The Darkside

Love and Loss

"Hey, Brian, what's up?" I asked.

"Octavia, can I talk to you in private?"

He had a serious look on his face, so I was curious to know what it was about. We then stepped outside to chat.

"I looked into Melissa's situation and, well..."

"Well, what?"

"There is one way that we could fix this situation, but it comes at a high cost."

"And that is?"

"In order to be fertile again, Melissa will have to sacrifice her powers. She can no longer be a witch."

I felt a knot in my stomach, and my heart began to race. "What? Is there no other way?"

"No, there isn't. I wouldn't have mentioned this unless it was absolutely the only option left. If she were to lose her powers, any monster or demon out there whom you make enemies of would target her and her future family."

"But it's not for us to decide what she can or cannot do. Whatever decision she makes, I'll stand with her. And if any monster were to come finding her, we'll deal with it. There are still four of us, after all."

"Alright, then. I'll leave it to you," he said, disappearing.

I went back inside and told everyone what I had just learnt. Melissa's eyes welled with tears upon hearing it. She sat down on the sofa, holding her face with trembling hands as tears fell from her eyes. Aunt Cassie sat beside her and hugged her.

"I can't risk everyone's safety by giving up my powers," Melissa said.

"Think about yourself for a change, sis. Come what may, we can handle it," I replied.

"Yeah, we already took down a Vondrohn, after all," Arya said.

"We just want you to be happy, sis," Anastasia said.

Smiling through her tears, Melissa said she'd think about it; and went upstairs to her room.Aunt Cassie then asked me what I was hiding from them earlier, and I told them what happened at my meeting with Hazel.

"I hope she can find a cure," Anastasia said.

"If there's anyone in this town who can do it, it's her," Aunt Cassie said."Yes... I just hope there won't be any side-effects," I replied.

We spent the entire afternoon there in the living room, not noticing the time passing by. But then the phone rang; Aunt Cassie's son, John, was on the line. He was sobbing and stammering."What's wrong, John?" I asked.

"It's Dad... H—he..."

"What's the matter?" Aunt Cassie asked, rising to her feet.

I gave the phone to her and she dropped the phone seconds later.

My heart was pounding loud in my chest. I was scared to ask what had happened."What's wrong, Aunt Cassie?" Anastasia asked.

"It's Jack... He has had a heart attack," she replied, with tears rolling down her cheeks.I felt my heart sink the second she uttered those words. I felt as if I couldn't breathe for a moment.

"Brian!" I yelled, and he appeared.

He then teleported with Aunt Cassie to the hospital and the rest of us called Melissa and got in my car. When we arrived there, Brian informed us about the situation, and it wasn't good. He had tried to heal Uncle Jack, but because Uncle Jack stopped being an Advisor to be with my aunt, Brian's powers did not work.

"It seems the Mother of Magic won't allow me to use my powers to heal him," he said."Damn these stupid rules! How is loving someone a crime?" I yelled.

I went into the ICU to heal him, but I was asked to leave.

"If I had just not been with him, things wouldn't have ended up like this," Aunt Cassie said."You did nothing wrong, Aunt Cassie, and neither did Uncle Jack. It's the damn Mother of Magic and her rules that are the problem here," I said, clenching my fists and gritting my teeth.

"Octavia, I think it's better if you get some fresh air," Brian said.

I sighed and walked out of the hospital. I knew he was right; I was seething from the inside, and it was too overwhelming. But the 'fresh air' made me feel no better. Minutes later, Arya came running out.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Uncle Jack, he's...dead."

I felt a chill run through my entire body, as if I was freezing, inside out. "No..."We both ran back inside, only to find Melissa lying on the floor.