I'm not sure what's gotten into me, but this fic turned out to be epicly long since I originally intended it to be a oneshot. However, I'm splitting it up for posting purposes on here. This fic really affect me, and there were many times when I wrote it that I had to stop and regather my thoughts because I was close to tears. I've done many things to my characters over the years, but it's never affected me so much. I love how this turned out, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Aaeru looked over her shoulder. She didn't feel quite right inside, but she couldn't explain it. In all honesty, she didn't know what to do. She wanted to escape from the room and run to the Simoun. She'd feel better if only she could fly. However, the Simoun wouldn't fly with just her; she'd need Neviril to do that. How she wished Neviril could. She was beginning to hate this place, and wished they'd never ended up here. It had only been a few days and yet, so much had changed.

"Aaeru? What are you doing here? You aren't—"

"I want to stay with you, Neviril. I don't feel right sleeping out there."

"But Amuria—"

Aaeru didn't want to hear that name. "I don't care what she thinks. I want to stay with you." Aaeru turned her head away. She didn't want Neviril to see the tears that were threatening to fall. "I… miss you."

She heard the rustling of the blankets beside her and turned her head. Neviril had pulled them back, waiting for her to slip under. Gently, she crawled over Neviril and slipped inside. Her back was to the window, which she didn't mind. She slid down until her head rested in the crook of Neviril's right arm. She wrapped her arm around Neviril's stomach, and sighed. Yes, she had wanted this. Nothing felt more right than this.

A kiss was placed gently atop her head. "I love you, Aaeru," whispered Neviril softly.

Amuria could fall off a cliff for all Aaeru cared. She didn't care if she caught whatever Neviril had; she didn't want to be apart from her, forced to sleep alone after she'd become very used to Neviril's presence. Being kept apart was akin to being stuck in the cells again, separated by one wall. At least this time there was a way to escape the cell. "I love you too," she whispered back.

Neither of the two realized that someone was watching them from the shadows of the doorway. Amuria pulled back before she was noticed. She'd seen the love between the two of them, and a pang of jealousy ripped through her body. How she wished that she could be held that way, next to Neviril like that, hear those words from her mouth once more. She had never really gotten over the loss of Neviril, and the girl she loved. Now she had to fight for her, and wasn't sure how Neviril would react. This new girl, Aaeru, complicated matters. She had been replaced. Turning around, she slowly walked away.

Aaeru wasn't sure if it was the birds or the streaming sunlight, but she was up earlier than usual. She groaned, trying to hide from the light and escape back to sleep. It was much harder than she thought. She didn't want to move from her spot, wanted to stay near Neviril for as long as possible. Opening her eyes, she looked to the ceiling, wishing that Neviril would get over the sickness soon. She itched to fly. It didn't matter where they went, as long as it was far away from here.

"You don't listen very well, do you?" asked Amuria, entering the room. "If you catch what she has, you'll be the next one who's sick."

"I don't care about being sick. I wanted to be with Neviril," retorted Aaeru. "You always make me stay out there and I hate it."

"I had a good reason for it!" spat Amuria, her voice rising.

"You just want her back!" returned Aaeru, fueling the fire.

"Stop it," rang Neviril's voice between them. "Please."

"I'm sorry, Neviril, but she's not listening to me."

"I don't want to listen to you. You're not in charge of me."

"Stop, now," stated Neviril calmly. She waited patiently until she was certain there'd be silence on both sides. "You two are fighting like children."

"I'm sorry, Neviril," apologized Amuria. This time she placed no blame.

"I'd like to rest in peace," said Neviril. "Please, let me sleep."

"As you wish," replied Amuria. "I will prepare some breakfast for you." She frowned, realizing that Aaeru was mimicking her and Neviril couldn't see, but said nothing. She turned and left the room.

"You too, Aaeru."

"What?!" replied Aaeru, shocked. "But Neviril—"

"Please, Aaeru. Please listen to me on this."

At first, Aaeru stayed put. She'd finally been able to be with Neviril for longer than a few moments and now she would have to leave again. When Neviril only continued to stare at her expectantly, she rose from the bed. As soon as her feet hit the floor, she ran from the room. Pent up emotions were getting to her, and she needed to escape. The room felt too small, as though it were closing in on her.

