A Moment Suspended

Naturally, Abigail’s eyes opened before the sun awoke. As her senses returned to her, she realized someone was missing. Her tired stupor evaporated and she shot from the bed, eyes darting around the room.

Where was Alice?

Heart pounding, she stumbled for the door, shoving it open.

A wave of relief washed over Abigail as she found the girl. Curled under the blanket she had set, Alice slept on Maxwell’s lap, head against his chest. Placing her hand over her heart, Abigail let out a breath. As her adrenaline drained, a new wave of exhaustion washed over her.

Should she just sleep a little longer?

Her eyes were glued to the pair.

They had been through so much, and she couldn’t do anything to help them. After seeing the Dreamwalker, Abigail couldn’t begin to imagine what Alice had seen, and what Maxwell had faced. She hugged her chest. What could she do to help?

She smiled as a thought entered her mind.

The river.

It wasn’t a far walk. After breakfast her and John could take them there. They could get clean and Alice could play there. Anything to raise their mood. Anything to make Alice act her age. Anything to make Maxwell happy. Her eyes drifted to his chest. What would it be like to lay her head on him? For him to hold her?

Feeling the heat on her face, Abigail shook her head. Tossing the thoughts aside, she quietly stepped outside into the cool morning air.

“Focus, dummy.” She sighed to herself.

…

His stomach growled.

Something smelled really good.

Maxwell’s body groaned in pain as he felt himself leaving the darkness of sleep. Head pounding, he tried to move his legs, but his limbs yelled at him. The knight’s eyes cracked open, revealing Alice huddled against him. She soundly slept, head resting against his chest. He smiled as he noticed her bandage and cleaned up appearance. Abigail had taken good care of her. Alice’s nose twitched and her eyes cracked open. The knight heard her stomach growl.

“That smells good.” She whispered. Her purple eyes drifted up to Maxwell. “Max? You smell that?”

“I do.”

Alice eagerly rose from him, dragging the blanket still wrapped around her. Slowly lifting his stiff neck, He met the curious green eyes of Abigail.

“Good morning!” She gave them both a smile. “Hungry? We made eggs.”

…

“So what do you think?” Abigail eagerly asked the three what they thought of her idea. John stretched, reaching for the ceiling. Alice quietly poked at her now empty plate. Maxwell, still sitting on the ground, set his plate beside him. Abigail began to feel stupid as the silence between them continued. Finally, someone spoke.

“That would be the best way to clean his armor. It sucked last time.” John said. His sister quickly, and stealthily, dug her finger into his side.

“Manners, John!” She hissed as he flinched.

“I like it.” Maxwell said, rising slow enough to concern Abigail. She cursed herself for not checking him more thoroughly last night. Despite his troubled motions he and Alice began cleaning up after themselves.

“Ah! I got it!” Abigail stammered as she rose from her seat. “We’ll clean this up and get going!”

“Thank you, Abigail. It was really good.” Alice said with a smile.

“Of course! I’m glad you liked it, Alice!”

She nodded. “Your cooking was as good as Ala…”

Abigail’s chest tightened as she saw Alice’s bright face loose its color. Her purple eyes fell to the floor, and she stood silently, fingers clawing into her shirt. Maxwell stood beside her and placed his hand on her head. Alice’s small frame shook as she began crying. The knight raised his head to Abigail.

“Max?” She asked, frustrated that she was so helpless.

“Don’t worry. I’ll catch you up.” He whispered.

Abigail nodded, and matched pace with her brother, cleaning the house as Maxwell comforted Alice.

…

It was a surprisingly warm day given the previous storm. John marched smoothly, keeping pace with Maxwell. On his back was a bag, and in his hands some buckets.

“You sure you don’t need help?” The knight asked.

John shook his head and smiled with glowing eyes. “When I was sick I barely had any strength, but now I’m able to do something like this. Its really exciting.” He looked to the blue sky. “You know, we really do take a lot for granted. Even when things are bad, its important to remember what you have.”

Maxwell smiled. “That’s a good way to look at it.”

John looked to him. “Your chainmail is kind messed up there.” His brown hair brushed his forehead as he nodded towards the knight’s side.

“Yeah… I’ll have to figure something out.”

John furrowed his brow. “After we clean it, we’ll get a better idea of what we’re dealing with. We can make something work.” He then smirked and nodded to his bag. “I have some surprises in here.”

Alice and Abigail trailed the two, walking side by side.

“You like the water, Alice?” Abigail asked as she adjusted her own bag full of laundry.

