Broken Providence

(22)The Guardian reveals Vulnerability

Aleodei gently hugged her tightly smiling and feeling a warmth in her heart, a joy she hadn't felt in eons.

Maybe having fun once and a while was okay.

"Say, would you like to see something astonishing?"  She asked in a sweet and kind voice. Duin cracked a smile and nodded excitingly.

Duin looked around Aleodei's grim and poorly built room.

"This is where you sleep?" she asked concerned, Aleodei shrugged it off walking in behind her.

"That doesn't matter," she said closing the door and locking it. Aleodei went over to the corner and shuffled some things around picking up a teapot from hiding and holding it up. Duin gasped and admired it in Aleodei's hands, Aleodei only chuckled and shook her head reaching out for Duin's hand and placing it on the teapot.

"Anatashu Beiduy" she spoke softly and closed her eyes.

Opening her eyes, Duin felt soft grass at her feet and gasped loudly, looking around at the floating rocks with waterfalls all around the big open space. Aleodei's and Duin's hands were now intertwined, the small hand clung onto the big gloved hand. Aleodei twirled her around as she widely grinned behind her mask, Duin with great joy laughed aloud with tears in her eyes, she had never seen such beauty. She ran around and looked at the thick oak trees that were spaced out in the field. She laughed but stopped before the great wooden mansion, panting for air. Aleodei walked up beside her calmly rejoicing in having a companion witness her beautiful secret.

"What is this place?" Duin asked astonished, Aloedei looked forward.

"My people, the Drigenife, created magical spaces outside time, small little dimensions for them to reside in," Aleodei responded calmly and Duin nodded slowly.

"That's amazing! but then why don't you just live here permanently?" she asked still facing the unmoveable residence. Aleodei shook her head.

"it is possible," she replied stepping forward. "But, I have things to do on the outside," She said climbing the steps of the porch and looking back. "Would you like to come in for some tea?" she asked, Duin smiled softly and nodded. She didn't know that offering stew to the foreigner, to the Trinity mystery, and being nice to her would lead to such a good friend. A friend that taught her she had value, taught her she had love. She may not have had parents and only worked as a lowly kitchen runner, but she had a friend, a magical being that protected and cared for her. She let out a little laugh and ran up the stairs to join Aleodei.

The three-story empty house contained six great huge bedrooms with Drigenife tribal decoration, on the second floor there were three rooms with their respectable huge bathroom, and on the third floor, where the remaining bedrooms were. Aleodei gave Duin a tour around the house and laughed at how her familiar probably was hiding in their room on the third floor and spoke about her people in the long dining hall that the mansion had that faced the backfield.

Duin sipped the tea while Aleodei sat back comfortably with her mask on and her armor off. Duin laughed and Aleodei smiled while they told stories and jokes. Aleodei remembered an emotion that she had not felt in two years, joy. She felt a calmness and peace in her heart, knowing everything was safe in here.

"Thanks for this Aleodei," Duin said at the end of their conversation. She looked sheepish and smiled. "thanks for showing me the outside, even if it was in this place," she said with a bright smile. Aleodei looked at her looking for the right words to respond with.

"One day-" she began, the words flowing out without her control, "we'll have tea on the outside when there isn't a war," she said looking forward to that future before she could stop herself. Duin gasped softly and smiled, joyfully nodding.

"and you'll drink the tea?" she asked with a joking smile, Aleodei chuckled softly and nodded.

"I'll drink the tea alongside you," she said gently. Duin's eyes shimmered with hope and held out her pinky.

"promise?" she asked hope filled. Aleodei nodded and took off her glove and reached out to intertwine her pinky.

"Promise."

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sobbing.

-Aegean