Sophie Victoria
I was waiting outside the entrance to the academy for Arya. I was nervous, very nervous. My leg bounced, fingers fidgeted with my sleeves, thumbs twitched restlessly. I kept replaying what Rain showed me in the cellar. I nearly puked right there in front of the school. Then I heard Arya's voice, and it calmed me down.
"Sophie," she ran up to me, waving, "are you ready?" Her tone was sincere and calm. Maybe that's why it's calmed me down. That's just who Arya was: strong, focused, and calm. She was everything I wasn't.
"As ready as I'll ever be." I let out a sigh, and we started walking into the city.
The city of Seprad wasn't a minor city, but it also wasn't a major city. It was mainly for dungeon diving, drinking, and the academy. The academy, however, named Seprad Academy, was pretty well known. It has produced many great warriors who have been hailed as heroes. It's also produced many well-renowned divers. Divers are the people who go into dungeons and find relics. They get paid well depending on what kind of relics they bring back.
As we walked through Seprad, tavern doors flew open, loud laughter could be heard from the tavern, and people came stumbling out. We walked past a group of divers, their armour and swords clinking. They were everywhere. Everyone in the academy dreamed of being a diver, going into the dungeon, finding relics, and getting rich. I'm not sure what I dreamed of. At first, I dreamed of a peaceful life with my family, but now, dreams feel dangerous.
We reached a carriage, and told the driver we were going to the Victoria house in Victoria. He had an expression on his face that said, "Are you sure you want to go THERE?". I nodded, and we started on our way.
The trip took a little more than two weeks, mainly because we ran into some monsters, but Arya took them out swiftly. That's the student council president for you.
My old house was right on the woodline, across from a field. Both of which were surrounded by thick forest. As soon as the carriage crossed that woodline, and I caught sight of my old house, my heart fell into the deepest pit of my stomach. I felt a single tear roll down my left cheek. Everything was just like it had been left that day. Tilted shutters in windows, the flowers, still there but wilted away, it was almost symbolic of the difference that this house holds for me now compared to when I lived here. Once a home to me, now it only felt like a haunted house.
The carriage pulled up to the house, back a 20-foot driveway. I didn't want to get out. I couldn't get out, my legs were trembling. I felt so weak, then Arya put her hand on my shoulder.
"It's alright, I'm here with you. I'll help you." Those simple words combined with her soft tone calmed me down. My legs stopped trembling and I could stand up. We got out of the carriage and walked around the front to pay the carriage driver.
"Here's your money, sir." Arya took out a couple of gold coins and tried to hand them to the driver. He didn't take them right away, instead, he looked at us with a somber expression and asked a question.
"Do you young ladies… know what happened in this house?" He still had a somber expression but his voice had darkened dramatically. Everyone heard the stories, which had spread all across the continent. But no one knew what really happened, the only people were Rain and me.
"Um, actually we should've introduced ourselves earlier," I said, trying to force a smile. He looked confused, like he was trying to fit puzzle pieces together, but was missing the largest piece. I continued. "I'm Sophie", I paused for a moment, "Sophie Victoria, and this is Arya Ferth." He looked like he had just seen a ghost. The color drained from his face. His mouth was gaping open, eyes wide and glossed over. He regained his composure after a minute and spoke.
"Oh, I-I'm sorry for being insensitive, and I'm sorry for your loss." His tone was sincere and apologetic. It had empathy in it, real and heavy empathy.
Arya held up the money. He stared at the coins Arya had in her hand and slowly shook his head and waved his hand, signaling he wouldn't take it.
Arya, being the person she was, wouldn't accept that. She forced the money into his hand. He looked at Arya, then at me, before he sighed deeply and left. The sound of trotting hooves and the crunch of the gravel as he left made the house seem even more eerie.
I didn't want to turn around, but I had to. I wasn't going to waste Arya's kindness- not after she came all this way with me, and even paid for the ride here. I walked up the porch stairs, each one creaking with each step I took. When I got to the top, I looked left and saw the porch swing. It had withered a little bit in the past two years, but nothing about changed. I blinked and in the moment I saw my parents sitting on it and holding me in their arms. I felt a tug at the corner of my lips and smiled softly at the memory. The weight in my chest eased, if only a little.
I felt a little more confident now, not a lot but just enough. So I took one step forward and reached for the door handle. I turned it and pushed the door open into my old decrepit house. The air hit me like an icicle. It was cold and stale. The smell of slightly rotted wood pierced my nose. But everything was the same. I took my first step in the house in over 2 years. The floor groaned louder than the porch stairs. To my right was the staircase, in front of me was the living room, and a little further through the opening, I choked on my thoughts, if that even possible, was the kitchen.
