I changed my username :D
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Out on the battlefield, two different portals opened up; one for the hellish creatures and the other for Lord Farlen and his people. He met my gaze and with a final wave goodbye, began leading the elves into it, along with his prized dragon Rahul. Across from them, wounded gargoyles raced into their portal as they were pursued by the supernaturals I arrived with. They had lost the war and that brought even more comfort to my heart.
There were only a few casualties from our side but a majority of the ground was surfaced in beastly gargoyles, the monstrous Cerberus that soaked in its own pile of blood, and the dragon Rahul miraculously defeated. The supernaturals began to encircle us and held nothing but fulfillment in their eyes. All of the wendigoes survived the fight, which I didn't doubt they would. Scar stood contemptuously and although he had little to no soul, I could sense something new in him. I could sense something new in all of our allies.
"You guys fought well. I mean, come on... we won for crying out loud!" I celebrated. There was a loud uproar as every creature cheered victoriously. "I can't thank you guys enough."
"Bella," Kade whispered in my ear. He directed my attention towards the castle doors where Galendale was standing patiently. The smile I had suddenly disappeared... but why? The wizard held the coin with an expectant grin on his face, which I could only assume meant success. So why was I upset?
He began to approach us and my heart randomly started to thump faster and harder against my chest. I felt... confused, startled, and... overwhelmingly sad. When he was standing inches away from me and grinning ear to ear, tears stained my eyes. "Are you ready to go home, Bella?" he asked. That's what these feelings were for... I wasn't ready.
Kade must've noticed the look in my eyes because he turned me towards him and gripped my shoulders. "It's okay, Bella. You've worked so hard for this. You've waited so long. I'm sure your family is waiting for you," he whispered.
"But..." I couldn't finish the sentence. I didn't even know what I wanted to say. I looked at all three of them; they were smiling but it was easy to see that the smiles were forced. They were just as upset about this as I was. I didn't want to go back if it meant not seeing them again, but I didn't want to never see my family again, either.
"Kade," my voice quivered and a tear rolled down my cheek. I was going to miss him most of all. I'd experienced love for the first time, a deep love and admiration for someone who just so happened to be him. He never left my side... and now I was about to leave his.
"Shh," he hushed as he pulled me into a tight hug. Maeve and Odis joined in and we stayed in the group hug for awhile. The two eventually pulled away but Kade didn't let go. Neither did I. "I love you, Bella," he whispered. Another tear rolled down my cheek.
"I love you too... Kade. Please don't ever forget me," I mumbled.
"Oh please, I couldn't forget a girl like you." He ended the hug and brushed the hair out of my face. "Have fun in the future. Find you a guy that treats you better than I do." For some reason that sentence made me very angry, but not towards him of course. Just the thought of being with someone else shredded me.
I don't know what came over me but I leaped into his arms and planted a passionate kiss on his lips. With no hesitation or resistance, he kissed me back and hugged my waist tightly. There was something about his touch that got my heart racing, that sparked something inside of me. And based on the way he held me, I could tell he didn't want me to leave, not at all. When we finally pulled away, I turned to Odis and Maeve with tears rolling down my cheeks.
"I'm gonna miss you guys so much... all of you," I cried. Maeve, who was already crying too, hugged my neck and wept without words.
"It was nice knowing ya, kid. We're gonna miss you too," Odis said as he also gave me a farewell hug.
My eyes met with Kade's again as I stepped away. Nobody was smiling now.
"I can't express to you guys how thankful I am to have met you. I can guarantee you that you won't be forgotten and neither will your sacrifices. The only reason I'm able to go home now is because of you and I... I just can't thank you enough. I love all of you," I sobbed.
"I hope life treats you well, Bella. We won't be alive during your time but until we're due... your memory will live on," Maeve muttered. Just thinking about what she said made my head hurt. "We love you too."
"You've got something special, girl. Don't let it go to waste. I'll come back to haunt your ass if you let Hell freeze over," Odis teased, but I sensed some seriousness in his tone.
Kade was silent but behind his eyes I saw thoughts swarming his head. He wanted to say so much and his face was tense while he held back tears. I wanted to tell him everything was going to be okay but I didn't know that for a fact. How was I supposed to know if we were all going to go on our merry way once I left? How did I know something worse wouldn't come to haunt them or me? It was all so intimidating.
"Bella?" Galendale put his hand on my shoulder. He had waited so patiently for all of us to say our goodbyes... but now it was time.
