Character: Annette Mural

Species: Lucario

Age: 40

Year of character creation: 2018

Story: An original member of the Wayfarers and mother to Agatha's classmate, Elijah Mural. She takes on leadership roles and finds passion for her son's interests. Her greatest loyalties remain with the Wayfarers and Claire Yanders.

When the fortunes weren't about herself or the fate of the world, they came easy, and at a very attractive price, apparently.

Audino Agatha set up the Reticle on a table next to the register with a card reading "Fortunes." While Mawile John reorganized his inventory, Agatha ran the register and read the fortune of everyone who walked in. Business stayed the same the first few shifts Agatha tried it out, but after a while, in came repeats, newcomers, and groups that each had to buy a wand or some other trinket so they could also get their readings. Business boomed.

The store only rested in the evenings. Agatha sat at her tiny table and sighed. A tray full of loot rested near her prosthetic feet.

"You good, kid?"

John's question snapped her out of a daze. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"What's eating you?"

"I feel like I'm selling out my, uh… My gifts."

John smiled. "Nothing wrong with selling your gifts to the world for a fair price. That's what a lot of people do. You're helping them and yourself by honing your craft." He picked up a gold coin and flashed a cheshire grin. "And you're helping me. So, by all means keep at it if you want to."

She did get less headaches than before now, at least. But something bubbled on her chest that she needed to get out. "I'm selling my family's gift out for trash…"

John's face twisted in a panic. He kept his nose pointed down and away so Agatha couldn't see, but he stiffened.

"Hey, uh, look…" John said quietly. "Your family used their gifts to help people. And I don't know how this whole- uh- thing works, per say. But every art form needs to be practiced. So consider this your training. And if you feel like that money isn't where it belongs, Claire knows good shelters." He lifted up his face and returned his attention to a row of shelves in front of him. "You're doing good. Promise."

The shop door rang. Agatha sucked in a breath and prepared a cordial greeting.

Greninja Damien walked in with a slow, tired wave. "Evening."

John continued to work. "Hey. What'll it be?"

"Actually, not here on business. Nothing's broken quite yet in the barracks." Damien met Agatha's eyes. "I'm actually here to extend you an offer, Neon Star."

Agatha raised her head. "Uh, what?"

"You've been invited to Castle Verity to read Queen Verity's fortune."

John leaned back to see her reaction. She didn't give much of one.

"Uh, why? I mean, what?" Agatha asked again.

"I've asked her to remain patient," Damien said, "but she insisted I extended the offer to you today. Her Majesty is a playful spirit."

"Kind of sudden to come in and drop that, isn't it?" John asked with a frown.

"She dropped it on me rather suddenly this morning, so, believe me, I know. Don't feel pressured to answer right away, or to say yes. You should talk it over for some time with people you trust." He turned away towards the door. "Your family has served as soothsayers for the crown before. That's all I came to say for today. Good evening."

"Uh huh."

Damien slinked back out the door. His offer weighed heavy. If Agatha could read Queen Verity's fortune, she had the chance to learn anything she could need to. On the other hand, she risked her not liking what Agatha saw. She instinctively wanted to say yes to Damien, but he acted so strangely about it, he put her off. A minute of silence passed.

"What do you think?" Agatha asked.

John took his time answering. "Uh, look kid. Queen Verity can look or act as nice as she wants to, but she's still got a crown on her head. It's fine for a leader to be a good person, but there's a reason I work with Damien and not the crown directly."

"Why's that?" she spat.

"She'll always do whatever benefits Verity the most. That makes her dangerous to people like us, who have something to offer. No matter how good or nice she is, crowns are dirty business. That's why Damien wasn't too keen on doing his part of it just then. There's no reason to put yourself out there for the crown."

"Uh… Didn't you just talk about helping people?"

"Sometimes, you have to help yourself." John set down a wand on a shelf with a clink. "I've, uh… Worked with all walks of life. Not all of them honored what I create these things for. I work with the crown because Damien holds his word."

"I don't get why any of this applies to something that matters for me."

"Give people an inch, you know how it goes. You're supposed to be doing book reports and downing ice cream cones over summer. Don't give people in power a taste of what you can do when you don't understand your purpose yet."

John sized up the risks pretty well himself. Nothing would stop the Queen from asking for more if she enjoyed the results Agatha brought in, or from moving to force. Still, the bait of all the answers she'd been looking for continued to taunt her.

