Amelia Thornheart

“W-w-wh-” Polina stuttered, her face drained of colour and eyes wide in fear. “Wh- what’s that!” She had scrambled backwards, pressing her body hard against the tree.

“Har har!” Amelia bounced around the area, clambering up a tree and looking down on the shaking Polina. “It’s me! Amelia! Aren’t I cute!” Amelia dropped down and approached the pair. Serena was groaning and rubbing her forehead. Concerned that perhaps she was getting a headache, Amelia fired off another round of healing and cleaning. 

Polina’s blessing had activated when Amelia had announced her identity. Interestingly, it seemed to pass through her defences as if her wards weren’t even there. There was no blessing mechanic in the game she had played in the hospital. They seemed to work under entirely different principles compared to regular aether magic. Still, if Polina’s blessing did let her know that Amelia was telling the truth; that she was especially amazing and adorable in this form, then things would progress easier.

Based on that assumption, Amelia took one, two, three, and then a fourth hand and curled each of them into feathery thumbs-up. With her quadruple thumbs-up prepared, she thrust them towards Polina and, with a friendly smile, chirped, “Amelia! Your friend, remember!?”

“A-Amelia!? I-is that really you?"

“Mmm!” Amelia affirmed, producing a sound halfway between her usual self and an alien growl.

“How did…” Polina shook her head as if trying to dispel an illusion. Unfortunately for her, Amelia’s greatness was no illusion! “What happened to you!?” Polina finally spluttered.

“I Spoke the Second Word!” Amelia said, grinning. “And then I became like this! Feel how soft my fur is!” She moved and thrust an arm in front of Polina’s face, turned so the underside of the forearm, with the pure white fur, was facing her.

“Wh-” Polina began.

“Feel it!” Amelia said with a bit more force. Polina swallowed and hesitantly reached out and touched Amelia’s arm. “Doesn’t it feel amazing! I was thinking I could lop off an arm and then make a blanket from my skin! Is that- is that weird? I think it’s weird, but imagine how much it would sell for! It would be so-”

“If we could,” Serena interrupted her rambling. “We’re moving off-topic.” Serena gave her a look that was somewhere between an eye roll and a stern glare. 

“Ah…” Amelia mumbled. Something about this form made her act a little weird. She would try and keep it down for now. She backed off a few steps, but was happy to see Polina kept looking at her. No doubt she was awestruck by her white fur and shimmering black wings!

“Polina,” Serena said, turning her gaze upon the nervous woman. Eventually, Polina was able to break her eyes away from Amelia and turn them towards Serena. “Is what Amelia said true? Your blessing can distinguish truth from lies?”

Polina was silent for a long time before looking down and softly muttering, “Yes…”

“Prove it!” Serena demanded, crossing her arms.

“H-how!?”

“I’ll make a series of statements. Tell me if they’re true or not. I-”

“Oh! Me, me!” Amelia interrupted, patting her hands on the floor excitedly. “I bet Federation Intelligence already knows all about you! They won’t know about me!” Serena opened her mouth and looked as if she was about to chastise her, but instead, she hesitated. A moment later, she nodded at Amelia.

“Fine, but don’t give anything important away.”

“Okay! Okay!” Amelia’s mind raced. “Polina, did you know I used to smoke when I was younger?” As her sentence finished, a now-familiar ripple propagated out of Polina, bouncing off Amelia and returning to Polina’s soul.

“I-it’s not true…” Polina muttered.

“Correct! Another one! I once helped catch a bunch of sardis using magic!” After Polina’s blessing finished, the woman correctly determined it was true. Amelia fired off another series of claims, some true and some lies.

“I’ve never broken a bone!”

“Water is my favourite drink!”

“I once ran a marathon!”

“I once slept for three days!”

Polina correctly identified all four claims, even if she mumbled about not knowing what a marathon was. Serena looked like she was about to step in, but Amelia had one more trick up her sleeve.

“One more! I am utterly and hopelessly, down to the deepest depths of my heart, in love with someone!” Amelia giggled as Polina’s face took on an expression of shock, and the faintest squeak came from Serena, so quiet that only Amelia could have heard it.

She was certain Serena would make her pay for that later, but that was alright. Serena’s ‘punishments’ were actually rather enjoyable! Her girlfriend was a total softy, wasn’t she?

“It’s… it’s true…” Polina said quietly.

“Enough of this,” Serena declared, positioning herself so her face was turned away from Amelia. “You’re a truth-teller,” she said to Polina. “That’s one in a million! Probably even rarer. I’ve only known three human truth-tellers in history, and they all belong to the church! Why in the seven hells would Federation Intelligence risk you?”

“B-b-” Polina stuttered, “because of you!” She pointed at Serena. “And you!” She pointed at Amelia. “Everyone knows about her healing! It makes no sense! Where did she come from!? Is Amelia really a Speaker, working for… for you!?” Polina began breathing heavily and was rubbing her hair. Amelia sent out another wave of healing that seemed to help Polina’s nerves.

