This is not treachery.
This is freedom.
In the middle of Heaven and Hell, the days of rain and mist are long gone. Now, the Gap World is a kingdom of light and darkness, goodness and evilness, sunshine and clouds. When clandestine forces weave toget...
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I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS DARKER; the deep blue sky that was void of constellations since the lights of the capital were brighter than the stars, or Vanensera's slim figure standing amidst a border of roses like she wanted to rip them all from their roots and set them on fire.
Her night-black hair was shorter than the last time I'd seen her, barely touching her shoulders, not really differing from the color of her long coat. She blended in with the darkness almost effortlessly. Standing still amidst the flowers, her gaze was focused on the soggy earth beneath her boots. I took a moment before walking to her and starting a conversation. I hadn't heard of her since the night of the coronation, when she'd left early, and after that no one had learnt where she'd gone. No one had searched for her either.
And being here with her, in the backyard of the Healing Tower that was a green oasis of trees, flowers and fountains, after four months of her showing no sign of life and me showing no sign of concern about her wellbeing, felt wrong. There were so many things I could have done better, so many bridges I shouldn't have been so eager to burn. Finding Normant in the mountains meant that she'd decided to live there despite the myths and the legends. Maybe she hadn't even known about their existence when she'd traveled there.
I'd been thinking about her at first, wondering if anything had happened to her and no one had found out. And then . . . I'd stopped. Because I was such a great friend and such a good person in general. But I gritted my teeth and trudged to her, knowing that regrets were useless; not quite believing it, but still trying to fight the guilt of not being there for her.
The trail to the other side of the garden was short but beautiful even in a city like this, flanked by roses, daisies and a few sunflowers that had lost all of their glory in the dead of night. But still, everything was glowing, from the emerald-painted fountain on my right that was rumored to contain water with healing powers to the golden swing that hung from an oak tree and was considered to be able to make you fly for a few heartbeats.
Denfer and I had come up with these false beliefs one night almost four months ago, and since then somehow almost everyone in the city had heard of them.
"I think he's going mad," Vanensera said when I rested a hand on her shoulder. Her voice was low, as if Normant could somehow hear her and would be offended by her bold statement.
Standing next to her, I thought of all the times I'd seen him like that and hadn't been able to get the truth out of his mouth. Normant wasn't to be blamed for that kind of reckless and confusing behavior. Someone else was.
"Hell does that to people sometimes," she continued. "After spending so many decades in there, it doesn't seem impossible to me that he has lost his mind."
