Fourteen Moons

A setting sun illuminates the sky as its warm rays start to disappear beyond the horizon. Pockets of white snow remain hidden in shadows where the sun failed to shine. The birds and bugs, active after a week of freezing weather, quiet down, while nocturnal animals begin to roam the still chilled hills. The flora has shed its winter blanket and has begun another cycle of vigorous growth. A fresh aroma is carried over the land as a brisk, cold wind cuts through the mountains.

 

Brr… I shiver, breathing into my hands. I rub them over my arms.

 

“Cold?” Revus asks, glancing down at me for a moment.

 

“Yeah,” I murmur, using my warm hands to cover my frosty, pointed ears. I look around at the darkening, rugged, tree-covered mountains as we soar through the air. “It doesn’t even feel like spring.”

 

“Yeah,” Revus comments, tilting slightly to fly around a tree, “The month of ice…” He looks at me without moving his head for a moment before continuing, “It’ll be especially cold this month, with this winter being the most brutal.”

 

“So, I just have to get through…” I pause to warm my hands again, “this month and the worst will be over?”

 

“Pretty much,” he remarks, “Four weeks from now I’m sure you’ll love Vigaro.”

 

I skeptically look up at him, and bluntly inquire, “Why would I love the cold?”

 

“I was joking,” Revus affirms, glancing down at me, “Want me to heat up your blanket?”

 

“Please,” I whimper.

 

Revus smiles slightly and, a moment later, I feel heat seeping into my blanket from Revus’ hands.

 

“Ahhh…” I exhale as I feel the cold start to melt away.

 

“Better?”

 

“Much… sleeps,” I murmur blissfully.

 

Revus chuckles, then turns to Faraine who is flying alongside us, and asks, “You’re certain we just follow the river once we leave the mountains?”

 

“Yeah,” Faraine hollers, “We’ll be able to follow it most of the way.”

 

Folian. I look up at the patchy clouds rolling through the sky. Soon. I’ll be able to meet my siblings. I glance over at Faraine. I’ll meet more fairies too. I tilt my head. I wonder what everyone does for fun? I look at Revus. Maybe they’re like Revus and Faraine, and enjoy fighting? That’s probably better than learning… Well, maybe that depends on the subject?

 

“What’re you thinking about?” Revus questions, his eyes meeting mine for a second.

 

“Just thinking about how things are going to be when we get to Folian,” I state, hiding myself within the warm blanket.

 

He mutters, “I’m glad you’re excited, and if it’s anything like Kāālith, you’ll like it, but…”

 

“What?” I ask, poking my eyes out from under my fuzzy shield.

 

He glances down, then to Faraine, and returns his gaze forward, “When we get to Folian, there are going to be a lot of fairies that are going to be around you, and many more that are going to approach you.”

 

You say that like it’s a bad thing. I squint and rub my hands on my ears.

 

“But you’ll need to be mindful about who you get close with,” he continues.

 

“Why?” I tilt my head.

 

“Because, unlike Faraine, not everyone is going to be as… considerate,” he pauses and locks eyes with me, “Most will approach you with the goal of becoming your page.”

 

I look at Faraine, her blue hair fluttering in the wind as she focuses on maneuvering through the trees. So there’s going to be people like that. “I know I’ve asked, but… Is becoming a page that important?”

 

“It is,” Revus confirms, “Moreso in your case, since you’re Lady Vestele’s daughter and…”

 

“And…” I stare up at him.”

 

“Because I’m here,” he remarks, “No one knows what you’ll do in the future, but you are expected to-”

 

“Be great,” I cut in, rolling my eyes, “I know. I’ve heard it before.”

 

“And that’s exactly why you need to be careful about who you surround yourself with.”

 

“Tch,” I click my tongue, “Do you have that little faith in me?”

 

“It’s not about faith,” Revus argues.

 

“Then what, you don’t trust me?” I question, rising from beneath my blanket.

 

“No!” he shouts, glaring at me.

 

As I angrily stare at him, flaring my nostrils, he looks away. 

