OVERLOOKED ㅤkotlc

040. I Remember Blue

I remember blue.

His eyes used to be a clear azure, I'm sure of it.

Then why do they look so gray?

"He can't see us, or hear us," Gisela says. "It's tinted on his end, and the microphones are off."

Kenric sits in his cell, eyes listless and distant. I want to believe he's still in there somewhere, but he looks like a mess, and it's a chilling experience.

Tam shakes his head. "You can't be serious."

"We didn't have a choice."

"So you locked him up?"

"He knows coordinates and crystal facets. We couldn't let him go."

"They think he's dead, you know."

"I'm aware."

"You're a psychopath, you aware of that, too?" Shadowflux swirls at his fingertips; he fists his hands, and they dissipate.

"It was either this or death, Tam."

"Oh, right, my apologies. I'm sure this is so much better than death. You—"

"Enough." Vespera looks at Tam, something icy in her gaze. "Shut the hell up."

Tam opens his mouth, then closes it. He curses again under his breath.

"So why'd you bring us here?" Rosaleen says, after a silence. "Are you gonna hurt him if we don't obey?"

Gisela looks uncomfortable at this. She glances at Vespera, who just nods. "I'm not afraid to," Vespera says. "It'll keep you in check, wouldn't it?"

We're all quiet for a moment, then Rosaleen mumbles, "But we're not traitors."

Vespera smiles at her, cool and blank. "Then he won't get hurt."

There's another pause, and I blurt out, "Can we talk to him?"

Vespera opens her mouth.

Before she can say anything, Gisela interrupts her. "Ten minutes," she says, walking towards the staircase. "Come on, Vesp."

With that, they leave. A dwarf adjusts the glass's settings, then goes back underground. They're probably monitoring us, waiting to escort us out.

Slowly, the glass turns crystal clear, until it looks like there's no barrier at all.

Kenric watches it, and when the process is finished, we lock eyes.

"Dex," he says slowly.

I force myself to smile. "Councillor Kenric," I say.

He looks over us. "You're all kids," Kenric says. "What are you doing here?"

"We're recruits," Rosaleen says.

Kenric frowns, and before I know it, I hear his voice inside my head: Permission to look through your memories?

I nod at him, and he closes his eyes.

Rosaleen immediately understands what's going on; I watch Tam's shadow cross hers, and when she whispers something, realization lights his eyes.

After a long minute, Kenric opens his eyes.

They're haunted. He runs a hand through his hair; it's long and unruly. "It's been two years?"

His voice is trembling.

I release a breath. "Yes."

"Ora thought I was dead."

"She thinks you're dead, yes."

The freckles on his face look stark against his pale skin. The gold light flickers, and I notice faint burn scars that tarnish the side of his face.

He looks exhausted. "How's she been?" Kenric says. A familiarly warm concern is masking his face, but he's probably breaking right now.

"She's been... holding up," I say finally.

He chuckles, but it's mirthless. "I used to sneak over to her house at midnight. We lived right next to each other. And now... Alina's replaced me, hasn't she?"

I don't know what to say. After a long pause, Tam says, "Someone had to." He sounds apologetic, and I'm thankful he said what we're all thinking.

"That's true." Kenric smiles. "As long as Ora's happy."

"She'd be happier once you're home," Rosaleen says gently. "Your spot on the Council has been replaced, but you haven't."

Kenric laughs a little. "I suppose so. I'm sorry, you haven't introduced yourselves."

Rosaleen waves a little. "My name's Rosaleen."

Tam nods at him. "I'm Tam."

"Nice to meet you guys," he says, his gaze warm. "I wish we could've met under better circumstances, but... it was only a matter of time since the elvin world collapsed."

A pause. I have a feeling he knows that Sophie's going to fix it.

"Are you... alright?" I say finally.

"Oh. I've been faring fine," Kenric says, with another smile. "I'm grateful that Fintan saved me, and I'm glad that Oralie's doing okay."

Before any of us can reply, dwarves tunnel up from the ground. "Time to leave," one of them says, and the glass darkens.

With no time to say goodbye, we follow them numbly up the staircase. I glance behind me.

If I'm being honest, I don't know if Kenric's okay.

After all, a leader seldom takes off their mask.

˚ ༘ 🌷 ── author's note!

i'm a little late but tysm for 4K reads! <33 we've come a long way and i appreciate all of u for sticking with this! :D

and on another note, ty for 300 followers too, hehe :) i might do a q & a thing on my message board later (but you can drop questions here if you like?), or write like an overlooked oneshot!

n e ways, ty for reading and vote if you want! see you on mon <33