#and I'm so glad I managed to write somethign each day

[ephemeralxjustice]

So then, how long had she known it? He remembers enough of their conflict to know the many times and the many ways he has acted against her, hurt those about her, all in the name of his duty. It was as much a part of his duty as any, even misguided as he had become, there had been no other path. It leaves a pang in his chest to know all he has done to one who had helped him so, even in spite of the knowledge there was no other choice he could have made. Had she known it from the first it was him? Or had she, like he himself, been permitted to briefly indulge in the existence of ‘Themis’?

He supposes that the answer is irrelevant. Whether she suspected or no, his identity was revealed all the same. Elidibus. He who would become one of her greatest enemies. How then had the steps that ensued changed for the knowledge? He recalls no resentment, even though she should have carried it. He can think of no change in her demeanour or shift in her sincerity. An irrelevant detail then, yet a curiosity now that will not relinquish him. 

What had she thought in that singular moment in the Caustic Purgatory when Lahabrea spoke it so easily? He tries to recall the moment, to bring her face to mind as he offers apologies for his deception. Even these memories are not wholly without obfuscation.     

How had she answered him?

Say my name. 

“Themis. You’re still here.” 

Day 7: Themis

[AO3]