Remembering Eris Aintree…

“Hmph. Lemme guess…” I tease, wagging my finger. “You’re asking about the bards of Sharmarli, aren’t you? One specific Bard in particular, I bet!”

“Oh my!” Anna exclaims skittishly. “Was it that obvious?”

“Judging from the redness all over your face… I’d say yes!”

“Hehe. Umm… before you get jealous… I think you’d make a great Bard!” Anna declares sweetly. “Especially with this new outfit of yours! I bet you’d be very, very popular!”

“Until I open my mouth!”

“I’m sure the Studio and your Manager will work with you on that…”

“Meh. I ain’t changing for no one! Unless it’s you, Anna. Then maybe. No promises, though!”

“When that day comes… I’ll be your Manager! We’ll work hard together, and you’ll be famous all across Nisha!”

“Sounds like a plan! But then… I dunno if being a Bard’s the life for me,” I say playfully, gesturing invitingly at my chest. “I don’t think folks are ready for the raw sex appeal I’d unleash upon their daily lives. Nah, I figure my place is at your side, Anna. Y’know… being your Healer and the Hero this world needs. It’s already quite a lot of busywork!”

“That’s true…” Anna answers dryly, tilting her head dramatically as if mourning a great tragedy. “Hmph. I suppose the world is all the worse for it.”

I smile, shaking my head in amusement as I cross my arms. “Heh! Anyway, that’s enough beating around the bush. You wanted to ask me about Eris Aintree, right? Y’know… that pretty Elf with long brown hair and icy teal eyes, who sings all those sappy songs?”

Anna’s cheeks flush a deep red as she presses a hand to her cheek, eyes narrowing with indignation. “Hey! You take that back, Arisa! They’re not sappy at all…”

“Yeah… and I’m not a Healer!” I tease playfully as Anna crosses her arms and pouts her lips. Okay, okay – I admit some of them are pretty good! Really, if I could get those ballads in my phone’s playlist, I’d have them there.”

“But you met her in your timeline, right?” Anna asks innocently. “Had she not retired?”

“Wait, what? Retired!? What do you mean?”

Anna nods. “Umm… last year, about three Seeds prior to your arrival on the Isle… I heard news from her Studio that she retired from the spotlight! Mom was speaking to representatives from Miss Aintree’s Studio regarding her upcoming album… and that’s what they told her. They said she wanted to take an indefinite break!”

“That’s weird…”

“It’s a shame. I really, really like her songs, Arisa! Even all the new stuff that people claim aren’t any good…”

“In my timeline, she didn’t retire, Anna,” I say grimly. “She went missing right around the time we arrived at the Holy City… and when we finally found her, it was already too late.”

“Huh? What do you mean… ‘too late’?”

I clutch her hands tightly as I think hard about how best to explain how it all went down with Eris Aintree in the previous timeline. Lady Mezalune, the Oracle of Sharmarli, offered Anna and me the task of searching for and rescuing her in exchange for the Lesser Shard of the Oracle. We were in the right place at the right time to help.

But it didn’t go the way we wanted it to be. Eris had lost her mind completely, broken by her captors to serve as the Voice of their Lord. She became the Demon’s Voice – their favoured, chosen queen… and their slave. In the end, in that timeline… we did what we had to do.

And yet, I…

“Answer me, Arisa!” Anna exclaims desperately, snapping me out of my thoughts. Her eyes are wide with worry, her grip on my hand tightening. “What happened to Miss Aintree in your timeline? That look you’re giving me says we did something awful, something terrible…”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Good grief. I’m frowning, aren’t I? That’s not good. Unfortunately, it’s just how I am – I wear my heart on my sleeve! And I’m anything but subtle. Shit.

“You can tell me if it’s bad news, Arisa…” Anna adds quietly. “I can handle it.”

“We killed her in my timeline, Anna…” I state solemnly. “It was the only thing we could do. She was lost to the demons, and that’s why we… did what we did.”

“What do you mean... ‘lost to the demons’?”

“When we got to the Holy City in my timeline, Eris had already been missing for two weeks. People were looking high and low, organising search parties all over the city and the surrounding outskirts,” I explain sorrowfully as Anna’s frown deepens. “We joined the search… and when we went looking for Eris… we ran into the Demon Cult.”

“Demon Cult!?”

“Humans and elves who worship demons. It’s a catch-all term for those who do it. They’re loosely organised into little gangs and covens largely separate.”

