The sound of shattering glass continued to echo through her mind, those final moments replaying on a vicous loop. She imagined she could still hear her heart beating, but she knew it had to be impossible. There was no hope it could survive after being broken so completely.

Ariel struggled with her thoughts, drifting lazily in the darkness. She wondered how long it would take to die. Her Gran had taken a few days to die from her illness. She hoped her Gran hadn't been stuck in her own mind as her body wasted away like she was. It's probably some after effect of the curse, she thought.

There was also the issue of the strange weight sitting on top of her. She couldn't pinpoint where it was, but she knew it was there. She wished it would go away, so she could die comfortably. When it didn't go away she tried to ignore it until eventually she could take it no longer.

Get off of me! She pushed with everything she had, imagining her arms lifting the object off her chest so she could breathe normally. Wait, her mind stilled.

I'm breathing?

"Ariel!"

Her eyes flew open and she inhaled sharply.

She was lying on a soft bed, not on the floor in her bedroom. Her head tilted back, as if Lucas would still be just behind her, but instead she saw a wall with a chain of daisies creeping towards the ceiling.

Her hands moved weakly towards her chest, for the weight still pressing down on her – but there was nothing there. Confused, she tilted her head forward to her chest, and only her hands rested there.

"It's okay, Ariel." Ariel turned her head, and Paige smiled, tears glistening in her eyes. "It's going to be okay."

Paige? She croaked, staring at her sister. "How are you here?"

"Amelia came and got us – Lainie and I –" she motioned beside her and Ariel's eyes drifted further down the bed to her best friend sitting by her feet. "When she said we had to come right away and wouldn't tell us what had happened..."

Her voice broke and she looked down, reaching out to take Ariel's hand.

"She told us it had been broken, but they weren't sure how long it would take for you to recover," Lainie continued. "I'll go and tell the Doctor you're awake."

She started to get up when a tiny voice said form across the room, "I'll do it."

Emily appeared behind Paige's shoulder, looking down at Ariel as if it was her first time meeting her and all thoughts fled Ariel's mind. There was a line of bruising down the left side of her face, and her hands were wrapped in bandages.

"Em," she whispered. "Wait. Are you okay?"

Her eyes slid away and she nodded. "I'm okay, I'll just get the Doc..."

She rushed from the room, and Ariel's chest tightened, feeling heavier.

"She blames herself, for what Kestral made her do," Paige explained. "We know it wasn't her fault. She didn't want to sit in here because she thinks we do, but we sort of forced her when we kept tripping over her outside the door."

The words filtered through her brain sluggishly, and she shook her head as she failed to process them.

"I don't understand," she looked at them both. "My heart broke, why am I still here?"

Removing her hand from Paige's she dug her elbows into the bed and tried to push herself up. She gasped as the weight pressed down on her chest and automatically she reached towards her scar and started rubbing it.

Hands appeared at her shoulders and gently pushed her back down. "It's quite alright, Ariel. Rest now. I imagine it will feel quite heavy for a few days."

Samson appeared, helping her back onto the bed and she stared at him, breathing harshly. "What do you mean? Why does it feel like I have weight on my chest?"

"Because," he smiled softly. "A heart is an immense weight to carry."

Her eyes widened, her fingers brushing her scar in disbelief. It couldn't be true. Her mind struggled to process what he was trying to tell her, and rather than struggle with that possible reality, she moved onto her other question.

"Kestral?" she whispered.

Samson's thin lips pursed. "Gone. I pulled in a few favors with some old friends in the Fae realm and she has been transported to a...facility in the Hollow Court."

"They threw her crazy ass in prison," Lainie muttered.

"Ah, I would not have put it quite so eloquently, but something like that," he winced. "As you probably noticed her body was deteriorating in our world. By returning to the Fae realm she will live a bit longer, though I do not know if I would choose life over that place. But that is not for us to think of anymore. We should be celebrating for you, Ariel."

Ariel opened her mouth to ask what he meant, when the Doc and Amelia entered and she remembered what he mentioned before. She didn't want to believe it, in case it was some cruel trick they were all playing on her. Her fingers dug trembling into the scar, pressing deeply, until softly –

Th-thump.

Tears stung her eyes as her breathing grew frantic. Reaching up, she touched two fingers to the side of her neck, and once again, her pulse throbbed back to her.

"How?"she hyperventilated. She looked between Amelia and the Doc, desperately needing one of them to speak. "How?"

Amelia reached over and placed a palm on Ariel's forehead. Her body tingled as she felt the magic flow through her system and the panic that had been gradually increasing started to ease.

"Give us a moment," the Doc said quietly and Paige and Lainie left the room with Samson. The Doc murmured something to Samson who nodded quickly and closed the door behind him.

"How's it feel?" Amelia took a seat on the bed beside her legs, one hand touching Ariel's knee. She could still feel the magic slowly drifting from Amelia's fingers and she jerked her leg away.

"I thought I told you not to do that to me."

Amelia grinned. "Good to see that trick of yours is still there, girl. Was worried it might've been damaged when the curse broke."

