So I took her by the arm, we settled down upon a farm

“Unbelievable!” Holly stomped through the Shopping District, an emotion she had been unfamiliar with for quite some time surging through her chest.

Anger.

Ever since Holly had embraced the part of herself that she’d been suppressing for all these years, her temper had cooled severely. Gone was the harsh-tongued woman who cruelly severed things off with Nick, and the cynical, judgmental reporter that delighted in ruining the lives of powerful people. While she was certainly no bimbo, she had found freedom in embracing her sexuality and being accepted by the people she loved, like Nick and Mary, and so many other close friends and acquaintances she’d made since coming to this island.

Holly was living a very charmed life, by her own standard of measurement. She had hardly any complaints at all!

…Until now, anyway.

“Rrrrgh…!” She seethed furiously, clenching her fists open and closed as she stormed down the street. If she’d bothered to turn away from her singular purpose and glance at her reflection in a store window, she’d see that the hearts that normally flashed in her eyes were gone, replaced by a roaring fire.

“THAT BITCH!” If Holly had learned anything from coming here, it was the value of venting your emotions. And vent she did, loudly and with purposeful intent. She’d called Dakota every name in the book in her long walk back to civilization, and frankly, she didn’t care if the host was listening, either.

Holly was pissed.

Luckily, she was almost back. The elevator entrance leading back to the hotel was only a couple blocks away, almost in sight. She could put the nightmarish hike she’d endured behind her, and go take a nice dip in the hot springs, or maybe a warm shower, depending on how close it was to dinner time.

I can’t believe Dani and Carly and Kim do stuff like this for fun! They must be crazy!

Holly picked up the pace, drawing on energy reserves she didn’t know she still had. She wanted to get back to help Mary prep dinner, and if she was early enough, get a peek at Cinder or Ella cleaning the Master’s Suite.

And also… she was really worried about her best friend.

There’s no way Dakota chucked me halfway across the island for a casual chat! Something important is going on here, and I can’t let her get away with it! Not that I have any way to stop her… …Agh, forget it! Dakota won’t do anything terrible, not with Nick around! She has to know that I’d report anything she does to Mary right to him, even if Mary is too nice to do it herself!

One thing Holly had always prided herself on was her reputation as a world-class tattletale. She’d been tattling since way back. It was why she loved being an investigative journalist!

Oh yeah, Dakota had better have a good explanation for this, or heads are gonna roll!

“Eh? Holly? What are you doing out here?”

Holly jumped in surprise, nearly tripping over her own feet after hearing another voice for the first time in hours. She whirled around to see a surprised-looking Sylvia walk over to her with wide eyes, and a curious look on her face.

Holly had some questions herself. “Your hair!” She gasped out, pointing at the other girl. “You copied Carly’s transformation again?”

“Eh?” Sylvia blinked, surprised for a moment. “…Oh, this? No, just a quick stop at the salon for a cut and color,” she clarified, shaking her head. “But what about you, Holly?”

Holly blinked. “Eh? Me? My hair’s the same as normal…” She played with a fringe of her curly hair shyly. “After the other night I was thinking about maybe cutting it short for Nick’s tastes, but I really like my pony- …Oh, you… you weren’t talking about that, were you?” She realized sheepishly, noticing Sylvia’s amused expression.

The white-haired girl shook her head. “What are you doing here?” She asked again, leaning forward on the balls of her feet. “I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen you out of the hotel unaccompanied, you know?” And that included back when Sylvia was the host!

Holly blushed. True, she liked being around other people, but… “…It’s that woman’s fault,” she growled, her blush giving way for a furious flustering of her cheeks as she shook an angry fist. “That Dakota… how dare she?!”

Sylvia flinched. Having just left a rather charged conversation with Dakota, hearing her name was a little triggering, something Holly immediately picked up on.

Suddenly her own concerns were small potatoes. Holly always put the needs of others first, even before she became a total cuckquean.

“Sylvia? Is everything alright?” Holly asked immediately, urgently rushing to the other girl’s side.

“Oh, it- it’s not a big deal,” Sylvia hastily assured her with a smile, waving her hands. “Don’t fret, my girl.”

Holly bit her lip, not really believing the other woman but knowing it wasn’t her place to pry. And for once, she was actually going to respect that. “Well… okay,” she conceded. “But if you want to talk about it, I’m always here, okay?”

