Hey, so a few more people reviewed, which is amazing! I actually feel really happy because it's been ages since people reviewed and I personally love hearing what people think about this. So yeah, lol.
I actually have 85 chapters for this story, all done and dusted, so it's just a case of figuring out how many I'm posting at once. Thank you to the people reviewing, thank you for liking my work so far, and please keep reviewing :)
"Ben?" she called out, and he turned to look at her. She was dressed in a pair of baggy brown pants, something she could move freely in, and a white shirt that was equally as baggy on her.
In fact, these clothes were his.
"You're stealing my clothes now?" he chuckled, as she walked over to him slowly. Her recovery was miraculous, though Damien pointed out that she had been fed a lot of health potions to build her strength up, and they might have all kicked in at once now she was awake and her body properly functioning.
She only smiled at him, wandering around his small home, chewing on a carrot she'd bought from a stall before because she was feeling peckish. Ben was packing some food up for the journey, but he couldn't get rid of the knot in his stomach that made him feel so tense. The last time he'd been in Silverpines he'd had a hand in murdering Danny's family, and now he was going back… would those Balverines remember him? Would they kill him?
Was this actually a trick Danny was playing on him to get revenge? She'd tried to kill him a few times since they'd met, and a couple of months shouldn't have changed that too much.
That was when he felt her loop her arms around his waist, and she was hugging him from behind.
"You're nervous" she whispered, before loosening her arms so he could turn around and embrace her. "Don't be. I think they'll love you."
"You seem sure," he yawned, resting his chin on her head.
"You'll be with me. I won't let them hurt you," she reassured him, and he smiled slightly. "I can't let them hurt you, you saved my life."
Ben pulled away slightly and looked at her. She was smiling coyly at him, her lip twisting up on the right. Her eyes were glittering again, and Ben could tell she was happy by the way her grin got bigger.
"Well, okay then."
Damien had insisted they wait a week before setting off to Silverpines, and so she'd waited around and made plans with Ben until that week was over and she proved that she was capable of moving around on her own. And she was. She ran about, and jumped and somersaulted about until she was out of breath, but she was happy, because she was suddenly back in touch with a part of herself that she'd almost forgotten.
They were travelling down through Millfields again, but there was no trouble from mercenaries or Hobbes or any other enemies. They travelled in a large cart, her and Ben at the front watching the road and another eleven soldiers coming with them to make sure that nothing went wrong at all. They were mostly men that were in the Swift Brigade, and Ben and Danny got along with them well. There were about three men from another troop, but they settled in fairly quickly thanks to the friendly atmosphere.
And after a few hours alternating from sitting in the cart, then getting out and leaping from branch to branch, and tree to tree, Danny made out the edge of the forests of Silverpines.
Home was just over the next ridge, and she felt a sudden happiness swell in her throat, and she could have cried.
From then, she sat fidgeting in the cart while Ben tried to get her to calm down. She was mostly happy that she was back, but what if non of her family recognised her, or didn't like the fact that she'd changed? Would she be able to join her pack and her friends together to fight the Darkness?
The old trees met them along the road, and she breathed in that damp air that she'd grown with, and she looked up and sniffed at the woodsy air, letting it fill her lungs. The green light that filtered down from the trees made her squint, but she smiled nonetheless.
The wooden spiked fence surrounding the village came into view, and the distant howl of a Balverine made the hair on her arms stick up on end. Shooting a quick glance at Ben, she leapt from the cart and ran up the rest of the path, into the village and looking around. Some people stopped and looked at her, few recognising her as the Balverine Child they'd found months ago, caged and then sent away with soldiers.
Only one ran up to meet her, flinging her arms around Danny's neck and holding her close in a bone crushing hug.
"Alice!" Genevieve cried, tears pouring from the green eyes that matched Danny's so well, "You've come home!"
It took Danny a second, but she remembered being called Alice when she'd first interacted with the humans, and she smiled sadly, understanding fully now who this woman was and what she was to this woman.
"My name's Danny now…" she said softly, prising the woman's arms away from her and holding her hands.
"Hey Genevieve, how've you been holding up?" Ben asked, jumping from the cart as the rest of the soldiers got off and started passing out their kit. The woman looked slightly taken aback at Danny actually speaking to her, as last time they were in such close proximity Danny tried ripping her hand off. But then she looked at Ben, and nodded slowly.
"It's been better… but the Balverines have come back twice as strong since you left."
"Are some of them the same as when I was here?" Danny asked quickly, and Genevieve paused.
"I couldn't tell you… I suppose so; I don't think all of them were killed were they?"
"No… no not all of them," Ben muttered, then pulled Danny into a one armed hug "We left you some family, didn't we?"
Danny could only smile bitterly, remembering how torn up she'd been when it had happened, and trying to ignore the dull throb of pain in her chest now.
"We're actually going in there again, Danny and myself," he started, but the look on Genevieve's face stopped him short of the end of his sentence, and he turned to where she was looking to see Joseph, red in the face and angry as hell.
"You brought her back?" he spat, his eyes narrowing to slits as he snarled at them both "You brought her back here after everything she did last time?"
"It wasn't exactly her fault," Ben sniped back "She didn't know better."
"I want her out, now! Where's that Swift bloke? I'll have his head for this-"
"He's dead. Logan had him shot months back," Danny hissed, her eyes narrowing dangerously. Joseph looked shocked that she was speaking, but went back to glowering.
"Well who's in charge then? What business do you have here?"
"I'm in charge," Ben chuckled darkly, his normally bright blue eyes seeming shadowy. "And we're here on orders of the new King. We're sorting out your Balverine problem."
The fat old man blustered about, but nothing he muttered was too audible, nor did it make sense. He left them anyway, cursing, and Danny turned to Ben.
"We'd probably better set off soon… we don't want to leave it till nightfall."