Puisse ce chapitre, vous trouverez tous en bonne santé. This was kind of bothering me (more than kind of, quite frankly) and I've been indulging a Host craving lately, so it just isn't going anywhere.
Must make it very clear, all characters, behaviours, etc, are based off the viewing of the movie. No understanding of the book is needed. Oh, ignore that end scene...'months later'...honestly, what were they thinking?
Melanie's POV
-With Jeb-
'I wonder how Wanda is', I thought to myself, wandering through the cave to the bath. It had only been a week since we had been separated, and I felt like I had somehow lost another part of me. Which was silly, especially because we still saw each other all the time, even rooming together. But now in the cave, everyone had a job to do. I stuck close with Jeb, doing a lot of the physical labour, while Wanda was generally found with Doc, the two sharing knowledge of their respective species. Never going to get used to that.
Walking back to the main field of the cave, I bumped into Uncle Jeb, and we walked alongside each other in comfortable silence for a spell. Jeb and I were alike in that sense; not every moment had to be filled with words. But I was on a mission today, and Jeb was the perfect person to start with.
"Uncle Jeb?" I asked, almost hesitating.
"Yes chickadee?" he replied.
"I just wanted to thank you," I began, continuing before he could say anything, "you protected Wanda when no one else would. Neither of us would be here today without you. I know Wanda would never say anything, but nice faces were hard to come across when we first came here."
"Mel," he started in that throaty voice he still had after all these years, "it was never an option to hurt her. You know I just ain't made like that. She came all the way here, gave herself up, and never said a word against anyone, even Kyle, and we all know what happened there."
I stopped beside him, placing my hand on his forearm. When he stopped as well and turned to face me I pulled him into a hug. "My sister is alive because of you," I said.
He hugged me back, and I smiled at him when we parted, before walking in the opposite direction I was previously going.
"Oh, Mel?" Uncle Jeb called out from behind me.
"Yeah?" I asked.
"Go gentle on him," Jeb said, chuckling a little, "you know he loves her."
I just turned back and continued walking, shaking my head at how well he knew me.
-With Ian-
"Hey Ian, can I have a word?" I asked, finding him out the front of his room. He placed down the book he was reading and gestured for me to sit next to him.
"Sure Mel, what's up?" he asked, giving me a slight smile. From what I had heard from Jarred, as well as my time with Wanda, Ian was overall a good guy. But I could never forget Wanda's fear, one of the first individual feelings she had felt for herself while in my body, when he had gone to strangle her.
"Not much, I just wanted to chat," I said lightly, looking out ahead of me rather than at Ian. "Ian?" I said.
"Yeah?"
"I'm very aware of how you feel about Wanderer," I began, "and I know she feels strongly about you as well. I just wanted to say I support the both of you, and that I hope you both make the other happy."
"Thanks Melanie, it means a lot," he said, and I could hear the slight smile in his voice, "to be honest-"
"But," I said, in a commanding voice, interrupting what he was going to say, "if you ever lay a hand on her again, no matter the situation, I will have Jarred beat you within an inch of your life, understood?"
"Yes," he said, sounding sad, "Melanie-"
I turned to him, holding up my hand. "No, don't say anything," I said, before smiling, "I know now how you feel, it's just a warning I need to make. After everything that happened Wanda and I are family, and sometimes I feel like her only family. I need to look out for her."
He nodded, before smiling. "Perhaps we can share that job?" he asked me.
I nodded. "I think so," I said, patting his leg before getting up and walking off, in search of my next meeting.
-With Doc-
"Hey Mel," Wanda said as we walked past each other, her heading out of the infirmary and me heading in to talk to Doc. "Everything OK?"
"Yeah,"I said, smiling, "just wanted to get some pills for a headache."
"OK," she said, "I may see you when I get back, Doc needs me to get list from Jeb's office."
