A/N: Helena comes to her mother's bedside and sees her for the last time. Rowena/Helena mother-daughter fic. Founders' Era.
Submission for:
All You Need Is Love Challenge/Competition: Round 3 - Rowena/Helena
Greek Mythology Mega Prompt Challenge: Metis – Write about Helena Ravenclaw.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
Helena waited outside the door to her mother's bedchambers, unsure whether she should go inside or not. She knew her mother was sick, at death's door the Baron had said. This could be her only chance to make amends and after all that had happened, after she had come this far, she could back out now.
She entered the room and went to her mother's bedside. "Mother," Helena breathed, her voice catching in her throat as she took in her appearance. The once stalwart woman she had grown to admire and resent was now just an empty shell. Her skin had stretched across her face, her bones prominent beneath the thin material. Her hair was grey to match, thin and splayed across her large bed pillows.
"Helena, is that you?" the woman in the bed asked as she opened her eyes. "Did the Baron find you?"
"Mother, do not look at me," Helena insisted, not wanting to cause her mother such a fright but it was too late. Her mother's eyes, which once shone with such intelligence, were now filled with fear and confusion.
"Helena, what happened to you?" Rowena asked. She reached out her arms towards her daughter, the branches of a brittle yew tree, but her fingers simply passed through empty space that was her daughter's hands.
"I'm so sorry, Mother," Helena cried instead, falling to her knees at her mother's bedside. "I should never have fought with you. I should never have run away. I let my foolish pride get in the way. The Baron found me in the woods and still I refused to come home. And now... I'm just so sorry."
Her mother's arm reached out to her again and hovered just above her head. "I am sorry too, my dear. I also let my pride get in the way of trying to find you sooner, instead of trying to make amends. I hope you can forgive me."
"Of course I do, Mother," Helena said, staring at her mother through her translucent tears. "Though I don't deserve your forgiveness. I was a horrible daughter to you and now look at me."
"All I see is a daughter who is truly remorseful and who I love with all my heart. This is not the time for regret or sorrow but for joy. I am glad you have come to see me in my final moments and now I can truly be at rest," Rowena said as she closed her eyes.
Helena stayed there on her knees as her mother took her last breaths. She watched as the life left the frail body and her hand fell through her daughter's head and to the dark blue sheets beneath. Helena cried for her mother that night, her tears forever staining her cheeks for years to come.