Chapter 16 - Realization
After Eclipse pulled out a few pieces of paper and a writing utensil, she carefully handed it to Nova through the runes. The group watched as Nova began to write down the information about the potion to undo what she did to Adryn. The group around her watched as Nova wrote as if doubting every word she wrote down. However, after a few minutes, Nova was done and was holding out the paper to the group.
"Here. These are the ingredients and instructions to make the potion. Do with it as you will." Nova grumbled as Arcadia took the paper and began to read it. "Now, release me!"
"Don't release her," Laxus spoke to Freed instantly. Nova's head snapped to look at the man.
"What the hell do you mean?! We had a deal!" Nova was enraged immediately as she screamed at Laxus.
"What if the potion you gave us is poison and will kill Arcadia. We can't let you go while that's a possibility." Laxus explained to the angry girl. Nova then began to yell incoherently as the group around her began to talk.
"The Thunder Legion, you guys head out and collect the ingredients on this list. The rest of us will stay here and keep an eye on Nova." Eclipse spoke up, ignoring her sister's screams.
"Alright," Freed responded simply as he and the other two agreed as well. They quickly headed out of the room and left the others to watch Nova.
"Now then, let's stop the yelling. I'm sure we can have a perfectly normal conversation now, right Nova?" Eclipse muttered to her sister. Nova sat back down on the chair with a pout.
"Fine." Nova then turned her attention to the little girl. "So, Serenity, how have you been?"
"Back off. I don't want to talk to you anymore." Serenity responded simply as she hid behind Laxus. That brought a laugh out of the lilac-haired girl.
"Oh come now, you shouldn't talk to your former mother like that." Nova's voice was mocking to the little girl. It infuriated her, making her come out from behind Laxus' legs. However, before Serenity could say a word, Arcadia spoke up.
"You were never Serenity's mother! You should stop talking before I walk in there and punch you!" Arcadia snapped angrily. She was defensive now and hated Nova telling Serenity that she was once her mother.
"How is Serenity going to be raised?"
"We will raise her together," Laxus responded simply, stepping in front of Serenity protectively. That seemed to hit a nerve for Nova. She instantly stood up and glared at the man.
"Why are you so willing to accept Arcadia and her daughter?!" Nova yelled out angrily. She just didn't understand why he accepted them so easily.
"Arcadia is someone I deeply care for, so I'm willing to accept anything with her, as long as it's within reason. Meaning, Serenity was within reason." Laxus explained though he wasn't sure why exactly he was telling this to her. It was completely out of character to admit such things to people that he wasn't even close to. However, he felt it necessary to explain to the lilac-haired girl. However, she just laughed at him.
"You know, Adryn was keeping this, Serenity, from you. Meaning, she'd been lying to you all along."
"That's nearly impossible! You said it yourself that Adryn was so drugged that she probably didn't even remember being pregnant!" Serenity yelled out, stepping out from behind Laxus once again.
"Shut up! Mind your own business, you little brat! I should have killed you when I had the chance!" Nova's harsh words caused tears to form in the little girl's eyes. Instantly, Laxus and Arcadia were at Serenity's side.
"You have no right to yell at her and tell her anything like that." Laxus snapped at the lilac-haired girl. In return, Nova just laughed at them.
"Are you seriously going to raise Serenity together?"
"Yes, we are and we will raise her better than you and Ivan ever could have," Arcadia informed the girl, who immediately frowned and grew angry with Arcadia.
"How dare you!? You have no idea what kind of parents Ivan and I would have been!"
"Ivan was a fucked up man who abused everyone in his life! He shouldn't have even been allowed to live as long as he did!" Arcadia's words caused an immediate reaction with her mind. Instantly, the memory of a scene popped into her head. Arcadia saw Ivan screaming at Nova and Eclipse while Adryn hurried to them to stop him from hitting them, only to have Adryn smacked away to the ground instead. She then witnessed Ivan hitting Nova repeatedly while Eclipse tried to get him away from her younger sister.
"Arcadia?" Laxus' voice brought the girl out of her trance. "Are you alright?"
"Nova, how could you ever fall in love with a man who would physically abuse you in such a way? He attacked you, I remember that happening and I remember hearing you screaming for him to stop as Eclipse tried to help you."
"Those weren't attacks, those were punishments of love due to me acting out, just as you and Eclipse also received such punishments of love for the times you acted out." Nova simply explained while looking confused over Arcadia's words.
