I shifted, turning to face Eliza. She was smiling peacefully, staring up at the blank ceiling. I don't know what solace she took in looking at nothing, but she just seemed so relaxed. I wanted to learn how she did it more than anything else in the world right now.

She paused, looking over at me. "You alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine," I returned, trying my best to keep my voice as even as possible and still failing miserably. "I—I don't know. Don't worry about it."

"Of course I worry about it," she returned, sitting up and drawing her knees close to her chest. She moved a hand close to mine, almost as if she was waiting for me to make the final move. Biting back a stupid smile, I entwined my hand with hers. "Is it the same nightmare?"

"No, it was different this time. I guess...Thomas...was there." It was so different to finally hear his name after such a drought. I had to force the word from my mouth, prying open my lips against their will. But the instant I said his name, a small twinge of relief spiraled through my heart. As though he was watching me, protecting me. Like he hadn't given up on me.

Bullshit. Thomas isn't here, and he's never going to be.

Eliza noticed that I said his name and smiled too, but it was short-lived. "Wanna talk about it?"

The truth was that I really didn't. I didn't find the same safety with her as I did...others. But it wouldn't do any good keeping these things bottled up inside anymore. "I guess I can a little. I'm sorry," I swallowed. "It's gonna be pretty incoherent and there's a huge possibility I'll start crying." I added a miserable attempt at a laugh, but there was nothing funny about it.

"That's alright."

I sat up, drawing the blanket closer around me. Eliza withdrew her hand and placed it on my back, her smile encouraging and giving me the strength to tell her what I had seen.

"Well, uh, it was a lot like my usual nightmares, you know? The cold, the fear, the Tenebrie chasing me. But, urm, this time, I heard his voice. I couldn't make out what he was saying. I couldn't tell if he was talking to me. I didn't know which direction it was coming from."

"But it was definitely his voice?"

"Definitely." I swallowed despite the clump of sand sitting heavily in my throat. There was no mistaking it. That was the voice I had longed to hear just one more time. I wanted it more than anything else in the world, and yet, when I heard his whispers, threatening and distorted, all I wanted to do was forget. "It was just a bad dream."

Eliza's jaw locked, as if something I said didn't sit right with her. "What did he say?"

"I couldn't make it out. It was so far away, and I was just so... cold. I couldn't focus. I couldn't make out what he was saying." My eyes dropped to my hands as I played with the blanket. "Sometimes, when musicians like Thomas play, the instruments can be out of tune. It sounds horrible. Like death. That's kinda what it sounded like. Like his voice was out of tune."

I glanced to Eliza for comfort, and her hand slowly snaked around to my arm farthest away from her. She pulled me a bit closer to her, enough to where I could rest my head on her shoulder.

"He sounded hurt. Divinity, I'm sorry. This isn't fair to you. It's probably just a dream—"

"Alexander, what did we talk about?"

"It's not good to dismiss your feelings," I recanted, smiling a little, especially when she nudged me. "I know, I know. I just...what if whatever that thing was that we saw out there is playing with my head? What if it's the King?"

"Don't worry, Alex. It was just a bad dream."

I nodded, inhaling the sweet smell of hibiscus. "You smell really nice."

"You don't."

"Hey!" I exclaimed, pulling away from her. "That was really mean." But I was glad to hear her teasing remarks. It made me feel a bit better, or at least distracted me from the problem.

"Oh, you'll live," she returned, her teasing smile perfect. "And I'm joking, anyway. You smell fine."

"Wow. Thanks. I'm overwhelmed by your compliment."

"You're such a baby, Alexander. Divinity's Children."

"You could be nicer to me sometimes."

"I could, but where's the fun in that?" Her eyes twinkled with amusement. She pushed off the blanket and rose to her feet. "You want to spend the day down in Migellis with me? Peggy'll be coming with us. She had something she needed to get from Maria's shop."

"Why doesn't she just teleport it here?"

Eliza shrugged, pulling out some clothing from her trunk. "You never know with Peggy. She's always been an enigma. She has her own reasons for doing things and I guess we can never really hope to understand them."

I watched her for a moment as she stepped over to the closet and opened the door. "I never really asked how you felt about her being Maria."

Eliza shrugged before disappearing into the closet. "It is what it is. We can't change the past." But there was a darker hint behind her cheery tone. "So anyway," she called, "You coming with us?"

"Yeah, sounds fun. I need to get out of the castle sometime this week." I pushed myself out of bed and quickly changed. I guess it could have been easier to do magic, but it was an old habit that brought me a little bit of familiarity.

