Work Text:
Not too long after Ritona had been discharged from the Neo Sasary Medical Facility and they were back on the road, Rune was filled with an immense sense of relief. Her absence had taken a tremendous toll on Selphine– both physically and mentally– and she could see how deeply they cared for each other. It came as no surprise, then, when the previously distraught princess’ eyes lit up with glittering glee upon seeing her approaching them, breaking into a run to meet her halfway. As if anticipating this, Ritona stretched her arms out wide, her usually stern expression softening. They had been waiting so long for this moment.
“RITONA!” Selphine yelled, half-crying and half-laughing, wasting no time to dive into a tight hug. She buried her face into her chest, shoulders shaking from the rush of emotions crashing into her like a tidal wave. “I– I thought– y-you–!”
Shushing her, Ritona stroked her hair, fingers carding gingerly through the golden locks that fell down the length of her back. “I wasn’t going to leave you behind, Princess,” she said, her voice low and consoling. “What kind of Royal Guardian– no, friend– would I be if I didn’t fulfill my promise to you?”
“You’re right,” she conceded with a weak laugh, loosening her grip on her to tilt her head upwards. “I’m sorry for ever doubting you, Ritona. It’s just… there was so much going on… I might have let panic cloud my judgment.”
“It’s fine, Selphine. Anyone would have reacted the same in your situation. You shouldn’t allow yourself to feel discouraged about your reaction to unforeseen circumstances.”
They both smiled at each other, worn and weary, but noticeably more relaxed than they had been beforehand. Rune exhaled through her nostrils, finding herself smiling along with their contagious happiness. In spite of how uncertain Ritona’s condition had been, she was able to rejoin them thanks to the Vita Stream, plus the life-saving intervention of Dr. Rupika. If she hadn’t been able to return, that would have been a detrimental blow to their morale– especially Selphine’s.
In the midst of her meditation over how they were reunited, Rune had almost missed someone calling her name.
“Rune! Come on over here already! You’re a part of this too, you know~?” Selphine pointed out impatiently, beckoning her to come closer by waving her hand.
“Oh!” Rune raised her eyebrows, obviously shocked at this development. “S-Sorry, I just didn’t want to ruin the moment between you two or anything… You’ve been friends together way longer than you have with me, after all!”
Ritona and Selphine exchanged an amused look, then glanced back at her. What happened next she would have never expected. Ever.
Before she could even process what was happening, they both stretched their arms out to usher her into a hug, tenderness exuding from their faces.
“That doesn’t matter to us. If anything, I feel like I’ve known you for ages and ages, despite only knowing you for much shorter than that~!” Selphine confessed, giggling.
“I agree,” Ritona nodded. “Without you accompanying us on this journey, I’m afraid it would be significantly more mundane. You’ve lifted our spirits time and time again, Rune, and for that, we’re forever indebted to you.”
Hearing them vocalize their appreciation for her made Rune’s heart do flip flops inside her chest. To be told by the people who she was forever indebted to that they felt the same was a complicated, yet incredibly humbling feeling. So much so that…
Her vision began to blur without her consent, hot tears spilling over her eyelids and down her cheeks. She was filled to the brim with gratitude and love for her friends, a priceless treasure that she wouldn’t be capable of finding anywhere else. Not in the Outer-Pole, nor in the Inner-Pole. Her greatest riches were but a few steps away.
Similar to Selphine from earlier, she ran. Ran as fast as her legs could carry her straight into the security of their embrace. Throwing her arms around the two of them, Rune relished in the all-encompassing warmth that surrounded her, their arms holding her snugly in place. She wished that this would never end.
After what seemed like an eternity, she moved back slightly to gaze at them. Her eyes were probably red and puffy from crying, but honestly? She didn’t care. Rune knew for a fact that Ritona and Selphine weren’t one to judge appearances.
“Guys… thank you. From the bottom of my heart.” she sniffled, rubbing the traces of tears away with the heel of her hand. “It’s definitely no secret that I’m not that good with words, but…!”
