19 Chapter 19 (2/2)

”Yeah, I knew” Aeris whispers back.

”Wait, for real!?” Jackson says out loud.

”Geez, keep it down, will ya?” Aeris asks. Aeris leans in and whispers ”Look, I've seen her around town before we started school. She's been coming in and out of that forest for a long time”.

”Yeah, so?” Jackson whispers.

”There was a fire in that forest over a year ago...” Aeris whispers. Jackson freezes, then Aeris continues to whisper ”You probably wouldn't know about it, since you came from out of town... but if I'm right... she probably doesn't have a home... or a family. I've known about The Amethyst tribe since I was a little girl, but I never believed they existed until I had seen Emma's eyes up close. Judging from her lack of home, I'm willing to bet that Emma doesn't know about herself either”.

”She doesn't” Jackson whispers.

”And we're going to keep it that way” Aeris whispers back. ”Think about it... if she knew now, how frustrated would you be if you learned something from a group of classmates that you've only known for a matter of months, instead of hearing about that family secret from your own family?”.

”I'd be... pretty pissed” Jackson says.

”Right” Aeris says, ”and that'll make it harder for her to maintain her human form. All that emotion makes it difficult, and you know how important it is to her to be by Wyatt's side”.

”But if they keep getting closer...” Jackson says, ”then doesn't that mean that eventually... there will come a time where she wouldn't be able to hold her human form... and Wyatt will find out?”.

”That's why she needs to build up the courage to tell him” Aeris says. ”But until then, all we can do is try and pretend that we don't know anything”.

”What are you two whispering about?” Jessica asks. ”Seriously, now I'm curious!”.

”Not telling!” Aeris says with a smile.

”Man, talk about a full turn around” Jackson says. ”That was a complete shift of attitude”.

”Be nicer...” Aeris says.

”Wait, is that why you keep that dumb notebook!?” Jackson asks. ”For that?”.

”No, that's just because you're an asshole sometimes” Aeris says. ”Manners are important too”.

After school, Emily walks home to talk to her parents. As she walks, she thinks to herself ”So Aeris knew and now Jackson knows... so that just means Jessica, Emma and Wyatt don't know... Wait, does Wyatt know? Aren't those two dating though?”. After a while, Emily gets home to her parents. After a short while, they decided to leave to go see Matilda. Emily came along with them, and on the street wandering around, they found Emma. ”Emma!?” Emily asks. ”What are you doing out here?”.

”Oh- Emily?” Emma asks. ”I was just... I was having troubles focusing on stitching today, so I went for a walk. I was going to see Wyatt when he gets off of work too”.

”This is that Emma girl?” Jay asks. Jay and Lyra go over to shake Emma's hand. ”Nice to meet you, I'm Jay and this is my wife Lyra”.

”Oh- uh...” Emma says nervously. ”I'm Emma. Emma Frey”.

”Mom... dad...” Emily says, ”you don't have to make her nervous”.

”Oh, I'm sorry” Jay says.

”I-it's fine” Emma says. ”So, you're Emily's mom and dad?”.

”Yes” Lyra says, ”and you're that Amethyst child?”.

”A... what?” Emma asks.

”A descendant of The Amethyst tribe” Jay says. ”You have the purple eyes, so of course you'd be one!”.

”I... am?” Emma asks.

”She... doesn't know?” Lyra asks.

”She does not” Emily says. ”You just kinda... dropped a bomb on her”.

”Emma...” Lyra says as she crouches down to be at eye level with Emma, ”Do you know about The Amethyst tribe?”.

”N-not really” Emma says. ”I only heard about them just recently. Who are they?”.

Lyra and Jay look at each other, concerned, then look back at Emma. ”The Amethyst tribe” Jay says. ”They were the dominant tribe of the laibah race. The trademark of one of their kind were there deep purple, amethyst-like eyes. Tell me, have you ever had any trouble keeping your human form?”.

”Y-Yeah I have” Emma says. ”How'd you know about that?”.

”That's because of your quarter shifting ability, sweetheart” Lyra says. ”Your parents never told you?”.

Emma falls silent for a while. Suddenly, Jay notices the moonlight reflecting off of something shiny on Emma. It was her necklace she she keeps under her uniform. ”Where did you get this?” Jay asks as he carefully grabs the necklace by the string and pulls it out from under her shirt.

”I got it from my mom...” Emma says softly.

”The pendant of balance... it's supposed to symbolize the circle of life and balance” Jay says. ”It even still has the old carvings on the back. It was a gift from the nomad in those old tales... did your mother give this to you?”. Emma turns her head to the side and refuses to answer. ”This is an important treasure! Where did you get it!? You didn't steal it, did you!?”.

