Chapter 24:

Michael got up and grabbed the Portalias (which was what the black device that opened the portal was called) in his pocket. He looked around and smiled, “Seem familiar?”

She nodded, her body trying to pull her to her home, to her family. Every nerve in her body was tugging, begging her to move forward. But, she looked over at Michael instead, “Thank you so much.” She said, feeling pathetic that she couldn't find better words. “I mean—this means the world to me...and I...I wish I could do something in return—You could get in trouble! And thank you...like, really thank you--” She stuttered over her words, they were weak, rising and lowering.

Michael put his fingertips on her cheeks lightly brushing them, effectively shutting her up. “No need to thank me.” He whispered, his fingers lingering at her cheek before he cleared his throat and dropped his hand. “So, where's home?” He asked, though he probably already knew where it was since he had come to pick her up that last night she was here.

“That way,” Willow replied, pointing down the street. She started to half jog towards it, but Michael grabbed her elbow.

“Willow,” he said. She turned around to look at him. “You aren't supposed to be here,” he whispered. “I know it's hard, but we have to stay out of sight, your family can't see you.”

Willow nodded, trying as hard as she could to force herself not imagine herself breaking those rules. Michael was taking a huge risk taking her here, she didn't want him to get any trouble.

They walked down the streets she grew up in together. She remembered the water balloon fights her and Jasper had on these roads that rarely ever had any cars on it. She remembered when Jasper had attempted to teach her how to ride a two wheeler, and she had fallen and sprained her ankle. She remembered him carrying her home and she tried to choke her sobs down.

Thinking about Jasper left a sour taste in her mouth. The sour taste wasn't towards Jasper, but towards herself. She had left him without hesitation, she had abandoned him without a word. She had been selfish. Jasper would've never just left her, and yet she did to him.

She shook her head and tried to get the memories out.

Before she knew it, the house was in view. Most of the houses in the neighborhood were identical. But, she could recognize her house easily because Ara had spray painted a purple star on the door, saying that it made their house “unique”.

Michael, as she had guessed, knew that it was her house and her hand to pull her into the garden, staying low so they couldn't see her from the window.

“What if they aren't home?” Willow whispered, mostly to herself, not expecting an answer. We find them.

They walked around the garden and towards the living room window. There, they crouched down and were low enough to come unnoticeable, but high enough to see.

Mom was in the living room with Gretel. They were doing homework from what she could tell. Ara was nowhere to be seen.

The house looked fairly as it did when she left it. The Candy Land box still sitting on the floor where Gretel had left it. It was then that Willow remembered that she had promised Gretel she would play Candy Land with her. It was then she realized that she would probably never fulfill that promise. That made her much sadder than it should have.

She was so focused on the family, that when a tap came at her shoulder she jumped a mile high. Michael had a dagger out, although he had told her he didn't need weapons, she should have known he would have one on him.

But before he could stab her Ara came in for a hug. “Willow!” She yelped.

“Sh!” Willow hushed, looking over at Michael panicky.

Michael looked confused and alert.

“You're back! I knew you wouldn't stay there, I knew you would come back!” She said, although Willow wanted to squeeze her, she pushed her away instead.

“Ara,” she said sternly. “We aren't supposed to be here, you cannot, under any circumstance tell Mom. You understand?”

“I vow on my life,” she replied, crossing her heart and grinning with her whole face. She was the only one in the family with dimples. The dimples were one of the factors to why she looked so young. She was eleven, but looked more like an eight year old. Basically everyone who saw her thought she was eight years old, she didn't seem to mind it, though.

Then her smile widened as she said, “We?” And looked over at Michael. Her eyes seemed to explode with joy and she leaned in a hugged Michael tight. Michael was just as surprised as Willow was.

“You know him?” She asked.

Ara nodded and pulled back, “It's Michael Midnight--” Michael gave her a warning look and she was quiet.

“Wait, no!” Willow said pulling Ara to her. “Tell me how you know him!”

Ara looked hesitantly over at Michael, who actually looking nervous. This surprised Willow, she had never seen Michael so unsure.

Ara smiled, “He came over to our house to give the note you wrote us.” She said. Willow knew immediately it was a lie, but looking at the relief on Michael's face, she didn't have the guts to beg her for the truth.

Maybe she could ask Michael later on....

Ara stood up, “C'mon, Willow! Mom will be so happy to see you!” The eagerness and excitement on her face was enough to break Willow's heart. Before Willow could tell her that she wasn't allowed to go inside, Michael roughly pushed her to the ground and said a word he shouldn't of said in front of a child.

He took Ara's arm and yanked her to the ground. “Stay low.” He said when Willow looked at him questionably.

