The Tree's Heart

XXV

Clover took a deep breath, before answering. She felt like this was a very heavy moment, like she shouldn't answer lightly. She closed her eyes, trying to hear the words again in Avery's honeyed voice, tried to taste them, tried to feel them on her skin. Is this your final decision, then? Do you really wish to leave? Those might be the last words she'd ever hear from him, and it was making her sad, as if she was losing someone she had known for years. She realised that this was a final goodbye.

"I really want to leave. It would make me happy." she answered, opening her eyes again. Avery looked weak and dejected. He had likely been hoping she would change her mind, after all. And maybe he had really loved her, in his own, strange way. They looked at each other for a long moment, the unsaid things between them lingering in the air that was separating them. Then he nodded.

He made a gesture to the guards that were standing behind Clover and Willow and then Clover felt one of them taking her wrists and cutting through the rope with a sharp knife, doing the same to the rope tying her legs together. She could see that Willow was being freed, as well. The guard helped her up and supported her for a little while, until she was stable on her feet again. Kneeling for so long had left her legs feeling numb and she was struggling to stand. Avery stepped closer to her, the same sorrowful look in his eyes.

"I'll let you go then. I want you to be happy. I don't think you're doing the right thing, of course, but if this is what you want..." he told her with a sigh. Clover nodded and smiled at him. She wasn't sure whether she was doing the right thing, either, but she knew that staying was definitely not the right thing.

"It is what I want. Thank you, Avery." she answered.

"Just one thing, before you leave. Please remember me out there. Can you do that for me?" he asked.

"Of course. I don't think I could ever forget you." she said, and it was true. She was certain that she'd never be able to get Avery out of her head. Not for a long time, at least. He would always hold a special place in her heart. He stepped even closer to her, his hands on her shoulders, as he pressed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Goodbye, my love." he said to her, before turning around and walking back into the forest, the two guards following him. Clover just stood there and watched him until he disappeared between the trees. She still felt the heat of his hands on her shoulders, the pressure of his lips against her forehead.

She felt a terrible loss inside her heart, as if she had broken something that would never be right again. Was that what Avery had been talking about? Was the change already happening to her? Clover didn't know. She didn't know what to do with herself now. She was shivering, as she felt a cold breeze on her bare arms. She was still in her wedding dress, the beautiful green material shining as if she had only just put it on. But now it was cold – the warmth that she always felt around the fae was gone.

And finally, after all this time, she cried. The tears just kept silently rolling down her cheeks, and she didn't know what she was even still staring at. There was nothing there anymore, just the trees and the moss and the grass, the little bushes. She could hear a bird from far away, singing mournfully. It was getting dark, and the cold somehow felt more profound. But Clover found it difficult to tear herself away.

She only managed to move again when she felt Willow's hand on her shoulder, softly nudging her. Clover turned around and she could see the warmth and compassion in Willow's face. It made her cry even more for some reason. Willow wrapped her into a tight embrace and just let her cry wordlessly, until Clover had no more tears left inside her. It was like there was nothing at all left inside her.

"Come on. Let's go home. You're freezing out here." Willow then finally said, and Clover could only nod. They silently walked back home, side by side, now without the voices of all the different illusions around her.