This could be read as a tragic take on my "Dawn of a New Age" or Emperor-Hunter AU.

Day 6 - Angst

The sounds of music and murmur of conversation was closed off as Willow shut the door to the stone verandah. She sighed as the cool of the night washed over her and eased the uncomfortable heat of the room she had left. She chuckled humorlessly at the fact that she needed to escape for a moment … from her own engagement party.

Willow let out a breath through her nose and moved to the edge of the verandah that overlooked a sprawling garden and water feature. She settled her elbows on the carved-wood railing and settled on them, letting the proximity of the flora ease her thoughts. And even with the serenity of nature washing over her, she felt guilt squirm in her belly.

She was at her engagement party … but it wasn't her fiance that she was thinking of.

"So, are you here to wish me good luck?" Willow asked to apparently open air. From the shadows to the side of the verandah, where steps led to a pebble path into the garden, strode a figure draped in a white cape that covered his body. A golden mask suggestive of an owl, complete with curved spikes that resembled small horns, hid his face, but his hood was lowered to reveal a crown of ash-blond hair.

"Something like that," the figure said before taking hold of his mask and removing it to reveal an angular face with a strong jaw, hooked nose, and faint bags under wine-red eyes that complimented the large scar across one cheek.

"Emperor Wittebane," Willow said with a curtsey in her lime-green, floral evening dress. The garment clung to her curves and complimented the half-moon spectacles she had favored the last few years. Her hair was cropped close to her head, unlike the chin-length ebony curtain she'd worn for most of her life.

"Willow, please," Hunter said with a faint, sad smile. "You know you don't curtsey to me."

"I know," Willow said with an identical smile that faded quickly. "But it seems right given the situation and … our history."

Hunter frowned, too, as memories welled up from both of them. After Belos had been overthrown and Hunter named the new Emperor of the Boiling Isles, he had remained close with all members of the Owl House. Most of all, he had grown even closer with Willow and the two had begun courting a year into Hunter's reign.

Things had gone fine for a while. They complimented each other, their chemistry undeniable as they had been drawn together and made time for each other during the reforms to the society of the Boiling Isles. Love had grown between them, a passionate and powerful thing. And as a rapidly-rising member of the Plant Coven, Willow had had the perfect excuse to visit her lover at the castle.

And visit she had. Both of them felt the heat rise in their cheeks at the memory of some of the "adventures" they'd had in the castle.

But it would seem that some things were not meant to last. As Hunter's duties to the Isles had piled up, he'd found it more and more difficult to make time for Willow. They had talked, more than once, about redefining their relationship, but each time had led to more disappointment.

Finally, Willow had been the one to break it off. She had come to him in the night, much like tonight, and broken off their romance. "I don't want what we have to turn bitter, Hunter," she had said, tears pouring down her cheeks. And as much as it had felt like a knife twisting in his chest, he couldn't fault her reasoning. They had sworn to remain friends … and nothing more.

That had been two years ago, and in that time Willow had reconnected with an old school friend, Edwin Pisa, who had always had a crush on her. They'd grown close and begun dating, their relationship a soft, sweet thing when compared to her time with Hunter. Now Edwin had asked her to marry him, and she had been happy to say yes.

Happy … But not joyful. Not like she knew she would have been if Hunter had been the one to ask.

"Willow, just let me ask one thing," Hunter said quietly. Willow nodded. "Do you love him?"

A sword to the heart would have hurt less than that question. "Yes," she said honestly. "I do."

Hunter's face twisted with pain. "Good," he bit out. "I …" He visibly regained his composure. "All I've ever wanted was for you to be happy."

"I know," Willow said. It's one of the reasons I love you. "And I … I am happy." Her neutral expression broke. "As happy as I can be without you."

Hunter shuddered at those words, embers of hope kindling in his heart. "Willow …?" hs started, then paused, his hands clenching. "W-What if-?" He took a deep breath. "What if there was someone else?"

Willow's breath caught in her throat. "Who else?" she asked. "We tried, Hunter. But we both know why it didn't work."

"What if those problems weren't … around anymore?" Willow's eyes widened. Surely he couldn't mean …! "If it means we can be together, I'll step down from the throne." There it was, out in the open.

Willow hated herself for it, she felt like even the feelings were a betrayal of her fiance, but a deep part of her wanted to embrace Hunter and scream "Yes!" to all the Boiling Isles. To take him away and marry him somewhere secluded. To build a small home and have children with him and grow old together and damn what society would say.

"No," Willow said in a small, broken voice. "Hunter, you can't."

"I could," Hunter argued, his eyes bright and focused in a way that had always made her knees shake.

"No," Willow said, her voice firmer as she stepped back and away from him, her arms crossing to comfort herself. "The Isles need you, Hunter. No one you could appoint would be half the Emperor you are. Who else is there that is as smart, as determined, or as caring as you?"

Each reason was like a stone smashing into Hunter's chest. Because she was right. Who else was there? No one.

"Dammit," Hunter said, tears finally escaping to meet the ground with Willow's. "Dammit. Dammit!"

She acted without thinking, reacting to his distress on sheer instinct. Willow crossed the distance and drew Hunter into a hug, resting her head against his neck in the way she knew he loved. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be," Hunter sighed, his voice steadied by her sheer presence. "You're right." He chuckled humorlessly. "Just like always."

Willow forced herself to step back, but couldn't keep from placing her palm against his cheek. Just as he couldn't stop himself from leaning into it, or running the backs of his fingers across her shortened hair.

"If he hurts you," he said calmly, "I'll toss him into the deepest hole in the Conformitorium."

Willow huffed a laugh. "He won't," she said with surety. "But thank you."

They locked eyes and … they felt it. The pull from their younger days. It drew them closer until their lips touched in a feather-light kiss. Their last kiss.

"Good night, Willow," Hunter said, stepping out of her embrace.

"Good night, Hunter," she answered, drawing her hands to her chest.

"I'll see you at the Owl House Reunion?" he asked with a poor imitation of his usual grin. "Friend?"

She gave a watery smile. "Wouldn't miss it," she said. "Friend."

Hunter nodded and replaced his mask. Then he stepped back and melted into the shadows once more. "I will always love you," his voice called from the trees. And then, with a flash of yellow, he was gone.

"I will always love you, too," she promised. She choked out a sob and fell against the verandah rail, her frame shaking with emotion. Why did this have to happen? Why did she have to choose?!

"Willow?"

She gasped and whirled around to find Edwin, dapper in a tweed suit that contrasted with his knitted hat, looking at her with concern. He blinked his eyes, one stacked on top of the other, and he pressed his bucked teeth into his lip. "Are you alright?" he finally asked.

"Mm-hmm," Willow hummed, wiping her eyes. "J-Just … needed some air, is all."

"Maybe you should have something to eat," Edwin suggested with a smile. Willow's heart melted at his sweet nature.

"Okay," she agreed, and let him guide her back into the hall.

The door closed, and Hunter tapped the crystal ball he'd been using to watch. Then he took the sphere and, with a shout of agony, threw it to shatter against a wall. He backed against a wall of his chambers and slid down, tearing his mask away to let tears flow freely.

Why did he have to choose?!

Why did they have to choose?