The Lover's Cost

Second Guessing

Heather awoke bitter the following morning, full of information which weighed heavy on her mind. She elected to hide the new knowledge from Aldous as to not worry him. None of it mattered, anyway. Heather had no intention of releasing the death goddess.

A long and reluctant discussion decided that the god of Xavierras had best be consulted. Pierce tried to be open to all his subjects. It was not uncommon for him to hear the pleas of his people even on short notice. And with Heather's teleportation, setting up an audience shouldn't be too difficult.

Of course, Aldous insisted he accompany her. "I think you'll just scare everyone at the palace," Heather said with a frown.

"Aren't you nervous to talk to Pierce alone? Especially bearing such bad news?" The canine argued, tilting his large head.

Heather clenched her jaw. "You aren't wrong..."

"I think I'll be less scary if you ride me. I won't appear as a wild monster then, but as a noble mount. What do you think?" Aldous's tone matched his fanged smile.

The first drop of happiness since leaving the void fell into Heather's mind. She grinned. "Oh, I like the sound of that! We'll have to get you a saddle, though...I'd get sore otherwise."

"Deal."

Great ideas were soon smothered by reality. A horse's saddle would not fit Aldous correctly, so Heather had to walk him around town on a leash in search of a saddler to craft one custom. The pair endured confused and even several fearful looks on their journey, and they were met with even more frustration once they reached a saddler.

They were told that a saddle for the large dog would take at least three weeks to craft, and that was time that the two simply did not want to wait. However, with more thought, they realized it would be wiser to construct a plan before visiting the god. Preparation would do them good in the long run, so they put in the order and waited.

Heather's gut had been knitted into a scarf from fear. She dreaded having to sleep through three weeks' worth of haunted dreams, yet the dark mage did not visit her slumber once. The first day, Heather was relieved. The second, she was confused. Day three and onward, Heather fell victim to a strange vortex in her stomach. The hollowness that it ate into her left her longing for something to fill it; something like silky dark hair or hypnotic blue eyes. Each day, the desires grew stronger. Soon, Heather couldn't deny it anymore. Somehow, she missed the terrifying monster.

Despite her fearsome magic and her quick temper, she had been patient with Heather. Not to mention her beauty. In just several days, Heather had begun to feel understood by her imprisoned mistress. She gave the young mage hope when she needed it most. Ulterior motives or not, Heather couldn't fight the good feelings she experienced under the dark mage's tutorage.

But she knew better now. She couldn't miss such a terrible person. Heather shook her head and pulled herself from bed. The days felt longer every time one passed. The forests remained untouched by time, the monotony maddening Heather.

She slumped out of her room and into the kitchen, sloppily pouring herself a bowl of cereal. Aldous shifted, sitting up from the floor. "Awake so early?" He yawned.

Heather sighed, "Yeah."

"You seem down."

"It's nothing." Heather ate with no regard to the milk she spilled on her pajama shirt. Did she really carry hatred in her blood? Did she really miss the terrible witch who nearly killed her? And was she really ready to meet Pierce and put a stop to all this? For the first time in Heather's life, she witnessed the wonderful gift of progress. Her existence felt exciting this past month. She didn't feel broken and worthless; she didn't feel like a pained girl from two differently messed up parents. Did she really want to end that? Was this truly what she wanted? She looked outside at the towers of the forest, their branches swaying in the light breeze. Leaves cascaded to the grassy ground without a care in the world.