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Val:

I suck in my breath as the giant rips his sword from the Castle’s chest.  The Castle’s lifeless form crashes to the floor.

Now what?

Are we free?

The ground shakes as the the body crumbles in a cloud of white dust.

“A worthy battle, Saevus.  Well done!  I suppose you’ll all be wanting your reward?  Very well then!  I’ll grant you all a brief respite – although be warned that your most kind and gracious defender’s insolence has earned you all another trial.  Be sure to thank him on your way out!”

The hall shakes, reeling in a blur of shattered gray stone and white fog.  The floor sweeps out from under me, hurling me into an endless expanse of soft mist.  “Kit!” My scream drowns against a sea of cold mist, choking me as soon as I open my mouth.  I gasp as my feet suddenly strike against hard stone again.  I stumble forward, wiping the mist from my face as a glowing light suddenly illuminates the fog around me.  A pristine hall of white marble unfolds before me as the mist falls behind.  Light wells through many arched gates, each guarded by a solitary figure.  I glance around at the crowd around me.

Kit?

The world blurs as swirling white mist envelops me again, pierced only by the warm light filtering through the gate ahead.  I nervously step forward towards the light, squinting at the woman approaching me.

I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s almost like she’s an older version of myself, as crazy as that sounds.  She’s got dark curls framing her face exactly like mine like mine, and she’s exactly my height too, and she’s even nervously picking at her sleeve exactly like I’m doing right now.

I quickly drop my hand, almost self conscious of the familiar, soothing gesture.  I think I feel self conscious because she just seems…better than me.  I’m not really sure why, though.  It’s not her looks, and it’s certainly not her clothes (which are honestly looking…suspiciously familiar to be honest.) I’m not really sure what it is, but I know she has this serenely confident air I’ve always longed for.  Not like the cockiness I’ve seen in Kit, or the wild, trapped stubbornness I’ve seen in myself, but the kind of quiet security that goes unnoticed until you really start looking for it.  She’s so much older than me too – maybe somewhere in her late thirties – but somehow I feel like I’ve already known her for awhile.  Which is weird, because I still feel just as nervous around her as if I were meeting a complete stranger.  Nervous, but not really scared.

My eyes flicker down to a sparkling ring on her finger.

“Who are you?” I whisper.  The woman’s face falls slightly as soon as she sees me, eyes softening as she weaves around my averted gaze.

“I don’t remember being this afraid,” she murmurs.  She smiles warmly. “I mean…You, I guess.  I’m Valencia.”

Valencia Page.  The words are on the tip of my tongue, but I’m hardly in a position to correct her.  She is married after all – I mean, I’ll be married after all.

I shift uncomfortably in the stifling silence.  There’s so much I want to ask her, so much I want to know, but I almost don’t want to talk to her.  It feels kind of invasive, as strange as that sounds.  And for some reason, I actually don’t feel terribly welcomed here.  There’s a palpable distance between us, and a seed of discomfort in her gaze.  I feel like maybe she’s as uncomfortable in my presence as I am in hers…

Or maybe it’s nothing really personal.  I mean, I guess I get really uncomfortable around new people in general, and I have a hard time starting conversations with people I don’t know – even people I do know, for that matter.  I smile to myself.  It’s actually kind of comforting knowing that that part of me never changed.  I guess it’s nice seeing that we’re not so different as I thought.

“Do you want to pass?” I hesitate, eyes fixed on her ring.  Marriage.  It’s the one thing I’ve always wanted so desperately, and the one thing I’ve always feared the most as well.  I guess to me, it always seemed like one of the few chances I have to be so close to another, to be loved and yet fully, completely seen…

But I know better by now.  I know that my emotional vulnerability gets me treated like a doormat, and every hint of fragility has been weaponized against me like so many piercing daggers.  I know better than to show the cracks in my armor…but isn’t love just about taking off the armor entirely?

See, the armor weighs on me, but I’d rather be alone and intact than shattered by another.

I frown. “He better treat you well,” I blurt.  “Of course he does!” I step back at the sudden exclamation. “You’ve got a better eye for people than you know, Val.” She pauses, suddenly grabbing my arm as I inch past her. I nervously glance away as her something in her steady gaze breaks.

“Val?  Kit loves you, you know, whether you like it or not.  And I remember that you really did like it, and I also remember how you loved him too, even though you’d never admit it.”  Her voice wavers. “I just need you to know that he’s safe,” she whispers. “He’s safe for you, Val.  He’s safe for you to love.”  Her eyes soften as she smiles at me.  “Why don’t you ask him about it sometime, ok?”

“Wait what?  Ask him?” I whip around to face her, but I’m all alone in the middle of the gate, with no one else in sight.  I shiver as the cool mist wreaths around my ankles, softly illuminated in the warm light.  I tug my jacket around my shoulders as I quickly pass through the gate.