Don't know if you know this, people, but this is the last chapter before the epilogue. Thanks for coming along on this journey with me. Happy reading!
Quinn woke up with a gasp, shooting into a sitting position. She immediately regretted it, feeling her throat burn with the hasty movement. Looking around carefully, and painfully noting that she couldn't move her head however she wanted, she realized that she had no idea where she was. The bed she was sitting in wasn't hers. It was one of two, both black with Auradon Prep's logo on them. In the middle of the room, there was a table, with the strangest contraption she had ever seen placed on it. Getting out of bed, she approached it and poked at the glass with narrowed eyes. She jumped when the door opened and Jay stepped in. His eyes widened when he saw her and he began to step forward, only to hesitate. What had happened? Quinn opened her mouth to ask, only to find that nothing came out. Her eyes widened and her hands went to her throat. She winced at the soreness, hurriedly turning around to search for a mirror. The memories came rushing back and her eyes stung as she saw what had him so careful.
The expression on Quinn's face when she saw the dark bruises blossoming had Jay's heart breaking. She turned back to him, panic in her eyes as tears glistened. "It was bad," he whispered roughly, "Your throat was damaged and they… they don't know if you're ever going to be able to talk again." He dove forward to catch her as her knees gave out beneath her. Tears were streaming and silent sobs shook her body as he held her tightly against him, whispering words of comfort and support into her hair while they sunk to the floor. Quinn relied on her voice, used it to command her Card Soldiers and give instructions to her patients. "You're still alive," he reminded her, running a hand up and down her back, "You almost weren't, but Mal helped." Remembering the artifact hanging around his throat, Jay let go of Quinn to remove the chain. He held the sapphire ring up between them for her to see. "I was supposed to give this back," he said quietly, "I've been keeping it safe in a hidden compartment under my bed."
The blue stone immediately flared to life when Quinn slid it onto her finger. She smiled weakly at Jay, who pressed a kiss against her forehead before gently pulling her down to recline against his chest. A sudden thought hit her and she tapped Jay's thigh to get his attention. He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. Quinn frowned, trying to figure out how to communicate with him. Biting her lip in concentration, she swept a hand through the air in front of them. A sentence hovered, burning bright and blue. What about Dad? She pointed to her throat, frowning at him. Jay sighed.
"Yeah, Harry and I thought of that too," he told her, "But they're afraid he'll hurt Beast for it, so we've been forbidden from asking him for help." The look she gave him was one he and the pirate had been sporting for days. "I know," he continued, "So we demanded something in return." Quinn looked so proud Jay couldn't help but laugh. Even in her darkest moments, she kept thinking about her trusted quid pro quo. "We can't ask Hades to heal you, so Ben can't ask Fairy Godmother to help his father," he revealed, earning a cautiously impressed look from his beloved redhead, "Mal spoke up for us." She nodded, a slight frown on her face.
Flicking her fingers, Quinn wrote another fiery message. Where's Harry?
Oh. Right. That. "So… since Hades couldn't tear Beast to pieces…" Never before had Jay seen Quinn as horrified as when she sat up straight and turned to face him. He rushed to take one of her hands in one of his, using the other to push a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "No, I mean, almost," he assured clumsily. Quinn gave him an indignant look and prepared to stand but he caught her and pulled her back against his chest. "There was an… altercation, right after Harry recovered," he explained, "There may have been a hook involved."
Jay. Quinn crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows pointedly. Her boyfriend rolled his eyes.
"Don't look at me like that," Jay defended as his name faded into smoke, "Harry's fine, Mal used a spell to stun him and Evie's got him tied down and locked up in her bathroom." The way Quinn seemed able to call him out for stalling even when she couldn't speak was equally relieving and annoying. The last thing she needed was to worry about Harry when she was hurt too. Realizing that she wouldn't quit until he gave it to her straight, Jay sighed heavily again. "Beast is going to have a pretty gnarly scar crossing his chest, fur or not," he revealed, seeing Quinn's eyes widen, "Yeah, one minute he was listening to Evie telling him what happened, the next the nurses were doing everything to stop Beast's bleeding while Carlos and Gil dragged Harry out of there." The red-haired princess opened her mouth to speak, out of habit, only to deflate as new tears rose. More flames appeared in the air.
Are we at your dorm? Jay nodded. Where's Carlos? He shrugged.
"Not sure, I think he said something about showing Jane and Dude the Isle," he replied, "Why?"
Take me to bed?
Jay choked on his own spit, coughing roughly. Quinn looked decidedly unimpressed.
To sleep, idiot, I'm tired. She rolled her eyes at the sheepish grin he gave her. For a guy worrying about her health, he didn't seem to remember that she needed rest. Jay stood, lifting her into his arms. Quinn was torn between reprimanding him and kissing him. As unnecessary as the gesture was, it was sweet of him. He set her down on his bed gently and went to remove his clothes, making her realize, for the first time since waking up, what she was wearing. Given the size of the shirt, she wagered it was Jay's. The dark blue suited her complexion rather well and it was soft from being worn often. Curling up under the covers, Quinn situated her hands in a way that allowed her to inhale its scent. She marveled at how, after years in Auradon, his clothes still smelled like him. Saltwater, earth, and metal. The scent enveloped her as Jay crawled into bed and wrapped his arms around her carefully, mindful of her injury. She fell asleep quickly, comforted by his presence. Before her eyes fluttered shut, she left him another message in blue fire. I love you.