Eliza emerged from the closet and nodded. "Let's go get something to eat. And you will eat, this morning. Mark my words, Hamilton."

~•~

The air was crisp and chilly in a way that would have been fine any other day for any other person. The sky was coated with a blanket of gray, the aftermath of the storm that had finally passed through the night prior. I took a deep inhale of the gentle breeze, finding a small sense of peace that was just enough to keep me grounded.

I was dreading it would smell like him, but fortunately, just enough time had passed to where the scent that reminded me so much of him didn't linger.

"Don't you think it would be easier to just, like, I don't know, kill him?"

"That would make us no better than him, Peggy."

"So what do we do afterwards, huh? We just keep him locked up in a cage for the rest of our lives? And who said we had to be better than him, anyway?"

"I say."

"Ugh. You and your morals." I saw Peggy shoot her sister a worried glance after a lull in their conversation. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who noticed how forced Eliza's words were. "You alright?"

"Hmm? Oh! Of course! Sorry, I just got distracted by something, I guess. Nothing to worry about."

"Liar," I accused, speaking for the first time since we left. "You're thinking about Angelica, aren't you?"

"I just can't stop worrying about her, okay?" Eliza asked, her arms crossing.

Peggy nudged her gently. "It's gonna be alright, Lizzy. She's been through worse before. Angelica's probably got the King begging her to leave right now."

Eliza laughed, though it contained very little humor. I think she was really trying to make herself believe Peggy, but just like me, there was still that doubt that lingered. Whatever King George was using Angelica for, it would not be good. The sooner we got her back, the better.

"What do you need to get again, Peggy?" I asked, hoping to distract myself. Peggy was a very good distraction. I wonder if she wanted it to be that way.

"Just some elixirs and stuff. Too dangerous to teleport. Things could go wrong and they could shatter and completely erase the fragile pieces of yarn that compose the past, therefore altering life as we know it forever. They're really delicate."

"What do you need them for?" asked Eliza, alarmed.

"Oh! I don't need them, but I don't want them out of my sight. Maria only got them yesterday, after all."

"But Maria's you?" I asked, eager to continue this conversation. There was something always so fascinating about the way Peggy talked about powerful and mysterious things as if they were no more important than a bottle of water.

"Well, in a way. She is another form of me with all my opinions and feelings and general... personality, but she has independent thoughts and is capable of making her own decisions. Like ghost-Thomas!"

My blood ran cold at the mention of that thing, as its haunting and final melody played in my mind. I swallowed, hard, and turned away from her, staring out at the forest on both sides of us.

Thankfully, nobody pursued the topic of the ghost-Thomas any longer.

"Why the name Maria, though?" Eliza asked suddenly.

"I don't know? Because I liked it? What other reason would there be?"

"Oh, my bad," Eliza teased, nudging her sister in the exact same way Peggy had nudged her earlier. "Well, can we teleport there?"

"Absolutely not! Do you know how reactive those elixirs are?"

"They can change the past?" I asked, thinking back to what she had said earlier. I pondered this for a moment, wondering whether I'd change what had happened to him.

Of course I would.

The answer was simple and immediate and there was no arguing it. If I had the chance to go back in time and save him, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

"No. They can erase the past when mixed with energy irresponsibly. Their actual effect has something to do with the theory of alternate timelines, but that's not important," she said with a flick of her hand.

"Sounds dangerous."

"Absolutely! Kinda fun, no?"

"No," I responded bluntly.

Peggy rolled her eyes. "You're no fun anymore, Alex. Not that you were ever really lots of fun but whatever. Anyway, why don't you two stay out here while I step inside?"

"What do you mean? We aren't—oh." We were standing in the middle of an empty street, looking up at Maria's shop. The town was quiet, and it looked as if it had been uninhabited for months. I shivered and glanced around. Something about this place gave me a bad feeling. "How did we—?"

"What ever are you talking about, Alexander?" Peggy asked, blinking innocently. She grinned and danced up the steps. "And no smooching, you two. Not in public at least. It's rude."

"W-what?" Eliza asked, horror filling her tone as she staggered backwards. My blood ran cold. "Why would we be—?"

Peggy laughed, cutting her off. "Oh, Eliza. I know what's going on between you two. Cut me some slack, why don't you?"

"Who else knows?" I asked, trying to stay as calm as possible.

