The Serpent and The Bird

And I was in the Darkness, so Darkness I became

Anne Sallow felt small and frail in her arms when she hugged her. And Everleigh hugged her for a very long time.

- Come back to us.

Anne muttered and her heart cramped in her chest. Everleigh's eyes were set in the wall behind the girl as she spoke, also in a mumble.

- Should we fail... - Anne twitched against her but she kept going. -...I left an envelope with a safe location for you in your room. It's in south of France. Nobody but me knows of its location. It's protected with a Fidelius Charm. - She finally moved back to look into Anne's eyes with intensity. - And I'm the  Secret Keeper. Nobody will find you there. I promise you that.

- Everleigh... - Anne's voice was strained and carried enough pain to made Everleigh's stomach twist of discomfort.

- Listen to me. When the time comes, you open the envelope, memorize the location and then burn it. Grab Ominis and Solomon, nobody else, and leave. Don't turn back.

Tears were rolling down Anne's face but Everleigh made sure she was looking back at her as she spoke, her voice firm.

- Anne, do you understand me? Nobody else but Solomon and Ominis. You leave the country. And you do not come back. You do not come back.

Anne Sallow nodded, and they both hugged again.

                                *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

- I suppose this is a goodbye.

- For now.

- I'll have you know that, if you don't return, I'll be holding a grudge for the rest of my life. And I'm a very resentful person.

Everleigh almost smiled at Ominis words. Almost.
She extended her hand and locked her fingers around his in an affectionate touch. Ominis and her had never been huggers, not with each other, anyway.

So when he pulled their locked hands towards his chest and wrapped his arms around her shoulders she stood there, frozen in place for a long time.
And then she was hugging him back, her arms moving to close up around his waist, and she hid her face in his chest for an eternity. They stayed there, in silence.
The feeble rays of sun made their way inside of the living room, and birds chirped outside of the windows. The clock chimed in eight times. Yet they stood there, embracing each other, for minutes.

- Take care of her.

She whispered, and as the words left her mouth, the memory of Ominis dragging himself across the mud to reach Anne's limp body crossed her mind.

- Until my very end.

And she knew he meant it.

                               *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

- Let us be on the move.

Shacklebolt said, as the group left the safe house. Everleigh knew that Anne and Ominis were by the door, watching them go. But she couldn't turn back to face them. Somehow she knew that image would hunt her for the rest of her life if she dared turn back and give her friends one last look. So she kept going, flanked by Goldstein and Tolliver. Behind her, Shacklebolt and Roche were covering her rear and in front of them, Nikolai led the way.

They couldn't bring a bigger group, or they would bring too much suspicion to them. So the six of them moved to a nearby alley, using the protection of the narrow walls to disapparate. Since they had speculated that Everleigh's magic was still traceable, she grabbed onto Shacklebolt's arm and he dragged her with him into the shadows.
Seconds later, they were in the Highlands, and the bright green in front of her made her eyes hurt.