Work Text:
Zacharias juts his chin at the construction below them. “What do you think of her?”
Espella frowns. “Who, Eve?”
Down below the balcony they’re both standing on, Eve’s directing a few former Inquisitors in the middle of the construction of a more modern school than the old Labyrinthia’s one-room schoolhouse.
“Who else could I possibly be talking about?” he asks.
Fair point. It’s not like Espella knows any of the knights besides her and him, not in any detail.
“Eve used to be my best friend.” Espella leans and rests her elbows on the railing, propping her chin up with her fist. “I like to think we’re building back towards that. A cat can’t replace a human that easily.”
“There’s no shame in having an animal companion,” he responds. “Constantine was my closest friend for the years I spent under the contract.”
Espella frowns. “I don’t think it’s shameful. I just…with my real memories unlocked, I think I was always missing her. There’s a sense that something’s been missing in my life for the last twelve years. And now I know what that something is. It’s better.” She sighs. “But it could be even better.”
“I don’t think she’s being honest with me,” he confesses. “I believe part of the issue is that I once worked under her. I do not any longer, not in any formal capacity, of course. But…I assumed she would be more comfortable with her childhood friend, and that you could tell me what exactly is going on.”
“I don’t,” she says. “I don’t need to know, necessarily. She’s never been particularly open, though I think you know that better than I do.”
“Not even when she was a child?” he asks.
“People change.” Espella shrugs. “I can’t claim to know her that well anymore. But I’d like that to change, which is what matters. It’s not going to be the same as it was twelve years ago. That’s okay with me, as long as I get to have her as a friend at all. I’m not…expecting anything from her besides that.”
“And you think I do?”
She looks over at him. “You said it yourself, yes? You want her to be honest with you.”
“Is it so wrong of me to want someone I consider a friend to be comfortable enough around me for honesty?”
She shakes her head. “That’s not what I was saying.”
“What are you talking about?” he asks, furrowing his eyebrows.
“Priorities,” she says. “Which comes first, the truth or the friendship? Did you befriend her for the sake of the truth, or is that secondary?”
“She’s still going to be my friend,” he says, “but I am not hesitant to admit my frustration.” He pauses, and turns towards her. “You care a great deal for her, do you not?”
“Of course,” Espella answers without hesitating. “I’ve already said it today — Eve was my best friend. I’m never going to stop working to be worthy of her friendship.”
“If I had to hazard a guess,” Zacharias says, slowly, “I’d say that she doesn’t think she’s worthy of yours.”
Espella looks out over the balcony. “I hope not. I hope that she knows very well that I don’t wish to let go of her again.” She grasps the pendant around her neck — Eve’s saved her so many times. “Not after she worked so hard to hold onto me.”
“Your friendship is admirable, Espella,” he responds, also turning to look out over the work. “I can only aspire to that sort of connection.”
She smiles. “Perhaps you’ll find it someday. You just have to find the right people to connect with.”
“I think I already have,” he says. “I—I should apologize. For how I’ve treated you.”
“You were doing your job,” she replies. “You didn’t know better. Eve knew better — she knew everything. But I forgive her. She was trying to help me, in as much as she could. And I forgive my father, who tried his best to help me and just…had trouble seeing a simpler answer.”
“You’re a kinder person than most,” he observes.
“I’d hope so. It’s what I want to be. I forgive on purpose. I know Eve…has difficulties forgiving my father after everything. But for me…I’m not able to abandon him, and she trusts me enough where she hasn’t said anything.”
“That’s why I came to you,” he blurts out. “The way you’re just able to…understand her. It feels like you don’t even have to try for it.”
Where did he get that impression?
“I have no idea where you got that from,” she says. “I have to work to understand her. It’s not effortless, and it shouldn’t be. I can’t claim the relationship Eve and I had when we were children. That’s the whole point.”
“So you’re saying that we have to work on it,” he says.
She smiles. “You get it, don’t you?”
“I do now,” he says, looking down at her. “She’s worth it.”
“She’ll always be worth our effort,” she emphasizes.
They stand there together for a few moments, side-by-side — she’s pretty sure they’ve achieved some kind of peace.
“I tried waving to you two,” Eve says. “Honestly, I thought the two of you would be better at vigilance. Especially you, Barnham.” Espella turns around. Eve smiles, disarming any possible insult.
“Hello, Eve!”
“Greetings,” Zacharias says, sounding a little flustered.
“I saw the two of you talking, but…I presumed it’d be best for me not to interrupt,” she says.
“You had work to do regardless,” he points out.
Espella nods in agreement. “There’s no need for concern, Eve. We’re developing our friendship.” She looks over at him, and he smiles at her. Good. She’s gotten it right.
“I’m glad,” Eve says. “You’re the people I’m closest with.” She sounds slightly stilted, but…she’s trying. “Now, would the two of you like to take lunch together with me? I’m on break from the construction efforts for now.”
“Sure,” Espella says. Zacharias nods.
The air is clear, the sun is shining, and Espella knows things are changing for the better.