Agatha thought about it on her way home, during dinner, and all the way to bed. Cinccino Hannah probably sensed it the whole time. Agatha could decline to give her any explanation, but it wouldn't be fair. Hannah didn't have a choice but to know Agatha was anxious, and she didn't want to pass on that anxiety to her. It wouldn't be fair.

She recounted the story when Claire started to snore.

"Maybe you could ask Simone?" Hannah suggested from her bed across the room. "He'd know if someone in your family had done this before."

That seemed likely. No way she was the only one to be asked for this from the crown, or to consider agreeing.

"If I go, would you come with me?" Agatha asked.

"I probably shouldn't," Hannah said. "They would sense the royal blessings from me, and your only explanation could seem rather unbelievable…"

"Ah." Idiot for asking. "Yeah."

"Besides." Hannah cast a far-off stare out the window to the curtain of stars above. "I don't belong there."

A fitful sleep.

Come morning, Agatha texted to meet Pikachu Simone in the park, his usual hangout. She found him staring at a plastic cup of tea in his paws on top of a picnic blanket when she walked up behind him. His ears flicked back and forth as she sat down.

In her text, she asked him for some kind of history lesson or such. When he asked how her fortunes were going, she segwayed into the overall details. His stare never broke from the grass.

"The Pharaohs have served as royal soothsayers before," Simone said. "And to be honest with you, it kind of turned out terribly every time."

"Why?" Agatha asked.

"If things weren't going perfectly, they intervened. Royals are magnets for self-fulfilling prophecies." He turned up to the sky. "I imagine that when you're so used to controlling everything around you and the lives of so many people, you can't deal with being powerless like everyone else is. The powerless always crave more, but the royals already have everything. Obsession comes around pretty fast. For them, the future is always a dark path." He stared at Agatha. "Are you hoping to figure some things out from reading her fortune?"

"I guess…"

"Well, sorry, but my advice." Simone's crystal orange eyes fluttered. "Stay away from the crown. They will never be able to handle reality like you can. And because of that, they always hurt themselves or others in the end."

Maybe someone with more context might see. Agatha may as well try the one person left who might understand.

Agatha sat down at a table in Claire's restaurant and waited till ten; Lopunny Luke had a five minute break before the lunch rush every day. Once he sat across from her, she burned the first two minutes talking about what happened.

"What kind of information do you think you'll find?" Luke asked.

"I mean…" Agatha leaned in. "Mesprit was in the Old World… The crown could have something to do with Legendary species going insane. Like Lugia, or Reshiram, or Alondra… Or what happened to my family. We can figure out everything without having to need to-" Her eyes flashed towards his missing ear; she couldn't control it. Everywhere he went, people looked at it and flashed sympathy.

"Figuring all of this out isn't a responsibility that should only be on your shoulders," Luke said. "We're only a few days out from trying to get past Arthur Acuity again. We'll get answers one way or the other. If you really want to do this, you can. But don't do it out of pity or because you feel responsible for things that you shouldn't. See through your feelings and make a strategic choice." Luke leaned back. "I don't have a fraction of the gift you have with fortunes. You could find something important, but don't risk yourself for it."

"But I can't just let this go."

"I know." Luke pushed his lips together. "But just keep in mind, you're not obligated to tell her everything that you see if you don't feel like it'd be for the greater good."

"What if all I see is a disaster? What should I do? Lie?"

"Don't lie. That'll come back to wreck you eventually. But only say what you think you need to. If you keep focused on your goal, I think this is something you could do. But, uh, you have to ask for Claire's permission. Have you told her yet?"

Agatha's gaze swept across the floor. "No."

He smiled. "Don't be shy. She won't be angry or anything." He stood up. "Want me to grab her?"

"You don't have to, uh…"

Luke had already walked away, and left Agatha to brace herself for denial. Claire would probably be nice and all about it, but no one would ever understand why she had to do this.

Within the next minute, Mightyena Claire replaced Luke sitting across from her at the table. She stayed silent while Agatha told it all over again, and only moved when Agatha finished.

"It sounds like you've already made up your mind," Claire said. "I'll go with you. When do you want to do this?"

Agatha forgot the short speech she prepared trying to convince her. "I mean- I, uh, like. I don't know. I could, uh, call?"

"Yes, I'll handle that. When do you want to do this? Today?"

"I mean, I guess? If they're, uh, available."

