"I'm not going to let Phoenix get you," is what Vidia wanted to say. But as she stared at Fawn's pale face and tear-filled eyes, words evaded her, and she gulped back her own rising fear. She was struggling to remain composed. Fawn had seemed so feeble lately, like a wispy cloud that would blow away at the slightest breeze, and Vidia had tried to hold it together for her, but now, in the wake of her exhaustion and self-doubt, her composure was beginning to fade. "Uh…" Vidia struggled to speak, her breath coming in strange heaves. "F-Fawn, we need to get the others. They… they need to know. We have to… have to figure out what to do…where to send you…We have to get you away…far away from here…"
"No," Fawn's voice came out stronger than Vidia expected. It was the first real volume her voice had had for days. "No more running, Vidia." She stood slowly. The color began to creep back into her face. "This…" Fawn motioned to the darkened house and the gloom that clung to their faces. "This is not who I am. Phoenix took…so much…" Fawn choked on her emotion but swallowed roughly. Taking in a deep breath and closing her eyes, she calmed herself and continued to speak in a steady voice, "So much from me. But I'm done hiding. The only way that he can take away who I am is if I let him."
"Fawn…" Vidia's voice was raspy from fear. "He could kill us all."
"And since when have we ever let that thought keep us from fighting back?" Fawn's voice grew loud, and Vidia could see the shell of the scared little girl falling away and a stunning fiery Fawn replacing her. "We have faced dozens of enemies-hawks, cats, pirates, ignorant scientists. I died once for f**k's sake. Not one of them has ever stopped us, and not one of them did we let take us on without a fight. Phoenix is no different, Vidia."
Vidia felt her hands beginning to tremble. She stood up, nearly falling as she did, and headed to the kitchen, hoping to make tea or find food to eat, but her mind was so clouded that she merely fumbled through cabinets, creating a clatter that confused Fawn.
"Vidia?" Fawn whispered, but the sound traveled across the din of the dishes and into Vidia's mind. "What's wrong?"
"You can't stay here, Fawn…"
"But I will. And we'll stop him," Fawn's lower lip trembled but she stood bravely, her jaw set and her fists clenched.
"Don't be an idiot, Fawn!" Vidia spun around, knocking a flower pot to the ground in her haste. She barely noticed it. "Only water can fight fire, and Silvermist isn't the most tactical fairy. There isn't a lot the rest of us can do against him. The Scouts don't even seem to know what they're doing. If we go up against this guy, we could all die. Or worse…he could kill us and take you away with him. Do you want to go through that again?" Vidia could feel emotion rising up into her lungs, suffocating her. Her hands were shaking now, and she balled them into fists as she tried to maintain control.
"Obviously not, Vidia," Fawn said, her voice stern, but composed. It was her turn to remain in control, and she was ready for it. She was tired of being sad and scared. She was tired of Phoenix's control over her. It was her turn.
"Well, that's what's going to happen if you don't hide!" Vidia shouted. Her voice was coming out like a raging gust. She couldn't control the volume or the tone. She knew she was slowly descending into rage, and she feared that Fawn would receive the brunt of her anger, but at this point, she was too far gone to help that. "He will kill us, then he'll drag you back to his cave and rape you over and over until you die in that s**t-hole of a cave with that b*st*rd!" Vidia thought she saw Fawn flinch, but the freckled face remained determined.
"I'm sorry that you don't like this decision, but it's mine to make," Fawn spoke in an icy tone. Her nostrils were beginning to flare. Vidia had no right to talk to her that way. She knew she was worried, but this was Fawn's wound and she wanted to deal with it the way she felt was right.
"No, it is not just yours to make!" Vidia said, her grey eyes blazing and her whole body quivering. She rushed up to Fawn, barely keeping her footing, charging her with a finger shoved into her face. "You are not the only one that this guy has hurt, and you are not the only one with something at stake if he attacks again."
"That may be true," Fawn was slightly perturbed by the intense look in Vidia's eyes that flashed merely inches from her face. "But when he attacks, because we both know he will, whether or not I hide is only going to hurt me. If I fight, even if he kills me or takes me, at least I know he didn't take away who I am. If I hide, it helps no one."
"It helps us-your friends!" Vidia yelled. Her voice was cracking as it forced it's way out of her throat. She brought her hands up to her face and wiped them up her cheeks and through her scalp. "If you hide, we get to keep you… alive and healthy and free."
"But at what cost?" Fawn challenged. "If I hide my whole life, Phoenix will have won anyway. He will have taken everything from me. You won't truly have me anymore. Just a shell of me."
"At least we'll have that!" Vidia sighed heavily and put a hand on a nearby table to steady herself. As she struggled to catch her breath, she realized for the first time that her cheeks were wet, and the tears were flowing freely. She continued to try to get a handle on her breathing, but a sob escaped her lips and she allowed them to come crashing over her like waves in a storm. Sob after sob broke free, and her shoulders heaved with effort.