Neviril sighed heavily as she watched Aaeru go. She knew that Aaeru didn't want to leave. It was easy to read on the girl's face, and it hurt Neviril to have to tell her to go. She wanted nothing more than Aaeru, and yet, she felt conflicted. Seeing Amuria had brought back feelings that had dimmed over time. She had never forgotten them, and had never planned to; they had simply become less intense as time passed. She'd been able to treasure them and the moments shared.

She saw how Amuria felt. Amuria had not said much about her feelings, but Neviril had noticed the looks Amuria had given her and the tender glances when she had tended to caring for Neviril through her sickness. Neviril wasn't sure what she would say to Amuria should she voice the thoughts that so clearly ran through her head. What could she say? Sorry, I've chosen someone else because I thought you were dead? She might as well slap Amuria across the face.

To be faced with the confusion of seeing her old love was hard to face. She could hear the voices in her head, some telling her Aaeru and others telling her Amuria. She placed her hands over her ears; she wanted it all to stop. She didn't want to have to choose between the two. She didn't want it to have to come to that. But…would it?

Aaeru ran up the hill, her feet stamping the grass down as she ran. Her lungs burned and her stomach started to cramp, but she didn't care. She had to keep running, must keep running. At the top of the hill she doubled over, panting and trying to catch her breath. Turning around, she looked down at the village, which now seemed so small in the distance. Somewhere down there was Neviril. Amuria too, was down there, somewhere in one of the houses.

She could still feel her heart beating rapidly as she ran her fingers over the cool metal of the Simoun. It was well hidden amongst the trees, and as far as she knew, no one had ventured out this far to find the machine. They wouldn't know what it was for anyway, but the less people who found it, the better. She rested her forward against the side of the Simoun and sighed heavily. Closing her eyes, she could picture herself navigating through the air of some foreign world, Neviril behind her, smiling and talking to her about what they had seen so far on their journey. There would be no Amuria.

It was not that Aaeru didn't like Amuria. She knew how important Amuria was to Neviril. No, it was the feeling she got every time she was around Amuria that confused her. She hadn't noticed it at first, but not she could see that Amuria seemed to be unhappy with her. She wasn't sure why. Amuria always tried to keep her away from Neviril, even for a short visit. She understood quarantine, but she also wanted to see the girl she loved. There was absolutely nothing to do in the tiny village. She could escape to the Simoun, but that was it.

Her hands rustled inside her Sibylla dress, until she pulled out the music box. It was the only thing she had that would comfort her. She pushed the latch to open the box. Holding it up to the sky, the breeze caught hold of it, and the all too familiar melody began to play. Aaeru closed her eyes, listening to each note drifting. The tune repeated itself over and over, until Aaeru lowered her hand. Gently, she closed the box and tucked it away; the heavy feeling she had felt after Neviril had asked her to leave had disappeared. In its place was a good feeling, one she couldn't explain. Her stomach growled, and she realized she hadn't eaten anything yet. Perhaps there would be something in the cabin. If all else failed, she could scrounge around the other villagers' homes.

Amuria entered the room with a small tray in hand. A bowl sat atop the tray, steaming. Neviril could smell the mixture of vegetables and herbs, and her stomach began to do flip-flops. She hadn't been sick since the first day, but now her stomach warned her that she wasn't out of the woods just yet. Amuria placed the tray on a stand by the bed. Neviril caught sight of a wooden spoon next to the bowl, along with a small cup of something. "Amuria, I don't think I can eat all of this. My stomach doesn't feel so good."

"You have to eat something, Neviril. You'll only get worse if you don't. The soup is full of herbs that are meant to help heal the body." She gestured to the cup. "I've also created a medicine from plant roots that will help with your stomach." She smiled gently, pulling a chair over.

"Amuria, I can't."

"If you won't eat, then I'll feed you myself," warned Amuria, picking up the soup and spoon.

"Hand me the bowl and spoon," replied Neviril, giving in to Amuria's threat. She knew that Amuria would very easily do what she threatened. Neviril looked down at the bowl and its contents. It was a reddish-brown liquid. She could see chunks of green floating in it, most likely a mixture of vegetables to add flavor. She dipped the spoon into the bowl and stirred for a few moments before pulling the spoon out. She brought the spoon to her lips, and blew gently before placing it in her mouth. She swallowed slowly.

