12 Ashan Arc 721
They hadn’t landed on the same side of Faldrass as she had visited before but being on the island again made Elisabeth content. The island had a feel to it that she couldn’t explain. She had noticed it the night of Cylus Dusk – a peace that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Of course, at the time, she had considered it simply a byproduct of time spent with Balthazar. In retrospect, that had been a large portion of it…but it went much deeper than that.
Their confinement had put things in a bit more perspective.
The night of Cylus Dusk and their thirty-trial confinement had been mere trials apart but were worlds away from each other in terms of emotion. The event on Faldrass had been heartfelt and warm, bringing people together. It had been one of the single most enjoyable evenings of her life and she had been honored to share it with those attending. Balthazaar had gifted her a silver ring, connected to a matching one he wore, and asked her to stay with him. It was the beginning of a new life for her.
And then...Almund. What a disaster that had been.
Elisabeth had arrived, excited to see him again after several trials of being separated. There had been something wrong from the start though. They hadn’t had even a bit together before a situation had gone sideways in multiple ways that resulted in arrests and thirty trials separated in solitary confinement. No one had spoken to her. No one had told her if Balthazar was being held. No one had told her if he was dead. Nothing. She had laid, sat, stared, cried, and screamed – not knowing anything.
In the beginning, she had tried to get information. Something small. Anything…but it was soon apparent that no one was going to speak to her and thus, she had stopped trying…but hadn’t given up. That wasn’t something she knew how to do.
Balthazar had taught her that. You don’t give up. Ever.
His trial had been confusing to her. Mixed emotions were the result. On one hand, she was angry about those thirty trials stolen from them. They could have already been on Faldrass, happy, helping the settlement thrive. The investigation into Balthazar had run deep and far -thus the necessity for the delay- but they were on their way now.
Elisabeth couldn’t leave quickly enough, wanting to drag him away from there and begin their life on Faldrass.
On the ship, there had been a quietness to the man she loved that had never been there before. Sure, he was a man of few words but there was a difference too. She knew he was angry. So angry. Magic was such a huge piece of who he was and what he chose to do that having that ripped away – she couldn’t imagine. Elisabeth had never seen him angry before and it wasn’t something she enjoyed witnessing.
She did what she could. What he would allow her to do. A simple touch. A few words. Just being there for him if he needed her. Elisabeth let him control that. So much had been taken out of his control, she didn’t want to take away one more thing. As much as she needed his strength, she had to offer up just as much in return.
For as much as he took care of her, she was fiercely protective of Balthazar. None of what she had told Kura or the other two was a lie. Nothing about how she felt about him had changed. He may not have had magic…but magic had nothing to do with how she felt about him. That had started long before she had known he was a mage. The Turning Wheel. The Copper Prince. The ball. The ball had been the turning point, at least in her mind. That had been the night he told her about his being a mage…but also, the night of their first dance and a few other memorable firsts.
First Immortals. First Immortal death. First animated silverware. First disappearing apparition – the list really could go on.
She hadn’t slept much on the ship. Instead, she watched Balthazar. Elisabeth didn’t want to admit it, but she was scared. Scared that if she closed her eyes for just a trill, he would be ripped away from her again. Separation since knowing him had always been challenging but now? It was terrifying…and she didn’t know how to reconcile that. As well, there was no way she could tell him. What would he think of her if he knew how scared she was at the thought?
The young woman sat there on the ship, playing with her silver ring. She loved that ring – it was the first gift Balthazar had ever given her. Arguably, the shard of spark inside her had been the first gift, but the ring was tangible. She could feel it on her finger…and like the spark, it bound her to the Yari in deep and meaningful ways. Balthazar, she knew, treasured the dagger she had gifted him more and that was fine. Rings were rings to him.
Arriving on Faldrass had been a bit of a spectacle. The guards had wanted to know what the Beneath had happened in Almund. It was a fair question. The problem was, both Balthazar and Elisabeth were tired of thinking and talking about it. The trial, in at least her case, had wiped out her capacity to desire to explain things. She was tired. She needed sleep…but sleep wouldn’t come to her.
And thus, the trial’s aftermath had manifested within the young woman. She worried about nightmares again, knowing she was susceptible to those particular types of terrors.
She was alone in the place they currently called shelter – Balthazar had taken the guards off to do…something. Elisabeth had wanted to go with him, to keep him safe, but no. She wouldn't follow him everywhere. She wanted to – badly – but it wasn’t fair to anyone. It was for her to try to deal with on her own before involving him. She knew he would want to know…but he was already dealing with enough.
On the reverse, she did need to show him, maybe in some small way, that nothing had changed between them. They were together. That was what was important.
Grabbing a piece of parchment out of her bag, Elisabeth sat down on her bed and slowly wrote a note to him. It wasn’t long…but she wanted to remind him of what he meant to her. A small token.
Finishing it up, she quickly folded it, wrote his name on the outside of the note, and laid it on his bed. Sighing softly, she found her way back outside, deciding to go for a walk on the beach.
When Balthazar arrived back at their structure, he would find the note with his name…and Elisabeth’s handwriting within…
"I told Vri that I chose you to love all those trials ago. That I choose you to love now…and that I will choose you to love every trial for the rest of my life.. – Elisabeth"
It had been more – so much more – but the words she wrote to him were the most important ones, and she wanted him to know.
Finding her way to the beach, she watched the water and marveled at how peaceful it was. Elisabeth wanted to call to the elements, let them talk to her, and soothe her mind and heart…but something stopped her. Balthazar couldn’t feel the elements currently. If he couldn’t, why should she be able to? Her spark wasn’t going to like that but what choice did she have. Magic ran deep within him and watching her be able to do what he couldn’t? Elisabeth wouldn’t put him through that. It hurt a bit, for Defiance always made her feel close to him - fire especially - but it was only a small sample of what he must have been feeling. Good - she needed to understand what he was going through to better know how to help him.
So, she held back, willing herself to just enjoy the water and breeze as she had done before Defiance. Her eyes drifted over the waves, skin felt the cool coastal breeze of Ashan and let herself settle, breathing deeply. They might have been free from confinement, but the ripples would linger - she understood that now.
At Cylus Dusk, she had referenced the ‘ripples’ of good that had gone out into Idalos. These ripples, the ones from the Almund incident, were not good…and both Balthazar and she would have to deal with them.
The thing about love though was….one didn’t have to deal with them alone. She wasn't going to allow him a single trial where he wasn't reminded of her love.