She nodded at Abigail’s question. “I would like to learn how to swim.”

“I can teach you! We’re going to a fairly shallow spot, so it will be easy!”

Purple eyes alight, Alice’s steps had a noticeable bounce of excitement. “Really?!”

“Of course!”

A cool wind brushed through the group as they approached the river’s edge. The bank was clean. Its grass a healthy green and the water clear as glass. It gently flowed against the mix of rocks and pebbles in its path. To the knight’s surprise the mud was mostly dry, not sticking to his boots. His eyes left the pristine ground and Maxwell traced the river’s length, watching the water slowly move along the land.

“It comes for a spring further that way.” John said, pointing further west. “I went up there one time.”

“So its pretty cold.” Maxwell said as he knelt down, removed his glove, and stuck his hand in the clear water.

“Is it?” Alice asked as she inched towards the knight.

“A bit, but the sun is strong today, so it’ll be fine. You’ll just have to get used to it.”

“Don’t worry, I always come prepared!” John said with a smirk as he set the buckets down and brandished a lighter from his backpack. “We scoop up water, heat it, and then dump it on us.”

“That’s smart!” Alice said, eyes glowing.

Maxwell sighed. That would take a lot of time. They could just jump in and be used to it in seconds. His gut twisted as his eyes fell on Her. She silently sat on a fallen log, watching the group from afar. This wasn’t like Her. They needed to talk.

He looked back to Alice and John. The boy had propped the bucks above a set of sticks, and he began fumbling with the tool.

“Ah, this thing is pretty crappy. Getting a flame can be annoying sometimes.” He furrowed his brow. Trying to start a fire through friction would be difficult given the previous rain.

“Oh! That looks like an alchemist tool.” Alice chimed in, crouching next to him.

“You know about it?”

“A little.” She bit her lip, voice quivering. “Alana always complained about them.”

“Sounds like she knew what I’m dealing with.” John smiled weakly, trying to raise the mood.

Alice chuckled. “She did teach me a cool trick!”

“What’s that?”

With red cheeks Alice placed her hands over the sticks John had laid. She closed her eyes and visualized the flame. Alana had been very strict about this part. Telling her to only think of simple things. Never to let her mind wander. John needed a flame; so Alice did exactly what she was taught.

“Woah!”

Alice’s eyes opened from the wave of warmth. The small flame comfortably sat on the sticks, gently swaying with the soft breeze.

“That was incredible, Alice!” John exclaimed. “Can you do it again?!”

The boy, absorbed with curiosity, leapt to his feet and led a stammering Alice to the next pile.

Content with the situation, Maxwell slowly sat down. He hated this part, but it needed to be done. The knight began the work of removing his armor. He slid off his leather gloves, and worked his way up his torso and down his legs. Finally, the items and chainmail were off, leaving only his helmet. With a breath Maxwell removed it.

As the iron shield left his face, the wind’s gentle breath brushed his face. He closed his eyes, feeling his hair dance with its motions. The breeze had lost much of its cold nip, leaving it a comfortable current.

“Maxwell?”

Opening his eyes, the knight looked over his shoulder. Abigail stood behind him, hands behind her back and concern in her eyes. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m good. Sore, but nothing major.”

“You’re really pale.”

“I’m in armor all the time.”

“Yeah, but…”

Moving to dunk his helmet in the water, the knight flinched as his side squeezed him. Abigail immediately sat beside him. “See what I mean?” She wasted no time, raising Maxwell’s shirt to see what it was. His eyes widened in surprise. “Max, you’re all bruised!” Her soft hand gently ran along his torso, feeling his wounds and scars. “You’re a mess! No more armor for a while! You need to let your body rest!”

Face burning from her warm touch, Maxwell stammered. “R-R-R-Relax, Abigail. Its fine. I’ve been through worse.”

Worry twisted her face. “Worse?”

With a breath he scooted away from her and continued his task, dunking his helmet and rubbing the dried blood and dirt from its surface.

“Okay then.” She murmured. He kept his eyes glued to the water, hoping she’d drop the subject. The knight blinked in surprise when she sat beside him, dunking his vambrace into the water.

“You don’t need to worry about it.” He said.

“You should accept people’s help.” She replied.

