Here's chapter 72, everyone.
"You really made that kind of deal with her? Wow, well I'd say good luck, but I'm sure you'll surprise me on that, Willow." Summer said over the scroll. The blacksmith was in her office at Beacon, since she still needed to show up for work, even with the mission still on her mind. "Just try not to make her too angry, kay."
"Hmph, that's clearly not too hard to do." Willow commented, though she was just teasing.
Summer chuckled in response. "Mhmm, so are you training right now or are you home?"
"Home, since Raven isn't fond of me going to the cabin to train by myself." Willow sighed. "I understand her concern, but it's not like I'd let anyone follow me there to begin with."
Knowing things she couldn't outright say, Summer already knew why Raven was so hesitant on Willow going there alone. "I think it's just Raven's way of saying she likes training you is all."
"You weren't there at the time. She shoved me back on the bed because I showed up here without her. It's ridiculous." Willow complained, though Summer couldn't blame Raven for how she reacted.
"Well you know Raven. She's not a pushover, so maybe she was just a little on edge that day." Summer said, trying her hardest to convince Willow not to be upset with the huntress.
Willow wasn't trying to hate what Raven did, nor was she trying to make her feel bad, but she just wasn't comfortable keeping quiet about how she reacted. "Pushover or not, I don't feel like it's right of her to treat me like a child. I may not be a huntress like you two, but that doesn't make me vulnerable."
"And I know that. You're doing a great job with your training, but remember that even when her and I were training back in our younger days, we didn't fight the same as we do now." Summer reminded. "We took things slow and learned the basics first."
"You don't think I know that?" Willow questioned, her tone getting to an annoyed point. "I'm not expecting to fight Grimm, I'm not expecting to fight at all, but how can I ever hope to defend myself… From the one person I know I'll have to confront again."
Summer always hated the thought of Willow having to deal with Jacques. It wasn't like fighting Grimm, or criminals out in the streets. For Willow, it was the fight against a man who can ruin her family's lives by just being who he is.
"He's already seen how you can be. It's not a fight he can-." Willow chose to stop Summer there.
"It's a fight neither of us will come out of unscathed, and no, I'm not downplaying what you and Raven do. To risk your lives out there, it's selfless and I respect you and her highly, but no matter what, if you end up killing the Grimm you face, their fight is over. Me, my children, Jacques. All of us will continue to suffer in some way when either of us loses." Willow spoke truth, and her words cut deep into her own heart as she knew the pain that would be brought if she dealt with Jacques.
Hearing it said that way, even Summer couldn't think of a way to really resolve the problems Willow and Jacques have. "I-I wish I was able to help you more… It hurts, Willow. Seeing and hearing all the things you and that man are fighting for."
Willow was composing herself, not trying to break down as she nodded. "No one can really say what's right and wrong, and everyone on the planet would agree with them. He has supporters, people who praise and look up to him."
"They support a man who'd lie, scare and harm to get what he wants. If they believe he's a good man, then they can join him where he ends up." By that, the blacksmith of course meant incarceration.
"You'd be… Well, I don't know. To me, sounding like that and knowing what it means. Yes, I'd easily agree with you, but others won't. That's what bothers me the most." Willow clenched her fist.
"No one on the planet can be liked by everyone, and no one can tell you how to feel, Willow." Summer said, using a more vocal tone than she had previously. "What he's done to you and your kids is unforgivable."
"I appreciate you saying that, Summer, but I don't need to be reminded of that." Willow admitted, and Summer felt bad about that. "I've come to terms with it… Not having the man I loved once in my life anymore, and what he's become. It's what comes after…"
"You live!" Summer yelled, surprising Willow. "You just keep on living, damn it! What'll be in your way at that point, huh? Ask yourself that, Willow."
There was no question that she'd have a better life, so she did just that and asked herself.
"What would stand in my way? White Fang? I can't be afraid of them… Jacques' supporters? No… No he'd have no supporters anymore."
Willow's eyes widened, and she realized there was something that could stand in her way. "Myself… Me, Summer…"
"What? No, you're not-."
