Sol intently stared into the grass, spying a line of marching ants, as Aurelia set up the fishing rods the two would use to catch their lunch.

The temperature near the lake was cold, but not frigid, such that the two wouldn’t need to worry about insects, and while on the trek up there was mist, it was currently clear, with not a cloud in the sky, and the sun, unimpeded, shined down on the world, enveloping the two in its gentle warmth.

Finished sticking a worm onto one of the hooks, Aurelia cast the line, and handed the rod to Sol.

Sol, preoccupied with thoughts of Celestia, took it, and watched as Aurelia continued to struggle with perfectly impaling a worm such that its body would act as a sheath for her fishing rod’s hook.

“Aurelia,” Sol called, still blankly staring forward, “What’s magic?”

Still fiddling with her worm, Aurelia didn’t look up.

“How would I know?” she asked in turn, quietly cursing in relief as she finally completely skewered the worm.

Throwing her fishing rod’s line out, Aurelia turned to Sol,

“Why?”

Sol, briefly weighing the pros and cons of whether or not he should tell her about Thalric and his potentially being able to go to Celestia Academy, ultimately decided to remain silent.

“No reason, just making small talk.”

“Good,” Aurelia nodded.

The two sat, continuing to enjoy the ambience of the body of water, when barely an hour after casting a line, Sol caught a fish of good enough size to eat.

Spanning from the tip of his middle finger to the crook of his inner elbow, the fish’s flesh and scales were completely transparent, and one was able to completely see its digestive tract, and skeleton.

By the time Aurelia started a fire, and began descaling the fish with a knife, Sol’s mouth was already watering in anticipation.

With a metal rod piercing through the fish’s entire body, and using two large sticks stuck into the ground, Aurelia made a makeshift spit roast, and set the fish over the fire.

“I know you’ve been sitting on the bridge,” Aurelia suddenly revealed.

Too shocked to respond, Sol struggled to find the words to explain himself.

“You think I’m stupid?” Aurelia asked, shaking her head, “I thought you needed time to sort out your own thoughts, and the city guards always there for patrol, so I stayed silent. But it’s been 3 weeks,” Aurela rubbed her eyelids in exhaustion, “It’s been 3 weeks, and you’ve only gotten worse. As soon as the morning’s over, off you go,” she flicked her hand out, “lying about wanting to go out for a breath of fresh air only to return to the bakery in the afternoon, which I allowed, as afterwards, at least it seemed as if a weight was lifted off of your shoulders, but now, only when the sun begins to set do you come back home, even more stressed, and even worse than when you left.”

Finally finished formulating a relatively coherent, but undoubtedly feeble, response, Sol opened his mouth to defend himself.

“If you’re mad about me leaving the shop, I’ll come back sooner to make up for it, and I’ll work mor-”

“Fuck the bakery,” Aurelia interrupted, walking to, and kneeling in front of Sol, “Trust me when I say this: your thoughts will drive you mad,” she continued, grabbing hold of Sol’s head with both hands, “I don’t know what’s going on in your mind; no one ever will.”

“Even still, no matter what you choose to do,” she grinned, “I’ll always be there, right behind you, supporting you.”

Speechless, Sol only faintly smiled, before abruptly pushing Aurelia back.

Losing her balance, Aurelia fell, and landed onto her bottom.

“Sorry, sorry,” he apologized mid laugh, “I couldn’t resist.”

Indignant at Sol’s treatment of her, Aurelia shot back up, and smacked his head,

“Just watch the fish,” she smiled, “I think I’m going to go for a walk, and unlike you, actually do so.”

“Mmm,” Sol nodded, as Aurelia shook her head in exasperation.

Watching Aurelia walk away, as soon as she disappeared from view, Sol’s face distorted, as if the joy he felt was painted on, an illusion, fake.

‘Fuck,’ Sol depressively cursed, as he curled up into a sitting fetal position, and dug his face into his knees.

***

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“How does it taste?” Aurelia asked me, watching in anticipation as I bit down onto the clear fleshed, now golden brown after cooking, fish.

Distracted by my thoughts, I could only offhandedly answer, “It’s fine.”

In fact, it was more than fine. Light, flakey, and with clear white flesh underneath the golden brown skin, I was undoubtedly eating fish, yet the foul, slightly “off,” stench of seafood I had grown accustomed to in army rations was completely missing. In reality, it tasted like regular meat, only slightly sweeter, and more delicate.

Paired with the wild greens and berries Aurelia had foraged on her hike, lunch was light, yet still filling and satisfying.

Rather, it should’ve been, but just as continuously pouring water into a bucket with a hole will never fill it, my stomach was just as empty as before the meal, despite my being unable to eat one more bite.

No matter how much I attempted to deny it by sitting underneath the protection of that floating crystal, just as Aurelia said, only I was privy to my own thoughts, and as such, I knew exactly what I desired; I knew it as soon as that blonde mage waved goodbye to me.

