The festival continued till late at night, but Alaric felt himself cut off from the revelry around him. He walked through the crowd in the square, gazing as the villagers danced and laughed, the light from the lanterns casting soft glows on their features. This would have been one of the nights he'd have cherished—the sort full of music, laughter, and abandonment that came with the harvest season. Tonight was different.
Eleanor was still there, tucked away in the back of his mind, tugging to bring him back. Everything else he could think to do faded away in consideration of this, as impossible as it was to find a focus. The touching of her hands against him earlier, the way she smiled to make his innards warm-up, both kept replaying over and over in his head, increasing the tension that could be ignored no longer.
There was also Rosalind.
Her words from early evening still played in his mind, bringing with them a truth he could not get away from. She knew there was something wrong in the distance they were growing between them and that, wordless, she understood so well that things were getting different between them. Alaric could not explain whether it was guilt or sadness, but thinking of hurting her twisted his heart.
As Alaric reached the outskirts of the festival, he saw Eleanor standing beside a row of apple trees at the edge of the square, watching from afar. She was alone, her arms crossed loosely over her chest as she leaned against one of the trees, her expression thoughtful.
Without much thought to it, Alaric went over to her, his footsteps quiet on the soft ground.
He grinned, taking her cue by coming over and standing at her side. "You're watching it end?"
Eleanor raised a dry eyebrow at that and quipped, "Yeah. Watching the end."
Alaric nodded, leaning back against the tree beside her. The sounds of the festival receded into the distance, muted by the onset of night. For a little while, they stood without speaking, at ease in each other's presence, as if the weight of the world had been momentarily removed.
"I have been thinking about what you said earlier," Alaric admitted, breaking the silence. "About strength. You always seem to know how to handle things."
Eleanor raised an eyebrow, turning to face him more fully. "You give me too much credit, Alaric. I am just as lost as the rest of us," she said.
Alaric chuckled softly, shaking his head. "I don't believe that for a second. You always seem to know what to say, what to do. It's like you see things more clearly than anyone else.
And while Eleanor looked at him like that, her gaze lost some of its sharpness and softened into thought. Perhaps it just looks that way from the outside, she suggested quietly. But trust me, I have my moments of doubt too.
As for Alaric, it was time to respond with a speech when Eleanor edged closer into his personal space with her bright eyes searching over him. There was a look of something in it, the kind that always made Alaric's heart move at an uneven pace. He could also feel something unspoken from them-something they've almost been close to for almost all weeks: the tension rising between their bodies.
"They have become complicated lately with what's been going on with everybody."
Alaric's chest constricted. Swallowed. "Yeah. Complicated is one word for it."
Eleanor looked a little unsure herself, her eyes avoiding his to slide over the face of the village square as she continued. "I've tried to give everyone space, because I hadn't wanted to make any of this any worse for you.".
Alaric's heart thumped within his chest. He'd always admired Eleanor's strength, her independence-but now, standing here with her, he realized just how much he had come to rely on her presence. She'd become more than just a friend. He could feel it in the way his pulse quickened whenever she was near, in the way his thoughts drifted to her when she wasn't.
"Eleanor," he began, his voice low, "I—"
But he never got the chance to finish. Eleanor took a step back, and a look of pained expression flickered across her face. "Alaric, wait," she interrupted in a more urgent tone than before. "I do not want to cause anymore trouble. Rosalind cares about you. I know that. And the last thing I want is to come between you two."
Alaric would have opened his mouth to protest, but Eleanor's look closed that one for him as she went on:
"I know I've seen how she looks at you," she continued, her voice cracking with tension. "I know how you look at her, and I simply cannot… cannot be the one that tears everything asunder.".
Alaric was severely struck by the pain of guilt as Eleanor's words settled over him, as if a weight has descended upon him. She spoke truth; Rosalind indeed cared for him. Albeit the talks had made them see the depth that they have gone deep enough, he couldn't simply forget that she was yet hopeful. But Eleanor would never know that his heart was already changing and the moment he wanted to change for Rosalind he still could not ignore Eleanor, whom he was absolutely enamored with.
"I don't know what to do," Alaric said, his voice heavy with the weight of his conflicting emotions. "I care about Rosalind, but…"
Eleanor's eyes softened as she regarded him, and for a moment, the vulnerability between them was palpable. She took a deep breath, her shoulders relaxing a little as if she had reached some kind of decision.
"I don't want to complicate things anymore than they already are," she said softly. "So maybe it's best if we give each other some space. At least until you figure things out."
Alaric's heart sank at her words. He couldn't even bear the thought of losing Eleanor-even temporarily. But he knew she was right, too. He couldn't keep stringing both of them along, hoping things would magically resolve themselves.
"I don't want to lose you," Alaric admitted, his voice raw. "I don't want to lose either of you.".
In a sorry smile, Eleanor gently brushed her hand against his arm. "You won't lose me, Alaric. But you will have to work out what it is that you want for yourself.".
And she turned and walked off, leaving Alaric alone beneath the apple trees with the weight of her words settling upon him. He watched her disappear into the night, his heart hurting to realize that things between them were now only going to be even more complicated.