The hot bath did nothing to relax Cassandra. She was too troubled to enjoy the fresh, warm water. If it had not been for Lia knocking on the door, she would have laid there for hours, stewing in her thoughts over what had happened. The window nearby would have been the only sign that time had passed. However, she likely would not have noticed the Specter Moons setting and nighttime creeping in.

She was so lost. So tired. So weak.

Lia entered the room only after she heard Cassandra acknowledge her request. The fawn held a new set of clothes in her hands. She spared the brunette a quick glance just to see how she was doing.

Cassandra stood there with a towel made of soft animal hide wrapped along her body, covering her from above her breasts to below her knees. She had almost forgotten to throw it on before Lia stepped in, but what did she care? Someone seeing her naked was the last thing she would have been concerned with.

All she wanted to do was fall to pieces and just disappear. That would have been a merciful fate in her eyes.

Lia tried to offer a smile, but the grin fell as soon as it rose to halfway. "You look…refreshed."

Cassandra squeezed out some of the water that had been trapped inside her dark locks. As the small streams fell down her hands as she squeezed the strands, the bare section on her other side reminded her of Alcina. She paused for several seconds, ceasing all motion as she just stared straight ahead at the wall. A sigh fell loose, and she released her grip on what was left of her hair.

"I guess," she replied.

Lia's eyes fell to the floor as she ran her fingers around the rim of her braided locks. "We're going to eat dinner later. Would you like to join us?"

Cassandra sighed again. "I'm not hungry."

With her eyes still down at the floor, Lia only gave a tiny nod, mostly to herself. She twiddled her fingers as she tried to think about what to say next. It felt like her presence in the room was more of a burden, rather than a comfort. Cassandra would not look at her, which made her wonder if what she had said to her prior to finding Alcina was partially to blame.

The brunette crossed her arms as she stood beside the wall, eyes pointed toward the approaching evening glow of the outside world. A lifetime of staring out a window could not be undone after a few days in this new world.

Lia glanced at the window ahead as well. "When you're all dried up and dressed, you can go outside if you want."

Cassandra shrugged her right shoulder and spoke with a monotone voice that was devoid of most emotion, "Thanks."

Lia shut her eyes. "I am so sorry about today."

Silence.

The fawn parted her eyelids while her lips did the same thing. "I did not know."

"Neither did I…"

Lia took a couple of steps toward Cassandra, moving around the edge of the bathtub that sat in the center of the room. "If I could, I would take us back to when we made amends. I would have kept my mouth shut and not jumped to urgency over things I did not understand."

In an unforeseen act of surprise, Cassandra huffed a small laugh that was hardly above a breath. "Could you?"

Lia took a second to process the reaction, wondering if it was genuine amusement or sarcasm. She erred on the side of caution and took a light-hearted approach, hoping that Cassandra would repeat the same. "Knowing me," she chuckled lightly, "I couldn't."

Cassandra kept her eyes on the outside. "I don't blame you, Lia."

That was a wave of relief for the fawn as soon as she heard it. She figured Cassandra did not have the patience to put effort into lying. It was easier to be direct, and being direct was a crucial aspect of her personality – for better or worse.

"Thank you," she replied meekly.

The amber stare of the disheveled woman followed an array of blue birds as they traveled the sky. It was ironic to know that she was free to exit the castle anytime she pleased, though she still opted to observe the outside world from afar. "You know, I used to have to get my mot…Alcina's permission to leave the castle during the warmer seasons. There was always a curfew in place, for my safety, but I remember how on even some of the hottest days, she would keep me inside. She said that I was 'venturing out too much,' and other things like that. I always thought it wasn't fair at the time, and I was often the only one who truly complained. It makes me wonder whether Bela or Daniela considered our circumstances."

Lia took the opportunity that arose in the wake of Cassandra finally speaking more. She wanted to establish some more common ground with her, hoping that she could do anything to salvage what had been damaged. "Do you think they did?"

"I really don't know," her voice fell as she recalled her sister's lives. "Bela was always so loyal to her. It was like a compulsion. She always did everything she could for her approval. It makes me feel like what they did to us worked best on her. She practically needed Alcina's praise. She wanted to emulate her."

