3: An Unconventional Happy Ending.

Chapter 19: The merry band of misfits.

Back on the road and Darien wakes up shortly after Eleanora and looks out of the little window.
"Oh, we're almost at the portal to take us to the Northern realm. You ready?"
She had been lost in her own head again and he awakens her from her glazed stupor.
"What? Oh right... Yes, I think so, what's it like?"
He shrugs, he's done it a million times before.
"It's a bit of a strange experience if this is the first time you've done it but you quickly get used to it... I'll take your hand when we're about to go through, it should keep you grounded. When I take your hand, take a deep breath in and exhale slowly. You'll see a bright blue or purple light curl into a vortex in front of you, it only takes a second or two, close your eyes if you feel it necessary."
She actually gets excited at the sound of it.
"Oh, this sounds interesting, I'll not be closing my eyes!"

He raises an eyebrow.
"This is exciting for you?"
She has an excited smile.
"Yes, I've never done it before. I've never left Idralla, let alone this realm..."
He grins at her childlike wonder.
"Alright, well... Hold tight...."

He takes her hand and she looks fascinated, like a little child entering a sweet shop. She takes a deep breath in and then they enter the portal, the carriage disappears around them and all they see is swirling blue and purple lights in a vortex in front of them, like they're floating through time. It only takes around three seconds, but it feels like longer than that and naturally, Eleanora is fascinated.
She claps her hands excitedly.
"This is amazing!"
He thinks it's adorable but still questions it.
"I thought you were a mage though... A powerful one, you've seriously never witnessed teleportation magic before?"
She shakes her head, still bearing a big grin.
"Nope, well I'm aware of the theory behind it all, I've studied it to a certain degree... But I've never witnessed it first hand... now I want to study it further, it's wonderful!"
He just sits and admires her for a moment.
"Your childlike fascination and enthusiasm is... Very endearing, you know that?"

She blushes a little at that but then steels herself.
"What can I say? I have an enquiring mind, makes life interesting..."

She gives him a little nervous smile as he lets go of her hand.
"Yes. It certainly does... We're so used to it that those two are still sleeping!"

He gestures to their resident elves, Cayleth is snoring peacefully and Ali is dead to the world. She grins at them and then places her hand over his for a moment.
"Hah, yes... I'm glad I got to see it though. Thank you."
He's not complaining at all but wonders why she's thanking him
"For what?"
She gives him a sweet smile.
"For this experience, I'm quite relieved to have met you all."
He shrugs, trying to not make a big deal of it, which is actually the opposite of how he usually behaves.
"It was really more of a right place, right time kind of thing..."

Darien feels a warmth inside, he's never really been thanked for anything, let alone for something so seemingly trivial before, so he smiles.
"But you're welcome Eleanora, how did you sleep anyway?"
She yawns again.
"Not that great but better than I was expecting... I kept having bad dreams then waking up, I miss my family and my daughter so much already..."

He links arms with her and she doesn't recoil this time.
"I'm sorry to hear that. You seemed to sleep soundly whenever I checked in though. I can sympathise... A little bit anyway, I was the same when I first left my home, it was just me and my mother and she was a fucking drunk. But I still missed her, a few months after I'd been sent to Idralla to work for the Iron Heads, I found out she'd drank herself to death. I was obviously upset but strangely not surprised. The point here is, it hurts at first, a lot. But time is a great healer, you make new friends, start a new job... A new life... One thing I will say though, never ever forget where you came from..."
She gives him a sympathetic smile.
"I'm sorry to hear that, that's horrible... For what it's worth... I'm glad you're happy now."