“What does that mean?” Kre asked, trying to understand what he just heard. “I thought the Ancients were all dead. I mean, it’s been… what, a few hundred years?”
“More like a few thousand, but hey, who really counts after the first hundred years.”
Bel nodded and tried to stifle a smile. The back and forth between the two younger companions reminded her of how she and Terync used to banter with each other. The memory was bittersweet, and it nearly brought a tear to her eye. She shuffled off the emotion as easily as a duck sheds water and returned her attention to the two.
“It is true that the Ancients, as you know them, are long gone from this mortal world. It is also true that the spirits outside these walls are of the Ancients. As I said, it is a difficult thing to explain in summary. They are still-living shadows… the cast-off of an Ancient’s essence… what is left when all emotion is ripped from a soul.”
“You seem to have no trouble explaining these very complicated topics,” Kitalia remarked. “You do yourself an injustice by claiming otherwise.”
“I suppose,” Bel shrugged. “I have spent quite a many years contemplating these topics and some of must have sunk in after all that time.”
Kre ran his hand through his hair and muttered something under his breath. When neither of the ladies responded to him, he looked up and raised his voice a bit. “You guys are insane,” he repeated. “How can you stand here and talk about things like Ancients and spirits so casually? These are not casual topics! These are dark and mystical things that shouldn’t be discussed so openly and so brazenly.”
Kitalia shrugged, “It is not as if talking about them can hurt us.”
“I thought your people were afraid of mentioning the Ancients in any way.”
Kitalia snorted, “You assumed that. Your people are far more superstitious than mine. I should add,” she continued, punctuating her words with a pointed finger at Kre, “I use the word superstitious in the manner that means that your people are afraid of things that are made-up, whereas mine demonstrate the proper amount of respect, awe, and apprehension that the true dangers of the world deserve.”
“Even when you seem like you’re being helpful and instructive, you’re doing it in a way that’s harsh and demeaning.”
Kitalia tilted her head to one side and gave him a sparkling smile, “Aw Kre, you say such the sweetest things.”
Bel chuckled. These two were so very much like her and Terync in the early days, just when she had been assigned to him upon his being knighted.