Cassandra's lips curled up to her nose. "Ugh, it all sounds just so wrong, but that's the way it seemed. She truly was her pet."

"What about Daniela?"

"I think the injury we saw her receive before the experiments explains what became of her. She was a great sister, loving and free-spirited, but the more time you spent with her; you just knew something wasn't quite right," she explained as the birds in the sky dissipated out of her view. "She would find these realities that just did not exist, and she'd believe them to be true. She could react wildly in an instant for almost no reason." Cassandra lowered her head. "And Bela and I just ignored it, for years. That is what good sisters do, right?"

Lia watched her as she stood by herself, shoulder against the wall, and eyebrows curved upward. There was no need for her powers when she could already see how depressed Cassandra was. "You can't blame yourself for everything that never went right."

"I think Daniela was what brought me down from where I was supposed to be. I know you hate what I did to people, and Lia, I can't ever change that, as you said. I'm a murderer. A serial killer. But, when I hit my sister for the first time, I heard the cries of someone who loved me."

Cassandra pushed her shoulder off the wall and stepped closer to the window, arms crossed, with one leg bent across the back of the other. "It took a while to set in, but that's when I saw how I could regret doing something like that. It was my first sign that something was bad. Maybe Alcina had it so that I wouldn't care what I did to others, but she may have never considered us hurting each other. That might have been the break I needed. After that, I met you guys, and you all took me in. I kicked and screamed, but unlike Alcina…you showed me care. Love."

Lia covered her mouth as her eyes lowered. Her breathing shuddered for a second, as she recalled once again how antagonistic she had been to Cassandra in the beginning. She did not care whether it was warranted or not. It did not matter. "If I only knew more about you when you first arrived, you would have been shown even more love."

Cassandra turned her head just enough so that Lia could see the side of her face. It looked like there may have been a smile behind that bare shoulder, but the fawn could not see it. She replied with the same words that the fawn had given her, "You can't blame yourself for everything that never went right."

Lia dropped her hand and smiled a tiny grin. "No," she agreed. "We cannot."

Feeling some friendliness in the air, Lia felt like she could get closer to her. At a casual, yet slightly cautious, pace, she made her way over to the brunette and joined her by the window. Cassandra instinctively moved over to the side, allowing the fawn enough room to share the view with her.

Lia ran her right hand along the back of her ear as she glanced at Cassandra's pale skin that covered her arms and back. The woman's dark hair turned nearly jet black when soaked with water, and while absent of make-up, her eyelashes did a phenomenal job at bringing out her glowing eyes.

"Are you cold?" Lia asked.

Cassandra stood there in thought for a few seconds before she curved the corner of her lips and shook her head. "No, but…it doesn't matter anymore to me."

Lia glanced at her, unsure of what that meant. She turned her head back to the lush green fields that the region of Joulin had to offer. The sky was beginning to tint into a vibrant yellow as the Specter Moons made their way closer to the edge of the landscape. The clouds were too sparse to conceal the luxury of such a sight, and the planet's vast array of sunset colors was soon going to be on full display.

The fawn smiled as she breathed in the fresh air. "It is a warm night. No one should be cold."

Cassandra smiled as well. "Yeah, it is warm here."

The two ladies gave the sky a minute or two to continue its transition, watching in silence as the clouds adopted their own hue that matched the encroaching orange that would shortly be present. There was only a hint of the sound of the wind, nothing like the edge of Tyillioum. Everything was calm here. Peaceful.

The soft touch of the breeze brushed up against Cassandra's exposed skin, comforting her as she leaned forward and stuck the very front of her face out of the window. Lia reclined against the opposite edge, admiring the view for her own reasons.

The fawn breathed slower than usual. She had thoughts in her mind that were not fit for a setting like this. Not with company. At least, not right now. The view of the outside world was remarkably beautiful tonight. She did not want to waste it when it came to her dilemmas.

However, such an outcome seemed impossible once Cassandra asked her a question of her own, "What do you think about when you look outside?"

Lia immediately released a long sigh, fighting to not fall into the same pit that the brunette had found herself in earlier. She wanted to be honest, but delicate conversations could wait. "Lots of things, really. With a sky like this…I think about others. Like, what can I do to keep helping? That's always on my mind."

"You're always thinking about that?"

