"Thank you so much, Zuph, thank you for always being here with me even when I want to push you away," Nora sniffed.
"You do not need to thank me, everything I do is because I want to do it and you deserve all the niceness in the world. You deserve to be rewarded for your gentle nature and your kindness, because good will always receive good in return, although it does not seem like the case at the moment," Zuph smiled.
Nora wiped away the remainder of her tears, she smiled and nodded.
"Would you like something to eat?" she asked.
"Yes, of course, that's why I'm here," Zuph smiled.
Nora laughed and nodded, "Wait, I will be right back.".
Nora stood up and entered into the kitchen. Zuph sighed, he was so relieved that he was able to cheer Nora, up. Although he knew that this was not enough to sooth the aching pain in her heart.
However, he hoped that with time and with her opening up, she would be able to overcome faster than she expected.
Nora returned a few moments later, she smiled and handed him a plate of food.
"Here you go," she smiled.
"Thank you," Zuph smiled.
"What would you like to drink?".
"Water is fine," he smiled.
"Alright, a moment please," Nora disappeared to the kitchen and returned some moments later.
"Here," she smiled and handed him a cup of water.
"Thank you," he smiled.
"You are welcome," Nora sniffed, she sat down and they eat together in silence.
This singular action gave her flashbacks of being in the camp and having dinner with Zuph under the stars. It gave her some form of safety and she felt like she could tell him anything. She felt comforted.
"So, are you in the mood to talk?" he turned to her and asked.
"Well, it depends, what do you want to talk about?" she smiled.
"How do you feel? Really?" he asked worried.
"I am very broken on the inside. I am trying to take it one step at a time although I am very sad, I try my best to go through my day with strength," she said.
"I am so sorry, Nora. I know it seems hard now, but it is going to get easier.".
Nora nodded, she felt like it was impossible, but Zuph, he never thought anything was, he was always so nice and sweet.
"I think you should try to forgive, and please relax, let me explain why," Zuph said.
Nora sighed, she nodded, Zuph was here with her, and she did not want to be alone at the moment.
"Alright, explain why, I am listening," she sighed once more.
Zuph saw this as a good moment to say everything that was on his mind gently. Although his plans to confess his feelings for Nora had gone awry with the revelations that were made known, he needed to find another time in the future to reveal his feelings.
As for now, he wanted her to release herself from the hate and stress, that was the only way that she could truly free herself from this.
"I think that you need to forgive and forget, you need to move on," Zuph said.
"Why do you say that? Have I ever said that I have not forgiven yet?" Nora frowned.
"No, but I can sense it, you are still very angry, you feel a great injustice and it is completely normal, but I feel that you need to release all the hate you have for the queen and Mero as well," he said.
Nora frowned as soon as Zuph mentioned the two people who caused her so much pain.
"I know it is hard, it is very hard, but you cannot just continue to hate them. I am not saying that things will go back to normal when you forgive them, but at least when you see them, you should not feel that kind of animosity," he said.
"That is easier said than done, Zuph. It is too much for me to bear. I cannot even think of standing in front of any of them without feeling the hate overwhelming me," she said.
"I know, I know, but I am not saying it will not be hard, it will be, but it has to be an intentional decision to release the hate in your heart," he said.
"I am saying this because if you release the hate, you will be able to move on with your life. The things that cause you to cry will only continue to make you suffer until you make the conscious decision to let them go mentally. When you do that, the rest will follow.".
Nora sighed, she knew he was right and hated that greatly. It made her feel like she was the bad one here. They had hurt her so much, she hated Mero, yes, but the person who really betrayed her was Wura. She had thought she had a true friend in her, she had given her all in order to show just how much she trusted her and admired her, but in the end, she had been lied to and taken as a fool.
"It is hard, I know, but it is the best thing to do. If you do it, you will feel much better, trust me," Zuph said.
"I will think about it, for now, I do not want to waste my time or my breath mentioning two people who do not have common decency or morals," she said.
"Alright, but does it make you feel better to know that you are not the only one suffering?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" she frowned.
"Liam is suffering right now as well. He worse than anyone else, and from what I heard, Wura wants his forgiveness badly," Zuph said.
"I could not care less about that woman and her so called asking for forgiveness when the damage is already done. She could not think about the consequences of her actions before taking them, and if his majesty does not forgive her, I support him. I hope he does not get blinded by her persuasion," Nora said.
"Nora, that is not like you. You don't usually talk like that," Zuph frowned. Clearly it was all her anger and hate talking.
"You can say whatever you want, you know that I am right.".
Nora stood her ground, she was only telling the truth.
"If Liam can forgive her, then it means that we all can. After all, he must feel really distressed at this moment, and he is so stressed and busy, he does not have time to deal with his emotions," Zuph said.
"Can we talk about something else right now?" she asked.
Zuph nodded, at least she had agreed to listen to him, and he knew that deep down, Nora was still her sweet, understanding self, and his words would come back to her when she needed them the most.
"Good, so, how have you been doing?".
"I do not know why, but it feels so strange for everything to return to normalcy. I mean, I continue to have dreams of being in the camp, wary of the enemy striking at any time, and it also feels like a dream that everything has reached a sort of conclusion," he said.
"I know how you feel, I feel like that sometimes," she replied. "How is the food?".
"It is alright, thank you very much. It is always nice to eat in the midst of good company instead of being alone all the time," Zuph smiled.
"But you are never alone, you, Elihu and the others are always together," she replied.
"Not nowadays, what happened split us up and although I am sure that everything will return to normal soon, I am more concerned with your happiness and recovery right now," he said.
Nora smiled, "It is nice to have someone worry about me.".
"You deserve to have someone worry about you and much more," he smiled.
Nora looked away and focused on her food. She was honestly so tired of feeling angry all the time, and Zuph was the only person she trusted to reveal all her feelings to, she knew that her words were safe with him and were kept simply between them both.
"What do you think about me coming to have dinner with you tomorrow?" he asked.
"If you want to do it, you are free to," she shrugged.
"Alright then, we will eat dinner together every night until you finally feel better," he smiled.
"Are you serious about that?" she turned to him.
"When have I ever not been serious?".
She laughed and shook her head, "Thank you for being such a good friend.".
"Thank you for allowing me be your friend," he smiled back as they continued eating.
The sky was dark, the stars were dim, but Nora could start to feel a certain seed of happiness spring up within her.