The driver had been a little concerned at first, of course, but once the shock of it had worn off, Eliza had reassured her that this was normal. “He does that,” she said, and tried to prop him up in at least a somewhat comfortable position. She leaned in close and pulled one of his eyes open. “I swear to the seventeen hells, Daniel, if you are faking this to get out of this conversation I will never make you breakfast again.” She suddenly realized that she might never get to do that again anyway, and sat back up, crossing her arms and feeling guilty. Feeling like shit. She didn’t want to be here without him. But he clearly wanted to get back, and she wasn’t going to force him to stay against his will. 

She slowly stewed in her own thoughts. She’d hoped for a reaction after making it clear she didn’t want to go back. Sure, it’s not like she had to go back to being the Demon Queen even if she went to the place she once called home, but she simply didn’t want to be… that. She didn’t even want to be that Eliza anymore. That’s what the document burning a hole in her pocket was for.

And he knew that, now. She’d finally said something. And Daniel knew, and he’d clearly had thoughts on it. And then he’d blacked out and she’d sat there with a mouth full of words and a brain full of thoughts, all of them useless. They bounced around like startled bumblebees trying to make their way out a window, bonking against the glass walls of her mind. Was Daniel going to stay? Did he really hate it here that much? Did he really want to be away from her? 

There was the big one, of course. Would he stay if she asked? Would he be happy here? Would this life be good enough? She didn’t have much to offer. Back in the old world, once he went back, he’d be hailed as, well, a hero. He’d be accepted back with open arms, and probably live a life of luxury. Whatever life he wanted, really. Compared to that, a life with her would be… small. Laughably so. 

But maybe? There was something there. They’d grown close, sure. Friendship was the least of it. There was a connection there, terrified of it as she was, and a part of her deeply regretted not saying anything but… he was the hero. She was… well, no-one. Not anymore. And would that ever be enough for someone like him? Could she ask? What if he said yes because there was something there and he was miserable here? How long before he resented her? She couldn’t risk it. 

After a little over an hour, the lake came into view. Whatever the woman had called it. It went miles in either direction, and the view was… well, it would have been gorgeous and awe-inspiring if she’d been in the mood for it. But it was just water to her, now. It was a destination, a place for something important to be in. Sure, it reminded her of a lake she’d once passed by, and the only real emotion she felt looking at it was a sort of mild guilt that it was being spectacularly wasted on her. It was the sort of location people would travel a long way to see. She shouldn’t just be passing through it. 

But she was, and just sighed. She looked at Daniel again. He looked peaceful at least. Well, almost. She reached over and closed his mouth. Now he looked peaceful. She smirked a little, and then her smile faded when she realized she might not see him much more again. The car began to slow down. 

“We are here,” the driver said as she parked the car as close to the lake as she could, and then looked back at Daniel. “Would you like to wait for him to wake up?” She looked at her watch, and then at a little booklet in the passenger seat. “I am available for a little bit longer.”

“No, thank you,” Eliza said as she opened the door and walked around the car. She unbuckled Daniel, before carefully starting to lift him out of the car. “If you could come back this evening to pick me up, that would be fantastic though.”

The woman nodded and unloaded their bags. “Pick you both up, yes?” she asked.

“Sure,” Eliza said, and she carefully carried Daniel to the edge of the lake with effort -- either he’d gotten heavier or she’d gotten weaker, and she realized that either way, hormones were to thank for it. With a sigh, she set him down on the grass near a small boulder, then went back to pick up their bags. 

“Not a lot here for a camping trip,” the driver said, handing Eliza their luggage.

“We’re not staying long,” Eliza said. “Just something we needed to see.”

“Hmm,” the woman said, and looked at Daniel who was slowly slumping over. “He will be okay?” Eliza looked too and nodded with a sigh. The woman gently patted her on the arm. “You two are cute together,” she said with a smile, got into her car, and drove away, leaving just the two of them on the edge of the lake. There was supposed to be an ancient serpent living in the lake. Maybe it would come out and swallow her whole. She sat down next to Daniel and let the cold air tousle her hair before pulling him a little closer to her. If both of them died of hypothermia here, there would at least be a bit of dramatic irony in it, but she’d still be pretty mad. On the other hand, if he left… would she have the energy to go back? To the apartment? Alone? 

She sat there for quite some time. After a while, she retrieved a small thermos and poured out some soup, which was thankfully still warm, and sipped it as she tried to let the gently lapping waves of the lake quiet her mind. The same questions kept drifting past, but the longer they went without answers, the easier they became to ignore. She’d run every scenario through her head a dozen times. She’d cried a few times just trying to think of how she’d say goodbye. There was a moment when she’d broken down completely, thinking of kissing him farewell. That would be too much. She couldn’t do that. Not to herself, and not to him. But time went by, and tears dried. 

