"Vivia…"
"Vivia…"
Vivia slowly opened her eyes. A strange darkness surrounded her - and yet a bright light nearly blinded her. She blinked further, a hazy shape taking the form of a person standing before her, eyes full with concern.
The emerald eyes of a beautiful woman within whom Vivia's soul resided.
I'm seeing myself…?
Hahaha. Am I hallucinating? Does it mean I'm dead…again?
"It's me. Clairette."
Vivia peered into her breathtaking eyes - different from the ones she was used to seeing in the mirror everyday.
"Clairette…You…you were in the ring all this time. How am I able to see you now?"
She closed her eyes gently and shook her head. "I don't know."
Her voice was soft and pleasant. Like a gentle ripple brushing across a quiet lake. Filled with warmth and kindness.
"I believe the accident made it possible for us to meet like this."
Vivia couldn't recall much of it. The last thing she remembered was being held tightly in Zerath's arms as the wave swept them both under.
Zerath…How is Zerath? Is he safe?
"Am I…" It ached to speak as if she had a thousand needles lodged in her throat.
"No. You're simply unconscious. You'll wake soon - and perhaps then, we won't be able to speak like this again."
Vivia felt at a loss. She had so many things she wanted to say, so much she needed to know about her, but so little time to do any of it.
"...Who killed you?"
Vivia's emerald eyes locked at hers, cold and unforgiving.
"I vow on my name that I won't let your murderer breathe of freedom for much longer. Whoever took your life will pay for it."
Clairette's eyes widened ever so slightly. A helpless smile touched her lips. "Is that the first thing you want to ask me?"
"Because you didn't deserve to die, Clairette. You're a…" her voice quivered, "kind woman. A strong woman. I misunderstood and misjudged you to be naive and weak. But you're really...truly so strong. You've been carrying everything on your shoulder all alone. This wasn't supposed to be your end. So please tell me. Who killed you? So many of your memories are locked away from me."
"I know…but they are unreachable to me too," she whispered. "Though I know who I am, I feel like I feel myself losing that sense of self. Slowly, but certainly."
Vivia's eyes went wide. "Lo-losing?"
"Yes. I'm no longer tethered to this world anymore. My soul…" Clairette looked down at herself as though she were some fleeting illusion, "is being pulled away somewhere. I don't know where. I might not have much time left."
Tears blurred Vivia's vision, panic twisting her heart. "You ca-cannot leave. Please don't leave…The ring! The ring is still here!"
"It cannot hold me forever," her lips lifted with a sad, somber smile.
Vivia shook hard.
"I don't know who attacked me…Probably the knights who were escorting me," Clairette trembled. "It had happened all too fast. I don't know who they were working for."
She wiped her eyes. "Doesn't matter if you don't know. I'll find that person and bring him to justice myself."
Clairette looked at her, her gaze warm. "Thank you. May I ask you to do one more thing?"
"You don't have to ask, Clairette. I got a second chance at life because of you. There's nothing in this world I won't do for you."
She smiled. "Please help Brother Aer."
"Aeren Emberlain?"
"Something…" her gaze flickered with a shadow of doom, "very sinister is going at play. Brother Aer and Count Martin are trying to uncover the truth. I was helping them too, in my own way."
"The breeding operation to produce a veil-born Blessed," Even now, Vivia shuddered to say it aloud.
"This horrendous ritual must stop. Our world's balance is in peril. Divine powers are not meant to be taken by force. Sister Melissa's prophecy is this very doom she speaks of."
Vivia took a rushed step towards her. "Do you know who is behind this?"
"No, But I felt the answer was very close to me. I believe it lies somewhere in my studies."
"Studies?"
"I had been studying quite a few things in the Covenant under Father Iorick. He was encouraging me to pursue my interests too. Somewhere within those writings, I had noticed something. I remember I was going to ask Brother Aer about it - but before I had the chance…What was it I had felt odd? I don't remember…"
Vivia went quiet. Her fists clenched. "Clairette."
She looked up.
"Did anyone in the palace know that you...loved a demon?"
Silence.
"I've caught glimpses in your memories about a demon who you used to meet in the Realm of Harmony. I haven't been able to stop wondering - what if someone in the palace discovered your feelings? Your meetings?"
And what if Clairette's very love had led to her death?
"Nobody knew, but are you speaking of Brother El…?"
She only pressed her lips in response.
Clairette's gaze flickered with a tinge of loneliness. "It's true he never liked me much. My beliefs of unification were hateful and loathsome to him. The person I was most afraid of coming to know of my love was him…I don't know, Vivia. Will Brother El truly go that far?"
As far as I can understand Elvin, he could go to any lengths to secure his aims - even sending troops into the dangerous territory of the Realm of Harmony.
Vivia reached out to touch her, even though she knew she wouldn't be able to. "It doesn't matter who it is, Clairette. I will give you justice."
Clairette gazed into her eyes, warmth rippling through her chest.
"It has been so long since I saw him, but you remind me of him."
"I-I remind you of him?"
"Your eyes. The determination in them. They remind me of him. His face looks blurry to me now…" Clairette's gaze grew distant, as if trying to recall the face of the demon she loved so deeply.
"I remember how beautiful his eyes were. Like the vast, open sky. I felt I could soar high up and fly in it. He was all the hope I ever wanted in my life. Ah…how did he look like," a tear slipped down her cheek. "I cannot remember anymore…But I love him. So, so much…"
"What…is his name?"
A tremor caught her lashes. "Name…His name…"
Her lips parted and moved. Whispering something in the stillness with a gentle smile.
"W-What? Clairette, I cannot hear you-"
But the light around Clairette was shifting. Pulling her at the edges. That quiet, inevitable tide Vivia had been dreading since the moment she understood what it meant.
"Clairette-!"
She reached out with both hands to touch her, futile as it was. Clairette only looked back at her with those warm emerald eyes, the ones that were hers and yet not hers at all.
"Clairette!!!"
—
A sudden jolt through Vivia's body, fluttering her eyes wide open. A pair of golden eyes filled her vision.
"Vivia…!"
Her hand was clasped tightly within Zerath's trembling ones, anguish raw in his warm pupils. A tear ran down from the corner of her eye.
"Zerath…"