I've uploaded again! Please make sure to like and comment if you enjoyed it!
I will be updating weekly now so make sure to add to your library to get the notifications!
S. A. A
°°°°°°°♧°°°°°°
I was home.
I was back.
I had thought about this moment for weeks and, now, I didn't even know how to feel about it all. I was speechless.
I looked around, taking in the familiar small creaky room and the signature smell of wet wood from the small leak in the corner of the roof. Everything was as I had kept it- my notes on the small bedside table, my night clothes draped across the chair and the same beige sheets on the bed.
Looking at it now, I just had begun to realise how small the room was, especially compared to my room in Aaru. It only made me realise the way I had been treated here.
"Where are we?" I turned my gaze to Emut who was now in a seated position besides Demir. They both looked around confused and I stood up with shaky legs, most probably due to the amount I had ran today.
"Earth. This is my home." I said still in disbelief, gesturing around at the surroundings and both males looked around, at my words before standing up. I almost laughed as they stood almost touching the low-set ceiling. It was so odd having two powerful males placed in such a mundane room; it was clear they didn't belong in such a setting.
"This is Earth?" Emut spoke up first, looking around in awe as he sheathed his sword. Demir followed his actions, looking around before frowning.
"You didn't tell us it was a shayathul?" He bit out and although I didn't understand what he said, I knew it didn't mean anything good, especially from the way that Emut glared at him.
I nodded at Emut's question, ignoring Demir's words.
"Yeah, this is my room." I said, turning and gesturing to the small area. Although I had never ever felt truly at home here, I felt slightly exposed when they looked around curiously.
Many a time, I had thought about how it would be if Marie had slept over. Or, even to have any friends over yet it never did get to happen and, now, I was stood here with two males, something I don't think I would ever have imagined.
"How did we even get here?" Demir's voice pulled me out of my reverie and I smiled slightly as I gestured to the old floor length mirror in the corner of the room.
"I used the same words that I had said that took me to Aaru and, thankfully, it worked." I let out honestly, brushing my hair back with a hand. I felt slightly proud of my quick-thinking and it having worked. It still all felt so surreal to be back.
Demir let out a small scoff at my words before leaning his glaive against the bed. I cringed as it creaked loudly under the weight of the deadly weapon.
"Well, at least we know you're not completely worthless." He said bluntly and I scowled in his direction.
"Oh, too much pride to even say thank you, Demir? Careful, they say that pride is a mask of one's own faults and I'm sure you're masking a great deal." I retorted snidely, watching as Demir's eyes lit up at my words. He leaned against the cheap plastered wall near the door, folding his arms.
"A great deal of faults? Perhaps, Hanna should have a look at the mirror before she looks out the window. I'm sure she'll be thoroughly enlightened." He snipped back just as fast and I let out a small huff at his words.
"I'd ask you to do the same, but then there'd be no mirror to use to get back." I quipped with a small glare.
"Hey, speaking of which, how do we get back?" Emut's voice spoke up as he touched the mirror with a hand. He looked over to me curiously and Demir walked over, placing his hand against the mirror.
"Hanna, open it up." He almost but demanded and I rolled my eyes before moving closer and nudging him out the way.
"'Please' and 'thank you', Demir. It's not that hard, even for a brainless cretin like you." I muttered out, not even waiting for a response before closing my eyes and remembering the ancient words given to me.
"Ana iza arooh Aaru." I regurgitated the words before opening my eyes and tentatively sticking out my hand just as I had done many weeks ago. Yet this time, my hand met glass and I was left staring at my reflection.
I felt the panic build within, but ignored it as I closed my eyes and recited the words yet again. But, nothing changed and I touched the cool surface mirror again before letting out a frustrated sigh and turning to the two males who were looking at me expectantly.
"I don't know why, but it's not working." I let out in an apologetic ramble, but instead of being met with anger, Emut shook his head with a smile.
"Don't worry, it'll work eventually. Had you not been there, we would probably have had to face the Bakenanouke." He said gratefully, his honey eyes making me feel warm. I sighed in relief at his words even more so when Demir nodded his head.
"Allow your meagre brain some time to recover, Hanna. Try again later." He teased before laying back on the bed, his form taking up from the top and his legs hanging off the bottom. I rolled my eyes as he placed his hands underneath his head.
"Perhaps, I'd have fared better if I weren't too focused on being repulsed by you." I retorted snarkily watching as a small smile graced his face, his eyes closed.
"If I had known my mere presence was too distracting for you, Hanna, I'd have been more courteous." He murmured and I let out a small huff at his words, folding my arms.
"Well, it's not too late. There's a big enough window to jump out of, if you're still feeling generous." I said with a mock-enthusiastic smile, gesturing to the window.
Demir opened his eyes at this, the greyness glowing in the darkness. He looked to the window before shifting his eyes to me slowly.