“Of course!” Sylvia chirped, placing her hand over her chest. “And same goes for me! If you want to talk, then I’m all ears!”

Holly’s eye twitched. Oh, did she have some things to talk about, alright! And plenty of choice words about Sylvia’s creator.

“She sent you that far away!?” Sylvia’s eyes bulged in surprise. The two women paused outside the elevator for Holly to finish her story. Hearing about how Dakota had flung Holly to the other side of the island made Sylvia’s heart go out to the poor girl, and while Holly had no idea what the reason was, Sylvia had some guesses.

“If she wanted to talk to Mary, she could have just done that with me there!” Holly seethed. “She didn’t have to be that ****!”

Sylvia knew that Dakota only acted in extremes, but Holly wasn’t exactly speaking nonsense.

“I just hope Mary’s alright…” Holly bit her lip and glanced at the elevator. Her worries slowly bubbled back to the surface. She’d been terrified for her friend, and now that she was thinking clearly again after venting, she was keenly aware of how much time she’d wasted.

Talking with Sylvia had helped her feel better, but…

“Mary is going to be just fine,” Sylvia assured Holly, patting her on the shoulder.

The tired girl looked at Sylvia, surprised by her confidence. “Are… are you sure?” She asked, raising her eyebrows.

Sylvia nodded. “I get why you’re worried,” she said gently, “but trust me, Dakota was in a really rough place today. I think she really just wanted a chance to confide in Mary in private, and… well, she’s a little heavy-handed…”

“Stop making excuses for her,” Holly snapped.

Sylvia nodded again, realizing what she was doing. Holly was completely right. Still, Sylvia was confident that her friend had nothing to be worried about.

“Don’t worry, my girl,” she assured Holly, giving her another pat on the shoulder. “I spoke with Dakota earlier, and we buried the hatchet.”

Holly blinked, momentarily surprised. “You did?” She squinted. “Where? In your back?”

Oof. That one stung. Sylvia couldn’t even deny how close that hit to home. “…It’s that apparent, is it?” She asked with a **** smile, her shoulders slumping. “…You’re right, of course… things between us… are not as good as they could be,” she conceded, shaking her head. She played with a strand of her newly-whitened hair. “But… it was a turning point.”

Holly nodded, sensing a subtle change in Sylvia’s demeanor. At least she was confident that Sylvia wasn’t just lying to make her feel better- the other woman clearly believed what she was saying.

“So perhaps Dakota really did just want to consult with Mary!” Sylvia suggested, clapping her hands together. “Let’s think positively, shall we?”

“Sure,” Holly agreed, with more than a little sarcasm in her voice. “I’m positive that Mary would try to help Dakota, and Dakota would lash out angrily at her when that help failed.”

Sylvia wished she could deny that, but Holly’s words carried far too much truth to them.

“…You may be right,” she conceded, wincing. After all, Dakota had been at her wits’ end when she and Sylvia had their talk. Who knows what she could have done before then?

The two were just about ready to head off to the Master’s Suite to check on Mary when the sound of footsteps caught their attention. They both turned to see another surprising sight.

“Holly? Sylvia?” Nick’s eyes were wide with surprise when he saw the both of them. “You two were out here too?”

“Curious,” Amelia said, adjusting her glasses. She wanted to ask why Holly looked so ragged, but she didn’t want to be a bother.

“Nick!” Holly’s face lit up. Then the anger returned. “You won’t believe what Dakota did to me! She used her host powers and sent me all the way across the island just because she wanted some alone time with Mary!”

“What!? Seriously!?” Nick couldn’t believe it, but he knew Holly would never lie to him. “Dakota did that!? Why!?”

“She’s going to seduce your wife!” Holly cried. “You’ve got to go to Mary now, to stop her before it’s too late!”

Sylvia covered her hand with her mouth to stop herself from laughing. Any sense of urgency Nick felt evaporated in an instant.

“Holly…” he sighed in exasperation.

“…Okay, fine, I was just joking about that part,” Holly conceded. “Dakota wanted to have a talk with Mary, a private talk. I wasn’t invited. So…”

She shrugged and looked around the Shopping District, as if that was an adequate explanation.