Ariel wasn't a hundred percent sure, but she thought she felt her heart stop beating for a moment. She reveled in that amazing sensation for half a second before she pushed forward.

"My curse is broken?"

"Indeed so," the Doc took Paige's empty chair, smiling. "From the explanation Amelia and Samson have given me, both Lucas and your self broke each other's curse at the same time."

"Get out," she whispered.

He grinned. "I understand it is quite difficult to believe, but Amelia has confirmed our theory to be correct."

She looked to Amelia for answers. "When your curse broke, you destroyed that bedroom of yours – nothing but a big hole in the wall now," she explained. "That's why we had to shack you and Emma up in the other girls' room. The explosion being as massive as it was, I was able to get some good samples to analyze and just like the Doc said, the curses broke from the same thing."

Though still unable to register the fact that her curse had been broken, that her heart was back home, a small smile crept across her face at the news that Lucas' curse had also been broken. Her heart started beating faster beneath the hand still resting on her chest and she closed her eyes, allowing her self a moment to enjoy the unexpected turn of events.

"I don't know if I should ask," she finally said. "But what broke them?"

A knock sounded at the door and the Doc stood up. "Well, we will tell you shortly. Lucas has been most anxious to know the answer to that as well, but we felt it would be best to explain to both of you at the same time – that is if you feel you are up to the answers. I understand you have only just woken up and if you would like some more time to recover –"

"I'm fine," she butted in as the Doc opened the door. "I don't know how long I've been out, but I know if I was in Lucas' shoes I wouldn't have been able to wait for him to wake up."

She carefully pushed herself up, wincing as her chest pulled tightly, but the sensation was beginning to wane. She was curious to know what Lucas looked like. She tried to picture a normal looking boy, but thinking about him as someone other than a beast was too difficult.

Her brow furrowed with confusion at the boy who nervously followed the Doc into the room. She looked between the three of them, waiting for one of them to explain what was going on.

"Is this a joke?" She whispered when no one said anything. "Why is he here?"

Oscar ran a hand though his hair, his Adam's apple bobbing anxiously.

The Doc's smile faded. "I'm not sure what you mean, Ariel."

Amelia stood up, slapping a hand on Oscar's shoulder and his knees buckled. "Scrubs up all right doesn't he without all that fur!"

She stared at him in silence, the cogs in her brain ticking slowly as his mouth twitched, wanting to explain but clearly too worried to do so.

"Ariel," the Doc said gently. "This is Lucas. I know it must be a bit of a shock –"

The cogs finally clicked into place, and the Doc's voice faded away as she flushed and saw red.

"You're dead!"

She lunged from the bed, her legs getting tangled in the sheets and the Doc grunted in surprise as he caught her before she fell to the floor. Pain flared through her chest and she gasped, pressing her knuckles into the scar.

"Take it easy, Ariel!" The Doc lifted her back onto the bed and quickly assessed her. "What on earth has came over you? An after effect of the curse?"

He muttered the last part to himself as he pulled out a stethoscope. Before he could place it on her chest she brushed his hand away.

"I'm fine," she glared at Lucas who was looking appropriately guilty. "He won't be though when I can get off this bed properly."

"Ariel," he finally said. "I can explain –"

"Don't want to hear it right now," she muttered.

The Doc glanced between them, concerned. "Perhaps we should wait until you are feeling more recovered, Ariel."

"Nope," she snapped. "Tell me now and get it over with. I won't be spending any more time in the same room as him after this."

Her heart beat painfully at that declaration and tears stung her eyes once again. Annoyed, she looked at her legs, angry that her emotions were getting the better of her.

"If you're sure..." the Doc trailed off. "Take a seat, Lucas."

Lucas took a seat on the opposite bed and Ariel forced herself to continue looking at her legs, even though her eyes wanted to look across the room. Memories of Lucas' condition in her final moments drifted through her mind and although she never wanted to see him again, she also wanted to know he was okay.

"Right, where to start?" The Doc murmured. Amelia leaned against the bed Lucas was sitting on, a strange almost gleeful look spreading across her face, and Ariel quickly looked back down, not sure she liked that expression.

"As I've already told both of you, your curses were broken by the same thing," he reiterated. "Now before I tell you, you must understand that I would not tell you lies, and Amelia and myself have examined the remnants of your curses very extensively over the last few days to make sure –"

"It was true love!" Amelia crowed. "True love broke your curses. How damn sweet is that?"

"What?" Ariel and Lucas spoke at the same time. Her head shot up, eyes meeting Lucas' in shock.

"That's bullshit," Lucas snapped.

"You're telling me," Ariel glared at the Doc. "That's bloody ridiculous!"

He sighed, shooting Amelia a frustrated look. The witch paid him no notice, still snickering in her corner of the room.

"I think it's hilarious!" she snorted.

"We would not lie to you about this," the Doc said. "True love –" she winced at the words "– is considered a rare, old form of magic by many in our community. As ridiculous as it sounds, it holds the power to break a curse –"

"Or two," Amelia grinned.