 

He sighs. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to raise my voice,” he pauses for a moment, “I’m just worried that you’ll get mixed up with the wrong people.”

 

“Hmph… well, I’ll be okay,” I turn away from him and mumble, “because you’ll be there.”

 

“Yeah… but please be aware of those around you and watch them closely. Okay?”

 

“Fine,” I pout, glancing up at him.

 

“Good,” Revus smiles slightly, “and like you said, I’ll be there along with your family and Nova too.”

 

“Right,” I look out at the sky. I’m not alone anymore. Revus is here and soon… I wonder what I should do when I meet them first? What did Rafal and Regina do when I came home? I lower my gaze and chuckle dully. Right, they’d hide behind- I pause and take a deep breath. No, what they did… doesn’t matter.

 

“Evetta?” Revus mutters, “Are you crying again?”

 

“I am not,” I bark, facing him, “I’m just glad that things are different from how they used to be.”

“Sorry to interrupt…” Faraine suddenly inquires, “but when do you want to stop for the night?” I look over and see her flying right alongside us.

Revus looks up at the ever-darkening sky, and answers, “It might be a little early but…” He glances down at me, “Let’s look for somewhere to set up for the night before it gets too cold.”

 

I smile and whisper, “Sleeps.”

 

“Alright,” Faraine replies.

 

We fly for a bit longer and, before the sun completely disappears, find a decent cavity within a large tree. Revus alters the hole by expanding the interior, adding a door, and flattening the space within. Once the room is finished I start to set up our beds, Faraine begins preparing for dinner, and Revus leaves to find something to be the main part of our meal.

 

“Hey,” I call out, getting Faraine’s attention, “You done?”

 

She turns to face me and nods, “Yeah, I just finished. Why? Is something bothering you?”

 

I approach Faraine and grab her hand, causing her to take half a step back and lean away from me. I’m not going to bite. I chuckle as I look up at her and ask, “Since Revus is gone, would it be okay to go look at the moons while we wait for him?”

 

Faraine relaxes and exhales, “Is that all?”

 

“Yeah. Why? What did you think I was going to ask?” I tilt my head.

 

“I don’t know,” Faraine replies, “But whenever you’re that straightforward it can be a little frightening.”

 

I stare at her blankly for a few seconds before muttering, “Me… scary?”

 

“Not quite scary,” Faraine corrects, “More like my intuition screaming at me that something uncomfortable is about to happen.”

 

“Ahuh…” I murmur, “If you say so.” I laugh lightly, “Anyway, can you take me to see the moons.” I’d like to get a good look at Vigaro so I don’t have to ever see it again.

 

Faraine glances at the doorway, and states, “Revus told me-”

 

“To keep me safe,” I finish her sentence, “I know, but we’re just going to see the moons.”

 

“Don’t you want to wait for Revus?” Faraine questions.

 

“Hmm…” Waiting for him means prolonging dinner which pushes back the time I can fall asleep too. “Nope, not really.”

 

“You sure?”

 

I sigh and add, “If you’re that worried about us getting into trouble we can just hide in the trees.”

 

“And if Revus comes back and sees us gone, what then?”

 

I aggravatedly sigh, “We’ll just leave him a note on the door.” I turn around, walk over to our bags, and, as I search for some paper and charcoal, continue, “That’s what he used to do when he’d leave while I was still asleep.”

 

I pull the items from the bag, place them on the floor, and write:

 

Went to look at the moons
     Please start dinner
   DONT FOLLOW US

 

“There,” I exclaim as I return the charcoal to the bag. I stand up, walk over to my bed, grab my blanket, and head for the door. “You coming?” I ask, shooting a glance at Faraine. She is standing still, her head tilted slightly, and her eyes glued to me.

 

I stop in front of the door, wrap my blanket around myself, and request, “Please Faraine. If I could fly myself I would but… It’s kind of difficult to get there without my wings.”

 

Faraine takes a deep breath, exhales, and, as she walks toward me, comments, “Fine, but if I think anything’s going to happen we’ll come back.”

 

I chuckle. “You sound like Revus but sure,” I smile, “Sleeps.”