Waiting a few moments before the next spoonful, Neviril waited to see if her stomach would protest against the new addition. She felt it rumbling, but it slowly settled. She took another sip of soup, once against testing herself. When no further incident occurred, she continued to eat the soup.

"Are you feeling any better?" asked Amuria, resting her hands in her lap. Her fists bunched and unbunched, as though she wasn't sure what to do with them.

"Yes. Thank you for everything you've done for me. I'm sorry to have been so much trouble."

"You weren't any trouble, Neviril. Why would you say that?"

"I'm not sure," she replied. "I'm still not feeling myself. I don't remember much from the past few days."

"Your fever was hard to break. You probably were hallucinating."

"Yes, possibly. I don't remember seeing you or Aaeru."

"I've tried to keep Aaeru away from your room so she wouldn't get sick."

"You'll get sick if you continue to stay with me."

"No. I've already had what you have. That's why I know what to do."

"I see," replied Neviril. "Aaeru will do as she likes though."

"I saw that this morning." Amuria paused, sitting silently for a few moments. "Neviril?" Amuria looked over at Neviril, nervousness readable in her features.

Neviril looked up from her soup. She placed her spoon back into the bowl. "What is it, Amuria?"

"Neviril, have you ever thought about us?"

"What?" asked Neviril, surprised at the question.

"You and I, together—"

Neviril cut her off. "Amuria, that's not a question to be asking right now."

"What's not?" asked Aaeru, walking in with a bowl of the soup that Amuria had prepared. The spoon hung from her mouth.

"Aaeru!" called Neviril in surprise. She felt her face flushing.

"Is your fever coming back?" asked Aaeru.

"Yes, a bit," lied Amuria, replying for Neviril.

"Amuria!"

"Neviril, you should drink the medicine and get some rest," Amuria continued, hoping her lie would cover up any confusion that Aaeru had shown. She picked up the cup from the tray and handed it to Neviril, taking the bowl from her hands.

"I bet that stuff tastes nasty," commented Aaeru, turning around with the bowl. "I'm going to go put this in the bin."

Both Amuria and Neviril watched as Aaeru left the room. When Amuria was certain that Aaeru was out of earshot, she sighed and looked over at Neviril, who simply downed the cup of medicine before handing it back to Amuria. "I have never lied to Aaeru like that," she stated firmly.

"Did you want to tell her the question?" retorted Amuria.

"I…I would…"

"You would have?"

Neviril sighed. "No. I couldn't hurt Aaeru like that."

Amuria rose, placing the chair back where it belonged. She picked up the tray, now covered with the empty bowl and cup. She looked back at Neviril once more. "Get some rest, all right?" Then she turned to leave the room.

As she exited the room and shut the door behind her, she saw Aaeru quickly pulling herself away from the wall, turning and walking toward the kitchen. Amuria wondered if Aaeru had heard every word. Deep down, she was certain that the girl had. She sighed, looking down at the tray. There was nothing that could be done now. She took the tray to the kitchen, placing the dirty dishes into the basin of clean water. She scrubbed them up, then took care of the rest of the mess from cooking.

Meanwhile, Aaeru had escaped to just outside the cabin. She rested against one of the walls, staring into the sky. She hadn't meant to listen in earlier. She only meant to say something to Neviril and had pressed her ear against the wall to see if they were discussing something important. She had heard something about a question, but it was Neviril's words that confused her most. What didn't Neviril want do to hurt her? She wasn't sure, but it didn't feel right.

"Come play with us!"

"Huh?" Aaeru looked up, looking for the speaker. She didn't see anyone.

"Hey! Come play!" called the voice again.

Aaeru looked down, and saw a little boy, dressed in a tan tunic and pants. He held a stick in hand and gave her a wide grin. "Play?"

"Yeah! We're gonna play tag! You wanna play too?"

"Sure!" grinned Aaeru. She followed him to a group of children, a mixture of boys and girls. Perhaps they could help her take her mind off everything. Two young girls took each of her hands and led her off to the open field nearby.