The Light in His Darkness

The Party

"Have you and Glimmer already put the clothes you're planning on wearing to the Neverseen's rendezvous at Everglen?" Tiergan asked, watching as Tam struggled to comb through his hair - the silver ends might have looked cool, but they were a struggle to upkeep.

"No," Tam said. "We're just going to go early and put it all there. You know what? I don't even care." He set the comb down with a clatter.

"Prentice, Wylie and I will be along in a bit," Tiergan said. "You should probably go get Glimmer and Linh and head off. Little bit of extra time, hmm?"

Tam nodded, trying to ball up his nerves. It would never be easy going into a fight with the Neverseen. But this time, he had Glimmer. And she had to face her parents. It wasn't a wild guess - they almost knew the Neverseen would bring them just to shake her up.

"Come on," Tam heard Linh begging from Glimmer's room. "Just let me do a few braids."

"Why?" Glimmer said. "There's nothing beneficial from that."

Tam wondered if Linh was pulling a pouty face on Glimmer. "There is, you know. You'll have your hair up while you're fighting the Neverseen so that it won't be in your eyes. See?" She must have been showing off some kind of hairdo she'd done earlier before she came over. "It'll be way easier."

Glimmer conceded. "Fine. But don't overdo it, or make it too fancy or something."

Tam swung into Glimmer's room, watching as Linh fussed with a few strands of her hair, pulling most of it into a bun before wrapping a braid around it.

"There," Linh said, satisfied. "You look beautiful."

"I wasn't looking for beautiful," Glimmer said, glaring into the mirror.

Linh rolled her eyes. "That doesn't mean you aren't."

"You are, for the record," Tam said from the doorway. The girls spun to face him, Linh breaking into a beam while Glimmer only shook her head. "Are you guys ready to go? We need to be there early."

Glimmer gripped the edge of the chair as she stood. "I am."

"Glimmer . . . ." Tam took the girl's hands, making eye contact. "I know you're struggling with this. But you're going to get through this, I promise. It's only the night. And it'll be all over. Okay?"

She gave him a pained smile. "I know. I'll be able to do it. Thank you."

"Aww, you two are sweet," Linh said, looking at Tam and Glimmer, who were still holding hands.

"Alright, let's go," Tam said, trying to ignore the blush that creeped up his face.

The three of them stepped into the light of the Pathfinder. They appeared in front of Everglen, watching as workers set up different decorations and food tables.

Tam felt Glimmer shrinking back, and he watched as she clenched and unclenched one of her fists.

"You can do this," Linh whispered on Glimmer's other side.

Glimmer nodded, but didn't say anything.

As it turned out, they were the last people to arrive. Everyone else was already there: Sophie, Fitz, Marella, Biana, Stina, Maruca, and Dex.

Tam watched their reactions carefully. At first, they didn't realize anything was amiss, but they had to do a double take when they noticed an unfamiliar girl with them.

"Glimmer?" Sophie guessed.

Glimmer gritted her teeth. "Who else would I be?"

"Glad to see you haven't given up your snark," Fitz muttered.

Glimmer snorted. "What, you thought my personality would change if I took off my hood? If you genuinely were convinced of that, then you guys are dumber than I gave you credit for."

"I just thought it was Neverseen attitude," Biana said quickly. "And that you'd be a little, a little . . . y'know, nicer, when you trusted us enough to take off your hood."

"Fat chance," Glimmer told them. "I don't trust you enough to be doing this. Which is why I'm not telling you the story as to why I look and act the way I do."

Tam noticed Biana rubbing her own scars. "Why don't we go over the plan one last time?" she suggested. She cast another look at Glimmer, obviously wanting to know more, but Glimmer didn't so much as open her mouth for the rest of their meeting.

"Okay, it's time to head down, yeah?" Marella eventually asked.

"Yeah," Linh said. She smiled. "Guys, this is it. I think it's all happening tonight. We're going to be great."