One evening, or morning, I woke slowly after a long sleep. I tried to remember what time it was, and how long I had slept. But my mind could not think, and so my eyes became aware of what was in front of them. For the first time I could think of, I saw Roun asleep. His tousled hair had fallen away from his face, revealing a white streak that I remembered seeing before. His cheeks were dirty, his mouth hung slightly open. His eyes looked far more tired than they did when he was awake and fierce or smiling. And he was curled up, as if fighting off the cold, while I was covered by an oppressive layer of blankets. I lay still a while, not thinking, and then lifted one hand to push off a blanket. It stopped, and I felt the mass of hair in the way. I gathered energy and lifted my head. Epiphany was still by my side, but she knelt, her head rested on my blankets, her face down and her red-gold hair untied, fanned out over me. And I realized that she was silently sobbing.
"Epiphany..." I almost whispered. She turned her head and looked at me with eyes that shimmered with tears. I had never seen her cry before. "I... I'm sorry..." I did not know what else to say.
"About what?"
I sighed. "This."
"It's not your fault."
It may not have been, but I was still sorry. I wished that I had never decided to be the One, that I had never left home. Did I really wish that? No, I just wished that I was not by the fire, in the woods... What did I wish for, then? I wished for nothing, save that everything would be right. I could not think or hold up my head any longer. I lay back and stared at the sky. But I could feel Epiphany sobbing. And from her, through me, a cooling fire spread. I could feel my heart beating through the sensation, until finally I breathed, and the feeling passed. I quickly looked up at Epiphany, and we stared at each other, startled.
"Epiphany- what was that?"
"That was... that was..." she could not explain, if she even knew. "Zia, how do you feel?"
"I..." I looked around at the world. It was as if everything had snapped into a sharper focus. I was still tired, but something had indefinably changed. I felt as if my life had been given back. And for the first time in a long while, I was hungry. I pushed my blankets back and sat up, tousled and with wrinkled clothes. The cold air actually felt good on my cheeks. I smiled as broadly as I ever had.
"I feel... Epiphany, what did you do?"
Epiphany laughed in astonishment, then grabbed me and hugged me. "Zia! Oh, Zia, you're back and it'll be wonderful now! Zia..." She was crying again, this time with happiness. "Zia, do you realize? This means that I am one of those who can fight the Dark! I can REALLY help you now!"
"What's all this?" Roun asked, yawning. He paused, his mouth still open, when he opened his eyes and saw me sitting and Epiphany hugging me. "Zia! Well, what do you know!" He smiled so broadly that his eyes disappeared into two dark and smiling crescent-moons. He got came and crouched beside me, and hugged me. This was not a Roun who was telling jokes to keep hope alive. This was a Roun who saw that everything would be all right. It was all right that I was somewhere in the wilds, the One, going to fight the Dark. My arms still around my friends, I lay back, laughing at the sky.