"Seriously," Hester grumbled, running to catch up with Anadil as she walked down the street, which was soaked after a late night storm. "Dot expects us to walk around town searching for petty crime when that creep is on the loose."
"Because she's smitten with him," Anadil said. "Doesn't she remember what happened the last time she liked a guy?"
"And the time before that too," Hester sighed.
"And although I didn't know her at the time, I'm guessing the same thing happened before she came to school," Anadil agreed.
"Just proof that Nevers can't love," Hester said with a dismissive tone. "Even if…" she trailed off, her face turning scarlet.
"If what?" Anadil asked.
"If Dot thinks she'll find 'true love' one day, she won't." Hester finished, a bit weakly. "This town is like a ghost town in the mornings," she said quickly. "Do these Nottingham citizens sleep until noon? Maybe that's why Dot always seems so tired in the mornings."
"Maybe," Anadil mumbled, surveying her best friend. They walked in silence for several minutes, each contemplating their own thoughts.
“Hey, Anadil?” Hester said as they walked past the inn, inside which Rebel could be seen lazily sipping a glass of watered down coffee.
“Yes?” Anadil replied, trying to get a better look at the scoundrel.
“What do you know about Mount Ingerthorn? Have you been there before?”
“Have you?” Anadil inquired, turning back to Hester.
“Answer the question.”
“Yes, I have,” Anadil sighed after a moment. “Lived there for a while, actually. A coven lived in the mountain for centuries, and after my mother died, she sent me to them. They made me into the person I am today.”
“What happened to them?” Hester asked, attempting to sound nonchalant, but Anadil could hear the undertone of curiosity in her voice, and maybe even a touch of fear.
“They’re dead,” Anadil responded. “Driven out by a group of black-cloaked bandits a few weeks before I arrived at school.” She frowned. “Why do you care so much? Does it have something to do with that letter that you keep refusing to show me?”
Hester didn’t answer, doubling her pace. Anadil seized her arm and stepped in front of her, blocking her path. They glared at each other for a moment, neither witch daring to speak.
“Why do you care so much?” Hester repeated finally.
“Why don’t you trust me?” Anadil hissed.
“It doesn’t matter,” Hester growled. “And besides, you’re my henchman. I don’t have to tell you anything.” She wrenched her arm out of Anadil’s grip, leaving her friend standing frozen in the road, a single tear tracing its way down her cheek.
***
A few months ago...
“I don’t like this,” Hester grumbled, watching Dot and Robin’s newest Merry Man walk away from the camp, hand in hand. “I don’t like this at all.”
“What’s the problem?” Anadil questioned. "Dot's gone for a while, which means we won't have to listen to her complain about, well, everything. Unless you're going to take her place." Anadil glared at Hester, as if she was daring her to complain.
Hester sighed. "Something just doesn't feel right. Especially how that Rhian guy just showed up out of nowhere, exactly when we needed him, as did Dot's date."
"Just relax, for once, okay Hester?" Anadil said. "Everyone else is, so why can't you?" She smiled. "I bet even the Snake is having fun tonight."
"Doubt it," said Hester, dead serious.
"It was a joke."
Now it was Hester's turn to smile, although it was a bit forced. "You can joke?"
"Of course!" Anadil dismissed, sitting on a fallen log beside the fire. It was just getting dark, and the chirping crickets and croaking frogs added an element of tranquility to the scene. Hester sat down, quite stiffly. The two witches staring into the fire, the flames crackling and popping.
"I guess I've just spent so much time running, I don't know how to relax," Hester said quietly.
"Running? What from?"
Hester looked up from the fire, her eyes landing on Anadil’s expectant face. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized what she had just said.
"You can tell me," Anadil whispered, her voice softer than Hester had ever heard it. "I'd never betray your trust. That's what a coven is for."
"I…" Hester trailed off unsure what to say. She suddenly noticed how close she was to her best friend. She could practically feel Anadil's heartbeat and count every breath she took. Hester felt her own heartbeat quicken as Anadil leaned against her, placing her head on Hester's shoulder. She'd done it before, but this time felt different, somehow. Hester wasn't sure she wanted to know why. "Running from my past," Hester said finally. "I never told you why I hate boys so much." Hester paused, gazing into the fire. "They've been roaming the woods for a very long time, these boys," she continued. "Rogues, outcasts, and criminals, most of them. They found me in the forest, not long before I started school. They wanted something that I couldn't give them, so they tortured me and left me for dead. I wish I knew what happened to them afterward, so I could find them and kill them all."
Anadil didn't say anything, didn't try to offer sympathy, which Hester appreciated. She just took Hester's hand, silently letting her know that she would always be there. No matter what.
आप पढ़ रहे हैं
From the Ashes (A School for Good and Evil Fanfic)
फैनफिक्शनA letter. A secret. And a boy named Ash. This was supposed to be their happily ever after, but Hester isn't so sure. Maybe it has something to do with the letter from an old acquaintance, one that makes her doubt every memory. Maybe it's the secrets...
