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“Please, Adaine. Let me help you.”
Adaine froze at Zelda's words. Zelda might have said something else after that, or might have just been watching silently but Adaine couldn't tell past the pounding of her heartbeat in her ears.
Zelda was her friend, wasn't she? And here she was, unflinching at the fact that Adaine had used her, ego intact despite the fact that Adaine had developed an unwilling phobia of her sharp swords.
Adaine could see her own breath in the winter air, could feel every bite of cold frost on her skin, and that was the only thing reminding her that she hadn't turned to stone in that moment of such direct confrontation with the person she trusted more than anyone else in the world.
Zelda gave up, after a moment of silent eye contact, her shoulders slumping and her head bowing in defeat. "Okay."
And Adaine couldn't bear to see it, couldn't bear to be the cause of any more pain to her friend. Unsure what she was even saying, words poured from Adaine's mouth desperately. "My parents left me and I don't know why."
The words hung in between them and for a moment Adaine could do nothing but wish to snatch them out of the air and shove them back into her mouth.
Zelda's brow furrowed with confusion and concern. "Wha-"
"I don't want to go back to them," Adaine quickly rushed out before Zelda could say a word more. Before she could call the police or CPS or anyone else in the world and ruin the tiny sliver of good Adaine actually had. "They sucked and besides that they're in Fallinel now and I can't go back to Fallinel. I have too much to do and the missing girls to find I can't leave and Aelwyn, my sister, is here somewhere, hurt. I can't leave and if I tell anyone I'm homeless they'll make me leave and I can't. I can't I can't I-"
Adaine was cut off simply from the fact that she had no more breath to ramble and trying to get more had the air catch in her throat.
It was annoying, more than anything, to have a panic attack in the middle of her explanation. Adaine bent over, taking measured breaths and trying to not think about what Zelda must be thinking, what she might be doing.
Her voice came and the sound made Adaine's frayed nerves feel like they were on fire. "How-"
"Just wait," Zayn said. Adaine had almost forgotten he was also here. He must have reappeared when Adaine started spilling her guts. "Give her a moment."
"R-right," Zelda said, sounding startled, "sorry."
It felt like forever but eventually Adaine managed to regain control of herself and straighten back up.
Zelda was still there, at least, not having run away to go report Adaine for being a homeless teen. Zayn was floating nearby, not staring at Adaine but instead gazing away, still keeping watch.
"Sorry," Adaine said, wiping her mouth in a useless attempt to warm up her face, "I'm okay."
Zelda nodded but she didn't look particularly convinced by Adaine's reassurance. "How... how long have you been on your own?"
Adaine swallowed the last of her panic down and forced out the answer like she was trying to drag a boulder through mud. "The beginning of the summer. I-I woke up one day and everyone was gone."
Zelda's eyes- both of them, she had her hair pushed out of her face for once- widened and beside her Zayn grimaced in sympathy.
Adaine hated it. Hated them looking at her like that. Like she was something to be pitied. Even if Zayn sort of understood, even if Zelda only wanted to help.
"Where are you staying now?" Zelda asked, glancing around in something close to panic. "Please say not here. "
Adaine quickly shook her head. "No. No, I just work here. I sleep... I have someplace warm. Warm er . Indoors."
She couldn't tell Zelda where. Even this was so much. More than she had told almost anyone ever. Adaine was trying, but she could not give away the place where she was most vulnerable.
Zelda nodded and thankfully did not ask anymore follow up questions to that. Instead she shuffled her hooves, kicking up grooves in the snow, and asked, "does anyone... does anyone else know?"
The way she asked made it sound like she already knew the answer.
"I know," Zayn spoke up again, floating closer to Adaine and glancing between the two girls, "and I have known. We keep an eye out for each other, me and Adaine."
Adaine nodded, because there wasn't much more to do than nod, and rushed to get to the actually important topics. "Zelda, you can't tell anyone. I'm doing okay for myself now and with all the girls going missing we don't know who to trust."
Zelda stared at her, silently, for long enough that Adaine started to fidget. She didn't know what she would do if Zelda decided to betray her, or just couldn't be backed down from telling Fabian's party about this new development. What could Adaine do?
But Zelda just nodded again, slowly, like she was coming to a decision about something. "And we can't tell the police because best case scenario they send you away... and no one wants that..."
