Bad

Chapter 6

Author's Note: This chapter contains descriptions of violence and the use of alcohol. Reader discretion is advised.

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"I overreacted, I know," Amity sighed as she felt a cold hand on her shoulder as she stared out into the distance, letting her feet dangle over the edge of the cliff on which she sat.

"On the contrary, my dear. I think you handled that quite well," Lilith spoke softly as she gave Amity's shoulder a gentle pat. "May I?" the older witch questioned, ushering to the ground with her prosthetic hand.

"Of course," Amity sighed smiling weakly, avoiding eye contact with the witch she'd come to see as a mother.

Sitting beside the green haired witch, Lilith sighed softly, eyes facing forward so as not cause the younger witch any undue stress at her presence. "Care to share whats on your mind?"

"Honestly," Amity breathed, "I... I don't even know where to begin. The last thing I expected today was to see them of all people," the green haired witch huffed as she thought of her siblings, her stomach once again knotting in conflict over their arrival. "And then to hear that everything we've planned and trained for - sacrificed for - is in jeopardy... its just a lot." 

"Hmm," Lilith sighed as she continued to take in the land in front of her. "It has been a lot, hasn't it? But I suppose that just means we need to pivot our plans for now. Our work hasn't been in vain; our approach to meeting our goal just needs to change. We will make it work."

"Yeah, I suppose," Amity muttered as she dropped her gaze down to her feet.

"Is something else bothering you, dear?"

"I... I just feel like such a coward... you know, for running away."

"Amity..."

"It's kind of funny in a way. In my head, I always imagined that the next time I saw my family would be back on the battle field - that I would be stronger and able to fight back. I imagined giving them a taste of the hurt that they gave me before putting an end to their reign of terror. But then Ed and Em showed up and... and it all came rushing back..." Amity sighed. "Seeing them brought me back. All the training, all the time spent getting stronger... its like it all went out the window because in seeing them I... I just felt like that scared, little kid all over again. It's pathetic, I'm sure..."

"Amity," Lilith spoke softly, her eyes finally landing on the girl as she studied her body language before speaking. Noting the tension in Amity's shoulders contrasting against the look of sorrow on her face, Lilith slowly raised a hand, her movement catching Amity's eye, as she moved to gently grasp the young witch's shoulder. "You know I've never been in the business of telling you what you should or shouldn't feel but from where I sit, it seems like you're being too hard on yourself."

"Lilith..."

"What you went through - what your family put you through - is something no one should ever have to go through. You survived something extremely traumatic, Amity; I'd be worried if it didn't leave some sort of mark on you," Lilith hummed as she ran a thumb over the scars on Amity's shoulder. "Scars aren't just reserved for the realm of the physical; they can be psychological or emotional as well. It makes sense that it hurt seeing your siblings again - that it brought about fear. It doesn't make you weak to have or acknowledge those feelings, and it certainly isn't pathetic."

Feeling tears pool in the corner of her eyes, Amity studied the older witch's face, searching for any hint of insincerity in her words and finding none. Cautiously opening the doors embedded into the walls spanning her heart, the green haired girl nodded, in quiet understanding, graciously accepting the words her mentor offered. What her family did to her - the feelings seeing them again brought up - it was a lot. Even if her siblings hadn't been the ones to physically harm her, they had aligned themselves with the people who did. That day - that final battle - as she lay dying, broken and bleeding out on the dirt of the battle field, her siblings chose their parents over her. More than anything else she had endured that day, that single act of betrayal hurt the most.