I turned around after I didn't hear a creak from Arya entering. She wasn't there. Panic struck me like lightning. I rushed outside to see her sitting on the ground near the porch. Her hands behind her, propping her up. I was about to speak to her but I realized why she did this.
This was something I had to do on my own. I had to confront this by myself. I realized that I held the key to help Rain overcome what he had done. I had tried to push that onto Arya, which was wrong of me.
"Damn," my voice cracked, "I'm so weak." It was quiet enough that Arya didn't hear it, or maybe she did and didn't say anything. I fell to my knees. Warm tears flowed freely down my cold face. I sat there like that for a minute or two before I resolved myself and stood up. "I'm sorry, Arya, and thank you."
I walked back inside, this time sure I would find the answers I was looking for. As I walked through each room, I saw memories that I had forgotten. Room by room, memory by memory. The air was still heavy, as if a ghost had been pushing on my chest.
In the living room, I saw my entire family huddled around the fireplace on a cold winter night. In my room, I saw my parents tucking me into bed. Then I made my way to the kitchen. I had a memory of watching my parents cook, but it was suddenly interrupted by the memory of their dead bodies.
I felt a tear in my eye. I wiped it away and blinked a couple of times. Then I saw them.
My parents.
They weren't alive, but I saw them. They were soft and warm, like the fireplace we all used to sit around.
"Sophie," my father said softly, "thank you for returning, we have a lot to tell you." I wasn't even sure if what I was seeing was real, but the pressure I felt from all the emotions made me drop to my knees.
My mother, or the ghost of my mother, walks up and lays a hand on my shoulder gently. I couldn't feel it, but I felt the presence of my mother wrap around me like a warm blanket.
"We were… horrible people when we were alive." Her tone was soft and regretful, "We wanted to change, but we couldn't. No matter how hard we tried. So we're grateful to Rain, also grateful to you, and we're proud of you. You're facing everything right now, that's something myself and your father couldn't do while we were alive."
I looked at my parents. I felt another tear rolling down my cheek. It wasn't out of sorrow, but out of the peace I felt from this. I also felt anger, angry that my parents said they couldn't change.
"You say you couldn't change," my tone had a tinge of coldness in it, "then you didn't try hard enough. I was weak." My voice cracked, but it had weight behind it, "I was so weak, I couldn't even stand up when I got here. Now look at me, I've changed, I'm strong enough to come into this house alone, so what was stopping you from changing?"
I let my anger out. No longer holding back. My parents could've changed, it might've been difficult, but that just means they didn't try hard enough. Or even worse, they didn't want to change.
My parents' eyes both widened in shock. Then they smiled softly.
"We're glad we raised you differently from the kids. We're glad we didn't show you any of the bad stuff that went on behind the scenes." Their voices were filled with pride and a hint of regret, "Maybe if we'd raised the others like that, they would've turned out strong like you, Sophie."
I didn't know what to say, my chest tightened.
"You kept me away from the worst of it," my voice cracked again, "but I still saw the cracks, I still saw a little bit. I have to carry the burden of what you guys did."
"You're not alone in carrying that burden, though, Sophie." My father said softly. I looked up at him and he had a warm smile. The same warm smile he always had when playing with us, kids. "Rain, he is also carrying that burden. He took on a burden different from yours and our's, but they're both connected. He did what we were too scared to do, and he faced that burden."
"So help him, Sophie," my mother added gently, "he needs someone-not to help him, but remind him of what he his. He's not some monster, he's a human. He did the right thing, and he needs someone by his side who'll continue down that path."
I felt something shift in my mind. It was clear what I had to do.
"I'll help Rain," I said, "not out of pity-but because he saved our entire family."
Their forms were fading, as if they were sent here from the afterlife just to give me the clarity I needed.
"We love you, Sophie," they both said in unison, "we're proud of the strong girl you've become. Keep growing stronger."
And with that, they were gone. The silence that lingered was peaceful.
I stood up, I felt steadier and lighter.
With that, I walked out of the house and met with Arya.
"Are you okay?" Arya asked softly. Her eyes scanning me.
"Yeah, I think I can truly tell Rain it wasn't his fault, and mean it with all my heart." I said with a smile.
"I can tell." She smiled. "You seem a lot more confident, and, hey, you're not slouching as much." Arya laughed a little.
I laughed with her, the weight in my chest lighter than it has ever been.
As we walked away, I looked back at the house. Hallow and somewhat broken, it was no longer a place of pain, but a memory, a reminder of where I got my strength. And maybe one day, I'll have enough strength to go into the cellar.