In the Shadow of Summer

Chapter 2: The Secret Cave

It didn't take long for everyone to fall asleep. The humidity of the day that still lingered a bit in the tent and the fun they all had, made everyone pretty drowsy and around an hour after dinner, Ominis was the first to call it a night. Anne and Nerida followed and eventually Poppy, Natty and Garreth bid you and Sebastian a good night as well.
   You didn't think it would be that easy to sneak out, but waiting for one additional hour just to make sure everyone was actually asleep, the two of you made it out of the tent and Sebastian took your hand to lead the way.

You gasped in awe as Sebastian pulled you through some vines hanging in front of what turned out to be the entrance of a cave.
   The cave wasn't too big, but big enough to have a small body of water of its own inside. The water was luminescent blue. It gave enough light that Sebastian put out the light of his wand.
"This is beautiful!" You exclaimed, looking around. Aside from the water, the cave was bare. No signs of humans or even animals ever disturbing it.
   "Thought you would like it." Sebastian commented. "The water is safe to swim in. Ominis and I tested it out before. The luminescence is cause by a certain type of algae, but it's harmless."

"Ominis knows of this place too?" He nodded. "He and I found a couple of really nice places, but I asked him to keep this one a secret as I wanted it to be our little privacy spot." He was blushing when he finished and your heart swooned at how adorable it made him look at that moment.
   "In turn, I won't disclose the other location or make use of it myself." Sebastian concluded. You nodded to show you had listened. Seemed fair enough, although it did make you a little bit curious of the other spot.

Pushing your curiosity to the side, you walked to the edge of the lake and slipped out of your shoes. Gathering your skirts and holding them to your knees, you went and sat on the ground, letting your feet slip into the water that was nice and cool on your heated skin, but not cold.
   A contented sigh escaped you as your legs followed your feet, the water coming to just under your knees.
Sebastian had joined you on your left side, following your example. "This really feels nice." You let him know. "I figured. It's been stifling hot weather all day." He said as he took one of your hands that sat on top of your skirts.
   You allowed him to slip his fingers between yours. Slowly, you let your head rest on his shoulder, leaning some of your weight against him.
Sebastian rested his head against yours and for a few minutes there was a blissful silence between you.

"Do you think my actions are justified, because of what my uncle did?"
   The question caught you completely off guard and you froze.
Sebastian felt you freezing up and when you didn't say anything he sighed. "I don't think so, but when I found out what he had done and what it meant for Anne..." He swallowed. "For a moment I admit I was glad about my actions."

Sebastian's breathing had become a bit shakier and you knew this was something he was still struggling a lot with. It didn't surprise you as you also had played around with the thought.
   'What if Sebastian hadn't killed his uncle? If Solomon Sallow had won that fight, we would've both been expelled and Anne would've never recovered.'
   Those thoughts made you think that maybe there was some sort of justice to Sebastian's actions. But there were still enough doubts. 'He still used the Killing Curse. Didn't Solomon reveal in his journal that he would stop and Anne would recover? Sebastian hadn't even known about what his uncle did, but he still killed him.'

Not to mention that you yourself have killed tons of poachers, goblins and dark wizards. It's not like your hands were clean, so how could you judge him?
   Sure, at the time it seemed simple enough: Solomon Sallow was innocent (enough) and didn't deserve to be killed. Sebastian should've never used the Killing Curse, just like that one time he shouldn't have used the Imperius Curse on that goblin.
   Finding Solomon's journal and reading all that he had done – not even counting the fact that he was mentally abusive to Sebastian already – had taken all his innocence.
   This whole situation was one big mess, but you knew your thoughts about it in the end and that's what you decided to tell Sebastian. Being fully honest with him.