When Jacqueline awoke for the second time, she was in much less pain, which was nice. She was less happy about the fact that she regained awareness all at once. It meant that she didn't panic about waking up someplace strange, but she would have liked to forget about that fateful evening for at least a little while. Her brain wasn't going to grant her that courtesy twice, though.
She refused to use that as an excuse to wallow even more. She stood up determinedly, grateful to find that she was actually capable of supporting her own weight. The room looked pretty much the same from a standing position, though the light streaming in through the windows suggested that it was now early morning. The doorway Kim had come through seemed to lead into a hall.
Jacqueline took a step toward it, then stopped. Kim was being kind enough by allowing Jacqueline to stay at all. She didn't want to risk annoying her by going someplace she shouldn't. Depending on how early it really was, Kim might not even be awake, and waking her up was almost certainly a bad idea.
It would probably be best if Jacqueline just stayed where she was and waited for Kim to come get her. She was getting sick of waiting, but it wasn't like she didn't have a lot of practice staying in one place and not doing much. She walked over to the bookshelf in search of something with which she could quietly occupy herself.
In what seemed to be the theme of the last few days, most of the books seemed to be somehow Fey-themed. Jacqueline scanned the titles for a bit before coming across one which proclaimed "Sexy Magic!" quite vividly on the spine. That was enough to convince her to grab a book on Fey culture and walk away quickly. Hopefully that would let her avoid asking Kim any more offensive questions.
As it turned out, there was a ridiculous number of different kinds of Fey, each of whom had their own strengths and quirks. Learning about them sounded fascinating. Jacqueline had only ever heard about them as one generic group, but she'd also heard that they ate children, so she didn't think her information was very accurate. She hoped not, anyway.
She had trouble following the text enough to find out. She tried to pay attention, but she kept rereading sentences without absorbing the information. Her mind refused to stay on topic. She kept at it anyway, refusing to acknowledge her lack of attention. That would be too much like admitting that she was still feeling confused and scared and helpless. It wasn't like being unhappy would change anything, so what was the point?
She finally managed to get engrossed in it, just in time to jump when Kim walked in. "Sorry!" she blurted. "I should have asked before I touched your books, but I needed something to do that wouldn't be too disruptive."
Kim shook her head. "Nah, it's fine. Most of those aren't really mine anyway. They were here when I moved in. I think the witch who was here before was just too lazy to move them." She paused. "How long have you been awake? Next time, you should just go make breakfast or something."
Jacqueline fought down the urge to apologize again. "Where's the kitchen?" she asked instead. "I can make breakfast for us now."
"Well, I'm definitely not going to turn down the chance to make someone else cook." Kim walked back out of the room. "Come on, I'll give you the tour," she said over her shoulder.
The cottage turned out to be fairly small. In addition to the room Jacqueline had been staying in, there was a kitchen connected to a small dining room, a closet, and the bathroom she'd used the previous night. There was also a staircase in the hallway, but Kim just said that it led to her bedroom and didn't invite her up.
After living in a mansion her whole life, Jacqueline was a little confused by it. She caught herself wondering halfway through the tour what a maid would even do in such a small house, which made her feel silly. Kim wouldn't exactly have been able to hire a maid even if she wanted one. But the rooms felt much more lived in here than they did at the manor, where anything even slightly out of place was quickly whisked back to where it belonged. Here, Jacqueline could touch things without having to worry about dirtying them.
"So now that you've seen the place, you know where to find stuff if you need it." Kim frowned. "You're probably going to want some new clothes eventually, but we can deal with that later. Right now, it's time for breakfast."
Jacqueline looked down at her clothes. Between frantically running through a forest and sleeping in them, they were rather worse for the wear. She would definitely want to replace them. Kim had been so matter of fact about the idea that thanking her just seemed awkward, though. "Right," she said. "I'll go do that."
As soon as she set foot in the kitchen, she realized she had no idea what she was doing. She'd always had other people around to cook for her. She didn't even know what she wanted to make, much less how to do it.
She opened cabinets to see if that would inspire her. She found some eggs, which seemed like a good place to start for a breakfast. Maybe she could make omelets. They seemed easy enough, just mixing the eggs and putting them in a skillet.
15 minutes later, she was scraping burnt eggs from the bottom of the pan, forced to admit defeat. She didn't know what she'd tell Kim. This became a pressing problem moments later, when Kim walked in. "Why does it smell like – oh."