"Yeah," Lia replied as she eyed the town of Acomb in the distance. "There is always something I can do. I have these powers. I might as well put them towards good."

Cassandra wondered what kind of good she could have done with her own powers back in her world. They were nothing short of predatory. All her flies ever did was crave flesh to devour. She was strong, gifted with the force of thousands of insects at her will. It was perfect for keeping the maids trapped within the castle's confines. There was no healing that could be derived from them. No warm touch. All she ever used her flies for was killing.

Could there even be a good use for powers like that?

The brunette tilted her head at Lia. "You just have a natural compulsion to do the right thing, right? Isn't that what fawns do?"

Lia chuckled. "You don't have to be a fawn to do something good."

Yeah…you don't…

"But, am I correct?" Cassandra wanted to know more. "Do your powers have any effect on who you are as a person?"

The woman to her right shoulder gave a small shrug as she rested it against the window border. "I must consider them when I make my decisions. It is a big responsibility. But, you're sort of right. Kind of yes, kind of no. Fawns are not bound by their powers, even surges, like me. We do the right thing because it's what we were taught to do. It feels right, if that makes sense."

"It makes perfect sense."

Lia leaned forward, resting her forearms against the stone bottom of the window. Her head poked outside as she embraced the clean, refreshing air for herself. "I do what I do because I seek a purpose. I want to know that I have my place in this world."

"Are your powers your purpose?"

"My powers are exponential compared to other fawns. Believe me when I tell you that. I don't know why, but my body can harness such influxes." Lia briefly gazed at her palms, recalling all the feats she had performed with them over the years. All the people she had healed.

Yet, she also recalled the balance of what her hands could do to someone if she chose to personify her wrath from them. She knew she could have killed Cassandra during that horrible fight.

She turned her hands back down to the stone. "My powers are there, but it is who I choose to be with them that defines me. So, my purpose is to be the Lia that I always should be: a healer. A fixer." She rolled her eyebrows as she looked down. "What good is there in breaking things?"

Nothing at all.

Cassandra coughed, mostly to ease herself into what she was about to say. "It wasn't long after my sisters and I were 'born' that we were told that our bodies regularly needed blood to survive. The cravings were already there. We could smell it, even when it was in someone's body. The compulsions were impossible to ignore. It was like we were always thirsty. Our throats were dry, and no matter how much of it we drank, it never helped."

Lia seemed to have to fight off some of her disgust at what she was hearing. Cassandra's past was not something she could turn a blind eye to. Even now, part of her wondered why she had become so comfortable in the presence of a woman who has done such unspeakable things. But, she also knew that it wasn't Cassandra's past that defined her completely. There was a change that was still happening, and the woman she was metamorphosizing into was the kind of woman she could warm up to.

"She would give us containers of blood to drink out of, but I knew she had to have been draining it from the maids. They seemed to be getting so weak. Some of them may have been drained more than others because they looked like they were ready to die. Girls would pass out during chores and my mother would take them down below to the dungeon. We never saw them again. We just received more blood."

Lia breathed as she closed her eyes. Her right hand moved to its comfort spot along the edge of her braided locks. She tried her hardest not to judge. "What made you turn to killing?"

Cassandra got quiet.

Lia already began to reconsider what she had just asked. The fawn spoke before anything else could be said, "On second thought, don't worry about answering that."

"A few nights after we were born, we were being served dinner. I remember that like it was yesterday. We were having lamb and chicken. My mot…argh…Alcina, had glasses of blood on the table to satiate us. She drank it too. She always did."

Cassandra played with the tail of wet her that hung over her shoulder. "None of us enjoyed the way the meal had been made. Even she was complaining about it. The cook at the time, Emilia, was called in to explain why it was made so poorly. Alcina got in her face, yelling at her in front of all of us. She told us to join in, making sure we made her feel terrible for failing us in such a way. It got ugly pretty fast. Screaming turned to slapping, and then punching. Emilia was left crawling on the ground after we were all done. Alcina looks at us and she says, 'Daughters, if the maid cannot prepare a proper meal, then she will take its place. Now, feast!' We all just jumped on her. It was like we could hardly think. I mean, we were being told over and over how much we were worth and how little the villagers amounted to. I guess it was easy to do what we did."