He remained silent, unsure of what to say. Silence hung over the pair as they moved through the pieces of armor. Finally, Maxwell decided to speak. “I’ve caused nothing but trouble for you two. I put your lives in danger with the Dreamwalker, and I surprised you with Alice. Why are you so kind to me? You don’t owe me anything-“

He flinched as her fingers gently pinched his side. “It’s not about debt or who owes what. What did you tell me the night we met? That you had a duty to do what you do? Well, we have a duty to our friends, and you’re our friend, Maxwell. Friends don’t need deals or benefits. We help each other because we want to. You’re a good man who saved us. You’d never be a bother!” She bit her lip and looked to him, cheeks red. “I could almost consider you family at this point. You mean a lot to us, you know that?”

He blushed, unable to meet her eyes. “Thank you.”

They set the final armor pieces aside. The job was far from perfect, but it was the best they could do for now.

“Hey… Max-“ Abigail began, but stopped when the knight shot up and dove into the water.

“Wha-!”

Maxwell emerged, rubbing his face and hair. He then submerged and re emerged. Abigail watched, confused. He then quickly crawled out. “That’s done.” He murmured to himself.

“Your clothes are all wet!” Abigail yelled.

“They’re clean too. I can’t swim naked in front of everyone, so that’s what I was doing underwater. It’ll dry.”

Abigail sighed. “You always catch me off guard, you know.”

“I could say the same.”

“Oh?” A smug smile formed on her lips. But Abigail brought herself out of the small talk, finally mentioning what had been on her mind. “Can you tell me about Alice?”

Maxwell’s eyes fell to the mangled chainmail.

“I met her shortly after leaving that village.” His statement sunk his gut. Memories came flooding back: Abigail’s parents, Oglal, his black out.

How could he tell her?

“Did you see my parents…” Her question, the question he dreaded, gouged his heart. Before he could answer Abigail spoke. “Y-You’re really pale… You should lay down.”

“No… I’m okay.”

Abigail removed her sweater, and rolled up the sleeves of her white undershirt. “Its getting warmer anyways.” She murmured to herself as she folded up the removed cloth and set it on the grass, patting it. “Relax, Maxwell. There’s no way you can get proper rest sleeping like you do.”

“My hair is still wet.”

“It’ll dry, and I can always wash the sweater.” She smiled.

With a breath he took her offer, lowering his head onto the soft cushion.

“Rest for now. I want to talk later, okay?”

“Okay.” He said, letting the gentle warmth of the sun guide him to sleep.

As he drifted into slumber, something in his stomach told him this would be one of the final warm days before winter.

…

“You’re doing great!” Abigail cheered.

Alice, eyes narrowed in concentration, held onto Abigail’s hands as she practiced kicking in the water. “This… is… hard…!”

“All it takes is practice.” Abigail cheered as she gently walked through the chest high water, guiding Alice. “Don’t fight the current, just let yourself flow with it.”

Alice had been practicing for quite sometime now. At this point exhaustion was probably hampering her learning. Abigail’s green eyes looked to the sky, seeing the sun had passed its peak. Her mind ran to John, who insisted on working with Maxwell’s armor. Now was probably a good time for them to call it.

“Let’s get dressed and head back.”

Alice, despite a look of disappointment, nodded in agreement. They both left the river and Abigail grabbed one of the water buckets.

“Close your eyes now.”

Alice did as Abigail said and she gently poured the warm water over her head.

“Your hair is beautiful, Alice.” She said, brushing it. Its white growing brighter as the final bits of dirt and grime left. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“I like yours too.” She meekly said. “I feel like I don’t see a lot of red hair either.”

“I think I should try growing mine out like yours…”

“That would be really pretty!”

“Then it’s a plan!” Abigail said with a laugh. She dried and dressed Alice and herself. The two girls then lowered the hanging laundry, folded it, and placed it within Abigail’s bad. Hand in hand, they walked back to meet John and Maxwell.

…

“Hey, Alice!”

As soon as they returned from the patch of trees John waved them over.

“I don’t get a hello?” Abigail teased.

John smirked. “Can you do that fire trick?”

“She’s got me beat there…” His sister sighed as they made their way to his side. Abigail’s eyes widened at what John had been doing. The gaps in chainmail had been covered with leather. Abigail, however, noticed her brother’s hands were covered in shallow cuts.

“Your hands!” Abigail yelled.

“It’s nothing. The knife nipped me a couple times.” He held up a piece of the chainmail with a toothy grin. John had managed to weave much of the leather into its pattern.

“Oh! That looks nice!” Alice clapped.

