Keeper's Oath

Chapter 27: Peace

The cold air welcomed Hope to a familiar place. She instantly began to shiver as a wind whipped up against her clothing. The crisp smell of winter stung her nose. Her guardian right next to her blocked the wind best he could. His body shielded her from the worst of it. Hope thanked her guardian quietly.

The three of them were in front of Shadowlight Court. The sky was dark above them though the stars were shining brightly. She could see the moon high up in the sky. A lot of time must have gone by, Hope thought to herself. A warm bed would have been very nice. She yawned as her eyes started to get groggy. Hope shook her head, trying to keep herself up for a bit longer. Soon, she could rest her weary eyes.

Forgo was unlocking the gate. Hope remembered how when Knowledge had tried to do it in the memory, there had been a shield or something. The gate must be protected by Forgo's magic somehow. That would explain why the Shadowlight Court was shielded. It was protected by a deity who sometimes dwelled there.

She wondered if any of the other places were protected. The one village that got attacked hadn't been protected by a shield or anything from the sounds of it. The people who lived there had tried to protect themselves the best they could. All that had ended in disaster. Hari was living proof of what happened there.

The God of War opened the gate for the two of them. Hope kept close to Knowledge as she was starting to feel warmer right by him. Another wind whipped up, she huddled closer to her guardian. A soft hand was on her left shoulder. Knowledge's arm wrapped around her gently. Hope looked up at the white werewolf who glanced down at her. His ears twitched while looking up ahead of them.

The gate closed, Forgo followed the two of them. She was surprised that the older man wasn't talking. Though, she could understand why as he had used a lot of his power to fight Hollow. Being in the safety of the Shadowlight Court, Hope felt safe now than previously. Being in the same room as the shade had been unnerving. At any moment, her life could have ended there. The guardian was thankful it hadn't. There was still so much she wished to learn and live through.

The trio walked up towards Forgo's hut. Hope noticed that there were lights inside. A figure hovered over the window. Soon, there was nobody near the window. The door opened up, Hope realized that it was Livius who had been at the window. The man jogged over to them.

"Hope!" Livius' voice was filled with joy as he slowed down nearing the trio. The man engulfed her in a hug without warning. His arms wrapped around her as if he never wanted to let her go again. Hope rested her chin on Livius' shoulder. He smelled like hot chocolate, she wondered how long he had been at the hut waiting for them to come back. Probably since she was taken. Her arms were around his waist tightly. She was as happy to see him as he was to see her. It felt ages ago since all the events that unfolded in front of Hope which led her back here. There were happy tears coming down Livius' cheeks. "I'm glad you are back! I was so worried about you."

Hope's eyes were wide, she felt her lip tremble slightly. There were so many emotions which overwhelmed her tonight. This was one of them which she hadn't expected but part of her did. She smiled and hugged the man in front of her harder.

"Thank you, Livius." Hope said softly.

Forgo and Knowledge had stepped aside from the two of them. The light of the hut lit up the snow around them. There was someone else who joined them from the comfort of the hut. Hope stepped away from Livius who was wiping his face into his sleeve. The young woman beamed up at everyone around her.

"Get inside, everyone. Before you all freeze out here, it's a lot warmer inside your hut, Forgo." Ritter's voice came behind Livius. The tired Shadowlight had a smile on his face. Even Ritter couldn't help but to feel happy with them all back. Seeing everyone around her, Hope felt herself be whole again.