Chapter Text
You’re back in castle town. You walk down the path without greeting anyone, and make your way upstairs to your room. There’s still nothing in it. You’re shivering.
Your friends probably don’t want to talk to you anymore. You hid so much from them. They’d be justified to hate you.
Susie… she’s so strong. She shattered the glass of prophecy, and did so out of love. Everything she said and did then, her complete rejection of everything that matters, it was all for you. That’s what makes it extra hard. It would almost be easier if she really did hate you.
Her sheer, dumb resolve is infectious. It makes you feel like you can do anything. You wish you could. Your breath hitches.
You hear a knock at the door.
“Hey, Ralsei?”
You quickly put yourself together, and head to open the door. Susie’s already seen enough of you being like this. The least you could give her is a friendly face.
“Susie…? What brings you here?” You ask with a smile. Your voice is still a little wobbly. You hope she doesn’t notice.
She averts her eyes. “I, uh… needed a place to sleep.” She turns her gaze back up to your face with a modest expression.
“O-oh, of course!” You hope nothing serious is going on for her in the light world. There’s so much going on as is. “Don’t worry about it! That’s what this place is for. Your bed is all made up in your room, so please, make yourself as comfortable as you want.”
You smile sweetly and wave her goodbye, but as she goes for the stairwell, she hesitates.
She turns back towards you. “Hey, could we, like… talk?”
Your heart starts racing.
“O-of course, Susie! What subject did you have in mind? It can be anything.” It can’t be anything. “Clothes? Battles? I could teach you how to bake a cake, if you’d like!”
She sighs. “Ugh, Ralsei, come on. You can’t keep-”
You said the wrong thing. You said the wrong thing and now she hates you, and she’s never going to come to the closet again, and… and she’ll live the rest of her life without you ever crossing her mind, while you rot here by yourself forever.
“You’ve gotta have more self esteem then that, man. I’m asking if you’re okay.”
Oh.
“I-” you start, but the words are tough to use, like hard clay that hasn’t been worked with yet. “I’m… fine, I suppose. Honestly, I should be asking you. I really am sorry I didn’t tell you. The… ending, that is.”
“Don’t worry about it. Like I said, the prophecy knows jack anyway.”
You wince. You wish you had whatever makes her say things like that. As it is though, she’s her, and you’re you. Even so, she makes it easier to pretend it’s not all inevitable.
“Here, why don’t we go downstairs?” You suggest. “You must be getting tired just standing there and, well, your room has things to sit on.”
“Wait, damn it! I totally forgot!” she curses, and pulls something from her pack. “Here, I got you this couch cushion from the church dark world. It’s not a lot, but you can sit on this?”