Jacqueline kept her head down, bent over the pan. "I'm so sorry. I was trying to make an omelet, and it turns out they're harder than they look."
"Have you really never made an omelet?" Kim asked.
"Well, at home I had people who could do it for me…" Jacqueline realized as she said it how spoiled she sounded. She scrubbed even harder, as if that would erase her comment.
Kim laughed. "Wow, you were a rich brat, weren't you? And not only don't you have any practical skills, I bet you don't even have any money on you anymore. I really know how to pick them."
Jacqueline's cheeks burned. "I'll try to make it up to you, but if I'm too much of a burden I can always leave. You've done so much for me already."
Kim grabbed the mostly clean pan. Jacqueline jumped, not having realized that Kim had gotten so close. "Nah, you're fine," Kim said. "If you can't even make an omelet, there's no way you could survive out there on your own. I don't want your death on my conscience." She began gathering ingredients. "But remember when I said you didn't have to worry about waking me up? New plan. I'm pretty sure I have a cookbook somewhere around here. Next time you wake up before me, start reading that. You still owe me a breakfast."
Kim's tone was light, but Jacqueline couldn't help but feel as if she'd failed some hidden test. She wished she had a way to make it up to Kim. But as she'd had pointed out, she was just a spoiled rich kid with no practical skills. "I'll go look for that now," she said.
"Cool." Kim waved vaguely over her shoulder. "I think it's on one of the shelves over there."
Jacqueline tried to follow the imprecise movement, eventually finding a set of bookshelves tucked into a corner. She scanned them in search of something that might be helpful. Wedged between a book on potions and one about cats, she found a book called "Cooking Like Magic." She grabbed it and hoped the title was purely figurative.
Kim came out with some omelets that were actually edible a few minutes later. "Here you go." Once Jacqueline had sat down and continued eating, she said, "I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you don't know anything about sewing, either."
Jacqueline shook her head. "Well, I've done some embroidery, but I was never particularly good at it, and I've never done anything more strenuous."
"Hey, it's better than nothing." Kim took a bite and chewed thoughtfully. "Okay, so after this I guess I can show you how I make my clothes. That way, you can both change out of those rags and work on being less useless."
"That sounds good." Actually, Jacqueline had a number of questions, but now didn't seem like the time for them. She couldn't help but be impressed that Kim was apparently making her own clothes in the middle of a forest, though.
With that settled, the conversation relaxed into something more naturalKim asked what it was like to grow up rich (or pampered, as she'd put it), and Jacqueline did her best to answer, but it was hard when she had nothing else to compare it to. She also kept thinking about her grandparents and wanting to cry all over again. Kim seemed to notice, as she loudly commented on a bird that had landed on the windowsill. They talked about the forest wildlife for the rest of the meal.
Once Kim was done eating, she went to rummage in the closet. "I know I had – aha!" She pulled out a bundle of fabric. "Okay, it's time to begin your sewing lessons. Do you have any idea what sort of outfit you're going to want?"
Jacqueline rested her head on her hand. "Not really? I'm fine with pretty much anything."
"How helpful." Kim unfolded the fabric and held it up for Jacqueline to see. "I hope you like black and/or red, because that's what I have around. For style, I'll probably just have you do something simple and easy to move in. You're fine with a skirt, right?"
Jacqueline looked down at what was left of the skirt she was wearing. "I think I can manage."
"Sweet, that will make that much easier. You'll pretty much just have to cut out a circle."
"That sounds doable." Jacqueline began clearing the table. "Are we starting right now?"
"Why not?" Kim grabbed a box from the closet. "Here are the supplies you'll need. I'll set up while you take care of the dishes."
Jacqueline wasn't entirely convinced that this would be as easy as Kim made it sound, but she was determined to prove that she could do something to contribute. Even if it was only saving Kim some of the effort of helping her in the first place.
She soon found that her half-remembered embroidery skills translated to making clothing remarkably well. It seemed like the hardest part of sewing was the fact that you had to sit in one place and focus on a single task for hours on end, which was pretty much her primary skillset. Kim soon pronounced her competent enough to work at it on her own while Kim did whatever she'd done before Jacqueline had come crashing in.
Having a project to work on also helped Jacqueline not spiral into a mess of apologies and self-flagellation over minor mistakes. She still tried to find ways to make up for her presence, but she stopped offering to leave every time anything went wrong. She even managed to stop feeling guilty about causing trouble for Kim for hours at a stretch.