Agatha's heartbeat drummed in her ears watching Claire call Damien in front of her face. Damien did most of the talking on the other end, and without Claire's face changing, Agatha had no clue what was happening until she finished talking with him two minutes later.

"I'll take you when I leave at three," Claire said with a soft smile. "Sounds good?"

"Are you… sure?" Agatha asked slowly. "I mean, about letting me?"

"You don't need to be afraid of Queen Verity, Agatha. You have us, and even if the worst follows, we have our ways. Do what you need to do."

Agatha got lucky to have Claire.

Audino Agatha walked between Greninja Damien and Mightyena Claire across Castle Verity's bridge. The water below boasted extra power from recent rain. She pulled on the lower hem of her jacket to keep herself from shaking. Even though Damien offered to hold the Reticle for her, something stirred in her stomach and found its way to her head.

Over the side of the bridge, a green butterfly fluttered about towards the castle at the same pace they were walking. After a few moments, she could tell Damien and Claire couldn't see it; it lacked a glossy shadow on the water like she'd expect. After what Luke said, she didn't know whether to mention it or not. Maybe later.

The hall past the front doors had been decorated with streamers and summery wreaths. Velvet carpet, depicting midsummer landscapes in various styles, traced the path up a set of stairs to the throne room. Agatha must've only seen the castle in between changing styles before. This time, it almost reminded her of home, except that even the shined walls looked too expensive to touch.

"Her Majesty held important meetings today," Damien explained. "But she made time, and appreciates you for coming today."

"How long will we have here?" Claire asked.

"An hour, more or less. Do you think you'll need more?"

"It's usually just a minute or two," Agatha said, but she'd never performed fortunes on anyone this influential. The extra time could help. "But an hour is fine."

"Good then. Through here."

Damien knocked and opened a pair of doors twice as large as him, and thrice as Agatha.

The ceiling quadrupled in height. Artwork depicted Mesprit dancing among wildflowers. Her tails stuck out from far-away bushes like leaves, and her raised hands cusped the Veritan crown in front of the sun. According to history class, it was commissioned three centuries ago by an unknown artist. Not many depictions of Mesprit existed, and with so few allowed in the throne room, not many knew what Mesprit really looked like. Agatha let her jaw drop a few inches to fit in with Claire, but she already knew what Mesprit looked like. That artist did well.

The rose-gold Veritan throne perched on an altar three marble stairsteps above the rest of the room. The Serperior, Karol Verity, sat next to her Samurott husband, Louis Verity. From high windows, sunlight reflected off the floor and tainted her smile pink. Shallow streams gurgled on a bed of smooth stones past the altar on both sides and disappeared under the back wall. Two dozen members of the Veritan guard stood along the walls. The Veritan banner hung on their scarves.

Samurott's throne lacked the pink hue of Serperior's. It must've meant she had the royal blessing between them.

In what seemed like ornate guest chairs, Typhlosion Percival sat with his wife, Medicham Kelly. On the opposite side, Mightyena Claude tilted his chin up. Agatha froze under their stares.

"What's all this?" Claire asked quietly.

"Pardon the extra guests," Serperior Karol said. "Lord Valor and Lord Acuity were meeting with me for unrelated reasons. They can step out if you would like."

Claire glanced at Agatha's face and back. "This is fine."

Damien guided them to a plain pair of seats in front of a short table. He stood off to the side and waited with his arms crossed.

"There's very much no pressure," Karol said. "Percival here doesn't even believe in fortunes."

Percival raised his paw and snorted. "I said I don't have any experience to make me believe in fortunes. I haven't chosen whether or not I believe them."

"I hope you don't tell that to doctors." Karol's tail swished in a little circle. "Now, Agatha, I hear that certain objects can help you with your fortunes? Is this true?"

"Y-yes." Agatha's voice didn't carry. She cleared her throat and spoke louder. "Yes."

"Then we have something that may be something of a treat."

A Mismagius floated with a neatly folded cloth in front of her. She set it down on the table in front of Agatha and returned to her position with the rest of the guard. Agatha unfolded it in individual motions. A gold spike with jagged edges, carved to curve like fire, poked out, then another, seven in total.

She could've started Agatha off with something less stressful than the crown. Agatha wiped her paws on her jacket and forced a smile. The same green butterfly from the bridge wafted between them, and it took all of Agatha's patience to ignore it. Looking at invisible objects this close to the crown wouldn't make for a good picture. Rather than touch the crown, Agatha moved the Reticle behind it and gazed.

