Chapter Text
"Sooo, why'd we bring her with us again?" Shelby asked, as the three continued their trek along the narrow road.
"Hey! Watch your tongue, wolf lady." Eloise remarked, as she leaned forwards to get a better look at the other spirit, whilst still walking forwards. "As far as I'm aware, I'm your best bet at getting into this archive at all!"
Shelby narrowly avoided the lamppost that she nearly ran into while looking at Eloise. "What? How exactly are you- huh?"
"Well, has anyone else here spent their entire life studying the ins and outs of the world we live in? -I mean, if you have, please!" Eloise cut herself off with a chuckle. "Raise your hand! I'd love to know!" After giving a sigh of amusement, she locked back in on Shelby, leaning even closer to her, flashing her a taunting glare. "You might be one of those 'chosen ones', or whatever you like to call yourself nowadays, but I think there's a reason Pearl doesn't let you in. I think It's because you haven't tried hard enough."
Grian quickly slid between them, using his hands to push them apart. "Alright, alright. Break it up, guys!"
Even still, Shelby shot the other woman an offended glare. "Haven't tried enough? What makes you think countless other people haven't also tried, all with no success? -And plus, I know why Pearl doesn't let me into her archive. And It's.. not that."
Eloise kept a smug smile glued to her face. "Oh I know lots of people have already tried to get in, trust me. But you see, I have something that they lack!"
Grian waited an awkwardly long time for Eloise to elaborate, to which she did not. "..A hat?"
"-Two things!" Eloise gave a chipper laugh at his comment. "But mainly, ..you'd be surprised by how many things I've gotten away with using-" She flung a hand through her hair. "Natural charm~"
Shelby looked in her direction, deadpan. "...That doesn't sound as reassuring as you think it does."
"In Shelby's defense, ..this is Pearl we're talking about." Grian added. "I highly doubt she'd be persuaded by uhm.. 'natural charm'." He raised his fingers into air quotes.
"-And when have you ever tried?! Huh?"
They both stopped to look at Eloise, completely silent.
...
"..Yeah I'd rather not." Shelby finally spoke, resuming their walk.
Eloise scoffed in disappointment. "Then too bad, huh? You can be left to your own devices if that's really what you want, without any of my help!"
"Look, no offense- But I think we can handle this without your.. methods." Shelby replied, trying to be as polite as possible.
"Plus, if you go in with the intents of maliciously swaying her on your mind, chances are she'll see straight through you before you even get the chance to open your mouth." Grian added in as well.
Eloise huffed in an annoyed breath, and crossed her arms. "Fine, we'll do this the lame way."
The journey wasn't too long, having now arrived at the... sanctum? "Wait, weren't we supposed to head to Pearl's archive? Not-..?"
"..How much have you explored inside the sanctum, Grian?" Shelby asked from beside him.
"Not.. much? -I can't say I've really gotten the chance to." Grian responded.
"So you haven't seen a staircase leading to a door that says 'smart people only'?" Eloise commented.
"Uh.. I don't think so?" Grian blinked at her, confused.
"For the record, that's not what the door says." Shelby explained, as she took the first step forwards to the door of the sanctum. "But she is right about one thing—The archive is inside the sanctum."
"And yet you're still not allowed inside?" Grian followed her in as she parted the hefty front door.
"It's the same for any other building, isn't it?" Shelby defended. "There's always a place reserved for the staff."
"And you're not?" Grian continued to ask.
"Mm." Shelby shrugged, and took the first step in. "Think of me more as a.. student. Like you!"
Grian huffed in a breath. "I suppose.."
Eloise followed in behind them, peering around the main room of the sanctum. "Woah, this place is actually pretty cool now that I actually get the chance to look around. —Normally I would've been kicked out by now!"
"And it's still not too late to be!" Shelby warned with a sharp tone. "Keep your voice down, please.."
Eloise rolled her eyes, and continued to walk around the room, taking a moment to inspect the shelves lined with artifacts and ornaments. She leaned in close, running a single gloved finger across one of the items. It was a small vase made of porcelain, with glowing white stars illustrated along its surface. "An urn of stardust.."
Shelby craned her head towards her. "How do you.."
Eloise chuckled, turning to look at Shelby. "Just because I've never really explored in this place, doesn't mean I don't know what's inside." She turned back down to the urn, studying it with utmost intrigue. "..It's said that anyone who uses it is granted one wish... -If they're worthy, of course. And if they're not..."
"They die." Shelby walked up to her, prying her hand away from the delicate artifact. "So don't touch it, idiot!"
Eloise scoffed, but obliged and stepped away from the shelf. "Relax, I'm not that dumb."
