Trial of Fates

Chapter 18

Natania halts her pacing as Gretchen storms out of the magical stone archway. "What happened?" Natania asks, walking to her side.

Gretchen doesn't answer, Natania frowns at the unease leaking from her. "Gretchen?" When she still doesn't speak, Natania grabs her hand, pulling her to a stop. "What's wrong?"

"You were right." Gretchen finally speaks, sounding half choked. "This is too dangerous."

"What did you see?" Natania can't imagine it was anything good if the human is this shaken up about it.

Gretchen hesitates, staring off into the distance. "The future, if we don't change our course."

"What does that mean?" Natania growls with frustration at how vague her companion is being.

"I don't want to talk about it." Gretchen pulls out of her grasp and starts walking again. "Let's just go home."

Gretchen is distant the following weeks, often disappearing to make phone calls that she won't talk about. Natania tries to respect her wish to be alone, but she's concerned. Gretchen acts like she's suffering some great inner turmoil but she won't talk about it.

"Don't worry," Gretchen reassures her several days later, without looking up from her computer screen. "I'm just trying to accept that it's over. I've spent so long with this one goal, to give it all up now..." she trails off. "It's a lot to take in."

"Can I help at all?" Natania curls her arms around Gretchen's chest, resting her head on the human's shoulder. She still doesn't know what Gretchen saw in the Hall of Fates, the human won't talk about it. Either what she saw in the trials, or in the answer she got. Gretchen just keeps repeating that she doesn't want to talk about it.

Gretchen runs a hand through Natania's short hair. "Just being here is a big help," she murmurs. Natania tilts her head at the tinge of guilt in Gretchen's voice, then shrugs, she probably imagined it. Gretchen spins in her chair suddenly, ripping herself out of Natania's grasp and says, "enough work for today, let's go out."

"Where do you want to go?" Natania asks.

"Anywhere you want, what would make you happy?"

Natania bites back the "you do," that rises to her lips. "Ah, how about the carnival?" she says instead. "It should be open one more day." Natania had been able to see the lights, and occasionally, fireworks, from the balcony. She hadn't been to a carnival in years and it seemed like it would be fun.

Gretchen blinks for a moment. "That wasn't what I was expecting," she admits. "But fuck it, let's go."

There's a childish delight in Natania's step as they buy enough tickets to go on every ride, twice. "These things sure have gotten expensive," Gretchen says, but she's smiling anyway. "What do you want to go on first?"

Natania gazes around at the bright lights, the iconic carnival music spewing loudly from speakers at every corner. "I've never seen half of these rides," Natania admits. "So I don't know. Start at the corner and work our way in?"

They end up spending half their tickets on a ride labeled "Atmosphere" where you lean against a wall as it spins really fast. Natania is laughing so hard as they dizzily walk off the ride that Gretchen insists they ride it again, and a third time, until neither of them can walk straight.

Natania sniggers as she plops onto a bench, head still spinning. "I don't think I've ever seen you laugh that hard." Gretchen smiles as she sits down beside Natania.

"It's been a while since we just had fun," Natania replies with a grin. "No masterful plots or people trying to shoot us." She rubs at her forehead, and shakes her head trying to clear the dizziness.