Soft steps approach Duchess Keegan’s greenhouse, the small gravel grinding under the small procession of shoes. 

Three priests, all dressed in white and gold cloth reaching their shins, shining in the dappled light of their path. The priest in the middle, with his golden hair, shone the brightest. 

Stopping in front of the greenhouse doors, two guards greeted the three priests.

“We have been advised that only Priest Tilloh is to enter at this time. The both of you are welcome to roam the gardens, per Her Grace’s request.” One of the guards, Lars, comments. 

Inside, Duchess Keegan is dressed in all black, her sheer sleeves providing some relief from the warmth inside the greenhouse. Her hair, short and dark violet, didn’t need to be tied up, as it didn’t even brush her shoulders, yet was adorned with a simple ornament behind her ear. 

Upon hearing Tilloh approach, she turned her face to him, her gray eyes wane and tired. Tilloh’s face twitched at the sight. 

As Keegan began to get up to greet him, Tilloh lost his composure, his brown eyes brimming with tears as he threw his arms open and wailed.

“Kiki!!” He squealed forlornly.

Surprised, Keegan gently patted her old friend Tilloh on the back, consoling him. He smelled just like the sun, like she remembered.

“I’ve missed you so much!” He wailed, sniffling in between breaths. 

“Every time I came to visit, you weren’t accepting guests, and I never knew if any of the food I brought was being used to feed you. You never responded to any of my letters.” He held her at arms length, his teary eyes barely taking in her form through the wall of water building in his eyes.

“Look at you! You’re so thin, I could wrap my arms around you twice!” His voice going up an octave as if seeing her so thin was going to crack his voice.

A sob as he brings her in his embrace once more, petting her hair.

“And then I get an official summon from you, you have no idea all the possibilities that were going on in my head!” He squeezes her, sobbing softly, seemingly done with his rant. 

“How are you? Have you been eating? What can I do to help you? I’ve missed you so much!” He pulls away from her, cupping both of her cheeks in his hand, gently wiping the small tear she didn’t know she shed.

“Tilloh” Keegan smiles, but it’s heavily laced with all the hardship she faced these last three years. She had forgotten what the affectionate touch of another person felt like.

“I’m here, now. Everything will be okay.” He says, and means it. Even his voice has recovered some of its composure.

She’s too thin. I can feel her ribs underneath the layers of her clothes. He somberly notes inside his head.

Keegan, relishing in his familiarity, leans her head on his chest, and Tilloh squeezes in response. After a moment, however, she reminds herself of why she called for him. 

“Tilloh” she says again, slightly muffled by the layers of fabric.

“I know I haven’t reached out, and I’m sorry for shutting you away.” His grip tightens in response, his head shaking back and forth above hers. She sniffles before continuing. 

“There’s something I need your help with, even though I don’t deserve-” Tilloh had pulled her away from him so sharply that she was taken aback. 

“Don’t you dare say you don’t deserve help.” Tilloh says angrily.

“I have waited all these years for you to feel ready to receive help. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to help you, no matter the reason.” He says this, and she knows he means it. 

Tilloh was not known to latch onto people, but Keegan was one of the few. When they had first met as children, they shared the same crush and at first were rivals, hating and sabotaging each other. But when their crush turned out to be an unlikeable human being, they found a kin flame within each other. 

While they now walked very different paths, their connection remained intact. It was his hope that he could help her rekindle her joy through this friendship, as the woman before him was so full of grief, it filled her eyes like a dark mist for all to see. She was like a wisp of the vibrant woman in his memories.

“Recently, I was reading A Road of Thorns” she begins, taking one of his hands in hers.

Tilloh’s eyes never leave her face, but he leads her back to the chair and sets her down into it. 

“You’re favorite book from childhood, I remember. Chryllis was such a barbaric character.” He mumbles that last part to himself. 

“I was so overcome with my emotions that it activated my magic.” Keegan takes a shaky breath. If she meets Tilloh’s eyes now, she wasn’t sure if she would be able to stop from crying. 

“Before I knew it, Kai was laying on the floor of my bedroom. By the looks of it, he had just gone through his second trial.” She pauses. 

“The one where they beat him within an inch of his life?” Tilloh was no stranger to Keegan’s family magic. He had once met her cousin who had also pulled a small boy from his home world. The boy was still living with Keegan’s cousin as a swordsman. And as surprising as it was to hear that Keegan had used this same magic after so long, he chose not to make a big deal out of the magic itself, and instead wanted to hear her thoughts on the person she summoned. 