 

Faraine opens the door and a rush of cold air sweeps into the room. We walk outside and, after placing the note in the space between the door and the wall, Faraine picks me up.

 

“Ready?” she asks as her blue, red, and black wings appear behind her.

 

I nod and, a brief moment later, we rise into the air. Looking up, I see fragments of the night sky, the light of the stars and moons poking through the newly-grown vegetation. I glance at Faraine. This is my first time doing this with a friend. I giggle as I feel a rush of excitement spread through my body.

 

“What’s so funny?” Faraine asks without looking down.

 

“Nothing,” I mutter happily, gazing up at the ever-growing sky, “Nothing at all.”

 

We fly up to the tree top and land on one of the uppermost branches, but still hidden under the cover of surrounding leaves. Faraine sets me down and I peek out from behind the large foliage. Resting tranquilly among the stars are four moons: the yellow moon of light, Miracule; the orange moon of rot, Orobus; the teal moon of air, Aviace; and, glowing magnificently, outshining the others, is the cyan moon of ice, Vigaro.

 

“So pretty,” I mumble as I stare out at the night sky.

 

“You really like looking at the moons?” Faraine inquires.

 

“Yeah,” I lightly answer, “They’re comforting to look at.”

 

We stay silent for a moment before I ask, “Hey Faraine, what do you like to do for fun?”

 

“Where’d that come from?” Faraine questions.

 

“It’s something I’ve been thinking about,” I reply. “What do fairies do for fun? What do friends do together?” I pull my gaze from the moons, look up at her, and continue, “Stuff like that.”

 

“Fun…” Faraine silently ponders, “I wouldn’t say I do much for fun.”

 

“Oh come on,” I bark, “You can’t be like Revus and do nothing for fun. There’s got to be something you enjoy.”

 

Faraine lightly pulls her bangs over her eyes and meekly replies, but her answer is too quiet for me to hear.

 

“Can you say that again?” I say, getting a bit closer.

 

“I like to read,” Faraine mutters quietly.

 

“Really? Reading?” I tilt my head, furrow my brows, and look up at her. Not what I had in mind, but I guess I used to read things for fun too.

 

“Anything else?”

 

“Um… I like solving puzzles?”

 

I sigh, sit down on the branch, and look back out at the moons. “You don’t have to be so stiff. I’m just curious if there’s stuff we can do as friends.”

 

“Evetta,” Faraine calls as she sits down next to me. I turn to her and, as she tucks her long bangs behind her right ear, she asserts, “Don’t get upset, but I think your idea of friends is a bit…” 

 

“A bit what?”

 

Faraine looks up and, after a moment of thinking, answers, “Rigid? No…” She lowers her gaze back onto me, “What I mean is you seem to be stuck on this idea that friends have to do certain things to be friends. Or… that both people need to agree that you’re friends to become friends.”

 

Yeah… I purse my lips, “Isn’t that right?”

 

“It’s not that you have to do things together to be friends… I’d say it’s more accurate that friends spend time together and just happen to do things together.”

 

I tilt my head and ask, “What’s the difference?”

 

“Hmm… For example, instead of us doing puzzles together to become friends, I think it’s more accurate that because you’re friends you’d spend time together and you could do a puzzle or any other activity for fun.”

 

“But then how do you become friends in the first place?”

 

“Ah, maybe that’s the actual problem.”

 

“What is?” I furrow my brows.

 

“Let’s try this,” Faraine scoots closer to me, “Would you hate me if I said I hated you?”

 

I lean back. “Um… I feel like you’re asking me a trick question.”

 

“I’m being serious. If I said I hated you, does that mean you have to hate me?”

 

I look at her fingers, then back at her red eyes, “No?”

 

“Exactly, just because I said something or feel a certain way, doesn’t mean it applies to you,” Faraine explains. “Now, on the other hand,” she adds as she turns toward the sky, “The sun rises and sets without us doing anything. It just happens.”

 

“What’s your point?”

 

She looks back at me, “You might like or hate or love someone, but they don’t have to feel the same way towards you. Just because you say you’re friends doesn’t make you friends. Friendship is like the rising and setting of the sun.” She shrugs, “It just happens.”

