The Price

The Aftermath

Letting go is the hardest thing one can do; it rips the heart from the body and crushes the soul. Letting go is something that will break you. And as two stand in the doorway, the message only now sets in. Despite the two standing as one unit, their thoughts could not differ more. One consumed by a deep pain, enough to force tears through built walls, whereas one stands unsure, confusion racking his bones and tainting his thoughts. And as Gabriella's shoulders curve a little more, he can't help but wonder why. It made no sense. Here they stood at the doors of the most magnificent temple he had come across, and she was sad?

They were surrounded by marble columns of the purest white, with gold decorating every corner in a display of light. Where rays of sunlight would bounce off of them and sparkle into their eyes, filling him with strange comfort. Great marble doors swung open before them and welcomed them into something Asher believed only stories could contain. It had to be something from mythology, he was sure of it. Inside was simply breathtaking; it was consumed by a light so pure it was ethereal. Pillars of marble supported an intricate ceiling, covered with patterns he could only assume told tales of the ages. Yet as he shifted his gaze to the staircase, he could not help but tune into the sound of crying.

At the very top of the stairs knelt a man, no a boy? His face was covered by bruised hands, hair hiding what was left of his eyes. His body was hunched over an altar, as if he had been depleted of all hope. His body racked with quiet sobs that seemed to snap Gabriella out of her daze and race towards the stairs. It seemed to act as an unspoken signal between the two. Her arms seem to work on autopilot as she wrestles him into her hold, muttering quiet reassurances that seem to have no effect on the broken boy.

Something that once again pushed Asher to the side. It wasn't that he was jealous, but he could never begin to comprehend what had happened that day to build a bond like this. And to be honest, maybe he didn't want to know. Perhaps it's best to just wonder what can break someone like this. What in all the realms could break a soldier like this?

It seemed like an eternity he stood staring, waiting, wondering. Does he go over? Is he even wanted there? Before the questions infect his mind, a shuffle snaps him out of his trance. Gabriella returns to his side, her face red and eyes puffy, yet she still looks so perfect. Out of the corner of his eye, Asher sees him begin to leave. Theo's shoulders hunched as he practically skullted out of the temple, never meeting anyone's eye.
"Is he?" Asher began.
"He's... he's struggling," Gabriella's voice was hoarse, her words almost robotic, "we all are, Ash what happened, it wasn't easy."
"But you won!" It was a no brainer to him, why were they upset over winning?
"It doesn't matter! We won the war, but we lost the most important thing to us. The unit will never be the same, can't you understand that!?" Her eyes were wild, sadness replaced by infuriation.
"No I don't! I don't know what happened! In case it slipped your mind, I wasn't here!" Asher was angry now, he'd always been the outsider, and he could handle that, but this? No he couldn't handle this. But something in his words seemed to shift something inside Gabriella, her eyes softened and her lips parted into an exhale.

"Asher, what we had to do to win, it wasn't easy. We knew there would be a price to pay, we'd be stupid if we thought anything else. But what we lost, what Theodore lost, we couldn't have predicted that. Well maybe she did," Gabriella's voice trailed into a dry chuckle, "she always knew. She was good like that, the best of us for sure."
"Who was?" Asher questioned. It was clearly the wrong question.
"Asher, you have to understand what happened that day, what happened to us, it's not what you would expect. The day we won, was also the day we lost. And Theo can't bring himself to let her go."