"How the fuck does being physically punched and kicked were 'punishments of love'?!" Eclipse bursts out from her spot angrily. She was now approaching her sister. "Plus, does that mean that Adryn's assault was the same? A 'punishment of love'?!"
"Ivan loved the three of us dearly. He'd never do anything to truly hurt us. You know that."
Nova simply stated as she smiled at her sister.
"Ivan caused me and Adryn to be put through some pretty fucked up things, causing a whole hell a lot of trauma!" Arcadia began to yell at the girl in the runes. Nova turned to look at her a little shocked that she was yelling now. "I still have to live with the pain he caused us, in the form of you fucking up our life! I never asked for that monster to love me and nothing he did to me was out of love or anything like that! He was just some insane obsessed man who didn't care about anything or anyone! There wasn't a single speck of good in him!"
"Shut up! Ivan was a great man!" Nova screamed back at the girl, taking a step forward and getting close to the runes that trapped her. Suddenly and surprising everyone in the room, Arcadia instantly swung her arm through the barrier and punched Nova right across the face, sending the girl to the ground.
"Somewhere along the way, you shattered. You aren't the same person that you originally were. No matter what you say to explain that." It then hit everyone. If Nova wasn't the same person, then there was a possibility that maybe she'd drank the same potion that Adryn had, changing her personality and memories to be in favor of Ivan. "Nova, your mind isn't right. You might be under the same effects of the potion that you gave Adryn."
"No, that isn't possible!" Nova muttered as she held a hand to her cheek that was now throbbing in pain. Arcadia didn't look like it, but she was strong and caused some damage with her punch. "Ivan would never hurt me like that!"
"That's exactly the type of thing that Ivan would do," Arcadia argued back to the girl who was now standing back up. However, before Nova could argue back again, the Thunder Legion walked through the door.
"We have collected all of the ingredients. We're ready to make the potion." Freed declared as they walked into the room and made their way to the area where the potion making equipment was. The three of them sat down the ingredients and then looked around the room. "Have we missed something?"
"I want you and Eclipse to make the potion, but for Nova, not me." Arcadia declared immediately which shocked Eclipse and Laxus.
"What do you mean? Don't you want to go back to your old self?" Eclipse questioned worried about her best friend.
"I do, but I want Nova to drink it first, then if she goes back to her old self, I'll drink the potion."
"That seems fair, do we have enough ingredients for 2 potions?" Eclipse turned her attention to Freed who looked back to the ingredients and nodded his head.
"We got extra just in case we messed up on the first batch. We just now have to make no mistakes in order to make the two potions." Freed informed the group.
"I'm not drinking anything! You have it all wrong!" Nova snapped as she sat down on her chair.
"I'm sure you've drunk the same potion as Adryn did, so you will drink this one to cure yourself. No arguments." Eclipse growled back at her sister. Nova began to respond to her sister, but Eclipse and Freed just made their way to the table and began to mix the potion ingredients according to Nova's written instructions.
"Come on Arcadia. You can't let them force me to drink anything. You know I'm not under any influence of anything. We were close once before you let these people taint your mind." Nova's words caused Arcadia to look down at the ground. "You know I'm right, Arcadia."
"Enough." Laxus then stepped in front of Arcadia. "You have nothing over Arcadia. You have no hold on her anymore. She makes her own decisions."
"Right. Well, she'll decide to choose me in the end." Nova smirked at the man, who only frowned and glared at her in return. "Adryn and Arcadia will always love me, no one else."
"You're completely wrong." Evergreen stepped up to the rune barrier, causing Nova to turn to look at her.
"We've seen how Adryn and Arcadia have acted around Laxus. She loves him, probably more than she ever loved you." Bickslow stated without his babies echoing anything in return. However, Nova laughed at Bickslow and Evergreen before speaking to them.
"You know, Laxus and Adryn only got together due to Ivan's planning." Nova chuckled as she spoke, but was shut down by Laxus.
"It doesn't matter how we got together. It only matters that we love each other and are together now." Laxus' words were a little out of character, but he knew that he needed to speak them.
"What doesn't matter is that Arcadia doesn't remember anything about
you people anyway."
