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Gem could feel the glares of the two brothers sitting across from her, although she knew they weren’t directed at her. The poisonous hatred between Scott and Xornoth was filling the room, so she shuffled the papers in front of her in order to disrupt the tense atmosphere and cleared her throat.
“Alright!” She said brightly. “Welcome to your first session of wizard-mandated therapy!”
There was no response from either of the elves, so she decided to take some initiative. Holding up an amethyst crystal, Gem addressed both of the brothers. “This is the talking crystal. When you are holding the crystal, you will talk and answer my questions, without being hostile. If you are not holding the crystal, you will not talk. Got it?”
Scott sighed, but he nodded, and Xornoth begrudgingly did so as well. Gem flipped a coin, looked at the result, and handed the crystal to Scott.
Scott rolled his eyes, but obeyed. “I think my points are pretty clear,” he stated. “Xornoth has destroyed empires, and corrupted, and..”
Gem interrupted him. “Scott, why don’t we focus more on how you feel, and less on blaming Xornoth.” Scott glared at her, but as all the Emperors knew, it was impossible to stay mad at Gem.
Sighing, Scott continued. “I guess I feel angry that you were spreading your corruption, and murdering my friends. I would appreciate it if you would just die and leave me alone.”
Gem gasped, snatching the crystal away from Scott. She hugged the crystal close to herself, seemingly regretting all her decisions. After a few deep breaths, she collected herself and handed the crystal to Xornoth.
Xornoth took the crystal, but hesitated, as if unsure what to say. “I suppose I was hurt that you just gave up on me. Even before I was possessed you treated me like I was evil.”
Gem beamed at the admission and gave the crystal to Scott, elated that the brothers are finally making progress. Scott rolled his eyes. “What was I supposed to act like? It’s just fate. You’re evil, I’m good. That’s just the way it is.”
Gem scribbled the words down in her notebook, feeling as if they had gotten to the root of the problem. “So you felt like you couldn’t be friends with someone whose destiny was to be corrupted, yes?”
Scott nodded, and she continued. “My knowledge about Elven culture isn’t the best, but Scott, how did you know that Xornoth would be Exor’s pick?”
Scott scoffed. “It was pretty obvious. Everyone knew I’d be Aeor’s choice, so Xornoth was clearly destined for corruption. There was no use in staying close to someone that I’d have to kill for the greater good.”
Gem nodded, sympathy overflowing in her eyes. “So you felt that acknowledging that Xornoth is your brother would make it harder to kill him in the future.”
Scott nodded, looking like he was holding back exhaustion and grief. Xornoth looked the same way. Gem looked like she wanted to give them both a hug.
“Xornoth…” she started, motioning for Scott to hand him the crystal. “If I’m correct, you weren’t given a choice about becoming Exor’s champion. Is that right?”
Xornoth nodded, his face betraying the emotions he refused to express. Gem’s whole body was itching to hug him, but she resisted, feeling like it wouldn’t be appropriate.
There was far less tension in the room, both elves pretending they weren’t holding back tears and the urge to run towards each other, resisting the impulse with the fear that the other didn’t feel the same way.
Gem took a moment to decide how to proceed, This was more of a breakthrough than she had dared hope, and she hadn’t made plans for this occurrence. “Do you think,” she asked hesitantly, “that you could try and start over, rebuild your relationship?”
Both Scott and Xornoth nodded slowly, and she blinked a few times to make sure it was really happening. This was every therapist’s dream! And in the first session, no less!
While Gem was still congratulating herself for winning therapy on the first try, Scott and Xornoth were still processing the years of emotional trauma that had been exposed.
Scott watched all the events of Xornoth’s corruption over and over again in his mind, searching for the ways he could have done something to help his brother, while Xornoth dealt with all the anger he had carried towards Scott dissipating in an instant of understanding, left feeling empty without the presence of either Exor or his bitterness.
The built up emotional walls surrounding each elf crumbled, and their attempts at holding back their tears suddenly failed. They launched themselves at each other in the same instant, holding on to each other as if they were scared the other would disappear.
Gem looked at the two softly, quietly getting up and exiting the room, feeling like the brothers could use some time alone.
With her gone, the two elves gave in to the exhaustion that had been building up over the years, and fell asleep in each other’s arms, finally secure in the knowledge that the other would still be there when they wake up.
A few hours passed before Gem started to get worried. Scott and Xornoth still hadn’t left the therapy room, and she was trying her best not to assume the worst. Still, she gripped her staff harder, almost unconsciously preparing to break up a fight.
Her fears were unfounded, as when she peeked inside the room, the elves were fast asleep, arms wrapped around one another. Having been friends with Scott for a while, Gem knew how sleep deprived he could get, and she assumed Xornoth would be the same, so she made the executive decision to let them sleep for a while longer.
Grabbing a knitted blanket from the other room and draping it over them, Gem left the two alone again, and marked the therapy session down as a success in her Grimoire.