Flower Falls and Crystal Calls

I Love You Too

Chapter 50

When the siblings finally stepped out of the pass and into a bright courtyard, Elle froze. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, but that didn't stop her from rushing over to throw her arms around a smiling Yeul. The girl hugged her back for several moments. When they finally parted, Elle put her hands on Yeul's shoulders and looked into her face. "You've grown. How long was I gone?"

Yeul's smile dimmed a little, but her voice still held joy. "A little more than a year. Though the important thing is that you have returned."

Elle sighed and squeezed Yeul's shoulders. "I can't say that I'm not glad I went home, but I am sorry that it was so long."

Her head jerked to the side when a male voice spoke. "You should be sorry. Yeul can say it's okay all day long, but for me, I'd say at least a whole night of drinking might make up for it. Maybe."

Kurt looked like he was about to interrupt, but Elle nearly jumped into Laer's opened arms. He pulled her close and whispered near her ear. "It wasn't the same without you."

After a few moments, Elle finally stepped away and eyed his outfit, including the blade by his side. Her eyes dimmed a little at what it meant, but she grinned at her friend. "Does this mean you finally decided to permanently take the Guardian position?"

Laer chuckled and shrugged. "It's kind of hard to be the Guardian when I have yet to beat the current one."

Elle felt her heart rip a little more at the reminder of the state of the current Guardian. At least until she caught Laer trying not to grin. Then she began to wonder if he wasn't talking about Caius after all. She narrowed her eyes at him. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

She froze, and her eyes widened when another familiar voice spoke up behind her. "He means that there may come a day when he can best me, though that day is not yet, nor will it be any time soon."

Elle's heart had started an uneven rhythm as it tried to beat out of her chest. She would know that voice in her sleep, yet she was scared to turn and find that she was only imagining things. It wasn't until her brother smacked her arm several times in excitement that she was able to even think. Kurt's voice was low and held both awe and fear as he spoke in time to the hits. "Elle! That's Caius Freaking Ballad! What is going on here!?"

She ignored his request as she slowly turned. When she saw Caius standing, whole and not crystal, on the other side of the courtyard, her brain almost gave out on her, and her heart was long gone. She looked him up and down until her eyes came to rest on his. He had no expression, but he opened his arms slightly with his palms up. That was the only invitation she needed before she ran to him.

Kurt tried to grab for her, but was not nearly fast enough, though he did try to chase her as he called out. "Wait! That's Caius Ballad! He's too strong, he'll ki- uh... what?"

By the time Kurt trailed off, Elle had collided with Caius. He caught her in his embrace and practically lifted her from her feet as their lips found each other. Neither of them noticed the others coming up around them. Not even when Kurt turned to the other man his sister had first embraced. "What am I seeing? Is this real? What the hell?"

Laer chuckled at the younger male version of his best friend, but he didn't answer right away. Instead, he called out in a loud voice. "That's enough. Don't you know that stuff is supposed to wait? At least have enough decency to not do it in public."

Caius finally let her down, but Elle's eyes didn't leave his. She just made a gesture over her shoulder that had Laer chuckling again. Caius brushed her hair back from her face as he finally spoke to her. "I had faith that the Goddess would bring you back. I never doubted it."