“Why?” Willow replied, her voice just a breath.

“Hey! Look, Willow! It's daddy! He's been coming here a lot since you left,” Ara said, shooting up.

Willow sucked in a breath, “Ara!” She whisper yelled. “Don't go near him--”

“Don't tell him we're here,” Michael interrupted his eyes were urgent and she could tell he regretted taking Willow here.

Ara nodded, “So you guys are like a secret couple, huh? I'd bet Machire doesn't care if you're together.”

Willow laughed, “We're not together.”

Ara's face fell like a avalanche, “Why not?” She looked at them as if they had committed a crime.

“This is not the time to talk about this!” Willow hissed.

“Ara,” Michael said. It was weird to hear him say her name, for some reason she liked it. “You must go, he might get suspicious. Don't, under any circumstance tell him we're here.”

“Too late,” a voice behind them said. Willow gasped, standing only a few feet from them was Machire, grinning at them.

Michael stood up in an instant, his dagger was out again. Willow wished they had taken more weapons.

“I'm not here to hurt you,” Machire said, he was watching Willow. “Dangerous that you came here, Willow. Did you flatter him to do it?” He was obviously talking about Michael taking her here, although it took Willow a moment to figure out what he meant.

“No,” Willow replied, standing up.

Machire's eyes shifted to Michael, “Don't you think you have enough death threats hanging over your head? Why would you add breaking the rules so immensely to impress her? She's impressed enough, I assure you.”

Michael didn't waver, he stared at Machire in the eyes, not flinching.

Machire was dressed nice, like always. With a blue suit and tie. His black hair with slight grays was neatly brushed back. He had gray eyes, like all of his children. Although they weren't half as light as Willow's. Willow's eye color was a strange silver-like color.

“Well,” he said, nodding towards Willow. “I see you're okay,” then he glanced at Michael, “And so are you...for now.”

Willow winced, unable to help herself. She imagined her father strangling him, putting him in the chair. The chair that tortured his kind.

“Ara,” he said, holding his hand out. “We should get inside, it is getting chilly.” Ara trustingly took his hand and waved goodbye.

“You'll come back, right?” She asked. Willow didn't respond, she just held her arm close to herself, wishing she had never come here. Wishing she never saw her father again. This was the man who had raised her, the man she trusted, the man that pushed on the swings and taught her how to walk. She never imagined him to be...a torturer. She couldn't look into his eyes without her stomach twisting. And she couldn't look into his eyes without remembering that he was the person that played football with her and took her to her first basketball with. He was the person that she visited every summer with Jasper.

Michael put his dagger back in his belt, completely unnoticeable. “We have to go, this was a bad idea.”

Willow nodded, “I am sorry I made you do it.'

“You didn't make me do it,” he said, his voice was soft and gentle, making her feel even more guilty. “I am the one who suggested it, I should've known better.”

They started walking, but Willow couldn't help herself, “Can I go see Jasper?” She said, the words popping out of her mouth.

Michael stopped his tracks and looked over at her, “Are you sure you want to?”

Why wouldn't I want to? “Jasper won't tell...or make me stay.”

Michael looked at her for a moment, he looked over the horizon, “Alright.”

Her eyes widened, she hadn't believed he would say yes. She eagerly took his hand and started running, “His house is this way!” She said.

Michael followed her as she ran down the streets to his house. The streets she had memorized. The streets she ran away on at night to go to his house, the streets where they had fell and laughed and cried and smiled.

The house came, it was a blue house, which made it stick out like a sore thumb in the town with all the identical houses.

She ran up to the front door and knocked on it, eagerness keeping her on the balls of her feet. She was excited to see him, see the face of her childhood. See someone that wasn't a torturer like her father or a secret keeper like her mother. The one face that stayed constant.

She knew Jasper would be the one who opened the door, his parent would be gone by now. He opened the door grudgingly, his hair ruffled and he looked exhausted.

“Who is it?”

Willow jumped on him, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tight, “Jasper!”

Jasper seemed surprised for a moment, but then, realizing that it was her, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

“Willow!” He gasped and pulled her back as tears welled up in her eyes. “What are you doing? What—where were you--” Then his eyes fell on Michael, who was standing and watching him.

Willow let go of him and looked over at Michael, she had forgotten about the part of introducing the two of them. She knew Jasper wouldn't like Michael. Well, she wouldn't like him if she was in his place. Michael was the person that took her away to Jasper.

“Blonde boy,” Jasper said, looking at Michael as if he were an insect. “Is that what you were doing this entire time? Is that why you ditched us? To shack up with a hot guy?”

