To Set a Spirit Free

Holy basket case. . .

Maybe it was because she'd only seen Cachonei at night, but it looked bright. The trees waved at her with the wind. The grass was so alive. The leaves showed a spotlight onto the group of people standing nearby. There was Jason, Lorelei, and two blonds. The blonds seemed to be talking to Lorelei.

"Lorie, please listen!" said one voice.

"You don't have to do this," said another.

"Dear Spirits, do you hear yourself?!" Lorelei snapped. She whirled on the first guy. "Kian, why should I listen to you, anyway? You hardly gave me the time of day when it mattered! Am I to just forget the times you left me to Asher's and Oliver's schemes?"

She turned to glare at the other guy. "And you, Asher! Why. Why should I bother with you? After what you put me through as kids? I could have been killed by your stupidity! I can't even go to a movie theater after that day! Do you expect me to forget that, too?!"

Oh, these were her brothers, then. These must have been the two who'd not been in the ballroom when Sophia did her. . . whatever she did. Lydia was still a little sketchy with the details.

Asher sighed. "You're right Lorelei."

"Pardon?"

"What we did to you was terrible," Asher said. "There is no excuse for how we treated you. There is no reasoning we could give that would any of the things we did or, in some cases," he looked to the ground in shame, "what we should have done."

"Look, Lorelei," Kian came in, "Things are a mess, and there's a lot of stuff that we need to fix. . . But we can only do that if you stay."

"What makes you think I'm leaving?"

"The giant portal?" Asher said dryly.

"The fact that you packed up your ribbons?" Kian added.

"You can't actually expect me to stay," Lorelei scoffed to them. "No one even remembers me."

"But we can---"

"Stop!" Lorelei yelled. "Stop trying to fix something I don't want to fix! Even before Sophia's plan, I wanted to leave this place! And now what? You want a chance to prove yourself; To prove that you've changed?!

"For every time you left me in the dark, Asher. For every time you refused to stand up for your sister, Kian. For every time you both failed to come see me, to say anything in comfort when I needed it. For every time you let me live in the cage our mother put us in, knowing that it was killing me on the inside." She stared at them in distaste. "You don't deserve a second chance and, frankly, I refused to be tied down to this world long enough for you to earn it."

Lydia grinned. "You tell them, girl!"

Lorelei gasped, finally noticing Lydia. "Lydia!"

She ran over to her. "I can't believe it! You're here! With me! We're here! Together!"

"I know, right?" Lydia said. "Several months of being in each other's bodies is kind of weird to think about now."

Lorelei turned back to her brothers. "You've said your piece. Please leave."

Asher sighed. "Alright. I hope you're happy. . . Wherever you're going and, for what it's worth, I'm sorry."

Instead of speaking, Kian went up to Lorelei, arms outstretched for a hug. Rolling her eyes, Lorelei accepted it, Asher joining in later. For a moment, the siblings just held each other. Even though they had stood by while Lorelei had suffered, they'd still spent their whole lives together. Lydia knew that this hug didn't fix things, not by a long shot, but it was definitely better than if they hadn't said goodbye.

After the brothers had disappeared into the forest, Lydia turned to Lorelei. "Walk with me?"

"Of course."

"Are you okay, Lorelei?"

Lorelei sighed, leading them deeper into the forest. "Yeah. It feels kind of good to say it, you know? I know they're my brothers and family's family, but saying that stuff feels right, you know?"

"Yeah, that, too," Lydia said. "But I was also talking about the whole Sophia-erasing-everyone's-memory-of-you thing."

"Oh, that." Lorelei shook her head. "It was bad at first but, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it actually helped me. It hurt to see my own mother denying my existence but, if I'm honest, she was never going to let me go. Additionally, the fact that the other nobles forgot as well means that my transition can go a lot smoother, not to mention quicker."

She smiled at Lydia. "In the end, the people who mean the most to me still remember me. To me, that is all that matters."

The two of them walked into a clearing. There was a gorgeous pond surrounding a small area of land. The light reflected on the pond's pristine surface. Flowers, forget-me-nots ironically, surrounded the pond. The breeze had the flowers pointing towards an area of scattered sticks and flowers.

"Is that where you buried him?" Lydia asked, her voice hushed for some reason.

"Yes," Lorelei replied, her voice much louder. "Honestly, I'm surprised it's this intact."

The two of them made their ways to the grave of the Mysterious Mr. Raven. Since Lorelei had been a child when she'd found the bird, the grave wasn't fully covered. Thankfully, the combination of sticks, forget-me-nots (seriously, did it have to be those?), and Lorelei's ribbon to tie it all together made it too thick for Lydia to see anything. 

"Now what?" Lorelei wondered.

Lydia pulled out two mini shovels. "We start digging."

"With that?"

"Hey, I'm not made of money, okay?" Lydia said. "Besides, what kind of weirdo carries a shovel around in a fantasy world? What are they going to make with it? Real estate?"

