• The look on his face was one of an inner torture I could have never understood, and have never felt before. You lay there on the mat, your breathing shallow and labored, but your thin hand held his firmly, with every ounce of strength it had left. Even in those final hours, you said a prayer to Elune, thanked her for every blessing as your life-mate sat nearby. He began to shake at your words, your whispers, your prayers. I could do nothing for either of you, and I didn’t try to.

    “She’s saved us from a life of ruin, she lead us to safety from the maelstrom, don’t you see how many blessings we’ve been given…” Your pale, sunken eyes delved deep into his, losing light with every second that ticked by. It felt like we’d been there forever with you, but forever wasn’t long enough for him. You saw his expression, you felt his pain, but you could offer no condolences.

    “You’re everything to me, Hem.. I promised you forever..”

    “You’ve given me everything I could ever have wished for!”

    “Don’t talk like that! You’re going to be fine, just– Just fine!” He already knew the falsities of his statement. I closed my eyes as he completely lost himself; I couldn’t stand to watch it. So badly I wanted to leave. His sobbing was heart-wrenching, but you didn’t lose you composure. It was in that moment that I envied her, if only for a moment. Her faith was unshakable, even in her final hour. I chanced to open my eyes again. Your frail hand was at his cheek, attempting to keep his attention.

    “She’s been so good to me, Helion. She gave me to you. No matter what anybody says, Hel.. you’re amazing. Never will there be another Kaldorei like you, and -never- let anybody tell you differently. Elune has blessed you, just as she has all of us.” You let go of his hand only long enough to remove a necklace from your neck, slowly sliding a small item off of it, and dropping it into the hand that you took back up, squeezing tightly. He wasn’t listening to you anymore.

    “You can’t.. you can’t..”

    I couldn’t take anymore. I left the room, closing the door behind me. My back hit the wall beside it, sliding downwards, forced to listen to the remainder of your conversation. You made him promise that he would continue living, and doing what he loved to do, even without you there, that he would keep your children safe. You tried to stop his tears, but there was little you could do by that point. Your final drawn breath was a thank-you to our godess. I didn’t have to guess when it was all over.. his sobs were every indication that you were no longer beside him.

    I wanted to cry. I wanted to feel all the emotion that came with death, but I didn’t understand fully what it was at that time. At that moment, Helion had to say goodbye to the person he never thought he’d have to live without. I’ve never known what that felt like, nor can I imagine it. I could do nothing but sit there and listen to his cries, stare at the nothingness ahead of me, wait for the silence to descend.

    Hementia, I may not have always cared for you. I didn’t always know what Hel saw in you, and at times I’ll even admit that I was a bit jealous of what you had, versus what I was missing. You were so very right about him; He has something special that others don’t. He’s a spitting image of his father now. Equally charming, and a hundred times more adventerous. If things had been a little bit different.. it doesn’t matter now.

    The things you’ll never know, Hementia. The weeks following your departure were nothing short of torture for him. I’d never seen someone in such pain before. He would do nothing, speak to nobody, go nowhere. If only you knew what you’d done to him, maybe you wouldn’t have left, and I hated you for it. It didn’t matter what anybody said or did, he was unmovable. It went on for weeks, Hementia. Weeks! I was starting to fear that I’d lose him too, if not to insanity, then to starvation.

    I’m not sure when things finally began to turn; I couldn’t take it anymore. He wasn’t thinking of anybody but himself. He cursed the blessings you preached, turned away from everybody, shunned even me… until I did something about it.

    “You made a promise, Helion! Don’t you remember it? What about Launa? She’s SCARED!! She loves you, why can’t you see it!!”

    “What’s it worth…”

    “It’s worth EVERYTHING. What about your father’s business. Are you just going to let everything go? And what about me? Have I not been a friend to you? You’ve got people to live for. You’ve got things to take care of. If you let it all go now.. you’re a fool, a coward, and I don’t know you anymore.”

    The words bit at me like a wild animal. I’d never said such things to anybody before. Hementia, I blamed all of this on you. It’s your fault that it took him so long to turn around, and I’ll never forget every lapse of judgment, every angry word exchanged between us, all the terrible treatment before we could finally get him to accept reality.

    I have not always cared for you, Hementia. You hurt him more than anybody has ever hurt another person. What you’ve done was so cruel, and because of it, he’ll never truly recover.

    But past all the storms, past all the lies, the anger, the resentment, trials and tribulations..

    I love you, Hementia.

    For the time he was with you, you did something nobody else could do.

    You made him smile.