"You're wrong. With or without memories, I care about Laxus and the others. I'm probably even in love with him at this moment." Arcadia spoke up as she peaked around Laxus to look at the lilac-haired girl. Nova was now looking back at Arcadia with shock on her face. The others around them all also were looking with shock at Arcadia. "I'm probably in love with Laxus, due to how great he's been with me. He's been patient, caring and understanding. He hasn't been pushy with me at all and he's only ever gotten angry with me once due to when Serenity came about, but that was understandable." Arcadia then paused and began to speak once again. "I think those were the reasons that Adryn fell in love with Laxus in the first pace. You know, that probably means that he and I were supposed to be together if I've fallen in love with him all over again. Even without my memories of him."
"Arcadia," Laxus muttered as he turned around and then pulled the girl away from the others to have a slightly more private conversation with Arcadia. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah, I am. I don't honestly remember what it feels like to truly be in love, so I'm not 100% sure, but for the most part, I am."
"I'm... relieved to hear that. I'm not sure if you need to drink the potion now. If you already love me, then-"
"No, I want to drink the potion. I want to become Adryn again before you deserve to be with someone who loves you wholly and truly."
"You're both being ridiculous for thinking that you could have a happy ending." Nova butted in, disrupting the moment Laxus and Arcadia were having.
"That's enough." Eclipse snapped as she walked into the runes to smack Nova upside the back of the head. "Shut up." With that, Eclipse was out of the runes and standing next tot Arcadia and Laxus. She smiled at the 2 of them. She was glad that they had a great relationship, even without Adryn's memories.
"The potion is complete." Freed suddenly spoke up breaking the silence in the room.
"How come it went so quickly?" Evergreen asked the green-haired man. He turned his attention to the girl to reply.
"We got it done so quickly because Eclipse is an experienced potion maker." Freed's words caused Eclipse to smile.
"I won't drink the potion," Nova muttered to the group. However, Eclipse was done with hearing defiance from her sister. So she made her way to the girl and walked through the runes. Eclipse then grabbed Nova's face.
"Listen here you little shit. You're going to drink the potion, or you will drown in it." Eclipse growled to her younger sister. Nova tried to take a step backward, but Eclipse's grip was too tight on her face.
"What do you mean by drown in it?" Nova mumbled the best she could while her face was contorted.
"I'll shove your head in the bowl and make you drown in it unless you willingly drink the potion."
"Alright."
"What?"
"Alright! I'll drink the potion, just let me go!" Nova then smacked Eclipse's hand away from her face.
"Freed, put it in a cup and bring it over?" Eclipse requested of the green-haired man. Freed nodded his head and walked over to the table to follow the girl's instructions. After getting enough in a cup, and leaving enough for Arcadia, Freed brought the cup over to the sisters. Eclipse took the cup and handed it to Nova. Nova took the cup from Eclipse and sat down in the chair. Eclipse then left the rune barrier and they all watched as Nova drank the whole cup within a moment.
"What will happen now?" Serenity questioned her mother as she looked up at her. Suddenly though, Nova began to convulse. At first, the convulsions were calm, but then they became violent which caused her to fall out of the chair she had been seated on. They all watched in horror as the girl slowly calmed down and she fell still on the floor.
"Oh my god, did we kill her?!" Arcadia gasped out horrified. Her and Eclipse hurried to Nova's side only for the girl to shoot up into a seated position. Everyone around Nova jolted backward. The two girls closest to Nova then froze as Nova looked over to them and instantly began to cry.
"What is going on?" Eclipse questioned a little horrified and worried about how the situation was going.
"I'm so sorry!" Nova cried out as she held her face in her hands.
"Huh?" Arcadia questioned more than a little confused.
"I've been watching through my own eyes all this time and have seen all the horrible things that I've done while under the potion's influence."
"...I wonder if Adryn is watching my actions as well..." Arcadia muttered to herself.
"It is most likely. The potions were the same. You are under the influence of the same potion as I just was." Nova informed the girl making everyone fully understand that they were right about their thoughts. "Please... Everyone... Forgive me. I never meant to do anything to hurt you. Especially you, Arcadia. I was just being controlled by Ivan." Nova didn't say it, but she was thoroughly disgusted by how close she and Ivan had become. However, she chose to shake that thought from her mind. "Can you let me out of the runes?"
"I'll go through her mind to check to make sure she is really herself again," Eclipse spoke up as she looked to her sister. She then went through Nova's mind to see that she wasn't pretending and that she was really back to her old self. "Let down the runes."