"Yes," Adaine breathed, relieved Zelda understood, "yes, exactly."
Zelda reached up and tucked her hair further out of her face, hard determination Adaine hadn't ever seen before in her eyes. "There are girls going missing Adaine. Being kidnapped off the street."
Adaine continued to nod so hard her neck was starting to ache. "Exactly. We need to concentrate on finding them and not worry about-"
"No!" Zelda said so forcefully Adaine froze. And then her friend shrunk into herself, backing down. "Sorry, sorry, I just mean, um, Adaine you're living on the street. All alone with no one to watch out for you except for a ghost. Um, no offense... Zayn, right? I'm sure you're great but you couldn't exactly get help if something happened to Adaine."
Adaine expected Zayn to be on her side of this, to insist that Adaine could handle herself and didn't need someone breathing down her neck all the time.
But instead, the ghost grimaced, fading in and out of sight in a clear sign of distress.
"Zayn," Adaine cried in disbelief, "you know it's better I do things on my own."
"What I know..." Zayn said carefully, "is that you got attacked right in front of me and I couldn't even do anything about that . What if something happened while you were trancing? No one would even know to tell me if you were in trouble."
Adaine opened her mouth, closed it, and tried tried to come up with a good argument. But Zayn seemed genuinely upset by the idea and Zelda just seemed so so sad and Adaine had already caused so much pain to them.
But she still had to make them understand. Understand she wasn't just doing this to shut them out. "But there's nothing I can do! It's either this or Fallinel."
"No it's not," Zelda said, taking a careful step forward, like she was afraid Adaine was going to bolt or something, "Adaine just... just for tonight, why don't you come stay at my place?"
"What?" Adaine did take a step back, but it was in startled bewilderment, "No, Zelda, I'm sure your family is... fine but any adult is going to call the police immediately and-"
"We don't have to tell them why," Zelda interrupted, waving her hands like she was trying to ward off the very idea, "it can just be a normal friendship sleepover thing. My family would actually, uh, be pretty excited about that. They're really big about me having a lot of... friends and- and inviting them over. Not for any particular reason! They're religion is just very community based and I think that they're worried that I'm not getting out there enough but it's not a big deal but they would be so happy if I-"
Adaine watched blankly as Zelda started to ramble, her tired mind unable to fully process all the words. "I... I don't know, Zelda," Adaine eventually said at some point that felt vaguely appropriate to interject, "that feels pretty risky. If they start poking around..."
Zelda let out a sudden kinda bleating sound. "Oh! This is... this is why you never wanted to hang out with me, isn't it?"
Adaine cringed and wished she could fold herself into her backpack. "I do want to hang out with you."
"You should hang out with her now, then," Zayn said, causing Adaine to glare at him. He was now lounging midair. Not looking bored, but thoughtful and aloof. "I mean, as long as you don't tell anyone else why you're there... it might even be good."
"Traitor," Adaine grumbled. She glanced between her two friends, both of them looking at her with almost pleading expressions. "I... it's not... I have to finish my work first."
Zayn nodded in understanding and Zelda looked around. "Can I help?"
"No," Adaine instantly denied, "I need to do this myself. Just... keep watch with Zayn or something."
She went to work, trying to ignore the extra presence in the graveyard. There wasn't much left to do but Adaine needed the time to think and try to calm the paranoia swirling around her head. Was it a mistake to put this must trust in Zelda? Adaine trusted her more than anyone else in the world but that, frankly, wasn't saying much.
Going to her house could be a trap. A way to get Adaine locked in doors while the police came to take her away 'for her own good'.
But Adaine was sure Zelda wouldn't do that to her, right?
She had also been sure Zelda wouldn't slice her neck open and look where that assumption had gotten her.
Adaine barely resisted the temptation to hit herself as she finished the last bit of maintenance around the graveyard. That wasn't a fair thing to think about Zelda. She had warned Adaine her rages were uncontrollable. Which stood to reason she would warn Adaine if she planned to turn her in.
And just like with the rages Adaine would have no way to avoid the strike even if she was told it was coming.
"Okay I'm done," Adaine said at last when she could no longer pretend she was cleaning the cemetery. She fixed Zelda with an intense look, trying to communicate with her eyes alone the severity of the situation. "Are you sure your parents won't ask any questions?"