“From the sound of things, perhaps it would be for the best if we went to the Master’s Suite to see how Mary is doing,” Amelia suggested, pushing her glasses up her nose. They were headed there anyway, after all.

“Right,” Nick agreed. He wasn’t worried that Dakota would do anything to Mary, but he still felt the urge to check up on her, just to be safe. However Mary was feeling, she likely wasn’t doing so hot after a clash with Dakota.

“Oh, does that mean I’m invited, too?” Sylvia asked, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. “Thank you so much, Daddy!”

“…Right,” Nick said, nodding. He’d almost forgotten about that nickname. Yet another reason the two of them needed to have a nice, long chat with Dakota when they got the chance.

The group of four stepped into the elevator and headed up to the Master’s Suite together.

Nick wasn’t sure what he was expecting to see when he got back to his room. After all, he was fairly certain Dakota wouldn’t actually do anything to Mary, even if she was really doing as poorly as Amelia suggested. But he still felt anxious. That small, infinitesimal possibility was still far too large for him to be comfortable with.

…Needless to say, when he walked in and saw Mary reading peacefully on the couch, his relief came with an extra helping of surprise.

“Oh, you guys are back!” Mary’s face lit up when she saw her husband her step-mother-in-law. “And so early! Ella isn’t even here… yet… …Holly!?”

She jumped off the couch, her mystery novel forgotten as she rushed across the room to hug her best friend. “You’re alright! I was so worried!”

“Yeah, I can tell,” Holly joked, nudging the strewn book with her foot. “So worried you were getting some reading done…?”

Mary blushed sheepishly and played with one of her pigtails. “W-well… I knew Dakota wouldn’t actually do anything to hurt you, so I figured you’d be okay… I can still be worried about you even so, right?” She asked, looking warily at her friend.

A small smile touched Holly’s lips. “Yeah, Mary,” she said, nodding. “Of course you can.”

The two girls shared a giggle and Nick just sighed in relief.

“So what did you and Dakota talk about?” Sylvia popped into the conversation with an eager light in her eyes. “It had to be important for her to use her powers to send Holly away!”

“Hey, that’s right,” Holly said, remembering the catalyst for this whole mess in the first place. “What’s the deal, Mary?”

“O-oh… um…” Mary shiftily glanced away. It was impossible for her to look more guilty if she tried. “That’s… a secret?”

Holly gave her a frosty look and crossed her arms over her chest. “A secret? Seriously? I get chucked out like yesterday’s garbage, and all you have to say to me is that it’s a secret?”

“I… I gave her my word…” Mary’s face fell. “Dakota wanted me to keep it private… so I can’t tell you… I’m sorry…”

“Hey, it’s alright,” Nick said, coming to his wife’s aid. “If you can’t talk about it, then you can’t talk about it. That’s fine! As long as it’s not something we have to worry about. Is it?”

Mary’s eyes flickered over to Sylvia’s smiling face for an instant before her attention returned to Nick. She quickly shook her head.

“No, it’s not,” she assured him. “Everything’s fine. Really, it is.”

Nick was relieved to hear that. But Holly was less convinced. She knew how self-sacrificing Mary was, and she knew how manipulative Dakota was. And Nick should know that, too! She was a little irritated with him, as well, for accepting Mary’s position so easily. Couldn’t he see how they were all being played here?!

…But if that’s what Mary wanted…

“Okay then,” Holly said with a sigh, giving up. “I won’t pry, Mary. I’m just glad you’re alright.”

“Of course I am!” Mary chirped, fingering the cross hanging from her neck. “The lord is always here to keep me safe.”

Holly could only give her friend a strained smile in response. “Right…”

Amelia cleared her throat. “I am pleased that you are doing well myself, Mary,” she said to the young woman. A faint smile touched her lips.

Mary blushed even deeper. “Th-thanks?” She really felt uncomfortable being in the center of all this attention. Her eyes flashed desperately over to Nick, and he froze. He knew she wanted him to intercede and take charge of the flow of things, but how…?