“How much does Federation Intelligence know about Amelia?” Serena asked.

“I… I’m not telling you! You can torture me all you like; I’m not saying anything! Not to you!”

“Silly girl,” Serena said, shaking her head. “Didn’t I tell you? No one is going to be hurting you. Most of all because this idiot…” She jabbed her thumb sideways at Amelia, who decided to nod enthusiastically in turn. “... has taken a liking to you. Even without that, the fact you’re a truth-teller makes you one of the most valuable hostages we could ever have. You’ll probably be treated like a damn Highlord in Cascadian custody, at least until we ransom you for the price of a small kingdom!”

“However,” Serena continued, leaning in. “We’ve forgotten a crucial topic. You see, I am not like those heretics who slaughtered their way through Greatlord Orlan’s territory. I am not like the Republican fanatics deluded by the teachings of the human church and their lies. And I am not,” Serena’s voice took on a cold tone, “like the berserkers from the Endless Sands, which your Federation helps transport to the battlefield, where they kill and harvest our horns like cattle!” Serena’s knuckles turned white as she squeezed her fists. “So, who did I kill that caused this!?”

“... I won’t say!”

“Tell me!” Serena snapped, her voice taking on an odd emotion that Amelia couldn’t quite identify. There was anger in her voice but also a touch of sadness.

“It… it was the convoy!” Polina spat out the words, her voice taking on a hard edge. “You remember? Back in forty-two? What you and that ship did!? All those civilian vessels!”

What was Polina talking about? Amelia turned to look at Serena, expecting to see her angry. Instead, her face had lost its snarl and taken on an expression of guilt - an appearance Amelia had never seen before. She wanted to say something, but the words wouldn’t form.

“That… was an accident,” Serena said after a moment of hesitation. “There was a joint Cascadian-Federation investigation. It was determined it wasn’t intentional. Surely-”

“Pah!” Polina sniggered. “Is that how easy it is for you? ‘It was determined it wasn’t intentional’, and then you carry on like before? It doesn’t matter! So, many families! So much taken! Give it back! Give back what you took from me! Gi-” Polina’s voice choked up as she was overwhelmed by emotion. She curled into a ball, burying her head into her knees, sobbing. “Give it back… give it back to me…”

For the first time Amelia had ever seen, Serena looked like she didn’t know what to do. Usually, her girlfriend maintained a presence that she belonged wherever she was and was comfortable in any situation. This situation, however, was something else entirely. 

Amelia would have to ask Serena about what event Polina was talking about later. However, now was not the time. Even she could see that.

She motioned with one enormous hand for Serena to back off. Her demon girlfriend looked at her with a complicated expression before clicking her tongue and turning around before walking away. Amelia turned back to the sobbing Polina and adjusted her body so she was sitting like a cat, with her head resting on her two front arms and the other pair tucked underneath. She stretched her wings around the area to form a little enclosure for just her and Polina. 

Amelia felt sad as she saw her friend struggling so much. “I’m really sorry about whatever happened to you.” She began, mentally slapping herself for not coming up with anything better. “It’s not fair for you to suffer like this. I won’t let anyone hurt you any more, alright Polina?”

“H-how can you stay with her…” Polina muttered. “She’s… she’s…”

“Because I love her,” Amelia whispered as quietly as her form allowed her. Polina half laughed and half snorted, the sound of it weird and wet from her tears and her emotion. “She also loves me…” Amelia finished.

“Why…” Polina said softly, looking at the ground. “She doesn’t deserve anyone’s love…”

“That’s not true,” Amelia said, shaking her feathered head, causing a rustling sound to echo throughout the area. “She might not deserve your kindness, but she deserves mine. It is mine to give, and I chose to give it to her. I’m sorry, it might not be what you want to hear, but it’s the truth.” Amelia swallowed awkwardly, the sound loud in the otherwise quiet environment. “I won’t say you’re wrong for wanting vengeance, but I can’t let her die. She means too much to me.”

Polina sniffed, wiping her running nose before muttering, “I must be the unluckiest person ever…”

“Life’s a bitch, isn’t it?” Amelia said, putting on a smile. Polina gave a weak laugh.

“Yeah… it really is….”

A few seconds pass of heavy silence. “Polina,” Amelia said when she thought the time felt right.

“What?”

“What’s your second blessing?” Amelia expected Polina to stutter or react with surprise, but she simply stared back at her.

“... How do you know?”

“I can see them on your soul,” Amelia said, punctuating her words with a thrust of her head. “I can see your truth-telling one activate in response to things people say. What’s the other one? Don’t worry, even if it’s bad I won’t let anyone hurt you.” She didn’t know how much Polina cared about her protection, but her blessing should let her know Amelia was serious.

