Layla was now confined in a room, two guards standing outside the locked doors. It was plain but tidy and comfortable. It held a bed suitable for just one person, a small table with two chairs, and a fireplace. There was no balcony, only a window with a magnificent view, locked as well, so, unfortunately, she couldn't let the breeze in. It also had a small bathroom of its own, and she was pleased to find out that at least, they were evolved enough in the plumbing department. She sighed. Things could be a lot worse. She could have been thrown in a cell instead.
She decided to take a shower. Not only did she need to clean herself, badly, it would also help her relax and feel like a normal human being again. She took off the dress, by now only a reminiscence of its previous glory, and stepped into the shower. She struggled a bit before making out which handle or switch did what, but when finally the hot water hit her body, it felt like total bliss.
While showering, she replayed in her mind what happened, after she introduced quantum physics theory to the people of Ellania. For a few seconds, nobody dared to utter a single word. They were just blinking, dumbfounded and silent. Then the king burst into a boisterous laugh which earned him a deadly look from his wife. He stopped at once and ordered Xander to restrain Layla again and lead her to the dungeons. That started an unprecedented commotion of people speaking and shouting all together at the same time.
To her surprise, Xander didn't move, defying directly the king's command. He stood still, hands behind his back, eyes observing her. Instead, it was Christoph who came forth to obey the king but something told her, it was done more as a way to put his friend out of a difficult position. Sofia was screaming to her husband, demanding Layla's releasement, him shouting back, Margaret was begging either Xander or Lucius, and Christoph was asking how to proceed, in vain.
The royal couple, unable to agree on what to do with her, turned to Xander, who hadn't intervened so far. That led her to the conclusion his opinion was highly regarded. He seemed to think about it for a second and then offered a middle-ground solution. They couldn't release her, he said, before coming to the truth of what was really happening, but instead of the dungeons, she could reside in one of the staff's rooms, with guards appointed outside, both for her safety and everybody else's. The proposition was greeted with enthusiasm from everyone present, including Layla, who had just imagined a dark cell filled with cockroaches, rats, and medieval torturing devices. Margaret offered to lead them in an unoccupied room of the kitchen staff's ward close to her own, so she herself could attend to the girl, providing food and clothes. They all agreed and here she was.
She stepped out of the bathroom drying herself with a towel she found inside, when the door knocked. Her heart started beating faster, hoping it was Xander, but then she heard the all too familiar voice by now of Margaret. "May I come in, child?"
Layla didn't know their ethics, so she felt like she should warn the woman. "Fine by me, but I should tell you, I am half-naked."
The door opened, revealing a Margaret carrying a disc with food in one hand and clothes in the other. She shoved it closed with her foot. "If I knew that, I would have sent Xander!"
This woman's ability to make her feel better was outstanding.
"Bless you, Margaret, you are amazing!" Layla said giggling. She went over to help with the things the woman was carrying. They placed the food on the table. Margaret handed her over the clothes, which consisted of a set of underwear the opposite of sexy, and a simple but comfortable navy blue dress.
"These will have to do for now," Margaret said. "But the queen offered to give money to buy whatever you need on the morrow."
Layla smiled while putting on the clothing. "Yes, Sofia always tries to help. She did that in my other life too." The remark was met with silence. She decided to drop the subject. Anyway, it would be dark soon. "What do you do for light during the night around here?" she asked as she positioned herself on one of the chair tables, staring at the food.
"Oh, these" -Margaret headed to the fireplace, peeking up some diamond-looking stones the size of a tennis ball- "are solas stones. You place them to your liking and they light up in the dark."
Layla observed the diamond balls with curiosity. "How do they do that?"
"They are magic, dear."
"Oh..."
Margaret sat on the other chair, taking the jar and filling two cups with what looked and smelled like wine. She offered one to her. "I know all this must be very difficult for you."
"You believe me then?" Layla looked at her with expectation.
Margaret shrugged her shoulders. "I believe you believe it. But what really happened, only the gods know." She made a dismissive gesture. "You been here, and 'tis good enough for me!"
A bitter smile settled on Layla's lips. "If only everybody felt that way."
Margaret patted her palm tenderly. "Now, don't judge him too hard, dear. He loved you... he loved Lila deeply." The woman's face darkened. "He was going to propose to hir the night we found hir murdered."
Layla's eyes widened with horror and placed her hand to her mouth as if to suppress a scream. The old lady continued. "Petrified, like made of rock. From black magic."
