Page 94 of Into The Green

My mother started dressing herself. She bathed herself. She chose what she wanted to eat. Ang was beside herself with relief, her very breathing seeming easier. To me, it didn't seem like much. But I guessed to her who had been dealing with next to nothing for so long, it was huge.

"They're here," Jasper said, standing in the doorway to my room while I fretted over my clothes, something I did very rarely. But the occasion called for it.

Jade, Doyle, and Alex were coming for a visit. Just a visit, Jasper had emphasized, making sure I didn't get my hopes up too high. He said Jade was doing better, but that she wanted to stay at Baba Yaga's. She found peace there. And Doyle, the loving, amazing, selfless man he was, built a small hut ten feet from Baba Yaga's property line, never leaving. Most nights, Jade would walk out of Baba Yaga's and fall into his arms, trusting him to keep her safe, to help ease the memories.

To be perfectly honest, I was nervous about seeing Jade. I was worried I would do the wrong things, say the wrong things, not be the support system she might need.

"Stop," Jasper said, walking up behind me, wrapping an arm around my waist and settling his chin on my shoulder. "You be you. If you try to be anything else, she will know it's not genuine and she'll resent it. She doesn't need you to coddle her and be her therapist. She needs her friend. And, to her, that means you be a little blunt, a little hardass, but do it with love. She misses you, Cece."

I nodded, swallowing hard, feeling intolerably stupid in the white pants and tunic that seemed to be standard ware for the Light Court.

"Leave it to a chick to worry about her fucking clothes," Jasper said, goading me on purpose.

"Leave it to a guy to be a dick," I shot back.

"You ready?"

I exhaled hard. "Yes."

We walked out into the courtyard to find Jade half-folded into Doyle's side, his arm around her shoulders, making her slump just the slightest bit, but I had the feeling that she enjoyed the pressure. Alex was talking to Ang, her demeanor easy, as if the two had known each other at some point.

We walked up behind them and if I hadn't been watching so close, I would have missed the second Jade seemed to sense my presence. Her body straightened, drawing Doyle's attention. But she wasn't looking at him. Her head twisted over her shoulder and found me. Without even a hint of hesitation, her face broke into a smile that managed to knock down all my insecurities. She untangled from Doyle as I untangled from Jasper, both men sharing a knowing smile, and we flew at each other.

"Really, Jade," I said, sniffling a little as I laughed, a strange affliction Jade was suffering with as well, "you could have just told me you wanted me and Jasper to meet."

Jade made a choked snort and pulled back slightly. "Like you would have listened Miss I-Don't-Need-No-Man."

"I don't," I insisted, ignoring the brow raise Jasper gave me. "I just really, really like having this one."

"I knew you would!" she gushed and in that moment, we were just the two women back at our apartment, gushing, catching up, talking about boys. "Unakite," she said with a nod.

"I don't know if we are really all that opposite. We're both headstrong and opinionated and too prideful for our own good."

"And yet..." Jade said with a knowing smile.

And yet was right.

--

Cece- 3 Months

In three months, Dany had completely transformed. It hadn't happened overnight. It was slow progress at first, then suddenly it was big strides until one day we all walked into the dining hall to find her already sitting there, practically bouncing with excitement.

She flew at me first, eyes wet, holding me tighter than anyone ever had before. "My girl, all grown up. I wish I could have been there to see it!"

"Dany..." Ang gasped, tears flowing openly down her face, held on her feet only by Jasper's nearby presence and quick reflexes.

My mother didn't release me though, just tucked me under one arm and launched herself at her mother with the other, leading to a big, sappy, emotional, amazing, soul-soaring family hug.

"What? I don't understand," Ang said, swatting at her cheeks when we finally pulled apart.

"Twelve weeks," Dany said, pulling her mother to sit down. "The amulet had a very specific time frame attached to the spell. I would slowly lose my mind over the course of twelve weeks. Then, once removed, it would slowly come back to me over those three months again."

"But why..." Ang started on a sob before taking a breath and calming herself down. "Why couldn't we see the amulet?"

"Another part of the spell. It was only visible to Celestine. That way, it protected her until she was old enough to defend herself. No one could torture her location out of me because I was a head case. That's the right human phrase, right?" she asked, looking over at me and I nodded.

"But... twenty-six years, Dany..." her mother said, closing her eyes tight.