“Come inside darling, help me carry him.” Willow says. She’s trying to stay calm, but she’s having a hard time controlling her rapid breathing.
As we slide his body onto the table, Willow shoves everything off of it. Glass bottles and vials break at our feet. I lock the doors, shutting the curtains to give us privacy.
“What happened?” She rustles around, grabbing random things.
“I hurt him, Willow.” I can barely speak; all I do is hold his limp hand.
“I’m making you some tea. You look frightened.” she says.
I burst into tears and they fall like droplets to the ground. “He’s supposed to wake up!” She hands me the cup of tea while we stand over Alexander’s lifeless body. “Do something.” I plead.
“Tell me everything.” Willow normally has a way of making me feel comforted, and I know she’s trying, but I can’t bear the sight in front of me.
I rush through, waving my hands in a frantic way. “We were at the island and I had a nightmare.”
“What about your dream tonic?” she inquires.
“I’ve been taking it! But I forgot to bring it last night. Alexander packed everything and ... oh my god. What did I do?” I bellow.
“Breathe, Arianna,” she reasons with me, speaking in a calm voice. “Tell me what happened.”
I take a few deep breaths and sip on the warm tea she’s handed me, but nothing works to ease the utter despair in my heart.
“I had a nightmare, and this like bright light shot from my hands! But it really happened in real life! Alexander took the brunt of whatever force came from me.” I cry out, holding my palms flush to showcase.
“I knew this would happen.” she mutters, the back of her hand caressing Alexander’s cheek.
I shake my head. “You knew what would happen?” I dare to ask, confused by the knowing tone in her voice.
Willow gestures to the chair beside us. “You may want to take a seat.” she suggests, but I decline, unable to sit or do anything besides hold Alexander’s hand.
“Why?” I ask, confused about the stillness of everything. We need to be moving, figuring out a solution, not chatting.
“Arianna.” She sits down herself. “Do you ever wonder why your middle name is Itea?”
“My mother gave it to me.” I respond, not sure why this conversation is taking place.
She shakes her head, watching me intently. “Honey, I gave you that name.”
My head rolls back in frustration. “No. What are you talking about? My mother did!”
“I did, darling. Itea is a variation of Willow. You’re my daughter.” she says, unflinching.
“You’re lying!” I scream back.
She pulls a vial full of truth serum from under her desk and chugs it. My hands tremble as she speaks. “You’re my daughter.” she repeats.
“It can’t be ... my mom—”
Willow raises a hand to stop me. “She is your mother in every right. She raised you when I couldn’t bear to risk your life here in Haven.”
“I come from here?” I stammer.
She nods. “Did you ever wonder why there are no baby pictures of you? When you were a toddler, even?”
I shrug my shoulders, my body feeling like it’s going into shock. “My father was abusive. I always assumed he threw them away. That’s what she told me when we left.”
She cringes. “That vile creature who Alexander told me about is not your father.”
“Then who is?” I demand, but I already know the answer by the way she looks away. “It’s Douglas, isn’t it?” I exclaim in disbelief.
“Yes, but ...”
“He doesn’t know?”
“No, he does. That’s why he looks at you that way. That’s why he watches Mia and the reason he wanted to walk you down the aisle.” she admits sheepishly.
“So, everyone’s been lying to me?” My words are slow, and my mind is reeling. None of this matters right now. Alexander is hurt.
She shakes her head, frown lines prominent. “Only me, Douglas, and my best friend ever knew. The woman who raised you, Marisett.”
Hearing her say my mother’s name makes me still. “Why didn’t you come with me? Why didn’t you want me?” I feel like I’m going to throw up.
“Darling, my heart has been shattered since the moment I sent you through the portal, but I couldn’t protect you here, and I’m not a strong enough witch to travel through lands like she was.”
“Protect me from what?” I ask.
Willow looks down to Alexander’s still body. “From him,” she whispers into the still air.
I scoff, not believing a word she says. “He would never hurt me.”
“It’s in your fate and it is sealed, my sweet girl. You and Alexander are destined to destroy each other. This is what I was protecting you from.”
“Our love is good!” I cry.
She nods. “And the world is cruel, Arianna. For two pure soulmates like you to be together? That love is catastrophic, too large to live in one world. We had no choice but to separate you two”
“I don’t believe you.” Tears trickle down my cheeks and a sob rips itself from my throat. “Just help him!” I beg.
“He’ll be fine, dear. It’s the first shockwave of your power unleashing. If you weren’t dulled by the potion you’ve been taking, things would be much worse.” She tilts her head, looking into my eyes. “He’ll wake up dear ... this time.”
“This time? Are you threatening him?” Her sincere tone makes me think not, but what kind of statement is that?
A small smile breaks through her teared cheeks. “No! I love you both too much to risk something happening to you.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “None of this makes sense! I have powers but they’re dulled? It’s insane!”
“The potion I gave you suppresses your powers.” she tells me. I almost question her more until I look to the empty vial of truth serum in her hands. I know first-hand that it doesn’t allow you to lie.