Willow blushed and felt horrified, “I was not shacking up!” She said. “It's a long story...I am not allowed to tell you. But...I'll just, I'll explain later. I promis--”

She stopped before she could say it, I promise. She couldn't promise him that, she would die in the fire of the dragon.

It had never really occurred to her what they would do over here, she would never return. She would be forever gone.

Jasper was glaring, no longer looking so happy to see her.

She now understood what Michael had meant when he said, 'Are you sure you want to?' He knew this would happen, and he was looking at her to make sure she remembered that he had been right.

Then her eyes shifted to a poster on the pole, her face was on it. The poster said,

MISSING 17 YEAR OLD GIRL

went missing 06/24/14

Black hair, gray eyes. About 5'5.

If spotted please call 545 – 866 – 2541

It was Jasper that had put up the posters because it was Jasper's phone number on it. She hadn't noticed that basically every poll and gate had the paper. The picture of herself was staring back at her, blowing holes in her chest. It was telling her she was a terrible person, she was the girl who had abandoned her best friend and family with no real explanation. And then she had returned, thinking it would help everything, that it would make her feel better.

She looked back at Jasper, who was angry. Angrier than she had ever seen him, he looked at her. “You ditched me, you ditched all of us. You left us a meager note. You never called or texted and I was out till four AM every night looking through houses and clues; I thought you were dead! I thought you were kidnapped and raped. I never even began to think that you would ditch us, never thought you would run away with someone.”

Willow shook her head, “It's not what it looks like.”

“Willow, we have to go.” Michael said, taking her wrist and lightly pulling her away from the porch.

Willow looked at Jasper and she knew there was nothing she could say or do. She walked away and willed herself not to look back. As she walked, she ripped the poster off of the pole and crumbled in her hands, willing the tears from coming into her eyes.

She had lost everything.

She was going to die in the hands of a stupid dragon and she was dying with nothing. Just going to the UnderWorld had broken all of her promises.

“You promise?” Willow asked, holding her hand out and spitting on it, holding it towards to Jasper.

Jasper laughed and spit on his own hand, the shook on it. “We will never leave each other. Ever.”

When they pulled their hands out, Willow the spit on Mom's handkerchief and Jasper laughed out loud. “Ew.”

“It was worth it.”

They returned to RiverPlain, Willow feeling emptier than ever. She walked to her bedroom without a word, although she could tell Michael wanted to say something.

She closed the bedroom door and sat on her bed.

* * * * * * * * * *

Jasper's anger boiled inside him. He wanted to slap the blonde boy, he wanted to take back the time lost and just go ahead a stab the boy in his chest and take back what was his.

That night he ripped up all the posters he would put up. Tears welling his eyes as he felt so hopeless.

He didn't understand how she could leave, how she could leave with some random dude she fancied.

He had always been there, he had given her his everything, how was he not good enough? He had wiped away her tears, he had carried her, he had fought her fears. He had held her hand since they were children.

How was it she gave herself away...how is it that all of him still belonged to her? He crashed on the ground of the sidewalk.

He had never loved in the couple way. Their relationship was different than the typical cliché best friends to lovers relationship. But now he wondered if she left because that was the one thing he hadn't given her.

If he had loved her in every way, would she still have stayed with him?

Why had she come back to him? Why had she showed up at his house? If she wanted to leave, why didn't she just leave? Why did her presence linger with him. She was gone, and there was nothing to be done. He knew now that she wasn't kidnapped or rapped; she left at her own will.

He felt a swell of anger and hatred and sadness swelling in his chest. The wounds weren't healing and the pain was realer than anything he had ever felt. Time wasn't healing those wounds.

And he wondered if time ever would.

* * * * * * * *

It had been a week since Willow's visit to the UpperWorld. And tonight it was the ball.

"Eek!" Alicia said, as Willow reluctantly walked out in her dress. "Look at you! You're so pretty! Look at yourself in the mirror."

Willow slowly turned to the mirror.

The dress was gorgeous. It was a deep blue, royal blue, and had an A-line fit. It was backless, exposing her shoulders as well.

The back of the dress was the most stunning, though. Hanging from the top was a drape of sheer deep blue lace. It extended down and hooked to Willow's white gloved finger (Willow loved the white gloves, it made the dress look even bluer). The dress was light and flowy as well. It was comfortable. She had never considered herself ugly or pretty of even average. It always depended on the day. Some days she felt as if she was the ugliest person in the world, and other days she thought that she looked really good. This dress made her feel more than she looked really good, it made her feel gorgeous and royal-like.

Willow's hair was done up in sparkling pins from the Elves and Alicia had stolen some makeup from the UpperWorld and put a generous amount of eyeliner, making her eyes shine brighter than usual.

For the first time ever, she thought maybe the ball wouldn't be such a disaster after all.