Lia rolled her bottom lip and bit down on it before she turned her eyes toward Cassandra. The fawn searched for the image of a vicious killer, but all she could see was a pretty woman with pale skin. It was all so surreal for her. "So, you killed her?"

"We tore her apart. Ate her alive right on the floor in front of the rest of the staff. It all…tasted so good at the time. I'm sure she was killing the staff before we were taken by her, but after she took us, things in that castle turned grim. From then on, it was just pure madness. I was always being told to hurt someone. I was rewarded for it. It became fun for me because it was the only fun I could find. I know that sounds horrible to you."

Lia nodded. "Yes, it does, but…"

"I know I can't make an excuse for it," Cassandra admitted to Lia, and to herself. "I'm sure part of it has to do with what she made us into. In the life I lived before that castle, I don't think blood was in my nature. I don't think I would have ever hurt anyone like that."

"No," Lia agreed. "I don't think you would."

Cassandra rested her elbows on the stone, using her hands to cover her forehead. Regret had started to set back in and she appeared upset. Lia placed her hand on her shoulder, seeking to provide some form of comfort yet again. The brunette breathed a shallow laugh. "I'm not going to cry, don't worry. I think my body can't produce any tears for a while. I'm all dried out."

"Very well, but…please, don't lament on the past. It's impossible to change it. You have to live on," Lia advised. It was the truth, and Cassandra believed it. The only issue was that embarking on such a direction was incredibly difficult. It had to be the hardest task that she had ever been given.

"Everything about my life just came at me all at once today," Cassandra said.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm still sorting through it, Lia. The more I think about it, the more I notice things. But, the one thing that still really gets to me is that I will probably never know anything about the woman I was before she stole me. That's the most tragic part. Who was I before I became Cassandra?"

Her statement shot down any chance of an explanation. There was no answer and there likely would never be one. That girl who left her home all those years ago never came back. She was dead. Everyone that would have remembered her was dead too.

Lia wanted to cry for her, but she kept her mind straight. A million attempts at responses presented themselves in her mind. She wanted to pick the best one that she could offer. Hopefully, it would point the brunette in the perfect direction so that she could be on the path to recovery.

A million replies and nothing she could decide on. No room for guesses. That was when the fawn felt that she was being too analytical of the question. This wasn't science, just lost opportunity.

"I don't know," Lia told her. "Who is Cassandra?"

"A violent woman who hurt everyone around her," she said.

"That was the Cassandra who you used to be. Start being the Cassandra that you want to be. That will keep that girl inside you alive."

She…she's right…

The brunette nodded softly, slowly picking up speed with each bob of her chin. "Yeah, I will." She smiled. "Thank you, Lia. Thank you."

The fawn returned the same gesture. "You're welcome, Cassandra."

There was a spat of hesitation in those amber eyes as she looked at Lia. "What…how are we?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean us," Cassandra told her with a hint of guilt on her brow. "About how I was back there…I'm sorry."

Lia inhaled and exhaled slowly. Her fingertips tapped against the stone lightly. Her eyes fought to stay locked on the woman beside her, but it was a losing battle. "We're okay. I'm not going to blame you for how you felt. I could only imagine how I would have been if that had happened to me. It's just…"

She struggled on finding the right words again. "…I…I don't know. When I saw you searching for her, it reminded me of the same look you had when I first met you." Her eyes finally fell and retreated to her hands. "You looked so ferocious and bloodthirsty. That's not the woman who held me as I cried earlier this morning. You've changed so much for the better. I want to see you prosper, and if you killed her, I felt like that chance at prosperity would be lost. I would have felt like I failed you, somehow."

Cassandra tugged at the wet ends of her hair, considering just how close she was to killing Alcina if afforded the opportunity. It was a tall order, just as tall as the wretched woman herself. She went into that field blind and without any solid plan, just raw emotion to drive her toward the uncertain and the unknown. She was no stranger to careless aggression, and that was what got her killed before.

I need to get control of this anger. I just wish it could all go away.

"Lia, I know you have nothing but good intentions. I didn't want to put you in that kind of spot, but I just couldn't let her get away. I'm sorry I let that side of me come out again. Believe me, I thought that I was past it."