Not if I could help it she wouldn't. "Melanie, nice to see you today," Doc said, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"Hi there Doc," I said, smiling, "I just wanted to thank you. Wanda is really enjoying working with you."
Doc smiled. "It's no problem. Wanda is helping me create some methods for safely delivering babies. It's getting to be less of just me teaching her about humans, because her knowledge is already so advanced, and more of her teaching me about souls."
I grinned, glad to know the man was so accepting. "Well, I'm just happy that you were so accepting of her, giving her your respect."
"We are all human, are we not?" Doc asked, a gentle smile on his face.
"We certainly are," I said, happiness feeling me, before I began to think of my next mission. "I'll catch you later Doc."
-With Maggie-
"Aunt Maggie?" I said as I walked into the kitchen, where she, Ella and Joy were preparing lunch.
"Yes child," she said, continuing to roll dough for bread.
"I want to talk about Wanda," I said, and she automatically stilled, frowning as she turned to face me.
"What did you want to say?" she asked me.
"I wanted to say," I took a deep breath here, "that I found your treatment of Wanda absolutely horrible."
"Now you listen here-" she tried to say, but I cut her off.
"No, you listen Magnolia," I said, interrupting the woman that was once my favourite aunt. "I get not trusting Wanda at the start, before you knew how amazing she was. But I cannot excuse the way you treated her after. You know when you thought that she was the one lying about what Kyle did? She is the only thing that was standing between him and death!"
"Melanie," she tried again, but I stepped up close and spoke over her once again.
"I was the one that tried to get her to kill him!" I told her.
"Don't say that," she said, looking angry, like I was a five year old that had cussed.
"Say what, that I'm no where near as nice and considerate as Wanda?" I was getting worked up, I needed an exit. "You know what? Don't even say anything. Because I know there's nothing that I can say that will change your mind and make you realise that Wanda oozes kindness and humanity." I stormed out without looking back, before I said something I would actually regret.
-With Jarred-
"Jarred," I called out as I entered our room to find him reading on our bed.
"Mel, what's wrong?" he asked, sitting up immediately and making room for me to sit next to him on the bed.
"I just went to talk to Aunt Maggie," I said, burrowing my head into his chest as he hugged me.
"About?"
"How horribly she treated Wanda," I said, sighing as I moved back, "I wanted to talk to you as well."
"Mel," he said, "I hated myself as soon as I hit her, even if I didn't genuinely like her until later."
"Jarred, I'm not mad," I said, "I was spitting fire when you hit us, no doubt, but you fought to protect her against the guys. You kind of redeemed yourself," I joked.
I could feel him smiling in my hair, before we separated. "Knowing Wanda now the way I do," he began, "after what she's done, I'd go back in a heartbeat to fix my actions. I just had no idea that you could come back, and my judgement was totally screwed."
"And I get that," I said, smiling gently.
"You just want to protect her," he said knowingly.
I smiled at the fact that he knew me so well. "I could always use a hand you know," I said, "there are still people that aren't exactly happy with Wanda, despite how she's proved herself."
"Of course Mel," he said, "after how easily Wanda gave herself up for you, she'll always have me on her side. And if we can get Kyle to come around, anything is possible."
'Speaking of Kyle...'
-With Kyle-
It was ironic that I had been talking to Ian earlier about protecting family, and I was going to talk to his brother. Kyle, while towards the end seemed to have Wanda's back, had definitely been one of the biggest Wanda-opposers. I could still vividly remember the feeling that went through Wanda and I when we heard him come down the tunnel, a feeling that turned to pure terror when we were barely holding our own. And I wanted to make sure Kyle knew that wouldn't stand.
"Hey Kyle!" I called out, and he turned to face me. He had been talking with Mona in one of the doorways to our wheat field, and after seeing my previous face, he spoke softly and sent her away.
"Mel," he said, nodding, "what's up?"
