Willow was taken aback by what she was met with, but other than her jaw dropping and her face contorting in worry, she didn't freak out like Hunter had feared. Hunter bit his lower lip again as he stared at her, he was shaking again as he watched her trying to find words.

"W-what happened to you at The Foot?" Willow asked, her voice unable to hide the sheer panicking worry she was feeling, her eyes swelling with tears. "D-did you get cursed?" Hunter shook his head, closing his eyes again as he leaned into her, planting his face onto her shoulder. She moved her hand to the back of his neck, pushing her fingers through the end of his hairline as he breathed in, trying to keep a steady breath.

" I-I li-...I lied...I...I wasn't at t-the foot." He forced the truth out of himself, feeling Willow stiffen under him as she turned her face to press into the side of his head, " B-Belos he-...He's…" Hunter swallowed deeply, feeling Willow's hand moving to gently run her fingers through his hair as she waited for him to talk. She wasn't going to force him, she was so patient and caring, she never felt the need to. Hunter bit his lower lip again, sighing through his nose before once again swallowing, then forced his words out. " Emperor Belos is my Uncle, Willow…" He forced one of the truths, many truths he needed to finally get off his chest.

"I-I just wanted to help! I just wanted to make sure his curse didn't take him like it did the rest of our family, but he never let me help! He instead just made me go through training, classes, so many damn spars with people and creatures I next to had no hope of defeating!" The dam had broken, and Hunter just couldn't stop. Willow wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him into her more as she let him go off. Finally, the full picture was relieved to her.

It was like this for a long time, Willow holding Hunter to her chest, running a hand through his hair as she quietly let her tears for him trickle down her cheeks. Hunter, ranting, telling her everything from Belos' curse, to his malfunctioning bile-sac, to finally how Belos made him feel he wasn't allowed to have her in his life. But, he left out one big and important fact, one he was not willing to share yet about the scars on his body. Willow hugged him tighter, burying her face into the top of his head. She was forcing herself to keep control, but the plant life around them had started to move and whip around violently.

She was angry. She wanted to go to the castle and rip it apart, stone by stone, brick by brick. She wanted to allow her rage to lose on Emperor Belos, tear him into pieces for what he was doing to Hunter. But...she felt a pain of hopelessness as she thought about how Belos was Hunter's Uncle. This made this so much more painful and harder...but she can't allow Hunter to go back, right? Hunter had quieted from his truth spilling, finally just silent in her arms as he kept himself pressed against her. He had closed his eyes again, his brow furrowed in regret as he occasionally sniffed and let another tear leave his eyes. After a while he finally spoke again, sighing as he did.

"I totally ruined your surprise...I'm sorry."

"Dont." Willow shifted, moving her hand to his chin to push his head up, prompting him to open his eyes and look up at her. She gave him a gentle smile as she felt another tear make its escape from her eye, using her thumb to wipe at his. " Hunter, you needed to get that all off your chest. Don't apologize for it." She rested her hand back on his shoulder as the boy swallowed deeply, his cheeks turning a little red.

"I-I just don't want you to think-"

"Hunter." Willow cut him off, shifting to prompt him to sit up better, taking one of his hands with hers. " Please, don't regret this. I am glad you feel comfortable enough around me to tell me everything." Hunter flicked his ears, his cheeks turning redder before he lowered his head into her collarbone again. They stayed silent for a time again, Clover and Lil' Rascal watching the two from a nearby stone tower. The bird quietly chirped to the bee, commenting on the situation.

" Willow...I love you too much to let you go." Hunter finally admitted, shifting to sit up so he could be face to face with her as he wiped his eye on his sleeve. " I just...I don't know what to do." He sighed, looking down in defeat. Willow smiled up to him, before going to stand, dragging Hunter to his feet with her. He flicked his ears at her, his brow raised in question as she took one of his hands to guide it to her waist, then rested it on his shoulder. She kept hold of his other one, raising it up in a manner she had seen people who have danced before do.