Since the shovels were so small, not to mention meant for sand on a beach, it took a while to get enough dirt for the grave. That wasn't a problem for Lydia. The whole time, she and Lorelei were talking like old friends. They shared jokes, stories, and just general moments from the past few months. Lydia told Lorelei about the first time she'd gone to Yasmine's restaurant. In return, Lydia finally found out what Sophia had said to earn the Tea Dress Special. When they were done, they stepped back to admire their work.

"Alright," Lydia said, putting her dirt-covered hands on her hips, "what do we do now?"

"Say goodbye, I guess?" Lorelei turned to the grave. "Hello again, Mr. Raven. Of course, I suppose you're not really a raven, are you? I've grown a lot since we last spoke, and even more since you made us switch bodies. Honestly, these months have been the best, most free months of my entire life. Now, though, I want to stop living in two places. I really loved your gift, but I don't need it anymore. You can let go, Mr. Raven."

Guess it's my turn, now.

"'Sup, Mr. Raven." Smooth. "These months have been my biggest dream come to life. I get to breathe clean air, see magic. Heck, I even got a smoking hot love interest. The thing is, living this new life will be kind of hard if I spend every night in Lorelei's body. It's okay for you to let go."

The two women stood in silence for a while. While they did, Lydia kept her eyes on the grave. Now fully buried, Mr. Raven seemed far more prepared to let go of this world. With the power of adult strength, Lydia had even managed to grab a stone to mark the grave properly.

"Do you think it worked?" Lydia asked.

"I think so," Lorelei said. "I sort of feel a bit lighter, if that makes sense."

"Same," Lydia said.

After another minute of staring, the two started to walk back. Truly, they both felt lighter, as though a weight on their shoulders had finally been lifted. So busy with their walk, neither of them saw the one watching them leave.

"Ain't no way you were going to leave without saying goodbye, Lorelei!"

A grin split across Lorelei's face. "Yasmine! Sakura!"

"Honestly," Yasmine said, annoyed, "why didn't you tell us you were leaving today?"

"I didn't think you'd care," Lorelei replied. "I mean, we haven't known each other for long."

"Still," Sakura piped up, "It's nice to see you, even this last time."

"I'm sorry, you two," Lorelei said earnestly. "If I'd known you wanted to see me off, I would have told you. Still, it's really nice to see you, too."

"Be ready, Lorelei," Yasmine warned. "California is not for the faint of heart, especially during rush hour. Stay vigilant, don't buy anyone's mix tapes, and never buy the generic brand. It's not worth it."

"Lorelei," Jason said, finally walking over to them. "Are you ready?"

He looked even hotter than he had under any moonlight or lanterns. His black hair was in a tight ponytail, something Lydia herself had taught him. He was wearing maroon riding gear, for some reason. His baby blues flickered to Lydia for a moment before settling firmly on Lorelei.

"Yeah," Lorelei said with a sigh. She smirked at him. "You really that desperate to be rid of me?"

"Not on your life," Jason said firmly, "but I know that these goodbyes will turn into tears if I don't intervene soon."

"I'm not crying!" Yasmine said defensively. "I just caught something in my eyes!"

"What did you catch?"

"Tears!" She ran to give Lorelei a big hug, Sakura following right behind her. Throughout this hug, Lorelei had a true smile on her face.

"Alright," Lorelei said as she pulled back. She turned to Jason. "Anything else before I go?"

"Yes," Jason said. "Lorelei, I know you'll be happy there. I have no worries about that. Even so, I am eternally grateful that I got to meet you. You are a wonderful, intelligent woman. I hope you never forget that." He engulfed her in a hug.

Lorelei turned to Lydia. "Take care of him."

"Only if you take care of Nico for me," Lydia shot back.

"Of course." Lorelei scoffed. "If I don't, who will?"

A few minutes later, Lorelei was facing the portal. Sakura had joined in the tears, a smile for her friend on her face. One second Lorelei was with them, staring hesitantly at the rainbow portal, the next she was gone. After watching the portal for a minute, it, as though it knew it wasn't needed anymore, disappeared. Shortly afterwards, Sakura and Yasmine left together, leaving Lydia with Jason.

He stared at her, a dazed expression on his face. "You're beautiful. . . The portrait doesn't do you justice at all."

"Portrait?"

Jason shook his head. "Never mind that. Are you ready to go home? You've got quite the date to prepare for tomorrow."

"Sure" Lydia said.

It took her a bit to realize that they weren't going near a carriage. Once they rounded a corner of the forest, Lydia saw why.

Grinning, she went to meet Bentley. "Hey, buddy! How's it going? Oh, I guess you don't know me yet."

"All in good time," Jason said. He gently helped her onto the horse. "Fast or slow?"

"Fast!"

The two of them rode off into the sunset of their new lives.