I fall from the clouds...

~

Sage found me a few minutes later and helped me to my feet.

She didn't say anything right then and just helped me clean up my face, then led me on to wherever Fezege wanted me.

We reached a small, round room with a wooden floor, whose center had a tree. To the right, a staircase went downward, and to the left, a door was in the wall, and it sat open.

I tried my best to cheer up and put what happened aside as we walked right through the doorway and into what was quite legitimately a small house in a castle.

It had a kitchen, a dining/living room, and a little hall with a bedroom at its tip.

Two green-haired elves were cleaning in the kitchen, presumably getting ready for dinner since they had their aprons on.

Sage gently announced our presence, and pretty quickly, the pair turned and wholehearted smiles grew upon their faces when they saw the two of us, and started coming toward the entrance.

They introduced themselves to us sweetly. One was a guy, shorter, scruffy-haired, and full of freckles, and his name was Dasmo. The other was a taller girl with longish and slightly wavy hair, and her name was Defor.

I introduced myself as Lydia Sakari, and whereas I normally got a shocked reaction when they realize I'm a surviving member of hell, these two remained calm and smiling.

I looked to Sage to introduce herself, but she stood there looking awkward.

"You gonna say hi?"

Now the two looked confused.

"I don't speak Elfish," she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I- sorry." I realized I'd forgotten my first language is Elfish. Half the time I don't even notice I'm speaking something else.

"And I know them already. They don't speak English, so usually we have Lasory here to translate."

I looked away.

"He'll be here before dinner."

I nodded.

The group told me that Dasmo and Defor were twins who watched over the trainee Knights outside of training, as in making sure they don't kill each other at night.

The twins began to cook dinner, and since I had nothing else to do, and I wanted to distract myself, I offered to help.

Dasmo got out some meat, and then a strange fish.

The fish was a strange color, and had a very vibrant reflection about it. He got out knives and a cutting board, and then got out various spices, leaves, and vegetables.

He chopped up the spices and had me rip the meat into chunks, then covered it in eggs, fileted the fish, and then stuffed it with some of the meat and spices.

I then sat on the couch and waited for it to cook, and Lasory got here soon after. He gave me a light wink, saying we'd put a pin in things and discuss them later. I found an empty piece of paper and a pen sitting on the armrest of the couch and began to draw to pass the time. I haven't drawn in more than a while, and it didn't help that I had no eraser, so I was going slowly.

Sage had kind of just been sitting around, and even though Lasory and I could both translate, she was laid back on the couch and staring off into space. I called her name to ask if she was okay in a joking way, but even that she didn't seem to notice.

I wasn't drawing for very long because the smell of the food began to waft into my nostrils, a sensational aroma that teetered at the border between something bacon-y and something really savory like oregano or sage.

All I know is... it's making me hungry.

Defor came into the kitchen, and then it seemed like we all collectively took a deep breath of the tantalizing fragrance.

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"It smells like home," she said.

The twins were smiling warmly, their arms wrapped around each other.

The elves' cheeks seemed to sparkle a little when they were happy. Their faces were white yet blushy with an ever-so-slight hint of blue in them, which gave them this eerie but sort of mystical look.

All it did was add to their already cute dynamic. Seriously, those two were the sweetest, happiest, most wholesome twins I've ever met.

After we had waited and waited, Defor nodded, and Lasory finally said,

"Dinner's ready!"

~

Our plates were served, but the twins and Lasory joined hands, and gestured for Sage and I to join them until all of us had our hands interlocked.

The twins began by closing their eyes, and spoke softly in a language that I didn't understand. It sounded like a prayer.

The room seemed to darken, and a sparkling blue glow began to emanate from the elves and Lasory, who joined them in their prayer.

The candles themselves dimmed, and for a moment, I saw tiny light blue orbs gently floating around us. They reminded me of fireflies, only with an ethereal surrealness to them. The stars that danced among the table glistened in Sage's eyes, which were beginning to water, and when this ephemeral brilliance subsided, Sage and I were left shocked.