 

“But… Then how would I know?”

 

Faraine smiles and answers confidently, “You’ll know.”

 

I’ll know… “Can we still do things together? It would put my mind at ease.”

 

Faraine chuckles, “Sure.”

 

We sit there for a moment looking out at the moons, before Faraine says, “Revus was telling me that you’ve never had any friends. Is that true?”

 

“Yeah,” I mutter. “Aside from obviously not meeting anyone other than Revus, I’ve yet to make any friends here…”

Faraine hesitantly asks, “And before?”

 

I gaze out at the four colorful lights and sullenly reply, “Before… Almost no one would talk to me. I think it was mostly because of my appearance.”

 

“What was wrong with how you looked?”

 

“I was missing…” I bite my lower lip and place my right arm on my left elbow.

 

“You okay?”

 

“Yeah,” I take a deep breath. It’s in the past. I’m different now. “I used to not have my left arm, my left ear, and my left eye. So people looked at me like I was some kind of monster.”

 

“I’m sorry…” Faraine murmurs, “I didn’t mean-”

 

“It’s okay,” I turn to her and smile, “There were still people that would talk to me regardless of how I looked, but most of them would distance themselves after they found out where I used to live.”

 

“Sounds like you had a rough life.”

 

“It was pretty bad,” I chuckle meekly. I pause for a moment, glance at Faraine, and ask, “What about you? Did you used to have friends?”

 

Faraine places her hands on the branch behind us, looks up, and remarks, “I did.”

 

I stare at the blue-haired lady next to me as we sit in silence. “This might be weird to ask but, what were you like, you know, before…”

 

She turns to me, her lightly-glowing, red eyes contrasting the darkness surrounding us. “I used to be an enōōfen.”

 

“So you were a human like me?”

 

“No,” she shakes her head.

 

“Then, an elf?”

 

“Wrong again,” she smiles.

 

“What else is there?” A dwarf maybe but how do I say that… “Hmmm…”

 

“I was an enōōfen that lived in a different realm from this one,” Faraine states, “I looked similar to an elf, but my people had horns on our head and our skin was more gray in color.”

 

Elves with horns? “Sounds kind of cool.”

 

“A lot of us were, my father was too.”

 

I turn my head but maintain my gaze on her, “You say that like he’s dead.”

 

“He died in a crūūx while I was still the previous me.”

 

I furrow my brows, “What’s a crūūx?”

 

“Ah, I guess you haven’t learned what that is.” Faraine ponders for a moment, then explains, “It’s kind of like a large fight between two nations that lasts for several years and results in a lot of people dying.”

 

“War,” I sigh in Sveltish, then reply in Zoic, “Sounds… pretty bad.”

 

“Bad is an understatement, they’re terrible to an extreme level,” Faraine continues, “Me.” She holds up one finger. “My dad.” She holds up another finger. “And my friends,” she holds up the rest of her fingers, “all died in a crūūx between my home country and our neighboring country.” She closes her hands into fists.

 

“That’s how you… died?”

 

“Yeah… But saying we died might not be right.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“It’d be more accurate to say I lead myself and my friends to their deaths…That I killed them.”

 

I open my mouth to say something but no words come out. Killed them? But… I close my mouth and woefully watch Faraine, her eyes starting to water as her lips tremble slightly. She coughs and scratches her cheek, “Sorry I-”

 

“Did you mean to do it?” 

 

“Of course no-” she snaps. Faraine pauses for a moment and stares at me. She looks down, interlocks her fingers, and sighs, “I was a leader for a group and our mission was difficult. I tried to convince my… boss… that it was a bad idea, that we would die, but…” She gulps, “In the end we were tasked with walking into an obvious ambush.” Faraine pauses, “I knew what would happen. I explained it to my friends and told them they could leave, but they didn’t.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Who knows?” Faraine exhales as she looks up, then mutters, “But in the end we all died.”

