A Motherly Love - MPHFPC

|Chapter 16|

Willow hoped off the stone wall and she ran inside the loop to go inside the house. Panting, she tried to warn everyone that Barron was coming. Alma's expression changed at the mention of him; her face became serious and worried.

    The headmistress started to give orders to her children, but Willow cut her off, saying that it wasn't necessary to fight. Alma looked at her with confusion and the young woman explained what she had in mind. She would use her peculiarity to make Barron's mind believe that there was no loop, making him see the destroyed domain.

    Willow continued to explain her plan, asking the children to go in one bedroom and to close the shutters. And under no circumstances they were aloud to make noise. The children obeyed, Miss Avocet going with them, but Alma stayed, she couldn't let Willow do that by herself.

"Off you go, he's gonna be here at any time soon." Willow hold Alma's shoulders at arms length, a serious yet soft expression on her face. Alma shook her head slightly, she couldn't leave her little protege alone.

"I want to stay with you Willow, in case something goes wrong." The ymbryne took Willow's hands in hers, pulling the young woman closer to her body.

"Alma, you don't have to worry, I'll talk to him, that's it." Willow brushed the back of her fingers against Alma's cheek. "Everything is going to be alright, I promise."

Willow offered a sweet smile that convinced Alma. She nodded and kissed the girl's cheek before she headed upstairs. The young woman blushed, but she instantly put her mind back on what she had to do. She went outside with a sure step and she concentrated herself on the demolished mansion she wanted to make Barron see.

    It was hard to find his mind, but she could feel him approach at every second passing. She felt like her peculiarity was sucking on her energy like a mosquito sucking blood. The young woman walked closely to the end of the cave, feeling her connection with Barron's mind grow bigger.

    Finally, she saw him exit the cave, the glitters in his eyes soon replaced by shock and surprise. He was expecting to find a house in perfect condition, not in ruins. When Barron noticed Willow's presence, he walked in her direction.

"Good evening, I don't meet a lot of people here, you must not be from here." Willow said in the sweetest way possible, extending her hand to shake Barron's. He smiled at her with a closed mouth, Willow noticing that his eyes weren't like Alma had described them. They weren't white, but he could also be wearing contact lenses.

"Yes, that's right, I just arrived and I decided to visit the island. I thought there was an orphanage here, that's why I came by but as I can see, this house is in no condition to be lived in." The young woman could partially see Barron's sharp teeth while he was speaking. It was becoming harder for Willow to use her peculiarity, she had never used it on a so big area but she did her best not to let it show: she had to protect the children and the loop and of course, Alma. She couldn't let Barron know that he had found a loop.

"Oh, you don't know the sad story about this place then? Many years ago, during the Second World War, the Germans dropped a bomb on this house and sadly, there were no survivors.." Willow lost her balance for a second but Barron's attention was focused on the manor, so he didn't see her. The young woman took a deep breath and she hid her shaky hands inside the back pockets of her jeans.

"So what is a pretty woman like you doing here, this place isn't too sad to be around?" Barron can't just leave, thought Willow before she spoke.

"Well, as strange as it can look, this is my happy place!" She tried to force a smile on her face, but Willow could feel the sweat running down her temples. She had difficulty to stop blinking. "You can think it's silly but I feel a connection with these poor souls. It's so sad and unfair what happened to them."

"I agree with you." Barron's eyes lingered a second too long on Willow's body before he realized something. "With all that, I didn't even introduce myself. Mr. Barron, pleasure to meet you!"

"Likewise. I'm Willow Fernsby." They shake hands again, smiling kindly at each other. Willow's legs could betray her at any moment, they were shaking like a leaf. It was really hard for Willow to pretend that nothing was wrong. She didn't have much energy left and she didn't know for how long she could continue like this.

"That is a beautiful name Miss Fernsby. Then, since there's nothing to see here, I'll leave you to what you were doing. Goodbye Miss!"

Willow waved at him and as he was walking away, she heard in an echo "Mr. Gleeson was wrong, there isn't any loop here. What a waste of time!" The woman was sure Barron hadn't said that, but because she was so attached to his mind, she could know his thoughts.

    The connection with Barron's mind gradually decreased, but Willow remained there, waiting for him to be really gone. After a few seconds, she couldn't combat anymore, it went black as the tiredness took possession of her entire body. Willow collapsed, the destroyed domain she had imagined disappearing at the exact same time.

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Ohh, is Willow dead? Or just exhausted? I think you already know the answer ;) Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter and as usual, thanks for reading, it really makes my day when I know that at least one person likes my story. I just came back from a trip to Germany so I should update more! Have a nice day/night!
〜 M <3 〜