As Aurelia said on our trek to Frosthelm one year ago, one should act on one’s desires, as even if you are met with failure, at least you took action. And I recalled Aurelia’s words, how she would support me always, no matter what.

Had she ever given me reason to distrust her? She had taken me in for a year, when I had almost resigned myself to continue fighting as a soldier for a war with which I had essentially no stake in and from which I was almost guaranteed to not live long enough to see the end of had I stayed.

And so, making up my mind,

“Aurelia,”

I opened my mouth,

“I met a mage a week ago;

He said that his name was Thalric, and that he was a recruiter for a place called Celestia Academy.”

Pausing for Aurelia’s reaction, her face was expressionless, and she stayed silent.

“He evaluated my potential, placing it at 5th star, and offered me admission. I’m saying this because first, I think it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I-”

“Why?” Aurelia asked, her voice shaking slightly.

Unconsciously, I had begun to stare down at the ground as I spoke, and as I looked up to meet Aurelia’s gaze, she appeared to be in great pain, her eyes rapidly blinking as if she was on the verge of tears, the corners of her lips quivering slightly.

At the sight of the about to cry Aurelia, I immediately jumped up, and waved my hands.

“It’s fine, we can talk about this later,” pointing out to the pond in an attempt to distract her, “why wast-”

“Sol,” Aurelia interrupted, standing up as well, “just answer me, is it something I did? Is it because our home is too small? Is it because the food we eat is subpar? Is working in the bakery hard?” she anxiously asked, “ I’ll hire someone so you don’t need to work as often, so just tell me why,” she begged.

I felt the urge to lie; to say that I desired power to butcher those who had enslaved me, to become so tremendously wealthy that I’d be able to buy the world; to be respected and feared by those who had once scorned me, or that I was lying, that I didn’t actually want to go to Celestia, that there was no mage, and that the entire encounter was a fantasy borne from a pair of idle hands and an overactive imagination.

But I didn’t want to deceive Aurelia. Not again, not anymore.

“I’m scared,” I confessed,

“Every single conscious moment, from when I wake up in the morning to at night where I lay in bed unable to sleep, I’m scared;

Scared that there exist beings in the world so powerful that they barely even resemble humans anymore, yet because they have such immense power, if they one day decide to do away with us, nothing will be able to stop them. I won’t be able to, others won’t deign to, and Frosthelm, the bakery, the house,”

“You,” I choked, “All gone, in the blink of an eye, at the whim of one such person.”

I turned my head away from Aurelia, and stared out at the pond, eyes becoming murky, and unfocused.

“The surface of the lake is only still because nothing disturbs it.

The peace we live in only exists because others allow it to.

But just as I can throw a rock into the lake and cause ripples to form, so too can those with power decide to snuff out our lives with the same ease with which I throw stones.

So how can something so easily disrupted and destroyed be called anything but an illusion, a mirage, something dreamt up to make those trapped feel better?”

“Sol,” Aurelia wept as she wrapped her arms around me, having snuck up behind while the lake entranced me, “You’re right; the world is cruel, the weak must conform to the capriciousness of the strong in order to survive, and if those at the pinnacle of power were to suddenly decide to destroy all that we hold dear, we will be able to nothing but cry tears of blood at the injustice.

While the road you seek to walk will impart in you the ability to decide the fates of those lesser than you, and strength, money, and the fear of the weak will all come in droves,” she clenched her jaw, but whether it be from anger, pain, misery, I did not know,

“In the end, when you look back at what you’ve done to get to where you are, all the blood that you’ve spilt and bled, you’ll come to realize you’ve lost even that which you call fake.

And all you’ll be left with is yourself,” her voice barely above a whisper by the end.

“So I beg you,” she beseeched in hushed murmurs, “Stay with me, and find joy in what little we possess, no matter how hollow you may believe it to be.”

Perhaps, had it been the me of a year ago, before I had witnessed the Baron at the mercy of a faceless mage, before Captain June was impaled by the very tribe elder he had decapitated, before I had witnessed the lieutenant weep in sorrow as she died attempting to save her uncle.

Had I still been that boy, I would have agreed with her, relented, and given up.

“I can’t,” I finally murmured, digging into Aurelia’s shoulder, “How will I know, unless I try?”

Separating from her embrace, I looked her in the eye,

“Please, all I want is your blessing,” I requested, “You’re the only one keeping me from leaving.”

Staring up into the sky, Aurelia raised her head, and forced her eyes shut,

“How’s that fair?” she aggrievedly asked, “Even still, I did say, no matter what you do, I’ll support you. Go to Celesti-”

But cutting her off, I jumped at her, enveloping her in a hug, and knocking us both down to the ground.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” I continually thanked her with muffled voice.

Slightly stunned, she sat in a daze, before smiling.

“No need,” she reassured, ruffling my hair.