Part 6 - Farewells

Allana watched as Elipson walked away, almost as worried as she had been when Elian had left in his uneven step a while before. Elipson, however, walked straight and with a firm stride, her head raised up as if she were immune to the pain that still ailed her shoulder.

With a sigh of resignation she turned and went her own way. They had agreed to meet again, later on, near the kitchen, and she had decided to spend her time until then visiting Kahor, since she had ended up not being able to see her the day before.

Kahor greeted her with a broad smile the instant she saw her, peering inside the room, afraid she might be resting. Sitting amongst a bunch of pillows her face was looking much better and color had returned to her cheeks.

“Darna! So good to see you!” she greeted her happily and Allana stepped forward, taking the chair by her bedside.

“Hi there. You’re looking good.”

“I feel better! And everyone here is very nice. There’s always someone popping in to ask me if I need anything.”

“That’s great. I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner …”

“Oh, don’t worry,” she told her, smiling understandingly, and the next instant her expression became grave. “Karl told me all about what you did … Thank you.”

“No need to thank me.”

“But because of me you were suspended! I never intended to cause you any trouble. I’ve already decided and even talked about it with Kai. I’ll be telling His Highness the truth about what happened so that he can lift your suspension. I want you to be able to go back to practice as soon as possible!” she declared with all earnest and Allana sighed, smiling gratefully, although she couldn’t help feel sad for not being able to go on with her life just like that.

“You don’t need to do it, Kahor. Not for me, anyway.”

“Why …? What do you mean.”

“That’s also what I came here to tell you. I’ll be leaving today. I’ll be returning home.”

The girl looked stunned, as if she were unable to understand what she'd just heard, and then blinked hard as if trying to wake up from a bad dream.

“What?! Why? What happened? Is it because of me?”

“No! No, not at all! Nothing to do with you, you have to believe me! It’s just that … there are some problems back home and my presence is required.”

“You’ll be back, then,” Kahor anticipated, looking a little relieved, and Allana forced a smile, nodding a confirmation, although in truth she doubted it very much.

“Yeah. I don’t know when, though. You’ll probably be completely healed by the time I return, and three or four levels above me!” she said, trying to joke with the situation, and Kahor gave her a smile as fake as hers.

“Yeah. Who knows, right?”

Allana nodded and held her hand tightly. “You’ll be fine! You’ll be up and running in no time!”

“Oh, don’t worry! I’m not giving up that easily!”

“If anyone can do it, you can! I never met anyone as strongly focused and oriented as you!”

“You never met anyone as stubborn as me, you mean.” Kahor corrected and both girls laughed. “Thank you for everything, Darna.”

“No. Thank you. For all your help and all you taught me.”

“I hope everything goes well back home.”

“I already know everything’s going to be fine with your recovery,” she said standing up and Kahor nodded. “Stay well,” Allana wished, leaning to kiss her on the forehead, and then turned to leave, looking back one last time, wanting to engrave Kahor's smiling face in her memory before she left.

The tearful eyes that awaited on the other side of the door, however, took her completely by surprise, and the boy harshly rubbed his reddened eyes.

“Karl …”

“You’re leaving …?”

“Yeah … I have to. Duty calls,” she said, half-joking, and the boy raised his head to face her.

“But you’ll be back, right?”

“Maybe … I don’t know,” she answered, strangely unable to lie to him like she’d just done to Kahor, and Karl nodded, understanding. “I’m really glad I met you, Karl,” she confessed, hugging him. “You’re the most amazing strategist I know! Don’t be afraid to speak up your mind! I’m sure Mithir will still come to need your skills a lot!” she told him in all honesty and he returned her hug, surprised at how small and frail she felt between his arms.

“I love you, Darna …”

Allana looked at him and kissed his deeply blushed cheek.

“Love you too. Keep an eye on Kahor for me, okay?”

Karl lowered his gaze, knowing she hadn’t understood the true meaning of his words, and nodded.

“Take care of yourself.”

“You too,” she replied and simply walked away …

* If you want to know more about this book or simply access earlier updates, please visit the official site at http://carpersanti.net/arnae/