 

I look down at the blanket wrapped around myself. I’m worried about making friends… Meanwhile she’s dealing with having killed hers… I peek at Faraine. Maybe my past life wasn’t so bad after all… “I’m-” I reach my hand toward her, but drop it, then whisper, loud enough for her to hear, “That’s awful.”

 

“It’s… alright,” she smiles meekly at me.

 

I return her meek smile with my own.

 

“It’s not all bad though,” Faraine comments, a tinge of happiness present, “I learned that we won the crūūx and because of that, my people have been living peacefully for over sixty years.”

 

“That’s good…” I smile softly, then exclaim, “Wait, sixty years! Doesn’t that mean you were alive over sixty years ago?”

 

“Pfft,” Faraine laughs, “Yep, if I was still the previous me, I’d be over eighty and I’d likely have grandkids.”

 

“Isn’t sixty years a long time though?”

 

Faraine raises an eyebrow, “Not really.” A moment later, she summons her wings, red glitter dancing off of them. “Sixty years is actually a pretty short amount of time, especially for fairies, and is about right for the amount of black that is on my wings.”

 

I examine her wings. They are mostly blue and red, but roughly a quarter of them are covered in black.

 

“There are others who have much more black on their wings who were originally born hundreds of years ago, and all of them have almost no memory of their previous lives.”

 

“That’s…” I gulp. Not remembering your past… I glance at the stars. What would I be like if I didn’t remember Svelta… I smile. Doesn’t sound that bad.

“It’s okay,” Faraine remarks, “From what I can tell, the more someone remembers, the more they seem to struggle adjusting to their new life.”

 

I turn my head to look at where my wings would be. Revus said I remember everything. “Do you think I’m struggling a lot?”

 

“No, not really,” Faraine states, “But I also didn’t know you immediately after you were born.” She continues, “For a lot of fairies, if they didn’t like their previous lives then they tend to adjust much easier, and from how you sounded…”

 

“Yeah,” I state, “I definitely like this life more than my previous one. Well, there are some things that I think I liked more before.”

 

“Like what?”

 

I feel my body heat up and I cover my head with my blanket, “Like… being a boy.”

 

“Ah…” Faraine murmurs, “I guess that would be something difficult to adjust to.”

 

“Yeah…” I quietly mutter.

 

“How old were you before you died?” Faraine inquires.

 

I poke my head out from the blanket, look at Faraine, and answer, “Sixteen, why?”

 

“Well once you lived seventeen years as a girl, then you’ll have lived your life longer as a girl,” she explains, “And by that point, you will likely have accepted your body.”

 

I’ll accept being a girl. I guess I am already getting used to it, but still.

 

“And besides, just because you used to be a boy or a girl doesn’t mean you can’t do the things you did before.”

 

“What do you mean?” I ask.

 

“Like… If you enjoyed moon gazing as a boy. Just because you’re a girl now, doesn’t mean you have to stop moon gazing.”

 

“I see,” I pause, “Funnily enough, I couldn’t really see the moon where I lived before.”

 

Faraine smiles, “You can also do new things. So don’t feel too conflicted about it. Like Revus said, just do whatever you’d like.”

 

“Sleeps Faraine,” I smile.

 

Suddenly, a chilly wind slices through the air.

 

“Brrr…” I shiver.

 

“Ready to head back?” Faraine asks.

 

“Sure, hopefully Revus has finished dinner,” I remark as I look up at the glowing moons.

 

What’s that? I tilt my head as a black dot seemingly appears on the cyan moon. As I focus on the dot, it starts to grow. “Hey Faraine, do you see that?” I ask without taking my eyes off the gradually-expanding, black circle.

 

“See what?” she responds curiously.

 

“That,” I state, pulling my arm from beneath my blanket and pointing to Vigaro, “On the moon.”

 

“I don’t see anything,” Faraine comments, “Other than the moons and stars.”

 

I glance up at Faraine for a moment, “You don’t see that black circle on the moon?”

 

Faraine locks eyes with me, then gazes at the moons again, and replies, “No? Should I?”

 

“Really?” I confusedly mutter looking back at the cyan moon, the black circle now occupying a majority of its surface. My heart starts to race as I gulp, “Faraine… you really don’t see anything on Vigaro.”

