Celica batted it away absently, brows furrowed. “I’m fine, Mae. Perfectly fine. Thank you for your concern.”

Mae crossed her arms, glancing around camp. Everyone else was settled in for the night. They wouldn’t miss their precious princess for just a few minutes.

“Just come with me, will ya?” She tugged gently at Celica’s elbow, meeting her eyes, trying to project as much seriousness as she could. The bags under Celica’s eyes seemed darker than ever in the flickering firelight, as if she hadn’t slept in weeks.

It must have worked, because Celica only sighed and abandoned her seat to follow Mae into the dark. Mae took a second to scrunch up her face and focus, and with her free hand she squeezed her palm and opened it to reveal a dim, pink light.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you trip,” she stage-whispered, glancing back at the camp-site.

They only walked a little ways off, to the side of a small stream. The soothing sound of running water filled the air, the moonlight reflecting off the water almost making Mae’s contribution unnecessary.

She sat Celica down in the grass after clearing it of any sticks and debris, and plopped herself down beside her, legs stretched out in front of her. She took a deep breath.

“Look, I know things have gotten kind of out of hand. First we just set off to get to Mila’s temple, and now we’re hunting down some haunted tower? It’s a lot, for you especially. But you don’t have to handle it all alone, y’know? I’ll always be here to help with anything you need. Even Boey feels the same, and Genny and Saber and everyone else, too. We wouldn’t be following you otherwise.”

Celica only gnawed at her lip, silence stretching. It took all her self-control not to keep blabbing. Clearly, what Celica needed wasn’t reassuring words. She was gonna shoulder whatever burden she wanted all by herself whether Mae liked it or not. She let the magic lighting up her hand fade.

“Hey,” Mae said softly, reaching for Celica’s face. She led her head down to her lap, fingers tangling in her hair. “It’s fine. You don’t have to tell us if you really don’t want to. But at least let yourself rest just a little, alright?”

She moved her fingers to Celica’s temples to massage them, hoping she could help soothe whatever was on Celica’s mind. Celica relaxed into the touch, eyes closing.

“I’m sorry. I just don’t want you to have to get more caught up in this than you already are.”

Mae stayed silent, focusing on the sound of water over rocks. She continued moving her fingers in small circles until she felt the tension bleed away, and then moved back to untangling the strands of Celica’s hair.

“I’ll tell you eventually, I promise.”