"Alright," Freed responded as he released the runes around Nova. That caused Nova to instantly get up and head right for Eclipse and Arcadia. She immediately hugged them and began to cry once again.
"I'm so sorry for being so pathetic! I never meant to succumb to that potion!" Nova cried out as the three girls held each other.
"It's alright. I'm also under the same influence of that potion. So I'm just as pathetic." Arcadia responded simply.
"Neither of you are pathetic, or anything like that. You are just victims of Ivan, that's all." Laxus stepped up and spoke to the girls. Nova then turned her attention to the man and released the two girls.
"Thank you, Laxus. Thank you for taking such great care of Adryn and Arcadia." Nova stated as she looked up to the tall man.
"I am always going to take care of her. No matter what." Laxus responded causing Nova to smile up at the man.
"Alright, well, since Nova didn't die and returned to normal, I want to drink the potion now," Arcadia spoke up stopping the two from continuing their conversation.
"Do you really need to?" Laxus asked as he turned to look at the redhead.
"I do. You deserve to have someone who remembers you and everything that you've shared together."
"Alright..." Laxus didn't seem to like the idea, but he wasn't about to stop the girl from making her own choices.
"Eclipse? Can you get me the remaining potion?" Arcadia requested of her best friend simply. Eclipse nodded her head before heading to the table and doing what Arcadia asked her to do. While she did that, Arcadia made her way to the chair and sat down on it. She was also mentally preparing for the seizure she was about to have.
"Are you sure of this, mother?" Serenity approached her mom hesitantly. Worry was clearly written on the young child's face.
"I'm sure of this, but... I don't want you and Laxus to watch what is about to happen." The young girl nodded her head and headed over to Laxus who promptly turned around with the little girl. Neither honestly wanted to watch what was about to happen anyway.
"Here... and good luck," Eclipse muttered to her friend as she handed her the cup of the potion.
"Thank you," Arcadia replied simply with a smile. She watched as Eclipse turned around as well, clearly not wanting to see her beat friend convulse like she was about to do. So, with that, Arcadia drank the cup of potion and prepared for the effects. After a few moments, the convulsions started. She was met with the same fate as Nova and ended up on the floor unconscious after a minute or two of her convulsions.
"Adryn?" Eclipse and Laxus hurried to the girl's side to see her open her eyes and sit up. She instantly got a smile on her face as she looked at Laxus and Eclipse.
"Adryn?" Laxus muttered as he hesitantly looked to the girl who was now getting up off the ground.
"I'm so happy to see you all again. I mean, I've been seeing all of you, but now as myself again, it's so nice." The girl who was now Adryn once again spoke up as she looked around the room.
"Adryn!" The Thunder Legion called out as they hurried to her side as Laxus and Eclipse also got closer to her. Everyone began to take turns hugging the girl as if she had been gone for years.
"I'm so glad that you're back," Evergreen stated as she took her turn hugging the girl.
"It's nice to have you back," Freed spoke up next as he too hugged Adryn.
"We all missed you." Bickslow muttered as his babies echoed, "Missed you! Missed you!" As he hugged her as well.
"You can't do that to us again, alright? You need to remain Adryn now." Eclipse informed her best friend as she hugged her tightly. Lastly, Laxus approached the girl.
"Laxus..." Adryn mumbled as she practically threw herself into the man's arms.
"Don't leave me again, alright?" Laxus' words were simple, but it told Adryn everything she needed to hear at that moment. Immediately, tears began to flow from Adryn's eyes.
"I'm so sorry that I wasn't myself for a little while there."
"You shouldn't be sorry. I'm the one who should be sorry because I couldn't protect you." Adryn just shook her head and wiped at the tears rolling down her face. Adryn's attention quickly turned to the little girl in the room. Serenity was hovering behind Laxus with fear on her face.
"Hello there Serenity. I'm your mother, apparently. I'm so sorry that I didn't know you existed." Adryn approached the young girl and smiled down at her.
"It's okay. You shouldn't be sorry. I'm just glad that
I got to meet my true mother after all this time." Serenity responded as she smiled up at the girl. Adryn opened her arms for the little girl to come to her, so Serenity did. The two hugged for a moment before Adryn turned her attention to Nova.
"Hey there. It's really been a long time since we last saw each other as ourselves." Adryn spoke up as she walked over to the lilac-haired girl.
