How many days, how many nights… weeks, months, years had he waited for her?
When G’raha had made the decision to seal himself away in the Tower, it had been with the comfort of knowing that this would help Violette. She wouldn’t be forced to deal with the decision of what should be done with the technology, and the monsters, inside of it, and its knowledge would not be lost to the ages. He would finally… be useful. His cursed eye would finally allowing him to serve a purpose. Not one as grand as a Hero’s but one that was befitting him.
A helper. An aide in the Hero’s quest.
When he had been awakened a scant few hundred years later to the Ironworks and had learned of her death, he hadn’t been sad. Not… at first. It was inevitable that she would have died long before he would reawake. But her death had not been natural and had led Hydaelyn down a dark path and he, he could save her.
He could be, once again, a helper and an aide to a Hero.
It would be a long and arduous process and, if done properly, he wouldn’t even have a chance to truly even speak with her. For close to a century G’raha - nah, the Exarch - had poured over the problem that the Light presented, and where it was to go. In order to stop the flood and the calamity it needed to be excised from the First, and despite his best efforts the only viable option laid with his death.
But she would be saved. And that was enough.
– and he had been a fool to think he could truly hide himself from her. His name had tumbled from her lips, and in that instant all his carefully laid plans had almost come undone. G’raha Tia?
“… I’m afraid you’ve mistaken me for someone else. I am only the Exarch.”
The time she spent in the First had been more than he ever imagined, and for the briefest moment G’raha had almost felt like he truly was adventuring with her. It was enough to ease any regrets and aches that still ran through his aching soul, and reaffirm his decision to play the ‘villain’, to act as if her efforts had all been in vain and to steal the accursed Light–
And then Y’shtola, then Urianger, then Emet-Selch himself…
Interruptions had not been accounted for, and Violette had nearly died because of it. She hadn’t, but the knowledge that she had been oh-so-close was another scar etched into his heart.
She was safe now, and they were working on a plan now, one that would allow G’raha to live and would return the souls of her companions to the First. Such a thing had been beyond his wildest dreams and it made the years he spent contemplating his own eventual death feel almost foolish. But that was the effect she had on everything she touched. She brought light to the dark, life to where there had only been death, and hope followed in her footsteps.
“Taking time out to visit an old man?” Amusement was laced in his tone as the Exarch glanced up from the tome he had been going through. He had recognized her from her footsteps alone, but there was little chance he would turn down the opportunity to speak with Violette.
Returning to the Source alone had been bittersweet. It allowed her time to tell Krile and Tataru of everything that had happened, as well as writing a letter to her parents. Nearly dying reminded her how much she had to live for. There had been an almost serene acceptance of it. A peace of things being out of her control. She knew that the hero died at the end of a story. She just hadn’t wanted to accept it. Though her becoming a monster that would cause a Calamity... She was certain the Scions would have found a way to stop it. She believed in them. It wasn’t that she wasn’t afraid. But when others start to lose their way, Violette had always been the one to hold it together. Even when she felt like breaking down.
The instant she returned the the First, however, she went to see him. The others were likely scattered about. But she knew where to find him. Looking up at the tower, she could remember how she felt way back then. When she first explored it. When she first met him. It felt like a long time ago. It was, wasn’t it? Even longer for him. She can’t deny a bitter loneliness that seeps into her heart at the thought of it. All this time, she had swore to make a future he would be proud of. But she died worthlessly instead. And because of that, he had to be alone for so long. Carrying those burdens...
She shakes her head. Her once pink hair faded lighter to white thanks to the light aether, it still surprised her when it slipped over her shoulder. She thought about just cutting it all off to forget about it. But... She wondered how he felt about it. Not that she would ask. Not that he still felt that way, right? Is it sad for her to? After all, it was just a little crush that went a little too far.
Once she entered the tower and reach him, her heart skipped a beat. She had gotten used to the Exarch but... Seeing him like this, as himself. It was hard to fully come to terms with. She smiles, though it’s a little forced. He was reading some book, but his voice made her smile real. At least he still joked around a little.
“Thought I should come quickly before your bedtime.” She jokes back before hurrying to his side. With little though, she peaks over his shoulder to see what he’s reading. Yep. It’s easier to pretend there’s nothing unsaid. Even though there is a lot. Especially considering everything that happened here.
“What are you reading? Surely you’ve read every book in the first by now.”
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