She ended up spending three days sewing more or less constantly. She was pretty pleased with how her final products turned out, too. They were just a simple shirt and skirt, but they fit her well and didn't look too poorly made. And being able to change out of her ruined clothing meant that she was inclined to forgive their flaws. She folded her old clothes and stuck them under the couch, trying to ignore the voice at the back of her mind commenting that she was becoming unrecognizable.
The other thing that happened over those three days was that she got to know Kim much better. She hadn't particularly sought out the other girl's company, which would have felt too forward, but there was only so much space in the cottage. They became acquainted over mealtime conversations and passing comments on their surroundings.
For all that Kim tried to make herself seem tough, Jacqueline got the sense that she had been lonely living in the woods. Or maybe she was just projecting. Either way, she found that she enjoyed spending time with Kim far more than she would have expected. It was nice to be able to hold a conversation without the pressure to be perfectly proper at all times. Kim was the opposite of proper, but she was caring and fun to talk to, even if she could be a little insensitive.
Jacqueline was starting to relax, until Kim greeted her one morning with a manic smile. She put down her cookbook carefully. "Good morning," she said. "Is there a reason for you to be making that face?"
"Well, you have your new outfit, right? So you've officially graduated Kim Diehl's School for the Life Skills of a Three-Year-Old. Congratulations." Kim clapped her hands. "Now we can move on to something more fun: magic."
Jacqueline winced. She knew she'd have to deal with this eventually, but she was kind of hoping she could put it off for a little while longer. "Are you sure? I barely know how to cook anything more complicated than a sandwich."
Kim shrugged. "Yeah, but you can work on that later. Are you really telling me you aren't even a little curious about your powers? You could have all sorts of cool abilities you don't even know about!"
"The last 'cool ability' I learned got me kicked out of my house. Forgive me if I'm not enthusiastic about the idea of having more." Jacqueline spoke without speaking, and regretted the words as soon as they were out of her mouth. She stood by the sentiment, but she should have found a better way to say it.
Kim's face fell for a split second before rearranging itself into a casual smirk. "Well, it's not like you have to worry about that happening again. You can't get kicked out if you don't have a home in the first place."
Jacqueline kind of deserved that. She'd been the one to get snippy first, and it wasn't like Kim was wrong. As much as Jacqueline enjoyed staying at the cottage with Kim, she hadn't even been there for a full week. That wasn't enough time to call it a home.
Kim was also right that she needed to get this out of the way while she still had someone who was willing to help her. And if she kept antagonizing her like this, that might not be true for much longer.
She sighed. "Okay, fine. What do I have to do?"
Kim crossed her arms. "That depends. You don't happen to know what sort of ancestry you have, do you?"
"I'm afraid not. I never met my parents, and I'm pretty sure my grandparents weren't Fey."
"Of course." Kim shook her head. "In that case, I'm going to have to ask you to tell me about the first time your powers manifested. Sorry to dredge up bad memories like this, but it's kind of important."
Jacqueline nodded and closed her eyes. "I wasn't expecting it," she said slowly. "I was just terrified, and it felt like everything was getting really hot. I pushed my hands forward without thinking. Then there was suddenly fire shooting from them. It didn't even feel like I was doing anything, it was just something that was happening."
She swallowed. She didn't like feeling so helpless, even in a memory. She reminded herself that the point of this lesson was so she wouldn't be helpless next time. This didn't really get rid of her anxiety, as it implied that there would be a next time. She swallowed again and focused on remembering to breathe.
It was going to be okay. Kim wouldn't let anything happen to her. She herself was useless and relying on Kim for too much as it was, but at least that meant she was safe.
There was a hand on Jacqueline's shoulder. She jumped, her eyes flying open as she tried to get away. Kim pulled her hands back and raised them in a gesture of surrender. "Whoa, easy there, Jackie. It's okay. You're here, you're safe, and you're having lessons to make sure that sort of thing doesn't happen again. It's okay."
Jacqueline nodded. Her heart was still racing, but she thought she could at least look calm. "Thank you," she said. She grabbed her arm self-consciously. "Did that help?"
Kim frowned. "Yeah, a little. It means I know where to start with your training, anyway. I don't really know what you might be, though, so I can't tell you if you can do anything else. I have some ideas, but…" she shrugged. "Eh, it's not like it's going to matter anytime soon. Let's just focus on getting that fire under control for now."
