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I knew none of us completely trusted the Enchantress, not knowing what years of isolation could do to someone. And yet, I didn’t know what other choice we had then to follow her lead. She was the only one who knew this land. Knew how the Darkness worked and affected the Divines who succumbed to it.
Halley stood motionless, not responding to Willow’s words, and I knew I needed to step in and take control of the situation. We would need Willow’s help in defeating the Darkness, but it could wait one more day. Right now, we all needed time with Halley and Halley needed to settle into her new home.
Stepping between Halley and Willow, I held onto Halley’s hand, pulling her slightly away. Willow frowned at the movement, but quickly covered it up with a small smile.
“I will allow you all the time you need to reconvene with each other. Shall we meet tomorrow to discuss the next steps in defeating the Darkness?”
I looked around at the others, getting each of their answers through a glance alone, before nodding in agreement at Willow.
“That would be great. We will meet tomorrow in the committee room. The other members of the committee will join us and discuss the plan of action.” I stated and Willow nodded before quietly walking out of the room, heading back to whatever corner of the castle she had been hiding away in for the last four months.
Once she left the room, an audible sigh of relief permeated throughout the room. There was a tension of power when Willow was around and I assumed it would take some getting used to. As the seven of us stood around the room, I realized we had four months to catch up on. Taking the lead, I began walking to the fireplace room, plenty of space for us all to sit.
Everyone followed behind me, standing close to Halley. The separation had been hard on us all. We all took seats on the couches, Halley sitting in the center of us all.
“How did this happen? How did the portal open?” Halley started, clearly wondering how this was all possible.
“Willow came to me this morning. She told me that she could open the portal, that she would need another Enchantress to defeat the Darkness.” I explained, although I knew there were cracks in the story. We had been here for four months, why hadn’t she revealed herself sooner?
Halley asked the same thing and I wished I could give her an answer, unfortunately, none of us had one. And I had a feeling that Willow wouldn’t share her reasoning either.
“What about you, Halls? Why did you stay at Willow Grove?” Eli asked and I turned towards her, wondering the same thing. Halley knew how to run, how to survive on her own. So why hadn’t she?
Taking a deep breath, Halley responded. “I never really had a home. Willow Grove, that was my home. And I couldn’t leave. I couldn’t leave the memories I had.”
Her voice got choked up as she spoke, and reaching over, I held her hand in mine. We had all been mourning the loss of Halley, but we had each other. We had a realm of Divines leaning on us. Halley had mourned alone.
“We couldn’t forget the memories either. Every day we thought of you, hoping we would see you again.” Eli responded, sitting on her other side.
“Why was Jay there?” Kalani asked and I thought back to the situation we had walked in on. Halley had left him behind, trapping him there. Not that I felt any remorse for the man, but Halley had a kinder heart than most.
“He showed up when I closed the portal. I waited for him to leave, but he never did. He tried to speak with me, but I avoided him as much as I could. Until the snowstorm.” Pausing, Halley twisted her fingers in her shirt before continuing.
“I felt bad, he would have frozen to death. And then he told me about my mom, how they met, how they fell in love. How he killed her. He had no remorse. And then he tried to kill me. I was on the verge of killing him when the portal opened.”
None of us spoke for a moment, taking in her words. And all I could think about was what would have happened if he had succeeded. If we had opened the portal only to find her lifeless body before us. I would have never forgiven myself. And as I looked into the others eyes, I knew they were feeling the same. Halley was what kept us together. She was the heart of us all.
“I’m alive. I’m okay.” Halley said, clearly trying to calm us all and remind us that the worst hadn’t happened. “What about Agrum Di Vinum? The Divines? How are we all surviving?”
Thinking of all the work we’ve done the past four months, I thought of how we could spend the day. I knew that each of us wanted some time alone with Halley. Time to bask in her presence and remind ourselves that she was truly here.
“How about we split the day up and all show you around?” I suggested, everyone nodding their agreement.
Turning towards Halley with a smile, I asked. “You okay with starting your day with me?”
Halley returned my grin, squeezing my hand in hers.
“I couldn’t think of anything better.” She responded and no words had ever sounded sweeter.
???
Halley and I walked hand and hand through the corridors of the castle. Every so often, we would stop and I would show her a new room, letting her take in the beauty of its creation. I showed her the large kitchen where volunteers were making meals from the food in the gardens, the committee room where our new leaders met, and the room Eli had converted into a school.
Every time we ran into someone, Halley would introduce herself, talking to the Divines and asking them questions about living on Agrum Di Vinum. I watched her in awe each time, seeing the way she easily inserted herself into a leadership role with kindness. For someone that had only found out about the Divines less than a year ago, she had done so much for these people and I knew she would continue to do so.
Once we were done with the tour of the castle, I took her into the back corridors that led to the living spaces. I knew one of the others would show her the grounds of the castle, probably Madden or Wilder, and so for now I wanted to give her the opportunity to claim her space in her new home.
“This is where we have most of the elders housed, as well as those taking on leadership roles for their community.” I explained, letting Halley peek into several of the open bedroom doors.