"I've lied to my daughter for seventeen years, and not just her, but all of my children." Willow couldn't lie to herself about that. "Winter and Whitley, they don't know about Weiss… They don't know." She kept her voice as quiet as possible.
It was a tough scenario to simply try and talk out. Summer knew that. "They could…"
"I-I can't. I promised her, Summer…" Willow felt her tears falling, and she couldn't stop them. "This is what I meant. Why I'm the one." She wiped a few tears away. "They'd never know… She'd never know."
Summer hated it. Because she was also keeping secrets, one that could drag Willow into a fight she couldn't take part in. "Damn it… Why can't you?" That was the moment the blacksmith had realized how painful it was, and how she had to at least try to push through a boundary.
"What would she be able to do if I did? She can't do anything about it." Willow explained, though it hurt to. "Weiss would want to know who she is, where she is… I don't even know if she's alive... "
"I…" Summer bit her lip, suppressing it as much as she could. "You don't know if she's dead either. M-Maybe your little snowflake can know… Willow, she-."
"Of course I want her to know!" Willow cried harder, and everything went silent in her mind.
Seventeen years ago.
"Lazuria?" Willow gasped as she walked into her old friend's home, seeing how hurt she was . "W-What happened?!" She ran over immediately after closing the door behind her.
The other woman coughed, with some scratches and bruises on her. "I-I was… I was caught." She cursed under her breath and had clearly been crying beforehand. "Damn it, no…" She cried into her hands while she was sat on her couch.
Willow knelt in front of her, inspecting the damage on her body. "W-Who did this to you?" She was angry, as Lazuria was truly like a sister to her.
"I-I don't… Willow, please," Lazuria leaned her head back, groaning in pain from her injuries as Willow ran over to one of the medicine cabinets. "D-Don't waste your time."
"Shut up." Willow replied, choosing to rummage through more of the cabinet in hopes of finding something for her friend.
"I'm being targeted…" Lazuria simply responded, and Willow froze, her heart's rapid pace having increased, and she slowly turned around to face the injured woman. "I'm marked…"
Willow dropped one of the bottles she had in her hand and felt tears begin to well up. "No… No, you're not…" She ran over and grabbed her arms, shaking them a bit as she couldn't believe her words. "You are not!"
"I am, damn it!" Lazuria pulled her arms back and Willow backed away, watching as her oldest friend got up and looked her dead in the eyes. "Nothing can be done now… Except… One thing."
Hearing the stories about her kind being 'marked', seemed like a nightmare that couldn't possibly be true, but in reality, it was. "What do you mean… We can-."
"We can't do a thing, not against it, but this isn't about me…" Lazuria looked to the other room, crying more as she realized Willow understood immediately, and she ran over to it. "Willow…" She couldn't stop her friend, so she waited.
Willow opened the door to see her. She knew. The newborn wolf pup was in a blanket, and Willow began to cry harder. "No… No, no, no…"
Lazuria slowly walked over, her injuries keeping her from moving any faster. "Her father… He helped deliver her… But he's, he's left us." She lowered her head, hurt by the events transpiring in her life.
Hearing that made Willow freeze. "Y-You're joking. W-Why would he leave at a time like this?" She kept her voice down for the wolf pup. "She was just born and-."
"Not just born… She's about sixteen hours old." Lazuria looked down at her child and let out a somber smile. "She has a future still." The wolf pup would move around a bit in her little blanket, and Lazuria knelt down. "I named her… I named her Weiss."
Willow felt her body shake a little, as she continued to cry for her friend. "Why?"
"Because I thought of you… Her name fits well, does it not?" Lazuria didn't take her eyes off her daughter, and she leaned close to kiss her forehead.
"You know that's not what I asked…" Willow clenched her fists, wishing she could find where Weiss' father had ran off to. "How could he do this…"
"We both chose this." Lazuria started. "I called you here today so you can… So I can ask of you something that I can go to on one else for."
"S-Stop, we need to call the police… A hunter, anyone. We can fix this, Lazuria. We just have to try." Willow continued to beg her closest friend, hugging her as she finished and she cried into her shoulder. "I can't lose my sister... Please."
