To The End

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The cottage was silent, but for the first time, Jade didn't want it to be. She missed hearing Victoria talking about anything and everything. She liked that she didn't really have to contribute to the conversation as long as Victoria knew she was listening. Jade rolled over on the couch so that she was splayed out on her stomach. She let her hand dangle off the side, fingertips brushing the floor. Her eyes started to close as she drifted into a nap, but they flew open at the sound of a knock at her door. She sat up, nose to the air and ears tuned to any sound she could pick up. She relaxed when all signs pointed to a visitor, not a trespasser. She got up to let Victoria in. She wasn't expecting her to be crying when she did. Wordlessly, she brought the distraught human inside, relieved her of her backpack, and sat her down. Victoria clung to her, face buried in her shoulder.

"What happened?" Jade asked her after letting some time pass. Victoria seemed to have gotten a hold of herself by then. She wiped at her face and Jade helped, her thumb gently brushing away the fallen tears on her cheeks.

"My father...disowned me. For caring about you. He didn't want to accept it. Saving him didn't make a difference," she quietly explained. Jade shook her head, unsurprised, and ran a soothing hand through Victoria's hair.

"I don't think he'll ever stop seeing me as an enemy. He probably believes you're beyond redemption and felt it was better to let you go than to accept the possibility that you care for me on your own free will," Jade replied.

"Well, he got what he wanted. I'll never go back. I'll never see them again."

Victoria bit back a sob and Jade held her tighter. Victoria looked away, gaze vacant.

"I should have never allowed myself to become attached to you. I ruined your life," Jade remarked. The human in her arms abruptly pulled away from her to shoot her a scolding glare, tears still present despite the fierceness of her gaze.

"You didn't ruin anything. I chose this just as much as you did. We're in this together. Okay? Say it," she demanded. Jade stared at her with wide eyes and raised brows but complied all the same.

"We're in this together."

Victoria nodded and fell back into Jade's arms with a deep sigh. She rubbed at her eyes with an irritable grumble.

"I'm done crying. Can we just relax and take a nap?"

Jade smiled and stood with Victoria cradled in her arms. She took her to her room and set her down at the edge of the bed, kneeling to remove her shows. As soon as she was free to lay down, Victoria made herself comfortable. Jade climbed in next to her, giving her space until she was pulled closer. Victoria draped herself on top of her and rested her head on her chest. Jade wrapped her arms around her middle.

"Get some rest," she murmured, stroking up and down Victoria's back. With a soft sigh, the human slowly fell unconscious and remained that way until late at night. She woke up with a start next to Jade who was sitting up with a large book open in her lap. Victoria turned on her side to see what she was reading. However, she couldn't make sense of the strange words written across the page. The style of writing didn't make it any easier to understand.

"What are you reading?"

Victoria's sleep roughened voice earned Jade's attention for all of one second before her eyes shifted back to the pages, brows furrowed in thought.

"It's an old book from my mother's room. I got curious about the possible enchantments the ring might have and I wanted to do some research," Jade answered.

"Did you find anything?"

Jade growled and slammed the book shut.

"I'll take that as a 'no'," Victoria commented, answering her own question. Jade set the book aside while Victoria toyed with the ring, turning it on her finger.