Massive houses with massive pointed roofs… Lining massive roads that spiral around a massive castle… Guarded by massive walls, crowned with massive cathedrals on every corner…Near a massive Golden Hall, standing in the shadow of a massive statue -the Great Queen.
All of it towers, vast and shining -projecting their colossal presence onto the considerably small eyes of a boy with one thing burning inside him:
Massive determination.
Xitij has arrived. At Inkraeth, Ardovale.
His eyes flicker with awe. His feet barely move. "I can't believe I was here before… What miracle has Mr. Chinum done!?"
He stumbles forward, dizzy from grandeur. At the city gates, two Valean guards - clad in iron-crimson cloaks, halt him.
"Silver pass?"one asks, his voice low and formal.
Xitij fumbles, shoves his left hand into his right pocket… and pulls out something.
A Golden Ticket - crumpled, creased, and completely legitimate.
The guards pause. Eyes wide. Jaws tighter.
Xitij thinks to himself :
"Now they must be surprised , in fact they must be MASS--"
-the narrative cuts him off.
(Massive is now a protected term in Ardovale, due to recent overuse.)
The guards exchange a silent nod and step aside. One mutters, "Golden…" under his breath as other hands himself a hotel ticket, "This was left for you by your friend" the gates part like a curtain for the unexpected.
Inside the city, amidst the buzz of preparation and proud trumpet songs, the boy's stunned pace breaks into something looser-lighter.
A voice calls out.
"XITIJ !?"
He turns. His jaw drops.
A girl - chestnut hair tied into two small buns, her stride light as falling snow. Soft green eyes. A smile that melts without trying.
Yelena. His old friend from the winter peaks of Solvyr , now inexorably here.
"TAG!" she grins, and slaps his shoulder. In an instant, she darts off down the paved road, laughing like bells in spring. Xitij lets out a confused, helpless sound as his bag swings and feet flail. "Tail between my legs again", he mutters, as he launches after her.
The game begins - and the city, vast and eternal, becomes a playground.
Soon enough Yelena is out of her breath and Xitij catches up to her , but is tired out as well .
They sit at a bench aside the central fountain and share the plot their past few years with one another .
' So, How is your mom? ' - Yelena asks completely out of breath.
'Yea, she is doing quite well , though I was very tense this morning to leave her like this, she will be alone all over again' - Xitij
'Ehh don't worry , Xij . If it's your mum I believe she'll do great even while you're gone. Ahh it is so nostalgic to see you after so many years , well I was always sure you'd keep your promise . ' - Yelena
'Well yeah, you cursed me that if didn't come back you'd chase me to the depths of hell and impale me right there . So, I didn't have much of a choice you see , heh heh' - Xij
"Well of course , I did . How did you think that after doing that to me you could just leave and never come back. Well I am so happy that you did, I hate men who don't take responsibility for their actions. Hey, I didn't even thanked or gave you something in return for this golden ticket you gave me as a gift back then did I ?" - Yel
'Well you can now , even though it has been three years since . If its not getting impaled then I would gladly accept it any day .' - Xij
'Ahh forget it , we are like family to each other , these kinds of formalities are not for us.' - Yel replies with a smirk on her face.
'Oh , I never realized we were so close to each other , Huh?' (sarcastically). "And yeah what were you saying earlier about me doing what to you? , this is a crowded place Yel phrase your words carefully don't go around ruining my image like that."- Xij
To which Yelena replies : Oh come on how can I ever ruin your image ?
Xitij looked at her with a sarcastic face and said : Oh so you have forgotten about 'that' huh , seems like the time has arrived for you to face the evil truth of life. I shall bestow upon you the knowledge I promised.
Yelena (turned red) : Hey! Hey! , You don't need to do that anymore. It's fine; really it's fiiiine !!!
Xitij, continued - ' Yeah I still remember that time when you were scared as heck from a nightmare you had and ran away from the hospital , you kept crying and crying and sept saying — 'I want to see Xij , I won't go back without seeing him'.
Yel (flustered) - "AAAAAAA SHUT UP. Th-That was a long time ago , and y-you know the kind of dream I saw, it was about you...." — mid way through the sentence yelena stopped, remembering the dream again made her heart grew cold .
