Chapter 18

Four months have passed. Sixteen weeks in which the Nightfall team couldn't find any solution. They didn't try to venture back into the forest. After the heated argument with Edra, Blake stopped showing himself around his teammates. He was careful not be in the same place at the same time with the princess. Countless hours of research, lost sleep, debates, exploring the Evonk land looking for crucial information proved to be fruitless. The teenagers were all exhausted. Not even king Daivat could face such an amount of pressure. The man was trying his best to be strong and support the team, but he showed signs of exhaustion. He feared for the safety of the entire land, not only his kingdom. Unbeknownst to them, the Moon's Wolves were recruting soldiers for the battle. The Nightfall team had a member in minus and their energy was drained. 

Edra stood in the throne room, contemplating the family portrait. Her mother, killed by those she seeked to destroy, her father, who invested his efforts in maintaining a balance in the kingdom, and her, without her best friend and powers. 

"It's so strange how things can change in just a matter of second." the king mumbled, going by her side.

"I could have killed Shadow that day..." she recalled, caressing the shoulder the assassin had scared "but I couldn't. Instead, I lost mom. I could have prevented this situation... but I couldn't. Instead, I lost Faye."

"My dear, I know you are a capable young lady, I can entrust you the kingdom any moment. But you cannot do all the things on your own."

"All I had to do was to be careful. I paid for both my mistakes. Was it wrong to have this hope that Blake would eventually change?"

"Everybody deserves a second chance. It's the sole responsability of the person in cause to react in a proper way."

"Not everyone has the same mindset."

"Edra, I know where this conversation is going. Don't blame yourself. None of this is your fault."

"Father, it is." the princess declared. "I chose every member of the Nightfall team myself. I should have been more precautious about our interactions. I should have been more aware of Blake's behaviour. I should have paid more attention to Faye. I should have managed things better. You taught me that mistakes can be fixed, but some are more difficult to."

"For everything we do, good or bad, there is always a price to pay."

"In this case, I paid with a sister. Losing mom made me terrified of having precious people taken away from me. I wanted so much to fill the void in my heart by saving other people's lives. Every battle, every mission, was a risk of losing my friends. I always thought I knew how they were feeling. I was wrong about Faye. She always said she was fine, even after she would get into a fight with Blake. I let everything slip out of control. I'm a failure as a leader. I was so fixated on my wish of keeping the team intact that I overlooked real problems that required immediate actions, not postponing or mere warnings."

Daivat took his daughter in his arms and patted her hair gently. He patiently listened to her sorrows and didn't interrupt her.

"I should have had a better judgement. We did everything we could these past four months. We achieved nothing. What if Faye is already dead? What if we cannot find her and give her a proper resting place? Her family died in the most terrible way. I didn't want the same thing for her. The only thing I can pray for is a miracle. Somehow... I don't know why... I have these dark thoughts that it will not end the way I want. I hoped that mom would survive after the Moon's Wolves attacked the palace. She didn't. I hope Faye will come back alive. I don't want the tragedy to repeat."

Daivat stood there in silence, embracing his daughter and contemplating the portrait. He imagined the members of the Nightfall team together, but Blake and Faye became harder and harder to be seen. He knew Edra's suffering: losing the trust in a comrade and the uncertainty her best friend's whereabouts. 

Faye was walking aimlessly in her room, mumbling a prayer. Ever since that faithful night when she found out who the murderer of her brother was, she kept her distance from Ron. She was a person of her word and tried numerous times to escape. Each time, though, she found herself going back to the headquarters. She was desperate to be free, but at the same time, she felt that she needed to discover more about this tangled puzzle. She stayed in solitude, not wanting to face the assassin. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Nothing happened. Far from Filaria and her friends, caught in a web of confusion, betrayal and pain. The girl continued her strides as if mimicking her journey back to her home. However, she was going nowhere. 

A knock at the door interrupted her train of thoughts.

"I didn't know you would eventually have the courage to show up. Do come in." she said absentmindedly.

"There is something important I have to talk about." Ron announced in a small voice, keeping the door ajar.

"What is it? Have the news of my friends' death reached you?"

"This isn't true."

Ron reluctantly approached Faye, not gazing at her directly.

"I have many questions." he started.

"So do I. Why did you suddenly decide to come here?"

"I didn't want to cause you more sorrow than I already have."

"What's with the sudden remorse? Another one of you games?"

"Faye..."

"Don't say my name! I forbid you!" she yelled.

"Please, hear me out!"

"Why should I? I can't trust you. I can't trust anymore!"

"I don't dare to ask for your trust or forgiveness. I'm fully aware of it."

"Then your coming here is useless. Please, leave!"

"I just need you to show me your necklace." 

Faye took a step back from the assassin. 

"You're going too far with this!" she protested and took a step back. "This is one of the few things I have left from my mother. My parents have been murdered. My brother has been murdered. My friends almost met the same fate. How much do you think I can endure?"

"You tried to escape and I didn't stop you." Ron said. "I had no intention of doing so."

"Yet I came back!" the weather wielder yelled.

Faye collapsed on the bed and let her tears flow down her cheeks. She hid her face in her palms and continued to cry. Only her muffled sobs filled the silence.

"It's always the same! It's always been the same! I keep returning to the people that hurt me and I'm such an idiot for that!" she lamented, punching the mattress. "The princess gave me a new life when she chose me to be a part of her team. I had a new family and it was perfect... well... I wanted it to be perfect. You have no idea what I had to endure because of him... simply because I wanted too much."

Ron kneeled in front of the bed and listened to Faye's story. She told him about Blake's unpredictability, how he would behave normally with the other members and his ill treatment towards her, how he would make some mistakes seem to be hers and many other. The young man didn't ask any question and let her finish her story.

"That's why I'm an idiot. I never learn my lessons. I put up with everything just because I'm a coward."

"It's natural to want to belong somewhere." he finally said. "However, it's not normal to let others mistreat you. He made you believe that you don't deserve to be heard, that you're a failure, that you mean nothing. This madman even confuses me. He seemed genuinely in pain. I don't know what to think either."

"You frighten me..." Faye whispered.

"Why is that?"

"Because it's the first time I talk about this so openly... and you're that person I'm sharing this secret. You took me from a beast and made me prey to other ones..."

Ron cast his glance aside, but Faye cupped his face with a hand and made him look at her.

"At first, I was nothing but an enemy to be eliminated to you. Then you saved my life. I found out so many things about you... I don't know what to believe anymore. I know what you've done in the past, I've also seen the gentle side of yours."

"I feel like we returned to the day when we first met." Ron said nostalgically.

"I was crying in front of that flower shop and you offered me lilies. Did you know that lilies mean purity? That's how we were back then."

"Do you ever wish we could turn back time?"

"It's my burning wish."

"Maybe we could've met under different circumstances."

"Past is past, there nothing that can be done to reverse."

"It's going to sound awkward, but I'm happy to see how you're so responsible and fight to improve yourself. You didn't let your past hinder or define you."

"I wish I can help you, too, but..."

"You're afraid that the same thing with Blake would happen with me, right?"

Faye didn't respond. She just stared at the enemy who struggled to help her, thinking about the friend who didn't hesitate to put her down.