You're Not Alone

                                    

                                          
'You get lost?' Zazzalil said sarcastically, a smirk plastered on her face as Jemilla entered the hut. 
                          
'Here's your stuff.' Jemilla said curtly as she passed the bag to her wife. 
                          
Jemilla couldn't bring herself to look at Zazzalil, as the guilt began to wash over her. 
                          
Noticing her wife's odd behaviour Zazzalil appeared confused for a moment before she came to a realisation, 'Did you look in it?' Zazzalil asked tentatively. 
                          
Jemilla eyes widened at the question, 'Not on purpose I swear. I dropped the bag and-'
                          
Zazzalil was quick to cut off her wife's rambling, '-hey chill out J. It's okay. I don't mind you seeing it. We are married remember? No more secrets.'
                          
Jemilla let out a sigh of relief as the thought of hurting her wife felt more painful than anything else. 
                          
Now that Jemilla knew she was safe, she moved to sit back down on the bed next to her wife, their knees touching. 
                          
Zazzalil opened the small pouch to reveal a elegant talisman made of wood that had been intricately designed with a spiralled pattern and adorned with small gemstones of every colour. 
                          
Carefully, Zazzalil picked the talisman up and held it tenderly in her hands. Jemilla watched her wife stare at the object intensely.
                          
'It's beautiful. It was your father's, right?' Jemilla asked, breaking Zazzalil's trance with the object. 
                          
Zazzalil simply nodded, 'Mother made it for him before she left for the war. She said it was supposed to ward off bad spirits or something, it was meant to keep him safe until she came home.'
                          
Zazzalil turned the talisman in her hands absentmindedly as she became lost in her thoughts. 
                          
'It worked though I guess. He lived through the war and survived... but she wasn't as lucky as him.'
                          
Jemilla didn't quite know how to react to that. 
                          
Despite the loss of her own parents, she never really had a chance to know them in order to miss their presence, so she was currently in unknown territory. 
                          
'How old were you when she died?' Jemilla asked softly.
                          
'About 7 years old.'
                          
Zazzalil took a shaky breath before continuing, 'After that day my father wasn't the same. He didn't smile as bright anymore or sing me to sleep at night. He just wasn't himself anymore, he wasn't thinking clearly either. So when he ran into Trunkell, he wasn't prepared at all.'
                          
Jemilla's heart broke at the story and she coulr feel her eyes beginning to well up but she knew she had to be strong for Zazzalil. 
                          
'I'm so sorry Zazzalil.' Jemilla said as she turned to wrap her wife in a tight hug. 
                          
'It's fine. You can't change the past.' Zazzalil murmured, her face nuzzled into the crook of Jemilla's neck. 
                          
'Hey.' Jemilla said, leaning back from the hug and moving to hold her wife's free hand. 
                          
'Thank you for telling me about your parents. I know you don't like to talk about them much.'
                          
'Thanks for listening. It felt nice to talk about them again.' Zazzalil said, a sad smile appearing on her face as she wrapped the amulet back up and placed it to one side.
                          
'I'm glad.' Jemilla reassured, giving her wife's hands a final squeeze before standing up. 
                          
'So uh, I guess it's time for bed then?' Zazzalil asked almost nervously as she watched Jemilla begin to tidy the hut and light a small candle, a recent invention of Zazzalil's, in order to illuminate the room.