"Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery."

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling

I woke up in the same room I did before, with Hugo poking my feet. I wasn't quite sure why I found it so entertaining, but it didn't bother me so I just watched him.

Until he pouted.

"Hey there, sleepyhead." He said, shaking his head. " Did you have a nice nap?"

Frowning, I didn't quite catch his meaning... until the understanding came to me as a loud clap inside my head. As I remembered seeing Dash and him hugging me, I couldn't help but feel completely embarrassed.

"How... How long did I sleep?" I asked and Hugo smiled. This whole thing seemed to be super fun to him.

"Around fourteen days, if you don't consider we had to wake you up to eat. This, by the way, was terrible for you – you missed all the fun."

"Fun?" I asked, feeling almost afraid.

Laughing at me, Hugo moved towards the rotten chair and dumped his body there.

"Yup. It was really entertaining. You should have seen Malach's face when your friend Dash and Tanya walked in here with you! I thought he was going to have a heart attack, but after a while, I remembered he couldn't because, well, you know." Shrugging, Hugo gave me a huge smile. "To make it even better, the next day Dash decided to show up with everybody. Man, Malach's face became every single shade inside the rainbow! Not that your friend knows, of course. He can't see us, you see – only you and Tanya – so you don't really need to worry about him... Now Tanya, she got quite the dress down from Malach for involving mortals, especially when they really can't do much. If there was still a chance for you to come back again as a human, that would be one thing – you'd need their help in the end... Now, though, there's really no reason and she knows that."

I took a deep breath and moved awkwardly, attempting to sit without destroying what was left of the furniture. "Did she explain it to him?"

I had to admit that, despite being unhappy at not being able to come back as human – how ironic, when I didn't even want to try at the beginning. – I was relieved Dash, Jace and Ingy would be safe from this whole mess.

Hugo snorted.

"Yes, she did – of course, he didn't really accept it. Last I heard, he was saying you should move in with him, something about you not deserving to live in the remains of a mausoleum." Shrugging, Hugo grinned. "Not so sure about that. I mean, this place has style don't you think?"

I grimaced. "You mean, as a setting for a horror movie? Maybe." I shrugged, squirming in place. "You don't think there are thingies in here, do you?"

"Thingies?"

"Yeah, like cockroaches or worms or anything like that." I winced. "I hate, hate thingies."

Rolling his eyes, Hugo laughed. "I hate to inform you, May, but we are in an abandoned house. In the cemetery. In the old days, this was the place where the cemetery's Caretaker would live, but it has been abandoned for years now. Apparently, the new Caretakers like living away from here, go figure," Laughing, he pretended to dry a tear. "Of course there are insects. There must be a ton of them... but don't worry, it isn't like you are susceptible to poison now."

Glaring at him, I was about to open my mouth to explain that no, that was not what I was worried about when a noise close to the door made me turn.

Dash was standing there, out of breath as if he had been running.

We stood there, in silence, just staring at each other.

"Hey." He whispered, his eyes focused on mine.

"Hey" I whispered back, feeling my cheeks grow warm. I pretended not to hear Hugo's groan.

"Oh, hey Dash. I would really like to ask what are your intentions and how do you plan to care for our dear Maisie here, but as you can't hear me trying to intimidate you, that makes my intimidation attempt rather frustrating."

I couldn't hold back my laughter, which made Dash frown.

"What's wrong?"

I just shook my head.

"Nevermind," I answered, trying to ignore the fact that Hugo kept making faces behind him.

As he was standing on his tiptoes to use two of his fingers to put behind Dash's head, trying to make it look like Dash had horns, I decided to pretend I didn't notice him.

"Come back with me," he asked, offering me his hand. His expression was serious, as I did my best to keep ignoring Hugo and not to laugh. What can I say, Hugo could be pretty funny! "We can figure something out what to say to my parents and everyone else, it won't be a problem. I don't care that you aren't human, you are you. I just want you."

The fact he accepted me so easily made my heart, and my cheeks, feel warmer. I soon noticed that I was staring at the ground and smiling like an idiot.