Tears were running down Layla's face.
"We never discovered who did it. Xander, my poor boy, after hir death, became hard like stone himself. A different man. All the light inside him died."
Layla contemplated for a minute what had happened to her, and what she was now finding out had happened to Xander. What the hell was wrong with the universe?
"So imagine," Margaret went on, "aefter almost two years, the healer coming to tell you a girl sleeps in his infirmary, dressed funny and looking like Lila."
"The healer?" asked Layla confused.
Margaret nodded. "You never met him. He left before you woke up to come and tell Xander. He told his assistant to nat let you leave."
"That explains her behavior," murmured Layla, an image of the nervous young nurse running after her in panic mode flashing inside her mind.
Margaret's eyes widened. "You should have seen Xander! He stormed out of the keep like a madman! I saw him and asked around what was going on. I am the oldest employee of the castle. Everybody tells me everything," she chortled. Then, she became solemn again. "I followed along. I wanted to find you first. I been afraid of his reaction."
Layla jumped up and took Margaret's hand in her own. "Thank you so much! I owe you my life!"
"No, you don't, child," said the old lady, looking dead serious. "He would never kill you, nat in a million years. Act like an arse, yes, but kill you, no. Never."
A heart-warming feeling filled Layla. Her cheeks were burning. She got up and started placing the solas stones around as it was dark by then, glancing at Margaret who was watching her, a satisfied grin on her lips.
"You been here only for a few hours and he is changing already. I see it. Small, but 'tis there. He is changing back to the boy I know and love."
***
"It is the most preposterous notion I have ever heard!" King Lucius paced up and down in his private chambers.
"It is no more ridiculous than her coming back from the dead..." said Christoph nonchalantly, side glancing at the king.
"Thank you, Christoph!" exclaimed queen Sofia, dropping at the large couch. "We have to keep an open mind, nothing like this has ever happened before!"
"Xander" -Lucius turned to his commander- "have you come across anything similar in Saria?"
Xander remained silent up till now. The four of them held a private meeting in the royal couple's chambers, the day after Layla's arrival. Lucius was determined that it was witchcraft. Nothing but black magic. Sofia, it was evident, was hoping her friend and most trusted handmaiden had returned, or at least a version of her. Christoph wanted to keep his options open.
Xander kept silent, lost in his thoughts. When the doctor came yesterday morning to inform him of a woman appearing, identical to Lila, he took charge of the investigation, his feelings mixed. The commander in him believed it a witches trickery, an evil spirit messing with his mind.
But whatever was left from his old self wanted to believe Lila was alive. To believe that somehow, the lifeless body they buried deep in the ground belonged to another. That she had been somewhere else all this time and she finally came back. "Witches can take the form of another, yes," he said in a grim voice.
"See?" Lucius turned to Sofia. "I told you-"
"But that someone has to be alive," Xander interrupted him. Lucius dropped his head in despair.
"See?" Sofia raised her chin in triumph.
Everybody was right. Everybody was wrong. But for the first time in a very long time, Xander didn't care to participate in the discussion. He didn't want to listen to their theories. Didn't want to be in a meeting. Didn't want to analyze the facts.
All the emotions he had buried deep underground together with his love were now emerging, overwhelming him rapidly. He just wanted to go to her. Look at her. Talk to her. Hold her. Smell her. Kiss her. Make love to her, for the very first time. He stood up.
"There is no point in going over this again and again. The investigation will continue, I'll do it myself. I'll go to the town tomorrow to gather more information. And of course, I will question the suspect again." He saw Christoph smirk. "Is there something funny, sir Christoph?"
"No, commander, just be sure to question her well."
He threw his best friend a deadly look and exited the chambers without even bothering to say goodnight. They wouldn't mind. Not just because the four of them were close friends, a collateral result of Lila's horrible death, forgetting about titles when they were amongst each other. But because they have grown used to his misery and rudeness all this time. He marched through the castle's corridors, hood on his head. What had he become?
He found himself outside her room. The guards didn't dare to look at him. They kept their gaze focused on the opposite wall. He pondered on it for a few minutes and then knocked. The sweet music of her voice filled his ears.
"Who is it?"
"It's me, Commander Xander. May I come in?"
She was silent for a second or two. "Give me a minute, please!" A slight panic painted her tone.
What a fool he was!
"Unlock the door, now!" he ordered the nervous guards. They barged into Layla's room, only to find her in her underwear, holding a navy blue dress in front of her in an attempt to hide as much as possible. She was red from shame and anger.
