In the palace bathhouse…

It’s a communal place for the palace servants and the rank and file of the Sacred Shield. Kinda, because it’s much more luxurious and steamier than the bathhouse back home in the Chantry of Eternal Light! Way bigger, too! So, I gotta say, this is pretty nice… all things considered.

We’re here for a nice hot bath, just Anna and I. Can’t see the Oracle without being clean and proper, after all! Eris said she’d wait outside – she’s not one for communal bathing, and her suite has a personal shower. Lucky her!

“Hey, Anna…”

No response, I’m afraid. We continue washing up in silence. Lost in our thoughts. The silence is… deafening. She’s thinking about Eris and her promise to help her in her time of need. And as I stare quietly into the steam-cloaked mirror before me, I…

In the previous timeline, we slew Eris Aintree in the Convocation of Aria, a ruined temple Dungeon colonised by the Demon Cult to serve as their base of operations in the wilderness surrounding Sharmarli. It was a mercy kill, for lack of better words – her mind was broken and twisted beyond salvation, leaving nothing more than a cruel shadow of what once was.

Good grief. Now that I’ve spent time with Eris alongside Anna, seeing her as the sweet little Bard she once was, I’ve got an awful feeling eating away at my soul, knowing what the Demon Cult bastards had so cruelly defiled in the name of their fucked-up Lord. She’s a good person who didn’t deserve what happened to her. Then again, nobody does.

Oh, but Eris… she’s still alive and safe in this timeline! Sure, she’s acting weird… but I’d still count my lucky stars and kiss each and all of ‘em like I would Anna’s lips, seeing her safe in the Oracle’s care. Even if I know damn well, deep down, that her current situation may very well be a fate worse than death for her as it currently stands.

Eris told us that the Oracle told her that she was the one who ‘chose to forget’, willingly casting aside her memories to embrace the emptiness of oblivion. It reduced her to a shadow of her former self. Not the same shadow she had become in the previous timeline as the Demon’s Voice… but a shadow nonetheless. But no matter – that’s what Anna and I are here for – to set things right! As right as they can ever be.

Gotta wash up first, though. We’ve been doing all this thinking and contemplating amid steam and soap and warm water… so much so that we’re getting carried away. Just a little, of course.

“Arisa? I thought I heard your voice just now. Were you talking to me?”

“Yeah. Just checking in,” I answer, smiling warmly as she looks at me forlornly. “Gold coin for your thoughts?”

“I’m worried about meeting the Oracle, Arisa,” Anna answers sadly, the gaze of her eyes gravitating to the wet tiles beneath our feet. “Lady Nhaka… Miss Mezalune.”

“Would you like to talk about it?”

“What if she refuses to listen to us? I’m sure Eris tried asking Miss Mezalune for her memories before. What difference can we make, speaking on her behalf?”

She’s not looking at me, but I do my best to smile anyway. It’s a little difficult to do so, I’ll admit, because I’m feeling what she’s feeling right now. Y’know, that sense of great unease eating away at you in the face of uncertainty, each moment as it gnaws at you an eternity unto itself. It’s… not a good feeling, I’ll say that much.

But I’m your Healer, Anna. Both in this timeline and the previous one, and however many more there may be. And I’ll be stronger for you, now and forever. Whatever it takes. Compared to my resolve to do things right… these feelings of unease have nothing on me!

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“Whatever happens next, I’m with ya,” I whisper softly as I take her hand, holding it firmly in mine. “We’ll do this together.”

“But I’m worried…” Anna adds despondently as she takes her hand away from mine, wrapping her arms around her breasts defensively. “I’ve always trailed behind others, be it Mom or you. Now... Eris needs me to stand up for her, and I promised her I would! And yet…”

She looks away from me, staring deeply into the mirror cloaked in steam.

“Tell me, Arisa. You said you’re a Student Council President back in your world, ruling over your people benevolently. How do you remain stoic when you know they’re counting on you? How do you… how do you stay calm when even a single individual places their hopes in you?”

“Well…”

I look away from Anna momentarily, gazing quietly into our steamy surroundings. She’s right, y’know? Sometimes, I do wonder how I keep at it. Some days are harder than others, after all. But here I am. I'm still at it. And I…

I’ve always held some wise words from an old friend – he was a senior from St Elicia’s, back when I was still new to the city, still fresh from my sleepy little village hometown. His name was Shinji Onada. I say ‘was’, because… he’s gone now. I suppose it was only a matter of time, an inevitability of his violent life. But even now, I wish I was there to say goodbye.

Good grief. I miss that scar-faced brute. It was only two years ago when he left me and the guys behind, one year before I became Student Council President. But right now, thinking about it, those memories feel like they’re from a lifetime ago. It really does. I used to wake up with tears in my eyes in the middle of the night, realising that I had been dreaming of him, that he was still alive somehow... till one day, months later, I realised I had gone an entire day without thinking about him. And then… life just went on and on.

The pain’s gone now. Mostly. After that day, I felt comfortable talking about Shinji again, about the good times we had hanging out on the school rooftop. The other guys felt the same way. They wouldn’t say it out loud, and neither would I… but we all felt it in some way, shape or form. That feeling of moving on, keeping our memories of him and the good times we had together close to our hearts.

From these memories of mine of him, I remember that one late night, while we were cracking open a couple of cold ones while sitting on the pavement just outside the convenience store downstairs, he said…

“Courage is grace under pressure.”

“Grace… under pressure?” Anna asks nervously, mouthing my words as if to taste them on her tongue. “What do you mean?”

“Even if you’re scared shitless… you gotta face the crowd and smile. And hey, I happen to know a very pretty and cute Paladin with purple hair and lovely green eyes who’s very, very graceful!”

“Oh! Really now…”

“Oh, and she’s doing it for her beloved idol!” I exclaim teasingly as Anna’s cheeks flush bright red like the ripest of apples. “She’s got this for sure! What do you think?”

“I want to, Arisa! But how?”

“You’ll find it in your heart. I’m sure of it!” I exclaim with a sheepish smile as I scratch the back of my head playfully. “You care deeply about everyone you fight for, right?”

“I do care about Eris! And you… and Mom.”

“There, see!? Let that be your courage. You’d fight to the bitter fucking end for the people you love, for those you cherish and care for, won’t ya?”

“I would!”

“Damn right. And if anyone’s in the way… we’ll fuck them up! C’mon, say it with me!”

“Yes! I’ll do my best for everyone!” Anna declares resolutely. And if anyone stands in my way… I won’t yield an inch! Because, umm…”

With a hand pressed softly upon her cheek, she takes a deep breath and prepares to say the words as they ought to be said. Y’know, with courage and honour!

“We’ll fuck up anyone who stands in our way!”

“Hell yeah!”

We burst into laughter together, the tension and worry from moments ago flowing away from us like warm, soapy water down the drain.

“Someday, you’ll be able to recite that mantra as seriously as I can,” I add with a playful grin. “Don’t worry, though. We’re getting there, one day at a time. Practice makes perfect.”

“Maybe I will. Maybe I won’t.”

“Oho! ‘Maybe’, you said? Heh. What are the odds?”

“Hmm… I’d say fifty-fifty for either outcome.”

“That’s good enough of a fighting chance. I’m all in!”

“Oh, Arisa…”

“You don’t have to bear this burden alone either,” I tell her, taking her hands into mine and holding them as I gaze into her eyes. “We’re a team, remember? You told me those two, back at the Vineyard. So, right back at ya! How about it?”

“Of course! You’re my Healer!” Anna remarks sweetly as she smiles demurely, her cheeks a light shade of red. “I love you, Arisa.”