The chapter was too long for me to fit the credits into the same section :p = Thomas: @-SpaghettiCorgi- Eliza: @PeriwinklePenguin11 Amora: @Cora901283 Renn: @LittleSheepie Raven: @Pscorer Ridge: @LittleSheepie Cory: @cwkcassie793 Edwin: @TheGreninjaCoder Music: "Path of the Wind" from My Neighbor Totoro (reminded me of the connection between Eliza's emotional turmoil as a child and now) Gross drawing: me, unfortunately Ok look my computer broke, so I had to do this with a different unfamiliar kind of mouse :/
= Chapter 19 = The tiara in my hands felt so heavy. Too heavy. My head was spinning. "Mama, please don't give this to me," I pleaded. "It's too nice. You should keep it." "'Liza, trust me. There's a reason I want you to have it." She took it out of my hands and placed it on my tiny head. It sank to my brow, lopsided. "Why?" I asked, looking up at her. I could see the apprehension in my mother's eyes before she sighed and shook her head. "I think I should wait a little while longer before telling you. But let me just say..." She cupped my cheek with her palm. "There will be a day when you'll understand. A day when you will have to make a choice, to bear a burden far too great for you as you are now. And, whatever it is you will end up doing, it will change everything. Your world will never be the same." She smiled sadly. "But I want you to be able to grow up without that weight on your shoulders. This tiara is simply to remind you that I love you, and that is the only reason I can't tell you what will happen. Okay?" Immediately my mind was racing with hundreds of questions, and they worried me sick. What "burden" did she mean? What about her own past hadn't she told me? Did she not trust me? What action would I need to take? And what- who- would be at stake when I would have to take it? = The tiara slips out of my hands and lands on my quilt as I curl up into a ball. So much is going on in my head. Now I finally know what my mother meant. What would really be at stake. The entire kingdom. Everyone I love. Not only that, but I can't make sense of my feelings toward Thomas. He barely talks about that girl, whoever she was, but the mere mention of her makes my blood boil. I'm not being fair to Thomas. He has a right to like her and talk about her, but for some reason it gets me worked up. Every time I see him I feel my cheeks burn and my heart gallop. I get more nervous around him now than I ever used to, which is saying something. I'm so confused, and I can't even talk to him about it. Amora has been hanging out with Edwin as much as possible since her nightmare, so I just feel so isolated... Suddenly Ridge yanks the opening to my tent open. I yelp with surprise, immediately putting the tiara back on and wiping my tears away. "Uh, um, hello, Ridge! Do you need something?" The apple he had been eating lays idle in his hand as he stares, probably surprised to see me so amess. "Just came to see if you wanted some of these," he says, holding out a bag full of apples. "Most of them aren't stolen. Hey, are you doing okay? Thomas thought I should check on you, he says you seemed... off." "I'm okay, really." He raises his eyebrows. "Sure doesn't look like it." Hesitantly, I sigh. "It's just... I have so many questions, so many new emotions, and I don't know what to do about them. The day my mother gave me this tiara has resonated inside of me for ten years, and now I understand why she gave it to me, but... On top of that, now I can't even have a normal conversation with Thomas, one of my best friends." I'm surprised with myself. I never tell anyone about my feelings, except for Amora, rarely. "Ever since he first mentioned that girl, I've felt so odd and alone..." Ridge's mouth is gaping. The apple falls from his hand. "Oh, honey, tell me everything about you two!" he cries, closing the tent flap and sitting down beside me. Startled, I continue. "Well, after he shielded me from that arrow, I suddenly felt different about him, like I appreciated him in a whole new way. Now, I can't imagine my world without him in it, and the idea that he is interested in that woman upsets me, even though it's not my choice and has nothing to do with me-" "Oh my God. Eliza." Ridge cuts me off, his eyes wide with excitement. "You love him." I nearly fall over. "D-Do I?" "Sure sounds like it to me!" He squeals. "I've waited for this for so long!!" I stare at him, confused. "For what?" "Thomliza, of course!" I feel myself turn beet red. "You have a ship name for us?!" "Not just me! Pretty much everyone on this journey ships you two. Ed and I have been trying to get Thomas to confess for a while now." I'm stunned. "C-Confess?" Ridge hands me an apple. "You really are oblivious, aren't you?" At first I can't process what he just told me. Then I giggle. He squeals again. "It's happening!!" "It's funny, Ridge... Of everyone, you are the last person I'd expected to tell about my feelings." I laugh. "At least you got it off your chest. And, hey-" Before he can finish, the tent door opens to reveal Amora standing outside, obviously shocked. "'How much did you hear?" I gasp. She beams, obviously ecstatic. "I KNEW IT! YOU LOVE HIM!!" "Keep it down!" Ridge snaps. "Why did you come here?" She seems to compose herself. "Right, right. Cory sent me to fetch you guys." My old, familiar anxiety, omnipresent since that day with my mother, kicks in. "W-Why?" "There's some serious trouble in the next town over. I think we've found our demon." =