Xitij , recognizing the sadness ; tries to uplift her mood - slightly smirking he teased Yel: "And right after that you kept asking me where do..... (Yelena frowns in embarrassment , covering her face she shakes her head left and right , signaling to not continue further)
A scene from the past plays - kid Yelena and Xitij sitting on a pale green tiled floor as Yelena asks Xitij : "Hey Xij , where do babies come from ?
Xitij was taken by surprise, getting flustered , he couldn't bring about the courage to tell such a pure soul about such indecency.
He bursts out an, kind of embarrassed, command - "WHAT ARE YOU EVEN ASKING ME ?!! WHERE DID YOU HEAR THAT ? Yel, don't ask me or anyone that question ever again, it is not meant for you know this st-stuff right now , you will come across it when the time comes a-alright".
To which the confused young Yelena replies -"Ok , if that's what you say then I won't but if I don't come across it Xij ,you will tell it to me right ??"
As the butterflies of past arrive at the flowers of the present ; Yelena gets flustered and shy , her face red as a rose she struggles to speak as words cannot escape her trembling lips.
Xitij (teasing , knowing quite well that by now Yelena is definitely well informed) — "Well, if don't know by now , I could teach you ;)"
Yelena(still red as a rose) —"SHUT UP YOU INDECENT SHIT , I was just a kid , i didn't know SHIT at that time , and why are you acting so high and mighty right now , huh ? After that incident didn't you just run off like shy and embarrassed ,you were just as much of a kid as I was "
Xitij (now also red as a rose) — "Well I was a 'KID'! , of course I'd run off like one after hearing that , anyone would ! Also why do you keep using the word SHIT" (says the one spamming -bleep- just at the beginning of the chapter)
Yel : Well you acted all high and mighty at those times too , I believed you were a grown up , huh now I realize you were just a 'I know everything but can't do shit' kind of guy.
(Quickly understanding the phrasing of her sentence , Yelena made a face of realization )"Oh no , I just said something even more weird, didn't I?"
Xitij burst into laughter - Yelena soon too followed - both looked like mad lads to the strollers passing by. The pair sat at the fountain bunch laughing and giggling for hours as if decades of memories left untouched was being unraveled .
"Wouldn't it be so nice if we could always just laugh like this on a bench forever, the two of us."- Yelena
"I wish too " — Xij
"Wish? I am not satisfied with you just wishing, I expected you to say something along the lines off "Don't worry Yel, I would make it that way". - Yelena
Xitij ,taken aloof by the choice of words Yelena has selected , without a second thought some words come out of his mouth on their own - "Well Of Course, I Will, that comes without a say".
The sheer weight and emotion in that sentence put the conversation to a stop , no side had anything to say as a continuation to it.
After some time Yel asks Xij :"Hey Xij , have you heard of the theory that when death comes to one - for a moment they remember some of the good memories from the past ? — Yelena
Xitij - "Wait! What? are you even talking about all of a sudden ? , just keep your mouth shut idiot - your end will not come so soon alright ." In a trance of disappointment he says —"After I did such a hassle of saving you , Come on Yel"
Yel : "NO-NO I was not talking about commiting suicide you idiot ".""Well anyways, thanks a lot for today , it made me feel much better . I too now have a memory to cherish."
The Pair turn quiet letting the time flow by, as the peace and quiet mends the memories onto their heart. As Yelena turns towards Xitij to have a look at how his face has changed over the years she finds him already gazing at her, but..... in conclusion : yes , his eyes still had that ray of hope in them just as Dreamy as before. Both stare at each others for a moment, smile and look away towards the sky, it again has unique patterns of cloud - yet it is still the same sky as it was yesterday.
The scene turns blurry and slowly fades away.
As the scene is on the verge of totally fading away , a figure walks up he smiles and says some words : The human mind is quite strange isn't it ? , it always clings to the sweet memories of the past. Keeping them safe in a vault, so later, much much later - when it feels alone and afraid it can open that vault to take a look at some of those memories, to remember those sweet moments in a time of grief.