”N-no!” Emma shouts.

”Then where!?” Jay asks.

”F-from my mom's... body” Emma says.

”Her... oh no” Lyra says. ”Emma... did your mother... pass away?”. Emma nods her head. ”Your father?” Lyra asks, but Emma refuses to answer.

”I-I'm sorry” Jay says. ”I was just worried that something this valuable was stolen from somewhere...”.

”What is it, exactly?” Emily asks.

”It's nothing more than a necklace” Jay says, ”but it's also a peace of history. Someone who may know about it may even think of stealing it for money. It could end up giving them a fortune if sold correctly”.

”Make sure you hold onto that” Lyra says. ”Keep it safe”.

”I wouldn't let go of it ever” Emma says. ”It was my mother's... and it was her mother's before hers. It's been a family heirloom for a long time”.

”About two-thousand, three-hundred and ninety-two years” Jay says.

”What?” Emma asks.

”That's about how long it's been in your family” Jay says. ”That's about the time when the nomad from that story gave it to the woman he loved”.

”H-how did that story end?” Emma asks.

”The nomad leaves” Jay says. ”Although the girl loved him, her father, the chief had already prepared concubines for her and refused to allow this nomad to marry his daughter”.

After a short silence, Emily finally asks ”Does Wyatt know?”.

Emma shakes her head. ”Who's Wyatt?” Lyra asks.

”It's her... boyfriend” Emily says.

”He doesn't...” Emma says. ”He doesn't even know I'm laibah”.

”Your boyfriend is a human?” Jay asks.

”Emma...” Emily says, feeling sorry for Emma's situation. ”C-can you tell him?”.

”How could I?” Emma asks, tears forming in her eyes. ”I've waited too long... what would he think about me, the girl who lied to him all this time... I don't deserve to expect him to understand! I was just... scared. Some humans can be friends with laibah, but how many humans do you think would go as far as to accept one as their lover?”.

”... Emma” Emily says. Emma begins to cry, so Emily held onto Emma. ”It's okay” She says.

”It's not okay!” Emma says. ”That's why I'm trying to do the best that I can! If I can't show Wyatt how much he means to me, then I'll never be able to tell him the truth!”.

”And you plan on doing that with your quarter shift ability?” Lyra asks softly. ”Emma... I know it's hard, but how long do you think you can keep this up?”.

”I don't know!” Emma says. ”I don't know what to do! I don't enjoy lying to him! I don't like wearing this... this mask! I want him to be able to love me for who I am, but I'm scared that I'm not what he would accept! Everyday I wear this uniform, this... skin... pretending to be normal, but what if that's what he expects!? What if he won't accept anything else!?”.

”Emma...” Lyra says, putting one hand on her shoulder. ”You are what you love, not who loves you. Do you understand what I mean by that?”. Emma shakes her head 'No' again. ”It means, you represent what you have a passion for. You're not defined by who or what loves you. If you love him, and he accepts that, then don't you think that trumps whatever image you believe he has of you?”.

Emma stood still for a moment, thinking. ”Don't give up, Emma” Emily says. ”I'll be here for you, at least”.

”Thanks, Emily” Emma says.

Emily laughs softly and says ”Just returning the favor, that's all. Do you want to go see Matilda while you wait for Wyatt to get off of work?”.

”Yeah...” Emma says. ”That's fine”.

A couple hours pass, and the night grows late. Eventually, Emma leaves Matilda's shop. Her face finally cleared of tears, she went to go see Wyatt as he got off of work. When Wyatt gets off, he asks ”Emma, what're you doing out here?”.

”I was talking to Emily” Emma says, ”and I thought I'd come see you when you got off”.

Wyatt laughs softly and says ”Thanks! It's been a rough day at work, so it always helps to see you when I get off!”.

The two of them went to the dorm room together. Soon after, they went to sleep in the same bed, as usual. Emma was finding it hard to get sleep, and Wyatt knew she was having troubles. ”Is something wrong, Emma?” He asks.

Emma turns over in the bed and curls up in Wyatt's arms. ”I'm just... worried about some silly things”.

”Talk to me” Wyatt says, ”what's going on?”.

”It's all fine” Emma says, ”as long as we can stay like this”.

Wyatt holds onto Emma a little tighter and says ”If you say so, I'll stay like this as long as you want”.

Emma quickly began losing consciousness, as she began to fall asleep. Burying her head into Wyatt's chest, she quietly says ”Please don't leave me...”.

”Why would I ever do that?” Wyatt asks with a short and gentle laugh. However, Emma didn't respond, for she already fell asleep. Wyatt smiles and says ”Goodnight, Emma. I promise I'll always be by your side. No matter what may ever happen”.