THE ROMANTICIST | C. GRIMES

05 | CHAPTER FOUR

"C'mon." Mollie pulled Carl up as his legs began to buckle, just barely managing to get him against a tree before she couldn't hold him anymore. "Carl." She breathed, looking down at him. "C'mon, we've gotta be close."

"I know." He nodded, his chest rising and falling heavily. "I know. Just...give me a second."

"Now I see what you mean by not being able to make it to the Hilltop." She sighed, looking around. "Alright you um...you sit tight. I'm gonna see if we're where I think we are." He nodded, pulling his gun into his lap. That was enough for her to keep moving forward, much faster now without Carl weighing her down. It only took her two minutes to find that silver, shimmering circle. Though, she paused, noticing it was slightly dimmer than before. She didn't think anything of it, hurrying back to Carl.

"We're close." She said, helping him back to his feet. "Two minutes out, come on." It was a slow ten minutes to get back to the silver circle, but they managed it. Carl was out of breath again as Mollie kicked her boots off agains the tree at stood in the circle quickly. After the gust of wind she stepped back, pulling on her boots before grabbing Carl and beginning across the stretch of lawn that led up to her childhood house. She could smell cookies as she pushed the front door open. Carl collapsed onto the couch, his breathing now slightly rasped.

"I'm fine." He wheezed out. "I'm fine."

"I'll get you something to drink, hold on." She shrugged off her bag and dropped it next to the couch before heading into the kitchen. Her mom was in her usual spot, sipping steaming tea as she read a book in the bay window.

"Hello honey, I didn't hear you come in." Elysia's honeyed voice spoke. "Oh, you're a mess! What happened out there? Why don't you go shower, hmm? Cookies'll be done by then." Mollie ignored her mom, taking the now full glass of water she'd gotten from the tap back out to Carl. After helping him sit up, she gladly collapsed on the couch next to him as he gulped down the water. "Carl, you're here too! It's great to see you again." Elysia rounded the couch. "Oh my, you look so sick! Here, I have something that should help."

"Just chew on what she gives you, don't ask questions." Mollie spoke up, letting her head fall back against the couch. She could feel sleep coming on already, but she wanted to fight it. "It's some gross root that she..." Her sentence went unfinished as her head lulled to the side as she passed out. Carl glanced over at her, tempted to join her before Elysia returned.

"Here honey, this should get you back to normal in no-time at all." Carl took it and watched as Elysia sat down in one of the cushy arm chairs. He then bit down on the root, a bitter oaky taste flooding his mouth. Elysia laughed at the look on his face. "It's only sap, and it's the part that helps. Here, maybe some tea to wash it down-"

"I'm fine." Carl waved his free hand lightly, letting both fall into his lap. "Thanks, though."

"Of course." Elysia settled back in her seat. "Now what happened to the two of you? You look like you had to go through a war zone to get here." The quaint, unknowing smile on her face didn't fail to make Carl just a little uncomfortable.

"Yeah it's um, it's getting rough out there these days." Carl nodded. "Do you mind if we stay for a few days? Not more than a week, I promise, we've gotta get back."

"Oh, you can stay as long as you want." Elysia smiled. A loud ding sounded from the kitchen. "Perfect timing, the cookies are done!" She stood up with a smile. "I'll bring out a plate in a few minutes when they're cool, hmm?" Carl nodded, letting Elysia leave before settling back into the couch. His movements caused Mollie to shift, her head falling into his shoulder. He looked over, clearing his eyes as they began to blur and noticing the red marks on her neck. Slightly raised, obviously fresh, the sewers had been to dark for Carl to make out the overplayed handprints.

He sighed, his mouth forming a line as he tried to shift her around so he could see more of the marks, but it was to no avail. No matter how much Carl moved, Mollie kept falling back against him. He gave up as he heard Elysia coming back. She let out a small, happy sigh as she set the plate down softly.

"She's just perfect, isn't she?" Elysia asked, staring at her daughter with a loving gaze as she settled back into the chair. "Just perfect."

"Yeah she's..." Carl looked back down at Mollie. "She's something else."

"And so powerful." Elysia breathed. "All on her own. There were...so many things I never got to teach her. So many things she'll never know. Not after how I left the house." Carl now turned back to Elysia, her words catching his attention. "No...she'll never reach her full potential. All my fault, really, but I think it's for the better. I mean, I learned it all and spent my life afterwards in the middle of the woods. Terrified..." Elysia shook her head lightly. "But she's not. She never was. Not of humans. Not of the dead. Nothing. My fearless little girl."

She sighed again. "I was so afraid this world would...would beat her. Would tear her apart like it did itself, like it did all those humans. But it didn't. She made it, and she survived." Elysia looked down at her hands.

"You know you're dead, don't you?" Carl spoke up after a few moments. Elysia chuckled, and without raising her head she nodded. "Why not tell Mollie? That's all she wants, is for you to-"

"To come back, I know." Elysia finally raised her head. "Trust me, I know. It's exactly why she can't know that I know everything. That obsession, that need...it would ruin her life. She'd spend the rest of her life searching...and she'd never find me again."

"What do you mean?"

"This place, everything in it...me...it's all fading." Elysia sighed. "By tomorrow, this will be but a regular forest again. And that fairy circle will be gone."

"What? Why?"

"She doesn't need me anymore."