Agatha found herself on a slow trip to a field of wilted sunflowers. Autumn settled into trees in the distance. Agatha struggled to see beyond; even drooping, the sunflowers still stood taller than her. A pained scream came from somewhere far away. The sunflowers burst into flames.

"Where is Lancelot Acuity?"

The throne room had been torn apart. Gentle snow drifted in through holes in the wall. The Veritan guard had been cut, bruised, and beaten down into unconscious piles. Mesprit's face sat as rubble at the foot of the throne.

Serperior Karol sprawled out on top of the shattered throne. Furret Abigail stood over her with Sacred Treasure Lobera pointed at her face. A dull gray replaced its silver, and thorns sprouted across it in a spiral. A Compass Rose had been carved out of her dirty leather cape.

Karol spat at her face. Abigail tilted her head and struck back.

Abigail walked away with the Veritan crown and its Valorina twin bouncing on her tail. Karol convulsed, screamed, clutched at her face and howled curses that transformed into pants and sighs.

Agatha blinked at the Reticle and rubbed the side of her head. What could possibly happen between now and then for that to happen?

"What have you seen?" Karol asked.

"Abigail…" Agatha answered.

"She marries into the crown!?" Karol asked with a wide smile.

"No," Agatha said. "Abigail, uh."

Karol frowned. "Yes?"

She would probably want to know this. "Abigail marches on this throne room and storms the Veritan guard with Sacred Treasure Lobera. She demands to know where Lancelot Acuity is and takes the crown by force."

Shocked eyes and silence all around. Something in Karol's face changed. The green butterfly started to spread specks of verdant light with every flap of its wings.

"Lancelot Acuity?" Karol asked. "Is that what you said?"

"Y-yes?" Agatha replied.

Karol remained quiet, "Take her."

"Karol?" Percival asked.

"Majesty!?" Damien yelped.

"Damien."

Agatha shared a look with Damien, and it became clear neither of them knew what to do. The green specks of light swirled into a storm and flashed bright.

Agatha blinked at the Reticle and rubbed the side of her head.

"What have you seen?" Karol asked.

Agatha whipped her head around and scanned everyone's faces. Somewhere between now and that flash, the shock and confusion and Karol's convicted frown vanished. The situation reset.

"Uh, nothing yet." Agatha swallowed. She needed to find something else. Anything else. "There's a lot to parse through."

Karol smiled. "It is rather heavy."

Agatha didn't enter this situation thinking there were answers that could get her and Claire thrown in a dungeon. What she saw hadn't been a vision, at least of her own making. That butterfly did something.

Agatha looked elsewhere. Countless veins showed a view from the sky, and others, a field of ice in the middle of the sea. In every place, a Dragonite with holes in his wings and platinum eyes. Everywhere she looked, Lancelot Acuity was there. She couldn't find any path without him.

"I'm sorry," Agatha said, "but there are too many possibilities surrounding this crown for my skill level. It might be simpler if I were to just read your fortune instead."

Karol nodded. "Of course, whatever works best for you."

Agatha recentered and tried again. Her wandering mind took her to a clear seafront. Superior Karol stared down at a Manaphy's back.

"This life isn't meant for you," Karol said, glancing around. "Choosing it won't change anything."

"The life you wanted for me is gone." Manaphy turned around and folded her arms. "Now get off my ship. I don't know you."

This vision didn't come clearly. Agatha let go of a strained breath when it cut short. It gave her the sense it would be a long time until this vision came about.

"You have a daughter?" Agatha asked. "A Manaphy?"

Karol's head reared back. She shared a glance with her husband and the other royalty.

"I do," Karol answered quietly. "As with our sons, it is a secret until her sixteenth birthday. I trust you two won't let information leave this room."

"Of course," Agatha said. Claire nodded with her.

"Her identity had been compromised by an unruly bunch, so I sent her to live with an explorer around two years ago. Though, that explorer's recent, eh, activities, in Valor is another matter. What did you see?"

"I saw you arguing with each other on a ship of some kind, but it was from too far in the future to see details."

"Claire?" Typhlosion Percival said. "I know you were friends with Chad Longfellow. You didn't tell her, did you?"

"Not a word, Majesty." She tightened her lips. "I wouldn't do that to a friend. This is real."

Percival collapsed back into his seat with the same expression.

