Alvery sat at the kitchen table, his eyes lost in thought as the crickets outside sung to their heart’s content in the night outside.

With the darkness, the heat had fortunately abated enough to make staying indoors bearable, however the humidity still made for a sticky feeling that Alvery had never been fond of during the summer time.

“I’m glad you enjoyed your swim.” Eliza’s words drew the younger man back to the present, though he still didn’t lift his gaze from the table.

“Yes, it was a wonderful way to cool down.”

Eliza looked to her husband who was in the middle of reading a book titled: Diolla’s Teachings.

When Eugene Cremont missed his wife’s glance, she pressed a kind smile over her lips and addressed her guest again.

“You seem to have more energy these days. I remember in the first fortnight you used to be dozing while in the middle of dinner.”

Alvery nodded while gazing blindly at his empty dinner plate. “I suppose I’ve gotten more used to the long days. That, or it’s because we didn’t get a lot of chores done today.”

“Will you be working on your teaching notes this evening?” Eliza asked, clearing Alvery’s plate and turning toward her sink that was already filled with sudsy water.

“I might,” Alvery answered vaguely.

Yawning from his place at the end of the table, Eugene stood with a stretch.

“You might be more awake, but I’m afraid it’s me that needs to go to bed early. This heat has me all sorts of swollen. Goodnight, Robin. Hopefully tomorrow is cool enough for us to get back to work.”

Alvery nodded and gave a small wave as his host ambled off toward his bedroom, though pausing to momentarily pat Alvery on the shoulder as he passed while Eliza worked on finishing up the last of the dinner dishes.

Turning to watch Eugene’s retreat over his shoulder, Alvery’s eyebrows twitched together while he pushed himself to his feet.

Once standing, Alvery set to tucking in the chair, and making his way over to Eliza where he gently took the butter yellow tea towel that was draped over her shoulder, and picked up the dishes she had just finished washing and lain out to dry, and began patting off the excess water.

“Oh, Robin, dear. You don’t need to do that. It has been ages since you have been able to get any of your own work done.”

He smiled warmly at Eliza. “It’s alright. I probably will go to bed soon myself.”

Shaking her head and ‘tsking’ with an appreciative glint in her eyes, Eliza didn’t bother arguing more with him.

As a comfortable quiet settled between them, the smell of the potato herb salad and roast chicken they’d had for dinner still clinging to the air, Alvery regarded Eliza more thoughtfully then.

“Why did your son leave Aniselle again?”

Eliza looked at Alvery, momentarily stunned, then after a few blinks, she returned her attention to the dishes.

“He wanted to find a wife, and there weren’t many options here in Aniselle, and… Well he wanted to learn about banking. He is a clerk in one of the banks in Scarlem right now, and last I heard he was being considered for a promotion. Eugene and I are very proud of him, and it will be wonderful for their boys. Of course his wife’s connections are helpful in that regard- Olivia’s father sits on the board of Povin Bank Directors. He was quite against their marriage at first, but once he found out how smart our Robert is he took him under his wing.”

Alvery found himself smiling at the pride in Eliza’s voice.

“Aniselle has a bank too,” Alvery mused thoughtfully.

“Our bank? Only two or three people need to work there, and most of the time it is a very boring place… No. Robert needed something to challenge him. It was the right decision for him to move to Scarlem” Eliza assured while nodding to herself.

Alvery’s mouth twisted as he continued to dry the dishes, deep in thought.

“You have to leave soon, don’t you?”

His gray eyes snapped up in alarm at the woman’s accurate guess.

Eliza gave him a knowing smile. “You feel bad about leaving us, it’s written all over your face.”

Alvery opened his mouth to speak, not even certain what he wanted to say but didn’t get the chance to find out whatever lie he would butcher as the older woman spared him with her next words.

“I know you can’t say where you’re going, and I can tell you are the type who tries to stop his business from interfering with other people. Don’t worry, you always said this was temporary.”

Alvery’s shoulders slumped forward.

“We’ll miss you as well, Robin. If you’re ever back in town, you better come say hello to us,” Eliza continued sternly.