"I just hate the idea of you so easily taking someone else's life," Lia remarked. "That rage that you can show, it scares me. If you killed her, I would have questioned who the real you was, and that worries me, because I've seen these better parts of you. The true death would have been that beautiful woman inside you."

A smile twitched on the brunette's lips. She could not help but feel a flash of happiness come over her. It was great to know that she was still accepted. "You were right about what you said earlier. Killing her would not have made a difference. She's dead now and I still feel the same way. I'm just glad that I still have you, and the others here."

"I'm glad you were spared such regrets," Lia stated, thankful that her companion did not return to the castle as a killer.

"What do you think killed her? A bunch of dhins? Does Locwitary have any other predators?" Cassandra asked, wondering how a towering killing machine like Alcina could have been so easily slain.

"I'm not sure," Lia cupped her hands. "She appeared to be quite formidable. I'm sure my powers could have halted her, but most fawns could not face something like that. Whatever it was she fought, it knew how to kill. Her wounds seemed deliberate. A blade, perhaps? That still doesn't make sense, but…I don't know. There are some dangerous animals in this world, Cassandra. It is best not to go looking for them. We're just lucky nothing found us."

"Yeah…" The brunette resigned herself to the idea that she would be better off not seeking the answers to that question. She had her brush with death before in the forest nearby. It stood to reason that even someone like Alcina would not have fared well against Locwitary's most dangerous inhabitants.

There was always something worse out there.

Lia smiled as she nudged Cassandra with her shoulder. "Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I'm happy you and I are standing here together, rather than anywhere else. You have a strong will, and I admire that. I just don't want to see anything bad happen to you. In light of recent events, I'd like to consider you as a friend – a close friend, actually."

The brunette craned her neck and smiled again at the fawn to her side. "I really want you to be my friend too, Lia. I'm sorry about everything. I know we've had so many arguments ever since I arrived here, but you've done your part to help me. This entire day was just one bittersweet catastrophe, but it needed to happen. I agree: I'm happy we're together here."

Lia's green eyes sparkled with the aid of the Specter Moon's light. The sky was deepening into a thick orange glow but the vibrance of the beams would not falter until their very end. The rays brightened her stare and revealed the small hints of yellow that she carried inside their inner circles. She smiled back, showing her white teeth between those thin, pink lips. Her light brown hair became illuminated in the spirit of the sunset, and her porcelain skin mixed with the beams, almost looking as if it would reflect the light itself.

And you say you're jealous of my smile?

"Maybe it did. If we can salvage anything, let us at least salvage this night," Lia said. "And, let us do it as friends."

Cassandra chuckled. "I've never had a friend before, outside of my sisters."

Lia's smile dropped slightly. "I never…get around too much these days. So, I'll consider you my first friend as well."

Cassandra brought her right hand closer to Lia, palm up in the air. The fawn graciously placed her on top and they interlocked their hands. As soon as their skin touched, the warmth of Lia's energy could be felt radiated around.

"What do you feel?" Cassandra asked.

"Everything that you've just told me," Lia replied. For a second, her eyes squinted and she seemed slightly confused, if not more so surprised. It would have prompted Cassandra to ask, but the fawn let out a giggle. As her eyes fluttered around, visibly shifting through whatever thoughts were inside her head, that giggle appeared to be a spontaneous reaction, rather than one of amusement.

She turned to Cassandra, almost hesitant at what she was about to say next. Her lips rolled into her mouth before she parted them with her tongue. "Uhm…so, what do friends do?"

"Talk, I suppose," the brunette said with a shrug.

"I know what they do…"

"What?"

She reached over and took hold of the hair that dangled down the side of Cassandra's neck. "They help their friends dry their hair."

With her new gown on and another towel wrapped around her head, Cassandra sat across her bed, her left shoulder against the wall. The white outfit was more comfortable than she could have asked for. Its soft texture was like silk, and the laced ruffles that made up the V-shaped collar were an elegant touch. With her original robes coated in Alcina's blood, Lia's clothing would have to suffice. However, after everything that had transpired today, she had no desire to ever wear that outfit again. To do so would be equivalent to re-attaching the mental shackles that woman used to bind her for all those years.

There was happiness to be found in the freedom she now had.