"Right." Jacqueline stood up straighter. "Where do I start?"
"We can start by getting you outside. I'd rather not risk you accidentally burning my house down."
Jacqueline opened her mouth, then closed it again. "That's fair."
They ended up going to a clearing a little ways away from the cottage. "This should be fine," Kim said. "I don't really think it will be an issue, but I'd rather not risk it."
Jacqueline shifted her weight awkwardly. "I'm ready. I think."
"The thing about fire magic is that it tends to be pretty strongly tied to your emotions," Kim said. "So until you get used to calling it up on your own, step one is going to be getting really emotional. It shouldn't matter what you're feeling, you just need to feel a lot of it."
Well, that sounded kind of terrifying. "I… okay," Jacqueline said.
Kim picked up on her uneasiness, if not its cause. "I know, feeling things on cue can be hard. It might help to remember a time you felt something strongly and let that guide you."
"All right." Jacqueline closed her eyes and tried to think about when she'd had a strong reaction to anything. As Kim had said, it was a little hard to do on such short notice. She settled on her sixteenth birthday party, one of her happiest and most cherished memories. Her grandparents had invited practically the whole town. She'd gotten a chance to mingle and celebrate with everyone and not have to worry about being the perfect Dupre for one glorious day. Just thinking about it made her smile. They'd played games, and the town baker had made her such a delicious cake, and –
The memory of the baker's smiling face was suddenly replaced by his glare under the glow of a torch. The guests stopped their dancing and turned on her. The next thing she knew, she was running for her life, knowing that she had to choose between certain and near-certain death.
She shook her head and squeezed her eyes tighter. It looked like happiness wasn't going to work, at least for now. It was a depressing thought, but she couldn't dwell on it. She'd just focus on a different memory. Maybe anger would work. She had just been abandoned by the only family she'd ever known, so she thought she deserved some cathartic anger.
She couldn't bring herself to hate her grandparents, though. Trying just made her feel guilty. They'd known that she was Fey from the beginning, apparently, and they'd taken her in anyway. It was only after she'd gone and ruined everything that they'd asked her to leave. Even then, they'd let her take her belongings, which they didn't have to do. They'd tried to keep her safe by waiting until nightfall to send her off. They'd done the best they could, and she couldn't blame them for being afraid for their own safety. After what had happened to her, it only made sense.
And now she was just sad. That didn't seem very useful, either, so she shoved it to the side. There had to be something she was passionate about, something that would let her access her magic.
"Hey," Kim said. "Have you got something yet?"
Jacqueline opened her eyes. "I'm afraid not yet."
Kim groaned. "Come on, how hard can it be? Even an automaton like you should have something you feel strongly about."
"What?" Jacqueline's voice came out shriller than she'd intended. She shoved down her hurt and started again. She knew Kim didn't mean to be cruel. "I mean, I'm sorry. I'm just having trouble coming up with anything."
"Did you ever think that that right there might be why?" Kim took a step closer to Jacqueline, so they were practically face to face. "Every time you start to feel anything, you shut it away so you can go back to acting like you're so proper and perfect. It's okay, you know. You may think you're better than everyone else, but the rest of us get by just fine even with our feelings. You're just too afraid to try it."
Jacqueline bit her tongue. It wasn't like she wanted to be so strait-laced all the time, but she was enough of a burden as it was. She didn't need to make anyone else deal with her ridiculous hysteria. It was much easier for everyone if she was quiet and polite and didn't let herself get riled up.
She didn't think she could do that if she stayed here and let Kim keep insulting her. She stood up and dusted off her skirt. "I understand," she said. "I think it would be best if I continued my magical studies on my own from now on. Thank you for all that you've done for me."
She walked back to the cottage mechanically. She thought she heard Kim start to say something, but Jacqueline refused to stop long enough to listen. If she did, she'd probably fall apart. A vindictive part of her said that that was what Kim deserved, if she wanted to see Jacqueline get emotional, but she wanted to think that she was more sensible than that. At the very least, she wanted to avoid the embarrassment of breaking down for no reason.
Her anger carried her back to the living room. She collapsed on the couch and indulged in a little bit of self-loathing before the worry kicked in. Had she really just stormed away like a spoiled child? It wasn't like Kim had been wrong, even if the way she'd said it was less than ideal. She should go apologize.
Maybe not right then, though. She didn't really want to be around Kim just yet. It would be better to give them both a chance to calm down. In the meantime, she might as well keep reading her cookbook. It wasn't like she had anything better to do.