“If you’re feeling better, then… can you make us dinner?” He blurted out. It was the first idea he thought of, and he immediately regretted it. It made him sound like a selfish, uncaring jerk! His wife had just had a confrontation with Dakota, and here he was asking her to prepare dinner? He was about to take it back, when…

“Oh, yes, of course! I’d be happy to!” Mary’s face was practically glowing as she beamed at him, leaving Nick crippled. He couldn’t exactly take back his request now, not when she looked so happy and relieved.

He just **** an awkward smile to his lips. Right, this is Mary. I guess for her, doing stuff like that helps her relax.

“What if I made dinner?” Sylvia suggested. “I mean, I’m getting to be quite a whiz in the kitchen, right, my girl?” She looked at Mary expectantly.

Mary didn’t meet her eyes. “W-well…”

“I am, right?” Sylvia pushed, not getting the hint. “Mary?”

“M-maybe with… certain dishes? Maybe?” Mary was really trying her best, the poor thing.

As the oldest person here, Amelia knew it was her duty to step in and resolve the matter herself. “Allow me to prepare dinner tonight,” she declared confidently. “It would be the least I could do.”

Nick’s heart sank in his chest and his face went pale. “N-no, that… that’s not necessary!” He said quickly, shaking his head.

Sylvia nodded in agreement. “Right! Because I’m going to cook tonight!”

Nola popped in. “If you guys wanted, I could…”

“Well, while you all decide who’s gonna cook, I’ll tell you right now, it won’t be me,” Holly said, a rare look of irritation on her face. Normally she enjoyed cooking and baking, but not tonight. “I’m going to take a nice, long bath. I have brambles in places I didn’t even know brambles could stick to! So good luck!”

And with that she stomped off to the bathroom, leaving an awkward silence in her wake.

Mary cleared her throat. “I’ve… been taking it easy all afternoon,” she said, confidently regaining control over the room. “So I wouldn’t mind at all. I was almost about to start cooking dinner myself, actually, before you all came in! So why don’t you and Amelia go make yourselves comfortable and relax after your long date? Sylvia can help me with the preparations.”

“I can? Awesome!” Sylvia beamed at Mary. It wasn’t quite the same as making the meal herself, but she was still thrilled to do it!

And Mary was too tired to argue.

Nick watched his wife lead his sort-of-but-not daughter into the kitchen, and felt a little guilty. He wasn’t sure if he’d handled that as well as he could have.

He looked over at Amelia for a hint from her expression, but froze when he saw the look on her face.

She wasn’t pleased.

“A-Amelia? Did… did I do something wrong?” He asked nervously, biting the inside of his cheek.

Amelia looked at him, and her face softened. “…No,” she said, shaking her head. “I believe you handled that situation quite well.”

Nick sighed in relief. That was good to hear. But still, why was she looking so upset, then?

“…Do you really dislike my cooking that much?” Amelia asked him, raising her head.

Nick’s eyes widened. “No, I… it’s just…”

“I have improved,” she pointed out.

“…I know,” Nick said with a sigh. “I guess I just panicked. The stress of the whole situation, it was just…”

“I understand,” Amelia said, not hurt by her stepson’s rejection of her cooking. She understood that her level of skill wasn’t comparable to Mary’s. It did kind of sting a little, to know that she was an inferior wife and mother to a younger woman who wasn’t even a mother yet… but that was her foolish pride talking.

Amelia walked over to the couch and sat down, patting the spot beside her. “Come,” she said gently. “You’ve had a long day.”

Nick understood the insinuation this time without her having to say it. And he agreed. He deserved the opportunity to relax. And as he sat down next to his stepmother and took a moment to catch his breath, he thought back to the tense expression from earlier and all the things they’d talked about today. For the first time, he’d really gotten to see Amelia’s **** side, and he felt like he understood a lot more about her.

But there were still so many things he was in the dark about.

That feeling, the not-knowing, spurred something in Nick’s chest, and he couldn’t help but ask. “A-Amelia…”

“Yes?” Amelia looked at him and raised her eyebrow.

Nick swallowed his doubts and anxieties.

“I was curious… how… how did you and my dad get together?” It was a question he’d always been too afraid to press her on. But after today, it felt right somehow. Like he might finally get an answer that would satisfy his curiosity.

Amelia let out a sigh and adjusted her glasses. “Indeed,” she conceded with a nod. “Perhaps it is time I told you…”

Nick listened intently as Amelia opened up to him in ways she’d never done before.