It had only been a couple of hours since the group had separated, yet it felt like days to Elric. Isla had found the silence comfortable, but to Elric, it couldn't be more awkward. He felt like he should say something — she should say something... She had borne so much not only in the time they had known each other but before as well, yet he had never known. She had never told him until now, and he felt embarrassed — stupid even — for never having noticed, never having asked. Could she ever forgive him for his ignorance?

"I'm sorry," Elric started at the only place that seemed logical; an apology.

Isla's shuffling feet suddenly stopped, stepping on either a branch or a dead leaf. Elric knew not but assumed the former as leaves typically didn't die this close to the forest. "For?" she asked.

"Not noticing you were in pain." Elric glanced away. From here, the waterfall in Aboracies looked like a tiny dot you could only make out if you squinted.

"I'm fine! I'm a lot tougher than I look! I can walk several more hours before—"

"I meant your past," he snapped unintentionally. He grimaced at his own tone (which had made her flinch) and closed his eyes and exhaled to compose himself. "You were always so brave putting up a smile for everyone else. Yet, nobody saw you for who you are. I'm sorry. I should have been that someone."

"If I had told you, would that have changed anything?" She frowned, tilting her head to the side to get a better look at his concealed expression.

"At least you wouldn't have had to have gone through it alone."

"But I wasn't alone." She quickly smiled, her eyes twinkling in the afternoon sun. To Elric, she was the very definition of beautiful — especially when she smiled like that. How did she still have the strength to smile after everything she went through?

"What do you mean?" Elric furrowed his brows, trying not to frown. Her smile was so inviting it made him want to smile back, yet it hardly seemed appropriate.

"While none of you may have known what I had gone through, you were there for me and supported me like friends. You didn't have to know every little detail of my life for me to feel supported and... loved. I wouldn't trade my time with you for anything, and I wouldn't do anything differently, either," she paused. The breeze filled the silence as if it echoed her words back to Elric and to the trees around them. "I never intended to tell you about my past. But now that I have, it feels like a weight has lifted from my shoulders."

"I want to know more!" Elric pleaded. The sad puppy-dog look on his face instantly made Isla sympathetic. "I-If you're comfortable, that is." He quickly took a step back scratching the back of his head. Right, he needed to compose himself. "I want to understand you."

Isla's mouth widened creating an 'o' shape. She quickly closed it and smiled, her eyes softly looking into Elric's who couldn't help but glance away from her stare. "Where would you like me to start?"

"The beginning. What was your life before coming to Aeceria Castle?"

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Isla paused. When it came to thinking about her past, her immediate reaction was to think about something else, lest she spiral out of control. She had to face her fears at some point. Besides, here was someone looking to understand her, looking to help her in a way no other had tried to before.

"My father left before I was old enough to remember," Isla began. "But you already knew that. Once he left, my mother wanted to take me away from the capital. I was too young at the time to understand, but I believe she would have taken me to Aboracies. Unfortunately, some Aecerian soldiers found us before we could escape. We were taken as prisoners but were quickly released when the doctors found interest in us. We were free to live in our tiny home away from the castle, but we were essentially under house arrest. She and I both were frequently tested and experimented on, to the point where most days I didn't get to see her."

"You must have been so lonely..." Elric said emotionlessly. He tried to take it in, to process everything Isla had said. But everything devastated him too much to make sense of his feelings.

Isla shook her head. "There are many ghosts throughout Aeceria. They sensed my loneliness and offered to be my friends. That's how I learned about the "return" method."

Elric paled causing Isla to quickly cover her mouth with both hands. "I'm so sorry!" she apologized, placing a hand on Elric's hand feeling it far colder than it normally was. Human hands were always so warm to her.

Elric shook his head. "Did they ever... say anything to you?"

"Like?" Isla tilted her head to the side. "They would talk about all sorts of things with me. Is there something specific you were wondering?"

"Regrets, anger, sadness..." Elric trailed off, his stomach churning. Part of him didn't want to hear Isla's answer.

Isla nodded. "All of those. Anger, however, was rare. Many expressed their regrets, both for what they had done and what they had failed to accomplish before their lives were cut short. We took comfort in each other's sadness."

"Did any feel resentment for their killers?" Elric asked, feeling slightly more at ease with Isla's explanation.

"It depended. Those who died in war held no resentment. Those who were murdered in cold blood... Well, I only spoke to one of those. I quickly sent him on his way out of fear."

"I see..." Elric answered; relief changed his pained expression. "Ah, you weren't there when I was explaining to Gwyneth and Aston how my best friend died shortly after ghosts were reported in Aeceria Castle. Many of the other knights and trainees speculated it had been the work of ghosts. Could that... Could that have been the case?"

"Not directly, no." Isla shook her head. "Some ghosts do like to toy with the living. If your friend's death was the result of a ghost, chances are he was pushed beyond his limits, if you know what I mean." She frowned.

"I... I think I understand." Elric exhaled. He thought for sure Isla's would put him at peace this time, but it only increased his anger. How could the dead do something like that to someone so kind and compassionate? What had he ever done to deserve to be toyed with as if he were personally responsible for the deaths of others? It wasn't fair!

"I'm sorry." Isla placed both of her hands over Elric's now warm hands. "Emotions don't get any easier after death, and people are still as complicated as ever. There are some truly despicable people out there that not even death can change. And the worst part was that your friend likely wasn't taken seriously due to people's hesitance to believe in the supernatural."

"Thank you." Elric cried, his tears sliding from his chin onto the back of Isla's hand.

"We're in this together now, right?" She smiled, gently brushing a tear away from under his eye. "You're going to help me with my fears, and I'm going to help you with yours." For the first time in her life, she realized how perfectly they complemented each other. Why hadn't they confided in each other sooner?

"Right... I'm sorry if I drag you down with me." He removed his hands from under hers to wipe the remainder of his tears. "I'll try better from here on out."

Isla shook her head. "You don't need to be better. You only need to be you."

The two stared at each other, both refusing to leave each other's gaze. It was as if they were seeing each other clearly for the first time.

And they loved what they saw.