Shawn would be lying if he said Eva wasn't a bothersome existence. The girl seemed determined to monitor every thought that passed through his head, and privacy no longer existed. He was genuinely concerned about how awkward certain situations would become in the future. Even something as simple as using the bathroom now felt questionable. Maintaining dignity was difficult when a permanent spectator lived inside his mind.
By the time he returned to his room that evening, he had already decided he desperately needed boundaries.
After eating his meal and waiting for the manor to settle into its nighttime silence, Shawn sat cross-legged on his bed and entered meditation.
The familiar feeling returned almost immediately. Darkness gave way to the dimly illuminated space inside his mindscape, revealing the golden chains and the small violet figure sitting nearby.
Eva looked up the moment he appeared.
"You came back."
Shawn ignored her enthusiasm.
"Eva, I need to ask you something."
The fairy immediately straightened.
"I thought you wanted me to be quiet."
"This is important."
Her expression became as serious as someone her size could manage.
Shawn folded his arms.
"Can you see the outside world?"
Eva blinked.
"The outside world?"
"Everything beyond this place," he gestured around them. "The manor, the people, the things happening around me."
She thought about it carefully, then shook her head.
"No."
Shawn frowned.
"What do you mean, no?"
"I can't see anything."
"What about hearing?"
She shook her head again.
"No."
"Smell? Touch?"
"No," she said.
Shawn stared at her.
The answer made absolutely no sense. If she couldn't see, hear, smell, or feel anything, then how did she know what happened throughout the day? How did she know about Ness, his reading lessons, or where he was walking?
The more he thought about it, the less her answer satisfied him.
His expression darkened slightly.
"Eva, are you lying to me?"
Her eyes widened.
"No!"
The denial came so quickly it almost startled him.
"I really can't see anything."
"Then explain something," Shawn pressed. "You knew when I was reading. You knew when I was walking with Ness, and you knew when I entered the library."
Eva looked confused.
"Did I?"
"Yes."
Eva lowered her head, staying quiet for several moments before whispering,
"I don't know."
Shawn groaned.
"Not that answer again. You've been saying ' I don't know' since yesterday."
"But I really don't know."
Shawn rubbed his forehead.
"Do you realize how unhelpful that sounds?"
"Sorry."
The apology came so quickly that some of his frustration vanished.
He took a slow breath to steady himself. Losing his temper wouldn't solve anything.
"Think carefully."
Eva nodded immediately, lowering her head and concentrating with all the seriousness she could muster.
Several moments passed before her eyes brightened.
"I remember something. When you walk... I can see things."
His frown deepened.
"You just said you couldn't."
"I can't!"
"Eva."
"I'm trying!"
The fairy looked genuinely distressed.
Shawn stopped speaking, waiting for her to collect herself.
After a moment, she continued.
"When you're thinking about something, I can see it. Like pictures," she added, pointing at her head.
His expression slowly changed as everything clicked into place.
Pictures, thoughts, memory, and visualization.
When he walked through the manor, he constantly built maps inside his head. When he studied, he memorized the shapes of the letters. When he explored the library, he imagined its structure.
Eva wasn't seeing the world directly; she was seeing his interpretation of it.
Everything she knew came from his own thoughts.
The realization explained the mystery, but it also destroyed a hopeful possibility.
For a brief moment, he had wondered if Eva might help solve his blindness, but if she could only see what he imagined, she wasn't another pair of eyes.
She was simply another passenger.
Shawn sighed.
"That's disappointing."
Eva looked nervous.
"Are you mad?"
"What?" Shawn asked, caught off guard.
"You went quiet."
"I was thinking."
"Oh."
She lowered her head, then quietly asked,
"So you're not mad?"
Shawn stared at her, realizing for the first time that Eva was afraid of being abandoned.
The thought softened his posture.
"No, I'm not mad."
"Okay."
The relief in her voice was obvious.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Shawn remembered their earlier conversation.
"You asked me a question earlier. You asked why I'm always alone, even when people are around."
Eva tilted her head.
"I did? Oh, yes."
Shawn looked away into the dark.
"If I'm going to explain this, it'll be easier to show you. Don't resist."
The fairy nodded immediately.
A moment later, Shawn reached into his memories and let the images flow toward her.
The Starborn Clan.
The burning destruction.
The chaos.
The blood.
His mother's final moments.
He shared the helplessness and pain that followed.
Then came Morgan, the dungeon, and his current captivity.
Complete silence followed.
For the first time since meeting her, Eva didn't immediately ask a question.
She simply stared, the cheerful energy she usually carried completely vanishing.
Eventually, she spoke, her voice small.
"That happened to you?"
Shawn nodded.
"Yes."
The fairy lowered her head again, staying quiet before asking,
"Did it hurt?"
Shawn almost laughed at how innocent the question was.
"It still does."
Eva became quiet again.
Finally, she looked up with a firm expression.
"I don't like Morgan. He is a bad man."
"Very," Shawn agreed, a small smile appearing briefly.
Eva folded her tiny arms.
"We should leave."
Shawn chuckled.
"We should."
"When?"
The smile disappeared from his face as reality reasserted itself.
"When we can."
Eva frowned.
"But why not now?"
Shawn leaned back, staring into the endless darkness surrounding them.
Reality wasn't that simple.
Morgan wasn't someone they could simply run from, and even the regular servants in the manor were stronger than he was right now.
"We're too weak," Shawn said, his voice dropping quieter than he intended. "Morgan destroyed one of the strongest clans in existence. People like him aren't defeated just because someone wants freedom. They're defeated by people strong enough to challenge them."
He looked down at his transparent hands in this mental world and laughed bitterly.
"A blind, unawakened twelve-year-old. It's pathetic, but it's the truth."
Eva didn't know how to answer.
Instead, she simply moved closer and sat beside him.
Neither spoke.
The darkness around them remained unchanged, but for the first time since arriving in Morgan's manor, Shawn felt slightly less alone.