"Vidia," Fawn took a step closer, resting a hand on the pale, shaking shoulders. "I know you're scared, and Phoenix has taken so much from all of us, but I need you to support me. We have to at least try to stop this guy. And as my friend, I need you to back me up on this. Why is this so hard for you?"
Before Vidia could regain control of her mouth, she sobbed, "Because I love you more than a friend, and we both know it." But as soon as the words clattered into the air, her body went cold and her sobbing was stifled by the fear gripping her heart. The room was absolutely silent. Fawn let her hand fall from Vidia's shoulder to drop limply by her side. Neither of them breathed. The words seemed to echo through the silence. Vidia's eyes were wide with terror, and she cringed as she thought about what she'd just said. Had she meant that? Was it just a slip of the tongue? Were they more than friends? Had something changed between them? Well, that much was obvious. But when had it happened? When had she fallen in love with her wild, ruddy friend? She closed her eyes and took a slow deep breath. Fawn still hadn't spoken, and she hadn't heard her move. Vidia knew she needed to turn around and face the other girl. She turned slowly, cringing and hanging her head. She peeked up at Fawn. The animal fairy's amber eyes were wide and confused. Her eyebrows had shot past her forehead and up into her hairline. Her strawberry lips were parted in dismay. Vidia bit her lip as she tried to figure out what to say next. Should she tell Fawn that she hadn't meant it? That it was a mistake? What did she want Fawn to think?
"W-what did you say?" Fawn finally gasped. "Y-you love me…more than a friend…as in… you love me?" Fawn's voice was almost inaudible. Vidia could see the cogs in her brain working. Fawn's eyes were beginning to dart about the room, as she went back over their conversation. Vidia opened her mouth to attempt to answer Fawn's question, but the door flew open suddenly.
"We're back!" Tinker Bell called loudly through the gloomy house. The two fairies cowering in the dark were startled by the greasy tinker's loud interruption. She seemed not to notice them. "Sorry we were gone so long. We finally got the machine disassembled and, then, Rosetta insisted that we go back to her house so she could wash up." Tinker Bell moved out of the way of the doorway, and Rosetta followed her inside. Tinker Bell looked around, still taking no notice of Fawn and Vidia, frowned to herself, and began opening some curtains. "Gosh, it's dark in here." The light flooding in from the open curtain fell on Vidia's tear stained wince and Fawn's silent daze. Rosetta caught sight of the two in the corner and the looks on their faces. Her eyebrows furrowed as she assessed the situation. She looked from one girl to the other. "Why… Fawn… Vidia, what the hell is the matter? You two look like you've seen a human!" Tinker Bell turned quickly to face them, as if noticing them for the first time. Vidia and Fawn looked at each other briefly and then cast their eyes in opposite directions, embarrassment flooding their cheeks. Rosetta studied them for a moment, trying to read their faces. Then a look of realization came over her. She eyed them slyly, one eyebrow arched. "I sure hope we weren't interrupting anything?"
"Uhm, Ro, it's Vidia and Fawn," Tinker Bell snorted. "What could we possibly be interrupting? Some important super-secret meeting that none of the rest of us were invited to?" She snickered to herself, and then made her way into the kitchen. She noticed the disarray-the broken flower pot, the open cabinets, and the dishes that had been thrown about. "What happened here?" She asked in shock.
"Uhm… yeah… sorry, Tink," Vidia spoke quickly, licking her lips as she struggled to form sentences. "I… I was going to… to bake."
Fawn frowned at Vidia. She leaned in close and spoke under her breath, "Bake? Really? Couldn't have come up with anything better?"
Vidia shrugged and waved Fawn off. "Tink is super gullible. She'll buy anything."
Tinker Bell frowned, squinting at Vidia. "You don't bake…" she said slowly, suspicion in her voice. Suddenly her face brightened, "Why didn't you tell me you were trying out a new hobby?" she gave Vidia a friendly punch and then went back to rummaging through the kitchen. "Just next time a 'baking urge' gets you, could you try to clean up after yourself?"
"Yeah… uh… no problem, Tink," Vidia hurried to assure her.
"Geez…" Fawn whispered, leaning her head towards Vidia. "You were right. She's really gullible."
"Told you," Vidia said, almost inaudibly.
"So y'all are positively sure we didn't come in while y'all were in the middle of something?" Rosetta walked up close to them, her face only inches away from Vidia's.
"What could we have possibly been in the middle of, Ro?" Vidia asked, her voice breaking as she felt the pressure of Rosetta's green prying eyes.
The red-haired fairy stared at Vidia for a long hard moment, then she smiled warmly. "Ok, then." She turned to walk to the kitchen. "With all this talk of baking, I could use some cookies," she hollered to Tinker Bell. Then she stopped, turned to slowly look over her shoulder, and winked obviously at Vidia and Fawn. They were both taken aback and looked at each other, questioning with their eyes. Upon making eye contact, a warm blush crept into Fawn's cheeks, and she pulled her eyes away and fixed them on her feathered skirt. Vidia felt her heart pounding in her chest. Everything would be different now. She wasn't sure if she was ready for that.