He placed the coin into my palm and smiled at me. "It was an honor to meet you. You remind me so much of your great-grandmother. She would be proud," he soothed. I was flattered to hear that but it wasn't my main focus right now. I only managed a half smile, enough to show him his comment meant something to me.
I turned around and gave everybody a final hug and gave Galendale the signal. This was it; I was about to go home. I was overjoyed but at the same time I wanted to cry. This just didn't seem right.
"Close your eyes and relax. You're too tense, I can't concentrate," he ordered as he closed his own eyes. I did as he said and allowed him to cuff his old, wrinkled hands around mine. I gripped the coin tight, scared that something might happen to it if I didn't. I shook for a few seconds but finally settled myself down to make his job easier, though I wasn't quite sure what he was planning to do. But then he began to whisper something and his grip tightened. It became warm and almost... nonexistent. It felt ghostly but I didn't dare open my eyes. As his whispers continued, my skin began to feel prickly and my muscles sore. The air around me became so thin that I couldn't breathe, and I suddenly gained a sense of déjà vu from when I collapsed in the attic. The prickly feeling did indeed turn into the feeling of actual needles piercing my skin and my lungs became clogged with something mysterious. It felt as if the world around me was dissolving when my head began to spin. Not once did I open my eyes, though, not once did I try to inhale another breath of the stingy air that engulfed me.
Eventually, I couldn't feel anything but the coin in my palm. Galendale's grip was gone and the moment my head stopped spinning was the moment I lost consciousness.
***
Cold air suddenly filled my lungs.
A feeling of serenity flooded my body and I jerked awake. My purple eyes frantically searched for some kind of danger but there was nothing to be found. Instead, I lay staring at the ceiling of our attic in some kind of stupor.
I almost couldn't believe it. I felt overwhelmingly relieved, incredibly happy, and began to laugh for some reason. As I sat up and brushed hair out of my face, I glanced down and realized I was wearing the modern day outfit that I was dressed in before my unexpected trip. But the change made my smile fade. I started thinking about the gang and became extremely depressed, missing them so greatly that I was sure I felt my heart crack.
I scrambled to my feet and brushed myself off. Technically, they're dead now. God, it hurts.
"Bella! Are you still up there? You've been up there for hours!" I heard my mom call up from the hallway. I suddenly thought about nothing else but my family. My family!!!
"Mom?!" I exclaimed. I sprinted for the stairs and almost tripped down them as I hurried to jump into my mom's arms. She was startled when I did and awkwardly began to pat my head when I started bawling. I wasn't quite sure why I was crying. Maybe it was because I was so happy to see her. I completely ignored the fact that I was mad with her and Dad before.
"Honey... what's wrong?" she asked. "Everything okay?"
"Yes, Mom. Everything's just fine," I cried, squeezing her to the point where she had to tell me to loosen up.
I heard footsteps approaching from the kitchen, heavy footsteps that I recognized in a heartbeat. My dad peeped his head around the corner, worry in his eyes as he watched the engagement. As he carefully approached, he asked, "Honey, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" I leaped into his arms too, squeezing him tighter than I did Mom. He could take, though, and he sure as hell did.
"I'm sorry, Dad," I wept. My mom put her hand on my back. "I'm sorry to you too, Mom. I was such an idiot. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you like I did. I know that now. I love you guys so much and if selling the house and moving is what we need to do then let's do it. Your house, your rules. I won't try to take charge anymore." I'm not sure if they heard everything I said. I was crying too much to speak every word clearly and all I could think about was how foolish I had been. They were just trying to do what's best for our family and I was such a bitch before to realize that. I was too wrapped up in my own desires to acknowledge what needed to be done. I was rude to my parents, especially Dad who tried so hard to fix my feelings. He was a good man and Mom a good women. They were the best parents I could ask for and thanks to the hell I've been through I've realized how lucky I am to have them.
God, I missed them so damn much. There's nothing like the comfort of a parent's arms.
"Oh, Sweetheart... it's alright. You were upset and that's okay. I'm glad you've come to your senses but I have great news," Dad soothed. I look up at him, tears staining my cheeks.
"Yeah?"
"I just got a call from my boss. You remember those advanced labs that they have in Houston? The ones I needed to work at in order to take the CEO job?" I nodded slowly. "Well our company has gained the sufficient funds to start building them here... in Boston! We don't have to move!" He sounded genuinely happy, like this was the greatest news he had ever received. I smiled but I wanted to hit something... I wanted to hit something hard.
