Chapter 16: Arbovito

James glanced back at the tree before him, seeing it shimmering in full, glorious beauty. Then, he looked back at the former queen, who almost seemed as if she were on the brink of a horrendous breakdown. "Ember?" He gasped when she growled angrily, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt, yanking him toward her. "Ember, what are you-?"

"Why did I ever allow you to give me hope?!" she sobbed, anger evident on her face as her body shook with desperation and emotional fury. "Jaime is gone! I'm worthless! My family hates me or is dead! I don't have any friends!" She released him and gripped her hair, tugging a bit to feel something to distract her from her emotions, but it was useless. "Everyone only wants to use me, abuse me, or confuse me, and I'm done with this!" She grabbed James again, opened her mouth as if to say something, and then shoved him to the ground, storming in the other direction. "You can take care of Jaime, James, since you were so concerned about him. I'm through!"

James stood up, dusting off his clothing, as Isolde gently took hold of Jaime's arm to keep him steady. The Enchancian prince huffed as he reached out to Ember, grabbing her a little roughly by the arms but stilling her long enough to get her attention. "Ember, stop acting like that! Look, if you won't do this for yourself, at least do it for Jaime. I know you love him!"

A look of confused fear flooded her features as Ember tried to argue, "I don't-!"

"Of course you do!" James reached up to her, cradling her head in his hands. "No one goes through this much trouble—this much uncertainty, pain, and distance—to revive someone they don't care about."

Ember stayed silent, tears falling down her face, as she listened to James speak softly to her.

"You just can't admit to yourself that you're starting to actually feel things for people… You've been so sequestered in your own little world for so long that you haven't had the opportunity to look around you and find that there are good people who do care for you… You just have to give them a chance." His hands moved a bit to settle directly on her cheeks, causing her to pause and stare at him with wide eyes. "Ember… I think it's time you stopped lying to yourself. You're so afraid of change and looking weak that you're ignoring your heart. That's a dangerous thing to do… You'll only isolate yourself even more, and the last person who's shown you a glimmer of hope and affection will be gone."

"James…"

"You're Jaime's only chance of being brought back to his senses. Are you really going to let your pride win? Is that more important than your twin?" He noticed her faltering a bit, so he pressed, "Is it?"

Ember sobbed harder as James pulled her into a warm hug, allowing her to cry.

James whispered gently to her as he stroked her hair, narrowing his eyes toward Elias, who glared at him as he scoffed at the scene. He finally gently shuffled her back, asking, "What do you want to do, Ember?"

The former queen took a few moments to collect herself, wiping the tears from her face, as she looked up at James. She whispered, "I just… I want to help Jaime and give him a better life than he had. I put him through so much torment and hurt him so much in the past, and I can't erase that… I just want…what's best for Jaime."

Isolde stepped up to the duo, looking toward Ember especially. "Remember to be specific to avoid a negative outcome," she told her gently. While she still couldn't personally see the tree, it didn't matter. This journey hadn't been for her, after all…

James decided to try something. He moved in front of Ember and whispered, "Close your eyes." As she did so, he hugged her, whispering, "Everything you've done on this trip has been for Jaime. You've shown more kindness and consideration in three days than most people do in their entire lives…"

It took everything in Ember not to open her eyes or break down crying again as she listened to that voice that sounded so much like Jaime's…

"Let go of your fears, your anger, your doubts, and just believe that this tree exists. This opportunity to save your brother is real. The only person who can save Jaime is you, Ember…"

Ember sighed with a shuddering breath as she felt James release her, but she could tell that he was still standing in front of her.

James grasped her hands and turned Ember to directly face the tree. "Open your eyes, Ember."

She acknowledged his words, slowly peeling her eyes open, and a sharp gasp fell from her mouth as she stared at the Arbovito before her, taking in its radiant beauty and glowing form. "It's…"

"You can see it," James confirmed, smiling as she nodded in awe. "Make a wish," he told her kindly, placing his hand on the small of her back to urge her forward.

Ember slowly and unsurely walked up to the tree, placing her hand against the beautiful bark, which was surprisingly smooth to the touch.

To everyone's astonishment, it glowed a warm hue in response to her touch, and the tree finally became visible to all.

"STATE YOUR WISHES, EMBER, FORMER QUEEN OF EXCHANCIA."

To be continued…

Next Chapter: I Wish