Why won't you move? Please, Caleb. Move. Show me any sign of life, please. Inhale. Then exhale.
Please. You're not.. dead. You can't be.
I know this is a joke, Caleb. It's not funny. Stop it. Now. Please. NOW.
CALEB, PLEASE. STOP. THIS ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE.
COME ON, WAKE UP. PLEASE.
"...please."
I return to my home. My solitude. I lay my husband down on the couch. He'll wake up soon enough. I know he will.
And when he does, I'll make him a lovely dinner. Of all his favorite things.
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Caw caw
The crowing echoed through the air.
(Y/n) looked to the source of the sound to see a black crow flying towards her and Hunter. They were walking along a road leading to nowhere.
After the Hexside incident, Gus, Willow and their respective families were told to hide and Hunter and (Y/n) were told to run.
So they did just that. They flew on their palismen through the forest as fast as they could.
And now they were walking with their palismen who followed close behind.
(Y/n) hummed and looked at the crow who landed on her shoulder. "(Y-) (-n)?" A staticy voice asked from the crow's beak.
"Lilith?!" The girl exclaimed, stunned.
"O- h, thank Titan y——r'e okay!" Her voice cut in and out. "Where —re you?"
"Somewhere in the middle of the woods.?" (Y/n) guessed. "Why? Where are you?"
"I—m in Latiss—a. Are you— nearby?"
(Y/n) leaned over to Hunter who held a map, "Hunter where are we?" She asked.
She heard groaning coming from the telecrow. "Ugh—- sh-'s with tha-t Golden Br-a-t."
"Hunter-r??" She heard a man ask.
"Looks like we're headed towards a train station that goes to Latissa. We'd be there within two days." (Y/n) said into the crow.
"Okay," Lilith nodded on her end, "keep your cr—ow on you and call me when yo—'re about to arrive at Latissa. I'll pick you up from the station."
"You got it Mama Lilith."
"Alright, stay safe. Okay, (Y/n)?"
"Safe is my middle name. I love you. Bye."
Hunter and (Y/n) walked and talked until they reached the train station. It was an hour from sunset and rush hour. Witches and demons alike bustling to get home.
They walked up to the ticket booth and handed the man two snails. "Two train tickets to Latissa, please." Hunter asked.
The man in the ticket booth nodded and grabbed two tickets, "You two look familiar. Have you come around here before?"
Hunter began to sweat. Shit shit. He thought. He froze and couldn't speak.
"Yes, actually. I'm surprised you recognized us!" (Y/n) quickly lied, seeing that Hunter couldn't speak. "We came around here to visit family a few months ago. You have quite a good memory!"
The ticket booth man seemed pleased, "Oh, thanks." He said bashfully.
(Y/n) gave him a smile and waved goodbye as she took Hunter by the hand and began to walk away to wait at their platform.
Hunter nervously pulled up his hood and (Y/n) pulled hers up too. Now two cloaked people, one blue and one purple waited, side by side, on the platform for their train.
Their train arrived. It was slow and old. Its paint was worn by time and its door opened with difficulty.
The cloaked pair boarded the train, their fingers still intertwined with each other. It was full, but they found a seat to sit in towards the back. (Y/n) sat near the window and Hunter sat near the isle. Pip jumped onto (Y/n)'s lap and Flapjack flew onto Hunter's shoulder.
Hunter felt uneasy when he sat down, but he didn't know why.
Maybe it was how many people were sat on that train.
(Y/n) laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. When Hunter felt her head rest on his shoulder, he felt himself become calm. He felt a little less on edge.
The train began moving.
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I screamed. The silence hurt my ears. So I screamed.
The screaming of the silence. The constant sound of silence hurts my ears.
He isn't waking up. He hasn't woken up.
He is dead
I pick him up and dig a hole by my rosebush. He planted that rosebush. Just for me. He knew I liked them.
I take my shovel and bury him. I've buried my own husband.
My stomach gurgles and I feel nauseous. I fall to my knees and vomit into the grass. Morning sickness, I figure.