“Thank you. For… For everything. I’m not leaving just yet, but… soon.”

Eliza made a small “Hm” sound to signify she’d heard him.

Alvery wondered if it was just because of the dim lighting in the room, but he could’ve sworn he saw a glimmer of tears in her eyes.

His chest felt uncomfortably tight.

“Will you mind if I tell Eugene that you will be leaving? He’ll want to buy you a nice drink at the tavern before you go.”

“That is very kind of him, he really doesn’t have to.”

“Pish. He’ll enjoy having some company over a pint, and I wouldn’t mind a nice quiet night with my book and a glass of wine.”

Alvery grinned then held up his hands in surrender. “If you insist.”

Eliza handed him the last dish in the sink and turned to face him with a hand on her hip.

“I heard something about a date you had today from a friend of mine,” she prodded interestedly.

Alvery felt his cheeks flame. “We just happened to run into each other when I went to cool down yesterday. I hadn’t planned on-”

“Well I heard you were the one to ask out that tourist, and apparently she seems quite taken,” Eliza continued with a coy smile on her face and a waggle of her head.

Alvery balked when he realized that Eliza was referring to his meeting with Fiona, and not Tia…

He blinked. How had he already forgotten about Fiona…?

“She had read some of the same books I had and we got to talking is all. She’s a nice girl, but young” Alvery clarified while putting the plate in his hand into the cupboard.

Eliza watched Alvery for a moment, and it was in that time that he found himself becoming equally aware and impressed by the woman’s observational skills. She was incredibly sharp, and

If she were the one to be hunting Alvery, he had no doubt she would’ve found him in less than a day even if he had a six hour head start.

So before she could needle any more information out of him, Alvery asked another question.

“Did you know right away that you wanted to marry Mr. Cremont?”

Eliza’s eyebrows shot up, but she gave Alvery a mystifying, knowing glance and accepted the tea towel he offered her in order to dry her hands.

“He says he knew straight away, and while that may be true, he certainly dragged his heels proposing, which made me question everything myself,” Eliza chuckled. “Why? Did that young lady mention marriage to you today?”

Alvery squinted his eyes. “Not… exactly. I’ve just never really thought of marriage is all.”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“At your age? You’ve not thought of marriage?” Eliza laughed. “Your mother must have had at least one or two partners set up for you.”

“She tried, but… I didn’t see the need for a wife then.”

“So you see the need now?”

“N-No, that isn’t what I mean,” Alvery stammered awkwardly while blushing even more brightly. “I just wonder if it’s something that naturally comes to people or not.”

At this Eliza’s gaze moved away, and her arms folded casually in front of herself as she leaned against the sink. “For some people it’s all they’ve been able to think about since childhood. They get excited after hearing stories about love, and romance… Some find other passions in life and it only comes up when perhaps their world grows broad enough to add marriage in, or sometimes it never happens at all.”

Alvery considered her musings quietly.

“Neither is right nor wrong depending on the person. Though for those who find love they of course want their own friends or family to find the same thing because it can be quite wonderful. Even if it comes with far greater risks than living alone.”

“Risks?” Alvery frowned.

“Of course. You risk getting hurt. You risk being betrayed worse than you ever have before… but those risks aren’t the only thing to keep in mind.”

“They’re not?”

Eliza shook her head idly. “No. You also have to know that one day, you’re going to have to let them go. Everyone dies after all. Agreeing to love someone completely, means you’re agreeing to be ripped apart later, and live in agonizing pain.”

Unable to mask his stunned reaction to the normally bubbly woman’s words, Alvery remained frozen in place.

“Love and marriage isn’t for everyone, and it isn’t all sunny skies as some of the young dreamers like to believe either. However, if you think another person might bring richness to your life… If you think they’ll be a part of what gives meaning, and understanding to your time here in this world… Someone who will bear witness to your great adventures… Then, I think marriage is a wonderful thing.”

Eliza looked to Alvery with a smile that made her appear… whole.

Whole, and good.

He swallowed. “I guess I’m not cut out for that after all.”