You mean to tell me that I went into that damn attic, uncovered a mystical coin, traveled back in time, went through hell (even literally) just to find out that I didn't even have to move when I came back?!?! If that had been the case in the first place I wouldn't have had to go into that stupid attic! It was all for nothing!
I calmed myself before I became too furious. It wasn't my parents' fault, especially not my Dad's. I blamed his idiotic boss for not giving us this information until now.
"That's great, Dad!" I exclaimed with false but yet true excitement. "That's really great..."
"Now, did something happen up there, Honey? You seem pretty shaken up," he worried. I smiled brightly again and shook my head, wiping away my remaining tears.
"No... nothing happened," I lied. "I just had a lot of time to think." He grinned and patted my head, finally pulling away from our hug. I studied him and Mom with weary eyes and then jumped in for a group hug.
"You guys are the best parents. I love you so much," I mumbled into their shoulders. (I know it sounded cliche but I couldn't help it.) I then whispered very quietly, possibly low enough for them not to hear, "I missed you". Thankfully, they didn't; I didn't need any questions on why I was saying something like that. Apparently, only a few hours had passed here while I was gone and for me to say I missed them would probably worry the shit out of them.
"Honey, you look awful... no offense. Dinners almost ready. Come sit at the table and tell me what you found going through the boxes," Mom said. My clothes weren't torn, I had zero wounds, and I wasn't weak whatsoever. She must've been talking about how I've been crying. But when she mentioned what I found in the attic, my eyes shot down to the coin still clutched in my palm. I gave her and Dad the signal to wait for me, that I'd be in the kitchen in a few minutes. Then when the coast was clear, I sprinted back up the stairs and scrambled to the collection my great-grandmother had left behind. It sat just like it had before, just like I had left it. I hurriedly placed the coin back in its place and shoved everything back into the floor boards. After much searching, I found an old hammer and nails that belonged to my dad and used both to hammer the board back into place, wiping every trace of it being disturbed.
No one else was going to touch that coin if I had anything to do with it.
When I arrived in the kitchen, Mom, who had just put pork chops into the oven, questioned me about the hammering. I just briefly mentioned a loose nail and she said nothing else of it. Dad was sitting across from me, scribbling numbers into a notebook which he always did before dinner. It was for his work, though I wasn't quite sure what they were about. Meanwhile, Daniel and Lilley rushed into the living room (which was directly connected to our kitchen) and my heart filled with so much joy when I saw them. I wasn't able to stop myself from going after them and pulling them into a hug. Too young to question it, they hugged back and giggled when I started to tickle them. Apparently they were engaged in a game of tag so I decided to join in. Mom scolded us and told us to watch the furniture, but she didn't put a stop to the fun, thankfully. I wanted to spend time with my siblings for a change, especially after all that had happened.
I got lost in the excitement, in the reunion, in the happiness. I almost forgot about the ones I had left behind for a moment, but the pain in the back of my mind wouldn't let me. I didn't think I'd ever be able to forget them...
There was a sudden knock on our door and for some reason I was startled. It was loud... hard. The five of us eyed each other suspiciously since no one ever knocked on our door. We had a doorbell for a reason and it honestly wasn't hard to notice. Daniel and Lilley eventually carried on with their game of tag but Mom signaled me with her head.
"Bella, go see who that is," she instructed. I fixed my hair and neatened my clothes since the two rug-rats had really gotten the best of me. I found myself still smiling from the fun as I approached the door and listened to another impatient knock. Then... I opened it.
"B...Bella?"
Have you ever had that moment where you had to take a double look? To make sure you were seeing things right? Maybe it was because you couldn't believe what you were seeing or you thought you were honestly going insane, just like I did right just then.
My smile disappeared but it wasn't because of sadness... just disbelief. That voice, oh God hearing that deep voice made my heart want to explode.
"How... why... what the actual hell," was all I could say. Those three faces, those three faces that starred so appallingly at me received the same look in return. There's no way this was happening. There's no way I could be this lucky.
"What the hell are you guys doing here?!" I exclaimed. No one answered my question. Kade was the first one to hug me, then Odis and Maeve joined in. They squeezed me tight and didn't let go until I complained about not being able to breathe. "How did you guys get here?!"
They all exchanged glances and shrugged.
"We don't know," Kade said. "Right when Galendale's magic began to work on you, we all started to experience the same thing and before we knew it, we were tossed in the middle of the street just up from here. We saw the 'for sale' sign in this yard so we thought it'd be worth a shot to see if it was you." I found myself smiling again, although I shouldn't have been with the kind of conditions they were in. They still had all the wounds from the fight and were slouched over in pain unlike before. The time travel must've made everything worse.
