"It's kind of a long story," I said, averting my eyes and scratching the back of my head with a chuckle. "Good thing I've got plenty of time, then," he said.
I gave Ysevel a quick glance to ask whether I should tell him everything or just enough to satisfy him for now, to which I got a response in my core to the latter. You already know that won't be enough, I sent with a mental chuckle. You're right, but we don't know how much we can say right now, especially not after that chill down your spine when we were with Balgrim, she cautioned, but I knew she was right.
I went on to loosely explain how it all happened, leaving out the part of my unsealed core, our training with Kalia, and the fact that the Undergod was actually my ancestor. I also left out the fact that Ardrin was my uncle, but I already knew that questions about my family would come up sooner or later.
As I told the two of them our story, Ysevel chimed in with bits of information as well, causing Ed and Meliss to stare at us in both awe and a slight hint of worry. "We're fine, now, of course, but it definitely wasn't easy," I said, finishing our recapitulation with a shrug.
"Gods above and below, I had no idea things were that intense, but I guess that explains the changes in your behavior," Ed said, slumping back into his portion of the sofa. "To an extent, yeah. What about you two? How did that happen?" I asked, gesturing between him and Meliss, who lowered her head just subtly enough for me to notice.
"W-Well, after you left, the Master told Thorn, Ren, and I to help train her. We spent a lot of time together, and… well, I think I should let her explain the rest," he said, gesturing for Meliss to continue.
She looked at me, then Ysevel, and immediately lowered her head for a moment as if she were embarrassed by whatever she was about to say. "It's alright, Meliss. Go ahead," Ysevel said, placing a hand on her shoulder gently. "It's not, but thank ye," Meliss replied with a weak smile that immediately faded as she shifted into a pensive stare.
"After you left, I spent a lot of time asking Ren and Thorn everything they knew about dwarves, but even their knowledge was somewhat limited. I knew that if I was going to find out the truth of why I was in Coltend to begin with, I had to come here," she gestured around the room momentarily before chuckling to herself.
"I didn't know it at the time, but according to a few of the records here, my father was, in fact, a very influential person here. I knew Ma was human, but I never would have expected her to have fallen in love with a dwarf," she scoffed and shook her head. "What do you mean?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"See, dwarves aren't allowed to marry humans; it's got something to do with keeping the purity of their bloodlines, but I never really understood why until I came here. Their rulers have to be of direct dwarven descent, but it's not only restricted to royal bloodlines," she began, getting up from her seat and walking toward the window.
"Which means anyone could potentially become the ruler?" I asked, making sure I'd understood that correctly. "Yes. I didn't know it back then, but my grandfather was the ruler at the time, and when he found out Pa had fallen in love with her, they were forced to flee the Isles," she continued without turning around.
"What happened to them? They must have made it off the Isles, right?" I asked, but only got a shake of her head in response. "Not quite. You see, Pa was a druid, much like Balgrim, though arguably more likable, which meant he was constantly being watched to make sure he didn't try to destroy the country. Ma was a trader who'd often have tomes to sell him whenever she came to the Isles," she continued, turning to face us again with tears welling in her eyes.
"When they tried to leave on her ship, the guards at the docks recognized him and forced him to stay behind, telling her never to come back," she said, using the back of her hand to wipe away a tear as she sat back down. "I thought you said he died," I noted, but instead of disagreeing, she nodded in agreement.
"He did, but not when I thought. He was sent on a mission to investigate some strange sources of mana that had begun spawning around the Isles," she said, catching me off balance. "Wait, when did that happen?" I asked, giving Ysevel a knowing look. "It was about a week before we arrived," Meliss said, confirming my suspicions.
Which means that happened roughly around the time we were dragged down to Vareluth with Irun, I realized, but there was still a piece of the puzzle that didn't make sense to me. What if Mideia thought Nexis was going to win and began his invasion early? Ysevel asked. It seems likely, but would someone that powerful really make that kind of mistake? I sent back, but she didn't seem to have an answer either.
"Damn it. I'm sorry, Meliss. I had no idea," I said, trying my best to be empathetic. "It's fine. I just wish I could've gotten to know him before the end, but I suppose I can't miss what I've never had. I was just glad to have Ed with me when I was going through that," she continued, giving him a warm smile.
When I saw him return the smile, a part of me was still shocked to see them together, but now that I'd heard her explanation, I realized it wasn't much different from my own with Ysevel. It also made me realize that the resentment I had felt when I first saw them together was only slightly misplaced.
"Well, I'm glad you had each other," Ysevel said, having understood the same thing I had. "Thank ye," she replied solemnly, letting the conversation hang for a few moments.
"Have there been any other instances of those sources showing up lately?" I asked, breaking the silence. "Some of the other druids here are going to investigate another one tomorrow. Since you guys are here, I think it might be good to have you go with them in case more of those creatures show up," Ed replied, but seemingly held back something else he wanted to say.
"Go on, spit it out," I groaned, knowing he liked to ask as many questions as I did. "Well, speaking of the others, who's the other elf with you guys?" he asked bashfully, prompting me to chuckle. "Why? Did you think she was pretty?" I asked sarcastically, prompting him to blush.
"I-I didn't mean it like that," he raised his hands placatingly, more to prevent Meliss's wrath than anything else. "She's the commander of the Caegweni guard. She came instead of Bernar, who's still helping with some stuff over there," I said loosely, carefully dancing around the fact that she was my mother. "Ah, I see. What of the other two? The ones with the full sets of armor," he said, putting a finger on his chin.
"They're elves as well, but they've taken a vow of silence until their mission is completed," I said tactfully, nearly getting a chuckle out of Ysevel as a result. "Well, if they're the kinds of people you've been training with, I'd love to see how strong you've gotten lately," he said with a wry grin. "If we go on that mission with the rest of the druids tomorrow, hopefully you'll catch a glimpse," I said, returning the smirk and clasping his forearm.
"Well, I think that's enough for one day. You guys must be tired, right?" Meliss asked, getting a nod from Ysevel and I in return. "I see. Well, the shower's over there and there are fresh clothes laid out for you on the countertop," she gestured toward the bathroom, prompting Ysevel to grow restless at the thought of being clean again.
"It was nice to catch up for a bit. I guess we'll see you tomorrow, then?" Ed asked, giving Ysevel a proper bow as he rose from his seat and prompting Meliss to do the same. "See you tomorrow," we said graciously, returning the bow, causing Ed to give me an awkward glance before turning to leave.
I think Ed's a nice person, Ysevel sent as they waved at us from the door. Yeah, and if she hurts him, I might just let Kalia and Mom have a go at her, I returned with a chuckle, getting an elbow to the ribs in response. As much as I don't want to agree with you, I don't think I would even try to stop them at that point, she relented with a sigh before making her way to the bathroom.
"Coming?" she asked playfully, unlacing the tops of her armor and letting them drop to the floor. "Absolutely," I replied, almost before she could even finish her question.