Eliza laughed again. “If you say so, dear. Now, I better go and make sure that Eugene remembered to blow out the candle or he’ll burn the house to ashes while we sleep. Sweet dreams, Robin, and thank you for your help doing the dishes.”

Nodding to the older woman and sparing her a smile, Alvery decided he may as well make his way to his room as well. Eliza had been right, he hadn’t had much time to focus on his own work.

However, that isn’t what he ended up doing.

Instead, Alvery got ready for bed, blew out his candle, and lay in the darkness.

The light of the waxing moon poured in, making the white walls of his room give off a faint glow that allowed him to make out the shadowy outlines of the dresser near the foot of his bed, and the doorway.

He turned over the day’s events in his mind…

His coffee with Fiona, and his impromptu swim with Tiaznia…

Fiona had known about subjects he loved, and seemed grounded and studious. Traits he’d always found admirable in a person.

Tia on the other hand tended to randomly appear, and regardless of whatever state of mind Alvery was in, he always found himself calming down and feeling comfortable in her presence. Yet at the same time… he was always interested in what the peri woman had to say.

He closed his eyes with a disgruntled breath.

Eliza really had put it perfectly well. Some people filled their lives with other passions that didn’t have room for a spouse.

He was one of those people.

Regardless of the fact that he wanted Tia to join him on the next leg of his journey, it was because he wanted a friend to keep him company. Not a future wife.

Settling on that conclusion, Alvery allowed himself to fall into a deep sleep…

However his dreams were far from his ordinary kind.

***

Hovering above the ruins, Alvery stared down at the maze, a sense of foreboding welling up in his chest as the dark clouds rolled above him.

He couldn’t see everything in the maze from where he watched, but he could see the entrance, with its magnificent arch that looked alarmingly like the one over the entrance to Aniselle.

Peering around at the scenery, Alvery was stunned to see that the landscape was almost exactly the same, with the forest off to the left, and rolling hills of lush grass… but there weren’t any farms.

Not a soul was in sight…

That is until a frantic shout had him looking over his shoulder down at a group of seven people running toward the archway, all of them looking around with terror filling their eyes…

They were peri.

Alvery observed this and felt his curiosity triple.

There were three women and four men… The women all wore different colored skirts, and the men wore different colored sashes around their hips which naturally made them stick out in the world of darkness, stone, and grass.

Alvery tilted his head and watched as they ran as quickly as possible into the maze, and then proceeded to split up.

Frowning, Alvery wondered what was coming. Was the maze even safe from what they ran from?

He wished he had someone he could ask his questions to.

Alvery was about to try to follow the peri group into the maze to find some answers for himself, when a piercing scream that rang in his head, making it feel as though a knife were being plunged into his skull echoed around him, overwhelming his senses. He grasped his ears, trying to muffle the sounds, but it did nothing. The pain in his head grew worse, as the shriek grew louder and louder, until…

***

Alvery’s eyes snapped open. His head was throbbing painfully, and he could feel the sweat dripping down the side of his head as he reached with a fumbling hand to his bedside table for his glasses, but ended up accidentally knocking them to the floor instead.

A knock at the door had Alvery jumping violently, clutching his heart.

“Alvery, dear. Breakfast is ready!”

Jumping to his feet, Alvery dove to his water basin and dunked his entire head in. He arose with streams of water running down his hair back into the bowl.

Looking up at the wall, he discovered his heart was still thundering in his chest.

Alvery tried to calm himself down.

“It was just a dream… It had no special meaning… A dream… that’s all. Get ahold of yourself,” he whispered before straightening.

Running his hands through his hair Alvery squinted at the floor, and thanks to the sunlight that poured in, he was able to spot the glinting gold of the rim of his glasses with little issue.

While he had been firm with himself that there was nothing to worry about from such a strange nightmare, he couldn’t deny the headache that lingered was making it a little too difficult to ignore entirely…

I’m stressed about leaving soon… That’s all…

Getting dressed and stepping out of his room, Alvery rubbed his face one more time.

He had never looked forward to the mind numbing work of farm chores so much in his life, and so, he tucked into breakfast and ate with great vigor, intending to tire himself out so that at the end of the day, he could fall into a dreamless sleep.