Emalia again stared up at the ceiling of the cabin in the woods. She had spent the night in the demiplane, having given in to Colin's cajoling and eventual romancing. She looked over at the large man sleeping beside her with a sigh. Why he wanted to prevent her from doing what needed to be done, she didn't know. Had she known where the opening to the rift was, she would have already set off the day prior. Quietly, she rose from the bed and ambled to the window to look back out over the dreary plane. She took a few moments to read over the tablet given her by Jessiah, and she walked it over to the table setting it down once she had finished. She returned to her position at the window, now thinking slowly over her role in all of this. Her resolve wavered but she continued to stare out the window in quiet contemplation. These were the times she came closest to being like her father, turning details over in her mind, examining them in an attempt to make sense of them. Then she drifted back to being like her mother, rash and ready to ignore the signs in favor of the hope she'd win the gamble.
Eventually, Emalia felt the hands of Colin on her shoulders as she was turned around to face him. All he wanted was for her to stay there. If they were to stay, no one would bother them, and no one would bother Brin once she was born. Truthfully, after reading the tablet, the idea sounded appealing. In her mind, she pictured those with Hemelia running through the streets, ripping people limb from limb, and couldn't fathom bringing that about. But would she? Wasn't the disease a gift from The Apprentice? Besides, Grobnak had never done anything like that... it had to have been something different. Something had to have driven those with the blessing to madness. As she and Colin looked it over, though, his concern wasn't so much the balance as it was "so much innocent blood" that had been shed.
"What if you're wrong," Colin asked quietly. "It is a difficult situation. If this is correct, the stakes can be quite high."Emalia looked out the window, almost offended by Colin's question. "I won't be wrong."
"There is no way to tell, is there."
"No... but is there ever a way to tell anything? Nothing is ever certain, is it?"
"I don't know. Some things are."
"Like?" Emalia turned to look at Colin over her shoulder, having found her way to the front window now.
"How I feel about you is."
There would be no more delays. Though Colin tried again to find a way to keep Emalia in the demiplane, she could no longer stay. The journey had to continue. 'Balance,' she reminded herself, 'Balance is at stake. Balance must be restored.'