"Belos doesn't control us, Hunter." Willow said softly to him. " He can try to tell you what to do, what to feel, and how to act but in the end...is this so wrong?" She moved her feet, trying to prompt the taller boy to step with her, which he did. " And if things do not work out between us, I like to think that we are still close enough that we will not let things get nasty or broken like he says."

Hunter bit his lower-lip again, feeling the sting of tears behind his eyes again as the two slowly started to circle in their strange, but emotional dance. Hunter lowered his head to rest against the top of hers again, desiring the closeness as he shut his eyes again. Willow straightened her back to press into him, returning the gesture. "Y-yeah." Hunter finally said, the simple stutter making him feel like he had lifted a giant weight off his chest as he reopened his eyes. " Yeah." He repeated, a small smile appearing on his face.

"Hunter?" Willow asked, her voice still lovingly tender and gentle. Hunter flicked his ears in response to her. " You realize that your eyes are back to normal now, right?" Hunter blinked a few times, wishing he had a mirror to check himself. Willow seemed to read his mind as she removed her hand from his shoulder and took her other from his to go to a purse on her hip, opening it and pulling out a tiny pocket mirror to hand to him.

Hunter opened it, raising it up to look at his eyes. She told the truth, they had finally reverted back to how they were supposed to be… Hunter furrowed his brow in confusion, his eyes going to the spot where he had been struck. No scar had been left, surprisingly. He lowered the mirror in thought, before Willow's hands appeared over his. He smiled, looking back up at her as he offered back the small mirror for her to put away.

Willow didn't have a moment to react after she put the small mirror in her purse before she felt two arms around her again, lifting her and spinning her around. She let out a small yelp of surprise, wrapping her arms around Hunter's shoulders to better support what he was doing as she laughed, before he tripped and the two ended up tumbling and falling to the ground together. Hunter cushioned her fall at least, she looked up at him with surprise, his face as red as ever before he let out a laugh. Soon after she joined in with him as she pulled him close, resting her head against his yet again.

Soon the laughter dwindled, the two remaining with their heads against one another until Hunter opened his eyes to look up at her. Willow moved her head back slightly, smiling down at him in the enchanting way he had come to obsess over. He shifted, moving his hand to the back of her neck. Gently he pulled her into a deep kiss, more passionate than the chaste and simple pecks they have had before. Willow wrapped her arms around his shoulders, one of her hands tangling fingers in his hair, as she sighed through her nose while moving into him. The two stayed in their embrace for a long while, until they finally parted, staring at one another with love drunk eyes and red faces. Staring up at her, Hunter knew he would fight Belos hand to hand if he had to, if that meant he could stay with her.

Eventually the two pulled themselves back to their feet again, Hunter taking Willow by the hand and waist to start properly teaching her how to dance. Willow flicked her finger to have an awaiting vine start the music. They danced well into the night, forgetting about the worries and pain that had started the evening, reveling in the relief that truth brought the both of them.

Nearby The Bat Queen watched the two, a small smile on her lips. She had sensed something off in the magic flow of the isle and it had led her here, to the boy from the Pillars and the Wild Witch of the Grove. She had her answers, but worried about the implications...For now, at least, she would let the two lovers dance, ignorant in their world.

_AN_

This is the end of the Burdened Scars arc! Thank you guys for your love and support as always! Please leave a comment to tell me what you all thought of this more heavy arc! With the end of this arc, I will let you guys in on a little bit of what's going on behind the scenes. I am currently sitting on a stock pile of 13 chapters that have already been written, reread, edited, and readied for their eventual release! And with where the story is heading, I am estimating that Of Balanced Stones will indeed end near 50 to 60 chapters. When I write the last words, I plan on updating the chapters to a set point. This fanfic has meant so much to me, and it means even more with the love and support I get from not only you readers, but my friends on the Huntlow Discord. Without you and them, I wouldn't have ever thought of making Of Balanced Stones into a three part series. As to also get word out there, Huntlow Week will be November 28 through December 4th! I will be both writing AND making art for it. you can find the list of official prompts on .com! Feel free to join in on the fun! Alright, that is it for a bit of a longer Authors note. As always, I love you!