Maggie sat quietly, leaning against the huge old tree in front of the shop in Troll's Bane. Although she knew it wasn't, precisely, she couldn't help but still think of it as the Elder Tree, and she felt something of a special connection to it. She leans her head back on the trunk, looking up into the branches, and sighs softly, a little smile playing over her lips.
It had been some days now, since she finally returned to the island after dealing with family affairs back home. At first, she had actually begun to regret coming back; everyone and everything had changed... but then, what could she expect? It had been over a year and a half since she had left, after all. For the first few days, she hadn't seen a single person she recognized... had it not been for the so-familiar surroundings, she would have sworn that she was in the wrong place. From what she could gather, so many of her friends and those she cared about were gone. Adigar was nowhere to be found; Thalodos was gone; she had heard precisely nothing about Slasthulphus; Kamik she had heard about only in passing; countless others, gone or impossible to find.
She had almost been ready to leave again when she woke yesterday morning. 'One more day,' she had told herself; one more day to see if there was still any reason for her to be here.
I will thank whatever gods listen, every day from here on out, for that one day, she thought.
What a day it had been. She had found Aristeaus again, one of the few she felt truly close to before, and it seemed almost as if no time at all had passed since last they had seen each other. He had introduced her to several of the town's new inhabitants, and reassured her in many things, some of them even without meaning to.
But even before that...
She sighs softly again at the memories, a playful grin trying to break free.
"Sir No Name," she muttered to herself. "What a fool I sounded."
Still, fool-sounding or not, he had not asked her to leave him alone. Said she 'should' go... repeatedly in fact... but that had never been the right tack to take with her. The things that were the most enjoyable were often things one 'should' not do... and yesterday morning had proved to be no exception.
Of course, at more than one point, her stomach had indeed knotted with fear... but she would never admit that, not for all the gold on the island. And, as she had predicted with such false bravery, all had indeed worked out fine... fine, and more than fine. The grin finally escaped her hold over it as she remembered... his voice, his touch... his face.
Almost the entire time, he had spent trying to convince her she should go, but all the things he said to try and make her fear, to make her want to go... it had all only served to draw her in, out of curiosity, defiance... or compassion. So much about him, he seemed to think she should fear, or find repulsive. On the contrary, she had found most of them endearing, or even comforting.
Yet another soft sigh escaped her, as she looked over at the horizon as a new day dawned. For the first time in a very long time, she looked forward to the coming day. She had things to do, new people to meet... and with any luck, would again find those that she cared about seeing.
An Interesting Return
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