I scream again.
"HE'S NOT DEAD. STOP SAYING THAT." I scream.
No one is talking. No one is near me. No one lives near me for miles.
Philip Wittebane. He took him from me. It's his fault. It's his fault. It's HIS fault.
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(Y/n) awoke from her nap and looked at Hunter. "What have you been doing this whole time?" She asked.
"Reading." He said as he flipped through a book. His eyelids hung heavy, but he wouldn't allow himself to fall asleep.
"Reading what?" (Y/n) asked, looking at the book. "Wild magic? Where'd you get this from?"
"Took it from your school's library. It was hidden away, but I found it nevertheless."
"Don't you want to sleep? Have a nap?"
"I can't."
(Y/n) looked at the boy. His dark circles under his eyes had never looked so dark. "Why?" She simply asked.
"I can't protect you if something happens." He said, his grip on her hand tightened.
"Hunter, I can protect the both of us, okay? You need to rest, it's been a stressful couple of days. Okay? Please just close your eyes."
The boy sighed and let his head fall onto her shoulder. He let himself close his eyes and drift off. (Y/n) took his book and began reading.
An elderly woman walked past their seat to head to the bathroom. "You two make a lovely couple." She said, her voice shaky and old.
"Oh- we're not-" But before (Y/n) could object, the woman had walked past them.
The girl looked down at her partner. I mean, who am I to argue with an old woman.
A blush appeared on her face as she dropped her head to kiss his forehead.
Her eyelids felt heavy and eventually fell.
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"I'll do anything. Please."
"Anything?"
"Anything. Just bring him back."
~~~
"Do you have the Titan Blood, like we agreed on?"
"I do."
"Good."
"Are you sure you can bring him back?"
"Of course."
"Okay. Then what do I do?"
"Just pour the titan blood onto my disc and I'll bring him back."
I do just as he says. I pour the blue liquid onto a glass disc. The disc glows bright and a child's hand reaches out for help.
But something tells me I shouldn't take it.
"Aren't you going to help me out?" He asks.
Maybe it's Caleb from beyond the grave. Protecting me. I'd like to think it is.
"No," I say. "I'm sorry."
I bury his disc and turn to leave.
"What?! You're just going to leave me?! Free me! Free me!" He begs.
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(Y/n) awoke to snickering. She couldn't see who was snickering. The sun had set not too long ago and the train was only dimly lit by the gas lanterns that hung from the walls.
"Look at him!" She heard a girl whisper loudly. "Isn't he hot??"
"Yeah, but look, he's got a girlfriend, see?" Another girl whispered loudly.
(Y/n) felt herself blush. They certainly did look like a couple—their fingers intertwined, him resting on her shoulder.
"Are you sure that's his girlfriend?" The first girl asked.
"I dunno, go ask."
"I'm not gonna go ask! You go ask!" The two girls bickered back and forth until one girl got up to ask.
(Y/n) couldn't explain why, but she impulsively moved Hunter's head from her shoulder to her lap. She ran her finger through his ashy blond hair.
And that was answer enough to the girl as she'd sat right back down once she saw that.
"I told you." She angrily whispered back to her friend.
(Y/n) smiled to herself. She didn't know why she did that or why she smiled, but she did. She cradled his head in her hands before letting her eyelids fall once again.
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I sit by the rosebush. I have been sitting by the rosebush for the past few days. All I hear are the birds screaming and the wild animals talking.
Silent tears drip from my eyes. No, stop. I tell them. Don't cry.
Pip walks up to me and sits by my side. He curls up and lies to my right. You don't have a clue what's happened, do you?
Flapjack probably doesn't either.
Flapjack's been gone for the past few days since Caleb's passed. I don't know where he's gone.
Everything feels dark. It used to feel colorful and bright, but now it feels like the stark opposite. Grey and dark. Dull and drab. The list goes on and on.
I sit and watch the clouds go by. Funny how I'll never see those same clouds again.
Eventually, I lie down and lay next to him.
