Welcome to a Nightmare

Chapter 23: Balanced

The room in which Henry and Crystal had discovered is filled with many items and is actually bigger than they had first anticipated. Nevertheless, they immediately begin digging through the mountain of junk that had been removed from Rumpelstiltskin's shop due to their magical potential and piled behind the stone wall down in the mines where no one would ever suspect to look. They begin searching for books of any kind that could help them, the only problem was, everything was a mess and merely thrown into random places within the place.

"I guess the curse didn't care if it stacked everything neatly or not," Henry jokes. He swallows as he continues to look at Crystal. All the colour has drained from her face and she seems particularly shaken from whatever happened to her. He'd freaked out when she'd told him that he should stand back in case he got hurt. He was more than aware of the shockwaves she was known to create and how powerful they could be, but he'd never seen her so shaken or afraid in her life. Her body seemed to contort slightly as she concentrated on whatever it was that she was doing and she panted heavily, he could even see her fists shaking slightly as if in anger.

"Are you okay?" he asks timidly, shoving his way past a suit of armour.

"I'm fine," she says dismissively.

"Are you sure you don't need to take a few minutes?" he suggests gently.

"I said I'm fine Henry," she says, a bit more annoyed than before. "Let's just focus on finding spell books okay?"

Are you sure? the voice in her head cackled. Because it seems like you are merely saying so...

"Shut up, shut up..." she hisses under her breath, grinding her teeth.

"What was that?" Henry asks.

"Nothing," Crystal says firmly, biting her lip.

You can't get rid of us so easily...

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

Yes dearie, are you?

"I SAID I'M FINE," she barks, her voice much deeper than before. She tosses some weird looking candlestick in Henry's direction. Fortunately, it misses and merely goes flying out the door and clatters against the rock wall.

Henry's hazel eyes go wide in surprise and Crystal gasps when she sees the horror on his face. The teenager shrinks slightly into himself and presses against one of the stone walls, feeling completely cornered and afraid. He shakes slightly as he looks at his partner. The entire world seems to stop and her hands shake in fear. She immediately breaks down into tears.

"Oh God Henry," she says. "I'm so sorry." She hurries over the pile of junk and pulls him into a hug. "I'm so sorry, I d-don't know what c-came over me... please, I'm so sorry,"

Despite his recent fear of her, Henry willingly embraces Crystal. Her entire body is cold, and she shakes from her crying.

"It's okay, Crystal," he mutters quietly, not sounding as reassured as he should be. He rubs her back gently. "But what happened there..."

"It's kind of hard t-to explain," she says, pushing herself out of her "brother's" arms.

"Do you want to try and explain it while we keep looking?" he suggests, knowing that they are running out of time before some form of him must be at school.

She bites her lip and then nods quietly. The two begin looking through the junk again while Crystal begins to tell Henry the truth.

"You know how I have both light and dark magic?" she asks, digging through a pile of weird-looking weapons and shields.