"What a feat.." Shelby muttered under her breath. "-Anyways, how about we get back to the task at hand? Please?"
"Yeah uh, on that topic, -Is that the staircase you were talking about?" Grian pointed his thumb backwards to the staircase smack dab in the middle of the room. "..Not really sure how I missed it before."
Shelby walked past him, taking the first step up. "We're you looking for it?"
Grian followed her up the stairs. "Guess not." He ran his hand along the wooden railing as they continued their ascent, spiraling further and further up.
When they reached the top, they were met with a large stone door, with dark text engraved into it, reading out 'ꖎ╎⊣⍑ℸ ̣ ʖ⚍∷リᓭ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ᓭ𝙹⚍ꖎ ᔑʖᓭ𝙹ꖎ⚍ℸ ̣ ᒷ'
"It says 'Light burns the soul absolute'." Eloise translated, turning to Grian with a small grin.
"Yeah, I know." He replied.
Shelby side-eyed him. "You can read the old Elysian alphabet?.."
Grian shrugged. "It wasn't a choice."
Shelby silently contemplated for a moment, before reaching her hand out for the door, and giving three slow knocks.
After a moment, a voice rung out. "Come inside." —but it didn't sound like it came from through the door. No, it sounded like it was coming from inside their minds.
Grian flinched in surprise and confusion, but the other spirits seemed to be unfazed by it.
Shelby took in a deep breath, and pushed the door open. As the stone gateways parted, moonlight flooded through. Except instead of its usual ghostly white glow, it fractured and fragmented into various blues and purples, in thanks to the several large stained glass windows. Bookshelves lined the walls, each littered with texts that looked far more ancient and sacred than those of the library. And in the very center, sat cross-legged directly under the rays of moonlight, was Pearl.
She was sat facing the other way, intently reading the large book she had set in her lap. "Hello Grian."
"H-hello." He responded back.
"It's no surprise to me that you've found me so quickly." She continued, still focused on the pages in front of her. "And yet still, I'm impressed."
"He said you left him out in the ruins. Is that true?" Shelby inquired, cautiously taking one foot forwards.
"I advise that you do not take a step further." She commanded, still without a single turn of her head. Then, she slowly closed her book with a gentle thud, and set it aside. Steadily, she rose to her feet, and turned to face them. "Hello, young spirits." Gracefully she strode towards them, legs as light as dust. She stopped just in front of them, and loomed her eyes over Shelby. "..You know you don't belong here, Shelby."
"I-I know-" Shelby lowered her head in submission. "I was just showing Grian where to go.."
"Ah," Pearl looked over to Grian. "Very well."
"And I'm here for moral support." Eloise chimed in. "..Among other things."
Pearl slowly drifted her gaze over to Eloise. "Ah, the illusionist..."
"Oh, I even get my own fancy title?" Eloise giggled. "How flattering!-"
"You're not allowed here either."
"Oh, uhm-" Eloise shrunk back under the spirit's intense gaze. "That- no that's fine, I guess.." She rubbed the back of her head and gave an awkward chuckle. "...Could you perhaps reconsider?"
Pearl's glare only pierced down harsher against her. "..Stop pretending to be something that you're not, Eloise."
Eloise's eyes went wide in shock. She opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out.
Shelby sensed the spirit's hurt, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, El.."
El continued to try and defend herself, but it came out in nothing more than short sputters. "I'm not- I am-.. Do you really think that I'm not worthy? I've spent my entire life-"
"I'm going to have to ask you to leave the building, Eloise." Pearl commanded. "I only ask this for the best of you."
Eloise crumbled in defeat, and gave a sigh. "Fine, then.." She turned around to the door. "Let's just go.."
"Wait but-" Shelby flickered her head between Eloise and Pearl. "Is Grian at least allowed in?"
"Oh, right." Pearl's focus landed on Grian once again, with a smile. "It would be rude of me to say no." She stepped back to allow him further. "Come in."
Eloise craned her head around. "-Wait what? Why is he-?" Eloise looked Grian and up in down in confusion, as if desperately trying to find what was so special about him that she didn't have. "He's new! He's been here for a decimal as long as I have!"
"You're losing your temper, Eloise." Pearl responded, her voice cold despite her calm expression. "Shelby, if you could please lead her out of the sanctum."
Shelby obediently nodded, and gripped Eloise's wrist. "Come on.."
Eloise grunted in frustration, but didn't fight for any longer. She simply looked to a Grian, a somber flicker in her eyes. "I hope you have a great time, Grian."
Grian watched as the two left, a hint of guilt starting to pool in his stomach. The door closed shut with a resounding thud, revealing to him that on the other side, their was another string of runic text. It read, 'darkness perseveres even in the brightest lights.'