“You know,” she said into the wind, “I really wish we’d talked more about us.” Daniel couldn’t respond. Daniel was slumped up against her arm and was drooling slightly. Not that it mattered, this was the perfect time for her to say the things she was scared of saying to his face. “Sure, we talked about each other and our situation a lot. But I wish we had discussed our future more, as a possibility.” She looked at her soup. It was orange. She wasn’t in a particularly orange mood, but soup doesn’t care. “I guess… I guess we always took this… going back… took it as an inevitability. What if we hadn’t?”

She took a deep breath and drank her soup. Even if it didn’t care, it was at least hot enough to warm her up. And it did taste pretty good, even if she said so herself. Maybe a little spicy, but she didn’t mind spicy, and Daniel definitely didn’t. Whenever he’d taken his turn at cooking, he’d always gone overboard with all the spices he’d never had a chance to try. His food was incredibly flavourful, and it cleared out her sinuses faster than a high-pressure hose could. 

“What if we’d considered staying? Together. You know? I would have liked that.” She nudged him. His head rolled sideways and he almost fell over. Managing to grab him just in time, Eliza pulled him upright again. “I think we live well together,” she continued once she’d propped him up again. “I think we would have… would have…” She began to cry a bit again and she rested her head on his, looking out at the lake. It was blurry through her tears. “I’m going to miss you a lot, Daniel,” she said softly, and choked back a sob. 

Then she saw something. Just above the water. Something shimmering, like a mirage. She focused on it, and felt the pull. It was a sensation she hadn’t felt in a long time, not since she’d arrived on this world. It was the unmistakable pull of magic, the way only someone who has gone so long without it can truly experience it. It was a pool of water on the kitchen floor of the world, and she was a sponge. 

Her nostrils flared as she breathed deep and stood up, walking slowly to the water’s edge, and tried to stretch out. It wasn’t something that was even remotely easily done without magic, but she really had been powerful, once, and skilled. Very briefly, she felt the item, touching it with her mind. That was all she’d needed. Slowly, it began to drift across the water towards her. Liz really had done it. The item, she felt, clearly had enough charge to send one or both of them back. Hells, if she was careful with it, she could probably give Daniel a more fitting body, first. That way, the incompetents on the other side wouldn’t have to risk anything. Better she do it. She didn’t trust someone else with his body. 

One concern she had was how she was going to access the magic. If it was a staff or a wand, it might take her some effort to attune to it, and without some magic already in her system, that would be hard to do. Magical armor or artifacts like bracelets would work, maybe, but she preferred the magic be in her system. She watched as the object slowly hovered over the water, and slowly but surely its shape became visible. 

When she could finally make out what it was, she laughed out loud, for the first time in a while. It was a loud, snorting laugh, and she only just barely managed to stabilize her breathing by the time it was in front of her. Hovering about five feet in the air, bobbing gently up and down by the water’s edge, was a floating hot dog. It shimmered slightly. There was a little tag with a note attached to it, and Eliza flipped it over.

“Sally says you’ll know what to do with this ;)  -  love, Liz.”

That was it. Nothing more. Just a hot dog. Well, that was one way to get magic into her system, she figured. And it wasn’t like she was planning on using the ‘magical artifact’ more than once. All things considered, as a way of transferring power, it was quite clever. She picked the hotdog up and began to eat it. It was awful. Just like it should be. Cheap mustard and overly sweet ketchup mixed together with meat processed from who knew what, and it was perfect. 

With every bite, she felt power run through her veins. Tiny bits of it, barely a fraction of the power she’d once held. Once upon a time, she’d have been able to destroy cities on her own and not break a sweat. Compared to that, this was nothing. But she didn’t need much more than nothing. Just a little bit. After the meal, she went back to Daniel, magic buzzing in her limbs for the first time in forever. It felt strangely like one of her limbs falling asleep, or that time she’d bumped her elbow into the table. It was hard to imagine she’d once enjoyed it. She briefly considered just sending him home right away, but she decided against it. She needed to say goodbye. That was important. She sat down next to him again, and waited for him to wake up. 

“You know… I picked up this thing…” She fiddled with the sapphire on her neck. “It was pretty cheap. I’m sure it’s fake. But it reminds me of your eyes. Before. When we first met.” She sighed and a tear ran down her face again. “I wanted something to remember you by,” she whispered. With a sniffle, she wiped her face and then looked up at the sky. 

“Eliza,” she heard from next to her, and she turned to face him. Now, finally, was the time. The time to talk. The time to say goodbye.

“Yes, Daniel?”

“Is that mustard?”

Tick

Elamimax

Moist hot dog. My vavourite!

A reminder that this story is completely finished !

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