Smushing a finger to her lips, Selphine made a zipping motion with her own lips. “Okay, okay, okay~! Enough with the waterworks! Let’s all just be satisfied that… that…”
Ritona blinked. “Selphine?”
“WAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
Selphine bawled like a baby, although it was clear that these tears weren’t indicative of a temper tantrum. In response to this outburst, Ritona and Rune glanced at one another and mirrored each other’s equally fond smiles. What would they do without this girl and her capriciousness?
When her crying finally began to wind down, Selphine scrunched her face up and inhaled a trail of snot that was dangling precariously from her nostril, wiping her nose for good measure.
“Are you all right now?” Ritona asked, wearing a small smirk from watching this unsightly display.
Nodding, her blonde curls bobbed from the movement, shining a bright gold in stark contrast to her tearstained countenance. As fleetingly as that moment lasted, however, she bounced back to her typical carefree, cheerful self.
“Yeah… Yeah, I’m as all right as can be now!” Selphine declared with the authoritative aura of a true monarch, all vestiges of vulnerability vanished. Pouting, she jabbed a finger at Ritona’s cheek, eyebrows furrowing. “Hey! If anything, I should be the one asking you about your wellbeing! Don’t get smart with me, missy!”
Chuckling quietly at their back-and-forth banter, Rune could feel deep in her heart that everything was going to turn out just fine.
~~
The following night, Rune was in the middle of settling into their quaint hotel room in a neighboring town, sorting out their luggage (or, at least, what scarce luggage they had) on the vanity counter. Selphine had insisted that they “prop open the window to get some of that salty sea air”, so Ritona had obliged her. She had to admit that the mild breeze blowing in was somewhat soothing, and for all they’ve went through in recent days, it was very much welcomed. They could definitely use more quiet periods for relaxation like this. Unfortunately, the nature of their journey rarely permitted breathers.
Humming a tinny tune that used to play from an antique music box her mother gifted her as a child, she busied herself with organizing their rations. There was the cured meat, the herbs, the… dried berries? If she wasn’t mistaken, Rune thought these were past their expiration date. Rustling the plastic bag a little, she squinted suspiciously at them, but then stowed them away in their original location. She supposed that she could evaluate their freshness herself later.
Next on the list to tidy was…! Oh.
Sitting at the bottom of the knapsack was a cylindrical orange container, labelled with the name of a patient and the type of medicine that was crammed inside. This must be the medicine that was prescribed by Dr. Rupika. Picking it up cautiously to examine it closer, she briefly wondered how effective it was. He did make a big production out of administering it himself, after all… Just how much of a falsehood was that claim?
Shaking her head, Rune figured that thinking too hard about this wouldn’t amount to much. They got the medicine, Ritona seemed to be improving, and they were making steady progress back to Rughzenhaide. The most that she could do for her would be to monitor her condition and support her along the long path to recovery. Because the fact still remained that without Ritona’s ability in manakravte, their defense had too many holes. That worried her immensely.
With that thought weighing heavy as a boulder on her mind, she dropped the container back into the knapsack, gnawing on her bottom lip. However concerning Ritona’s predicament was, she needed to maintain a strong front for her irreplaceable friends. That was the least that she could do for them.
Right on cue, the wooden door to the hotel room clicked open, swinging swiftly to the side to reveal Selphine and Ritona. An unmistakable buoyant energy surrounded Selphine, enhanced by her skipping into the room as soon as the obstacle of the door was taken care of. Ritona trailed after her like a beleaguered attendant (which, Rune supposed, was the most apt definition for her), torn between appearing entertained or exasperated.
“Honey, we’re hoooommmee~!” Selphine announced, beaming blindingly bright.
Turning away from her busywork at the counter, Rune made jazz hands and responded exuberantly, “Welcome home, Selly! Ritona!”
“I didn’t realize that we were engaged in such a comfortable living arrangement,” Ritona joked with a light chuckle.
