A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

They found themselves in front of the master bedroom, where once Emma and Emily's parents slept. The door remained closed as the three of them stood there, merely staring at it.

Erik panned his gaze sympathetically between the two sisters. He noticed they mirrored each other's pained and anxious expressions. He knew why they were here, and why it was difficult to open that door.

He'd seen it in Emily's memories; what they'd done with their parent's remains.

Even Emily, despite the differences she had with them, loved and missed her parents. She preferred being able to rebel against them over not having them in her life at all.

But dead they were. Neither of them were able to resist the influx of aetherium and survive the rapid growth of their aetherium storage on the day of awakening, and thus, their bodies had been reduced to ash, right in front of the eyes of their daughters.

At the time, Emma remained far too traumatized by the event to even step foot into the living room again, at least until Erik arrived. So, Emily was the one who had to step up and deal with their parents' ashy remains.

Which she did in the only way she could think of back then.

So, Erik waited patiently. He was there for support, but not to push them. They'd open the door and deal with what lay beyond eventually, there wasn't any hurry.

Finally, they both sighed, and through some kind of unexplained sister telepathy, they both opened the door at the same time.

Slowly, the sight of a luxurious bedroom opened up to them. There was only a light layer of dust on everything, because even in the corrupted, crazed state that Emily was in near the latter years before Erik showed up, she kept cleaning this place.

Perhaps not even the corrupted Emily knew why.

Whatever the case, the room was in no worse state than Emily or Emma's had been.

But there was one significant difference. On the large, queen-sized bed, two pillows were each propping up a picture and a wine bottle.

A few days after the awakening, and after she recovered from fighting off Liam, a heartbroken but determined Emily gathered her parent's ashes, and put them in the only sealable containers she had access to at the time: wine bottles.

Then, she created this little altar on her parent's bed, as a way for her and Emily to visit them. The left picture was of their mother, Isabella, while the right depicted their father, Oliver.

As soon as they came into view, the sisters started tearing up a little.

Even the hardened Emily wasn't immune to this sight.

It had been a few years since they both visited here, or at all. Emma had not been able to come here from the moment Emily started locking her up, while Emily couldn't really be considered herself during that time.

Then, when Erik came, things were hectic. They didn't have a chance. Nor would they get one, when they were suddenly forced to leave in a hurry. But, when Erik honoured his buried father in Frostvik, Emily was reminded, and asked Erik to bring them here when possible.

Now, they were finally back.

"Hey, Mom… Dad… I'm sorry it's been a while," Emma smiled sadly.

"That was my fault," Emily muttered a little hesitantly. She found it hard to open up in front her parents, despite their current state. She simply never had such a relationship with them.

Emma chuckled softly, "Don't even start, big Em. What happened was nobody's fault, least of all yours. You were just as much a victim as me." Her tone became a little sadder, "More, in fact. You're still suffering the effects of what happened, while I've gotten off scot-free."

For a moment, Emma and Emily looked at each with the absolute love of close siblings.

Suddenly, Emily's lips curled into a mischievous smirk, "Not completely scot-free, though… I'm pretty sure it had something to do with that bondage fetish of yours."

Emma's eyes widened, and her cheeks burned. She quickly turned to the small altar, and waved her hands defensively, "D— Don't listen to her!"
Your next journey awaits at empire

At this point, Erik walked up behind them, and smiled softly, "Oh? Are you sure you want to spoil this reunion by hiding the truth, little Glimmer?"

Emma's body stiffened and she started panic a little. Suddenly, the husband she shared with her sister entered the conversation, and now she even had to admit to her love for bondage?! Her eyes looked around for relief but found none.

It didn't last long, however. Apparently, she came to a decision when her panicking stopped, and her gaze filled with determination. "'F— Fine!" she still slightly stammered. Having always been the good girl who followed her parent's wishes, this was new to her.

"I— I'm a pervert!" she exclaimed somewhat confidently at the pictures of her parents. "I like being tied up, and this man is both my husband, and big Em's!"

One could question if she would have showed the same bravery if her parents hadn't been dead, but why should we question the good daughter's moment of rebellion?

Emily wasn't prepared for that last declaration, however, and quickly shook her head, "Dammit, why are you dragging me into this?!"

But then her eyes flew to the pictures, and she pouted, her eyes shining with the defiance she usually showed them in the past, "I— I mean… who cares what you think! This is who I am, deal with it!"

Erik smiled warmly as he looked at the pictures as well and decided to go along with sisters. "It's a pleasure to meet you, both," he told the pictures with sincerity. "I swear I will take the utmost care of your daughters."

Then, he turned to Emily with a smirk, "By the way, Emily? Shouldn't we talk to your father about something?"

Immediately, Emily's pale face became even whiter, and she frantically shook her head with wide eyes, "D— Don't you dare!"

But Erik's smirk remained, "Alright… well, I'm sure they're interested in that collar around your neck, though? How about we talk about that instead?"

"Y— You…!" she exclaimed and stamped her foot.

For the next hour or so, the trio continued joking around like this, as the palpitant despair about their parent's fate was slowly eased. Eventually, they started talking to them of everything that had happened since they last visited.

Not all of it was happy, but it did them good to talk about it with their parents, even if they were long gone already.

Finally, they were all talked out, and both girls had tear-stained cheeks, Emma a little more than Emily, of course.

They all looked at the pictures with solemn quiet for a moment.

Then, Emma spoke softly, "So…what do we do now? We can't just leave them here, while we go off to wherever, right?"

Emily looked unsure, "I agree, but… what should we do with them then? We can't really divide hem, or turn them into a timeshare…"

That was when Elora appeared on Erik's shoulder again, with a small, yet uncharacteristically kind smile, "Maybe I can offer an alternative."