Chapter Four: Negotiator's Heart

"I know a way," Brightpaw cried, dancing around the two adults in his excitement. "There's a back way out of the camp to the gateway. I bet you have to go through the gateway again, don't you? Can I come? Can I come? Please? I'll be good, I promise."

"You certainly will be good," Granny Cantril clucked at the pup. "For I will be coming along as well." Dark eyes lifted from the pup to Julianna. "Your heart whispers, dearie, and we'd best follow its prompting."

Julianna swallowed and nodded. "Show us the way, Brightpaw."

The pup darted back into the dim environs of the camp, navigating along the cluttered top floor to a rickety staircase made of wood. Julianna gulped before following the pup down the creaking, decrepit stairs. When they reached the next floor, Brightpaw leapt from the stairs and sniffed around, before pricking his ears and leaping forward again. Hag and woman hurried to keep up as the wolf led them to a ramp leading farther down. Julianna heard voices in the distance as the trio descended the ramp, slick with dirt and substances best ignored. To her surprise, her boots kept her upright even when she accidentally stepped on a slippery…something…halfway down.

At the bottom of the ramp, Brightpaw paused. "We're close," he whispered to Julianna and Granny Cantril. "This is the hardest part; there's an old metal thing with metal bars that you can get down if you're careful. Sometimes I slip on this part."

"A ladder," Julianna whispered back. "Where is it? I can go first."

Brightpaw pointed with one forepaw; Julianna followed his paw and saw the top of the ladder. "Go, dearie," Granny Cantril murmured, "Above all, you must make it out; we are too close to the Obliviators to protect you if they find us now."

Julianna braced herself, then shot forward at a full run, racing for the ladder as if she had a pack of ravening demons on her heels. She grabbed the top of the ladder and swung herself around and onto the rungs. Her feet found their perches so quickly that she suspected that either she was practiced with the move or her boots were magical. Julianna pushed aside the idle thought and started down the ladder, choosing speed over stealth. A yip preceded Brightpaw's appearance; the wolf pup tried to dart down the ladder nose-first and ended up falling instead. Julianna lurched to the side and snatched Brightpaw out of midair as he fell. Going down the ladder with one arm around the pup was harder, but she wasn't going to drop him. She didn't look up again until she was on the ground, then she glanced up and scrambled out of Granny Cantril's way. Brightpaw squirmed, but she didn't let him down until the two were away from the ladder.

Julianna drew in a breath of relief as she let the pup down. "Okay, now which way?" she asked quietly.

"This way, dearie," Granny Cantril called, low and soft. The hag pointed at a nearby area that absolutely flexed with magic. When Julianna saw it, she bit back a groan as a memory finally resurfaced.

She wasn't sure what had just happened, but she needed to find someone and send them to help…who? She saw a shimmer in the air, flexing in a way that she knew only she could see. Maybe someone could help her there? She stepped through the portal and stumbled over a rock, falling into a large figure. Startled, the figure shifted, throwing her off and sending her tumbling backwards onto another rock.

Julianna pushed herself to her feet and headed towards the gateway, a hag and a wolf pup on her heels. Someone needed help and she wasn't going to let them down. Once through the gateway, she lifted her head and started scanning the rooftops; she wasn't sure why, but her gut instinct was insisting that she start high. It didn't take long to spot what she was looking for and she pointed up at the figure standing right at the edge of the nearby building. "Up there."

"By the Lion," Granny Cantril whispered in horror, "What do we do?"

Brightpaw whined in fear and distress, his ears sinking down and his tail tucking between his legs.

But for Julianna, the answer was simple. "I'm going to talk her down," she informed her two companions. "There's no time to call for help, so it's up to me."

"Well, dearie, you're not going alone," Granny Cantril declared, a light in her dark eyes, the light of a challenge met and accepted.

"I'm coming, too," Brightpaw yipped.

The girl on the ledge sniffled, trying to gin up enough courage to take that final step. No one would care, no one would even notice when she was gone. Her neighbors would probably throw a party or something. And that poor Muggle, who'd only been trying to help; the girl sobbed as she remembered how she'd wanted so desperately to be left alone that her magic had lashed out and she'd seen the Muggle's eyes go blank as her magic struck. She deserved this, deserved all of what her neighbors did to her.

"Please don't jump."

