𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝 | 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝

12 - [𝘾𝙖𝙣'𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚]

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴?!"
Hunter gripped Georgia's upper arms, the girl frowning. The two sat on her bed, the girl's legs crossed as she was shaken back and forth.

"Look, I had no other choice," She pulled herself away. "The bird just took Finn away and flew off!"

"Who's Finn?" Hunter raised an eyebrow, suspicious of the name out of nowhere.

"The plush, Hunter. You know how bad I am at socialising with people. Have you seen the way Steve reacts?" She frowns. 

The boy hummed, Georgia huffing. She crossed her arms, the boy picking at the threads of her blanket, Georgia continuing her story.

"Anyway, I chased the bird down and next thing I knew, I was in the Hathaways mansion," She shrugged, Hunter freezing.

"You what?"

"I know, I wasn't meant to be there but the Hathaways are dead. It's not like they can do anything about me entering their home. It's abandoned anyways..."

"You're gonna be in a lot of trouble when your father finds out. Do you know the number of rules you're breaking?" Hunter leaned forwards in worry. 

"Do you know what he would do to you?"

"I know, but I told you. He won't find out. Not unless you tell him," She lifted her head to meet his gaze. 

"You won't tell him, will you?"

Hunter frowned, brushing a few strands of hair out of her face before crossing his arms, shaking his head.

"No. I won't."

Georgia nodded, grabbing her pillow as she hugged it close. Hunter lifted a hand, looking up at the girl once more.

"So, what happened?"

"I walked in, and there was this couple. They kept talking about this girl," She frowned. "They were talking to the bird, and when they found me, one of them nearly..."

Her hand hovered over her throat, her eyes distant before Hunter placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You know, you really should've told me sooner," He frowned. "Maybe then, I could've found them and–"

"And what? Hunter, it's over. There's nothing you can do about it."

"But I made a promise!" The boy picked up her hands. "I promised to keep you safe!"

"And I'm glad you want to, but... you can't protect me all the time," She frowned, squeezing his hands. "You know me, I'm not one to be trapped within walls. We both knew that one day I was going to break free."

Hunter hummed, holding her hands close. The boy hugged her close as she hugged him back, a frown evident on his face.

"Just... promise me that you'll be safe."

"I'm fine," She pulled away. "I defended myself with magic. The strangest part was that they recognised me somehow. They knew my name."

Hunter's eyes widened, Georgia now staring out of her window into the inky darkness of midnight.

"It's weird because... I felt as though I knew them as well."

"How?" Hunter raised a brow. "You've never left the palace walls."

"I-I'm not sure, but I thought I saw them in my dream once. Oracle magic kicked in maybe." 

She joked. Hunter hummed before tilting his head towards the girl, Georgia glancing back.

"What do you think about the Hathaway case?" 

She hummed, placing her head in her hands as the boy picked up a paper from her desk, skimming through the words as she soon replied, the boy placing the paper away.

"I think it's a little messed up," She shrugged. "I mean just by the little bit I've read so far, they seem like big practitioners of wild magic."

"Maybe, but... it's getting late, and I might have a mission tomorrow. You also need the rest. I know I would if that happened to me," Hunter stood up from the bed, Georgia slightly surprised at his concern before smiling.

"Yeah," She agreed, seeing the boy walk towards her window, Georgia following after.

"Rest well, Blondie," She grinned, Hunter standing on her window's edge.

"Also, is that a safe option? I know invisibility spells for a reason."

"It's gonna be fine," Hunter chuckled, pecking the girl's cheek. "It takes a lot more than heights to stop me from seeing you."

Georgia blushed, stuttering a quiet 'goodnight' as the boy left her vision, the girl left to her own devices as she changed out of her uniform and into her baggy shirt, readying herself for sleep.

"I'm falling for him, aren't I..."

She pulled on her ponytail gently, her brown locks hanging loose. She walked towards her mirror, staring at the bandage as she used her nail, lifting the edge of the item as it stung against the bridge of her nose.

She pulled the bandage off, staring at the wound before pulling a piece of cloth and basin out, the girl dropped a piece of ice into it, placing her hand under the basin as she activated a fire spell, the ice heating up to become warm water.

She gently placed the cloth into the warm liquid, ignoring the slight sting of heat on her hands. She pulled the cloth out, warm water dripping down the fabric before placing it on her wound. She winced, the heat causing her wound to sting. The girl took in a deep breath, cleaning the injury as she noticed its progress. 

It was healing pretty well.

She used the time to think about her emotions, an old song that she had heard playing in her mind as she shook it away.

"No, now's not the time for emotions, Georgia," She told herself, unknowingly pressing harder against the injury.

She gritted her teeth, pulling the cloth away before sighing, and flopping onto her bed with the cloth in her hands. Her gaze landed on her silver mask and Georgia sat up to stare at the mask.

It wasn't her father's fault that he hurt her, wasn't it? He was just stressed. Why would he hurt her? He did care for her.

She sighed, pushing her hair back.

"Emotions and thoughts suck," She muttered.

Hunter darted to her mind, the girl blushing as she covered her eyes in embarrassment. She thought of his soft platinum-blonde hair, his cute tooth-gapped grin, and his maroon eyes that were either filled with care or concern when she was hurt.

Georgia groaned, pulling her silver mask from her desk as she placed it on her face. A small frown was evident under the item. 

After everything she's been through, all the problems she's faced, a crush on her childhood friend was added into the mix? Georgia lowered her mask slightly, eyes cast aside.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to put my mask up around him as well," She frowned. 

"Sorry, Blondie... but I'm gonna have to break my promise."

•

guess who's getting vaccinated soon–

anywho, thank you all so much again for reading, and i hope you all have a wonderful week/weekend or day/night ahead!

-sam