“Thanks. I’m not sure how it’ll work, but it’s all we have to work with.” He then held up some other items of leather. “His shoulder piece and some other parts were also rusted and chipping. I have no idea on how to fix them. Abigail, you had told me it was his father’s armor, so I didn’t want to mess with it. Figured I would make replacements. The leather won’t be as strong, but it will be better than cracking armor.”

“What can I do?” Alice chimed in.

John scratched his brown hair. “I’m in over my head here to be honest. I want to burn the leather to the chainmail. Not sure how helpful it will be, but I want to make sure its secure. Can you do that?”

Alice gave him an energetic nod, eyes focused.

He gave her a grin and pointed out the spots. Abigail watched with curiosity as Alice gently torched each spot according to John’s instructions.

“Incredible!” Abigail cheered, patting Alice on the back when she finished.

Twirling her white hair, Alice smiled. “Its hard, but I had a good teacher.”

“That should do it.” John smiled. “Nicely done.” His eyes then moved to Maxwell. “Hopefully it works for him.”

Abigail laid in the grass besides them, a smile on her face. “He’ll be very thankful. That’s just the way he is.”

“You act like you’re his wife or something.” John teased.

Abigail coughed. “I-I-I feel like that’s what he’s like!”

With a smug smile, he mimicked his sister and laid on the ground, directing his next question to Alice. “How did swimming go?”

She laid between the siblings, puffing her cheeks. “Frustrating.”

John chuckled and her face reddened in embarrassment.

“We’ll just have to come back again.” The siblings said.

“Again?!” Alice chimed.

Abigail turned her head towards Alice, who looked at her with an excited face. “Of course! You would like that, right?”

She nodded eagerly.

The three sat staring at the clear sky, letting the grass sing in the gentle breeze.

Abigail smiled as she watched John and Alice’s eyes close.

Yet…

How did Alice do those things? She sat up, looking to Maxwell. He was still in the same position she had left him in a couple hours ago. Concern swirled in her gut and she rose, walking to him. His slumber appeared peaceful. Too peaceful. Swallowing, Abigail laid her head on his chest.

His gentle heartbeat made itself known and she sighed to herself. She was being ridiculous. Her gut twisted and tears formed in her eyes. She had kept herself busy to avoid the truth, but now that everything had been done she was forced to face it.

Her parents were dead. Maxwell’s face had confirmed it. She gently sobbed into his chest.

…

“It’s a peaceful day, isn’t it?”

Maxwell’s eyes cracked open at Her voice. She sat beside his head, looked down at him with a smile. “How are you feeling?” He whispered. The knight went to move, but there was a weight on his chest. He glanced down, eyes wide at seeing Abigail’s sleeping face.

“She’s pretty aggressive, isn’t she?”

His eyes were glued to her. She was stunning. He hadn’t truly looked at her, but now as he did the realization struck him.

The knight also noticed something else.

Tears.

Her cheeks were wet.

“She’s not an idiot, Max. Your reaction told her all she needs to know about her parents.”

His chest squeezed him. Blinking, he looked back to Her. “I told you long ago, Max. You’ll find people important to you. Wouldn’t you consider Abigail, John, and Alice important? Look at how distraught you are over them.”

His eyes fell on the John and Alice in the grass, sleeping themselves. “They are important to me, but you forgot to include yourself in that. You’re important to me too.”

She cheeks flushed. “Geez, when did you become such a ladies man?”

A weak smiled formed on his lips, and he repeated his question. “How are you?”

“I’m okay. I assume you want me to talk?”

His eyes traced the sun as its descent continued. “You told me you’d talk about it when we were alone. We can do it now or later. Up to you.”

“Tonight, when they’re sleeping in the house. Lets talk then.”

“Okay.”

With a satisfied smile, She turned, laying on her back and resting her head perpendicular to his. “I’ll let her have your chest for today. Poor girl. She’s done so much for you. You can be a lot of work sometimes.”

He smiled. “Sorry.”

“Max…?”

He blinked, looking down to Abigail. Her eyes slowly opened and they silently stared at one another.

The heat in her face warmed his torso. She quickly rose. “I-I-I-I’m sorry! I-“ Abigail stammered as she rubbed her eyes.

He slowly rose, feeling a cool breeze of evening. The knight grabbed her sweater and offered it to her. “I don’t mind. Thank you for everything today. Are you okay?”

Still red as a tomato, she quietly accepted the sweater. “I-I am. Thank you.”

“She’s important to you, Max. Be honest with her.” She said, still comfortably laying in the lush green.