From behind, Pearl grinned. "Now that that's been dealt with, we can finally continue with our lesson."
He returned a small sigh. "..Why aren't they allowed in here, exactly?"
Her grin faltered. "Eloise is a bright soul, but.. her judgement is clouded, and she lacks any sense of charity for others."
Grian turned around to meet her. "..And Shelby?"
Pearl closed her eyes, taking a moment to decide her words carefully. "...I love Shelby, I really do. But.. there are parts of her that are... impure."
Grian scoffed. "So what, everyone has to be perfect in Elysium too?"
"You know I don't mean like that, Grian." She spoke, as she turned around. "..Follow me, I wish to show you around."
"Wait-" Grian paced after her. "You can't just change the subject like that!"
"We can discuss more later." Once she made it to the center of the archive, she kneeled back down to her previous seated position. "But you came here for a different reason, didn't you?" She patted the ground in front of her. "Please, sit."
"I did?" Grian muttered, as he lowered himself onto the floor as well. "-Oh, right."
"You had a question, back in the hallows. And I-"
"You left."
Pearl chuckled sweetly, dismissing his bitter tone. "I gave you a task, Grian. Have you figured out what it was yet?"
Grian squinted in confusion. "What? -I thought you just ran away in order to avoid the topic entirely."
She chuckled once more. "It's not my favorite topic by any means, but I'm not a coward." She reached her arm out, resting a soft against his shoulder. "No, I just wanted you to think about it yourself. What was the question again?"
Grian thought back to that moment, when he was sat on the stone. "I-.. There are things.. memories.. that aren't from Elysium. It's like-" He pressed a palm to his head, focusing as if to try and reach into the deepest recesses of his mind. It didn't work. "It's like there's something before.."
"Hm." Pearl nodded, deep in thought herself. "..There are still things that even I don't know about this world. But I'll explain to you everything I do know."
Grian gave a small chuckle. "That's a nice change of pace."
"Everyone here has knowledge of things that they don't know. It is not unordinary. But these 'memories' that you tell me about.. I've only ever seem them in one other person."
"Let me guess." Grian thought back to earlier, on the balcony. "Shelby."
Pearl nodded. "I think I see why you two get along so well now. Even if you don't see it yourselves."
"-Wait, so then" Grian scooted back just an inch. "If me and Shelby are the same, ..then why am I allowed in here?"
"I never said you two were the same, Grian. Just that.. you both share some unique qualities." She spoke with a small grin. "But even then, this is all just some theory of mine. I don't think I'll ever fully understand you, not entirely."
".. Thanks? That means a lot coming from someone like you." Grian responded. "I think."
Pearl gave a soft giggle. "You want to know another theory of mine?"
Grian's couldn't help but cave in to curiosity. "..Go ahead."
Pearl lurched forwards, resting her chin between her palms. "I think there's more too~" She spoke with a smile. "I think there's more to it than just Elysium. I don't think the fields are where it ends.."
Grian tilted his head. "And you haven't tried just.. exploring?"
Pearl scoffed. "You think I haven't spent aeons of my life searching for an end to the Elysian fields?" She laughed, almost hysterically. "I've tried, believe me. But my spatial powers are limited to only where I've been already, or seen already "
"Okay," Grian mindlessly nodded. "...What does that mean?"
"It means that I haven't seen everything. There are still corners of this plane that I'm yet to step foot in." She took in a gentle breath, focusing her thoughts. "I just.. haven't had much time to keep exploring, now that I have a people to look after, and all.."
"Oh. I see.." Grian returned her solemn glare. "..What's it like? -If you don't mind me asking?"
Pearl tilted her head in curiosity. "What's what like?"
"-Having so many people relying on you? For the safety of the town, and.. them?"
Pearl contemplated his words. "It's.. tough, at times. Even a bit scary!" She chuckled. "But I have to remind myself why I'm doing this at all," She pressed a hand to her chest. "Because I care for them, more than my own soul."
"Mhm.." Grian's eyes fluttered downwards, as thoughts crept into the back of his mind. "And.. are you ever afraid.. that you might not meet everyone's expectations of you..?"
Pearl paused for a moment, giving him a warm smile. "I try not to let the thought of failure enter my mind, because oftentimes the fear alone causes you to fail before you've even started." She reached a hand out to his shoulder, her eyes casting a pale glow across his face. "You don't have to strive to be what other people want you to be, Grian. All that matters is that you know that at some point... you can look back and be proud of yourself, and for everything you've done."
Grian took in a small breath. "..I understand."
Pearl smiled, and gave his shoulder a pat before leaning back. "Good. Now, is there anything else you would like to say? Or ask?"
