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Looking at the still form of Vitalis lying on the floor surrounded by the naked rats he had used in their earlier fight, Amicia felt sick, sour bile slowly rising in her throat. Her mother calling for her snaps her out of it and she turns away, joining up with the others by the entrance and walking out, leaving the cathedral behind her. The fight may be over for now, but all the horrible things she’d seen would stay with her for a long time yet, imprinted in her mind.
The air outside was heavenly compared to the musty air in the cathedral, and Amicia breathed in a lungful before heavily exhaling, exhaustion crashing over her.
“Amicia, are you alright?” Hugo asks, walking up to his sister with worry in his big doe-like eyes. She simply nods, pulling her brother in for a hug as tears begin to spring up in her own eyes. She was tired, and her emotions were all over the place because of it. Suddenly, more arms wrap around Amicia as her mother and Lucas join the hug. Mélie doesn’t join them, opting instead to kick at the ground and smash a few pots. Surprisingly though, Rodric also stands off to the side, making no move to join them. Amicia wasn’t about to force him, but it still felt wrong to leave him there, since he’d nearly died to help them.
“Let’s go back, hm?” Beatrice asks, pulling away from the hug to look at her daughter. Amicia nods, taking hold of Hugo’s hand and leading the way back, with Lucas and Beatrice in the middle and Rodric in the back with Mélie.
There isn’t a lot of conversation as they make their way back, except for Lucas and Beatrice quietly discussing potions and Hugo chiming in with a few questions, mostly about the Macula or his power. Soon enough, the castle comes into view, sun rising above the stone walls and bathing everything in a soft yellow light.
As they enter the castle, Mélie disappears somewhere else, probably to vent her anger, and Rodric goes to his forge as the rest of the group settle down in front of the fireplace. Beatrice asks them to recollect what happened after they escaped from the estate, and Amicia starts telling her of all the things they had to do. It took several months to live the tale, but it doesn’t take long to tell it, and soon enough Hugo and Lucas had whisked Beatrice away to show her around the chateau, leaving Amicia alone.
***
As Amicia stares down towards the ramparts, feeling the chilly air of late December tugging at her clothes, she hears familiar footsteps behind her. Rodric stops next to her, his eyes falling to look at his feet.
“So, it’s finally over then?” he asks, voice nearly a whisper and cautiously optimistic. When all of them had returned after defeating Vitalis, Rodric had felt oddly out of place, despite everyone’s protests. Amicia turns her head to look at him, admiring the way the light created a halo around him.
“Yes, it is. We beat Vitalis, we all made it out of there,” Amicia said, her smile faltering when she sees the sorrowful look Rodric gave her. “Almost all of us,” she corrects, her eyes filled with sadness as she looks down at the ground. Arthur had been avenged when Amicia and Hugo had beaten Lord Nicholas, but it couldn’t heal the hole in everyone’s heart. Mélie was completely broken, and no one was sure if she’d ever fully come back from it.
When she feels a hand grabbing her own, Amicia looks back up, seeing Rodric avoiding her gaze as his face slowly turns red.
“He didn’t die in vain, Amicia. His death allowed the rest of us to live, so that we could save your mother and Hugo from Vitalis’ grip,” he says, sounding like he didn’t quite believe his own words. Amicia smiles at him, appreciating the effort to comfort her. She squeezes his hand, taking a step closer as they look out across the courtyard, seeing Lucas and Hugo showing Beatrice around.
“We all meant it when we said you were still a part of the group, you know. It wouldn’t be the same without you,” Amicia says, feeling Rodric tense up beside her.
“Are you sure?” he asks, voice small and scared and hopeful.
“Of course I am.” As Amicia uttered the sentence, Rodric wrapped her in a tight hug, forcing her to stand on her tiptoes as he unconsciously lifted her. She could swear that Rodric sobbed against her shoulder, as his muffled voice drifted to her ear.
“Thank you.” Amicia just hugged back, leaning her head on his shoulder and rubbing his back as he cried. When he finishes crying, giving one final sniffle, Rodric lets Amicia go and wipes his face with his sleeve, thanking her again.
“Look down there, it looks like they’ve spotted us,” Amicia says with a smile, pointing down to the ramparts, where Lucas and the others stood, waving up at them. The duo waved back, Rodric finally cracking a small smile as they started walking back down to the main hall. Together, the two of them sat down by the fire, waiting for the rest of the group to join them so that they could eat together, like a proper family.
“Rodric, you can always talk to us. If you ever feel sad, or angry, or you just want to talk, come find one of us. Whoever you feel most comfortable talking to,” Amicia reassured him again, worried that he still harboured any doubt about his welcome. A small huff and a smile was all the answer she got before they were interrupted by the rest of the group entering the room, almost surprisingly followed by Mélie, looking a little less down than the last time they’d seen her. If the way she nodded towards Lukas was anything to go by, the boy had probably managed to talk to her and ease the burden on her shoulders.
“Amicia, be a dear and help me fix dinner would you?” Beatrice said as she walked up to the cauldron sitting in the fireplace, listing ingredients that they would need before sending her children away to go fetch them.
“I’ll go with them,” Rodric spoke up from where he was seated, rising to his feet as Amicia stopped in the doorway, waiting for him to join them. The rest of the group remained in the main hall, talking about nothing and everything as Mélie slowly came back out of her shell, joining the conversation.
Hugo was already ahead of the duo, leaving them to follow him down into the alchemy lab, which had also been turned into a sort of pantry. Taking their time, they walked side-by-side down the stairs, hands occasionally brushing against eachother but neither acknowledging it. Soon enough, they walked through the doorway into the lab, spotting Hugo rummaging through a box of apples, a fruit already held between his teeth.
“Hugo? Weren’t we supposed to gather things for dinner? I don’t think mother asked us to bring apples,” Amicia said playfully, crossing her arms as Hugo slowly stood up straight, dropping the apples he had been holding in his hands back into the box with an almost shameful look on his face, taking the partially-eaten apple out of his mouth. Rodric stifled a laugh next to her.
“Sorry, I just wanted one before dinner,” he answered, voice small. Amicia sighed before relenting, waving him closer before kneeling down.
“You can have the one you’ve already bitten, but no more okay? You can go back up if you want, I think Rodric and I can handle bringing everything back,” she said, smiling at her brother. A quick hug and ‘thanks’ later left Amicia and Rodric alone in the lab, looking around for the things Beatrice had asked for. It didn’t take long to find the ingredients, despite the mess, and soon enough the two were headed back up to the others, the thought of food making their bellies rumble and their mouths salivate. With a small smile on his face, Rodric turns to Amicia, his eyes twinkling in the torchlight.
“Thank you, for everything.” Tilting her head at him, Amicia takes his hand in hers, returning his smile.
“Thank you for sticking with us through all of this. You never had to, but you did, and for that I’m grateful,” she says, gazing into his eyes.
Standing alone in the torchlight, fingers interlocked and the promise of shelter, food and family ringing clear around them, they felt like everything would finally turn out alright.