“Hush, you! I ought to clamp your mouth shut for that disrespect!”
Ignoring Selphine and her short-lived grudge, Ritona squeezed past her, setting the bags she accumulated from their excursion down on the vanity counter. For someone who had just been discharged from a hospital not even 48 hours ago, she seemed like she was sparkling with life. From the uninhibited laughter that shook her frame to the fluidity and poise that choreographed her movements, she was overflowing with a vitality that Rune wasn’t sure she had seen in her before. To tell the truth, she was thrilled. This surefire sign that Ritona was on the mend fended off the worries that were bending her out of whack earlier.
An excited shout catapulted her attention back to the present. Nearly jumping out of her skin, her eyes darted around to spot Selphine right in front of her– hogging almost all of her personal space, in fact!
“Rune, Rune!” she exclaimed, hopping up and down like an overactive rabbit, “You won’t believe what we found at the market! Oooohhh, I haven’t gotten my hands on one of these babies since, well… we left Rughzenhaide.”
There was a brief, contemplative pause before Selphine sprang back into her ranting and raving, “But! I used to gobble these down like a ravenous little goblin when I was younger… Ah, just thinking about it now makes me nostalgic… and hungry.”
Patting her stomach for emphasis, the girl in question peered expectantly at Rune, grinning ear-to-ear. You could almost hear the rumble of the riot that those “ravenous little goblins” were throwing in her stomach, demanding that she sacrifice whatever it was that drove them to such madness. Rune kind of sympathized with the troublemakers– all of this talk of food was beginning to make her hungry, too!
Not able to withstand her curiosity a second longer, Rune asked the burning question: “Ooh, what is it that you got at the market, Selly? Let me see!”
In the background of this unfolding scenario, Ritona shook her head, leaning against the counter with her arms crossed. Despite her efforts to look uninterested, Rune knew that was a lie. There was no missing the twinkle in her eye as she sat on the sidelines of Selphine’s theatrics.
“Aren’t you making too big of a production out of this, Selphine? You’re simply going to show her what you bought while we were shopping– nothing more, nothing less.”
Waggling her finger, Selphine clicked her tongue. “Nuh uh, uh, uh! That, my dear Royal Guardian, is where you are dreadfully wrong. Heretically so, even!”
“…You’re seriously going to brand me a heretic for not wanting to glamorize your favorite fruit!?”
At this, Selphine groaned, raking her hands down her face dramatically. She spun around with her hands on her hips, glaring at Ritona with the undying fury of a thousand suns. Sparks were definitely flying– and not in a good way.
Rune gulped. Should she intervene before this escalated somehow, or…?
Before she could consider taking preventative measures, however, Selphine turned away from Ritona with a “hmph!”
“Whatever! Since you had to ruin the surprise, I’m not going to share any of this deliciousness with you!” Sticking her tongue out and tugging her eyelid down for one final blow, she returned to normal in a comedic speed. “All right, where was I again?”
“Wh-What you bought at the market…?” Rune supplied helpfully.
“Ah, yes! How could I forget!” she rifled through one of her pouches at her waist, proudly procuring a shiny red fruit. “Tada! This is my true love, my soulmate, my reason to be! I would like you to meet… Mr. Pomegranate.”
Lowering her voice a pitch, Selphine– err, Mr. Pomegranate– said, “Charmed, I’m sure.”
“O-Oh! Why yes, of course, I’m charmed! It’s so nice to meet you, sir!” Rune held her hand out for a handshake, but quickly retracted it when she remembered that inanimate objects couldn’t reciprocate the gesture. Desperate to gloss over her flub, she marveled aloud, “I’ve never met a talking fruit before… how do you do it?”
“Well, it’s a long story… but as the great Alissyn Rievegh once said…”
“I don’t think Alissyn Rievegh ever provided any input on talking fruits,” Ritona cut in.
Mr. Pomegranate began to shake– whether from indignation or from the hand that held him– harrumphing at this unsolicited refutation. “Excuse me! I should be more knowledgeable on this topic than you, a lowly human who doesn’t know their place! Were you raised in a barn!?”