I cocked my head to one side, before all of a sudden my right fist swung out to hit him, making him stumble back into the wall. "Mind telling me what that was about Mel?" he asked, rubbing his jaw and straightening up in front of me.
"Ever been overpowered by someone twice your size Kyle?" I asked, crossing my arms and jutting out my hip, glaring at him. "Or perhaps pushed into a wall?"
Understanding seemed to dawn on him, but I just kept going. "Because I got to experience both. And let me tell you; if Wanda hadn't have been in control that day, you would've been dead, because I would've let you go. You don't even realise that the woman you tried so dang hard to kill is the only reason you're still here, getting yelled at. And I don't just mean in the lagoon, but in every moment since then, when there've been Seekers on our heels and Wanda's been the only one able to help. So just take a moment to realise what you nearly ruined."
"Mel-" he began.
"What?" I asked, "I'd love to hear your response to that."
"I screwed up, ok?" he says, frustrated, "you don't think I know that? As soon as I stopped and actually thought about what I was doing I knew it. Wanda, she's special. And I'm just glad she did take pity on me. But Mel, come on!"
"What?" I asked impatiently.
"What did you expect to happen?" he asked rhetorically, "all any of us knew was that souls were evil, and that we couldn't trust them. Then Wanda pops up, and of course she's talkin' bout how she's innocent, but that's exactly what an evil one would say. So how else are we meant to react? I mean, it's not like we know any other souls that have defected."
I stayed silent, thinking. Kyle sighed, and then said something that stopped me in my tracks. "Did you ever think about what you were doing?" he asked. I opened my mouth to say something, but he cut me off. "I know, I know, you wanted to find your family. But you were all Wanda had, and you thrust her onto us when you couldn't defend her. I know you probably couldn't have done a lot else, and I wouldn't have done anything differently considering, but just remember that you put her here in the first place."
He went to walk away, but I stopped him. "Kyle? Thank you," I said, giving him a smile.
He returned it, saying softly, "I ain't angry Mel. Like I said, Wanda's something else. And I'm going to spend a long time trying to repay my debt to her."
"You know you don't need to," I said, "Wanda would never dream of holding a grudge."
He chuckled. "I know. Won't stop me though. Goodnight Mel."
I smiled and said goodnight, before turning back down the tunnel and heading to mine and Jarred's room. Tomorrow I would talk to Wanda.
Wanda's POV
I walked into the dining area and over to a corner table where Jarred, Ian and Jamie were sitting. "Hello everyone," I said, kissing Ian lightly as I sat down at his side. "Where's Mel? Is she ok?" I asked Jarred.
He nodded. "She seemed a little stressed, but said she was right behind me." He went to get up but I held my hand, signalling he sit. "Do not worry, I will go and get her and return."
He smiled and nodded before going back to talking with Jamie. I slowly made my way to Melanie and Jarred's room, seeing Mel putting on a sweater.
"Hey Mel, you ok?" I asked.
"Yeah, of course," she said, coming over and giving me a hug. "I just want you to know that I'll always have your back, alright? I'm always going to protect you."
I hugged her back tightly. "I know that Mel; I didn't doubt it for a second."
"Good," she said as we pulled back.
"I mean, who else would thank Jeb, Jarred, Ian and Doc?" I asked, continuing smoothly. I had been visited by Ian, Kyle, Jarred, Doc and Jec today, all apologising, some rightly and some wrongly so. I knew straight away that Mel, my fierce guard, must have said something. "Who else would be so forceful with Kyle? Who else would ever confront a member of their family like you did with your Aunt Maggie?" I raised my eyebrows as if waiting for her reply.
She looked a little sheepish and amused, but when I mentioned Maggie she grew serious. "And I'd do it again in a heartbeat. You are my family Wanda. I need you, and so do Jamie, Jarred and Ian. You'll never be alone like you used to be ever again."
I hugged her to me once more. "I know that Mel. There's no other family I'd rather be part of."
Thoughts, mon amie?