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"Ailbe it's been days, for god's sake will you just drop it!" Ivar exasperated, tired of the search, tired of the outcome. He couldn't see the Ailbe that he once knew anymore. All he could see was this need she had, this need for answers, this need to leave. She'd become obsessed with it all, and it infuriated him. And mostly because he knew the outcome of her obsession. He knew what would happen if she found what she was looking for.
"Would you just drop it?" She questioned, tone uncharacteristically sharp. "Just forgive and forget and move on like nothing happened?"
"This isn't about me, it's about you and I'm not just going to watch you dig your own damn grave!" He yelled back.
Silence.
Utter silence filled the room. Outside, the reunion of couples coming back from war, music, cars, all could be heard. But in that room there was only silence.
Ailbe looked to him, brows furrowed as she thought. "What did you find?" She asked lowly.
"Nothing I just-"
"Ivar." She spoke again, voice sharp.
"Ailbe..." He groaned impatiently, praying that she would just drop the entire situation so that things could go back to how they once were. But, ironically, things could never go back. Or perhaps they'd already gone back too far. "Just trust me."
Slowly, he took the piece of paper out from his pocket, placing it on the table beside her. She looked between them, him and the paper, unsure what to do now. "Ivar-"
"It's your choice." He interrupted, slowly turning and leaving her behind with the piece of paper.
He didn't have to explain for her to understand. She knew exactly what he meant. It was the research... Or him.
She was going to have to let one of them go. But which one?
She couldn't just forget the things she'd seen, the life she'd lived before. She couldn't forget her friends, her family, her world. She couldn't forget him, the other Ivar. It was all engrained in her memory forever, and it felt like destiny to at least understand the things that she'd seen. She wanted to know, she wanted to understand and to see it all. How could she make her choice now with only half of her old life in her head? Some part of her, a part that she supposed had always been deep within her waiting for this time, called out like a wolf under the moon for her to follow this path wherever it may lead her - perhaps even back to this strange old world. She could feel it so deeply, so passionately, so intensely. It was like nothing that she'd felt before.
But how could she just leave him behind? They were friends, she cared about him, and they had a connection like none that she'd had with anyone before... At least not in this life. He'd protected her, cared about her, trusted her... And she knew how hard that was for him to do. She knew he'd let his guard down with her. So how could she just leave him now?
It was such an impossible decision. It was like choosing between two halves of her own heart. And yet, she knew he was right. She would have to choose. She couldn't just avoid it.
So, as awful as it was, she stood there alone - looking between the sheet of paper and the closed door. Her heart beat like a drum, a heavy thud for every second. She could hear it in her ear, every beat contradicting the other. Where was home?
Which world did she belong to now?
Was she Ailbe Moore, from the twentieth century? Or was she Ailbe Moineir from the 9th century?
Her eyes kept flicking between the two choices as she bit her lip in uncertainty. One deep breath.
