Chapter Text
—Are you sure that’s all you want to tell me—
—Yes, that’s all. Don’t worry—
—Alright, I won’t push you. But remember, no matter what happens, I’ll be there for you—
—I don’t doubt that—
.
.
.
My footsteps echoed loudly through the halls. The darkness of the night clung to the walls, and the shadows seemed to shift, leaning closer to me; I couldn’t tell if it was real or just a hallucination caused by exhaustion. I hadn’t slept well, and on top of that, I had to find out like this.
That man… who does he think he is? He hasn’t spoken to me for days, he’s been ignoring me, and now he didn’t even tell me about something this important; if I hadn’t overheard those four talking, who knows when I would have found out. That damn idiot—when I find him, he’s going to hear everything I have to say.
I reached the end of the corridor where a door stood; without knocking, I turned the handle and pushed it open hard. The sound echoed through the hall.
—Qifrey! You shameless mage, how could you?! The least you could’ve done was tell me before making such a reckless decision—
It only took me two seconds to realize what was inside.
Nothing.
No Qifrey. No one. In fact, there was nothing at all—no furniture, not even a trace of dust. The entire room was empty.
But why…?
—He said you didn’t like goodbyes—
I flinched at the voice behind me, nearly hitting the doorframe, but I steadied myself as quickly as I could.
—What do you mean by that? Those sound like excuses to me—
I frowned, glaring at him. It wasn’t his fault, but I was angrier than ever, and he just happened to be there. Bad timing, I guess.
—He ignored me for days, and now you’re telling me he just left like that. How am I supposed to react to that? I didn’t do anything… or did I—
Before I noticed, my fists were clenched at my sides, and my face was a mix of confusion, anger, and sadness; I didn’t even know what to think anymore.
—And first of all, why did he leave? Everything was supposed to be fine, we were fine, I thought that…—
I couldn’t finish the sentence. The words wouldn’t come out; in the end, I think I didn’t want to say it out loud, because something told me I had misunderstood everything, and if I said it, it would just sound ridiculous.
Damn it, I think I’m overthinking. My head is starting to hurt.
—I don’t know for sure, but he told the others he couldn’t stand staying here any longer and that he needed his own space—
Despite his serious expression, I caught a glimpse of… guilt?
I didn’t pay much attention to it; my thoughts kept circling around those words: his own space. Had I been suffocating him with my presence? Had I made him uncomfortable somehow? Was it my fault that he left? No, I need to stop thinking like that. That would be ridiculous… right?
Maybe he noticed my expression, because before I realized it, he had stepped closer and grabbed my shoulders.
—You and I both know not all of his memories here are pleasant. Maybe this is for the best; he might be more at peace this way. He even said he plans to take on apprentices—
I saw him try to smile at me, but no… it didn’t bother me that Qifrey left. In fact, I was glad he would finally be free from the comments that bothered him, and the idea of him taking apprentices made sense; I always knew he would become a great teacher. We had even made a bet about it when we were younger.
—But he didn’t tell me—
The silence settled around us, and the darkness hid the tear forming in my eye.
—We practically grew up together. I have my best memories here with you both; we were supposed to be inseparable. So why didn’t I know anything until after he was already gone? Did I do something wrong, Olruggio—
My voice broke at the end. I pulled away from his grasp and couldn’t hold it in any longer; I felt the tears fall, and that was the worst part—I didn’t even know why I was crying, whether it was because of the betrayal or something else.
Olruggio didn’t say anything. He just watched my pathetic attempt to wipe away my tears. How embarrassing.
—I don’t even know where he went… or when—
—This afternoon, after midday. I asked him why he wasn’t saying goodbye to you; he told me you didn’t like goodbyes, but you were supposed to already know everything… and from what I can see, he lied—
He looked away, but I could see the frustration in his expression.
That liar. Had everything these past months really been a misunderstanding on my part? But even if that were true, why leave me out of it? It didn’t make sense. I felt frustrated.
—Hey, calm down. You know how he is; maybe he has a good reason—
I had calmed down enough that no more tears came out.
—Do you really believe that—
He didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled a folded paper from inside his cloak and handed it to me. When I unfolded it, I read:
“Assignment as Watchful Eye approved.”
—Well… I couldn’t just let him live alone doing who knows what. Someone has to keep an eye on him. If you want, I can take you to where he is; it looks like you two need to have a serious conversation—
He scratched the side of his neck, looking almost nervous. Almost.
I felt a bit relieved. I could see him and clear all of this up. I just hoped everything would go back to the way it was.
But for some reason, I couldn’t shake off this strange feeling. Maybe it’s just worry. And this damn headache won’t go away either; maybe I’m getting sick.
—And where exactly is his new atelier, Oru—
He let out a sigh, looking more resigned than anything.
—In the Naakiwan Hills—