"Yeah. I'm really sorry about that." Nova looked down at the ground, but Adryn just pulled her into a hug and waited for Nova to hug her back. The two stood there for a few moments before separating.
"With everyone here back to normal, we should probably head back to Fairy Tail." Freed mentioned suddenly as he looked around the room. "There is a lot that needs to be explained."
"Freed is right. Let's head home." Adryn smiled at Laxus as she spoke that.
"Even me?" Nova hesitantly questioned as she looked to her sister.
"Yeah, you need to come back with us as well," Eclipse responded simply.
"What about me?" Serenity asked from her place next to Laxus. The little girl looked up at the man and then to Adryn.
"You're my family. That means you're Fairy Tail's family as well." Hearing Adryn say that caused the little girl to light up and smile brightly at Adryn.
"Let's hope we can catch a train headed back home," Evergreen muttered as the group began to leave the inn they were currently in. That caused them all to realize how late it had gotten and that they all really should be hoping that the trains are still heading to Magnolia. So, the group hurried off to the train station, only to find that there was one last train heading in the direction that they wanted. Of course, they boarded the train and all took their seats.
Adryn and Laxus say together with Serenity seated across from them. Freed and Bickslow sat next to each other with Evergreen across from them. While Eclipse sat in one seat and her sister sat across from her. Eclipse was seated directly behind Adryn was so she was able to still chat with the girl if she wanted to. The Thunder Legion sat in the seats directly next to their leader.
Feeling the motion sickness suddenly hitting them, Laxus and Adryn decided to talk with each other to try to fight the sick feeling.
"I guess we'll have to get a new apartment..." Laxus muttered as he looked over to Adryn. The girl looked over to him questioningly.
"Why?" Adryn responded simply.
"We have Serenity now. There's only one bedroom in our apartment. We need a two-bedroom apartment for room for her."
"Am I really accepted by you, Laxus?" Serenity questioned a little hesitant. She wasn't sure about it but she was hopeful.
"Of course," Laxus responded to the girl causing her to light up.
"That's amazing!" Serenity began to bounce in her seat from excitement and happiness. She was clearly giddy about him accepting her.
"You know, you should call him dad or father like you call me your mother," Adryn spoke up as she picked at her arm.
"Can I?"
"You can, right, Laxus?" Adryn looked over to Laxus again, who looked back at her with an unsure look in his eyes.
"It'd be amazing if I could call you my father, Laxus!" Serenity happily said, causing all uncertainty to disappear from Laxus' eyes. He then looked to the little girl and smiled softly at her.
"You can call me anything you want." Laxus finally spoke up, causing Serenity to launch out of her seat and throw herself onto Laxus. He caught her immediately and hugged her back as she held onto him.
"Come now, return to your seat." Adryn laughed as she pulled Serenity off of her boyfriend.
"Alright, mother. Sorry about that... father." Serenity had a huge smile on her face as she spoke that last word, which caused a smile to again appear on Laxus' face. Serenity then returned to her seat and looked out the window. Meanwhile, Laxus noticed how Adryn was picking at her arm again, specifically, the Raven Tail mark on her arm.
"Has anyone figured out a way to remove that mark yet?" Laxus questioned to the group as he looked down at Adryn's arm. A chorus of "no" rang out causing both Laxus and Adryn to frown.
"We should just cut it off or something. I'm tired of seeing it." Adryn muttered to herself, but Laxus obviously heard it and responded to her.
"No. that would just cause you unnecessary pain."
"Well... I guess we'll figure it out later. I'm not feeling too well and I think I'm going to use you as a pillow."
"Go ahead." Laxus' voice was soft for once as he watched Adryn lean against his shoulder. He decided that it also seemed like a good idea. So, Laxus leaned his head against Adryn's head and he too fell asleep.
A couple of hours later, Laxus and Adryn were awoken by Freed speaking to them.
"Laxus, Adryn. It's time to wake up. We're about to reach our stop." Freed's voice was just loud enough to cause them to wake up. However, as they went to lean away from each other and sit up straight, they felt a weight against them. They looked between them to see Serenity sleeping there, holding onto both of them. It brought a smile to both of their faces.
"Serenity, it's time to wake up." Adryn slightly shook the little girl awake. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at them.
"Huh?" Serenity responded as she looked around her. "Oh."
