Auror Part 2

Reviving all that is like being there again, and I only return to myself when Ann's hands touch my face.
"You don't have to continue."
"Ann, I'm not what you think of me. I'm the one who killed the companion and the best friend, not giving them the chance to explain."
"Why did you do it, Auror? There must be a justification."
"It was all a lie, Ann."
I tell her how I was found by everyone, nearly dead by my father and leader, and condemned by the Elder.
"After a few weeks of searching to understand, they came to me, or came here, to the house on the hill, a place from which I could not leave. My father wouldn’t look me in the eye and forbade my mother from approaching. As his companion, she would never go against his will."
"You were his son, Auror."
"But the power of what companions feel is stronger than the maternal bond," I point out.
"I would never go against my son for anyone, not even for you."
"And I would love you even more for that, Ann." I sigh to gather the courage to continue telling her. "I first recounted what happened, from the moment I was awakened by Galena to the Elder Luna and to my father, who at that moment was just my Leader."
I look at her, who does not judge me at any moment.
"A few days later, it was discovered that Galena had used ancient magic and spells to deceive Clint and Cristaly, telling them we were in danger and that I had asked him to protect her. He was merely saving my companion. This camouflaged the scent of the lie and provoked me to hunt them down, as when she approached me, the magic was present at the moment I believed her."
"Bitch!" Ann exclaims, and I smile.
"Galena was Olak’s companion. They discovered this during the last heat, but permission to take her to the East would only happen if she killed me, a request from the companion and the fear of being killed by the leader of the East clan for not following the direct order made her betray me, betray her own clan. Her parents, ashamed of what she had done, exiled themselves and never returned here. Years later, we learned they had offered their souls to the Moon Goddess and killed themselves."
"And the filthy bitch? What happened to her?"
"She was killed alongside Olak. A hunt was initiated, and they were burned in the great bonfire as punishment for the betrayal and for causing the death of an angelic and a férnus."
"So you should have been freed from punishment. It was all a plot to kill you."
"When a sentence is given, it cannot be revoked; it's like losing a limb; no new one grows in its place."
"I can't accept it. You were deceived and still punished."
"Despite everything, the blood is on my hands. Cristaly and Clint died by my hands."
"You were deceived, enchanted; this shouldn't have happened."
"But it did, and I've come to terms with it. The weight of the guilt is greater than the punishment itself."
"But Cristaly didn't die, as I'm her descendant."
"She must have survived the fall; her body was never found, so she was presumed dead. We believe that, out of fear of guilt and having been nearly killed by me, she chose to distance herself from everything. I wouldn’t return to the place where I was almost murdered either, Ann."
"Why didn’t the Elder discover this and go after her?"
"The Moon Goddess doesn’t explain her designs, Ann. Luna is merely her mediator between us; not everything has an explanation, not everything is as black and white as humans say."
We remain silent. Ann, even though she is unsettled by what I’ve said, doesn’t say anything more. My arms continue to hold her as we turn to our sides, and she disappears, protected by my arms, settling into me. I wouldn’t wish to have gone through anything I have, but at this moment, feeling everything I do, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. And if it meant going through it all again to have Ann in my arms, I wouldn’t hesitate.


***


Anira


I stay as quiet as possible until I feel that Auror has finally fallen asleep. I keep the door to our minds shut, but my anger is boiling over. He was condemned based on a lie, and nothing will change that; it's unjust and infuriating.
I need water; yes, water will help me swallow all this anger. If I ever meet the angelic elder who sentenced him, I’d have some choice words for her. He certainly had some blame, but placing an eternal guilt on his shoulders is incredibly cruel.
I head to the kitchen, grab a bottle of water, and as I close the door, an angel is glowing right in front of me.
“Holy hell!” I exclaim, dropping the bottle, which shatters on the floor. I can count the seconds until Auror will be here.
Just like in the vision from centuries ago. I hear two giggles and then see two women identical to the angel emerge from the corners, glowing in front of me.
“I won’t ask who you are, because with those white robes and your glowing presence, you must be angelic,” I think, wondering where Auror is, as he hasn’t come with all the commotion I’ve made.
“He won’t come.”
“What?”
“That’s what you were thinking, isn’t it? Where is he after this?” She points to the water and the broken bottle on the floor.
“You can read my mind?”
“Yes.”
“Privacy, by the way,” I say, showing my displeasure at the invasion.
“Only when you allow it.”
“I didn’t allow anything, and you already read it. And why isn’t he coming?” I raise an eyebrow.
“I let him sleep.”
“You have that power?”
She nods. “Yes.”
“Well, you could teach me that. Trust me, sometimes I need to stop that férnus; things down there,” I point to my groin, “can get ugly if we keep going at this pace.”
The giggle echoes again.
“I came to meet you in person, of course, and to tell you a few things about us.”
“I’d really like to know, but let me clean this up first.” I look at the floor, and the intact bottle of water is full on the sink.
“How did you do that?” I ask. A hint of a smile appears on her face.
“Girl, what you just did would save many lives out there.”
“Sit down, Anira; let’s talk.”
I decide not to be the one to disobey someone with such a powerful and glowing aura.
“Your hair shines like a streetlight.”
“Yours does too.” I pull at my hair, which looks like LED lights. I decide to let it go; the additives must have been much stronger this time. They didn’t hold back on the substances they added to the water they use in Forty Mile.
“You still don’t seem to believe in everything that exists here, but we’re real.”
“Okay, I do believe, but let’s be honest, it’s quite hard to accept.”
“You’re involved with a férnus, loving a being that doesn’t even exist in the world we live in. Your hair shines, you share thoughts and communicate telepathically, your friends are férnus, this city is surrounded by angelic magic for millennia. I feel it, and I know you do too. And just moments ago, you thought that if you saw me, you’d have some choice words. Well, here I am, child.”
I swallow her words without the aid of the damn water and regret always being so impulsive.