Memories
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Author's notes:
- If you absolutely can't stand gay people, read no further. You've been warned.
- This story is affectionately dedicated to my friend Kerel, who keeps bugging me to write more =)
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Eileah stared at the burning house for a second, then started running towards it. "Mama! Papa!"
"You can't do anything for them." Alielle stepped out of the flames, staff in hand, the red light casting eerie shadows on her face. The moment she stepped out from it, the house crumbled.
Eileah slumped to her knees. "No..." she whispered. "No..."

"Nooo!" Eileah awoke screaming, and found herself sitting in her bed, eyes wide open in the darkness. With a choked sob, she buried her face in her hands and started crying. Why did the memory of her parents' death keep haunting her, even after a thousand years? Why did Alielle's betrayal still hurt like it had the first day? Why had Alielle killed her parents? Why had she done such a thing?
A thousand years had passed, but Eileah still couldn't understand. Dreaming about it every night didn't help, either. And no matter how hard she tried, she could not remember the details of that fateful night. Or maybe she just didn't want to remember them...
Maybe it was true that Alielle was insane, like the other teachers of the school always said... maybe it was true that her immense power was consuming her, and that she had been allowed to teach only because her mother was the school's founder and headmistress... but no, it was impossible. She was so kind, so gentle... always ready to offer help to those who needed it...
Eileah suddenly realized that she missed Alielle. She missed her so much that suddenly started doubting her own memories... Maybe she had misunderstood the happenings, maybe it wasn't Alielle who had murdered her parents... maybe it had been an accident...
There was only one way to know. Eileah closed her eyes, trying to bring back the memory of that fateful day. She had been afraid of it for too long... it was time to face the truth.

Eileah stared at the burning house for a second, then started running towards it. "Mama! Papa!"
"You can't do anything for them." Alielle's voice was choked with sadness and despair. She stepped out of the flames, leaning heavily on her staff, the red light casting eerie shadows on her face and making her tears shine like tiny stars. The moment she stepped out from it, the house crumbled.
Eileah slumped to her knees. "No..." she whispered. "No..."
Alielle fell to her knees too, burying her face in her hands. She was shaking, and it was obvious she was crying. But Eileah didn't notice it. She only knew that her parents were dead, and in her eyes, Alielle was responsible...

Eileah slowly opened her eyes again, her heart aching. How could have she been so stupid? Alielle wasn't responsible for her parents' death... if anything, she had tried to save them... she had done all that she could, it wasn't her fault... she was not to blame...
Eileah grabbed her staff. She would use her magic to contact Alielle... she would tell her how sorry she was, how stupid she had been, and... but what if she was dead? What if she had cast away her magic? Or if she hated her now? Eileah clutched her staff tightly. There was no way out, she would never see Alielle again...
The magic in the staff suddenly reacted, sending Eileah a vision.

Alielle was working on Eileah's staff, carving it with magic symbols. Every now and then she would stop and tentatively run her magic through the staff, to see if it was ready. The work was nearly finished. Alielle passed her fingers over the last part of uncarved wood and bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes. She took a small chisel, and delicately carved a series of small runes, then ran her magic through the staff one last time. The staff flared in response: it was ready.

Eileah stared in confusion at her staff. Alielle had carved it? She had never thought about it before, but it was obvious... after all, it was a custom of the school that each teacher carved the staff of his or her pupil... But what was the vision meant to tell her? What?
Her fingers instinctively searched for the small runes Alielle had carved last... somehow, she knew that they were the answer she needed. When she found them, she discovered that they were language runes, not magic runes... could it be a message? She slowly passed her fingers over them, and gasped when she read Alielle's last message to her.
Three words.

I love you.