“No, but as far as I know, I wasn’t raised in a fruit factory, either,” she quipped back with a self-satisfied smirk. “Maybe they should have blended you into a smoothie when they had the chance.”
“Discrimination! Discrimination, I say!” Mr. Pomegranate shrieked, flailing about in a frenzy before flying out of Selphine’s hand onto the tile floor.
Everyone stared blankly at this pitiful picture before them, their brains working overtime to process what just occurred. In a matter of seconds, Selphine sank to the floor, cradling the (now unresponsive) Mr. Pomegranate like an aggrieved mother who had accidentally dropped her child on their head. She payed no mind to the probing eyes of Rune and Ritona, too concerned for his wellbeing.
“Hey, can you hear me!? Mr. Pomegranate, you have to stay with me, okay!? Do not– and I repeat– do NOT go toward the pomegranate garden in the sky!”
Croaking miserably, Mr. Pomegranate tilted his crimson face to catch one last glimpse of the light of his life, quickly nearing death’s door. He mustered the paltry remains of his energy to mutter, “Selphine, you must go on without me… You have a bright and promising future ahead of you. Never forget that… I lo–”
“NOOOOO!” she cried, despair wracking her body relentlessly. “HOW COULD THIS BE!? MR. POMEGRANATEEE~!”
“Okay, that’s quite enough,” Ritona chided, interrupting the bizarre soap opera. “I’m sure that your pomegranate is–”
“Mr. Pomegranate.” Selphine corrected with a huff.
“…I’m sure that Mr. Pomegranate is happy in the afterlife now. There’s no need to shed tears on his behalf anymore.”
Scrunching her nose up, Selphine scowled. “Whatever! Since you haven’t an iota of sympathy for me, I don’t expect you to understand my grie–” a loud yawn interrupted the rest of her lecture.
“I do believe that is your cue to go to bed, Selphine,” Ritona said, sticking her hand out to the pitiful princess kneeling on the floor. “Why don’t we bury the hatchet and retire for the night?”
Not having much of a choice left under her Royal Guardian’s strict, yet well-intentioned words, Selphine acquiesced, taking her hand and pulling herself up. She deposited the husk of who Mr. Pomegranate used to be on the counter, casting one final melancholic glance at him before sighing.
“Fine, I accept your terms. I’m running on fumes here anyways; the energy that propelled me to rush to his defense has long since depleted,” she admitted bitterly.
“Well, let’s get ready for bed then, Selly! We’ve got a big day ahead of us and need our beauty sleep~!” Rune chirped, trying her utmost to brighten her dimmed spirits.
“Okaaaay…” Selphine mumbled, rubbing her droopy eyelids as she sleepily stumbled into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.
The muffled sound of running water filled the quiet room. Rune belatedly realized that this was the first time that she had been alone with Ritona since the boat ride to Port Sasary, which seemed like it was ages and ages ago. She swallowed, doing nothing to ease her dry throat. Despite feeling so relaxed around her back then, there was a tangible tension in the air now– what changed? Was she simply misreading the mood?
Before she could initiate a conversation, Ritona did so for her, “It’s been a while since we last spoke on our own, hasn’t it?”
Rune laughed sheepishly. “I was just thinking the same thing myself!”
A beat of silence passed between them, the water from the bathroom faucet amplifying into a torrent in her ears. Why was it that she was feeling so high-strung now? Sure, there had been enough mishaps to span an entire memoir while she was gone, but that should’t impose this strange sense of solitude… should it? Wouldn’t it be more natural if she wished to close this distance instead?
“Rune.” Ritona called out to her, dispelling the dissonance that disturbed her mind.
Like the ever-so graceful maiden that she was, Rune squawked, almost losing her balance thanks to her genetic defect: chronic klutz syndrome. Quickly recovering her composure, Rune prayed to any mana deity that was listening that she didn’t appear too suspicious.
“Y-Yes?”