And then, behind him, I heard Tanya's bored voice. "Oh, that's so romantic and sweet. Now, Sugar Pie, listen to what I am saying. There's a reason she's here, and it's not all fun and games, believe it or not." Pushing Dash and Hugo out of the way, Tanya forced her way into the room. "Princess, listen to me. You have a mission, but more than that, you have to adapt to your new life. You have to understand your new body, your new urges – and they can't help you with that. That said, you should really worry about making yourself useful to those up above - as I'm sure someone has already explained to you, Initiate aren't really appreciated in this world. They think we are monsters, aberrations – and it's fine, let them bunch of ignorant think like that. We don't need them. But listen to me, Princess, and listen well – it's better for them to think that you are an useful monster, than an unuseful one. Than a dangerous one."

Tanya's eyes were wide, and there was an insanity in them that made me shudder.

What did she know that I didn't? And more, did I want to know?

"I'll stay." I reassured immediately, before turning to look at Dash to apologize, but he immediately waved me off, giving me a small smile.

"Of course you will, for as long as you need. But then you'll come to me." His gaze was hard, but there was a soft fragility behind it that made my heart melt. "Please?"

I smiled, and the words he had said before I fainted came back to me. I love you.

Was that some sort of dream?

As if he was reading my mind, he moved forward and touched my hands. "But can I come to see you every day?"

I saw Tanya roll her eyes, but as they were suspiciously bright I had a feeling she might have been crying. She was a big softie wasn't she?

I was about to answer him when the door opened again with a loud bang, and then it finally gave up and broke, meeting the floor with a loud sound. Dash glanced at the door, startled, because as far as he could see the door had opened to the big nothing.

Let's just say Malach was back, and he was not happy.

Nah, it would be more correct to say he was almost done for.

It took us around half an hour to drag Malach's slumped body from the floor to the sofa I had been sitting before, and then Hugo and I had to go look for Luciano – who was unsurprisingly in even a worse state, unconscious in front of the kitchen.

Hugo's expression was cold, almost as if carved on ice itself – a strange look in a boy who loved laughing and making others laugh. His hands trembled as he gently tugged Luc's hair away, his eyes glowing with pain for a second before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

And again.

Opening his eyes slowly, he gave me a weak smile and let out a sigh. His hands still trembled as he stepped away from Luc, before lowering himself down and signaling for me to put Luciano on his back. I hesitated for a couple of seconds, he seemed so hurt, I was afraid to touch him and hurt him even more. I had to, however, and much to my surprise it was easier than I thought possible. Apparently being an Initiate also meant I was stronger than before.

Really stronger.

There was blood on the floor, well, ghost blood, or at least it was how I called the transparent and viscous liquid that leaked from them – it reminded me a bit of melted cheese, but transparent.

Luc never even moved as Hugo moved quickly to bring him back to the room we were in before and drop him on the other couch. And then, Hugo, Tanya and I met in the middle of the room to discuss what we were going to do about the deadly wounded. (which they weren't because, yes, they couldn't die. But they were so hurt that they were clearly close enough.) We were so distracted that we ended up forgetting Dash was in the room with us.

The poor guy. He must feel completely lost.

I approached him, fully intending on explaining things to him as much as I could and then asking him to leave and be safe, when the panicked look in his gaze made me stop.

"I can't get hold of Jace," he admitted, glancing at me. "In fact, I can't get hold of anyone – not Jace, not aunt Savannah nor Ingreth. Nobody is answering the phone."

But man, when things decide to go wrong, they go all the way huh?

I felt my stomach drop, a terrible sensation of doom sliding over my shoulders. "Does anyone know where Natalia is?"

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*singing* I am back, I am back.

Hi everyone! SO SORRY about taking so long to update! I got to a point where I was plain unhappy with this story and took the time to rewrite it and make it better in order for it to become a better experience for you. (and for myself ;D)

I hope you understand!

But now we should be back to a normal updating schedule :) Hope you enjoyed it and would love to hear what you think!

And remember: stay home if you can, and wash your hands! :) Let's make through this together.

Originally published: April 27th, 2020

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