Aphmau POV:

Last night was hectic. I had given Zoey the ingredients she needed to make a barrier for Sasha in the old guard station, but it involved a miny advantage with the Stranger. I had gained some Fairy Bread in Mateli and apparently it is super rare. One of the facts being that you needed Fairy Bread to get on of the barrier ingredients, such as the Glow Flower.

Those flowers can only be made out of Lillies of The Water(a type of flower). They were next to a gouge in the ocean where the Strange had apparently set up camp. It was awkward at first since he clearly wanted me to leave, but once I explained the situation. The process of making Glow Flowers take a long time being that you had to catch and trap a Fairy using the Fairy Bread.

It had been a few hours and the moon was high in the sky by the time I started asking him questions. Of course by now I knew he was reluctant to answer but, eventually complied. It turns out his wife's name was Lilly and that was why he was camped near the flowers. After finding out he is a man with uncheck emotions for over a few years, I decided to be his friend!

I told the stranger that and he didn't understand why at first. "Nobody deserves to go through everything alone. You need a friend." That's when he said what his name was. Aaron. It was about an hour after that when the trap went off and I collected the glow flowers and gave them to Zoey. Proud and exhausted, I ventured to our guest housing area and finally fall asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was back in that place again. Bright green field with the large tree standing in the middle. I walked around the base, seeing Garroth there as before. "Lord Aphmau? You're here again?" He was still physically well. I let out a breath that I didn't even know was being held. "Oh thank Irene, Garro--"

"WOAH!!"

Someone's voice rang out in a mixture of excitement and amazement. "APHMAU THIS PLACE IS AWESOME!" I'd recognize that voice anywhere. A female figure ran around with escaping laughs coming out of her mouth. "...Lady Y/n?" Garroth had called out to her with a low voice. She started doing cartwheels on the grass, ignoring him.

"...She can't hear you Garroth." He was shaking his head taking steady steps towards her. "...L-lady Y/n....I-is that you..?" Y/n look up at him. Dead in the eye. Before she stood up and fazed right through the both of us in a random direction. Garroth turned back to me looking scared and confused. "...What happened to her..?" 15 years. 15 years we've been gone and he is still there. 15 years of character development and personality change. 15 years of experiences we'll never know.

As best I could I explained to Garroth what happened. And as best he could, he tried to keep a level head.

"I can't....Lord Aphmau, I am so sorry. This is all my fault. If I hadn't listened to Zane's tricks, none of this would have happened." We were sitting on the tree's roots as he hung his head in a shameful manner. "Hey, Aphmau!" Y/n's voice came around again. She was doing a hand stand in the grass. "Tell Blondie he is an asshole! But even assholes make mistakes!"

"...How long do you think it will be until I get out of the Irene dimension?" He stared off at her with longing sadness. "That depends on a lot of factors. One being if you are even real, or just a memory in my dreams." Even with the dark atmosphere, Y/n's childish antics and actions were lightening the mood. "I, feel real. After our last encounter I was back in front of Zane. Swords in hand. Next thing I knew that light came back, and now I'm here with you again. And now... her..."

Y/N WAS HERE made its signature marking on the tree's bark. I let a chuckle slip through from watching how unfazed she seemed. Maybe she actually felt this care free in her sleep. "...I wish I spent more time to get to know her as a person rather than treat her as another villager to protect. In a way, I'm quite jealous of Laurence. He was able to befriends her and make her laugh. Like that one time in the guard tower when they were fighting over the table?"

Y/n let out a gasp before looking all around. "I can't believe I forgot! HEY BLONDIE! AS SOON AS WE GET YOU OUT OF HERE; THAT SPARKLING, BEAUTIFUL, FRILLY, GLITTERY, BLUE DRESS IS STILL WAITING FOR YOU! I'LL MAKE YOU WEAR IT IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!" She had an evil smirk on her face, not knowing where to look for us. At the same time Garroth sucked in a sharp breath at her words.

"Hah, well it seems to me like you guys also had some bonding moments? That's an inside joke between you two that I wouldn't want to be a part of." He looked down with a dishearten smile. "Hey. You got to keep high spirits. Stay alive in there for us, and we'll try everything to make sure you get out of there in one piece." That bell let out its chimes as the scenery started fading to white.

"Lord Aphmau. Please tell her how much I am sorry. And from the bottom of my heart, she should be with someone who deserves her. Don't wait up on me, and give a life with someone else a chance." I nodded sincerely as he too was clouded out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   I awoke in my bed, slowly sitting upwards. From what I could see, Y/n was doing the same while stretching out more. She didn't have distraught nor a look of being upset displayed anywhere. "That place was pretty. How... how is Garroth holding up?"
I promised to tell her that he's sorry. And be with someone that deserves her. As far as I can tell, Garroth still does.

"....He said he missed you."

1045 words.