“Since my memory is still patchy in spots from my… ordeal… I surmise that I have some catching up to do,” Ritona said, her typically confident countenance clouded with consternation. “That being the case, I was wondering if you would like to take a stroll with me?”
“A stroll? At this hour?” Rune questioned, before hurrying to correct her bluntness, “I-I mean, are you sure? It’s getting awfully late, and no one will be supervising Selly…”
“Oh, don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not planning on straying far from the hotel. And if anything were to come up, Selphine could contact us via comm– err, the transceiver.”
For the briefest moment, Ritona had slipped up. To an outsider, that falter in her voice would have been meaningless, but Rune grasped the true meaning behind it. The lightheartedness of earlier had only served a single purpose: to distract them from the sobering reality of their situation. Ritona nearly died, her manakravte use was restricted for up to two months, and there was no guarantee she would make a full recovery. You’d have to be emotionless to not be worried about her.
“Okay, let’s do it, then! We have a lot of catching up to do, Ritona~” Rune trilled, her brilliant smile hiding the unease dwelling beneath the surface.
Ritona’s lips curved into a grateful smile, her eyes crinkling around the edges. “Thank you, Rune.”
~~
After informing Selphine of their plans and ensuring that she would be accepting of them (“Go ahead! I already spent time with Ritona, so it’s your turn now, Rune!”), they left the hotel. As per their ground rule, they opted for walking in the neighboring area, not too far from their lodging. Despite it already being dark outside, there were still throngs of people populating the cobblestone streets, shopping bags hanging from the arms of some and children hanging from the arms of others. The idle chatter of the passerby circulated through the crisp air, creating a calming background noise. Rune couldn’t deny this atmosphere was serving to calm her nerves, even if the tiniest amount.
Eventually they reached a central plaza of sorts, where the number of people was comparatively more spread out than the cramped streets. Two boys were in the middle of passing a ball back and forth near the fountain, giggling with a naivete only characteristic of children. Vainly, she wished that it were feasible to retain that sense of innocence, if only for a while longer. That way Selphine wouldn’t have had to bear the weight of the world on her thin shoulders.
Functioning solely on autopilot, Rune guided Ritona to an iron-wrought bench sheltered underneath the verdant canopy of a towering tree, taking a seat. Following her lead, Ritona sat down next to her, crossing her legs. They both stared ahead and said nothing. Why was it so difficult to break the ice? Every muscle in Rune’s body was begging, screaming, at her to speak, but her voice wouldn’t cooperate. Why?
A gentle breeze blew past them, swaying the leaves that dangled from the branches above. Rune tucked a flyaway hair behind her ear, her eyes wandering skyward to spectate the dancing of the leaves, thankful for any opportunity to diffuse the tension that had crept up on them again. Too bad they couldn’t just stay like this… enjoying the evening together.
She had to tell her, though– the details of what transpired in her absence.
Willing herself to raise her voice, Rune stopped dead in her tracks when she remembered the gruesome scene that forever imprinted itself into her subconsciousness. Blood. Blood everywhere. The endless flurry of blows– hollow and hateful– raining down upon the pharmacist. Watching as Sol wailed until his throat was raw, red splatters on his shirt, his pants, his hands, his–
No. No, that vision wasn’t real. In reality, the sordid affair had been resolved with a quick and painless manakravte, ending the life of lies that miserable man led. That one necessary death prevented a plethora of more unnecessary deaths. Why, then, did Selphine have to take up the mantle of martyr? She didn’t have to sacrifice herself to be a stepping stone for others. Yet for this kindhearted girl, that was an inherent trait she was born with– the flux of her mana rhythm.
Rune clutched her hands in her lap. It was the most she could do to keep herself grounded. The cloying stench of blood continued to persist, strangling her in a vice grip. She was suffocating– suffocating so intensely that she wanted to gag. Yet despite this assault on her senses, a faint voice pierced through the murky blackness, mocking her all the same:
If you had been stronger, Selphine wouldn’t have suffered.