"The ability of the Pharaohs has always been real, Percival," Karol said. "But I've heard that it can be stressful on youth. I wouldn't ask you any more for today, Agatha."

Agatha couldn't leave an opportunity like this without finding something important. "I've been practicing. I'd like to try one more time with the crown, if you'll let me."

"Take all the time you need. We're well under our time here."

"Thank you."

Agatha leaned down, angled herself so Karol and the crown were behind the Reticle, and came at it with everything.

Agatha ended up on stairs this time, with lush trees on either side. The path back trailed down to a city of skyscrapers tinted orange by sunset. The path up led to a distant mountain coated in green and topped with white.

"I call it the Origin Point," Luke said. "All of the bent reality revolves around it. I've stumbled across it once."

"If you enter, you'll be put in the center of what looks like an abandoned city. There'll be a mountain nearby. At the base of that mountain is a large entryway inside. The sky will have an incredible sunset.

"That mountain you saw was hollowed out over a few thousand years in the Old World, and inside, they built a palace called Stargazer Castle. Whatever made Reshiram, Lugia, and Palkia go berserk is probably inside, and until someone's strong enough to get there, things will only go downhill from here."

Despite the height, Agatha didn't feel any wind or hear noise of any kind. When she looked closer at the clouds, they weren't moving. She took a step forward.

At the end of a hallway, a silver set of double doors stood, like the ones in Castle Verity. The Valorian, Veritan, and Acuitan banners had been engraved in a triangle on them. Agatha reached out and pushed. They stuck at times, and weighed more than anything she'd ever tried to move, but she muscled through.

Three pedestals appeared. On each sat a golden ring with pink, blue, and yellow gemstones. Agatha stood in the middle of them. She chose to step towards the pink ring, reached out, and touched it. It nearly burned. A tough paw shook her shoulder.

"Agatha?" Claire asked. "Sorry. Are you alright?"

Steam rose in front of Agatha's nose. The Reticle took on a light red tint like steel in a smithy. Damien and a Golduck stood ready to fire water.

"Does that usually happen?" Damien asked.

"No," Agatha said quietly. "S-sorry. The Veritan crown is too intense for me right now."

"It would seem so," Karol added. "Someone cool that, please?"

Typhlosion Percival stood. "I've got it." He waved his paw. "It's no trouble."

Agatha looked up at the painting while Percival took the Reticle and cooled it in the water near the throne. She traced each of Mesprit's arms down to her hands. She wore the ring on her right.

Agatha pointed. "Your Majesty, what's that ring Mesprit is wearing?"

Karol stared until her eyes locked onto it. "Oh, you're not the first to ask. Unfortunately, that was a creative liberty taken by the artist. We don't know its true meaning."

Samurott Louis leaned towards Karol. "I think you're forgetting something, dear."

Karol's eyes pinched. "What?"

Louis smiled and turned his head up. "That painting was done by a member of our guest's family."

"In the first story, they say that at each of the lakes, the royal blessing took the form of a ring, and that whoever wore one of them was bestowed with the royal blessing, and that they couldn't take the ring off if they wanted to. That's what people say happened to Azelf, Uxie, and Mesprit."

Simone's story from the field trip. The royal blessings incarnate in rings, worn by Azelf, Uxie, and Mesprit. They weren't a part of their nature like everyone always thought. They were created by somebody with a purpose, maybe even inside Stargazer Castle. For all this time, they only affected the lives of royalty. They were tradition, and held as highly important, but why? Agatha found herself thinking back to Lugia's influence.

What did happen when all of the blessings came together? Hannah was the first of two steps to bring them together, and she ended up surrounded by Lugia and enemies, trapped in the Old World. When Agatha asked about her own time, her memories sounded foggy almost. The stories Simone told were banned for trying to keep them apart.

All of this could only mean some kind of force was trying to bring the blessings together, and another wanted to keep them separate.

"May I ask a question?" Agatha asked.

"Of course," Karol said.

"If I drew something for you, could you tell me if you recognize it?"

"Certainly. Someone, bring paper."

A minute later, an Accelgor returned with paper and pencil. Though time passed, Agatha remembered the symbol she saw in Abigail's fortune by heart; the three banners in a strange combination. While she drew, the royalty present entertained themselves with chitchat. Percival set the dried, cooled Reticle back in front of Agatha as she drew. His eyes glanced over her work on his way back to his seat.