Zelda's face went through a range of expressions Adaine couldn't parse through quickly enough before settling on a deep blush as she hid behind her hair once more. "Not... not about your living situation, I'm sure. But, um, they may ask some uncomfortable questions about other things but just... just ignore them, okay?"
Adaine squinted at her suspiciously before flicking her gaze to Zayn. He had his eyebrows raised high in what was probably amusement.
What the fuck did he have to be amused about?
"Fine," Adaine sighed in defeat, "as long as I'm allowed to ignore them, I guess."
"I would prefer it if you do."
They left the graveyard, Adaine glaring at the Hangman as they passed him. It didn't follow, thankfully, instead turning away and tearing off in the other direction.
"Fabian's just worried about you, you know," Zelda said softly as the two of them began the trek towards her home.
Adaine couldn't help but scoff. "I didn't ask him to be."
"That's not how friendship works." Adaine was on Zelda's right side and so couldn't see any of her face from where it was hidden behind long black locks. But it almost sounded like Zelda might be angry. A little.
The thought alone made a hot pit of her own anger and pure shame settle into the pit of Adaine's stomach and neither she nor Zelda said anything until they arrived at her front door.
Zelda's house was loud. Music was blaring so violently from within that they could hear it a whole block away and Adaine couldn't believe the heavy base wasn't shaking the structure to its very foundation.
Zelda's shoulders hunched up to her ears in clear embarrassment as they approached and she shot Adaine a look over her shoulder. "Sorry, about the noise. It's much quieter than this in my room, I swear."
"I think a rave would be quieter than this," Adaine said, more to herself than anything else.
"Mmm," Zelda said, maybe in agreement, "just let me, um, deal with my family, okay? You don't have to say anything."
Adaine swallowed down the last of her nerves. No going back now. "Perfect."
Zelda went inside as Adaine trailed after. The noise only increased once the door opened and they crossed over the threshold, so much so Adaine was briefly worried her eardrums would shatter.
Inside there were a lot of satyrs, more than Adaine had known lived in Elmville. The house was packed to the brim with bodies and Adaine had to latch on to Zelda's elbow to avoid getting lost in the crowd, her backpack jostled uncomfortably against her back.
"Zelda!" Someone called, somehow loud enough to be heard over the music and the other noises. Zelda bleated as a satyr slightly taller than her seemed to appear out of the crowd. "Who's your little friend?"
Zelda's hand struck out to grab Adaine's so fast Adaine's whole body flinched at the sudden contact. "Mom! This is my friend , Adaine, she's going to be staying the night."
Zelda's mother's eyes lit up in so much delight it unnerved Adaine. "A friend is staying the night? Zelda that's so... what do you need? Protection? Because having fun is more fun when you're safe, darling."
"Mom!" Zelda was bright red. "No! Can we just... just privacy? Please?"
"Oh!" Zelda's Mom's gaze swept quickly over Adaine before turning back to her daughter. "Right, yes, of course. Of course. EVERYONE!" Adaine's ears flattened to her head at the shout. How did Zelda still have eardrums after living here? "Zelda needs privacy for tonight! She brought a friend home!"
Zelda buried her face in her hand that wasn't still squeezing Adaine's as the entire house erupted into joyous applause.
What the fuck was happening?
Zelda practically dragged Adaine the rest of the way. She kept getting congratulations from almost everyone they passed and would thankfully only give short nods as thanks before continuing on. Adaine did not know how much longer she could stand crowded against so many other people, if Zelda wasn't moving fast Adaine might have given up on this entirely and bolted.
Finally, they made it upstairs to a door that Zelda rushed into before closing the door tightly behind her. There must have been an enchantment or something on it because as soon as it was shut the noise from outside was muffled to a murmur.
"Sorry," Zelda said, staring down at her hooves as she leaned against her bedroom door, "my family... sorry."
"They seem to love you a lot," Adaine said, figuring that was the nicest thing she could go with while still being honest.
Zelda's bedroom looked both standard for a teen and also unlike anything Adaine had personally experienced. There was a twin bed pressed into a corner, not in the middle of the wall like hers always had to be kept when she was still living with her parents. Blankets and pillows piled the bed so high Adaine wondered how one wouldn't drown in them.