“You can’t lie.” I whisper. “What about Mia? She’s not my sister?” Tears soak my cheeks.
“Not by blood, but by every way that matters, she is.”
“How did I come back?” I stammer.
“You were both so determined, feeling out of place, and your hearts brought you home. It’s what allowed you to break through the barrier. I assumed the potion would be enough for some time while I tried to figure out our next steps.”
I stare down at the man who is invincible, realizing I’m the only thing that can hurt him. “What do I do to protect him?”
“To protect him, and you, you’ll have to return to your home.” She frowns, tears welling heavy in her eyes.
“This is my home!” I cry.
She rushes to my side, wrapping me in a tight hug. “I love you so much, my sweet girl. This will always be your home. But you have to go.”
“There has to be another way ... he heals.” I plead.
“He doesn’t heal from you, Ari. When the darkness took him—”
“You knew?” I interrupt, shocked.
“Of course. It radiates from him.” She sighs. “He was a rowdy boy who turned into a warrior when he became a man. I noticed the changes, and also his inability to tell anyone about the darkness. But I knew when he would heal, as he was only coming to me for help.” She dabs a tear from her cheek. “When the darkness took over him, every scar, every bone, they all healed. I knew when it happened, and I took comfort in him being invincible. But every morning, I would see the pain he was in. Sometimes he would let it heal on his own, or he would come see me.”
I gasp, realizing our dreams hurt him. He never let me know to protect me. “He always heals.” Is all I can say.
The tip of her finger traces along the crescent scar on his face. “Except for the cut you gave him as a child.”
“I did that?” I ask and struggle not to pass out when she nods.
Willow carefully walks over to a safe and opens it, revealing a stack of albums. She flips to a page, and the sound that emanates in her chest as she looks at it almost breaks me. “Here,” She sniffles, handing it to me.
I look down, watching the video on paper as I sit by a lake on a blanket. It’s a glowing summer day, and I’m maybe three years old. Alexander walks over, about five, and sits beside me. I look up from the photo for a second to find my newfound mother crying.
As I look back down, I watch a young Willow walk up and kiss my cheek. A loving mother who fixes her child’s hair and prepares a cheeseboard on the blanket. There’s no sound in this magical photo, only silence. But I can imagine the way I’m giggling when I throw my head back, my red hair flowing in the breeze.
Alexander’s mother, who I recognize from photos at the castle, walks up from the water, a younger Henry beside her. The camera turns, and my mother smiles at the lens. I’ve never seen a video of her so young.
When it pans back to us, I’m happily munching on some sort of meat. A moment passes and I grip the handle of the knife, not understanding what it is at such a young age. I throw my hand back when Willow tries to grab it from me, in turn slicing Alexander’s face open.
He touches his cheek but doesn’t cry. When little me sees the blood, I do. His mom, the queen, holds a napkin to it. Willow then hovers her hand over his face, healing him. He hugs me when I refuse to stop crying and the parents smile as they watch us.
So many secrets between them, hidden away in a safe for no one to remember.
I slam the book shut, refusing to believe this. “This is too much, there has to be another way.”
“You’ll always find him, and you’ll always find each other. You have to return.” Willow sighs.
I shake my head. “He’ll dream of me again.”
“I’ve created his own tonic. While yours suppresses your powers, it also halts your dreams. His will stop his dreams entirely, as well, but he will keep his strength. I will administer it to him daily.”
I cry out, reaching for the vial and wanting to smash it against the wall. “Don’t. We can figure this out.”
“I knew you would try, and I commend you for that, but it’s too risky.” she says, holding the vial out of my reach.
Tears burn my cheeks. “When he wakes up, I’ll tell him, and we will make the decision together.”
Willow looks remorseful, her head hanging low. “None of that will matter, darling. You won’t remember anything that happened this morning.”
She gestures to the cup of tea on the counter and I gasp from the realization. Walking over to it, I sprinkle some of our powder, checking for poison. “I wouldn’t harm you dear. I needed to make you forget.” she stammers, her lip trembling.
I take the cup and smash it on the ground. Shards of ceramic shatter at my feet. “He won’t forget me. It doesn’t matter what you do.” I sneer.
Her heart breaks before me and tears begin to fall down her face. “I’m sending you back through the portal. Anyone here who isn’t tied to you by blood will forget just like last time.” Willow says, now sobbing uncontrollably. The harsh betrayal eating her.
“There’s no way I could have forgotten any of you.” I tell her.
“We pulled your memories. Wiped them away. You were so young it’s hard to imagine you would have remembered, but that didn’t make it any easier on me or your father.”
“Willow, please.” I beg. “What about Mia? Will she forget me?”
“No, you’re going together.” Willow croaks, wiping her face with her sleeve and attempting to contain herself. “I love you so much, Itea.” she whispers. With one final fleeting spout of energy, I hurl myself over Alexander’s body before I black out.