“Its getting late.” Abigail’s lips zipped as she struggled to compose herself. “W-We should head back.”

“I’m sorry, Abigail. I wasn’t able to tell you, and I-”

Her eyes fell to the grass. “It’s okay. I brought it up out of no where too. So much time has passed, so I kinda already knew. It was just… I guess a part of me… Couldn’t accept it.”

The knight scooted closer to her and placed his hand on her head, rubbing her hair.

“H-Hey! I’m not some kid!” She whispered, cheeks red.

He smiled. “You’re strong, you know that? Despite what had happened you took care of your brother. When I showed up with Alice, you immediately knew what to do. It was incredible. Your parents would be proud of you.”

Tears ran down her cheeks. “Max.. That’s not fair…”

She hugged him. With a pounding heart he wrapped his arms around her and let her cry.

Their situations were not far apart. When his father passed he was stuck, trapped in his head. Stranded in his village with corpses and debris. Just him and Her. If She wasn’t with him, he would have probably ended his life. It must have been similar for Abigail.

What of Alana? Someone who had served the evil in the world. Who had an awakening and sought something better. His eyes drifted to the sky. Would his father be proud of him now? After what he had done so far? Would the Great One be pleased with him?

A realization hit the knight as he looked to the woman in his arms. The Great One worked in funny ways. For him to meet her, to meet Alana. To meet a normal person capable of amazing things, and for him to meet a witch seeking redemption. Despite the fallen state of his home, good people still were out there.

Holding Abigail in his arms, the knight’s mind was focused. He would continue his mission. Not only for his father, not only for the Great One, not only for Alana, not only for Her, but also for the people he cared about. He squeezed Abigail tighter, silently swearing he would allow nothing to hurt her, her brother, and Alice.

“I’m okay, Maxwell.” Abigail said, slowly separating from him.

The two silently stared at one another for a moment, faces red.

“It’s getting late. We should head back.” He finally choked out.

“Y-Yeah!” Abigail stammered, rising to her feet.

She jammed her elbow into Maxwell’s side as he rose. “Lame.” She then had a smug smile for him. “Funny how holding a woman can make a man so happy. I’m glad that your spirit has returned!”

Despite Her playful tone, Her eyes held an apprehension that tore at Max’s gut.

“How are you feeling, Maxwell?”

He tore his gaze from Her and looked to Abigail. “I’m okay. My body feels much lighter.”

Sliding the sweater back on, Abigail narrowed her eyes.“You’re not saying that to get back in the armor, right?”

“No.”

She smiled. “Good.”

…

“I hope it’s good.”

Maxwell moved his limbs. The armor was much lighter after loosing a fair chunk of it. His right shoulder, side, both arms, and left leg had been replaced with chucks of leather. He rotated his arms, appreciating the extra motion.

“It’s great, John. Thank you.”

He blushed. “I-I put the other pieces in my bag. They’re important to you, so maybe we can try and find someone who can…”

The knight smiled as he slid his helmet on. “Thank you.”

“Also, you should be thanking Alice. She was able to weld it together.”

“Oh?” He looked to Alice and she nodded with a smile.

“Nicely done.”

With that, the group headed home. Maxwell trailed the three, admiring how quickly things had changed for the better. Alice could be happy here with them. Surely, Alana could rest easy knowing that.

He could be too.

But…

He had his mission.

He could not run away from it.

Their safety depended on him.

…

The remainder of the day was a blur. After returning home, Alice rushed to help Abigail make the beds and dinner while Maxwell helped John with other chores. Before the knight had known it, everyone was turning in for the night. Abigail directed him to the spare room. To Maxwell’s relief, Alice decided to sleep with Alana for the night.

He waited for a few hours then crept out into the night. Thankfully, his armor was much quieter due to John’s modifications. Dark clouds hung overhead, the white moon’s haze weakly lighting the world before him.

She waved at him, standing by the tree line. He entered the woods with Her.

“Must be serious if you want this much distance.”

Her eyes were glued to the ground, and She held Her arm. “Max… I had a thought, and after what Rebecca said to me… I…”

He furrowed his brow. “She saw you?! What did she say to you?!”

She met his eyes.

Then Her beautiful blue widened in fear, a gasp escaping Her mouth.

He had never seen such horror on her face. Swallowing, the knight turned around, seeing what scared Her so.

“Ahhhhh. I know that helmet. I suppose you are his son? What a beautiful family you have there…”

Its glowing eyes shifted to Her. “It’s nice to see you again. You’re as beautiful as ever.”