A thought occurred to her. If the problem was her inability to learn how to use her powers, maybe she could apologize by proving that she could learn something else. If she could cook a decent meal, she might be able to show Kim that she wasn't completely useless.
She flipped through the book. Most of them were still too complex for her, but she eventually settled on something that looked simple enough that even she could make it. She reread the recipe while she waited for the coast to clear.
Once she heard the door to Kim's room slam, she ventured out of the living room to put her plan in action. The act of cooking proved to be more stressful than she'd like. She kept second-guessing herself, wondering if she'd managed to ruin everything by waiting five seconds too long. Her final product looked edible enough, though. It didn't seem to poison her when she tried it.
She had the food on plates when she realized she didn't have a plan for getting it to Kim. She refused to risk intruding on Kim's personal space, but if the food got cold before Kim came down then the whole thing would have been pointless.
She was still dithering when Kim came down. "I thought I smelled food," Kim said. Jacqueline jumped. "Whoa, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Is it okay if I join you?"
"Of course," Jaqueline said. "I thought I should apologize, and making food seemed like it would help."
Kim barked a laugh. "What are you apologizing for? I was being a dick back there." She grabbed her plate forcefully.
"You were right, though," Jacqueline said. "I do try too hard to be proper, and I can understand that it would be annoying. It's just that I had to be the perfect heir for my grandparents, and I keep forgetting that I'm not anymore."
Kim frowned. "That sounds pretty miserable."
"They were already generous just to take me in, after what happened with my parents. I can't blame them for not dealing with an overdramatic child." Jacqueline shrugged. "Besides, they had worked hard to build up a reputation in town. They wanted to make sure I didn't ruin that."
"Ugh. Just sit down and start eating, please." Jacqueline looked at Kim, confused. Kim ran her fingers through her hair self-consciously. "It sounds like we're about to have a feelings talk, and I refuse to do that without having food as a distraction."
Jacqueline did as she was told, trying to act normal. She couldn't help but worry, though. It sounded like she'd guilted Kim into doing something she didn't want to do. Maybe she shouldn't have tried explaining herself. It might have sounded too much like she was trying to justify her actions, and now Kim felt like she had to respond.
"Okay, here we go." Kim took a deep breath. "First of all, whatever happened with your parents is in no way your fault, and if your grandparents ever made you feel like it was then they are both assholes and wrong.
"Second, even if it were your fault, the way they treated you was still messed up. You were a kid, of course you were melodramatic and ridiculous sometimes. That's what kids are like. They should have expected it, and the fact that they apparently shut you down for acting like a kid is more proof that they were assholes."
She took an emphatic bite of food. Jacqueline wanted to use this pause to respond, to defend her grandparents, but she wasn't even sure where to begin. She knew that her parents' actions weren't her fault. It was just that her grandparents couldn't help but be reminded of them every time they looked at her, which was entirely reasonable.
Somehow, she didn't think that Kim would agree. Either way, she lost her chance to explain moments later, when Kim swallowed and continued her rant. "Anyway, I have a lot more I could say about your grandparents and how they are truly terrible people, but now isn't the time. The point is that I shouldn't have snapped at you earlier. Especially not since you have a good reason for acting the way you do, but you shouldn't have felt obliged to tell me about it. Sorry about that.
"And since you've told me about your tragic backstory, it seems only fair that I tell you mine. Get us back on even ground and all."
"You really don't have to do that." The last thing Jacqueline needed right now was something else to confuse or upset her, and judging by that lead-in, hearing about Kim's past would do exactly that. She'd enjoyed pretending that Kim was too strong to be hurt. It let her feel safe.
Kim shrugged. "Eh, it's not like it's some huge secret. Maybe this way you'll actually be willing to call me out when I'm being a dick."
"Well, if you're sure…" Stopping Kim would just be rude at this point. Besides, as worrying as Jacqueline was sure it would be, she couldn't deny that she was curious. It had nothing to do with how flattering she found Kim's willingness to trust her.
"I'm assuming that you've guessed that my mom was a witch. I mean, duh. The thing was that she was also the sort of person who takes everything that people say about the Fey as a challenge. She had some sort of plan to 'get her revenge' or 'show them all' or whatever, and apparently she just never realized how much that made her sound like a supervillain."