“Have you recovered completely? What’s it like living with your childhood crush?” Tilloh asked Keegan, trying to gauge her wellbeing as well as lightening the mood. 

“It’s all in the past.” Keegan says softly, the memories of her childhood embarrassing her. 

They both sat in silence for a moment, Tilloh searching Keegan’s face. She sat there like a sealed music box, her tune muffled and distant. He thought that he would have to break the silence himself, but she spoke first, both hands on her cup. 

“I’ve done something I can’t control and now am struggling to come to terms with it. I’m sure Kai is suffering as well and so far I haven’t been able to find anything to send him back. Will you... help me?”

There was such a strong silence that Keegan looked up, but Tilloh just had his chin in his hands, thinking. 

It seems I’ve asked for too much.

“I can check the records in the Restricted Hall, that shouldn’t be a problem. Did you already contact the Mage Association? Actually, don’t bother, they’re a bunch of selfish hooligans anyways. I do have an old friend I can reach out to, but it may take a while to track him down.” Tilloh finishes his small ramble, his chin still in his hands and his eyes in a faraway place. 

Keegan is sitting with surprise on her face, the unmistakable feeling of relief sweeping through even her eyelashes, making them tremble. The world before her starts to blur as tears fill her eyes. 

Huh?

Tilloh begins to panic and kneels before her, pulling his sleeve over his hand. 

“How long have you been struggling with this on your own? Idiot.” His face also looking like it’s about to burst into tears, he wipes away her tears with his golden trimmed sleeve. His words hold more meaning than face value, and she feels his sincerity through his shaking hands. 

He’s again rewarded with a shaky smile, but this time it holds a glimmer of amusement, wavering with the tears she’s shedding. 

After her tears stop, Keegan and Tilloh catch up. Tilloh is now a Bishop, and Keegan’s been sponsoring orphans across the continent, one of which has become a famous playwright that Tilloh recognizes. They both have been living such different lives, but can still sit together and speak as if no time has passed at all. 

“Do you know what he’s been spending his days doing?” Tilloh asks, curious if Kai has any interest in staying in this world. While it was against the heavenly principles of the faith he serves, he has no intention of sending a suffering soul back into their own personal hell. 

“Marcus tells me he walks the gardens and then returns to his room. I don’t think he’s eating as well as he should be.” Keegan says, and her worry is evident in her voice. 

“Well, all you can do is continue giving him the option.” Tilloh remarks. Then he has a thought. 

“What if you two eat together? You know, like... bonding time?” He stopped himself from saying a family dinner.

“Do you really think that would work? I brought this poor man into a world he knows nothing about. And for what? To mend my heart? The DeMasses magic has a logic that is beyond me. I can’t fathom what a broken soul can do for another like it.” Keegan sighs, placing her forehead in her hand as her emotions once again swoop in despair at the situation. 

“Maybe they can rekindle another.” Tilloh leans forward across the table, eyes gentle.

“You can’t rekindle a single thing with ashes.” Keegan remarks, a bit curt.

Her tone softens. 

“Besides, we’re going to be sending him back to where he belongs.” She takes a sip of tea, resolute in her path.

Tilloh is contemplative as he looks at her. 

“What if sending him back costs you more than bringing him here?” He voices what they both have been thinking but were too wary to breach.

She pauses, and her heart flutters with an unknown emotion. 

“If that happens, it just means I shall join my husband and-” 

“Keegan!” Tilloh shouts louder than he intended, painfully startled by her words that he didn’t let her finish. His face grows flush in frustration. 

“Kiki, my love, you can do whatever your heart desires, but please do it alive. Where would all this love for you go? Where can I see the most beautiful smile again if not here with you? My world would be darker without you in it, truly.” Tilloh’s hand is shaking as he reaches over the table to grasp her hand. 

“No one can see the stars without a blanket of darkness.” And she gives a smile that doesn’t quite reach her closed eyes. 

Tilloh’s head swims. She had just admitted she did not want to be here in this life. Feeling nauseous, he frantically searches for something to anchor her. 

“You must stay here, in the present with me and Kai.” He says, almost tripping over the words with how fast they want to come out of his mouth. He is hoping that what she said about her feelings for Kai were false, that is he himself cannot tether her here, then at least the thought of her first love, Kai, can.

