Hurting KOTLC Characters!!!! :)

Edaline Ruewen

Edaline opened the door to a pixie-like girl with royal-blue eyes, tannish skin, and black hair with a reddish tint - Jolie's best friend, Adrianna. Adrianna was crying, and she was holding a scroll with milky-white paper, and a green ribbon tied to it. "Adrianna?" Edaline asked. "What is it? Come in."

Adrianna walked in, and collapsed on the white couch, crying as she handed Grady the scroll. "J-Jolie," She stammered.

"It's okay," Edaline soothed. "Here, I'll get some tissues, mallowmelt, and tea, okay? Then you can explain."

Adrianna trembled and nodded, so Edaline went to the kitchen, and picked up the items. Yeah, sure, she could've just snapped her fingers and conjured them, but from the way Adrianna was acting, it seemed that it was bad news.

When Edaline came back, Grady's face was ashen, and the scroll was open, the green ribbon lying on the table. She set the cups and plates and tissues and napkins down, and sat on the couch, picking up her cup. "Adrianna," Grady said, "you can continue."

Adrianna shakily nodded, and took a deep breath. "J-Jolie," She began, then started over. "Jolie... she... she went to Brant's... and... and... the house... ex-exploded." Tears started streaming down Adrianna's cheeks again.

The sound of a crashing cup snapped everyone's attention to Edaline. A shattered cup was on the white carpet, a silvery-blue tea stain pooling out of the shattered porcelain. Edaline's face was ashen, her mouth fixed in a perfect O shape, her hands still frozen in the position that they were in when she was still holding the cup. Silent tears traced a watery path down Edaline's cheeks, and she trembled. Once Edaline had found her voice, she asked Adrianna, "D-did Jolie s-survive?"

Adrianna couldn't speak; she was crying too much. So she silently shook her head.

More tears pooled down Edaline's cheeks, and dripped down to her purple dress. Adrianna stood up and whispered, "I shall leave you here to grieve. I really didn't want to deliver the news to you. Jolie was a wonderful friend, and, I'm sure, an equally wonderful daughter. Her planting will be next week. The Council sent me to ask for some of her DNA."

Edaline nodded, and stood up, going to Jolie's room. As she walked out of the room, she heard Grady ask Adrianna if Brant or his parents were alive. Edaline heard Adrianna say that Brant was alive, but his sanity was shattered with guilt and grief. She heard Grady say, "We can take care of him."

Edaline felt numb. She couldn't feel much, just the cold numbness of sadness. She couldn't think, she couldn't feel, she couldn't speak. It was just too much.

Edaline opened the door to Jolie's room, where everything was as Jolie had left it.

The Youth bottle sat, half-empty on the dresser, the Conjuring book, with many pages dog-eared and bookmarked, on the bed. The still-open lip gloss containers sat, waiting for someone to use them. Everything was the same. Yet nothing could ever be so different.

Edaline picked up the brush that still lay exactly where Jolie had put it down before she'd left for Misthaven.

Untangling a strand of Jolie's hair from the brush, Edaline resolved to let no one in the room ever again, and to never ever change it. She set the brush down again, careful to leave it in the exact position it was before, then she stood up from the bed, and left the room, closing the door in what seemed like the last time the door was going to be used in years.

When Edaline walked back to the front room, Adrianna was telling Grady about the planting that was going to happen the next Saturday for Jolie. "--We've picked out a hill for her Wanderling... we just need to see if you like it. It's that hill in the middle at the back? The last one with the ray of sunshine shining on it? Many people have asked for that spot, but we figured you'd like it... It's the perfect place for Jolie, isn't it?"

Grady nodded, and Edaline walked forward to Adrianna. She cleared her throat. "Adrianna?" She whispered, trying to make it louder. "I got a strand of Jolie's hair."

Adrianna turned around, and her eyes were still wet. "Thank you, Edaline. I miss Jolie very much. It will be hard to continue the Elite levels without her. I promise she will have a good planting."

Edaline nodded, unable to trust her voice. Grady stood up, and escorted Adrianna to the door, then said good-bye.

Then, finally, they both had a good cry.