Ernest sat on a bench at the edge of Angela's realm, dagger spinning between her fingertips. A small chunk of crystal sat in her hands - one of the few remnants of the dead goddess. She was all alone. No one had approached her, and she liked it that way. She had never been so angry in all her life.

She spun the crystal within her fingers, and, as if not really trying, made it glow softly. Magic. Another gift the goddess had given her. Another thing that would never have been hers without Angela's help. 

Angela had meant a lot to her. She'd known that, but she hadn't known how much. Not until the goddess was gone forever. She remembered every moment of it. She remembered running, Angela herding everyone toward a wild, endless plain. Maral'hal, Angela had called it. She had said they would be safe there. And they had been. But Angela had not. She remembered seeing the goddess explode in a flash of light, remembered the rain of crystals, even into the Wild Lands. 

She had gone back as soon as she could. She had searched the temple from top to bottom, hoping against hope that Angela would be there. It had not been destroyed, and that gave her hope. But Angela was not there. She was not anywhere. 

Ernest had gone outside then, left everyone, and sat on the bench. She did not know why. No, she knew why she waited. She was waiting for Angela to come back. She knew the goddess was dead. But she could not imagine leaving. That, she did not know why. When her mother had died, when Uncle Alf had died, she had moved on. She had made herself move on. There was something so… wrong about this. Something that should not, could not be happening.

Slowly, it occurred to her why. Everyone else's death had been something that had happened. The world had made it happen. She'd never had any reason to believe there was ill will in it. People died. That was what happened. But goddesses didn't die. This was something that never should have occurred. This was something someone had done purely out of malice. And she had not cared how much it hurt.

Ernest studied the dagger in her hands again. She lit it on fire. Turned it off. Lit it. Turned it off. She had a weapon. And she had her magic. Dalanesca could fear her. She was dangerous.

She had nothing more to lose.

They had been traveling the world the time that her mother’s  death had happened. She caught the crystals in her hands and tears left her face. SOMETHING wasn’t right.

Go home Foxglove.

The words entered her mind and left as quickly as it had happened. The voice was so distorted and if she hadn’t been an Avatar she would have had no idea who it was. It was so faint and distant. Why go home? The realm couldn’t have been there.

However, that wasn’t the truth. As she returned home she found the realm completely intact. No one knew where her mother was. She was nowhere but Foxglove kept the voice to herself. She began to run the place like her mother’s. Foxglove looked like a younger Angela, sounded like a younger Angela, but she seemed more innocent, unlike her mother. She had a hard time giving harsh orders that needed to be done.

She also wasn’t as frilly as her mother was. She wore her adventuring clothes. Her red hair was pulled back up into a bun with loose curls everywhere from the amount of work she was doing. When she came across Ernest she stopped in front of her. “You know… Mother fought hard so we wouldn’t have too… Well, she fought herself.” She put her arms behind her back and gave the younger girl a smile.

“She fought herself to preserve the peace. No matter how angry we are… she wanted us to forgive Dalanesca.” Looking up at the sky Fox made a frowning face. “I don’t understand why the Gardens are still standing. I don’t know why this happened but I do know that my mother wanted us to carry on her mission. She wanted the world to be a better place. If she had to die for it she would.”

Knowing that the girl wouldn’t have any idea who she was other than she was a mirror image she sucked up to speaking the truth. “My name is Foxglove. I’m Angela Rose’s Avatar. I’m her eyes and her ears in the world… I’m sure… that she can still hear you if you want to say something to her. She can see and hear everything I can. You know… she made me from nothing. Took my soul and rebirthed it giving me a real body. I can’t remember who I was before I became her avatar. Not a lot of people know what I am but I can tell my mother meant a lot to you.”

Ernest looked up at the voice, and found herself staring into the eyes of a much younger Angela. Her face lit up and she almost shouted the goddess's name before the girl introduced herself. Ernest frowned again. For a second there, she had thought the impossible had occurred - she had thought Angela had returned.

"You're right," she said. "About several things. I'd never heard of you. But I am glad to meet you. I'm Ernest. And, yeah," her gaze softened, "your mother meant a lot to me. She… she was the only person I knew who still cared about me." Her eyes brightened when Foxglove told her that Angela might be able to hear her. 

"If you don't mind," she said. "Angela, if you can hear me, I want to tell you… we miss you. I miss you. I really wish you could come back. I didn't know what you meant to me… until you were gone." She was almost crying. "I… I wish I could see you again, but… I know that's impossible. But, if there's any way, any way at all to get you back… I'll do it. If it takes a million years and I have to break out of Porta Inferi when I die to finish it… I will. Please," she whispered, tears forming on her cheeks, "just show me how. I'll do it. Please come back." She broke down sobbing. The burst of anger she had felt earlier was gone. She didn't even care if there was a stranger watching her. Angela was gone.

She tried to calm down. She would find Angela and bring her back. Porto Inferi was not a sealed place. If Dalanesca could escape, so could Angela. There had to be a way. She would fly halfway across the world if there was even a chance of finding the answer in a book somewhere - and she couldn't even read. The enormity of the situation hit her and she started sobbing again. But this time, she knew she'd find a way.

Foxglove gave a smile. “She meant a lot to… a lot of people. The clergy here in the temple are people known as the Afflicted. They can’t leave and they can’t live outside the realm. Mother saved them decades ago but in order to redeem their souls they have to live here until the afflicted mark is gone. My mother saved lots of people even when it wasn’t her duty to.”

Committing everything Ernest said to memory Foxglove tried to make sure that her mother would find it. “I don’t think my mother is in Porta Inferi,” it slipped Foxglove’s mouth before she could think. “Rosenites don’t believe in it. Oddly enough even though my mother was a god our people believe in something called the Soul-Stream. If she is in Porta Inferi… Dalanesca would have to have the soul-stream. To be honest, if she were truly dead… I’m not entirely sure this place would stand. I’m not sure why this place is standing. Mother is the reason for this being here.” Foxglove was troubled by it.

Foxglove was awkward as she hugged Ernest. Her hugs were as warm as her mother’s hugs were but she had learned how to love from her. “I miss her too.” She wanted to reinforce that she wasn’t alone. “And once you are a member here… you are family to us too. Mother isn’t the only one to care for you. If you were in trouble the whole temple would come help you. We’re a big happy family or we try to be. That was the one thing that my mother strived for besides peace. So we love you, Ernest because you are our family.”

Ernest returned Foxglove's hug, still sobbing quietly. "You don't know what that means to me, Foxglove, you really don't," she said softly. "But thank you. It is… It never occurred to me, that…" She trailed off again. "Nobody loves me. Not anymore. It's like having your world turned inside out."

"Look at me," she said. "Look at me. I'm here, weeping over this, when you've lost your mother. You're being so strong. It's funny, you comforting me when everyone would say it should be the other way around. I suppose it makes no sense. Then again," she added as an afterthought, "when was the last time anything made sense?"

She sat in silence for a moment, thinking. "You mentioned something about a Soul-Stream. Could that be where Angela is?" She paused. "I will find her. I wasn't kidding at all. It'll probably take me forever, but that's alright. I've always been a dreamer. I set big goals." With a laugh, she added, "Not that I've actually achieved any of them. Besides staying alive. That was a big goal back when I set it, I suppose. But I've got my whole life to do this."

She sighed. "Am I rambling again? I don't usually ramble, but I am today. It's funny. It's like there are a thousand things in my head, and I'm trying to say them all at once. Sorry. I've probably interrupted you about five times. Go ahead, I'll stop talking now."