Chapter 11: No More Secrets

-11 MONTHS REMAIN-

Aurora shook a potion bottle and tossed it onto a small stack of wood. The glass shattered and a fire formed almost immediately.

“There! Instant campfire.” She said proudly. The party had decided to rest up for the night. Each one of them was thoroughly exhausted; and even though the sun would rise in just a few hours, that little bit of sleep would be of significant value. They had waited to set up camp until Aetherwind was sufficiently out of sight. That way, in the case Rattus decided to pursue, it would be harder for him to catch up and find them. Or at least that’s what they hoped. The girl, Miryam, approached Aurora timidly.

“It is my understanding that you require my aid…” She said softly. Miryam extended her hands to Aurora, looking away from her but gesturing to take them. Aurora did so. Then Miryam began to recite a Solstyan prayer. She asked Lusola for guidance and protection, and as she did her and Aurora’s hands glowed with a soft white light. Warmth moved throughout Aurora’s body. It flowed like blood within her veins. Every inch of herself felt better. Her chest relaxed. Her head cleared. Her body strengthened. She could now breathe, think, and act clearly, no longer burdened by a catch all illness. She felt better than she could ever remember being. Even the after effects of her potion drinking seemed to have faded. Miryam let go and stepped back. “I apologize for what comes next…” Aurora looked at her puzzled before keeling over and vomiting onto the ground. It was so much worse than before. It lasted longer and burned more. But when it was over it was like nothing had happened at all. “The spell is quite effective but in order for it to truly work your body has to purge the rest of the illness.” Miryam explained.

“Still.” Ulric chimed in. “You did us a huge favor curing her. Now we won’t have to burn through as many healing potions.”

“Right…” Aurora quietly popped off the cork of a bottle and began sipping its contents.

“It was the least I could do.” Miryam turned to face Ulric, but still avoided looking at him directly. “I did good though, right?” She glanced at the soldier, seeking validation.

“Yeah! You did really good!” Ulric cheered. “I’m glad we found you!”

“Mr. Ursine, why did you come to Aetherwind? You told me you needed a cleric, but I imagine I wasn’t who you were originally seeking.”

“To be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure. I originally planned on asking your father for assistance, but that would’ve been wishful thinking.” Ulric rubbed the back of his head and looked away sheepishly. Aurora thought the two looked comically similar to each other for a moment.

“Why? Did my father Icarus and you know each other?” Ulric paused. He looked even more sheepish than before, a tinge of guilt plaguing his expression.

“We knew of each other.” He said slowly. “But not directly.”

“My father was a well known man. The man you fought made it sound like you are too. Is that what you mean?”

“Y-Yeah! That’s it! We’re just two popular guys.” Ulric smiled. Miryam accepted his answer at face value, daring not to challenge authority. Aurora, however, could tell he was hiding something. Then an idea popped into Ulric’s head. His smile became more genuine. He crouched down to be closer to Miryam’s level and offered his hand. Aurora could already see where this was heading. Before Ulric could utter a single word she had stormed up to him.

“Ulric. A word, please.” Her voice was low and fierce. She dragged Ulric away from the campfire like a mother pulling away her child for a lecture. Miryam just stood there confused. Once they were out of earshot Aurora let go of Ulric. “What do you think you’re doing?!” She demanded.

“I was gonna ask if she wanted to join us.” Ulric responded, not understanding what was wrong.

“I get that. But why?!”

“Well we could use more help and she seems decently capable. And it’s not like we can leave her anywhere. The people that were supposed to protect her turned on her without hesitation.”

“Bringing me along was one thing but she is something completely different! She is a child, Ulric!”

“She’s a strong cleric! I haven’t heard of any other kid being able to use spells like that.”

“She is still a child! What you’re suggesting is completely irresponsible! We can’t bring her along to this! We’d be putting her in danger! For the gods sakes we don’t even know where we’re supposed to be going!”

“What do you suggest we do then? Leave her at another town? A town that will go crazy and attack her? You heard that… thing. They were targeting her specifically! She needs our help!”

“What is with your compulsive need to help every single person you come across? Nobody is that altruistic.”

“Some people are!”

“Nobody I’ve met! It’s like you’re hiding something.”

“Oh you’re one to talk about hiding things, Helson.” The two stared daggers at each other. The exhaustion had finally broken them. All of their little frustrations and distrust had boiled over into outright hostility. Just like Rattus would’ve wanted. Aurora sighed.

“Alright.” She said softly. “Let’s get it all out in the open. No more secrets. Because the more we keep from each other the more power Rattus and whoever else has over us. They want us to distrust each other so that they can make us turn on each other.” Ulric sighed too, dropping his guard.