A tear slid down her wordless face, and I wasn't far behind her.

This... is what magic is truly like in this world. It can be brutal and cruel, but it can also be stunningly beautiful.

I want to learn it.

I felt like I should be closing my eyes, but at the same time, I couldn't help but gawk at what was happening. It was so beautiful and magical.

They finished and the room returned to normal, bringing with it a warm happiness upon us all.

We dug into the food, which was nothing short of phenomenal. Much better than deli sandwiches.

I'm not even a huge fan of seafood and I think it's amazing.

I got seconds, and we talked a lot about things like Sage's training and Lasory told some lighthearted stories from his time as a Messenger.

When he brought up Myu, it stung a little bit, but the group bowed their heads for a short moment at the first mention of her name, and then Lasory continued his story. It was about how she bounced off the walls all day long when she found out I was becoming a Messenger.

I smiled and tried my best not to let missing her get in the way of the story.

Even after you're gone, you still manage to put a smile on my face.

After dinner, we settled down to let the food rest, and outside, I noticed for the first time all day a clock's bells ringing. It was the turn of an hour.

A few minutes later, loud voices echoed down the halls, as well as a loud clinking noise. It got closer until it seemed just down the hall.

I could make out at least 2 voices - one male and one female - in a fight with what I assumed was swords, mocking the swordfight itself, giggling and laughing like it was a game.

Defor stood up, a stern look on her face, and she left the room. The rest of us followed loosely to see what was going on.

We went out in the hall to see a whole array of people, some of whom I swear up and down I'd seen before, and 2 of them had quite real swords in their hands, and they had stupid stances and even stupider looks on their faces.

Defor hit the wall to call attention to her, and everyone immediately stopped. For as happy and wholesome as she was, it was kinda funny to see her just demand that much attention and respect like that.

If she could speak English, she'd be saying "what the hell are you idiots doing??" and they all knew that.

Sage stormed up towards a taller guy who had a sword in his hand - he'd since dropped it.

"Keith! Can you at least show some respect to the people trying to have a peaceful dinner here?"

Keith...

I've heard that name before...

Wait a minute......

.............

I remember.

A foot slammed into my chest and I flew back, colliding with the ground with a heavy grunt.

"You piece of shit! What the hell would make you say something like that?! Do you realize what you've done?!"

Keith, Angelina, Yoru, Edgar... Sage... everyone.

I remembered all of them.

Because I used to be with them.

"Vincent, baby, we'll make it home fine, okay?"

Her voice was panicked and terrified, and I could tell she was having a hard time believing that herself.

"I love-"

My heart beat in my throat as everything was thrown upside down and I plummeted down to the ground.

I gulped and began to sweat, then realized Keith and Angelina, the two with swords, were staring at me since Lasory, Sage, and the twins had already returned.

I quickly hurried back and sat at the table with the others as I felt my stomach trying to send dinner back to its maker.

Sage was passing out cards that I was familiar with: a standard Bicycle deck. I won't even question how she managed to teach everyone how those cards work.

"Want me to deal you in?" she asked, noticing the sick look on my face.

I shook my head and asked where I'd be sleeping, I was shown the spare bedroom, and promptly lay in the huge bed, curling up in a ball and not bothering to get in the blankets.

I couldn't sleep that night. I just spent the whole time thinking about what I'd seen.

Some time later, Sage crawled in bed beside me, which normally would sound an alarm for anyone, but I also forget that I'm not a guy anymore.

"You're still awake, aren't you?" She asked gently.

I thought about ignoring her for a good minute.

"Yeah."

"I was supposed to go back to my dorms, but you seemed like you weren't feeling so hot, so I figured I'd keep you company."

I didn't know how to respond to that, and just stared away. I was still fighting off the fish from dinner trying to flop out of my stomach, and planned on spending the night alone.

"Are you... Vincent?"