207 Last moment of peace (2/2)

”The frog doll!!!???” Ashley shouted, ”That thing was my brother this whole time!!???”

Ashley just stood up and stormed off out of the room to search for her brother.

”Uuhhh... Should I not have said that...??” Ellie asked wondering if she did something bad.

”Sigh... I'll go after her... Be right back...” Marcus said while rushing off as well, leaving Ellie and Lilith with the others while they waited for dinner to be put on the table.

”So... What did you two talk about?” Lilith asked.

”Everything honestly... She is pretty much just like I imagined...” Ellie admitted.

”Like you imagined?”

”Yeah! When my aunt used to tell me stories about her time here, I always tried to picture in my head what her friends were like and how they acted...”

”Really? And how did you imagined that I was going to be?” Lilith wondered.

”Oh! I thought you would be much bigger!”

”... Eh...? Bigger...?”

”Yeah! I mean... My aunt always said you were so strong, and fast, and powerful... always moving like a silver blur on the battlefield and just taking down all the enemies before they even know what hit them!! I always assumed you would have arms of the size of a truck or something...”

”I... See...”

”But when I saw the actual you... You were very different... You were much smaller and naggier than I expected... You always complained about everything I did...”

”Uuhh...”

Ellie then grabbed Lilith's hand, ”and you were also much cooler, nicer, kinder, and way more beautiful than I imagined... To me, you're just as cool as my aunt!!”

Lilith began to blush with that comment and gave Ellie a deep hug to express how flattered she was.

Marcus finally returned with Ashley by his side who was still mumbling about how her brother didn't tell his own sister that he was back from the dead.

”I swear to God, the next time I see him I'm going shove that stupid face in a bucket of ice...”

The dinner then finally arrived. It was a dish composed of a large fried fish surrounded by potatoes, a few vegetables, rice, olives, and some sort of stew. For drinking, they were served coconut water, cold wine, and orange juice for the kids.

Despite having some trouble adjusting to eating with a different hand, which made her ponder how difficult it would be to get used to this new lifestyle from now on, Ellie loved the taste of everything and so did most of those present. Everyone seemed to be rather calm considering they were all going to take part in a huge battle in the next day. They were either really confident about their victory, were really good actors, or had no idea how serious the situation was.

”Why is everyone so calm...?” Ellie wondered.

”This isn't the first time we go to war, Ellie...” Lilith explained, ”Everyone here has already been in this kind of situation before... And we know that during this kind of situation, it's important to let go of all indecision and just enjoy the good moments once they arrive...”

Ellie then understood. It's not that they were calm. It's that they had to be calm. If they lost their composure before the battle, then everything would be over before it even started.

She wanted to slap herself for assuming these people weren't taking the battle seriously.

She then took a deep breath, stood from her seat, and raised her voice.

”Everyone! I have something to say!”

The whole room went silent at the sight of Ellie shouting and looked at her while wondering what she was going to do. Ellie just stared at the room. Lilith, Marcus, Ashley, Joseph, Claire, Leona, Detra, and a couple of east followers who were helping with the dishes.

”This whole thing started because I made a mess... I went after Mia when I shouldn't have, and helped her take over my aunt's body and steal her power... This caused a lot of people to lose their loved ones...” she mentioned while noticing Lilith and Claire lowering their heads, ”and led to that crazy girl gaining a lot of power and causing tons of destruction...

And for that... I'm truly sorry... I don't know what I would have done if it weren't for you guys... You all appeared in front of me when I felt there was no hope left... And gave me hope all over again... You made me believe that things would be ok even when I felt that there was no way out...

I want to thank you...” she then looked at Detra, ”All of you! For helping me not lose hope! I want you to know... That every single one of you is my hero!”

”Even us?” Joseph asked.

”All of you!!” Ellie giggled, ”I know this isn't about just me... But I just want you to know it means a lot to me!! Thank you!! Thank you all very much!!” Ellie finished while making a bow.

Marcus grabbed his glass and made a toast, ”to Ellie!! The girl that managed to find hope once again!!!”

Everyone grabbed their glasses as well and followed him, ”to Ellie!!!”

The girl began to blush with that gesture and hurried back to her seat trying to hide her embarrassment.

Once the dinner was over, Joseph came over to Marcus and gave him a small comment, ”good luck topping that speech, mister hero!”

Marcus just laughed it off. Ellie's words of gratitude were more than enough to fill him with the motivation to pursue victory tomorrow. All he needed now was to find a way to convey these same feelings to the rest of the troops.

”Thanks... It won't be easy...”