 

“No,” she firmly states, “Are you maybe just tired?”

 

“Tired,” I quickly face Faraine, “I’m being serious. There’s something-” I turn back to Vigaro and stop mid-sentence as the black circle has fully blocked out the cyan moon. I blink and suddenly it disappears, the cyan light shining brightly as if nothing had happened.

 

“Evetta?” Faraine calls, bending down and looking at me face to face, “You okay.”

 

“Yeah…” I look around Faraine and peer at Vigaro, “It’s… gone.”

 

“Oh? Are you sure you’re not just seeing things?”

 

I rub my eyes, then continue staring at the now-intact face of the moon. Maybe I am just tired…

 

“You listening?”

 

“Sorry, we can head back now,” I reply as I stand up.

 

Faraine picks me up, and slowly we start to descend down the tree.

 

What was that thing? Faraine didn’t see anything so maybe I was just seeing things but… It didn’t feel like nothing. It felt like- “Argh,” I whimper as a pinching pain shoots through my chest. It kind of hurts… to breath.

 

“Cold?”

 

I take a light breath, trying to minimize the pain and, as it eases up, I exhale, “No, I’m fine.”

 

We arrive back in front of our makeshift house, the note gone. Faraine sets me down and we enter. A soothing aroma kisses my nose as I walk inside.

 

“Finally decided to come back?” Revus remarks, standing in front of a fire. A wooden tube connected to the outside of the tree rests above the fire.

 

“Yeah yeah, we were out by ourselves,” I blandly reply as I walk over to the table with Faraine following behind me, “So what, we were safe, nothing happened, so please don’t complain.”

 

I watch as Revus turns around, stares at me flatly, and asks, “Did you think I was going to complain to you right after you got back?”

 

“It might not be the first thing, but I imagine at some point it’ll happen,” I state as I rest my chin on the table.

 

“Is that really how you think about me?” Revus questions.

 

“Well…” I hold up my fingers as I list off, “You worry about me, you complain to me, and you argue with me. I think that hits almost everything.”

 

Revus pauses for a moment and then holds up his finger to me, “You forgot lecture you.” He smiles, returns to the fire in front of him, and says, “Thanks for leaving the note.”

“Thank Faraine for that,” I answer, “She figured you’d worry if we didn’t do something.”

 

“So how’d your moon gazing go?”

 

“Fine. Faraine and I just talked about our pasts and stuff.”

 

“I see… Well, dinner’s almost ready.”

 

“Sleeps for starting it while we were out.”

 

Revus chuckles, “I’m honestly surprised you were gone for as long as you were. I figured you’d come back sooner because of the cold.”

 

“It wasn’t that bad.”

 

After several more minutes Revus finishes dinner and sets three plates on our makeshift table. As I look down at my plate, a frigid air sneaks into my lungs and cold pressure squeezes my throat. Its icy grip presses against my chest, limiting my breathing. Chills scurry along my skin as if someone was rubbing ice across it. My arms and legs suddenly feel heavy, like shackles are weighing them down.

 

So… cold… I sit in my chair shivering as I stare at my plate of sliced fruit and cooked meat. Need… to… eat… I direct my eyes from the bowl to the fork resting next to it and will my arm toward it. Almost…

 

“Evetta,” Revus calls.

 

I jump slightly in surprise, blinking a few times before glancing up at the black-haired fairy. His normally low-sitting eyebrows are covering the top of his yellow eyes as he glares at me.

 

“Make sure you eat,” he states, “Once you’re done, head to bed. We’ll be leaving early tomorrow.”

 

I stumble over my breathing and mutter, “R-right.” I look down at my food and grab my fork. “Tss,” I wince as it feels like cold needles stab my hand where I hold the wooden utensil. I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and bite my lips to hold back a whimper. I can… do this… it’s just… eating. I open my eyes and my gaze drifts between the fork and my meal. Its cold and-

 

“Arh,” I flinch as a piercing pain shoots through my chest. It hurts to breathe…

 

“Are you okay?” Faraine asks concernedly.