“A while back my squad was stationed in Aetherwind.” Ulric began. “We were moving between fronts and were planning on joining the rest of our battalion in a few weeks.” Ulric sat on the ground and Aurora followed. “In that time I met a girl, Eliza. Her eyes were like calm waves and her hair shined like the sun. Her smile would light up any room she was in and she just felt so warm. We grew quite accustomed to each other in that short time.” Ulric smiled fondly. He had picked up a small stick and started drawing in the dirt. It was a crude, yet thoughtful, portrait of Eliza. “Everything just felt right with her, even though our relationship wasn’t exactly favorable.”

“Because you were going to leave?” Aurora asked.

“That. And because, well, she was already married. I know, not my best moment. But I couldn’t help falling for her, and I guess she felt the same way. We did our best to remain secretive, and everything went smoothly for the rest of my time in Aetherwind. My squad eventually moved on and I thought that was going to be the last I spoke to her. But to my surprise she started writing to me. Letters sealed with heart shaped wax.” Ulric chuckled to himself. “I would write back as soon as I had finished her letters. We would write back and forth, telling each other how much we missed them.” Ulric stopped drawing and his smile faded. “But about ten years ago the letters stopped. I didn’t know why, it’s not like we were arguing. The distance didn’t even seem that bad since we wrote so frequently. But I unfortunately got my answer some weeks later.”

“She died.” Aurora said solemnly. Ulric nodded.

“A letter from Icarus. He didn’t detail why or how, just that it happened. I knew she wasn’t in the healthiest relationship. Despite her efforts to hide it, I knew she was being abused. There wasn’t anything I could’ve done then, and there definitely wasn’t anything I could’ve done after I left.” Ulric’s voice trembled and a tear rolled down his cheek. “I couldn’t save her, Aurora. I wasn’t strong enough.”

“And that’s why you help people now. Because couldn’t help her.” Ulric hesitated to respond.

“Partly.” He looked back up at her. “I’ve spoken enough. It’s your turn.” Aurora sighed.

“My full name is Aurora Helson Vale, I am apart of the Helson family. I don’t tell people because it’s what my father would’ve wanted. He more or less left the Helson family. He wanted to live a simple life. He thought that being amongst the common people would be good for us. He didn’t want me spoiled by riches and grandeur. The common folk were surprisingly accepting of my family. They accepted my father with open arms and helped us get established and integrated with the community in the capital city. The rest of the Helson family had a… different reaction.” Aurora turned away and scratched her head. “King Helson made it his personal goal to ruin my father’s, and by extension our, life. Even now he still targets me with his laws and decrees. One day, when I was young, my father got drafted into the war. Helsons don’t go to war, they’re too important to die.”

“But your father wasn’t a Helson in their eyes anymore.” Aurora shook her head.

“I never saw him again after that day. My mother didn’t adjust well. Her drinking became more severe and eventually she had to be admitted to the sanatorium.” Aurora paused. “He would write to us, but it wasn’t the same. He definitely didn’t write as frequently as you did.”

“He wrote when he could. Your father was a good man.” Aurora’s head perked up. The way Ulric said that. It wasn’t standard condolences. It was as if he spoke from actual truth. She gave him a curious look. “I knew your father, Aurora. We were close friends. When he got drafted, he was drafted into my division. Of course there he operated under a fake name, introduced himself as Helmold V. Looking back it wasn’t very clever. He was in charge of the division with Noah, though they weren’t remotely equals. I think Noah was in on the plan and knew his identity. He didn’t reveal it to us however, and your father did do a pretty good job keeping it secret.”

“Then how did you know?” Aurora asked.

“I wanted to surprise him in his tent. It was his birthday or something, I don’t remember. But he was in the middle of writing to you and I caught a glimpse of his signature. He freaked out at first but I promised I would keep the secret. From then on our bond became even stronger. He helped me out a lot. I did things in that battalion that I’m not proud of, but he helped me get through it. Your father was a good man, Aurora.” Ulric smiled at her and she smiled back, but there was still one more question she had for him.

“So were you with him when he… you know…” Aurora couldn’t bring herself to say it. She had talked about it so openly before but now she couldn’t even fathom the thought that he was gone. Ulric nodded.

“I was. I tried my best but he was another person I couldn’t save.” His words lingered in the air. A chorus of crickets filled the silence around them. No more secrets. No more distrust.

“She can come with.” Aurora said finally, breaking the tension. “But I want to be included in the conversation before you go recruiting more people. Don’t just make that decision on your own.” Ulric nodded. “We should probably head back. I don’t enjoy the idea of her sleeping over there by herself.”

“Agreed.” Ulric stood and offered his hand to help Aurora up. Together the two walked back to the campfire, ready to continue their journey as a team.