Sure, the feast was incredible, his many friends and allies were there, and he’d had his fair share of fun. However, the celebration had reached the point which tends to be much more enjoyable for those of a… Slightly older age. By then, everyone he knew had either slipped away elsewhere, or was probably tipsy. So Whitlock decided to bid everyone farewell and turn in for the night.
He stopped with his hand on the door to his chambers, noticing a faint glow coming from another room just down the hall. “I thought everyone was still at the feast?” he murmured to himself. Soon enough, curiosity had the better of him and he was quietly making his way to the illuminated room. “Er…Hello?” he called not too loudly, a few feet away from the ajar door. There came the soft thump of a closing book and the sound of light footsteps, before the door was opened by a girl very slightly younger than him. Her long hair was silvery white, and she wore a gorgeous white dress that complemented it well. “Hi there!” she said with a small smile. “Oh. Hey.” he responded rather awkwardly, extending his hand. “The name’s Whitlock.” She took his hand and shook it. “Lia. It’s a pleasure to meet you!”
“The pleasure’s all mine.” Whitlock said, grinning, “So… You left the feast.” “So did you.” “Fair point.” “Well, Raydan left early and I don’t really know anyone else there, so I said I’d go to bed. Which I will do, once I finish reading a few more pages. Or perhaps the whole book.” Whitlock raised an eyebrow at her. “The whole book, huh? Impressive.” Lia’s face flushed slightly pink. “What book are you reading?” he asked, now finding himself genuinely interested in this girl. “Oh! Well, it’s about the history of the Five Kingdoms.” Lia explained, “Raydan lent it to me. You see, I’ve read every single one I could find back in Marossi, but those were obviously written from a different perspective. Now that I’ve been given the opportunity, I’d like to hear it all straight from the horse’s mouth.”
“That’s a… Really interesting idea.” Whitlock replied, nodding slowly, “But what about more recent events? I doubt you’ll find any books about those… Yet.” “No books that I know of cover that. My mother has told me quite a bit about them… Though most of it is definitely untrue.” “Your mother..? I… I’m guessing you’re… Referring to Azura?” Whitlock asked rather uncertainly, worried that he was bringing up a sensitive topic. After a second of hesitation, Lia nodded, not saying a word. “Not that it matters.” Whitlock continued, “Who your mother is does not define who you are in any way.” He flashed her a goofy and somehow reassuring grin.
A new light could be seen in her eyes as a smile spread across her face. Besides Raydan, who was the last person who found her parentage irrelevant? She couldn’t even think of one. For a change, she was being seen as “Lia”, which was who she really was, and nothing else. “And regarding her ‘stories’ about recent events in the Five Kingdoms,” came Whitlock’s voice, snapping her out of her train of thought, “I was involved in many of these 'recent events’. I could help you learn what’s true and what isn’t.” “You… You’d like to do that?” “Certainly! I think we’ll both find it fun.” “Then what are we waiting for? I’d say we’ve got all night, but I really would like to get some sleep tonight.” “Heh, same goes for me.” Lia barely allowed Whitlock to finish speaking before turning back into her room and motioning for him to follow.
Lia gently moved the book off of the bed before she and Whitlock both sat down on it. “So…” Lia began, “Where do we begin?” “Well, the story I know starts way before I met Kenna. It starts with the Nevrakis taking over Stormholt and Kenna fleeing to the Ruins of Rajkur, where she lived and trained with the monks for two years-” “Did you say monks?” Lia interrupted, a quizzical look on her face. “Uh… Yes?” Whitlock answered. “So that one was actually true…” she trailed off, looking down at her feet, “Oops.” Whitlock decided not to ask what she meant by that. At least, not in that moment.
The two spent several more hours exchanging and discussing tales, from the adventures in Aurelia and the Foundry, to the battle of Lykos, with two dragons, two krakens, and a phoenix on their side. Whitlock corrected all of Azura’s false recounts to Lia, and confirmed all the accurate ones. It felt nearly exhilarating for Whitlock to be sharing his journey with someone else, as if he was reliving the whole thing. However, it wasn’t long before both were drowsily occupying opposite sides of the bed, looking like they were ready to fall asleep right there and then. “Well, Lia,” Whitlock said as he pushed himself upright, “This was… This was great.” “I couldn’t agree more. I haven’t had this much fun since… Uh…” she paused, clearly trying to think despite her exhausted mind. “Since quite a while?” Whitlock suggested. “Yeah, let’s put it that way.”
Lia sat up on the bed and turned to face Whitlock. “Once the… The war is over, what would you say to doing this again?” Whitlock’s eyes widened, and he couldn’t help but let a grin spread across his face. “I would love that, Lia.” That made her smile a sweet, warm smile. “Yeah… Me too.” Reluctantly, Whitlock looked out of the window, and to his relief, the hues of dawn had not yet painted the sky. “We should manage a few hours of sleep before…” He didn’t finish his sentence, but his meaning was obvious. “Hopefully.” Lia added. Whitlock stood up and walked towards the door. He stopped and turned to say goodbye, but was instead met by Lia pulling him into a friendly hug! “Thanks, Whit.” He slowly returned the hug, trying to make it last as long as possible. “Well… What can I say except you’re welcome?”
After a long moment, they both pulled away, and Lia moved back towards her bed. “Goodnight, Whitlock.” She told him, with a smile that made him feel like melting. “Goodnight to you too, Lia.” He said in response, also smiling fondly, before stepping out of the room and quietly closing the door behind him. To his surprise, when he got back to his own bed, it didn’t take much for him to doze off. Then again, besides the fact that he was utterly and completely exhausted, that night couldn’t have been any better. Going to bed with a smile on his face certainly helped. It helped him feel so much better, and it convinced him that tomorrow, he would be ready to face anything.
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