"Don't worry, Alexander. I'm not an idiot. I know how the others would respond if they found out what you two were doing so soon after Thomas's death. I mean, I don't approve of it, but it's gonna be kinda funny when everyone else realizes."

Eliza stiffened and turned away, her face not letting go of any of her closely guarded secrets. I reached forward a hand and brushed it against her arm, and she relaxed a little.

"Stay out here," Peggy repeated, her tone going serious as she stepped inside the building.

Eliza waited until Peggy had closed the door after her before panicking. "Divinity's Children, Alex!" she hissed, grabbing my hand and squeezing tightly. "Do you know how bad this is? I thought we were doing a good job keeping this a secret!"

"Eliza," I said, calmly. "Don't worry. Peggy knows all about this kind of stuff all the damn time. But she won't tell anyone, okay? She never told anybody that I liked...well, you know."

"I—" she sighed, unclenching her fists and shooting me an apologetic look. "Sorry. Are you okay?"

I was about to respond when a scream from inside cut me off, echoing through the ghost town. It made my blood curdle and my breathing catch in my throat. "That sounded like Peggy!" I quickly exclaimed, but before the words left my mouth, Eliza took off for the door Peggy had disappeared down. I knew exactly what she was thinking. She was not going to lose another sister.

"Peggy!" Eliza yelled, I hot on her heels. She flung the door open and forced herself inside. "Peggy! Are you okay?!" Her voice echoed off of the walls, the only answer to her desperate plea. She stepped forwards so I could enter, and was immediately met by darkness only broken by the light that flooded in through the doorway and between the curtains drawn shut. A light licked up my palm, revealing the contents of the room. The words I had started to form cut off in mid-air.

The shop was completely destroyed.

The books that had been sitting on the now-overturned bookshelf were scattered across the room, some with pages ripped out of them violently. Objects that had once taken dominance of the shop were haphazardly thrown around, their glows diminished. Shards of glass littered the ground, and I had to be careful as I stepped over to the counter, where a pile of papers had been pushed over. I picked one up and read the receipt. Swallowing, I set it back down and returned to the panicking Eliza.

"Peggy!" Eliza yelled, tears streaming down her face.

"Hey," I said, taking her hand. "It's alright." I wiped away her tears and asked her to mimic my breathing, keeping it slow and deep. My eyes, scanning the ground, came across the purple shards of delicate jewels. I picked it up and recognized the shape of a dragon's body, somehow intact in the destruction of the shop. My heart might as well have stopped as I realized where it had come from, and why it had looked so familiar.

"It's horrible!" yelled a voice, and Eliza's shoulders went lax with relief. "It's terrible! Who would do this!"

"Is Maria okay?" I asked as Peggy emerged from the backroom.

"Oh. Yeah. She's fine," she said, waving a hand dismissively. "Just shut off."

"What about the elixirs? Are they there?"

Peggy opened her palm, revealing a pair of vials containing a thick, glowing liquid in one, and a couple of purple leaves in the other that were shaped like the tips of arrows. "They're here," she reassured. "They must not have been looking for them."

"Then what else did they take?"

Peggy was silent, scanning the destruction of the room. Her frown tugged down into an angry grimace. "If I find out who did this, I will make them pay."

"Peggy, it's just a few broken objects. We can fix them," Eliza reassured, setting her hand on Peggy's shoulder.

"You don't understand!" Peggy yelled, wrenching herself away from the touch of her older sister. "These objects were things that I earned during billions of years of experience, discovery, and having to watch old friends die. Some of these things were the last remnants of old, forgotten worlds destroyed by time!" She paused, and to my shock, Peggy was trembling. When she spoke again, her voice was calmer, but her rage had not disappeared. "You're not the first family I forced myself into," she said, before turning and walking to the backroom.

"I'll go after her," I said, starting forward, but Eliza grabbed my hand and pulled me back.

"I can handle it, Alex. But that's very sweet of you. She's my sister, after all." Before I could argue, she drew me into a long, slow kiss that had me melting in a matter of seconds and dazed long after she pulled away, smiled at me, and went to join her sister.

I let out a breath of air and smiled, but before my mind could dance off, I noticed something on the ground. A case with the lid torn off. I picked it up and inspected the inside, but there was nothing except for a slip of paper with a name inscribed. "Peggy?" I called, racing to the backroom. "Peggy!"

"What?" she snapped, looking up at me, but her eyes froze as they fell on the case. "Thomas's feather," she breathed. The one he had exchanged for the crystalline dragon. "That's what they were after."