"Amelia please! I can tell you," he looked between Lucas and Ariel, "that true love was not necessarily the original means to break your curses. I'm afraid we will need more time to analyse what materials we have left, but it could take some time."

Ariel couldn't breathe. True love. Her curse had been broken by true love, like some insane Disney wish-upon-a-star bullshit. Her heart thundered madly, and she did her best to squash the emotions it was trying to tell her she was feeling. She wasn't even sure she believed in true love. It was something you only read about in fairytales as a child. It was something you stupidly considered when you saw your crush sitting across the cafeteria in high school and you had no idea what love truly was.

It was meant to be fantasy; it wasn't meant to be sitting across the room from her, looking just as freaked out as she felt.

"Amelia, I think we should give these two some time to process." The Doc stood up, placing a comforting hand on Ariel's shoulder but she barely felt it. "I'll come back once I've finished my assessment of Zeke."

Zeke's name jolted her enough from her shock to look up at the Doc. "He's awake?"

"Yes he woke up this morning," he smiled.

"Is he okay?"

His smile faltered and she felt pity for the man she used to hate. Saying no more, he walked back out of the room, followed by Amelia who was still struggling to contain her laughter. She threw Ariel a wink as she closed the door and her cheeks flushed.

An awkward silence fell over the room; it felt so thick Ariel was sure she could swim in it if she tried. Minutes passed of furtive glances and failed attempts to start some form of normal conversation until Ariel wondered if she could just lie down and pretend to go back to sleep.

"I'm sorry."

Nerves exploded in her stomach as she looked across the room. "W-what?"

Lucas ran his hand through his hair again, causing it stick up in a tangled mess. "I'm sorry I lied to you – about the Oscar thing."

Anger trickled back in, squashing the awkward blanket and she glared at him. "I'm sure you are."

"I am!" He protested. "I didn't mean for it to go so far. When I first did it, it was when we didn't get along and I just wanted to mess with you. Then after we started getting along, I knew you'd kill me if you found out the truth, but I didn't know how to tell you..."

"You should've just told me and let me hate you," she muttered.

"I didn't want you to hate me. I didn't tell anyone about becoming a human because I was afraid they would start asking too many questions about how I became cursed, and I didn't want to tell them. Apart from the Doc, you're the only person I ever told."

"So that story you fed me wasn't a load of crap?"

"No," he said quietly. "It was the truth."

"Sure." She rolled her eyes.

His eyes flashed. "Put yourself in my shoes! One night in a blue moon I got to talk to someone like a normal person, someone, who when she wasn't trying to act like a bitch, was actually nice and I considered a friend. Do you think you could've just told me the truth so easily if it had been you?"

She frowned. He had a point. She had been nice to him, but all her conflicting thoughts about Oscar and Lucas resurfaced and she didn't relent. "I do not act like a bitch!"

"No, I guess you are just one, he snorted. Please how could you possibly –"

His mouth snapped shut, heat creeping up his neck and he looked away.

Ariel's breath caught and her own cheeks flushed as she re examined her knees.

Her emotions swirled through her body, more intense than she had ever felt them in a long time. Her fingers trembled as she brushed them across her wrist, feeling her rapid pulse. Warmth spread through her body, happiness erasing any anger toward Lucas. She didn't want to be angry. Not when things were oddly beginning to look up.

"I don't want to fight," she whispered.

"Me either," he said quietly.

She looked up, unable to quell the smile on her face as she finally allowed herself to voice it – "We're curse free."

He smiled back, his face softening. "Does your heart hurt?"

"Kind of. It's not too bad." She held up her wrist, her fingers still on the pulse. "I still can't believe my pulse is back in here."

He stepped closer. "I know what you mean. I keep forgetting I don't tower over everyone anymore. I still catch myself trying to bend over so I can fit through doors."

She grinned. "I won't be able to crack any dog jokes now."

"Thank God," he muttered.

Silence fell between them, but one they were more comfortable with. Lucas took the empty chair beside her bed and she curled her legs beneath her.

"What happens now, I wonder?"

"I'm going home."

All the air left her lungs in a large whoosh. "You're leaving?"

"Yeah, in a few days." She noticed him run his hand through his hair again and her fingers twitched with the need to make him stop. "My mum is flying over from the States. Amelia offered to collect her but she's not a big fan of the magic teleporting. She also wants to do a bit of travelling before we head back home."

"I see," Ariel whispered, not sure why she was feeling so disappointed. "I guess that's it then."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean about the whole...thing with... don't make me say it!" She snapped.

"Oh."

"Well you'll be heading home and I guess I will be too soon. So yeah, that's it then."

"It doesn't have to be the end of all of it, does it?" he whispered.

Her eyes shot back to him, wide and unsure. Before she could process his question, let alone answer it, Paige and Lainie rushed back into the room, eager to hear what the Doc had said to her.

Lucas quietly slipped out of the room, and she watched him go, his words still echoing in her ears.

It doesn't have to be the end of all of it, does it?

Does it? She thought.

Hold my hand guys, we're nearing the end <3