Fear Equals Danger
When Queen Eloine entered the temple’s main room, three heads turned her way. The teenagers had made themselves comfortable, by undoing themselves of heavy armour or other uncomfortable clothing. Queen Eloine had sent Samira to go find Violina, who would have a clean dress – or whatever else she’d picked out – ready for her to wear.
“Is he all right?” was the first question asked. “Can we see him?” was the next.
Thomas spoke on such a high pitch while talking, that he sounded like a little kid.
An anxious and worried little kid. But, of course, nobody blamed him. Everyone was
“He will be all right, Thomas, don’t fret,” Queen Eloine said with a calming voice. “We’ll perform another Healing Session tomorrow to remove the last remains of the Flu.”
Suddenly, a figure appeared in the doorway, and Thomas realised it was Samira, along with Violina.
Samira’s purple, double-layer dress had been replaced for a soft, lavender-coloured dress that flowed around her like a fluffy cloud. Her dirty clothes had been hung up outside to dry, along with James’s. Her hair was down, and had been washed and dried; Thomas felt as if he was looking at a princess. And a princess she was.
“James is going to be fine,” she happily proclaimed. “But... I would like to go visit him again.”
“Then I’ll go with you,” Thomas said, as he rose to his feet. He looked very determined, but also showed Samira a loving smile as he walked over to her and placed a hand over her shoulder. “You don’t have to do this alone, remember?”
“We’ll come with you too,” Bella said, as she stood up; Antonio followed her.
Samira smiled at her friends. “You should all come and say something to him,” she said. “He might not be able to respond... but he would like to know that we’re there for him.”
And so they went to the infirmary, where James was still lying on the cold table.
“We should put him in bed,” Thomas said, looking at James with a tilted head. “He might end up getting hypothermic if he stays out here like this.”
The others agreed with him; Thomas and Antonio cooperated to lift up the sixteen-year-old. Thomas lifted him up by the shoulders, Antonio by his feet. Together, they walked over to the bed with the boy and put him down carefully. “There,” Thomas said. “Buddy, we’re here for you. We’re waiting for you to come back to us.”
“Please do so soon,” Bella joined in. “It’s been a dull affair without you around. No offense,” she said, meaning her friends.
“Nah, I get what she means,” Antonio said with a teasing grin. “We’re missing our bit of redhead-sparkle. Wake up soon, Jamey. We need you.”
Samira nodded. “Indeed... we need you, James. And we’re not leaving you behind.
Ever.”
The four friends stood beside each other, shoulder to shoulder. Samira was right. They were a Bond; a union. They couldn’t go on without James. After all, they’d been warned many times to never split up.
They stood beside James’ bed for a while, until Thomas decided it was time to go to sleep. Everyone agreed; Bella and Antonio left the room quite quickly, and so wanted Thomas, but as he looked back to see if Samira was coming, he decided he would stay a little.
“Hey, you’re going to be okay, you hear me?” he said, as he placed a hand on Samira’s shoulder. “He’s going to be okay. He’s still fighting; he’s fighting so he can come back to you. To us.” He turned Samira around, just to show her the encouraging smile on his lips. “Your brother isn’t one to give up quickly.”
“I know,” Samira said; she sniffled a bit. “I should... have faith in him. That’s the only right thing to do.”
“Exactly,” Thomas said; to his surprise, Samira leaned forward, locking her arms tightly around his torso. She looked up at him as if she was about to kiss him for a brief moment; but she didn’t. She just buried her face into his chest, as he accepted her hug, holding her tight.
“Take as much time as you need, and then just follow the sound of my breathing, so you’ll know where we’re sleeping,” he whispered. Of course the last part had been a joke; the both of them let out a small chuckle. “Stay here as long as you want. We’ll come find you in the morning.”
Samira watched as Thomas left. As he walked across the hallway, he noticed the candles on the walls and on the chandeliers that hung on the ceiling extinguished themselves one by one.
The house went to sleep as its owners did.
Only one candle remained lit; one simple, candle, in the middle of the wall of the infirmary where James and Samira were.
It was either meaning to say that James was still awake, or it was still lit just because Samira was there. Samira sat down and stared at her little brother with worried eyes, trying to find the courage to grab his hand again; maybe he would squeeze it again to let her know he was aware of her presence.
And eventually, she did take his hand, because whether he was awake or not, there was something she needed to get off her chest. Something her friends had no need of hearing.
“James, I hope you can hear me,” Samira whispered. “I- I know you can. And even if you can’t, I just need you to know that I am sorry for everything that’s happened... If I’d never told you about the Legend of the Guardians, you never would’ve begged Dad to tell it to you. I always thought it was a fairytale.
Of course, all of us did.” She paused for a second, hesitating if she should go on. “I... I didn’t believe in fairy tales, because I didn’t believe in Magic. I thought it was nonsense... But this adventure, all of this, is making me realise that I was wrong.
Everything we’ve been through- together- I- I don’t think-” her voice faltered.
“I- I- remember you said- when we were young- that- we’d always be together, but now it just looks like this world is doing everything to tear us apart, and I don’t think I could ever go back home if you’re not there to go with me.”
Samira turned her face to the ceiling and pressed her lips and eyelids together not to burst out in tears.
“Good night, Jamey,” she said, and gave her brother a kiss on the forehead before leaving the room, determined not to return before morning. Because if she would, she knew she wouldn’t be able to get herself to leave.