Agatha finished, rose, and held the paper up against her chest. Karol leaned down to look at it.

"Do you recognize this banner from anywhere?" Agatha asked. "It's from another reading."

"I can't say that I do," Karol said. "While we practice unity, as you can see, our individuality is important as well. I can only say that isn't a banner we would make ourselves." She leaned back. "What kind of vision was it?"

"It's, uh, foggy. Thank you for having me today."

Karol looked past Agatha. "Lord Acuity?" Breathless.

Agatha didn't let something slip, did she? Typhlosion Percival stared past Agatha with Karol. She turned.

A Dragonite with platinum eyes and holes in his wings stood in the doorway. When he entered, Agatha zoomed in on a nasty, red and black burn in his chest. He scanned the room left to right like a book. The green butterfly circled over his head.

"You didn't tell me you were visiting today," Karol said. "Did you know we were having this meeting?"

"Yes," he answered. "I did."

Agatha felt like night fell when his shadow passed over her. He sized up her drawing as he walked by. His eyes brows creased just like his brother's when they set on the Veritan crown.

"Charades?" he asked.

"We were in the middle of a fortune reading," Karol said.

"Fortunes," he repeated. "I see."

Karol huffed and smiled. "I imagine you still see it as a game, nonetheless."

Lancelot looked up and copied her face. "No. Readings like these are very serious business, especially when prescribed by a Pharaoh." He looked at Agatha; her face twitched. "And you're Agatha?"

Agatha swallowed. "Yes." Her voice came out a shadow of its usual self.

"I had my fortune read by your grandmother when I was your age."

"Really?" Karol chirped. "And what did she say?"

He sauntered away, towards Typhlosion Percival. "That I would never take the Acuitan crown, leaving only two, now that Amadeus Acuity is dead."

Percival's face broke. He shot to his feet. "What did you say?"

He continued unperturbed. "He fell in the battle with Glass Reshiram, off the Abujan coast."

Lancelot stopped and looked at his brother. Mightyena Claire placed a paw on Agatha's shoulder. She reached to push it away on instinct, but the grip was tight. Claire was protecting her.

"Congratulations on your coronation," Lancelot's gaze drilled into Percival's forehead. "I'm sure father is looking up at you."

Karol's tail swished. Mightyena Claude watched Lancelot leave in silence. Percival forced his face to neutral, but Agatha could feel him close to bursting. With every footstep, someone flinched. Agatha jumped when the door slammed shut with a flick of his wrist. The room waited until he was gone, then waited some more.

"Thank you for your time Agatha," Karol said. "You're dismissed."

Claire took a short bow, took the Reticle, and guided Agatha out. Greninja Damien followed.

"What was that?" Agatha asked, hushed. Claire didn't answer.

"Sorry for that," Damien said. "I'll walk you both home, if you would like."

"No need," Claire said. "Thank you, Damien. We'll talk later."

"Of course."

Damien saw them to the bridge, waved, and left. The green butterfly flew away from the lake and off into the sky. Agatha breathed out.

"Let's not do that again," Claire said.

"Yeah."

"Are you alright, Agatha? What did you see?"

"Oh, I'll, uh, tell you when we're home."

Claire's eyes returned to the walk home. "Alright."

Agatha put it off until dinner.

Sandwiches offered an excuse to slow down how fast Agatha told everything, including the butterfly. She felt dumb even talking about it, but Mightyena Claire and Cinccino Hannah didn't comment. They looked in random places while she finished explaining everything she saw. A new TV set on silent splashed gray and white light across the room.

"I think it means the royal blessings were created by someone," Agatha said quietly. "With a purpose in mind."

"For how known the blessings are, not many even know what the first lords looked like," Claire said. "If they were created and put onto them, I don't think anyone without knowledge from beings like Lugia or Reshiram would know. It's like it's all being purged."

"Do you think my parents were involved?" Hannah asked.

Claire leaned towards Hannah. "What's that, dear?"

Gray flashed across Hannah's face. "Do you think my parents were brought together on purpose? That I'm just step one? Or that my mother was just in the way, and that's why all of this happened?" Her voice cracked.

"Hannah, dear… Neither of your lives are going to be decided by other people's choices for you." She glanced at Agatha. "It's decisions like the ones you made today, and the brave ones you plan to make tomorrow and the day after. To keep trying." She took their plates and set off to clean. "Let's figure it out why together."

Agatha and Hannah shared a nod.