Conflicts (Multi POV)

Belle POV

Belle clenched her jaw as she walked up the stairs to her bedroom, her fists curling and uncurling as she went.

They were just like the rest of them. She should have known.

She stepped inside her bedroom and closed the door behind her, taking the bare minimum care required not to break the door.

Belle sat down at the table, and picked up her current woodcarving project, a small wooden model of the Sydney Opera House. Perhaps this would help her urge to punch something.

Right now, she wanted nothing more than to allow her anger to take over and to unleash dangerous amounts of magic, directed at the seemingly endless forest surrounding the castle.

If this were her a few weeks ago, she probably would have, and without a second thought. Olivia was the reason she didn’t. She was trying to be better for the woman she loved.

That didn’t mean she wasn’t upset though.

Her aggressive motions with the small whittling knife meant she was shaving off more wood than she intended to. She cursed and forced herself to pause for a moment.

If Belle kept going like she was, she would ruin the carving, and she’d have to start over. Starting a project over after already getting so far into it would piss her off even further, so she took a deep breath, and resumed her work, gentler this time.

The door opened, and Belle didn’t have to look to know who it was. There was only one person that she’d allow to do that.

“Hey.” Olivia said, shutting the door behind her.

“Hey.” Belle said, without looking up.

Olivia walked over and pulled up the other chair to sit beside her. “How are you feeling?” She asked.

“Pissed.” Belle answered with one word.

Olivia nodded. “I guessed as much.” She said.

Belle grunted in reply, not having much to say.

They sat in silence for a while. Belle knew Olivia wasn’t going to push her to talk this time. She was here in support. Belle appreciated that.

Eventually, Belle did have something to say. “It was a mistake joining them.” She said.

Olivia sighed and shook her head. “That is not true, and you know it. They are young, they are not perfect, and they will make mistakes. That is okay.” She said.

Belle shook her head. “This is more than a mere mistake. This is a deliberate and unacceptable withholding of critical information, and could be read as sabotage or playing both sides. How can I trust her, how can any of us trust her after this?” She asked angrily.

Olivia grimaced, and took a few seconds before forming her reply. “You saw the poor girl. She was trying. She did not know how to approach any of this, and was overwhelmed by everything.” Olivia defended her.

“I honestly don’t really care. She should have told us.” Belle said dismissively.

Olivia nodded. “She should have. She was scared.” She said.

Belle rolled her eyes. “Most of us are. That’s not an excuse to sell out the people you care about.”

“I do not think she did. She says she did not, and I believe her.” Olivia stated firmly.

Belle softened slightly at that, even if she wasn’t consciously aware of it. Whatever she thought of Paige, she still trusted Olivia. That hadn’t changed.

“We all need time to calm down.” Olivia continued.

“That’s the damn problem, we don’t have time. We have a week before we fight Mathias. We can’t afford to take the time off training for this, we should be getting as strong as possible.” Belle snapped back.

“We cannot afford not to. Our strength is not in our individual might.” Olivia countered.

Belle had nothing to say to that.

“Just promise me you won’t do anything rash.” Olivia pleaded.

Belle sighed and put down the carving she was working on. “Fine. I’ll give it some time. For you.” She said.

Olivia smiled at her and kissed her on the forehead.

Belle looked up at her, and the ghost of a smile touched her lips. She knew at least that she could rely on her partner in crime.

For now, that was enough.

Skylar POV

Skylar felt as if her mind was far removed from her body. She could not feel the loving warmth of her girlfriends. She could not feel the contrast of the chilly air with that warmth, the frigid temperatures comforting in a different way.

She was barely aware of where she was walking. She was not aware of when she stepped outside and called her pet wolf over from where he was playing in the snow.

Nor was she aware of when she gave him the signal to follow her. Nor, indeed, was she aware of when she made her way to the space in the castle that was her own, perhaps almost more than her bedroom was.

Skylar sat down in the library, in an armchair as comfy as they came, in front of the always burning fire.

Her companion, Dave, slid on his paws in front of her, lying down and looking up at her, in the quietly concerned way that only a loyal and loving animal could.

