Hushed Willows Kindle the fire before it snuffs out

Reina listened to Tuft as he spoke of his time here in the Willows, and the smile she wore slowly rose to actually meet her eyes this time. She felt them brighten in happiness knowing that someone else besides her felt that entering this pack was a blessing. 

“Boone and Reverie are truly the heroes of our stories. Without them, we probably wouldn’t be here to live them long enough to make any mark on this world.” She stared off in the direction of the setting sun, the burning sphere kissing the lake as it laid down to sleep. “I’ll always be grateful to our Harbinger and Coach.” 

Her gaze returned to her companion at his question, an unshed tear threatening to cascade down her cheek. She had hoped he wouldn’t ask, but, in hindsight, she should never have asked how he was in the first place. Surely it would have prevented him from asking after her person. “I am…managing. These herbs,” she paused to bring the herbs back into view,”were from Reverie. One is for sleep—the nightmares have been less than pleasant—and the other is to prevent…pregnancy.”

Her chest felt constricted, thoughts of the latter created a grief so deep that it felt like she may drown in it. She had made her decision before she came here to the Keep—there would be nothing that tied her to that villain, that evil that threatened her future. But, her heart was heavy with the decision, for there was a possibility that lives had already attached themselves to her, yet her decision would never let them come to fruition.

But she chose herself, chose a life for her—she deserved to choose.

She had realized that Tuft may not know the extent of the attack, so she continued, a sadness to her tone. “The male I killed had overpowered me before the others arrived and forced me to give him what I had always been told to give to someone I loved. I—I let it happen. He was too strong, too heavy. He took what he wanted. Thankfully, the others dispatched him enough to where I was able to regain my bearings and take his life.” Her body shivered, not from cold, but from the memory of blood spraying down like rain around them. The sight was gruesome and she shook her head, eyes closed, to banish the memory.