Chapter 30 - Maria and Me
“Gi!”
He rubbed his forehead, the throbbing in his skull intensifying as the memories returned. His flight with Immy. The soldiers in masks. That house. It all came back to him so fast, Giu falling as he tried to process it all. Tea flew to his side, the pixie checking him over.
“Gi- I mean…Yisto. Are you okay?”
He flexed his fingers, pain subsiding little by little as he regained himself. 
“I remember,” he said. “I remember everything.”
He almost wished he hadn’t. Reliving everything a second time was anything but pleasant. He looked up to Tea, their gaze was only slightly relieved, though they tried to hide it. He knew the feeling was mutual.
“You remember your name, then?” they asked, helping him up. “Your real name?”
He nodded. “Yisto. Yisto Nael.”
It sounded so strange to say. Like another life. Was it really only months ago? He stared at the state of Maria, the memories of her as familiar as the memories of Immy. 
“I knew her,” he said. “Of her, at least.”
Tea nodded. “That’s right. She was important to your family. Your mother, especially.”
He recoiled. “Yeah. They had the same blood.”
Tea’s ears fell. “Emphasis on had, Gi. I’m sorry.”
He didn’t bother responding. He wasn’t sure how.
The connection was something he’d always been aware of. Something his father had taken great pride in. That both he and his mother were of Gustav’s blood. It was why they’d originally gotten together. Why they’d agreed to let Immy train him. A famous adventurer teaching Gustav’s ancestor? It had been the greatest prize in his parent’s eyes. One more than worth moving to the Syndicate for.
Even after his father passed, the idea always stayed in the back of Giu’s mind. For him, Maria’s painting was his reminder of everything he could be. Everything he wanted to be. His dream.
That was, until he’d really gotten to know Immy. Until he’d had his encounter with Tea.
“Do you know who did it?” Giu asked. 
Tea shook their head. “The files said you had no living relatives, but they didn’t say how they all died. It’s only you left, Yisto.”
He sighed. “Yeah, that figures.” He looked up at them. “You don’t have to keep calling me that, y’know. Giu is fine, T.”
The pixie seemed to brighten at that. Were they that scared of his reaction? He tried not to dwell on it, walking past them to stand directly in front of Maria. Up close, she was a lot smaller than she’d always appeared in her paintings. Or how big her sword was.
She was barely over five feet, even Tea rivaling them in height. He could imagine having to look down at her if she were still alive. Maybe she’d even speak with a high-pitched voice. Giu smirked at the idea.
“What do you remember, Gi?” Tea asked. “Do you know if Imona is…y’know?”
He reached out to the statue, running a hand over Maria’s sword. Even if it was made of stone, it had a design much more elegant than any blade he’d ever seen on a paladin. To think she fought off armies with it. He could only imagine how it moved in action.
“I remember what happened,” he said. “We were trekking through Bunttail. Stupid fox wouldn’t tell me where we were going for a while, but I didn’t mind. She promised to take me away. That’s all I really cared about.” 
He smiled, remembering the long journey through the forest. Having to chase after Immy. It was the first and only time they’d been on a real adventure together. If only it had lasted. 
“When we set up camp for the night,” he said, “these guys in masks showed up. I don’t know who they were, but one of them did something to me. Made me see…weird things. Next thing I knew, we were under attack.”
He shivered at the memory. 
“I think that’s when it happened. When I was under. Immy got me out, but they’d already poisoned me by then.”
Tea put a hand on him, the pixie having appeared at his side. They didn’t say a word, but their presence helped him keep his calm. To drive away the sounds of arrow fire in the back of his head. The cackled laughter. Immy’s wounds. He took a breath for strength.
“She really saved me,” he said. “Whoever those people were. Whatever they wanted. They were trying to get to me. And Immy gave herself up instead. Even warned me to run if I ever saw them again. Stupid fox.”
Tea nodded, their hand lowering into his.
“Do you think she knew?” the pixie asked.
He winced. “I think so. And she still helped me anyway.”
Just saying it made him feel even the worse for everything. Getting her involved. Putting a target on her back. Forgetting about her completely. He’d wanted to believe she hadn’t poisoned him, but he also wanted to believe he wasn’t at fault either. That he was another common bystander in all this who’d just fallen into trouble by mistake. But that wasn’t the truth, was it?
 He was the one at fault for everything. He was the target those people were after. He was the reason Immy chose to stay behind. Why she disappeared while he found a new life without her. Tea gave his hand a squeeze.
“Alright,” they said. “Then I’ll believe you, then.”
He looked down at the pixie, who raised their other hand, putting it against their chest. 
“We made a paw pact, dummy,” they said. “I’ll support you like you support me. And if even now you say Imona’s innocent, then I’ll trust your gut, Gi. That’s what partners do, right?”
His eyes shined at that. He’d known the pixie to be sentimental at times. Playful even. But trusting? Their earlier words came back to him, echoing in the back of his mind. Trust. That’s right. Partners do trust each other, don’t they?
He smiled.
So you weren’t lying about that, huh? 
As that thought crossed his mind, he heard the cave rumble overhead, what felt like an earthquake rocking the walls of the tomb. They both pulled away, Tea glaring up at the commotion while Giu pushed his concerns away, new scents catching on the wind. Several of them.
“Crap,” Tea said. “It’s already started.”
Another quake shook the tomb, stalagmites falling from the ceiling. Giu flooded his arms with magic, smashing through rocks before they could impale Maria’s statue. Tea flew for the exit.
“Time to go, Gi.”
“Right.”
He turned to the statue, Maria’s stone gaze staring back. 
I’ll trust her. With any hope, I won’t be seeing you soon.
He ran for the exit, following Tea’s lead. 
***
From the outside, the chaos was no less destructive. 
Crystals and contraptions fell over the tunnel path, Giu having to leap and smash through while Tea flew around rubble and gems. Just what was going on up there? He knew there was an attack, but this? It felt like the tunnels would collapse at any moment. And it didn’t help all the scents were growing closer. And the voices.
Giu recoiled, spotting lit torches in the far-off paths. Soldiers in white.
“Hey! Whose’s there?” one of the paladins shouted.
“It’s the rabbits!” screamed another.
“Not here, you gray brutes!”
The duo turned, racing down a different tunnel as flames and ice came crashing towards them. Crap! Giu sped up icy burns hitting his back. Tea flew down to grab him.
“Hang on, Gi! This might hurt.”
The pixie jerked forward, Giu bracing as they went from a casual hovering speed to a falcon’s takeoff in seconds. 
“HOLY-!”
Rocks and light blurred past, the world soaring by in a flurry of white and black. Every sound was muffled with the wind blowing on his face. His fur. Since when could Tea- Just how fast were they going? The pixie squeezed his chest, Giu bracing against them. He could barely make anything out, but with everything racing by, a single thought occurred to him. 
Crap! We’re gonna crash!
He hardened his fur, readying for the inevitable impact. Tea halted with a jerk.
The world fell back into focus, Tea's heavy pants filling Giu’s eardrums.
 “I-I think…we’re clear.”
They finally released their grip, Giu dropping to the ground. Tea wasn’t far behind, falling to their knees.
“Crap. I hate doing that.”
Tea leaned against him, Giu trying to calm his shaking hands. Did his life just flash before his eyes? He felt his heart racing.
“Please never do that again,” he asked. “Ever.”
Tea pulled out a stamina potion.
“Yep. Duley noted.”
They chugged half in one gulp, offering Giu the rest. He drank it just as eagerly, letting out a loud gasp.