A/N: Griffin escaped from the clutches of the Ancestral Witches but her hope is dying out and Faragonda is the only one who can revive it since she is the only one Griffin has left.
She was at Alfea. She was safe. She was. She knew it. So why could she still feel chills running down her spine? Why could she still see the hatred she knew would be burning in Valtor's eyes the next time he looked at her? Why could she still hear the piercing shrieks of the Ancestresses that made her want to curl up in herself and never have to face the world and everything that was wrong with it currently again?
She couldn't do it. She had no strength left for anything. She'd used up all of it to get herself to leave him when all she'd wanted had been to stay with him. Cuddled in his arms and wrapped in his love. Keep waking up to every new day in his bed where the first thing she'd see would be his face softened by the sleep and offering her the chance to run her fingers over his silky features. No day started like that could go wrong which was a promise for a happy life. But all of that had burned in flames like everything that got in his way. And now she was in his way and awaiting an agonizing death by his hand. Whether he would kill her or not, it didn't matter. He would never touch her with love again and that was a punishment she'd brought on herself.
A knock on the door startled her, prompting her to quickly wipe away the tears and hope they hadn't left any traces on her pillow or bedspread that could give away that they'd ever existed. She'd at least gotten good at keeping her cries trapped inside her throat the last few months when the anguish would just jump out on her without any warning and tackle her to the ground stealing the tears from her eyes and the sobs from her mouth and she'd often been forced to stifle those, for she couldn't give voice to what was troubling her.
The door opened and she didn't need to look to know who it was. There was just one person that cared about her in Alfea. There was just one person that cared about her in the world. And her crushing loneliness was her own doing this time. She'd become another reason for dark magic users to be despised even if her being a witch had nothing to do with the lines she'd crossed.
"I don't recall inviting you," she said, the nasal sound of her voice drowning out Faragonda's steps and she hoped the harshness of her tone would make her go away. There was darkness inside her that destroyed everything it came across and just because the fairy ignored it, probably thinking that their friendship would save her from it when it had turned out to be stronger than love, didn't mean that it would disappear, illuminated by the light of Faragonda's care for her.
"I wanted to see how you are," Faragonda said softly as she stopped next to the bed, ever the opposite of everything Griffin did and said and was. She'd always complemented her perfectly as the light to her darkness and it all made Griffin wish to turn away from the reminder of everything that was wrong with her but she couldn't make herself turn her back on Faragonda. Not when she was the only one who loved her still and not when she was the only reason she was even alive at this very moment.
"I'm fine," she snapped, more against her will rather than voluntarily. It was a reflex. Just like everything bad was to her. "I'm a witch, not a baby," she said, and this time the words were mellower when they came out of her mouth but they still sounded like the vocal equivalent of sandpaper in her raspy voice which tears couldn't oil for her. "I don't need coddling."
She rolled her eyes when Faragonda chose exactly that moment to conjure a tissue and hand it to her. She didn't take it to prove her point even though she could actually use it. She was forced to breathe through the mouth now that her nostrils were blocked and that left her feel every bit as vulnerable as a fish out of water. It filled her with the need to hug herself but that would mean admitting that she felt it.
"No, of course you don't," Faragonda said as she sat down next to her, resting the hand with the tissue where Griffin would easily be able to reach it. She was always so considerate and her tone proved it as her words didn't sound like a mockery. They were full of understanding and Griffin couldn't wrap her mind around the compassion Faragonda was capable of towards her especially when she couldn't be so gentle to herself. Not after what had happened. "However, you almost got brutally murdered by the three oldest and most vicious witches in history," Faragonda continued, nearly making her shut her eyes tight in an attempt to escape from the memories even when she knew that wouldn't help, but she knew the words weren't easy to say for Faragonda who still cared about her so she focused on listening instead, the warmth of her friend's voice the best weapon against the cold reality. "That can be pretty traumatizing no matter who you are."
It had been. Griffin still started shaking just at the thought of the three ancient witches being after her and they hadn't even gotten to do anything to her. She knew what they were capable of, though, and that was enough to feed her nightmares for years to come. They had no concept of mercy, especially to someone who'd betrayed them, and she'd gotten enough of a taste of their magic–multiple times–for her to know that whatever had awaited her had been the worst way one could die. None of that mattered, though.
"What they were going to do to me was nothing compared to what they have in mind for the universe," she said as she jumped up in her bed, forcing Faragonda to back off a little. "They'll destroy entire planets without batting an eye," she grabbed the tissue from Faragonda and hurled it across the room, wasting her energy as it didn't get far. It wasn't in her direct line of sight, though, and it was better that way. Not because she didn't need comfort and something to drain her tears but because she wasn't sure anything could. Not with the destruction she could see in her head. "So many people will perish and I'm scared that if I wasn't even strong enough to save myself," her voice was cut off by a sob that spilled from her mouth like blood, but she had to finish that sentence even if it killed her because not finishing it would kill her for certain, "then how will I stop them?" It was out and it was still tearing her mind apart but a little less viciously now that it was also tearing at Faragonda's heart. "I'm terrified that it's too late to fix my mistake."
She started sobbing in earnest now but Faragonda drew her in her embrace before she could fall apart. She held on to her because it was the only thing that didn't hurt. She had no strength to pull away as the pressure threatened to make her head explode and she could barely take a breath through all the tears and snot coming out. It was a weird way to be killed by herself but somehow fitting still.
"Maybe you can't do it alone," Faragonda said, the words quiet but still reaching her through the sound of her heart pounding in her head, "but maybe we can do it together," she continued before the panic had the chance to set in, and her arms around Griffin were like a shield that could protect her from anything and everything. "With a little help from some friends."
Faragonda was the only friend she had left but she was more than enough, more than she deserved. Still, she held on to her, for letting go wasn't an option.
Normally, she would roll her eyes at the words, at all the crap about unity and friendship that pixies liked to spew. But this time it was different. Faragonda's words didn't sound like empty platitudes. They couldn't. They were the only source of hope in the darkness looming over their heads and so she clung to them because she had no other strength left. She'd lost her partner, her beliefs had crumbled in pieces and her life would follow if she didn't take the hand her friend was offering her. She couldn't keep going through the darkness without a flicker of hope to guide her, and Faragonda had always been the shining light in her life that got her to safety no matter what.