happy, for I lived with my friends.” Larel’s final goodbye echoed through the room.
Fritz grabbed the sides of the pedestal for support. Vhalla swayed slightly, trying to stop her head from reeling. Neither said anything.
“Damn it, Larel.” Fritz’s voice was at the verge of tears. “Why, why didn’t—why couldn’t you . . . I don’t want a goodbye.”
“Fritz,” Vhalla said softly, seeing through the words that the pain put in his mouth.
“I miss her,” he whispered.
“I do, too.” Vhalla stared at the bracelet. “But she’s still here, right?”
“Yeah,” Fritz pulled himself together. “She’d be the type to haunt us ‘til the end of our days if we didn’t keep her in our hearts.”
Vhalla smiled hopelessly at her friend and wiggled around the pedestal to the back of the room. She pulled her friend to her, taking a deep breath. “Fritz, thank you for being such a good friend to me.” Vhalla hid her face where his neck met his shoulder.
Fritz mimicked the gesture. “You don’t have to thank me for that.”
“I do.” Vhalla pressed her eyes closed and held him tighter. “The next time I wander away from the world, I want my friend with me. If you’ll come.”
He laughed weakly. “You know I will.”
They stood together in a few long moments of silence. Eventually, Fritz pulled away and turned to the bracelet. Vhalla nodded in unspoken agreement, and they listened to their friend’s last words again, and then for a third time, arms wrapped around each other to remind themselves of what they still had before them in spite of all their loss.
Fritz’s eyes were red when they finally emerged. Vhalla rubbed hers but had managed to keep things together. They had both been to war, but Fritz had somehow emerged with his heart intact. Vhalla was almost jealous that he could still cry as easily as he did.
Grahm warmed her heart and brought a tired smile to her lips as he hugged Fritz tightly without word. Vhalla watched the two men holding each other and wondered if they had any idea how they looked locked in an embrace.
“I think I’m going to go to my room for a little,” Fritz announced finally. Watching him pry himself away from Grahm’s embrace was almost painful for Vhalla. She wanted to scream at them to hold each other for a little longer, until it finally clicked for them. “Just sit for a bit.”
“Do you want me to come?” Vhalla asked.
Fritz shook his head. “No, I think I’ll be alone for a bit.”
“All right.” Vhalla gave him a friendly squeeze, and the once-again mourning man departed down the hall.
Grahm followed Vhalla up to her room. Vhalla shot him a curious glance, and he motioned for her to proceed. Clearly the man had something on his mind, and Vhalla didn’t feel like filling the silence for small-talk’s sake.
The man followed her into the room without a word, softly clicking shut the door.
“Grahm?” Vhalla inquired as to his uncharacteristic melancholy.
The man took a deep breath, his eyes searching. “I want to help him. How can I help him?”
Vhalla shook her head. These two were hopeless. It wasn’t her place, but it didn’t seem like they’d get anywhere without a little nudge.
“You should go to him, be with him, hold him.”
“But he said he wanted to be alone . . .” Grahm floundered.
“And you think he really meant that?” Vhalla crossed her arms over her chest with a tired grin.
“So, why didn’t you go with him?”
“Because maybe he was sincere.” She shook her head with a small laugh. “Or maybe I can see that I’m not the one he wants right now.” The man actually blushed, and Vhalla wasted no time driving the point home. “He cares for you. You make him happy. You must see that.”
“I . . . have.”
“So what are you afraid of?” Vhalla touched her watch thoughtfully. “It’s worth it, the chance is worth it. Love is always worth taking the challenge.”
The words were real before Vhalla even realized it. She didn’t regret her time with Aldrik. Her heart began to race, and she struggled to stay in the moment with Grahm. Vhalla’s own affections were a known mess that continued to fall into hopelessness; she’d have ample time later to confront it. For now, she’d focus on her friends.
“Love is far better to know, even if it slips from your grasp or doesn’t bear fruit like you’d hoped. People who say they regret love, true love, are just bitter liars.”