“But why would they…?”

“Greed? Hatred? Ambition? Revenge? Who knows. Demons tempt people with what they want to hear. Either way, it’s all kinds of fucked up.”

“And are they rewarded for their servitude?”

I shake my head. “They’d be lucky to get a clean death from a Demon. But before that? They wield the dark powers of ice and shadow and summon lesser demons – imps and the like – borrowing strength from their true masters.

“That said, I’ve never heard of such a group from the Chantry’s lessons, though…”

“They’re mostly on the mainland… and something new to Nisha with the growing presence of the Demon Lord,” I answer, my voice low, laced with unease as shadows of the past flicker in my mind – the horrors Anna and I witnessed together, one timeline ago. “In the previous timeline, as the Demon Lord grew stronger… more and more fell under its sway.”

“We did encounter and slay that Shadow Fiend and those imps in the Highgrove Warrens…”

“Yeah. That’s a bad sign. Really bad. If there are demons on Nisha… the Demon Cult is definitely already out there. Much earlier than last time, I bet.”

“And this ‘Demon Cult’ you speak of… they hurt Miss Aintree?” Anna asks cautiously. “They were the ones who abducted her in the previous timeline, right?”

“They did far worse than that, I’m afraid,” I answer, my frown deepening. “They wanted her to be the Voice of the Demon Lord. She wouldn’t do it, of course… and so, they broke her – mind and body, everything.”

“That’s awful…”

“We killed her,” I say, the words like lead on my tongue. “We had no choice, Anna. She and her cultists… they were going to break us, just like they broke her. She wasn’t Eris anymore – just a hollowed-out puppet of the Bard she once was.”

“I see,” Anna states disappointedly, her voice barely above a whisper. Her shoulders slump ever so slightly, and for a moment, she looks lost in thought, as if trying to reconcile her sorrow. “But then…”

Her worry transforms before my very eyes into steadfast resolve. Determination. It’s that same fire in her eyes when she stopped me from going alone into the Highgrove Warrens to face that Shadow Fiend and its minions. When she… well, fucking hell – just thinking of that slap makes my cheek sting all over again!

Truly, it’s… heartening to see. It really is.

“Everything you’re telling me happens much later in your previous timeline, right?” Anna asks quietly. “I think it’s only been close to three Seeds since you got here…”

I nod. “Yeah. We completed the Trial of the First Saint and left for Sharmarli after six Seeds at the Chantry. This time, we’re getting through things at a breakneck pace together!”

“Oh my! Have we truly done so much in so little time!?” Anna exclaims, eyes wide with astonishment, as she presses a hand to her chest, trying to steady the whirlwind of emotions within her. “I didn’t notice…”

“Hey, what can I say? Time flies when you’re having fun and living your best life.”

“Yes. And it wouldn’t have been possible without you by my side, Arisa.”

I grin, tilting my head as I meet her gaze, warmth blooming in my chest. The way she looks at me – so full of humble trust and quiet certainty – makes my heart ache in the best way. “We do have an affinity for each other!”

“That’s what Mom thinks too – that as my Healer, your experiences from the past timeline are igniting a spark that once laid dormant within my soul, making me stronger in ways that teaching and practice alone can’t achieve,” Anna muses out loud, her voice soft and thoughtful. “She believes the bond between a Paladin and Healer transcends the boundaries of time and space… and worlds.”

“Damn, that’s… I’ve never considered that. But I like the sound of it. Do you agree with her?”

Resolutely, Anna nods. “I believe in us.”

“Indeed – I wholeheartedly agree with ya!” I declare enthusiastically, touching my heart as I look her in the eye. “There’s only one Anna Silverlight across all timelines and worlds – you, and only you! Just like how there’s only one of me across them all, too! I feel it deep in my heart – we’re meant for each other, no matter what happens.”

“Oh, Arisa…”

Anna’s cheeks flush a delicate shade of pink, her fingers instinctively rising to press against her warm skin as she averts my gaze, lips trembling between a smile and something deeper. Her heart must be racing – I can feel it in the way she shifts her head slightly against my lap, as if my words have stolen her breath. And uh… damn! I feel it, too.

“I’m thinking exactly what you are…” I say warmly, a soft smile gracing my lips as I gently run my fingers through her hair. “We’ll save Eris from the Demon Cult. Hell, since we’re ahead of the curve… we’ll do one better – we’ll stop that nightmare before it even happens!”