Timeline: Present
Location: Eldorian Royal caravan en route to the Isle of Azmar in the world of Aethalgard.
By sunrise, everything was packed and secured in their little caravan. The group set out, prepared for another two days of travel before their next overnight break. Then it was just one more day to the port that would take them to Azmar to visit Callum and Ally's alma mater and speak to Ally's old mentor. But that was all after an awkward morning where Vivian avoided eye contact with Callum. Once they were in the pod , however, they were facing each other for the next two days.
Vivian took a deep breath and blurted, "I am so sorry."
"There is no need, Vivian. You slept so soundly that you probably needed the sleep to begin with."
"Not about that… well, yes, I'm also sorry about that," Vivian said and then blushed. "I'm sorry about the other thing…"
"You act so strange sometimes, Viv. You could have pretended that the sound of the cups from our toast makes you forgetful, and I would have, too."
"That's not really me, though. And I would know you knew and things would still be awkward..."
"What? You do not trust your extremely hot prince?" Callum reminded her with a wicked grin.
Vivian buried her head in her hands, saying through them, "Sorry for that, too."
Callum looked at her reaction delightfully. "The thing is, Viv. I do not know what being 'extremely hot' means other than it appears to embarrass you. And it is not often that I have something to tease you about."
Vivian debated on whether to explain it or not and sighed. Leaving her hands over her face as if hiding, she answered, "It's what we say in our world when we find someone..."
"Understood." Callum interrupted and turned his head to look out the window with a big smile on his face. I am extremely hot to you.
"So are we done with all of that, now?" Vivian asked sheepishly.
Callum composed himself and turned back to her in a way that he felt was elegant and regal. "I have forgotten already." Then he lowered his head and stifled a laugh.
"Hey!" Vivian yelled, but soon laughed with him. After they calmed down, Vivian asked, "I imagine it's like this with Ally, right?"
"It used to be, until her family was killed. She has never said it, but she knows it was because her family was so close to ours. People say that is why my parents took her in as a ward. But there was a lot more to it." Callum paused in somber thought. "I see a glimpse of the old Ally from time to time. But when I think about how carefree she used to be, I have to keep the anger hidden from her."
"That sounds like a difficult friendship. I don't know the story, really, except people always tell me when I am her that they're sorry about what happened and how they miss her family members."
Callum nodded. "I want to tell you what I know of Ally, anyway. I think it would help you act a little more like her to reduce suspicion."
"I would like that, Cal. But before, if you do not mind, could I give you some advice about your friendship with Ally?"
Callum nodded again.
"My father was killed when I was very young. He was an arson investigator. Arson is what we call a fire that is set on purpose and hurts or kills others, or causes significant damage to property."
Callum listened with sincere interest as Vivian continued, "I barely remember what he looked like before he was gone. And after, my mother distracted herself by working all the time. That left me all alone with my thoughts and grief, which just felt heavier and heavier."
"But then I met Ben," she smiled to herself. "He was super smart, but physically weak. However, that did not stop him from saying things to the wrong people and getting pummeled. But looking back now, I realize that the heaviness went away when I had someone who needed me. My world was a lot less lonely, and I had a purpose."
"When I am in your world, I am completely surrounded by people, but they are just paid to be there. I... Ally is just this tragic ward of the royal family and they either avoid her or pity her. I mean... you have seen her room. There is nothing that's hers."
"I also see how good of a friend you are to her, Cal. But you have duties. So when I'm here, I just wait around until you stop by again. That's all I can do aside from read," Vivian said softly, then continued. "I think Ally needs a purpose."
"You know that we write notes for each other in case we switch and need to know what's going on. Ally's… Ally's reads like an emotionless field report." Viv began to tear up at the thought of how lonely Ally had been for so many years.
Callum sat in thought for a moment, processing what Vivian told him. He was one of the people who pitied Ally. Everyone said that she needed time to grieve for her family. Now Callum understood that she lost more than her family. She lost her home, all of her things, even her favorite spot to play. People said how lucky Ally was to be taken in by his family, but then she also lost her freedom.
"I think I understand a little better," Callum said to Vivian. "I will try to fix it when she returns. But I also think you need to know how she lost these things."