As much as she loathed to admit it, that scathing accusation rang true. If she had possessed even a smidgen of more strength, Selphine wouldn’t have had to bear the burden of ending a life. That responsibility should have been delegated to her. After all, she was the one who had mercilessly snuffed out the flame of life before, right? Why should someone with clean hands have to dirty them when she could have finished the job?
Old habits die hard, right?
Because no matter how diligently she strove to repent for her past sins, she still had robbed people of their happiness. She was abhorred, despised, scorned… and Selphine? Selphine was none of those traits. For her to have sunk to her level made her stomach churn.
“Rune?”
Snapped out of her self-mutilating thoughts by Ritona, Rune stammered, “O-Oh, sorry about that, Ritona! I guess that I was kind of spacing out there… ahahaha…”
Furrowing her eyebrows, Ritona leaned over, the pad of her thumb ghosting across her cheek. “Why are you crying?”
Ah, she was crying… that explains why her face felt wet. How careless of her.
Rubbing her face with the back of her hand, she lowered her head in shame. “S-Sorry you have to see me like this…” she sucked a breath in. “I was just… thinking about things.”
“Like what?” Ritona asked softly.
Would it be all right to confide in her…?
Flashes of the images Selphine showed her raced through her mind like an old video tape spitting film out. Back then she was trembling in her arms, her fingers digging into her jacket, grappling for purchase. She bore witness to the unimaginable pain that she, as the heiress to the Rughzenhaide throne, had to endure without complaint. It was a miracle she could even function– no. It nothing short of a miracle that she was so overtly optimistic.
She wanted to tell Ritona this– yearned to tell her– yet Rune feared she would begin outright sobbing, making more of a scene than she already has. How could she convey this to her…?
Before her mind could devise a plan of action, her body moved on its own, squeezing Ritona in an awkward side hug. Biting down on her bottom lip, she clenched her eyes shut in a protracted effort to dam the threatening tears.
“I was so scared, Ritona…” she forced out, her face heating up from the swell of emotions buffeting her. “So scared of everything.”
Ritona massaged calming circles into her back, her concerned gaze fixed on Rune. “I know you were scared, Rune. Please forgive me for being unable to shoulder the burden with you.”
Enveloped by the sincerity of her words, Rune lifted her head, finally gaining enough courage to cross the boundary she had been deeply dreading. Her eyes flitted up to meet Ritona’s. In that moment, their surroundings slowed to a standstill. This was it.
“Ritona, I… need to tell you something. It’s important.” Rune said, her voice steady and serious.
As if sensing something was amiss from her unusual tone, Ritona sat straight as a ramrod. “What is it?”
Breathing in and out through her nostrils, she dropped the bomb. “While you were gone, Selphine underwent a prolonged episode of Empress Syndrome. During that time… we ran into some crooks from the Pharma Guild, and she…” she gulped. “…killed someone.”
“…Excuse me?”
Forging ahead with her daunting retelling, Rune rambled on about their encounter with the Harthager twins, and the sorry state they– and thousands of other Viscantans– were forced to live in. She spared no detail, delving into the heinous crimes the members of the Pharma Guild had committed under the guise of “healthcare reforms”. This part of the story branched into the next: Rhegan and her overflowing charisma.
“–And so, Rhegan demanded that Mil maintain a record of everything that happened up until that point in her Bibliotransmission, in hopes that the people reading it would be moved by her plight,” she explained, going at a leisurely pace so she wouldn’t forget anything crucial. “Mil was very fired up about doing this. You see, she had always felt helpless, relying on her brother and all. She wanted to make a difference in this world before she…”
She cleared her throat, trying to distract herself from the injustice of Mil’s inevitable death. “Anyways, we proceeded with our plan of planting the Sagiolla. Since we were fortunate enough to have the fertile soil of Seris for its optimal growing conditions, we got to work tilling the field. As per Rhegan’s orders, Sol was to tend to the field on his own, which would be practice for when our assistance wasn’t readily available.”