Kim looked down at the table. "I tried to talk her out of it, but she just said that she was doing it so I could have a better future. Which didn't stop her from acting like I didn't exist half the time, but whatever.
"Eventually I decided I couldn't handle it anymore, so I left." She snorted. "That lasted like a month. I wasn't exactly prepared to live on my own, so I went crawling back to beg for forgiveness or something. Not that I ever got the chance.
"By the time I made it back, her house had been burned down, and she was gone. I don't know if she'd done it during a test run, or if someone finally caught on or what. It doesn't really matter. The point is that there was nothing left for me there. I left town for good, eventually heard about this place, and you can pretty much guess the rest." She shrugged, but her voice was thick with emotion, and she wouldn't look at Jacqueline. "So there you go. We've had our emotional conversation, and now we can move on and never acknowledge it again. By the way, this is a remarkably decent meal."
Jacqueline had been staring in growing horror throughout Kim's speech. She jolted at the compliment. "Oh. Thank you?" She wished she knew how to comfort Kim, but she wasn't sure if she'd be overstepping.
"Anyway, have I ever told you about the witch who lived here before me?" Kim was speaking just a little too quickly. "I only knew her for like a week, but she was something. One time she managed to flood the house with fish."
She went on to tell a story that somehow involved a pumpkin, a pair of heels, and the end of a marriage. Jacqueline got so caught up in it that she could forget that they had ever argued.
She woke up the next morning prepared to throw herself back into magic training. She still wasn't thrilled about the idea, but she had to do it eventually. She might as well get it over with. Besides, she wanted to show Kim how grateful she was for her help.
She spent most of breakfast psyching herself up to face her emotions again. That made it all the more surprising when Kim suggested they go for a walk instead. "You've never really gotten a chance to see the woods, right? I might as well show you around. I need to go get some more herbs anyway."
"Thank you!" Jacqueline was still wary of the woods, even now that she'd met the resident witch. A lifetime of warnings about it wasn't something she could just brush off. This seemed like a good way to get over it, though, and it was almost certainly going to be easier than magic training.
Kim grabbed a bag, and then they were off. Jacqueline tried to keep track of where they were going as they walked, but quickly got lost. The trees all looked the same to her. Kim seemed to know where she was going, though, so Jacqueline just followed and hoped for the best.
It didn't help that Kim didn't seem to have a clear destination in mind. They stopped every now and then for her to pick a flower or strip some bark off a tree, but mostly they seemed to be wandering at random. Jacqueline eventually gave in and asked, "Where are we going?"
Kim didn't slow down. "You'll see. I promise I know what I'm doing, so you'll just have to trust me."
"Of course." Jacqueline hoped she didn't sound too sarcastic. Kim seemed to fit in in the woods in a way Jacqueline hadn't fit in anywhere. If she said she knew what she was doing, Jacqueline was happy to let her take the lead.
It was another half hour later when Jacqueline heard the sounds of running water. Kim broke out into a jog. "Come on, we're almost there!"
"There" turned out to be a stream winding contentedly through the woods. The light reflecting off of it was almost blinding after spending so long in the shade, but Jacqueline couldn't look away. The leaves on its banks seemed too bright a green to be real. Even the rocks surrounding it were covered in moss. It looked like a painting, but seeing it real and right in front of her gave her a sense of peace unlike anything she'd ever felt.
Kim swung around to face her, beaming. "Pretty nice, right?"
Jacqueline tried to shape her thoughts into words, but all she could come up with were adjectives that seemed inadequate for the scene in front of her. "It's amazing," she managed.
Kim's expression was unusually open and carefree. "Seriously. It's the best part about living out here. And hey, if everyone else is too scared to come into the woods, that means I have this place all to myself." Her laugh sounded only slightly bitter.
"Thank you for sharing it with me." That still didn't feel like enough, but Jacqueline couldn't quite get a grip on her feelings herself, let alone express them. She settled for looking back out at the stream. It was somehow just as beautiful the second time you saw it.
They ended up staying there for the rest of the afternoon, relaxing in the sunlight and occasionally swapping stories. Talking about her old life wasn't nearly as painful when she was surrounded by so much beauty. It was a reminder that if she'd never left, she would never have found anything like this. She would have missed out on something so awe-inspiring because she was too afraid.
They were forced to start heading back when they noticed the sun going down. The walk back was quiet, but Jacqueline didn't mind. She was too busy thinking that maybe, learning that she was Fey hadn't been entirely a bad /