There were decorations on the walls. Posters, mostly, taped up haphazardly. Images of tieflings and orcs and other races screaming into microphones or smashing guitars over their heads. Adaine recognized the style as advertisement for heavy metal bands even if she couldn't make out what any of them were called through the scribble-like text on the posters.
Next to them, placed with no rhyme or reason, were little cartoon animals. Frogs and chipmunks and owls in a squishy looking style, chasing each other across idealistic fields.
They were calming, in a way, and the roar of Adaine's heartbeat quieted down to something more manageable.
Adaine stood, awkwardly, unsure what to do now that she was actually here and not thinking about every way this could go wrong, and waited for Zelda to say something first.
"You can put your bag down," Zelda offered and, despite having no intentions of doing so, Adaine nodded in acknowledgment. When Adaine didn't move further Zelda chewed on her lower lip and followed her gaze to the pictures on her walls. "Oh, haha, I should probably take those down, huh? I haven't watched that show since I was a kid."
"They're nice," Adaine said, her voice gaining a tinge of protest, as if it mattered what Zelda did to her own walls, "you're whole room. It's nice."
"Oh, thanks." Zelda ducked her head under her hair again. "Um... snacks. You're probably hungry. I'm going to go get snacks."
Adaine opened her mouth to protest, to say that just because she was homeless didn't mean she was starving, but Zelda already slipped out the door.
And then opened it a moment later. "Um, please stay here. No one will bother you in here but I can't... really guarantee for the rest of the house."
Then she was gone and Adaine was left staring at a smiling frog taped to the back of the door.
What... was she doing? What was Adaine doing ?
She was locked in a house filled to the brim with strange adults and she had just told someone her potentially most life ruining secret.
Suddenly the walls of Zelda's modest room felt much too close and the air of a house without holes much to stale.
Adaine went to the window and forced it open, causing it to bang loudly against the top. She froze, waiting for someone to storm in and demand to know what she was doing but whatever was muffling the party must have worked in reverse as well. Or just... no one would be able to hear one bang over the music.
With the window open the sounds were a little louder but not unbearably so. Adaine took a deep breath of fresh air, not even minding that it also smelled of alcohol and other stenches that reminded her of the Durden house.
She glanced down and noticed thick ivy snaking its way up from the ground, past the window, and over the roof. It... looked sturdy. Sturdy enough that someone might be able to climb down it, if they had to.
Testing this theory, Adaine swung one leg out the window and carefully placed it on the vines. They held, quite easily and, courage bolstered, Adaine placed the other foot beside it, leaning into Zelda's bedroom so half her weight was on the vine and half was on her hands pressing down against the window seal.
The vine held just fine but something else did as well and with a start Adaine realized that she had inadvertently wedged herself between the window seal and her backpack.
"Shit," Adaine cursed, twisting and straining to try and get back into the room without tearing her backpack, "shit shit shit shit."
"Adaine?"
Adaine froze, tilting her head up to lock eyes with Zelda, who had just reentered the room with a plate of food in her hands.
"I- um, uh," Adaine stuttered, unsure how she would be able to explain what she was doing. Somehow she thought, 'testing to see if I could sneak out' would not go over better than the obvious 'currently trying to sneak out'.
But, for some reason, Zelda did not yell or cry or demand to know what Adaine was thinking. Instead, she just put the snack tray down and calmly walked over. "Do you need help?"
Adaine's ears burned with shame and embarrassment and she couldn't look Zelda in the eye. "...yes please."
Zelda didn't even laugh at her as she grabbed Adaine's hands and pulled.
Adaine often forgot that, for such a small frame, Zelda was insanely strong. She pulled Adaine out with one tug and the suddenness of freedom sent Adaine sprawling, knocking Zelda over and sending both of them tumbling to the floor.
"Zelda!" Came a delighted cry from the direction of the door.
Adaine was on her back as Zelda shoved her off faster than light and sprang to her hooves. "Mom! I said not to come in here."
"Sorry, sorry," the satyr woman said without a hint of apology, a teasing smile on her face that Adaine gazed up at upside down, "I just wanted to give you girls a few more treats and let you know that if you need anything I am always always available."
"Thank you, mom," Zelda said, voice strained, "but we really don't need anything."
"Are you sure?" Her mom prompted, "not even some advice?"