“It…” Polina began before closing her mouth as she struggled to find the words. “I can make moon crystals unstable. I can undo them, causing them to…” She motioned an explosion with her hands. “... Blow up.” 

Ah, another piece of the puzzle fell into place. That explained why the ship blew up like it did. It wasn’t that there was a bomb in the kitchen; instead, Polina had detonated the crystal fuel powering the kitchen ovens. “So, you used it to blow the ship up?” Amelia asked, seeking clarification.

“N-not on purpose! I was…” Polina broke eye contact, looking at the floor again. “I was looking for fuel I could use to target… target Serena.” Her eyes flicked to Amelia before darting back down again. “But I got caught in the engine room and while I was trying to figure out what to do, she just appeared and I lost control! I didn’t mean it!” Polina began to choke up again. “I didn’t mean to kill everyone…”

“Hmm…” Amelia scratched her neck with a talon. “You’re lucky I was there. I was able to put everyone back together.” Seeing Polina’s eyes widen, she couldn’t help but give her another cheerful thumbs up. At least she could provide some good news. “Yeah, my healing’s super amazing! I put you back together as well! I think everyone survived!”

“B-b-but…” Polina stuttered. “You can’t just put someone back together! You can’t bring back the dead! No-one can! Not even the pope!”

“Hmm…” Amelia thought back to the previous events. Despite her losing herself in the initial transformation, she remembered every detail perfectly. “I don’t think people were really dead. Sure, many of their bodies were broken, but I could see their souls still hanging about. They were slowly vanishing, into the mists I think, and if I were even ten seconds late then I wouldn’t have been able to do anything but…” Amelia shrugged, ruffling her feathered neck. “When I poured out my healing power, everyone’s bodies reformed and the souls sort of… reattached. I don’t think I resurrected anyone, it was more like… I fixed things before the soul realised the body had died.”

“... That’s incredible.” Polina looked genuinely in awe this time, which made Amelia buzz with happiness. “So I didn’t kill anyone?”

“Nope!” Amelia exaggeratedly shook her head. “I knew you weren’t evil!”

“… thank you…” Polina said before adding, “...thank you for saving my life…”

“Mmm! You’re welcome!” Amelia said with a grin to which Polina responded with a weak smile. Their conversation died, but they seemed happy to sit in reflective silence for a few minutes. Amelia thought about closing her eyes and napping when Polina suddenly piped up.

“Hang on, what about everyone else? Where are they?”

“Oh! They’re on the ship. I put everyone to sleep, thought it would make things easier.”

“Right…” Polina sighed. “So what now? Are we just going to sit around waiting to be rescued?”

“I guess so!” Amelia chirped. “We’ll probably move everyone onto the rescue ship and then continue sailing to Shimashina!”

“We most certainly will not,” came a stern voice from the outside. Amelia lifted a wing to see Serena standing there with her arms crossed and a firm expression.

“Huh?” Amelia started. “We’re not?”

“If she’s telling the truth about her second blessing, then she absolutely cannot be allowed to travel on any ship,” Serena stated firmly. “Whether it was an accident or not, there is nothing stopping it from happening again.” Serena kicked about the ground for a moment before pulling up a small clump that glowed softly in Amelia’s eyes. Serena rubbed most of the dirt off the unrefined crystal before chucking it on the ground a few meters away.

“Go on then,” Serena said, gesturing to the crystal. “Prove this blessing of yours.”

Polina swallowed. She locked eyes with the crystal and began to focus. Amelia stared at Polina’s soul, where the second blessing began wriggling excitedly. A moment later, a tendril shot out, connecting with the crystal on the floor. The tendril pulsed and the aetherfield around the crystal suddenly distorted wildly.

The crystal blew up with a sharp explosion similar to a gunshot. The sound echoed in the dark forest. The three of them were silent. Eventually, Serena dug around for another crystal, throwing it about twenty meters away from Polina, who shook her head. “I can’t do it that far. About a dozen meters is the best I can do.”

“How many times?” Serena asked.

“Depends on the distance and size, but… not many. It’s exhausting to use.”

Serena nodded. “What a terrifying blessing. Do you know what god blessed you?”

“Umm…” Polina hesitated. “No… I’ve kept it secret. Even the Federation only knows about my truth-telling one.” Serena glanced at Amelia with a look that said don’t tell her anything. Amelia cast a look back in agreement. Polina struggled with demons enough as it was. If she were to find out a demon god had blessed her, it might drive the poor woman to have another accident.

“Then… what do we do? If we can’t put her on a ship, how will we get to Shimashina?” Amelia asked, cocking her head to the side. Surely they weren’t going to walk hundreds of kilometres through the forest? If it were just her and Serena, they could run at an enhanced speed and get there in a few hours, but with Polina, it meant they had to go at her pace.

“Well…” Serena said while casting a side-eye at Amelia.

“What?”

“You do have wings, don’t you?”

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