Chapter 51 - Comfort

Daniel lay there in bed, looking up at a ceiling that was both familiar and nostalgic. The wood grain patterns were exactly as he remembered them. His bed, in his room, kept just as it used to be for a thousand years. 

Elania’s arm was folded over his chest, making small circles on him with her finger. Her head rested against his shoulder, and her breath tickled his neck on every exhale.

“...So now we just have to help this mermaid learn formations to give them an edge over the world serpent?”

Her voice was calm, but he could hear the thread of concern woven through it.

"Yeah, that's the plan." Daniel's hand absently traced patterns on her arm where it lay across him. "Not the most efficient plan, but it's something. And the council should also be getting involved."

“Hmm… I never thought I’d feel powerless again, but if that thing is as large as you say…”

“Yeah, I think it’s beyond us.”

“Us?” 

Her head lifted from his shoulder abruptly, and he immediately missed the warmth of it. She propped herself up on one elbow, looking into his eyes with a confident smirk. “You think you can measure up against me now? I’ve been training for a thousand years.”

“...You’re gonna hate me for this.”

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What?”

“My level rose by over five hundred while I was sealed.”

A pillow suddenly swung down on his face, muffling his laughter.

“Are you serious?!”

"Yeah, sorry." He grabbed the pillow, pulling it away from his face to see her expression—which was exactly as offended as he'd expected. Beautiful, even while glaring at him. "I figured it might have something to do with the understanding Daniel has, added to Artorias' original."

"But you said Daniel's world didn't have magic." The pillow lowered, but she held onto it like she might need to use it again.

"No, but it has technology, and a far greater understanding of the universe." He sat up slightly, needing to see her face better as he explained. "Though it does seem strange that it translates like that. It could also be that just being sealed over a thousand years influenced my power somehow, infusing me with natural mana over time."

“Five hundred…” She was quiet for a moment, deep in thought. Then her grip tightened on the pillow. “Well, that stupid level system you created doesn’t say everything about combat power. I bet my experience would still let me wipe the floor with you.”

The competitive fire in her eyes was adorable.

It would certainly be interesting. I haven’t used my full power once since waking up.

“I’m up for a spar.”

"Bring it!" She sat up fully now, the blanket falling away.

“Well, not right now, obviously. And we’d need a proper arena for it—a place that can handle some destruction.”

"Coward." The word was teasing, her lips quirking up at the corners.

“What, you want to duel right here in my bed?”

“...”

"No, I heard it. Let's wait." He cleared his throat, trying to will away the blush. The smirk on her face said she was enjoying his discomfort entirely too much.

"I can stay here all day." She settled back down beside him, draping herself across his chest again like she belonged there. Her warmth seeped through him, making him want to never move.

“And I would love to join you. I can, but I have a mermaid to teach in…” He looked down at his index, briefly checking the time. “In an hour. As well as the rest of the weirdo class. But I can stay.”

He would cancel everything if she asked. Professor Morin could take one extra class.

"No, you should go." She patted his chest gently, though her arm didn't move from where it rested. "We have plenty of time to catch up later."

The promise in those words made something warm bloom in his chest.

“Thank you. I might be enjoying this teaching thing, actually.”

"Yeah?" Elania tilted her head to look up at him. “I’ve had a few students of my own. It can be quite rewarding.”

“Like Lucian?”

"Exactly like him." Her expression softened. "I could tell from the start he wasn't the brightest, but he works incredibly hard. And he was so desperate for my help when he was young."

"Mmh, I know that feeling." Daniel's fingers traced idle patterns on her shoulder, enjoying the simple contact. "And I've been meaning to ask you—how do you know Felicia?"

“Oh, is that related?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay… I know her mother, Sylvia, because she’s Lucian's sister. He always looked up to her, hoping to measure up one day. Then I visited her after she was sent to the Harrowblooms, around the thousand-year anniversary of your sealing. I met her up on that mountain, and she was pregnant at the time.”

Daniel made a small sound of acknowledgment. It fit with what he knew, like the reason Felicia liked going up that mountain. Her mother had brought her up there, even before she was born.

“We became friends, then. And I visited once more later, seeing Felicia when she was four or five, I think. But that’s the last time I saw them, which is why it surprised me to see her in the tower.”

"...Then you have a lot to catch up on." 

His tone must have given something away, because her body tensed against him.

“And nothing good, judging by your tone?”

“Nothing good. Sylvia died a few years after you saw her last.”

"Aaahh, damn it…" The words came out as a pained exhale. Her fingers curled into his shirt, gripping the fabric.

“Airship sabotage, she died protecting Felicia. Then her brothers blinded her while she was unconscious.”

“What?”

The single word was spoken in an ice-cold whisper, sending chills down Daniel's back despite the warmth of the bed. He understood how she felt, at least partially. The protective fury of someone who cared deeply, who'd been absent when they were needed most.

“Yes. And since then, she was bullied by her siblings almost every day. The rest of her family did little to stop it.”

Elania was completely still now. Her breathing had gone shallow and controlled.

"...Tell me you—no, I know you did something. But tell me what." 