"You guys! Come in, my mom's fixing dinner. We have stuff that can fix you up too," I said, even though they all tended to heal quickly. I stepped aside to allow them in; I was about to follow until I noticed something falling towards me through the air.
It was a sheet of paper and I caught it when it came close enough. My eyes scanned the contents and I wanted to both laugh and cry.
It said:
Dear, Bella
I'm sure you've noticed your gift by now. I will honestly say THIS is my final gift to you and your family. I can tell that your friends love you very much and the pain of parting like you had originally planned would be very hard to bear. So I sent them along with you. I hope the times you have together are filled with more love and laughter.
Sincerely,
G
My god, Galendale. What a wily wizard you are indeed, I thought to myself. This was by far one of, if not the most amazing gift I had ever received. I silently thanked the wizard, shoved the note into my pocket, and rushed inside with the others.
They stood awkwardly in the living room, staring my family down as they received the same in return. I quickly jumped to introductions and thought of lies one after the other. I introduced my family first and then informed them on who these strange visitors were.
I decided to get the harder part over with and introduced Kade as a new boyfriend that I 'forgot' to mention to my parents. (It didn't really fit in with the whole moving thing but apparently it didn't cross my parents' minds.) My dad was quick to jump on that subject and put on his fake smile. The questions that poured out of his mouth were hard to answer but we got through them and Kade didn't have a problem with any of it. Odis and Maeve were introduced as some of his friends that I had also recently been acquainted with. That part didn't seem as important to my parents. They were too hooked on Kade.
To further explain why they looked so beat up, I lied and said they were mugged which really worried Mom since she thought we lived in a safe area. But her anxiety didn't block out her sympathy and our special guests were welcomed to our dinner. They cleaned themselves up, with Maeve borrowing some of my clothes and Odis and Kade borrowing some of Dad's. We bandaged the wounds that needed them and all sat down to dinner with growling stomachs.
"So, Kade, " Dad said as he took a bite of his pork chop. "Tell me, do you live with your parents?" The four of us froze for a second and Kade tensed a bit as he sat down his fork.
"Uh... no, sir," he replied with a gentle and patient smile. "My parents," he paused for a second, "my parents are dead. I live on my own." Dad seemed oddly pleased with that response, but also sympathetic of course. He must've enjoyed the maturity and responsibility Kade had to 'live on his own'.
"Oh, my... if you don't mind me asking... how did they die?" Mom asked. I closed my eyes in awkwardness and then quickly butted in so Kade didn't say some abnormal excuse. Who knows what kind of early 1900s accident he would've thought up?
"Car accident!" I accidentally blurted. Kade glanced quizzically at me from the corner of his eye. I could tell he didn't know what that meant. I apologized to Mom for interrupting but she said nothing of it and continued eating.
After dinner, our group of four went outside to have a private chat, away from the family. I showed them Galendale's letter and they seemed pleased with its contents.
"So what now? Do we go on another journey to get you guys back home?" I asked teasingly but seriously at the same time. They all chuckled sarcastically.
"Hell no," Kade grumbled. "First of all, we... I have you now... for good. Second of all, another journey would be a pain in the ass. And third of all... I think we might like it in the future. You guys seem to have it a lot easier than we did."
"You haven't seen anything yet," I told him.
"I wouldn't imagine so," Odis said as he eyed our front yard.
"Right," Maeve added. "Plus it's nice to be able to spend proper time with you, Bella. We can do girl things without pesky demons hot on our tails." I smiled with delight. That sounded great...
"Well first of all, welcome to the future! Now you guys obviously have no place to stay so I'll come up with an excuse to let you stay at our place until we're able to get you apartments or something. Sound good?" I inquired. Everyone nodded and we drifted back inside to relax for the first time in ages. We'd all sleep good tonight and nothing was going to mess that up. We were here to stay, here to remain friends, to remain a family. Forever was in our future and that was something I most definitely was looking forward to.
It was nice to finally be out of the dark.
THE END
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OMG THIS IS THE END!!! 51 CHAPTERS!!! I just want to thank all of you who read and/or voted on every chapter. All of you have been a big help to me and finishing this story is something I'm very proud of. I'm gonna be posting more stories (hopefully more than one at a time) that I've been working on and possibly a sequel to Into the Dark :D. But once again thank you guys so much and stick around for more stories that I'm excited to bring to you!!
-Ash