Alastor couldn't sleep a wink that night. All he could do was just lay in bed and gaze at Charlotte's sleeping form while hearing her words from earlier be repeated in his mind.
"Oh I guess this means we'll be saying goodbye."
Goodbye? No, it couldn't be time to say goodbye now. She couldn't be leaving now. He wasn't ready for her to leave. He didn't want her to leave. Not ever. Not when she's made him a much better person. Not when she's made him happier than he had been since his mother died. He couldn't let her go.
But he couldn't just go back on their deal. He had given Charlotte his word. For all his faults, he had never been dishonest and to be dishonest with her. Well that would be worse. How could he love her if he couldn't be someone she could trust?
He encased his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. Then he brushed back her hair from her face so he could kiss her.
"I won't break my word. Not to you." He whispered against her cheek. "But if I asked you to stay with me forever, would you?"
She didn't answer because he had whispered the question so softly as to not wake her. He had merely been thinking out loud.
He glanced over at the nearby clock and realized that dawn would soon be approaching. After holding her for a little while longer he carefully slipped out of her bed then moved to go to his own room. He needed to think. To think about what he was going to do.
"Look what she's done to you." His inner voice taunted. "You have allowed her to turn you into a weak and pathetic creature. For thirteen years everything and everyone trembled before you. And now-"
"Now I am happy. So very happy."
"You were happy before."
"No I wasn't. I just told myself I was. For years I have been telling myself that I was happy to be a monster who terrorized anyone who came near but the truth is...It only made me feel all the more lonely and rejected. But ever since Charlotte came here I haven't felt lonely or rejected at all."
"And now she's leaving you. Leaving you to rot."
"I knew she would leave eventually. It came so much sooner than I thought. I want her to stay but I can't bring myself to hold her here against her will."
"There is a way to ensure that she never leaves you without forcing her."
"There is?" He asked hopeful. "How can I do that? Tell me."
"Kill her."
"Never!" He growled in horrified anger.
"Don't you see? She can't leave you if she's dead."
"I'll kill myself before I ever harm her! She is my world! My life! My only reason for living! If she were to die then I would die along with her!"
Just thinking about killing her made it hard for him to breathe.
"So you're just going to let her get away with making you weak and then abandoning you!"
"Be quiet! I am done listening to you!" He snapped. "All you've done is make me feel horrible about myself!"
"Make you feel horrible about yourself? Or help you discover who you really are?"
"I don't know who I really am but I'm certain that you won't help me figure that out."
"And she will? She'll only prolong your torment! You think she might love you someday?! She'll go home, forget about you, and marry another!"
"Silence!" He ordered. "I never want to hear your dreadful voice again! Leave me alone! Forever!"
"You think that you can just get rid of me?"
"If I can't then I'll just ignore you!"
"You won't be rid of me! If I can't reach you in your mind then I'll reach you some other way!"
"Go away!"
He was filled with such rage when he spoke that time and it wasn't until he heard silence that he chose to calm himself down. Once his temper was under control again he started to think. Think about how he could keep both Charlotte and his word. Force was definitely out of the question meaning he needed to use persuasion. But what type? One that was honest and sincere. One that wasn't a ploy to trick her.
"Maybe...Maybe she would stay if I told her of my happiness?" He thought. "Gave her proof of my love? But what kind of proof?"
He thought more and more. Trying to come up with the perfect idea on how he could confess to Charlotte what was in his heart and make a plea for her not to leave. That's when he caught sight of the wooden lock box on his shelf which contained a very particular item.
...
Charlotte woke up feeling very excited about the end of next week. Because that was when she would finally go home and be reunited with her beloved her father. She couldn't wait to see him again. She couldn't wait to see his smiling face, to hear his loving voice, and to feel his warm embrace. Oh her dear father. How she missed him so much.
"Good morning Alastor. Did you sleep well-"
But when she turned to speak to him she discovered that he was not here. This surprised her very much. Normally the first thing she saw when she woke up in the morning was him sitting in a chair across from her bed, quietly reading until she awoke. Why was he gone this morning? Was there some place that he needed to be this morning? Or maybe he wasn't feeling well? She hoped that he was alright.
She climbed out of bed, picked out a gown to wear for the day, and sat down at the vanity to brush her hair. When she was finished she looked at her reflection in the mirror which caused an idea to form her in mind.
"Show me Alastor."
At once his image appeared in the looking glass. He was sitting on his bed and fiddling with something inside of a box. He looked troubled. What was troubling him so? He was so happy yesterday. Happy when they were playing in the snow, taking a sleigh ride, drinking tea by the fire. It was a most splendid day where nothing went wrong. The only time things seemed to be a little unwell was when she mentioned...
"Oh no." Charlotte realized.
He must be upset because she'll be leaving soon. In all her excitement over seeing her father again, she had completely forgotten how this would make Alastor and everyone else at the castle feel. She had become so close to him and his staff. They were her best friends, her dearest companions, almost like a second family. Could she really just leave them?
But she had to leave. She missed her father, her sister, and her goats Razzle and Dazzle. Also her father needed her. Her absence had made him deeply grieved. She just couldn't let him suffer any longer.
On the other hand Alastor had earned a very special place in her heart. A place that no other person could fill. To leave him forever would be terrible.
But who said that she would leave him forever? When did she say that this was goodbye for good? She could always come back. Not to stay for an entire year like before but for a week long visit at most. Better yet she could invite them to visit her. She was certain that once she told her father how good Alastor had been to her then he would surely agree to a visit. They could still be friends.
Alastor didn't know that though. He probably thought that once the week was over he would never see her again. She needed to make that clear to him. The next time she saw him they would sit down and have a long talk about how things would work between them. Let him know that she cared about him and that he had now become one of the most important people in her life.