"I love you too."
The next couple of months were difficult for their entire group of friends. Whenever Quinn tried to talk and couldn't, she withdrew from them. Ben felt incredibly guilty and Mal was torn between comforting her fiancé and getting closer to her sister. Evie spent most of her time placating Jay and Harry, who were still angry and likely wouldn't be anything other than angry until Quinn could speak again. Carlos surprised them all by becoming close with Quinn. He kept her company when Jay or Harry were out to blow off steam and Quinn, in turn, took Carlos in as her apprentice. Together they endeavored to learn sign language to help their communication and as time passed they grew to work like a well-oiled machine. Alas, it wasn't Carlos that heard Quinn's first words since the incident at the hospital, nor was it Jay or Harry.
Mal looked up in surprise when she heard a rasp escape Quinn's throat. The bruises were long gone, but until that moment she still hadn't been able to get a sound out. "Did you…did you say something?" Quinn nodded, biting her lip before trying again. Again, her voice was little more than a rasp with some notes in it, and Mal could see how frustrated she was getting. "You shouldn't rush it," she chided gently, "Because magic outside the ember can't seem to touch you, we have no idea the extent of the damage."
"I… wanted… to," Quinn mustered, cutting herself off as she cleared her throat, "Thank… you." Feeling that she wouldn't be able to get much else out, she waved a hand to finish what she was thinking. Thank you for being cool about us being sisters. I've only had one other sibling before. At Mal's confused frown Quinn held out her hand for the purple-haired girl to take. The moment their skin touched, the redhead pulled her sister into a memory.
The cave was dark, darker than usual, and Hades was wearing his traditional robes. Harry and Quinn sat on the floor at his feet, a golden chalice that neither of them knew where he'd gotten it from. It was a huge day for the children. Harry, at nine years old, knew what his purpose in life was. At eight, Quinn was ready to accept that he was a permanent part of her life. Hades lowered his hands, holding a knife in each one. Both children took one and held it to their wrists, just off the center. With a resolute nod, they broke the skin and let the blood that sprung forth drip into the chalice. Using what little magic he had left in the ember, Hades allowed blue flames to swallow the golden container. Purple smoke spilled out and the children winced as their wounds closed painfully, leaving a key-shaped scar.
Hades looked down at them seriously. "A bond of blood chosen is stronger than a bond of blood inherited," he told them, "Remember that and you'll never find yourselves without help again."
Eyes widening, Mal pulled away from Quinn's touch. Blood magic was dangerous and rare. The redhead lifted her sleeve and took off the bracelet covering the tiny scar left by the ritual. Mal studied it, wondering what had led to their bonding. It made her feel strange, the thought that no matter how close she grew with Quinn, she wouldn't ever be as close to her as Harry was. Yet, witnessing the ritual, she found it… beautiful, in the sense that Harry and Quinn had watched out for each other their whole lives. "That actually explains a lot," she finally managed, smiling wryly, "No wonder Harry tried to gut Beast for hurting you."
As they say, you need only speak of the devil and he shall appear. Evie's house opened and their friends came inside, finally done with the photoshoot for Evie's new collection. Quinn shared a mischievous smirk with Mal as Jay strode past her place at the kitchen island, briefly pressing a kiss to her hairline, and grabbed a glass from the cabinet. "Hi."
"Hey," Jay replied, opening the fridge, "Have you seen the strawberry lemonade, I swear Evie said…" He froze, frowning deeply. Connecting the rasped greeting to his girlfriend, the glass slipped from his grip and smashed against the floor. Not that he really noticed. Quinn was smiling proudly at him and her word echoed in his head as he swept her into his arms and kissed her. "Hey."
"Hi." Flicking her fingers, Quinn quickly repaired the broken glass, smiling gratefully at Mal who picked it up on her way to give them some privacy. Kissing Jay again, she considered what to attempt to say next. The way he looked at her made the decision for her. "Love you."
"Love you too."
Over the next few days, Quinn spoke more and more. Mostly, she was happy to finally be able to clap back when Harry made a joking comment or Evie teased her playfully. She liked being able to talk to those who came looking for her help, liked getting to know them properly. She didn't like how long she'd been in Auradon though. While recovering, neither Jay nor Harry had let her out of their sights, meaning that she hadn't been home on the Isle since the morphilogus broke out. And she wanted to go back to her shop. "Jay, can we talk?" Her voice was still a little scratchy, but she could finally form full sentences and engage people in conversation. The one she was about to have with Jay made her wish she couldn't. He sat down beside her on his bed, a cautious smile on his face.
"What's up?"
"Jay, I'm going back to the Isle," she told him, taking his hand in hers, "I miss home." She loved him and she loved falling asleep with him. She would miss him too when she went back. But Auradon was never meant to be her home. "I'm leaving tomorrow," she continued gently when he didn't reply, "Say something, please."
"I've been thinking about it too, actually." Quinn's eyebrows shot up and he smiled sadly. "I love Auradon, of course I do," he explained, "But I love you more, and the Isle is getting better." As was his father, and he wanted to be there to form a real, healthy father-son relationship. Auradon would always be the place that saved him from himself but the more he thought about it, the less he could see himself spending the rest of his life there. The barrier was down and he could visit his friends whenever he wanted but there was no use in denying it. His home was on the Isle, with the love of his life.