Continuing onto how Rhegan “beat the basics of agrikravte” into Sol, she wavered when recalling his despondent face. The self-destructive mindset that he clung to still broke her heart.
“…Eventually the Sagiolla buds were sprouting, and Mil couldn’t be happier.”
As for every worthwhile story, there was always a form of conflict that put a wrench in the heroes’ plans. Rune inwardly cringed at the mental image of the product of their tenacity burnt to a crisp.
“The Pharma Guild did end up showing up, with the Pharmacist spearheading their intimidation game. They reiterated that you couldn’t cultivate crops without a license– which was a blatant lie, by the way– and commanded that we stop.”
They didn’t stop, however. On the contrary, they stood their ground against their oppressive tactics, righteous fury fueling their actions. In hindsight, maybe they should have been more cautious; because all the clairvoyance in the universe couldn’t have foresaw what came next.
“After the lackeys that tagged along with him fled, the Pharmacist resorted to doing something truly underhanded: hurling a fire bomb in our direction. Although he was most likely aiming for the field, Mil got caught up in the blast as well. Fortunately she dove for water immediately afterwards, but the Sagiolla wasn’t so lucky.”
The unbridled rage that contorted Rhegan’s face upon seeing the Sagiolla burnt to a crisp and Mil marred in red-hot burns halted her. Her memory of the next event seemed so real, so vivid that she irrationally wondered if she was still there. Ritona must have felt her tense up, however, so she gripped her upper arm reassuringly. This reminder that she was continuing to listen urged her on.
“Rhegan, she… truly wanted what was best for Sol and Mil. That included the rest of the Viscantans who had suffered through the same mistreatment, too. In order to accomplish that, she–”
“Rune, that’s enough. You don’t need to force yourself for my sake, all right?” Ritona murmured, her voice drained of any energy.
Her eyes darting away, Rune instead concentrated on fountain in the middle of the square, watching as one of the two boys from before crouched near the other, who was now sitting on the rim of the fountain and bawling. The other one busied himself with unwrapping a bandage, kneeling next to him and cooing at him consolingly. Red blossomed from the injured boy’s knee, dripping down his leg in rivulets. Their game of ball must have went awry.
Sighing, she redirected her gaze back to Ritona, shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry for bringing this up so soon, but… I really had to get it off my chest. It’s like, if I didn’t share this with you tonight, this colossal weight on my chest would keep growing heavier and heavier… until I just shut down.”
To her surprise, Ritona shook her head, her lips tugging into a weak, but unwavering smile. Clasping Rune's hands in her own, she delicately closed her eyes.
"There's no need to apologize. If you had gone without divulging this to me, there's no doubt in my mind that Selphine would have resumed hiding this from my knowledge, too concerned with my own condition to consider confiding in me."
Blinking her eyes open, the magenta of her irises glinted with conviction, piercing the darkness that had overshadowed their conversation. Rune involuntarily gaped at her and realized something essential: Rhegan wasn't the only one with overflowing charisma.
"Although we still have long, meandering road ahead of us, we shouldn't permit ourselves to lose heart. Together we will make it back to Rughzenhaide-- no matter how insurmountable the odds appear to be--and that's final. Understood?"
How silly of her. Why had she been getting so discouraged? She agreed to accompany them on their arduous journey back to Rughzenhaide, so wouldn't that mean being there with them, happy times and sad times? Ritona was right-- together they would support each other unconditionally and eventually arrive at their destination. That was all there was to it!
"Understood!" Rune affirmed, her eyes twinkling with a glimmer of hope. Suddenly struck with a brilliant idea, she stuck her pinkie out to Ritona, beaming brightly. “Pinkie promise that we’ll make it back safe and sound?”
Ritona chuckled under her breath, interlacing their pinkies with a fond smile. “Pinkie promise,” she solemnly swore.
For the first time that night, the turbulent emotions that were crashing against Rune’s heart like waves stilled. She was truly, truly at peace.