Lavender sat in the study with her husband at her side, never in a million years had she expected the news she had just received. Of all the things the message could have told her, he chooses to tell her this. It wasn't bad news, in fact it was fantastic but she knew what it meant. She knew behind the pretence of happiness for it what must have happened to make this possible made it the worst news possible.
Earlier that day she had been catching up with her daughters, slowly their relationship was getting stronger. Dg learned to love her again and AZ learnt to trust her again. Now several months after the eclipse, AZ was recovering dg was settling well……. well as best she could. But then I bumbling guard waltzed in and made the report that she knew would nearly destroy their relationship. Three words that's all it took and AZ recovery was thrown into turmoil. And dg was once again full with question, none of which the queen could or would answer.
"Moira…… been……found" his breathless declaration had not affected its effect in the slightest. Moira, the person she cared for the most after her husband and daughters had been found. This either meant one of two things. She had managed to escape, maybe joined the resistance or….. The second option was too awful to think off. What most have happed to her must have been worst then death. The witch knew she had power and that would make her a prime target. No way had she escaped she was too well known. That meant the witch had done something impossible, she had broken her. The strongest girl she knew must have been broken. She would have fought otherwise, fought till the day she died. What must have happened to break her fiery spirit………..
Moira was her eldest niece, a close cousin to AZ and DG; she was the most powerful member in her family. Her power even rivalled that of DG, a feat hard to achieve. She was feisty yet demure. She combined the best parts of both AZ and DG. With a cough from the breathless guard brought her crashing back to the conversation. AZ sat wide-eyed, her face etched with painful memories. Dg looked confused, bewildered even at the looks of horror and agony from mother and daughter. She couldn't remember a 'moira' but the she must be bad news if her mothers face was anything to go by.
"Mother, who is moira? A witch, Az do you know?" AZ shook her head, not to answer but to try to shake away her agony. Failing, she stood abruptly running to her room. Her mother stopped DG from running after her. She raised her hand to the guard giving him a silent command. The young man nodded his acknowledgement and left very quickly glancing towards the other guards who followed him out.
"Mother, who is that? "She then finally turned to look at dg, a look of agony on her face
"Dg that is your cousin, she was a great girl just like you and now she had been found she is alive and well."
"But mother why are you upset she's alive and well, she isn't evil why in gods name is everyone upset? Why did AZ run out? Why aren't you happy? She's family; this is good news isn't it?"
Her tirade of questions finished abruptly when her father entered and swallowed her mother in comforting hug. She whispered dg could only just make out
"God what did she do to her, she should be dead. What could they have done to her? Oh my dear little apple, what did they do to her?" Her father offered no answer he just tightened his grip on her and turned to DG.
"Comfort your sister, she going to have so many memories to deal with. We were naive to think she had dealt with them all. These memories will be the worst she has ever remembered but you need to find out what happened"
DG opened her mouth to ask yet another question but her father had already turned back to her mother so se simply asked herself
"What the fuck is going on "but she set off in search of her sister.
Not the queen sat in her office waiting moira return, dreading it to her core she knew who she would meet wouldn't be moira, not her little apple. No this person would be different, a colder and broken ghost and that nearly thought, that person would destroy her…