Lazuria wrapped her arms around Willow, and they stayed there for a few moments. "You know I love you, Willow. Blood is not what makes a family, so… I want you to look at Weiss, as your daughter…"
Willow gasped and she pulled away, knowing what she meant. "You can't do this… Where is he?! Where did he run off to?! He has to-."
Lazuria held her still and gave her a look that said it was over. "Willow, that's enough. He's not here anymore, so just… Ugh!" She stormed out of the room, cursing to herself as she wanted to break something. "I'm marked, and that is all… Weiss isn't."
"Why isn't her father here?" Willow questioned as she continued looking angry. "Tell me now. Why the hell isn't her father here when his own wife is being targeted?!"
"Because he blames himself!" Lazuria yelled back, startling Willow a bit. "I live by my heritage no matter what, and so does he… So he wanted to bring me out to the forest to have our child the way we are. I gave birth to her as a wolf… Why? Because we both wanted her to be who she is."
Willow stayed silent, but her thoughts were loud, as she questioned what could have happened to get her marked in that scenario.
"After that we kept her safe for a few hours. It was all we had." Lazuria took a breath. "Then they showed up… And marked me while he killed them moments after, but it was too late…"
"H-How can you be sure?" Willow asked, but she knew the answer.
"You know why. I can't… I won't take that chance with Weiss. And because we were out there, he blamed himself and I tried…" Lazuria sat back on the couch and wiped her tears, but more kept falling. "I tried so hard to prove that it wasn't his fault."
Willow sat next to her, and she couldn't say anything. The shock was catching up, and she hated it.
"He told me to run and never look back." Lazuria laughed bitterly. "I hated him for that. I hated him because he could… He could have taken her with him. Keep her safe, but he refused. Not wanting to ruin another loved one's life as he put it."
"That's not fair to her!" Willow yelled, in reference to Weiss. "She's his daughter for fu-."
"I know, but it's over. He's gone and I don't know where he is, or even if I'll ever be able to find him again." Lazuria sniffled and looked towards the room Weiss was in. "I went out… To hunt, because I know I don't have long before they come for me again."
"Come on… Stop. You can stay somewhere protected. It… You can live." Willow pleaded.
Lazuria shook her head. "Weiss wouldn't have the life she deserves. Being trapped, or being hunted. Either way it's hell, so please… As my sister, please be her mother."
Present Day.
"How can I tell her? I made a promise…" Willow wiped a few tears away, the memory having made her cry.
"Because you've kept it long enough, and Snowflake… Weiss deserves to know." Summer knew she was going against Lazuria, but she couldn't know this much and say to do the opposite of what Weiss should know.
Willow looked around for a moment, imagining what she'd do if Lazuria was right in front of her then and there. "I-I don't know where she is… I don't know if I can break a promise to someone I loved as a sister when I don't even know if she's alive…"
"Whether she's alive or not… Please, give Weiss the chance to know." Summer begged.
So many thoughts ran through Willow's mind. On one hand, she could tell Weiss, on the other, she could continue a seventeen year old secret. "I don't know if I can do it…"
"You can… You're strong, Willow." Summer praised, and she wasn't saying it to make her feel better. "Come with me next weekend. I'll be right there for you and Snowflake."
Was it time? It was all Willow could ask herself, and she took a breath. "Summer… Okay… Okay, I'll… I'll tell her the truth."
So there is a bit more on what happened on that day. Lazuria and Willow truly couldn't stop what happened, but the promise she made was at least kept for this long. Did it feel like a proper flashback moment? It's the only question I have for this chapter.
To JJ- Willow has a lot on her plate, especially seen from this chapter, so yeah, a lot will be happening for her, and for Raven. I haven't decided how the confrontation with Jacques will be like, since again, go with the flow is my style, so it'll be fun to get to that point.
To GoldElite245- Well, things could happen, and maybe they will. :P I like to see where I can take things with characters throughout a story without even knowing myself.
I hoped you all enjoyed chapter 72. Remember, reviews are welcomed, but not required. See you all in chapter 73.