The Greatest Power

Chapter 2 - I'd Never Quit Coming Back

"How? How?! And... what happened, Ava?"

Beatrice was touching Ava's face almost as if she were witnessing a ghost. She touched Ava's shoulders, her arms, her long hair.

"How is it possible?" And she hugged Ava again.

Ava felt happier than she had in a long time. Beatrice's embrace was a balm that magically healed all of Ava's wounds. The scent of Bea's hair had the power to calm and relax Ava's entire body and mind, something that is not possible to explain.

"Come on, let's sit down. You're pale and you're still shaking. Who would have thought that I would leave you with wobbly legs, huh, Bea?" Ava said and gave a side smile, teasing Beatrice as she always did.

Beatrice was not expecting that. Not in that tense moment of finding Ava after losing her the way it was. She blushed violently and smiled before lowering her eyes. Ava's humor was part of who she was. And Beatrice just loved every part of Ava.

Beatrice sat down without taking her eyes off Ava. Was it a hallucination? Was she dreaming? She lightly touched Ava's face and arm once more, perhaps in an attempt to make sure Ava didn't evaporate before her eyes. Ava just smiled, amused by Beatrice's incredulous reaction.

"How did you find me here? And how did you get back? When? What happened?" All the questions assailed Bea all at once, not knowing which one should be answered first.

"Calm down..." Ava smiled at Bea's barrage of questions. "I'll tell you everything."

They waited for Hans to walk away after bringing water for both of them, at Ava's request. The story was not something ordinary people could understand, and it was prudent for them to avoid speaking in front of anyone. Like Hans, who always seemed a little too curious. Hans looked at Ava for a long time. She was a little different, but always very beautiful and with an inexplicable energy that attracted attention, as she always was. Beatrice caught that look, and if she had the power, she would incinerate Hans with just that look.

"Don't you have work to do, Hans? Or are you just going to stand there looking at Ava like you've never seen her before?" Bea spoke very seriously.

Ava laughed at the situation. Beatrice, after all, was still Beatrice. She reached out and took Bea's hand, which was on the table, and that gesture made Bea turn to her, snap out of the situation of obvious jealousy.

"I missed you so much, Bea... you can't even imagine."

"I missed you too." Bea smiled a little. Ava was the one who couldn't imagine the hole in her chest and the pain missing her caused Beatrice.

"I really have a lot to tell you all, but first I had to find you, Bea. I needed it so much that the first question I asked when I got back to the convent was 'where is Bea?'... I really needed to see you! They had a lot of questions too, but I just needed to see you first."

"And how did you find me? I didn't tell anyone where I was going. Oh... I know. It must have been Camila."

Ava smiled.

"Camila did say that you could be here in Switzerland, but I had already thought of that before she even said it. When I was told that you left the Order after that day, I thought you might be here. I would come here too if I thought I had lost you."

Beatrice, not realizing it, tightened her grip on Ava's hand.

"This was the place where I spent the most time with you... just you and me. This is where I had such happy days, this is where I got you drunk for the first time..." Ava looked intensely at Bea, who smiled at the memory of that night. "...and this is also where I realized I had fallen in love with you."

Beatrice felt an enormous heat inside her chest. Only Ava could leave her like that. The fire in her chest was so much that she felt her cheeks burning and tried to hide it by lowering her face, but by the smile on Ava's face, she had already noticed. And, after all, Beatrice had chosen to return to Switzerland for the same reasons Ava had spoken. Their hearts had the same desires.

"Have you been here since that day? Without sending news to anyone? Camilla and Mother Superion said they hadn't heard from you for some time."

"I have... when I left the convent I came straight here. I would send news as soon as I was ok, but I still wasn't... apparently 3 months wasn't enough for me to get back on my feet."

"3 months? You're telling me you've been here since you left the convent, so... here... here on this side it's only been 3 months?"

Beatrice heard the astonishment in Ava's voice and see ir in her face.

"Doctor Salvius said that there is a quantum distortion between the time here and the time on the other side of the Arc, it is not known how, even more so after what happened when Michael went through the portal and came back."

The mention of Michael's name hurt both of their hearts a little and Bea only noticed this after she had already spoken. Michael had sacrificed himself to save everyone, even without being successful, and that they would never forget.

"How long has it been for you, Ava?"

"I'm not sure... maybe 6... maybe something closer to 7... years."

"Years?!"

Remembering all the time she was in that place, a sad smile crossed Ava's face.

"7 years I spent every minute trying to get back."

A tear rolled down Ava's face, a tear that Beatrice wiped away with her thumb, the hand that caressed Ava's tired face. Ava placed her hand over Beatrice's and closed her eyes. How good it was to feel Bea's soft touch again.

"But I didn't give up, Bea... I had to come back."

Beatrice smiled slightly and nodded. She was happy that Ava was back, but she knew there was something else she wasn't telling right now.

"Ava... what happened on the other side?"

"Like I said, Bea... I really have a lot to tell you, but I want to tell you all together. To you, Camilla, Mother Superion... the entire Order. And I can only do that if you are with me. You give me strength, Bea... and I can't do it if you're not with me. I need you. That's why I came looking for you. Would you go back to Spain with me?"

"Of course, Ava. I won't let you go anywhere alone anymore."

Those words made Ava smile wider, her eyes still wet with tears and Beatrice's hand on her face. She turned her face and placed a tender kiss on Bea's hand.

"Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me, I always said I'd be with you every step of the way, and as long as God allows me, I will. Now you need to rest, tomorrow we will meet them, ok?"

Ava nodded and let Bea lead the way to her apartment.