Adaine shakily climbed to her feet and eyed the interaction with bewilderment.
Zelda was blushing so heavily Adaine almost expected her horns to turn red. " Mom. Please!"
"Okay, okay," her mother relented, backing out of the room and giving Adaine a wink, "just wanted to let you know. Have fun you two."
"Sorry," Zelda said, rubbing her face, "I'm so sorry they're just really over eager."
"It's fine," Adaine reassured her, just trying to get past the embarrassment of having been stuck in a window, "that was... nice of her to bring us more snacks."
"Don't eat those," Zelda said immediately, "they probably have hallucinogens in them."
Huh, that could be useful if Adaine could smuggle one out and take a little bit to make her visions more powerful again. It would be tricky but- "Wait, why did your mom give us drugs ?"
"It's a saytr thing," Zelda mumbled at her hooves, "please don't feel obligated to take any. Um..." Zelda cleared her throat as she risked a glance back up and Adaine politely let her change the subject. "It's pretty late. Do you want to sleep? You don't have to take your backpack off."
Adaine closed her mouth from where she had been about to come up with some excuse as to why she didn't need to sleep until after Zelda did but... it seemed her friend knew her better than she thought. Still... "I trance so I can just sit on the floor."
"Oh." And Zelda looked so disappointed "I mean, I wouldn't really mind if you were in the bed with me. You look really cold and I thought we could..." She shook her head hard and took a step back, hands raised. "But I totally get it if that would make you uncomfortable. We don't have to, it was just a thought, but it was stupid so don't worry about it."
"Okay," Adaine felt herself saying before she could truly think about it. She just needed Zelda to stop looking so sad. "Sure, if you want. That's- sure."
Zelda smiled and the relief Adaine felt at the expression made the worry and awkwardness worth it.
Zelda got into her bed first, slipping under the covers and practically disappearing.
Hesitantly, Adaine followed suit. Her backpack was clunky and uncomfortable and hung off the bed a little but Adaine really couldn't find it within herself to take it off. Or her shoes. She was fully clothed in Zelda's bed and probably getting the sheets all dirty and this was a horrible idea.
But Zelda also hadn't changed and shifted forward without hesitation to slot herself against Adaine's stomach.
Because she was so short her head was able to rest comfortably under Adaine's chin while their legs tangled together beneath the blankets.
"Thank you," Zelda whispered in the not-quite-silence and not-quite-dark, "for trusting me."
Adaine hummed in acknowledgment and tried desperately to relax enough to slip into a trance.
But Zelda's face was pressed right up against her neck. Not painfully so, not at all, but her forehead caused a slight pressure that reminded Adaine of a bandage and her breath made Adaine's throat hot in a way it had only ever been with blood running down it.
She could tell that all of her muscles had stiffened up and she was certain Zelda, with her ear so close to Adaine's chest, could hear her heartbeat hammer away. But Adaine wasn't going to slip into another panic attack laying in bed. She wasn't and so was focusing all her energy in keeping her breathing almost unnaturally steady and trying not to see the flash of Zelda's swords every time she closed her eyes.
Zelda must have noticed something was wrong because after what was probably only a few moments but what felt like hours on end, she shifted and pulled away slightly.
"Oh, sorry. Sorry, let me just..." Zelda wriggled and squirmed so that, while still laying down, she pulled herself higher up the bed so that now her chin was resting on the top of Adaine's head.
Adaine froze for a moment, unsure what to make of this new position. Her face was now pressed up against Zelda's hoodie, the scent of grass and sweat assaulting Adaine's nose. Now Zelda's legs were pressed against Adaine's stomach, their warmth and soft texture like Adaine was cuddled up to a heated blanket. One of Zelda's hands rested on the top of Adaine's head, holding her in place steadily as Zelda once again got comfortable.
It was... nice. Surprisingly nice to be so close to someone that wasn't dead. Adaine could not remember the last time she had gotten a hug, let alone a cuddle.
Almost against her will Adaine felt her body relax into the embrace and carefully raised her own arm to lay it atop Zelda's waist.
Zelda did not squeeze her, did not confine Adaine in any way. She was just there. Close and available.
There was no draft in the house, no terror that someone was going to stumble upon her and kick her out.
Adaine was... she was okay. And she quickly found herself falling into a deep, peaceful, trance.