John stared at Laia with wide eyes, almost not believing what he was seeing. She had been taken away by the Astral Emperor, and he was sure he would not see her again until the conflict with the Astral Emperor and the Asura was finished.
Lilians story had revealed Laia's soul had the soul-mark that the Astral Emperor had planted on her, making it so that he knew her locations at all times. He would no doubt have stopped her from leaving the Astral Empire, let alone come here to him. He had no idea how she had managed to do it, but didn't really care either.
A wave of emotions flooded through him, surprising him with how strong those emotions were. Her unexpected arrival, followed by those flooding emotions, made him realize he had suppressed quite a bit of feelings for her, feelings that even he didn't really understand.
John pushed down his emotions, and called out to her again. He stopped himself before saying anything, as he noticed Laia was not looking at him. Her gaze was to his side, locked onto Lilian.
John glanced sideways towards Lilian. This was the first time the two had met, and was sure Laia didn't even know of Lilian's true identity. How was this all going to play out he wondered.
As he shifted his gaze to his master, her reaction was mostly as he had expected. Her eyes were wide, lips quivering slightly, and face filled with a look of pure guilt. It was as if she were looking at a youthful girl she had personally condemned to a gruesome death, and couldn't help but feel overwhelming guilt. The truth of the situation wasn't far off.
John glanced back to Laia, who still stood there, unmoving, eyes wide, mouth slightly agape. After what felt like an eternity, Laia began to move. Her footsteps were slow and unsteady, as if she didn't know what she wanted to do, but she moved forward towards Lilian.
Lilian had by now reigned in her shock, and all that remained was the look of guilt. She stared with a pained expression as Laia approached her, but didn't move at all. Whatever reaction Laia had to her, she would own up to it. That shred of resolve in Lilian's face was clear for John to see.
Laia stopped directly in front of Lilian, and stared at her in silence. She stared at Lilians face as if in a daze, and then finally reached out towards it. Her hand landed softly against Lilian's cheek, and her hand recoiled ever so slightly, as if she were expecting Lilian to be a hallucination.
Laia's face began to tremble lightly as she lowered her hand, while Lilian stood there unmoving, waiting for whatever was to come. Laia suddenly lurched forward, her actions surprising both John and Lilian as she fell into Lilian.
Her arms wrapped around Lilian's body, and Laia's head buried in Lilian's chest. Tears began to flow down Laia's cheeks, like two small waterfalls. She gripped Lilian tightly, tears continuing to flow, soaking into Lilian's dress.
A stunned look lingered on Lilian's face for a while, which was eventually replaced with the pained look from before. Her arms, still resting to her side, lifted and wrapped around Laia, embracing her back. She said no words, but the action caused Laia to start crying even harder.
The two remained in this silent embrace for a long time, no one uttering a single word, the only sound within the rock garden being that of Laia's soft cries. Lilian eventually looked over towards John, her gaze filled with an uncomfortable awkwardness. Lilian was not good with dealing with emotions, both from herself as well as from others, and she clearly had never been in a situation like this. The situation was completely foreign to her, and she instinctively glanced at John for a rare moment of support, her expression as if asking him what to do next.
John smiled and shrugged, indicating that she was on her own in this situation. It was definitely not for him to interfere. Lilian scowled at John, and then looked away. Her gaze returned to Laia, who was still hugging her tightly. Lilian's mouth opened as if to say something, but Laia suddenly let go of her and took a few steps back, causing Lilian to remain silent.
"I'm sorry," Laia said apologetically, her hands wiping the tears from her eyes. "I…I don't know why I did that, or why I'm crying. I was suddenly overwhelmed with emotions, and I…"
"It's alright," Lilian said softly, "there's no need to apologize at all."
As Lilian added the last part, her face became pained again for a singular moment. John picked up on the expression. It was clear that Lilian thought of herself as the one who needed to apologize for everything that had ever happened to Laia, but did not say that out loud. John sighed, feeling a rare moment of helplessness.
He was able to solve all his problems with his strength, but this was one problem that strength could not solve.
Laia continued to wipe her tears away, and after a struggle, managed to reign in her emotional tears. Her eyes were tinged red from the crying. Laia eventually regained full control of her emotions, and glanced at John, then back at Lilian. It was obvious she wanted to ask so many questions.
Who was Lilian? Why did she feel this way when she saw Lilian? Why did she feel a mysterious connection between the two of them? Why did they look like twins, only separated by age? The questions were completely obvious to both John and Lilian, but neither said anything to Laia. They didn't even know where to start.
"I…" Laia mumbled, as if gathering her thoughts. Her gaze continued to linger on Lilian's face, while her face shifted with differing emotions. Confusion. Disbelief. Curiosity. Doubt.
Laia glanced back to John, who stood there silently, a small, warm smile on his face as he stared at her. Laia smiled back at him, her smile as radiant as the stars themselves. The confusion on her face vanished, as if seeing John filled her with resolved confidence.
She glanced back at Lilian, and took a deep breath. Her eyes became firm with resolve.
"Who are you?" Laia asked, "and who am I?"
John raised his eyebrows in surprise at the second question. He had been expecting Laia to ask about Lilians true identity, but had never expected the second question. He sighed deeply after a moment, finally understanding the gravity of the question. Laia's question revealed that she had most likely lived her whole life not knowing who she truly was, always knowing that there was something about herself that seemed to be missing.
Growing up like that as a child, feeling confused, incomplete, must have been an incredibly confusing and lonely experience for Laia. He glanced at Lilian, wondering how she was going to answer.
'Will she reveal the truth? Or will she skirt around the question?' John wondered. Either way, this was for Lilian to deal with, and he would remain silent regardless of her answer.
A thousand emotions washed over Lilian's face, and then she too took a deep breath, her face becoming firm, her eyes resolved.
"I…and Lilian Celestria, Seventh Princess of the Astral Empire," Lilian said, and then paused for a moment, as if the next part was the hardest part to say. She breathed deeply again. "And you, are Laia Celestria, Eight Princess of the Astral Empire. But most importantly, you are also me, born from the soul-half I shed when I fled the Astral Empire."