On the other end of the bed was Lia, who placed herself closer to the edge, so that she could give the brunette ample room to stretch her legs.

The fawn's hands were in the middle of massaging Cassandra's left foot, an act that had been going on for the last couple of minutes. Despite her thin frame, Lia demonstrated remarkable skill. She knew exactly where to apply the appropriate levels of pressure. Her thumbs pressed into the curve in front of her friend's heel, loosening the tissues underneath it.

Cassandra watched with her right hand brought up to her face. Her forefinger was bent; the top of its joint pressed beside her lips. "You are really good at this. I should take you up on this offer again sometime."

Lia gave out a laugh as she reached up toward the brunette's bony ankle, caressing the outer edge of the ball joint and relieving tension as she stretched it out. "Consider this a courtesy. I don't do this for anybody."

"Well…" Cassandra dropped her arm as she moved to shift her body around. "If you do decide to be courteous, I'm here. My feet have been killing me for quite a while."

"Oh, you poor thing," Lia said as she continued to carefully turn her foot around. A sudden crack popped from the side, which was loud enough to startle her. Cassandra, meanwhile, seemed more relaxed than ever.

"Ah…perfect," she said with a smile.

The fawn grinned as she moved on up to her toes, grouping them together in the palm of her hand as she repeated the same motions. A blue glow appeared from her hands, which cultivated waves of warmth that entered her muscles. It was such a good feeling that Cassandra did not want to see it end.

The brunette tilted her head to the side while her amber eyes gleamed at the woman on the other end of the bed. "You're spoiling me today."

Lia happily peeked at her before she glanced back down at the woman's slender foot. There was a playful roll to her eyebrow as she shrugged her shoulder and continued her work. "As I said: this is a courtesy."

"Courtesy well-received," Cassandra said.

"I just hope you're feeling better," Lia told her. "I have no issue with staying with you if it means it has a positive effect."

"I appreciate it. I am feeling a little better. Watching that sunset was nice."

Lia glanced at her again. "Sunset?"

"Ugh…" The brunette groaned before a chuckle kicked off at the end. "In my world, we call the Specter Moons the Sun, and we only have one. When it goes down before nightfall, it's called a sunset."

"Your world is so strange." Lia bent Cassandra's toes downward, setting off two, tiny little pops in the process. "How could only one provide enough heat to sustain life?"

"It does during the warmer seasons. I guess it just forgets its job during winter."

"This winter season is just the worst, isn't it?"

Cassandra double-checked the hold that the wrapping of her towel had. It was still tight, albeit damp. Her hair should be dry soon. "It is just too cold and the snow is terrible. You just can't do anything."

"Locwitary's weather is quite hospitable," Lia mentioned as she finished up on her foot. "The temperature is pleasant year-round, and it never gets 'cold,' as you put it."

"Yeah, yeah. Keep rubbing it in."

Lia set the brunette's foot aside with a brow raised high. "Excuse you?" There was a playfulness to her words, though she also seemed to be taking some form of a stand.

Does she…ugh…

"I was talking about you flaunting your world's warmer temperature, not demanding you to continue with what you were doing…which, if you did, would be quite lovely." Cassandra tried to seal the deal with a pull of her lips toward her pale cheeks.

Lia shook her head with a grin. "Fine, because you asked so nicely. Bring the other one over." Cassandra did as told and pulled her left leg back, extending her right onto the fawn's lap. As soon as her hands touched the brunette's skin, the relief was already well on its way.

Cassandra leaned her head back with a slight hum before she peered back at her friend. "So, what do you do for fun, Lia?"

"I find ways to occupy myself. Sometimes, when I'm not with Leta or studying, I enjoy making little crafts or creating art. If you ever see the inside of my room, you'll find all the things I've created just sitting there." She giggled at the thought of the hordes of little trinkets and figures that she had accumulated over the years. "I honestly don't know what to do with them. Milo says they take up so much space but, well…it's my room, so too bad."

"I'll have to see your room for myself by the time I'm ready to leave," Cassandra said, which caused Lia to peek her head back up at her.

"Oh, yes, of course." She seemed to have been caught off guard. "I'll have to show you someday."

"What else do you do for fun?"

"Well, this may seem boring to you, but I love to pick fruits off the trees behind the castle."

