In the Midst of the Lonely Sea of Loneliness Pt. 21

Leeli's sweet song soon concluded leaving everyone a calm sense of solemn that none of them had truly felt since before the war. The song comforted them all, reassuring them that, in a way, everything would be alright... even if it didn't appear like it.

There were no follow-up visions or sounds for the Throne Wardens or High King but secretly, Leeli still felt her father's presence from afar.

Wendolyn walked over to Podo and her daughter and kneeled down beside them. She gently brushed some hair out of Nia's face. "Are you feeling any better, dear?"

"Yes... but..." Nia sighed. "... I'm mostly embarrassed by my own behavior..."

"It's in the past now." Artham was quick to reassure Nia, placing a hand on her shoulder from behind. "We can move forward with this."

There was another pause before Tink decided to speak up.

"I'm glad mom's feeling better but... What about the weird vision thingy?" Tink asked despite the others not knowing about what he had seen.

Everyone turned to Tink with various expressions on their faces. Podo, Wendolyn, and Nia were not present when the Wingfeathers had their united experience so they appeared quite confused at the mention of a vision.

"What vision?" Podo asked, wondering if the crazy from his daughter was now rubbing off on his grandkids.

"Well- um-" Artham began to stutter, looking between his nephew and sister-in-law like he was worried mentioning Esben would set her off again. "It's- well-"

Seeing that his uncle was contemplating keeping this information to himself, Janner spoke up next. "Last time Leeli played that song, I heard someone talking."

"Yeah! And I saw a hunched over creature in a cave!" Tink added confidently.

Nia perked up a little bit, almost appearing hopeful in nature.

"What?" Wendolyn raised one of her eyebrows and looked at Artham. "What are they talking about, Artham?"

Artham sighed. "... I don't know if you remember the Wingfeather connection but... Sometimes, when a Song Maiden or Master plays a song that resonates with their blood relatives, certain things happen... And well... That happened just before you all came pouring out of the house."

Despite Wendolyn and Podo not seeming to understand what Artham was talking about, Nia clearly seemed to understand.

"You saw him."

Everyone looked at her.

"You... you saw Esben. Didn't you?"

Artham grimaced but still nodded his head.

"Where was he?"

Artham remained quiet, unsure of how to answer her question.

"Artham, where was he?" Nia asked with a stronger tone.

"In some kind of cave..." Tink replied with a groan, annoyed he didn't see more. "We didn't see much more than a cave and even then, it was pretty dark. I couldn't see his face under the shroud..."

Podo shook his head with disappointment. "Well, that could be anywhere, laddie. There's caves south of here, north of here, and east of here across the sea."

"He's still..." Nia's voice choked up as she looked away. "He's still... across the sea."

Everyone looked back at Nia, the same question rising in their hearts since the very moment they found her: What happened to her after the fall of Anniera? They all pondered if now was the time to ask or if it was too soon for Nia's recovering mental state. Would they be asking too much of her to explain why she had been transformed into something so... Ghastly? Perhaps this wasn't the time. She had only just begun to speak properly- no- this would have to be something Nia volunteered on sharing.

Before anyone could really process the meaning of such a vision, Nia got a strange determined look on her face; one that Janner and Artham recognized from when she saved children from the black carriage.

"We have to go to him. If he's free like your vision depicted, he's alone and in danger." Nia was released from her father's embraced when she stood up. "He must have gone to The Hollows to ask for help like I did..."

"Nia, if he's in The Green Hollows, he should be safe. There is nothing for us to worry about-" Wendolyn went to reassure her daughter but was quickly corrected.

"No! They are not safe!" Nia snapped with a tone that was both adamant and terrified. "They've closed their eyes to the world around them to protect themselves and that has made them like animals! They've completely lost their minds!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy, Nia." Podo raised his rough hands as a gesture for Nia to slow down. "What do ye mean 'they've lost their minds'?"

"After..." Nia's eye twitched when she went to mention the event that caused her and Esben to be disfigured. "What happened. I fled from the dark place in hopes I'd be somehow saved in my motherland... But when I came, the people did not respond with open arms... Even though a dear friend was part of the counsel, he couldn't convince the others of my need. He sent me away before the people would maim me. That was the only protection he could provide."

"Oh, Nia..." Wendolyn frowned with great disappointment in her own people's response to her struggling daughter. "I'm sorry they did that to you."

"I fear they'd do worse to my beloved. I must get back to him. I should have never left him alone. I must get back to him." Nia began to get tunnel vision on this idea, not taking into the account she was surrounded by the rest of her family. She began to head into the house, presumably going to pack for such a journey.

Artham was the first to stop her by running ahead and stepping in her path. He met her eyes and could tell Nia meant business. "Nia, listen. I want to get back to my brother just as much as any of us do but... We can't just all leave like this. Someone might find it suspicious that an entire family is going across the countryside. Someone would be bound to report us. Think of the kids."

The mention of her children brought Nia back to the one fact she kept forgetting- she wasn't alone anymore. She couldn't just come and go as she pleased, she had children to take care of. It made no sense for her to uproot her children without immediate threat and it would prove more dangerous if she forced her plan over being cautious. Nia needed to make more calculated decisions if she hoped to protect her children.

"... You're right..." Nia's voice softened as she looked back at her three children with glossy eyes that appeared to be developing tears. "I'd be foolish not to think of them... I can't leave my Jewels again."

The children all gave their mother some kind of smile to reassure her that they felt the same way about her but for the boys, it came off a little more awkward in appearance.

Nia smiled warmly back at them, feeling a deep love she was happy to finally express.

However, her smile didn't last very long. At just the sound of a carriage rattling up the road, Nia quickly reentered fight or flight mode.