The girl started, turning towards the voice, and felt her eyes go wide. The Muggle, she was back! And she had a hag and a little wolf pup with her! "Wh-what?" the girl stammered.

"Hi there," the Muggle called, "My name is Julianna…what's your name?"

For several seconds, the girl just stared, shocked. The answer slipped out without thought. "Vicky."

"Vicky," the Muggle mused, "That's a pretty name." Without missing a beat, she continued, "Vicky, I'm going to step closer so that you can hear me better. Is that okay?"

Vicky swallowed nervously, but didn't protest.

The Muggle stepped forward, getting close enough that Vicky could have reached out and touched her. "Good. So, thanks for not jumping. Are you thinking you might?"

Tears ran down Vicky's face and she nodded. "I'm sorry," she whimpered, "For what I did to you."

The Muggle – Julianna – reared back in clear surprise. "What you did to me?"

A miserable head bob. "I just wanted to be alone; you startled me…I didn't mean to do it." The girl burst into fresh tears as the Muggle, the hag, and the wolf pup stared at her in shock.

Julianna bit her lip; part of her wanted to just walk away. This girl had – intentionally or not – stolen everything she was from her. But her heart practically sang its defiance of such a selfish move; she knew without being told that if she walked away, she'd regret it and it would destroy her. So, instead, she wriggled closer to the crying girl and pulled her into a hug. "It's okay," she soothed, "We can fix it; nobody's hurt so bad that they can't recover." Julianna drew a deep breath. "Now, how about you tell me why you wanted to be alone so badly."

Vicky was so stunned that it took her a minute to process that Julianna hadn't walked away, hadn't left her to commit suicide alone. The sobs died away into sniffles. "I, um, we live in a Muggle neighborhood," she began, getting a silent nod from her listener. "I'm a Muggleborn," she added shyly. "When I got my invitation, my parents were so proud of me…and happy, 'cause we live in kinda a bad neighborhood."

"They were happy you were going somewhere safer," Julianna mused aloud.

"Yeah," Vicky confirmed. "But, um, then my dad got sick and we were all trying to pay the bills and…and he hasn't gotten better…and Mom's struggling really hard…and school is expensive and that could be going to help him…and the kids I grew up with think I'm a stuck-up snob…and they call me a snitch…and all sorts of…other names."

"Does your school have a scholarship program or something?" Julianna asked gently. She frowned at the miserable head shake. "So, your parents are in a bind and you're being bullied, too. Does that sum it up? Anything else?"

A louder sniff. "My old friend Tasha Redford got attacked two years ago; I almost never get to see her anymore. And the girls who hate her hassle me now, 'cause I was her friend."

The other name rang a bell in Julianna's mind, but she couldn't figure out why…maybe, no, probably, related to the memories locked away from her. "Wow, that all sounds really tough," she admitted, "But you know what? You are going to get through this and if you can get through this, you can handle anything. I know it seems like the whole world is against you right now, but it's not, Vicky, it's not. You're going to get through school and you're going to do things we can't even dream of right now. It might feel impossible right now, but you have the rest of your life, okay? And it's gonna be tough, but it's also gonna be really, really amazing."

"Really?" Vicky's voice was small and hesitant.

"Really," Julianna replied firmly. And inside, even without her memories, her heart thrummed its approval.

Author note: Praise the Lord (and pass the apple pie)! I passed my certification test on Saturday with flying colors, as did all of my classmates (well, some of them tested Sunday). As of now, we've been told there is going to be an interview. Maybe. At some point. Honestly, given how many times we've been told there's gonna be an interview and then there isn't...well, I've stopped holding my breath if you know what I mean.

So, prayer needs:
1. The interview, wherever or whenever it finally happens. Seriously, at this point, I just want it done so I can focus on Project 3 (unfortunately, my group got stuck with the hardest one *sigh*)
2. Our final project for my current company. The hardest one on the list, which we got stuck with 'cause we didn't pounce on the easier ones fast enough. Oh well...Jehovah Jirah (The Lord Will Provide)
3. Continuing prayer for my future employer and that God would guide them to me and vice versa.
4. Prayer for the upcoming move, whenever that is. I know it has to go much better than the prior move did, but beyond that, I'm still very unsure of myself in the waters of moving from place to place.

Thank you everyone for your prayers and your reviews. They mean the world to me as I continue to fight my way through this trial God has set before me.