It wasn't really a request. More like a need to know that justice had been served.

“Well, I met Felicia right as I left the crystal chamber. She told me how long it had been, helped me get oriented. But I could tell she wasn’t a very happy girl, thinking I was there to kill her at first.”

He told her everything about the Harrowbloom family, how they planned to marry Felicia off like her mother, how they treated her, how her only ally was kept at a distance, and then about his heroic entrance and following rescue.

And then he told her about the kidnapping, and everything it revealed. The truth about Felicia's blindness, the cruelty of her brothers, and the political conspiracy that had killed her mother.

"...Thank you for taking care of those bastards for me." Her voice was quiet now, but no less dangerous. "If you had been merciful…"

"I mean it when I say Felicia is like a sister to me." Daniel's hand found hers, squeezing gently. "Do you think I would hold back?"

"No. No, of course not." She squeezed back. "I should have visited sooner…"

The guilt in her voice made his chest ache.

"Perhaps. But the Grifantes tower might not have been much better for her." He kept his tone gentle, not wanting to add to her burden. "Not with Erodin as the head, at least."

"They would treat her like a queen if I told them to. But hint taken—I should have kept a closer watch over them as well."

"Don't put everything on yourself."

Elania lifted her head to stare at him with an expression that was equal parts incredulous and amused. “...You’re joking, right?”

“What?”

"You're the world champion of putting everything on yourself." She poked his chest for emphasis, each word punctuated by a jab. "You can start listing everything you feel responsible for right now. I know you have a list. I bet it’s long."

“...That’s different.”

I am responsible… For all the disasters in the world, for leaving you for a thousand years, for leaving Lyra, for everything.

"Maybe Velk was right." Her eyes were soft now, almost pitying. "It has to be the gods telling you every burden is yours to carry, otherwise someone as smart as you would realize how stupid you sound."

"It's related to the crazy part, alright?" Daniel looked away, unable to hold her gaze. "I have good reason to blame myself."

“Does that crazy reason extend to the past? Because you’ve been like this for as long as I’ve known you.”

Had he? Was Artorias also like this before the sealing?

Sure, he felt responsible for his father dying—not being strong enough to protect him. For providing for his family after that loss. For protecting the kingdom because no one else could. For saving everyone in his final moments and also leaving his loved ones behind to deal with the aftermath, but…

Okay, maybe I am the world champion.

“You know, you might be onto something.”

"I know you." Elania's hand came up to cup his cheek, turning his face back toward her. "Whatever reason you've given yourself to feel responsible, think about it for a minute."

"..."

He did. Really thought about it.

I wrote a book. I wanted to create an exciting story for people to read and make the world more interesting. And I finished the book, ending it at a bitter point in the story that would make the readers mad. I wanted to leave an impression.

Does that make me responsible for the disasters in this world? Should Einstein feel responsible for the nuclear bomb?  Should every author be accountable for the fictional suffering they create?

The logical conclusion… seemed to be ‘no.’

But logic and guilt didn't speak the same language. Logic was clean and rational; guilt was messy and emotional and didn't care about rationality.

"I am powerful. And with great power comes great responsibility." The quote came easily. It had always been one of his favorites.

"Yeah, sure, I also feel that way." She nodded, understanding that principle at least. "That's why I've been protecting this nation for the last millennium, and why I fought the dragons in the west. But you extend yourself beyond that."

Daniel took a deep breath, looking back up at the ceiling. The familiar wood grain patterns were as unchanged as he was. 

"You're right. Thinking about it, I shouldn't feel totally responsible."

Saying it out loud didn't make the guilt vanish, but it felt like acknowledging a truth he'd been avoiding.

"Good. Because I'm not losing you again to some misplaced sense of martyrdom." The arm across his chest tightened, as if she could hold him in place through sheer determination.

“More than fair. I’ll bring you with me this time.”

"Yes! I know you're joking, but that's precisely what you should do." The enthusiasm in her voice made him smile. She wasn't joking at all.

“...I’ll try… But I should get going now, duty calls.”

He got out from under the covers and sat up on the bed, feeling the chill and lack of Elania's embrace immediately. “Do you wanna come to the academy? Or should we meet up later?”

"I have a few errands I have to run." She stretched like a cat, arching her back and raising her arms above her head. "But there's this play I've been dying to see since you returned."

"Oh, you're asking for a date?" He couldn't keep the pleased grin off his face.

“I could demand it if you want.”

“No no, I’d love to go with you. Tell me a time and place.”

The eagerness in his own voice was almost embarrassing. But he couldn't bring himself to care.

“It’s not far from here, so we could meet up by the tower entrance at six?”

“I can hardly wait.”

A proper date. After a thousand years of separation and weeks of chaos, they'd finally have a normal evening together. The thought was almost surreal.

But first, elementary formation theory…

It wasn’t the most interesting subject to teach, especially for the greatest formationist in history. But the interesting students should more than make up for it.

And Fillie might be mad if I don’t. Now I have two girls I don’t dare to disappoint…

Ch.50 --I-- Ch.52