The pod glided silently through the dense forest. Inside, the mood had shifted, the earlier friendly jests replaced by a heavy, somber quiet. Callum stared out the window, his reflection a ghostly image against the passing sight of green and brown as they neared the edge of the forest where the Silverwood no longer grew. He took a deep, steadying breath before turning to Vivian.
Callum started with how he looked forward to seeing his best friend, which was also an escape from the palace. "Ally used to try and gross me out with slimy creatures she would find by the river, which was where she had a training area set up. Our fathers were stalwart friends. My parents even named Ally after she was born."
He paused, his gaze distant as he retreated into the warmth of the memory. "Ally's father, my Uncle Gis, was known to everyone as the King's Shadow. Uncle Gis let my father shine brightly in the day, while Uncle Gis strategically worked to quell problems before they even started from the shadows. Although he stayed at the foot of the king, he had a long reach. He was truly brilliant."
Callum's hands clenched into fists in his lap, the leather of his gloves creaking softly. The memory was clearly a painful one, and his voice grew tighter, laced with a barely suppressed anger.
"On our last visit before the incident as Ally and I played, our brothers mingled, our mothers shared news from the capital, but my father and Uncle Gis disappeared for private talks. I could tell my father was worried about something during the whole visit.
He looked at Vivian then, his purple eyes dark with the weight of the story. "A few days later, we heard that her whole family was killed by some faction supporting another relative of my father's. The faction struck the King's Shadow to keep the King isolated. Eventually, all of them were put to death. By then, we heard that Ally had survived, but her magic got out of control and she burned the house, her family's bodies and everything within a two mile radius."
Vivian looked at Callum in shock, her own breath catching in her throat. The pieces of her fragmented, terrifying nightmare suddenly clicked into place with horrifying clarity. "I... I wasn't sure if it was a bad dream or if it really happened. Cal, I think that's one of the early first switches I vividly remember."
"You really were there?" Callum's voice was a raw whisper, his anger momentarily forgotten, replaced by a profound, aching sorrow as he remembered her uncertainty when the queen asked if she knew about Ally's family.
Vivian nodded, her gaze unfocused as the nightmare played out behind her eyes. The plush velvet of the carriage seat felt cold beneath her hands. "I wasn't completely sure, but I am almost positive now."
"I remember I had snuck outside and saw something moving in the dark. Your Uncle Gis grabbed me and told me to go back to my room. It was really dark. My... I guess Ally's mother was panicking when she came in and spoke to me while I hid in the closet. She said something about how I should stay in the closet no matter what I heard. I was suddenly terrified of those words. But after what seemed like a very long time of not hearing anything, I opened the closet slowly and tried to quietly look around, hoping to find out what happened."
Vivian wrapped her arms around herself, a subconscious gesture of comfort against the remembered chill of that night.
"You found them. You found Ally's family," Callum stated, his voice thick with emotion.
Vivian nodded again. "Ally's mother was near the front door, which was still open. I walked outside and barely made out from the moonlight that there were three more bodies in front lined up neatly."
Callum's eyes were tearing up as Vivian told about what she had always thought was just a really bad nightmare. "They... I will not tell you how they looked. But even I understood they probably weren't alive anymore. I screamed for help, but I had the feeling no one would come. Then I felt an unbearable pain in my wrists, and I thought they were glowing."
Her voice broke, and she looked down at her hands, half-expecting to see the phantom light again. "My vision went dark, and when I opened them again, I recognized a park where I played. It was several streets away from my home, yet I was barefoot and dressed in sleep clothes." The memory was a dizzying, disorienting lurch, even now.
"I ran home and saw the police—they are like city guards in my world. I was really confused and ran up to my mom, who was crying. I thought it was because I went outside without telling her or dad. So I hugged her and told her that I was okay. I said that she didn't need to cry. But she looked down at me and calmly said, 'Your dad will not be coming home anymore.'"
Callum's tears were now flowing when Vivian realized hers were, too. The shared grief, spanning two worlds, filled the small space of the pod as a silent, heartbreaking testament to the tragedies that had shaped them both.