The Crown Of Fire

Eddie VIII

He'd been looking for Octavia forever.

She wanted to play hide-and-seek and he wasn't going to tell her no. But of course, he couldn't find her anywhere either. He'd asked around, but as of yet, no one had seen her.

Since he'd checked all through the camp, he decided that he'd check by the river downhill. It was entirely plausible for her to be there, but of course, Octavia was small for her age and it was entirely possible for her to be back at the camp and simply no one saw her.

"Octavia?" he spoke. He listened carefully to see if he could hear her giggling, or moving to a better spot. But he couldn't. "Octavia?"

The woods were actually quite beautiful. There were pretty little flowers growing in the bushes. And the grass was so green that it looked as though it were a painting. He appreciated the beauty that this world brought. And he wished that he'd been more cautious with Seraphina, after all, she was a stranger, and she was dangerous. Maybe then, he'd have appreciated the world more.

He let out a sigh of defeat once he realized that she wasn't there and decided that he'd turn back and search the camp. If he didn't find her, he'd tell Alex, get his butt kicked by Alex for losing her, and then help him find her.

"Argh!"

The loud noise caused Eddie to jump out of his skin. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!" And then laughter filled his ears, sweet, innocent little laughter. And a highly unamused look braced his features.

"I'm sorry!" she laughed. "I just couldn't help myself!"

After a moment, he began to laugh too. It was quite funny. "Ah, it's alright. I'd have laughed too, you heard me scream."

She nodded, glossy black hair shining in the sunlight. "I did, it was very girlish."

"It was not!" he protested, causing her to laugh further. They'd all been given clothes befitting the people of this world. But he'd admit that he missed his trousers with the pockets. "I uh, I wanted to say that I'm sorry, and not just about what happened to Aria, for everything."

"You don't have to apologize, Ed," Octavia told him with a nudge of her arm. "It wasn't you, not really."

"Yeah, but still," he insisted. "I wasn't very nice to you, or anyone. And I tried to trick you into walking to your death, so at the very least, I owe you an apology."

"Well, I forgave you when you were still under the curse," Octavia informed him. "As I said, the real you never would've done something like that."

"Thanks," he breathed. "Where's Alex? I'd like to apologize to him too."

"Oh, Omdrus sent for him," Octavia told him. "I haven't seen him since."

Eddie nodded. "Well, until then... race you back to camp."

He took off running back toward the camp. Octavia, not expecting it, ran after him when her initial shock wore off.

Eddie was glad to finally be a kid again. Really glad.

~

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