One year. It had been one year since Iris Gwenneth became the first heroine of Eldia --one year since her life took a dramatic turn for the better. And in this one year, she'd found meaning in the days that had once had none. Iris had a new job, one...
A/N -- So, I did a couple of things for this chapter! FIRST, ANOTHER GREAT SONG. Real good for reading to. Second, I really wanted you guys to see how big Hench really is. So... I did a VERY QUICK sketch thing of her next to Iris for scale:
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Next, I did an actual painting of Hench (because she's so freakin' fun to paint). It's so not the most tasteful thing I've ever drawn... and if Hench were real, she'd kill me five times over for painting her this way. But whatever XD. Here she is:
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Without further ado, the chapter! Hope you enjoy!
Hench took a big breath and scratched the back of her head. "Well, I um..." She shook her head and blew out a big breath. "I... assumed it was... I was too..." Rhalla tasted the next word on her tongue, "...different. I guess." She met her mother's eyes. By now, she had no tears left to cry. Her lip still barely quivered, but she reigned it in and went on. "I'm terrible at reunions. I... I'm sorry."
Irila's voice was small. "Is it alright to hug you?"
Maybe she had one tear left. Or two. Damn it. Hench opened her arms a little wider in welcome, and her voice betrayed her when she said, "Of course."
Irila took that offer and ran with it. Quite literally, in fact. She all but jumped into her daughter's embrace. Hench wrapped her large arms around her mother as soon as she could reach her and held on tight. Irila said nothing immediately, just openly wept into the embrace. Rhalla shut her eyes and rested her head down against Irila's, feeling the jolts of her mother's body with each shallow breath.
"What... is going on?" Elliot's voice broke through the tender moment.
Irila pulled away from Rhalla and reached up with trembling hands to cup her cheeks. Hench smiled tentatively down at her mother, of which Irila returned tenfold. The moment felt so terribly surreal that Irila removed one of her hands from her daughter's face and pinched her other arm. Rhalla's eyes flicked over, puzzled. "You pinched yourself," the mighty woman said in a low voice.