The sun sets and the moon rises. I look at the moon. It's the same moon he looked at. It's the same moon we slept under.
What do I do now? I have a child to raise.
I haven't eaten much. I find that my appetite is almost nonexistent. But I need to eat. For my child.
For them.
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When the train stopped moving, (Y/n) awoke to the sound of glass shattering. "Get away from me!" A man yelled loudly. "No! I don't want to join a coven!"
Hunter peaked around the seat to see coven scouts getting onto the train and apprehending the man who clearly had a few drinks. "All wild witches must join a coven before the day of unity. It's the Emperor's orders" One of the scouts said.
"Fuck the Emperor! Death to him!" The man shouted. "Death to the coven! Death to that Golden Guard! If I ever saw his face, I'd kill that sheep!"
Hunter panicked and quickly pulled his away from the commotion. He pulled his hood further up to make sure no one saw him.
"What's happening?" (Y/n) groggily asked. "Who's there?"
"J-just some drunkard." Hunter said.
The scouts tried to subdue the man, but he fought back. "Get the hell away from me! I'm not joining a coven." He growled, backing up. He was unknowingly backing up towards the former Golden Guard and Silver Scout. "You know what? Death to that girl too! That sheep's partner!"
Hunter turned away from the drunk man and hugged his partner, burying her face into his chest so the man didn't see her. (Y/n) blushed and wrapped her arms around him.
"Sir, please stop." A scout asked, "There's no need for that. Just come with us and we'll find a coven that you'll enjoy being a part of."
"No, leave me alone! I don't want to be in a coven." He yelled as he grabbed a gas lantern from the wall. He blew out the flame and threw it at the scout who approached him.
"Sir! Please stop or I will be forced to send you to the conformatorium."
"Good! I'd much rather be there than in a coven!" The witch yelled as he took his palisman out and flew away, out of the train. The scouts ordered him to come back but, without palismen of their own, that was all they could do.
"He's gone, it's okay now." Hunter said, letting go of his partner.
"How close are we to Latissa?" (Y/n) asked.
"A few hours, we'll be there in a little bit. Just close your eyes and sleep, okay?"
(Y/n) nodded and let herself fall asleep. She laid her head on his lap which made him blush.
Goodnight, (Y/n).
————————
Every morning, I come out here. To sit by him. I talk to him, I tell him how I'm doing. I tell him how excited I am for our baby's arrival. I've only a few more weeks until I am due.
One day, I walk outside to sit by him and notice something growing from his grave. It's a sprout. I water the sprout and let it grow.
It's a yellow rose. A single yellow rose sprouted from his grave. The yellow petals stand out from my red rosebushes.
A few more weeks pass by and another rose has sprouted next to it, this one a red rose.
More weeks pass and a third rose sprouts. This one, orange.
No more roses sprout after that. But on his grave are two tall roses, one yellow, one red. And one small, orange rose.
I smile and feel a gust of wind blow by me. "I love you." I think it says.
"I love you too."
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The train stopped moving and (Y/n) opened her eyes. "Are we here?" She asked, her voice tiredly rumbling in her throat.
"Yeah, we're in Latissa." Hunter said quietly. The boy stood up with his partner and pulled their hoods up.
They kept their heads down as they exited the station where they saw Lilith waiting for them.
"Lilith!" (Y/n) cheered as she ran to hug her mother.
"I'm so glad you're safe, (Y/n)." Lilith sighed, hugging her back.
"Umm.. Hi..." Hunter sheepishly said as he waved to Lilith.
Lilith rolled her eyes and reluctantly waved back before sitting on her palisman and gesturing for them to follow her. The pair took out their staffs and followed her to a secluded cabin.
They landed on a balcony and walked into the cabin. They recognized a few faces here and there. In the cabin was Steve, Eda, Raine, Eberwolf, Darius and a few other faces they didn't know.
They waved 'hi' to everyone and walked into the cabin. The Cats a sign read.
"Cats?" (Y/n) asked.
"The Covens Against the Throne!" A girl with pink skin cheered.
A rebellion...