Gabriel was drenched in sweat. His heart was beating so loudly in his chest that he thought it would explode. The beginnings of a dreadful hangover consumed him as he flopped back down onto the bed. It had been a while since he dreamt of that night so vividly. After Sana had taken him in he fell ill. Perhaps it was a combination of stress and whatever fumes he had inhaled when his home was burnt to the ground. Such trauma was too much for the tiny body of a child and he was consumed by a vicious fever. While his body recovered, his mind was not that lucky. His memories had become heavily fragmented and distorted and no matter how hard he tried to clearly remember things, he would be plagued with splitting migraines.
The last thing he expected now was to have a drunken dream of that night so clearly. Gabriel looked to his left, wondering where he was. The first thing his eyes set on was Avarice, who sat by the window, his features illuminated by the moonlight.
"I brought you to an inn when you passed out."
Gabriel flinched at the sound of Avarice's voice.
Avarice didn't turn around. "You looked like you were having a nightmare...you talked a lot in your sleep too."
Gabriel was quiet for a moment, unsure of what to say. He closed his eyes and sighed.
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"Thanks for carrying me here..."
He rolled over, back now facing Avarice. He replayed the events of his dream in his head. It was like a flip had switched inside of him and every resentful feeling he had towards the Qishan's came flooding back.
"Shouldn't you be heading back? Your mother and brothers must be worried about you."
Avarice sighed, standing up and walking towards the door. "Yeah, my brother is leaving soon so I should probably go see him off."
"Leaving? Why?" Asked Gabriel.
Avarice paused. "The Fire Priestess is visiting her home for some time...he's escorting her there...if you need someone to talk to, you know where to find me."
Gabriel didn't respond. He wasn't sure what exactly he said in his sleep and part of him didn't want to know. It didn't matter anyway since he would be leaving soon. Gabriel waited until he was sure Avarice had left before rolling himself out of bed. He found it suspicious that they would send a Prince to escort someone. They wouldn't do that for just anyone so they must be of some importance to the royal family and if they had received his message from earlier in the day, he had a sneaking suspicion he knew what they were trying to do. He pulled his cloak over himself and left.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•
Illya stood at the docks with the rest of her family. Callisto handed Ea a basket full of food and trinkets to get him through the journey back to the Summer Isle. Tah Min had joined them after saying her goodbyes to Dez and Yukimi. She was followed by Sin who walked Ri-is to the docks as well. Though it was dark, his missing limb was made very clear by the way his sleeve fluttered beside him in the wind.
After brief goodbyes, Ea and Tah Min boarded the ship, oblivious to the unexpected stowaway that had snuck on with them. Illya and the others watched as the ship left the dock and began its travel to the Summer Isle.
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July•3•xxxx
Late in the morning of the next day, they had arrived at the Summer Isle and Gabriel was finally able to emerge from the depths of the ship. He had waited until Ea and Tah Min had gotten off the ship and everyone became distracted with tending to them before he snuck off himself. It had suddenly become clear to him why they had sent Ea as her escort. He had no idea she was a priestess, or maybe he was just so caught up with everything going on that he never stopped to notice.
He managed to sneak into the main tower, the place where Ea and Tah Min were most likely headed to right now. Gabriel climbed the winding staircase until he found a little opening, most likely for a storage space that he could shuffle into and hide for the time being. He crawled through the opening, curling himself inside so he could collect his thoughts. The way he was crouched inside, crinkled his shirt, exposing the tattoos on his chest. He glanced down, eyes drifting to the tattoo over his heart. Gently, he raised his hand to trace it with his finger. It was a tattoo of a white dove. Simple, but it meant the world to him. It was for his mother after all. She adored doves and like the bird, he saw her as the purest and most noble from the way she loved to the way she carried herself about. A soft sigh left his lips as he closed his eyes. Memories of the night his family was massacred flashed in his head like a movie reel.
As much as he hated his father, his mother loved him and the home they had made. From the flowers that grew in the gardens to the food they ate each day, everything was carefully cultivated by her and he couldn't forgive the Qishan clan for destroying all of what she loved, all that was her only solace in the madness his father put her through.
He leaned his head back. "...Don't worry mom...I'll make them pay...I thought they had all been wiped out but...it seems like there's still one Qishan alive."
Gabriel knew he wouldn't be able to move freely during the day. So he decided to wait in there until nightfall.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•
Ea and Tah Min made it to the main tower without incident. The priests that escorted them were all too delighted to see their young Priestess and the Solarian Prince again. Once inside the prayer chambers, Tah Min dismissed the priests. They left, leaving her alone with Ea. She walked idly over to the curtains that shrouded her back when they first met in here.
"...who do you think sent that death threat?" She whispered meekly.
"I don't know..."
Tah Min's gaze shifted down as she turned her back to Ea, fiddling with the curtain. Ea frowned. He walked up to her, ever so gently placing his hands on her shoulders and turning her towards him. She lifted her head to meet his determined gaze.
"but...I do know that no matter what, you'll be safe. I won't let anything happen to you."
Tah Min felt herself smile and without a word, she let herself find solace in his arms. She moved closer, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"I...never knew my father. He died long before I was even old enough to speak, but stories of all the atrocities he committed were very well known. After all, he committed such a great crime...and against the Empress Illya's family no less...its been ages since then but it seems that innocent people are still paying for his sins."
Ea wrapped his arms around her and rocked soothingly. "Everything is going to be fine. The Summer Isle doesn't allow visitors. Anyone who wanted to harm you can't get in unless they somehow snuck in and even if they managed to pull that off, I'll be right here to protect you."
Tah Min pushed her face into Ea's chest with a giggle. "My, how chivalrous."
A rosy hue crept onto Ea's face as he grumbled bashfully, earning another wistful giggle from Tah Min.
Tah Min pulled away, letting her hands travel from his chest and down his arms to intertwine their fingers. "Come, let's go get something to eat."
The pair walked hand in hand down the aisle leading outside, only letting go before they reached the threshold of the chambers.
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