Skylar stared into the flames as they flickered and jumped about, her mind far away from everything, somewhere in the past. In her past.

8 years ago, her brother had been betrayed by his friend. His friend had sold them out in a measly attempt to gain favour with their enemies. Gaia knew if it would have worked.

But because of that betrayal, her brother had died, and her family had been ripped apart, damn near destroyed from it.

And as if to hammer home that fact, the one person she thought she could rely on in that time, showed himself to be completely uncaring about her.

After 8 years of isolation because of that nightmare, Skylar had opened herself up to the possibility of having friends again, to having people she cared about, having people she loved.

And now, after being faced that morning with the prospect of losing her parents, the only people she cared about beyond those inside this barrier, she now also had to face the prospect of a betrayal by one of her own.

The thought was enough to make her knees weak.

How much had Paige told Mathias? Was she telling the truth? Why hadn’t she said anything earlier?

Questions dimly swirled around in Skylar’s mind without answers.

She wished she could do something. Anything. Anything would be better than having to contend with being betrayed by a woman she loved and trusted.

And now of all times? Now, when her only remaining family was in danger? Why did it have to be now?

She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, she wanted to punch something, to shake her fists in anger and curse the world for the position that it had put her in.

But she couldn’t do any of that. All she could do was sit there and stare into the dancing flames, mesmerised as much as she was paralysed.

Skylar didn’t know how long she sat there for.

She heard people walking to the door of the library. She wasn’t sure who it was, but they didn’t enter. They probably thought it was best to leave her to her thoughts.

They were right.

The shadows lengthened outside as the day went on. Her furry companion stayed as still as ever, giving her silent comfort with his presence.

And all she could do was sit there and stare as the remnants of her past swirled in her thoughts in equal measure with her present anguish.

Eventually, as the sun went down, she heard raised voices coming from somewhere in the castle. It was as good a reason as any to break her trance of numbness.

As Skylar poked her head out of the library door, she was able to make out that the voices were coming from the living room.

She walked down the stairs towards the commotion, and managed to catch the end of an argument.

“Why do I even bother if space is all you want, and you can’t talk to me? Fuck!” Mia yelled.

Skylar walked into the living room just in time to see Mia storm off outside, into the slowly darkening world outside.

Paige held her head in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably. Ivy and Gemma comforted her the best they could, while Lena and Emma watched on in apparent disbelief.

Gemma noticed Skylar entering the room and shot her a sympathetic grimace.

Skylar instead turned to Emma and Lena. “What happened?” She asked quietly.

Lena shook her head, while Emma answered for them. “Mia’s still upset. They can’t talk things out properly right now. They both need space.” She said.

At that point, Gemma approached her and led her over to the side. A quick glance told Skylar that they had sat Paige down on the couch, and Ivy was comforting her.

“How are you feeling?” Gemma asked her.

It took a while before Skylar could come up with any answer at all. “I don’t know.” She said, which wasn’t an answer, but was the best she had.

Gemma nodded and touched her arm gently.

Skylar recoiled slightly on instinct, and Gemma pulled her hand away. “I’m sorry.” Skylar said automatically.

Gemma shook her head. “Don’t be sorry, I get it. I can’t imagine what you must be going through right now.” She said.

The look in the young guild leader’s eyes told Skylar what words alone could not convince her of: Gemma truly did understand the feeling.

Skylar said nothing in reply. She didn’t know what to say.

“Look, I know you’re hurting. That’s understandable, and you have every right to be.” Gemma started.

“Do you think you would be okay if we talked all of this over tomorrow? When we’ve all had a chance to sleep and hopefully make sense of all this a bit?” Her lover asked.

Skylar paused, considered the idea, and ultimately nodded.

Gemma nodded appreciatively. “Please let me or Ivy, or Olivia, know if you need something tonight. If you don’t wanna talk, you can always just text us. We’ll bring you dinner in an hour or two.” She said.

Skylar nodded. “Thank you.” She said softly.

“We’ll get through this, I promise. Together.” Gemma pledged.