Elara had returned to her room, beyond crestfallen.
It seemed that the two tower magicians were also well on their way to being assimilated by the distortion.
It would twist their arms into remaining in Silvershade a little longer – possibly through the farce of her own father begging them to stay for a – a celebration in their name, until…
Until they, and everyone who knew of them within the dream, had also forgotten who they'd been in the real world.
Until they, just like sir Arro, only knew of themselves as residents of Silvershade, who'd lived there, and belonged there, and had no reason to leave again.
Until they, too, had slumbered long enough to perish and permanently become beings that only existed in her dream…
Just like everyone else…
No!
She refused to entertain the thought!
That the two tower magicians had even come to Silvershade meant either one of two things; either the distortion had confused her understanding of time enough that she'd thought it had started far sooner than it actually had, or,
People were still alive. There remained someone in Silvershade who could yet be saved.
Please… Please let it be so.
Please let it be so that no one had died because of her.
…
Well, it would all depend on whether or not she managed to tell them the truth in time.
Tap. Tap.
Jolting at the gentle knocks sounding at her door, Elara had looked up to see Lana smiling at her from the doorway.
'What's the matter with you today, lady Elara?' the young maid had asked.
She wished she could tell her.
She wished Lana would remember.
But since her wishes didn't seem to count for much anymore…
Elara could only smile back. 'My dearest Lana,' she'd said, dramatically sinking onto her bed in a display of mock-despair.
Well, the 'mock' part of the equation was up for debate.
'What does one do when one cannot say something they absolutely must?' she'd asked, gazing up at the canopy of her bed. 'What does one do when their words seem to always fall on deaf ears, to no fault of the listener?'
'Oh?' Elara could hear Lana shut the door and step over to sit beside her. Feeling the bedding sinking under her weight, Elara had turned to see Lana smirking down at her. 'What might it be that the lady is trying to say? Is there, perhaps, the possibility of a courtship -?'
'No!' Elara had straightened up then, to swing a pillow at the giggling girl. 'How -? Why, must your mind always arrive at such foolish conclusions? This girl…!'
Still giggling Lana had bent over, ducking from the repeated assaults from the soft, goosefeather-filled weapon of choice. 'Then, what is it, Elara?' she'd asked amidst her fits.
Elara had frozen in place, then gently, put the pillow down. After a moment's pause,
'I cannot say, Lana,' she'd said quietly.
Lana had also reined in her laughter at the sound of her voice. Elara could feel her questioning gaze, even as she herself refused to meet the young maid's eyes.
'It doesn't matter.'
'Hm?'
'It doesn't matter, then, Elara,' Lana had said, addressing her as they usually did in private. Elara had looked up again to see the girl smiling gently at her. 'You can keep your secrets, so long as you don't allow them to trouble you so.'
'You're always beautiful, but you look even more lovely when you're happy.'
There was silence for a few heartbeats. Then, before Elara could react to her dearest friend's sincere praises, the girl next to her had continued speaking.
'And as for how one may convey something of the sort, well! If spoken words do not suffice, you may – apologies! – one, may turn to written words instead!'
'So, lady Elara, why doesn't one attempt to write a letter?'
Oh?
'And,' sitting upright, Elara had continued, 'and what if it isn't the medium of communication, but something… something wrong with the words themselves?' she'd asked.
'Hm? Do you mean to say that the content is also an issue?' Lana had tilted her head to one side.
'Yes! Well, in a way. What might one do then?' Elara had taken Lana's delicate hands into her own, pulling them onto her lap as she looked at her. 'What then, Lana?'
'Then… then, one might make use of secret scripts, of course! Ciphers, or codes, much as the ones we used to play around with as children.'
Oh. Of course!
Lana had –
'Why are you speaking of what we'd done as children, when you are still very much a child!' Elara had laughed suddenly, taking a swing at Lana with her pillow once again.
There were still things she hadn't tried! There was still hope!
She'd write a letter, and when she went to deliver it, she'd also try her hand at using simple coded speech! She might even use the different methods to convey different messages, so that at least one may stick!
Lana truly was the best!
…
After a few more minutes spent in each other's company, Lana had finally taken to her feet.
'Well, I must leave now, to attend to my duties, lady,' she'd said. 'Should I need you for something, will I find you in your room?'
'Possibly… not. Well, look for me if I'm not here,' Elara had answered somewhat distractedly.
Lana had rolled her eyes, saying, 'Of course, young lady. Whatever would I do without your wise counsel.'
And then, she'd left.
And Elara had rushed over to her writing desk, a message to the tower magicians already taking form in her mind.