"Uhm.." Grian thought hard for a moment. "I don't.. think so?"
"Hm." Pearl thought alongside him, her fingers tapping at her chin. "How about you tell me what you've been up to? Anything exciting happen?"
"Uhh," Grian thought back to earlier. Oh, right. "I guess I did meet.. a void spirit..."
Pearl's expression immediately became more tensed, though still mostly calm. "Ah, so that explains why I lost sight of you a couple of times."
That's.. interesting. She couldn't see him when a void spirit was around? "-Wait, so if you were watching me, why are you even asking me what happened??"
Pearl shrugged. "I figured it'd be nice to hear anyways. -Do tell me more about this void spirit, through. Were they nice?"
Grian scoffed out a laugh. "Depends on your definition of 'nice', I guess. ..It was the mare."
Grian could see something change in her glare once again. "Ah, False." She took in a slow breath, and muttered something just barely loud enough for him to make out. "What could she possibly want here.." For a moment, she almost seemed.. worried. But in just a blink, she returned back to her usual tranquility. "Well, I can see that no harm has come of you, and that's all that really matters."
"And uh, I think that's pretty much it." Grian continued. "-I guess I also went to the library and met Eloise, as you could probably tell from earlier."
Pearl nodded. "The library's nice." She idly twirled a finger through her hair. "Is that it?"
"Oh, and I also made a clock with Shelby." Grian added on.
"Always tinkering away in her workshop, isn't she?" Pearl chuckled, then stood up from her seated position, as well as picking up the book she had set aside from earlier. "Anyways, thanks for telling me about your night. It's nice to talk to someone new, after so long.."
Grian watched as she stood up and walked a small ways away. "Where're you going?"
Pearl placed the book onto her desk, shoving aside a few of the other's to make room. "Truth be told, that's all I wanted from you. But feel free to stay for as long as you'd like. I don't get company here often."
'I wonder why..' Grian muttered under his breath, careless to whether she could hear it or not. He huffed in a breath and took a moment to look around. Paintings lined the spaces on the walls that weren't taken up by windows or bookshelves, depicting faces he didn't know and scenes he was completely unfamiliar with. ..He could ask again about Shelby, about her 'impurities'. But honestly, there was part of him that didn't want to know all the answers.. "I think I'll take my leave, but thanks."
Pearl nodded. "Very well. And if you ever need me again, you know where to find me."
"I'll keep that in mind." Grian stood up as well, taking a few steps towards the door. "And thanks to you too. It's nice to have a few less questions go unanswered."
Pearl watched as he exited the archive, a warm smile encompassing her face. "You're always welcome, Grian."
The door slammed shut.
"So, I've been thinking." False leaned her back against the cold stone wall. "We all deserve a chance right? To prove ourselves to the Erlking? Callum's been frothing over the idea, but..." She idly tossed her compass up and down in her hand. "Between you and me, I'd much prefer if you succeeded. We don't need to feed the fox's ego."
...
"So, what do you say?" False caught the compass one last time, before turning her head to meet the mirror, staring at her own reflection. "Do you think you can do it?"
...
False chuckled. "Never been much of the talkative type, huh?" She pushed herself up from against the wall, and approached the mirror. "Oh come on, no need to play this mime game with me..." She placed both her hands against the counter in front of the mirror, and leaned her face in close to the glass. "Show yourself, or I'll let Callum go first."
This time, when False pulled away from the mirror, her reflection stayed in place. "There we are~.."
The reflection spoke up, in a distorted mimicry of her own. "Why should I care about you and your meaningless affairs?"
"Meaningless?" The mare chuckled. "Lizzie, if this boy is the prophesied Watcher heir-"
"He's not." The reflection spoke. "The heir is said to despise the spirits at first. Or did you forget that part of the prophecy?"
"He'll get there!" False slammed her hand against the mirror, looking not-her directly in the eyes. Her own eyes glowed in anger, but quickly melted along with her face back into a smooth grin. "..In due time~" She presses her palm against her chest. "Have faith in me!"
"Don't confuse faith with hope, mare."
False slouched her shoulders back, giving a tired groan. "Look- can you at least just show yourself? It's hard to haggle with my own reflection."
After a moment, the reflection quickly morphed into her true appearance—pale skin, long pink hair, and phantom white eyes.
"Much better!" False clapped, and then heaved herself up onto the counter, sitting side to side with the fetch in the mirror. "So tell me—What do you like? Do you have a favorite food or something?—Do you eat flesh? Cause you know, I could always-" She made a repeated stabbing motion with her hands.
Lizzie sighed, and closed her eyes. "There is... one thing you could do.."