Hushed Willows Gentle on My Mind

"There is room for you, and your singing, now"

She looked at him, the dew of emotion creating sparkles in her eyes. Was she even looking at another, or was he an imagined gift she'd received from the Gods she would never know? There was not a moment she doubted his words - they were the truest thing she'd heard in moons, and yet she'd needed to hear it. There was no need to prove herself to the universe and her faeries... There was room for her, and she'd not hide away the strength she possessed. Like a gentle earthquake, she intensified. In that moment, she wished for Dante to stay by her side till the end of time - he was her comfort, her friend, her rock to lean on when the going got tough. No, he was more than that, but she could not express nor come up with the words to describe such an unearthly thing.

She closed her eyes, pressed them shut against his shoulder 'till the black became a kaleidoscope of swirling colours. I wasn't wanted there - too different from what a Melonii is supposed to be, they said. He'd probably not know what she was talking of - being new to the realm and all - but her last name meant more to her than anyone knew. You've probably never heard of my family, but they reigned terror down on this realm for generations. I came out wrong, but the Faeries took me in without so much as the blink of an eye. I've been trying to right their wrongdoings ever since, that's why I'm here, that's why this all - She gasped for air, motioning to the willows around them. - why it all means so much to me. She fell silent then, seeking yet again that earnest expression from her closest confidant with a dewy expression, accumulating in the corners of her eyes. Perhaps it came across as silly - a young, ambitious girl, trying to make right all that her family had ruined, not even knowing where to begin.