"That's fun?"

Lia closed her eyes and breathed a short groan. "I said you'd find it boring," she mumbled.

"I'm sorry."

Lia kept her head down as she worked on Cassandra's foot. There was a hint of disappointment on her face as her smile seemed to have subsided. The brunette could sense that she may have been a little dismayed by her response as if it were something she had secretly hoped her new friend would also have enjoyed doing.

Cassandra leaned forward, waving her hand to alert the fan that she could stop the massage. "Hey, I just don't know what's fun about it. Enlighten me."

Lia sat up as Cassandra withdrew her leg. The brunette scooted over to the edge of the bed, and the two women sat side by side. The fawn cracked her knuckles as she allowed her hands to unwind from the strenuous motions. "I enjoy it because it's my chance to get out of the castle and spend some time with just myself. I enjoy the daylight and the presence of nature. I'll take a basket that I've weaved and use it to collect whatever delicious fruits come my way. When I'm done, I like to sit on the grass and have a few while I watch the trees."

Her voice grew somber as she elaborated a bit on that last part, "It's…something I've been doing for quite a few years." She quickly pulled herself out of that mindset and brought another smile back onto her face. "And besides, Milo is too lazy to get fruit from Acomb, so I take it upon myself to go. Every fruit that you see in this castle comes from me."

"Well, thank you very much for them."

"Oh, you are quite welcome."

"I take my statement back," Cassandra stated as she turned her head to her. "That does sound fun. Personally, I enjoy nature too. In my world, I used to go hunting all the time. Even if I killed the animal early on, I'd stick around just to take in the scenery. The castle that I was kept in got so boring. I needed a break from it."

"We're not so different, it seems," Lia told her. She rotated her body so that she could face Cassandra, moving to undo the towel that was over her hair. The wrapping came loose, and the wavy locks of the brunette's scalp shined against the dull, purple hue of the nearly set Spector Moons. The outside world was about to go dark, though the nighttime moon was about to appear shortly. Dinner would be ready in less than an hour, and it seemed as though their time together for the night was about to come to an end.

"Maybe." Cassandra checked her hair to ensure that it was dry. Her hand brushed against Lia's, which made the fawn move hers backward. She appeared hesitant, for whatever reason. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, I just didn't want to get in your way."

"You're fine."

"Thank you," Lia replied before she glanced toward the outside window. "We should pick fruit together when I go out again. I would love to have you with me."

Cassandra nodded in acceptance. "Then it's a date."

Lia giggled as she kept her eyes on her. She seemed more excited than normal, though she was conscious to only let so much of it out. "Great!"

"So, are arts and crafts, picking fruit, things fawns typically do? I was wondering what they do day to day."

Some gloom hovered above Lia's head as she looked around the increasingly dark room that she and Cassandra sat in. It was fitting for her as she thought about the tragedy that befell her and her family a decade ago, though she was confident that the brunette held no ill intention when it came to asking about the fawns in general.

To think she did would be irrational, Lia thought. Cassandra was simply curious. It meant that she was interested in learning more not just about the fawns in general, but about her. She needed to filter the most defensive and guarded aspects of her personality aside, knowing that they would only shield her from fulfillment.

She wanted Cassandra as a friend, and since the start of the day, everything about that woman's past had come out in full swing. The brunette had been forced to confront everything she knew and didn't know about the lives she's lived. To divulge some information about herself was the least she could do.

"From what I remember, before I was taken in by Milo, the fawns we lived with all took care of one another. It was a community of sisters and mothers. They all had a hand in the growth and well-being of the children, and each other. Some would weave clothing from what could be sourced from nature. Others would cook and help build." Her eyes momentarily drifted back down to her hands.

"Surges, as few and far in between as we were, helped guide the other fawns along with their magic, though our elders also taught us what we needed to know. We lived in little cloth dwellings that were fashioned with sticks and vines, strengthened with hides from the animals we'd scavenged. The crafts we built sometimes depicted past fawns of legend; remnants of times before our own." She managed to smile despite feeling the sadness of how that livelihood had been stolen from her as well.

She was right – Cassandra and her were not too different at all.