"It's amusing that you think a mere 2 storey jump would hurt me in the slightest." He let out, a predatory look in his eyes as he watched my apprehensive reaction. He leaned onto his elbows, his gaze further piercing into me.
"Or even you, for that matter." He finished purposefully and I went silent at the mere prospect of truth in his words. It was so strange to believe that there was a whole other part of me that I was unaware of; it was as though everyone knew me more than I knew myself and it unnerved me. Demir let out a small laugh at my expression.
"You look more of a meek lamb when you're silent. How pleasant." He taunted and I glared hard at his words, but it didn't faze him in the slightest. Rather, he relaxed further, closing his eyes and leaning back into his hands.
"Now, give me some quiet and make yourself scarce." He demanded bluntly and I let out a tut at his typical behaviour before turning to Emut stood by the window.
"What are you looking at?" I asked as I neared him. He turned slightly at my voice before looking back to the dark streets.
"Just seeing how it looks." He murmured before brushing his hair back; his arm flexed at the action. I smiled at his words before reaching out and opening the window.
"And, what is your verdict?" I asked in a teasing tone, seating myself on the sill beside him. He shuddered slightly as a gust of wind entered before raising an eyebrow.
"Cold." He joked, making me laugh loudly and I gestured over to the closet at the end of the room.
"Yeah, almost all the clothes I own are about a finger-thick." I replied back to which Emut let out a small laugh.
"Well, that's definitely different to what I had thought." He admitted and I nodded at his words before leaning against the pane of the window.
"You can guess how much of a shock Aaru's attire was for me at first then." I let out jokingly, making Emut's eyes instinctively wander down to my attire. I felt heat creep up the back of my neck at his long gaze, tensing slightly. He seemingly noticed this and turned his gaze rigidly to the window, his adam's apple moving down slightly.
It fell silent for a moment until Emut leaned slightly out of the window.
"What's that?" He asked and I turned to look out at his question before smiling. I watched as the car passed across the streets, its yellow light creating a path of brightness across the gray road.
"It's called a car. It's a mode of transportation here." I explained to which he nodded, a look of awe on his face.
"Faster than a carriage?" He asked and I nodded before nudging him.
"But, most likely not as fast as you." I teased to which Emut nudged back, raising an eyebrow.
"I've yet to encounter something that is." He said in more of an honest than smug manner and I leaned my head against my palm, looking to the passing cars.
"How fast are you? I mean, what are your limits?" I asked curiously, thinking back to how fast we had moved when he held me. Everything had passed in such a blur and there were no moments where we had slowed down.
Emut shrugged casually before leaning back and sticking a hand out the window, almost as if to feel the wind.
"I haven't been able to find a limit. When everything and everyone is slower than you, you're not really pushing yourself to an edge to even find out." He said honestly and I nodded, processing his words before leaning back.
"That's amazing." I commented and Emut smiled before his gaze snapped to his hand out of the window and I turned to see a small flurry of snow falling from the gray midnight sky.
"What is this?" Emut asked almost excitedly as he reached out, letting the snowfall grace his bare arm. His golden tone was such a huge contrast to the pale gray of the sky and white of the snow that it startled me slightly. He looked too ethereal for this setting and I smiled at the strangeness of it all.
"It's snow." I said simply and Emut smiled at this.
"It's amazing." He answered and I watched as Emut withdrew his hand back in. The heat of his hand had melted the snowfall and he frowned at this before looking at me.
"It's just water." He stated and I nodded at his words before looking out to the dismal late February weather.
"Snow is basically just ice and, with heat, it turns to water." I responded to which Emut nodded with a small frown.
"I've heard of falling ice in Aaru as well. There's a legend where I was born about a cold land called The Barid which can be found if you travel south to the edge of the living." He spoke, puffs of visible breaths leaving his mouth into the cold open air and I listened in wonder at his words.
"Has anyone been there?" I asked to which Emut shrugged heavily.
"Many have set out to. Whether or not they made it has been negotiated. It makes for a hard argument if none ever return to share their side." He said simply and I cringed at his words.
He looked back to the streets then, his honey eyes looking as they could melt the gray away. I stood, stretching slightly, making the floorboards creak eerily under me.
Emut looked to me at the sound with a small frown as he eyed the floor.
"Is it supposed to make that sound?" He asked and I rolled my eyes at his words.
"Yes, Emut, our floors are supposed to creak loudly. It's our version of music." I drawled sarcastically to which Emut let out a laugh as I stepped back onto the creaky boards repeatedly before putting a hand to my heart.
"Oh, that's my favourite song." I joked mock-passionately, but all jokes were stopped short when the unmistakable sound of footsteps sounded up the stairs and down the hallway, making the sorrowful nostalgia crawl up my body as I came to the realisation.
Someone had heard us.