Galaxy of Hyperion: Mystic Heir

Chapter Thirty-Two: Blood or Blade

"The attack that finished the fight came from Zelda," Lex chimed in, and Jayler frowned as he glanced up at her. Lex seemed to lack her regular fire, no pun intended, and it was starting to bother him. Lex had always possessed a sense of passion that rubbed off on those around her, earning Lex the admiration of others easily. Today though, it seemed as if she was nothing more than a hollow shell of her former self, and it was jarring to see her so lacking in vitality compared to how she normally was. 

"I was wondering where the other strike came from," Jayler murmured. "Jay did one of the two attacks that finished the fight. If Zelda did the other one..." His words trailed off. No matter how hard he tried, he didn't think that he would be able to end the sentence in a satisfying way. All of them were fully aware of the issues that existed between Jay and Zelda. It was pointless to pretend that the conflict didn't exist when it was so obvious that they didn't exactly like one another. 

In all honesty, Jayler thought that it was more complicated than the two simply not wanting to spend time together. In Jay's case, she didn't like Zelda for her major role in the fall of the Skylox Heroes. Since the Skylox Heroes had been the only family that she ever knew, it was natural that she would respond with hostility when she learned that Zelda was both responsible and fighting as her ally. Zelda, on the other hand, didn't seem to feel much of anything towards Jay. She had remained detached and rarely interacted with Jay if it could be avoided, and Jayler didn't think that they were going to be speaking unless they absolutely had to. 

Jay's feelings were natural as far as Jayler was concerned. Why wouldn't she be upset? Zelda had done awful things when she was working as a general in the Fearbringer army, and none of them would ever be able to deny such a truth no matter how hard they tried. He wished that there was a way to bridge the gap between them, but the last thing that Jayler wanted to do was push it unnecessarily. Given the stress that had been placed upon the shoulders of the Hanilia in the wake of Alba's attack, it felt like an extra piece of weight that would only cause problems in the long run. 

"That's going to result in an interesting conversation," Xia snorted as she shook her head. "If I recall correctly, one of the reasons that she hid her face during the war on Daragon was because she was trying to keep from drawing attention to herself. If you want to get specific, it's because she was trying to avoid Zelda finding out too much about her after she survived the attack on the castle where the Skylox Heroes lived and operated."

Jayler winced at Xia's words. She was blunt, knowing just what to say and not bothering with the formality of tact to make sure that others understood. Xia had a point, as much as he hated to admit it. That was exactly the reason that Jay had started to hide her face from the rest of the world, and he had heard as much from her during the conflict on Daragon. From there, it was passed on and shared with the rest of the Clan Leaders. He wished that there was something he could do to make the dynamic between Zelda and Jay less tense, but he knew that it wasn't any of his business. Jayler did enjoy snooping every once in a while, but in this situation, it just felt wrong. 

"They're going to have to work out their issues sooner or later," Gemini said next. "They're going to be living in the castle for quite some time. We have a reason to leave because we're currently forced to go back and forth between the worlds, but all other Hanilia should stay gathered together there for the sake of remaining united in the face of another attack. If they're going to be so close in proximity, then they have to work out everything before it becomes a larger issue. If you leave a crack to grow for too long, it will cause everything else to explode."

"You know what I've decided, Gemini?" Jayler cut in. Gemini glanced up at him as she poked at her food mindlessly with a plastic fork. "I hate it when you're right." Gemini snorted in response before focusing on eating once again.