"Did you forget where you were?"
"For a moment." Serenity then smiled up at Adryn. Serenity remained between Laxus and Adryn until the train came to a stop. Then, all of them left the train and headed to the guildhall. It was late, but they figured that most everyone would still be there.
Once the group made it to the guildhall, they found Master Makarov and Mirajane to explain everything to them. It took a while to explain all that happened and why there was now a child with Laxus and Adryn, but eventually, everything was told.
"You all had quite a difficult experience, did you?" Mirajane muttered mostly to herself in shock at the whole situation.
"I am glad that you are both back to how you should be." Master Makarov stated to Nova and Adryn.
"We should call the Magic Council. I need to be returned to jail and they will probably want to question Nova for her actions." Eclipse stated simply causing the master to nod his head.
"As much as I don't like it, I agree." Master Makarov then turned to Mirajane and spoke to her. "Go call them, please."
"Of course." Mirajane didn't like it either, but she went off to summon the Magic Council. The group continued to talk while they waited, but it didn't take long for them to arrive.
"We're here for Eclipse and Nova." One of the men stated as the Magic Council approached the group. The two girls stood up, and so did Adryn.
"Are you sure you have to go?" Adryn questioned her best friend and former lover. Eclipse turned to face her friend and hugged her quickly.
"Don't worry. We'll be back soon and everything will be fine." Eclipse spoke up before turning around and walking out with her sister and the Magic Council. Adryn just sighed as she watched them go. She didn't like it one bit.
Despite Adryn's negative feelings, she, Laxus and the Thunder Legion all joined in with the others and drank and ate the day away. Serenity had played with Mirajane as the adults did their thing. It was nice for them to finally be able to do things and not worry about anything at all.
"Adryn, remember to not drink too much," Laxus warned the girl as she began drinking her second cup of alcohol.
"Alright, this will be my last cup." Adryn smiled at the man who just began to drink his third cup. Adryn stuck to what she said and chose to eat more than she drank. As they ate and drank, the group chatted about various things. Mostly though, they talked about the future and what was to come.
"So, are you two ever going to get married?" Evergreen questioned Adryn as she leaned over to the girl.
"Are you and Elfman ever going to admit to everyone that you two are in love with each other?" Adryn responded a little defensively. That caused Evergreen to sputter and turn away from the group. She instantly made eye contact with Elfman and she decided to go off to chat with him instead.
"Adryn, you shouldn't tease Ever like that." Freed scolded the girl who just smiled at him.
"You're right. I should go apologize." Adryn went to stand up, but Laxus grabbed her by her waist and held her there in place. "Laxus?" Adryn looked to her boyfriend, but he just released her and went back to drinking. That was his way of telling the girl that she shouldn't leave his side at that moment. "Alright, I'll apologize another time... If I remember."
With that, the group went back to drinking/eating and having fun. It quickly became late in the night before they realized that they should all be heading home.
"Mira?" Adryn asked as he approached the girl who was still with Serenity.
"Yes, Adryn?" Mirajane responded as she looked away from her coloring that she'd been doing with Serenity.
"Do you mind if Serenity stays with you tonight? I want some alone time with Laxus, plus, we need to get everything ready for Serenity."
"Are you going to play games with him?" Serenity innocently questioned as she looked up to her mother. "What do you need to get ready for me?"
"Something like that and you'll see." Adryn smiled at her daughter and turned her attention to Mirajane who was now speaking to her.
"I'll watch over Serenity, you and Laxus just have fun," Mirajane responded after thinking about it for a moment.
"Thank you, you're the best!" Adryn then scurried off to find Laxus, who was sobering up while talking with Freed. Adryn made her way to Laxus' side and she hugged him around the waist.
"You two have fun. Goodnight." Freed smiled at the couple before walking away from the two of them.
"Goodnight!" Adryn yelled back happily as she looked up to Laxus who was looking down
at her now. "What's up?"
"Is Mira watching over Serenity tonight?" Laxus questioned as he wrapped an arm around Adryn in return.
"Yeah. So, let's head home. I'm... tired." Laxus noted Adryn's hesitation but chose to not say anything about it. Instead, the two walked home in silence, hand in hand. It was a comfortable silence even though there was so much that the two most likely needed to say to each other. However, they were enjoying the quiet with each other since they knew that now they would have a lifetime to say anything that they needed to say to each other.