{-Llewel-}
Bezyu was elated when she saw them. She was only slightly less so when they explained Casrane wanted them to stay with her. Even then, given the way she flitted through her house, it wasn’t out of begrudging obligation—it was more of embarrassment.
“Excuse the mess! I swear, if I knew you’d be staying with me, I would’ve cleaned up before… I’m usually busy enough and I don’t think about it and I don’t have a lot of visitors.” Once Bezyu folded up the stray blanket on top of it, she gestured to the couch. “Llewel and Myr, feel free to make yourselves at home. Zetai, Reynneak, and Tinath, you’re probably able to return to the inn tonight. I… think I understand fragments of why Casrane wanted you specifically to come here.”
At the hint of another half-concealed secret, Llewel asked, “And that reason being?”
He didn’t expect an answer—none of them seemed to, really. But Bezyu gave one, as she went to put some old newspapers away.
“We don’t know who might be trying to find you now, if anyone’s trying to find you at all. I can keep an eye on you—and my home is just out of the way enough it’s not the kind of place they’d look. If it is… well, I should be able to do something to make sure they don’t know you’re here.”
“Don’t suppose you know any more than us for the rest of this, do you? We’ve already asked everyone else, might as well as you, too.”
“I might, in fragments. But this is past the part of where I was explicitly told the plan.” She shook her head. “It’s something to worry about later. Just focus on relaxing for now—you’ve done a lot of traveling, and I’m sure it wasn’t easy. Is there something you want? I might not be here often but I do make sure I’m ready to treat any possible guests.”
A collective shrug was as much of an answer as she was ever going to get. She mumbled something about getting some snacks anyway and wandering into another room.
The five of them settled into different places in the room and, for a moment, didn’t say anything. It seemed that, perhaps, there was too much that probably should be addressed, and no one knew a good place to start.
“Did Casrane happen to tell anyone else how long she was going to be?” Zetai prompted. “I mean, I didn’t hear her say anything, but I’d also rather have a specific time. If it’s going to take her a while, we might be able to do a couple of quests or something while we wait. Gives us something to do.”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“We spent most of the time in the same room,” Tinath pointed out. “If you didn’t hear anything, neither did anyone else.”
Zetai shrugged. “I thought I’d ask anyway. Doesn’t seem like the first time she’d tell one of us but not the rest.”
“Well, rest assured, none of us know,” Llewel remarked. “We’re just going to have to trust that she’s not getting herself into more trouble than she can get herself out of.”
But Bezyu, still in another room, offered, “It’ll probably be another day or two. I suppose, after tonight, you’ll probably be able to do a couple of quests. Perhaps avoid the ones within the city, though. I know of a few good friends that could use the help, if you want me to show you where they are?”
“Maybe a little later,” Reynneak mumbled. “That’s something to figure out tomorrow, anyway. It’s too late to try anything now.” He considered it, then glanced at the twins and asked, “By the way, did anything else happen? You’ve both been quiet recently.”
Without really considering the care that went into the question, Llewel shook his head. “We’re… just as unhappy with this as the rest of you are. We’re all together but it’s nothing like it should be.”
Myr gave a small nod, too, and a mumble of agreement.
The question still stood, though… was this keeping the players out of the twins’ own problems, or just making things worse for everyone?
Bezyu came back with a tray of snacks. She didn’t sit down with the rest of them, though. “Well, perhaps you’ll feel a bit better tomorrow. You’ll be able to distract yourself from it for a little while, then it might not be as much of a problem when Casrane returns.”
“That’s as much as we can hope for,” Tinath said with a sigh. “If any of us were able to talk her into being open about this, she’d have told us everything she knows already.”
“All she needs is a little more time,” Bezyu offered gently. “She’s spent these two years alone, and with a heavy weight on her shoulders. It’s going to take her a while to be able to share that burden with others.”
…
The players, until it was time for them to go, tried to keep the twins occupied by talking about the quests they could do. There was enough, it seemed, to try to keep them busy until Casrane returned—and perhaps even after, depending on how urgent whatever she had to say was. It was all an attempt to prove that, no matter what, the reasons they came and stuck together were still the same… that nothing could change the friendship they’d developed. Llewel couldn’t quite find himself taking comfort in those half-truths, though. A part of him was beginning to wonder if that was just another lie, too.
When they left, it didn’t take long for the three remaining to fall into silence. Not that Bezyu didn’t try to carry on the attempts of light conversation.
“You’ll be alright as long as you stick together,” she assured them. “I don’t think any of us can say we know exactly what the future will hold for you. But with players as reliable as them with you, you’re all going to do just fine.”
“And that’s the part you don’t get,” Myr mumbled. “Neither of us… are really at the point to think that’s going to be true. That they’re not just going to get hurt because of us.”
Bezyu stopped, for a moment. Then, slowly, she said, “Perhaps I was wrong, then, and promises are not something I should freely give. But I do still believe in you. You’ve done a lot since you met them… and I hope, as things come to a close, that you’ll be able to triumph whatever comes your way.”