their wounds and revive their spirits. Nothing she offered could calm the dread growing in their minds. Of the three, only Kasi had been marked as exempt from the price she planned to extract.
Just as he'd promised, Percy had immediately offered to take on whatever punishment that was destined for Darcy. The thief was glued to her side.
"You asked for heroes, you got us. We did the best we could," Darcy protested.
Azmerah laughed. "I did not mean to sound disappointed or judgemental, please don't take offense. You were the champions I chose and the only ones I believed could accomplish such a daunting task. Perhaps in the future I will call on you again."
"I'd rather not," Darcy admitted. "Not if it comes with more power that I must pay a price for." Sweat poured down her back like rivers of ice thanks to the cold stone temple. Every second they sat felt like borrowed time. She stood, pulling her shoulders back. "If you're going to take my life I just wish you'd be done with it."
The goddess laughed again and stood so that she was toe to toe with Darcy. Her eyes pulled at the bard like nothing the troupe had sung had. This was impossible to ignore. Only when Azmerah willed it was Darcy able to move again. "Taking your life would be a poor price as you only have one of those to give. Besides, Nialdir has claimed you as his own and I cannot take what is his."
Relief and confusion swept through Darcy. "If not my life, what will you take?" She turned on her heel to follow Azmerah's path forward towards Percy.
"I will take his memories of you, and therefore your future with him," Azmerah said with an air of finality. The ever present gold strings around her fingers flushed with streaks of blue so dark they were almost black. "It's almost a shame. I took a brief look into what could have been."
"I won't remember any of this?" Percy asked slowly. Color was visibly draining from his face. His eyes looked everywhere but at Darcy.
"No. I will return you to where you first met Krea and that man and you will simply pick up where you left off," Azmerah explained. "It's truly a kindness considering the path they led you down. Before them I believe you were nearly a respectable man, though perhaps not the most fortunate."
It grew quiet in the temple. Only the soft trickle of water from the fountains echoed across the space. Darcy imagined this was what Zegazi had listened to for comfort when Azmerah was nowhere to be found. It was almost as if she could feel him in the space, like a specter waiting to return to life.
Azmerah lifted the large hourglass that had been by her feet both in Darcy's dreams and when they'd arrived at the temple. In her hands, the sand inside shifted from golden tan to liquid sapphire. They flowed faster from the top bulb to the bottom. "I will give you until the sands run dry to say your goodbyes," she told them.
The hourglass remained in midair where she'd held it but Azmerah faded from view completely. Kasi padded away from the couch on bare feet and disappeared with Katta into a side room.
The air felt heavy, choking Darcy with each shaky breath. Back home she'd taken a liking to one boy or another on a few occasions. Nothing ever came of it, not with the confining territory the Famris called home. So romance had fallen to the side in her life.
Even in the wider world she'd never considered what her life would be after finding her father. The mission, her mission, left no room for flights of fancy. It was easy to stay on track, or it had been before the troupe.
The idea of love still felt like a fever dream, only meant to lay in the world between sleep and wakefulness. It was only in the last few days that she'd started to consider a life after and what it would look like. Without even realizing it she'd started to imagine it with Percy.
His betrayal, though initially devastating, was a relief in some ways. For a precious few hours she hadn't thought further ahead than a few moments. Revenge for Kasi had kept her moving, but he'd reappeared just to tangle her thoughts in fresh confusion.
None of it would matter now. The will of a god was undeniable.
"I want you to have this," Percy said as he extended a hand to her. In his palm was one of the gold loops that had adorned his upper ear. A pale pink quartz glittered in the light from the wall sconces. "We might not be able to remember each other but you'll at least have something of mine."
"It's not fair," Darcy snapped. She crossed her arms and refused to take the piece of jewelry. "We did what she asked, and we didn't try to abuse her gift or whatever she called it. Why do we need to be punished?"
"At least we're both alive. Maybe we'll even find each other again," Percy said. The echoes of his footsteps wrapped around them. His hand was warm around hers and he finally managed to undo her tight fist so he could slide the earring into her hand. "When I see that, I'll know you, even without my memories, dear bard. I know it." He kissed her forehead before stepping away.
Percy made it two steps before Darcy spun him back around and pulled him down by the shirt to kiss her. He was like a desert rain and she was swept away by his touch. The feel of his lips lingered long after he'd stepped out the doors and the last grain of sand fell. Darcy waited for the memory of it to leave her.
The sun fell outside and still the memories haunted her.
When Azmerah returned her footsteps were like whispers in the night. "Your price was not his, Darcy. Where he was blessed with forgetting, you will remember him for all time. Even on your deathbed you will remember this moment with clarity few could hope for."
The goddess took the stunned woman's hand to remove the earring still resting there. She pierced it through Darcy's ear in the same place Percy had always worn it. There was no pain, though whether it was thanks to divine magic or the numbness creeping through the bard's body was unclear. "You should go. I am not the only god that seeks your help."
Eager to leave, Darcy snatched up her bag and whistled for Kasi. The boy appeared like mist and then solidified properly. Katta padded along at his side like always.
"Oh, before you go," Azmerah called. She waved a hand and a gold ring hurtled through the air towards Darcy. "Should you find Krea and subdue her, I might consider it a favor worthy of restoring the thief's memory."
The blue stone door slammed shut behind Kasi and Darcy, leaving them to the desert's mercy.
Ahead, the black bunny waited patiently, its third eye wide open.
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