"What part of 'give me a minute' did you not understand?!"
Xander turned his back on her instantly. "Get out now!" he barked to the two guards who seemed pretty eager to follow his order. He was a fool alright, but for a totally different reason.
He tried to apologize. "I am sorry, I... I...-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know, you thought I was summoning demons or something!" answered an irritated Layla.
He turned again without warning towards her. She had just finished putting on the dress.
"What do you want me to do?" he shouted in agony. "You died, Lila! You died!" His eyes were pleading for understanding.
"And in my version of the story, you died Alex!" she shouted back. "You died!" She glared at him and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "And nobody calls me Lila!"
He gazed at her for a few moments, pensive, and then took a few strides, coming closer. She widened her eyes and took a few steps back until she hit the wall. He advanced some more and offered his hand. "Shall we meet again then?" Her eyes darted to the hand and then back to him. "My name is Xander."
She hesitated for a while, blinking at him. When she took his hand, a heavy burden was lifted from his chest.
"Nice to meet you, Xander. My name is Layla," she said in a soft voice.
They stood like that, staring at each other, shaking hands, for a rather inappropriate amount of time, when Xander couldn't take it anymore. He pulled her to his arms, grabbing her by the waist, and crushed his lips to hers. A gasp escaped her, which rapidly turned to a moan and she started kissing him back fiercely. It drove him crazy. He invaded her mouth with his tongue, his other hand grasping her hair, feeling her hands trying to tear up his shirt. A violent need possessed him, a thirst unlike any other. He wanted to eat her, devour her whole, so that they become one, that she would never escape him again. He started biting his way down her neck until his teeth met a chain. She was wearing a necklace.
Xander pushed her away and stepped back. "Where did you find this?" he asked, still panting, an accusing tone in his voice, eyes fixed on the necklace. It took Layla a second or two to answer.
"What..? This?" She touched it, smiling sadly, and then looked nervously at him. "You... I mean... Alex. This was Alex's present to me."
As he was back-stepping towards the door, he watched her face drop, eyes becoming wet. He stormed outside of the room, racing up the stairs to the last floor. He shoved the door to his chambers violently, running to his office, opening drawers one by one, tossing the contents aside until he found it. He stopped.
He placed it tenderly into his hand, staring at it for a few minutes, and then he began unwrapping it carefully. A red velvet box appeared. He opened it.
His wedding gift to Lila. The one he never got a chance to give. The engagement ring was lost after the night they found her dead. It was in his pocket and it must have fallen somewhere, but no matter how much he tried afterwards, he couldn't retrace his steps in order to find it. The days and nights following her death were a blur to him. But this, this he had kept. This, he had saved. A necklace. Two hearts intertwined for eternity.
What, in the name of the heavens, was going on?
A knock on the door interrupted his preoccupation. "Who is it?"
He heard the voice of his best friend. "Want some company?"
Xander sighed. He slipped the necklace back into the drawer.
"Come in."
Christoph entered the chamber with a bottle of wine and two cups in his hands. "I assumed you'd be needing this after the interrogation," he said smirking while sitting on the table. He filled both cups and offered the one to Xander. "So, how did it go?"
Xander's face fell. "I destroyed everything again," he said, grabbing his head with both hands. "I don't know what to do, I don't even know how to feel!"
Christoph narrowed his eyes. "What did you do this time?"
Xander shifted uncomfortably. "We kissed, but then... I ran."
"You ran?"
"I saw-" Xander waved his hand rejectingly. "Never mind, I can't even begin to explain. He gazed at his companion. "I need answers! Is she a witch? Is she from another world as she claims to be? Is that even possible?"
Christoph took a large sip from his cup. He seemed to reflect on it for a while. Then he turned to face him. "We fought in Saria together. Does she seem like an Assassin to you? You know how they are. You know how they feel."
Xander shook his head. "No. But a parallel universe? Doesn't it sound absurd?"
Christoph shrugged. "No more than our own religion does. With its worlds of monsters, demons, angels, and gods. If they can exist, why can't another earth exist?" He gazed at Xander who was looking at him unconvinced, arms folded across his chest. "But all that is beside the point."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning, my friend, I know how much you loved her. I was there. I know what her loss did to you. The only question you need to answer, is this. Fate, the universe, the gods, name it what you will, is offering you a second chance." Christoph leaned forward, his palm curled in a fist.
"Are you going to take it, or are you going to throw it away?"