 

I slowly turn to her and force the words, each one stinging my chest, “Sorry… I’m just… cold.”

 

Faraine tilts her head and leans away from her plate, “Do you want another blanket?”

 

“I don’t… know… if that’ll help.” I take another painful breath, “Just… feeling…”

 

Revus inquires from across the table, “Is something wrong?” I face him as he locks eyes with me, “Evetta? You okay?”

 

“Yeah… Just c-cold,” I sheepishly smile, then turn back to my food. Really cold.

 

I sluggishly move my fork into a piece of fruit and stare at the liquid seeping out. I bring it to my mouth and take a bite, the sweet juice spreading through my mouth, and, as I swallow, it slices my throat. I hesitate to take another bite as my stomach bubbles and an icy pain pins itself to my gut.

 

I close my eyes, bite my lower lip, and place my left hand over my stomach. Ow… As I slowly breathe, needles run through my lungs. Ow… I open my eyes and gulp, my sore throat throbbing. Ow…

 

I look over at Revus and see him cutting his meat into smaller pieces. Need to eat… Otherwise Revus will get mad at me… I focus on my meal and force myself to continue eating. Each bite aggravates my stomach more, each swallow claws at my throat, and each breath stabs my lungs.

 

“...vetta.”

 

I turn to face Faraine, her long bangs are brushed to the side but still completely cover her right eye.

 

“Are you done?” Faraine worriedly asks.

 

I glance down at my half-empty plate. “Y-yeah,” I murmur.

 

While I stare at my leftovers, Faraine grabs them. She stops and stares closely at me. “Revus,” she calls, “She’s… not looking good.”

 

I turn toward Revus as he comments, “Clearly I can see that but you should know it too, we don’t get sick.” He pauses to face Faraine, “Or are you saying that we’ve been lied to.”

 

“No,” Faraine replies, “but…” She looks back at me with a concerned face, “Look at her.” She slowly turns her head away from me as she carries my leftovers. Faraine gets to the door, opens it, and dumps the remaining food on the ground. She then creates water and starts to wash the utensils.

 

Revus sighs as he gets up and he walks over to me, “If you’re tired, then go lay down.”

 

I tilt my head back as he approaches, lean it against the chair, gulp, and mutter, “Yeah… I think… I will.” I look down, push my chair back, and stand up.

 

Instantly, a freezing cold washes over me and I start to wobble, trying to maintain my balance. “Arh,” I wince as a deep pain drills my forehead. As I press my hand against my forehead, my stomach churns. Don’t… feel…

 

“…etta?”

 

…good. I sway about, starting to feel queasy as a sharp cold grabs my ears. “Revus…” I quietly mumble, “I feel…” I drop to my hands and knees and feel my stomach tighten. Instantly, cold liquid fills my throat, then overflows into my mouth. I release it onto the floor and stare at the clear fluid mixed with chewed bits of fruit and meat as I breath heavily. The puke spreads on the floor, covering the area beneath me, and coating the edges of my hands in my dinner. I slowly blink, trying to maintain my balance as I feel snot drip from my nose.

 

“Ugh… Rev-” Before I can finish a word, another wave surges forth. As the chunky liquid forces its way out of my mouth, a bitter sting starts to coat my lips. The cold on my ears begins to burn. As I try to lift one of my hands, a chill spreads over both of my hands and holds them in place. Is that… ice?

 

Feeling momentary relief after vomiting, I lift my head and see Revus and Faraine kneeling down next to me. What’re… they saying? Both of their mouths are moving and their hands are placed against my ears. I can see their breath escaping their lips as they begin to shout. I open my mouth but no words escape. I… can’t speak? My heart starts to race as breathing becomes even more difficult.

 

I peer at Revus’ grim face, tears filling my eyes. Revus… What’s… happening to me? Revus… As a tear rolls down my face, I feel it freeze against my cheek. I open my mouth once more, “Rh-” The all-consuming cold bites down on my neck, limbs, and head. “Aw…” As the world around me starts to spin, my vision begins to fade. Can’t… can’t… As I fall forward, my gaze locked on Revus’ frightened face, everything goes dark.