The brunette could see how this conversation was taking its toll on Lia. Maybe, it seemed, she was not as good at concealing her emotions as she once thought. She had gotten so lost in her memories that her gaze veered away toward the wall – a familiar mannerism that Cassandra often did whenever she got overwhelmed.

"Lia, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I…"

"We don't have to talk about something you don't want to talk about. If this is upsetting you –"

The fawn raised her hand, which halted Cassandra's words. She offered another smile to ease her worries before she sighed her troubles out of her lungs. "My mother used to tell me about the life that she believed we lived after we die. Legends tell us it can come in one form or another. Sometimes we become animals, gifted to return to the land we love, leaving once our duties have been fulfilled. Sometimes, we join our families in a version of this world reserved only for the deceased."

Cassandra didn't know why she was telling her this, but she could see how Lia was speaking from the heart. No matter what, she was going to listen. "What do you believe?"

"I'm still trying to find that out. Ever since I lost her, my mind has not leaned much toward the idea of an afterlife. I get so wrapped around her death that I just forget that there is good in our world sometimes. But, I also want to believe that she isn't gone."

The brunette parted her lips. Her hand reached over to rest on top of Lia's – a silent gesture of support. It ignited one more smile on the woman's face before she took another breath and decided to visit something deeply personal to her.

"Sometimes – quite often, actually – I have this dream that I am back in our little community. Been having them ever since Leta and I were removed. I'm standing there, not as a kid, but as I am now. The skies are just as I remember them on that day; bright and hardly any clouds. It is almost like it was going to be any other day. The only difference is that there are no fawns to be seen. Just when I think I am alone, I see the hut that we lived in. I know my mother is in there, even if I cannot see her. I start walking closer to it, but my feet become heavy. I try to shift my body, but my powers are gone."

The glint of a tear could be viewed along the rim of her eye as the moon's light broke through the open window.

"It's not a scary feeling. In fact, I feel content. I'm not worried about my powers anymore. All I want to do is just get inside our dwelling and be with her. I can hear her voice. Sometimes it sounds like it's inside our home, and sometimes like it's inside my head. She's telling me to slow down, that I'm moving too fast. I tell her that I can hardly move my legs, but she tells me to be patient, and that I'll get there when I'm ready. I call out for Leta, but my mother tells me she's not ready to be here."

Lia's nostrils sniffled as she took in air, which caused Cassandra to tighten her hand around hers even more.

"As this dream went on over the years, however, I started to notice how I was beginning to get closer to our hut. One step at a time, little by little. Last night, I had the dream again. By this time, I finally managed to make it to the front of the hut. I put my hands out and grab the draped hides of fur that made the entrance. I can feel my mother's presence inside. She asks me if I am ready to join her, and the way she said it sounded strange, but I said I was. My hands suddenly grow as heavy as my legs were, but it doesn't stop me. I parted the covers as fast as I could."

"What did you see?" Cassandra asked, curious as to what could have awaited her.

"I woke up."

NOTES:

Hope you all enjoyed this follow-up chapter! I wanted to draw this chain of despair down to somewhat of a close, or at the very least, give Cassandra a sense of hope in the form of Lia. While they had initially made-up, there are things that just can't be fixed instantaneously.

Cassandra knows that she is still a work in progress, but progress is continuing to do the right thing, and not setting herself back. There's a friendship that has been formed, and one that needs to be repaired. Expect Leta to be making a comeback really soon, as both Cass and Lia seek to make things better and rebuild her trust.

This was a comforting chapter in the wake of all the hell Cassandra has gone through recently. The next few chapters will focus on further character development, as well as shedding more light on why Cassandra is here in the first place.

Two chapters in a single weekend and some big things happened! This story is set to go in so many different directions. I will only say that this is all about Cassandra's journey towards redemption and re-birth. She's going to face many things – but mainly herself. It's all about discovery and righting the wrongs of the past to build a better future.

The next chapter will come out on the 29th. In the meantime, Fragmented Fears will be there the fill the void with its next chapter.

Thanks again for all the support! No matter what, I am happy to have you all involved in this! Let me know what you think so far, or expect to happen! I've heard some really great theories, especially from some serious fans of this franchise. I hope you all stay safe and happy through the days ahead, and in the meantime, enjoy the rest of your weekend! 😊