1963 to 1914 - John Roberts' friendship

This one-shot was set after the revelation in Episode 9, Season 2 and before the final of the Season 2 of Theodora, a story in the Romance Club game.

After finally telling Theodora the truth, Almoret was set to face another truth - all of their friends in Belgium had passed away. And he spent an afternoon in solitude playing the piano and reminiscing about the friends he made in 1914.

Friedrich

Almoret played the piano. He could not describe the feeling of finally being able to compose a piece in a human after years of living inside the small animals. Looking at the neighbor cat laying idle under the sun, he can't help thinking of Friedrich. Each note was written with a violin in mind. He remembered the melodious voice, the shy eyes, the slender fingers of his friend.

Friedrich was one of the purest souls he had ever encountered. To the German soldier, he was John Roberts- a talented English doctor who played the piano. Theodora told him that Lawerence once asked her what it would be like if he and Friedrich played a song together. Almoret never had the chance to play alongside Friedrich, but he had heard the German soldier's playing and singing a few times when he was passing by the old house near the bakery. He never thought about it. But he knew that Friedrich's music would be nothing but beautiful. This melody right here was Almoret's eulogy to Friedrich.

In his mind came the image of Friedrich wearing a soldier uniform and gently petting Shoelace in Yoke's living room.

Yoke

As the cat of his neighbor turned its body around, he remembered how Shoelace - Yoke's cat - hissing at him whenever he showed up at the Van der Lusse house. Animals have an instinct when it comes to demons, which was the reason for Shoelace looking like it was going to fight tooth and nail with him. Yoke never suspected anything at all. She just assumed John wasn't a cat person.

Yoke also had a kind soul like Friedrich. Yet she also had a fiery side, especially when it came to her son - Bruno or treating patients. She was the most competent working female in medicine Almoret knew. Yoke was hardworking and a progressive spirit. By the time he had to leave Himworde, she was already an acting doctor at the hospital. He never told her this, but John did really respect her as a colleague. Besides, she was one of the best at making Earl Grey tea. He could still recall the taste of the tea she made. Theodora and he spent the time reminiscing about the brown hair, the soothing smile and the small freckles of Yoke. (Of course it was after Ms. Avery had calmed down and decided not to slap him in the face.)

Lawrence

Almoret changed the melody to a more vibrant tune. Now he was thinking about Lawrence Benedict Barkley. Before finding Bruno, they had crossed paths several times, but didn't actually speak to one another. They didn't have much of a friendship but Lawrence always attracted attention from everywhere with his charisma. He was always outstanding. Almoret was most surprised with him. With a childhood like Lawrence's, one could easily become a scumbag and blame the circumstances. Despite everything that happened in his childhood, despite his success, Lawrence didn't become arrogant, greedy and power obsessive. He was bright, bold, confident but never disrespectful towards others. In addition, he was Theodora's idol in journalism. She told John a lot about his latter career.

"Lawrence had the charisma to be successful in anything he put his mind to." - said Theodora.

To Almoret, however, he was the only person who called the Balance Demon - one of the first circle demons - a "snow queen".

Theodora

Eltaron gave Almoret a copy of Pride and Prejudice when he realized that his friend had fallen in love with a human woman. At first, Almoret was scared out of his mind. Demons don't experience human emotions. Suddenly, all of the books, the plays praising love made sense to him. Because of her, he started to stop seeing humans as an inferior species and befriended Friedrich, Yoke and Lawrence. His long existence changed, forever.

Even though Almoret didn't know what awaited a soul in the other world when it passed away, he still knew that his friends' souls would be in a good place since none of them made a deal with a demon. He was never one to be sentimental, yet Theodora and them had changed him for the better. Being a demon in the first circle, Almoret will never know mortality. But in 1914, in Himworde, Belgium, he learned humanity, friendship and love.

September 28th, 2023