Come on, love.

“The path may be long, but please let me walk it with you, even if only for a little bit.” He says, cold sweat breaking out on his palms. 

Keegan is looking up from her cup from beneath her lashes, her face completely void of all emotion. 

The sight of it startles Tilloh so badly that he knocks over the pitcher of tea set in the middle of the table. With a gasp, the tea soaks into the table cloth, eerily dark and foreboding in its travel across the table. 

“Oh dear” Keegan says absentmindedly, and places a few napkins on the spill. 

As the napkins soak up tea, Tilloh watches Keegan like she’s about to bolt from the table. Her face is slack, save for the false smile occupying her lips. Because her eyes are downcast, he can’t quite see them. This unnerves Tilloh and a sense of urgency builds within him.

She is so much worse than I thought. Tilloh, you fool.

Was all this chatter an act she puts up for people, so they don’t suspect anything? 

Tilloh feels he just glimpsed a part of her true feelings. This too greatly unnerved him, until she lifted her eyes and spoke. 

“You’re right, Tilloh, I don’t truly intend to leave.” Keegan beams at him. “You can’t have a garden with one flower, can you?” She forces herself to laugh, thinking that if she doesn’t attempt to lighten the mood somehow, Tilloh may faint in front of her. 

He doesn’t miss the lack of mirth in it.

A small twinge of anger flickers in her chest as she regards Tilloh’s pale face. The thought of someone or something tethering her by force and keeping her from her happiness made her feel like her friendship with Tilloh might become an obstacle.

That wasn’t true of course. The rational part of Keegan’s mind knew that he wanted the best for her. But if the best moments in her life were in her memories, what was there to look forward to?

After calling a maid to clean up the spill, Keegan begins to excuse herself, feeling alienated and burdensome. The only way she knew how to deal with situations she didn’t know how to handle was to run away. Just like she has for the past three years.

When Tilloh stepped in her way, she sidestepped, determined to make her exit.

“Wait” Tilloh says, his hands shaking. 

He lightly grabs her sleeve, tugging on the sheer fabric, pulling her closer to him. She lets him pull her in, the tenderness in his touch prevents her from wanting to resist. 

She swallows uncomfortably, not because of the physical closeness, but because she is still painted with emotions she laid bare to him. She wasn’t sure how to deal with his response and didn’t want to lash out with the same flames that burn her.

“You are never a burden. And while time may not heal everything, I think love can. So let us love you, Kee. Come with me to soak up the sun, walk barefoot in the garden with Ellie, just don’t let yourself be alone like you have these past three years. Let us help you.”

As he speaks, he brings his hand to rest atop her head, lightly stroking her hair. 

Pressing his lips to her hair, he completes the embrace, feeling like he needs to bring her as close as possible. As if the closer she gets to his heart, the more vitality he can transfer to her.

“I don’t want to lose you.” Tilloh whispers into her hair.

Keegan realizes how much she scared Tilloh and feels guilty for having let down her mask, even a little. This person in front of her, showing unbridled affection, was and still is her closest friend. 

Bringing up her hands, she returns the embrace, but her emotions are wild and scattered. She feels more confused now than she did before Tilloh got here. 

“Thanks, Till.” She says, because she does not know what else to say, and closes her eyes against his shoulder, unable to comfort her trembling friend. 

A short while later, Tilloh walks out of the greenhouse, the gravel crunching under his boots. Staying any longer would have forced Keegan to expend more energy, and the rawness of her emotions was the sign for Tilloh to dismiss himself for the time being. The point was to help her, not hinder her, and if he stayed, he felt it would be the latter. 

Out of sight from everyone, his tears finally fall freely from his eyes. Trying to cover his face and staunch the tears with his sleeve, his breaths come in and out like quiet hiccups. 

Walking along a hedge on his way back to find his companions, a shimmer of silvery hair catches his gaze, and he blinks the tears our of his eyes enough to recognize Kai, perusing the gardens. 

Closely observing something on the stems of the flowerbed, Kai is bent over, his hair falling freely. When he straightens, Tilloh can see a small peaceful smile on his lips. 

A small ember of hope lights up in Tilloh, as he sends a silent, earnest prayer to the Gods. 

Give them the strength to save each other.

With renewed determination, Tilloh leaves the grounds, his mind full of ideas to bring that same smile he saw on Kai to Keegan’s beautiful face.