The Past Lies Ahead (A Throne Of Glass Fanfic)

Chapter 56

Sam walked through the shopping district, while Aelin almost literally bounced from one store to the other. This was probably the first time she was almost acting like her younger self, especially when he offered to buy her a bag of candy. Sweets seemed to be a sure way into this womans' heart wether it was made of stone or flesh.

After many days of telling and retelling her story, the witch was still skeptical and kept looking at Aelin with suspicion and mistrust. Though Aelin revealed little of her emotions, he could tell, by her stone faced expression, that it both hurt and frustrated her that the witch didn't trust her.

But now her face bore a satisfied half smile as ahe chucked a caramel into her mouth. «It's probably just me, but the city seems more vibrant than before.» she said while sucking on her caramel.

«Actually, it is. Dorian outlawed slavery some months back, and he is working on getting rid of prostitution as well. But, well, that's a work in progress I guess.» he said.

Another piece of candy made its way into her mouth. «That's good to hear.» she said, though, a bit absentmindedly. She frowned up at him. «Where's Evangeline? I haven't heard anyone mention her yet.»

He blinked, and tried to search his brain for the name, but he was sure he had never heard it before. But judging from the fierce look on her face, it must be someone important. «I don't know who that is.» he said apologetically.

She grabbed his arm, still not looking very pleased at all, and began pulling him along down the street.

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Aelin stepped unto firm land, finally being able leave that blasted ship. She couldn't help but hate travelling by sea, not after getting shipwrecked outside of Antica. They had arrived three days early, thanks to good winds and Rowan's magic. He had flown ahead to the castle, in hopes that maybe Dorian and Manon had more news from Banjali.

Aelin breathed in the city air, not exactly the purest of smells, but it was familiar. She pulled of the little crown on her head, and stuffed it into one of the big inside pockets of her coat. Right now she did not want the extra attention the crown attracts.

She started walking down a random street, she needed to clear her head, to stop feeling like the ground was still swaying with waves.

As she walked, her mind began to wander. Poor Rowan, he had been so torn, sad and frustrated, even a bit scared ever since they heard that Valg Aelin had come. He didn't understand how it was even possible, frankly neither did she, since they had changed so much...

She sighed heavily through her nose. It was all a big mess, and the war was now many times more dangerous than it had already been. She turned a corner, and stopped dead in her tracks. She blinked. Once. Then twice.

«Sam?» she asked surprised. Wasn't supposed to be in Banjali? But that was definitely him waiting outside of Clarisse's establishment. He turned towards, and a wide grin spread across his face. She walked up to him and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him so tightly her crown dug into her side. «What are you doing here?» she asked as she let him go.

He gave a merry chuckle. «A lot of things happened, and lead me here. You won't believe the surprise I have in store for you.» his said, grinning mischievously from ear to ear.

As if on cue the door opened behind him and a little girl walked out hand in hand with... with... Her jaw dropped, and eyes bulged as she looked at herself hand over a bag of goodies to the little girl, who happily began to devour its contents.

«Now that is a priceless expression.» Sam exclaimed, holding back a laugh. «Long story, short; The older Aelin has been successfully exorcised.» Sam said merrily.

She couldn't stop staring as the other her crouched down and spoke softly to the girl, like a mother to her child. Aelin turned her shocked gaze to Sam, who was still grinning madly. «W-what, when, who, how?» the words just tumbled out of her almost all at once, and gripped Sam's arm hard.

At that moment, the other Aelin looked towards, she had probably heard her shocked outburst. She straightened into a standing position, still holding the girls' hand, and walked over to her and Sam. She fought the urge to back away, buy only because Sam stayed where he stood.

«If you're going to spontaneously attack me like Manon did, at least don't do it in front of Evangeline.» Older Aelin said.

All words got stuck in her throat as she stared at the woman before her. Aelin glanced at Sam, whose arm she was still gripping tightly.

«Are you twins?» the little girl asked, glancing back and forth between them. Older Aelin chuckled, sounding eerily like her mother once had.

«I guess you could say that.» Older Aelin said, smiling fondly at fondly at the girl.

She didn't know what to say, or what to do. Should she hug her? Or just shake her hand maybe? She couldn't make up her mind, and ended up standing there awkwardly. Growing amusement behan to show on the other Aelin's face, as the silence stretched on.

«I heard you gave Darrow a run for his money.» Older Aelin said, the corner of her lips tugged slightly upward. «When I tried that I ended up being banned from Orynth.»

Aelin bit the inside of her cheek. Say something, you idiot. She cleared her throat. «Uhm, well, it was because of you that I knew what to say and do, really.» she released her grip on Sam, and let her arms hang loosely at her sides.

«Because of the dreams, right? Sam told me about that, in fact seems like quite many people retains memories from the other timeline. Rather fascinating I must say, maybe it was due to a momentary overlap of some sort.» Older Aelin mused, though Aelin had no idea what she was talking about. Her confusion must have shown, because she continued. «Let's head back to the castle, and I'll explain everything there.» she said, and began to walk down the street with the girl in tow.

Aelin turned to Sam. «Am I going crazy right now, or is that actually her?» she asked, trying not to shriek, and Sam burst out laughing.

«Yes, it is her. I was there when we trapped her and got the demon out. But she'll explain all that later.» he said. «How do you think Rowan will take this?» he asked carefully, and glanced towards the other Aelin, who was now far down the street with the girl.

«I'm honestly not sure. Ever since we got the news that she was attacking Banjali, he has not been himself really.» she said, and tried to hide the persisting pain she felt. Would he leave her now that his real wife was back? They began to walk down the street as well.

«I guess we will soon find out then.» he said, and grabbed her hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

But did she really want to find out? She was glad that the older on wasn't possessed anymore, but if Rowan picked her... Was it selfish of her for wanting him to stay with her, despite everything the other woman had been through? She swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the lump in her throat. She felt Sam glancing at her from time to time, but was to engrossed in her own thoughts and worries to react to him right now.