#Chapter 50 - Forgive And Move On

Eloise’s POV

With the help of crutches, Belinda walked into the room and made her way to the bed. After a few moments of silence, she took in a deep breath and began to talk.

“Priest Lucas told me you were the one who saved my leg.”

I nodded my head. “I talked Knight Dylan through with pulling out the arrow. I just wrapped the healing paste around the bandage so you wouldn’t get infected.”

“And the citizens of Noah… He also told me that a sickness had ravaged my people and you saved them, too?”

I nodded my head again. “Although my magical abilities are limited, I was able to call on the power of a sigil to help spread a cure to everyone who was sick. I just hope that they’re all doing—”

Belinda pulled me into her arms for a hug. “I can’t thank you enough for all that you’ve done, Eloise.”

I froze in place at the sudden gesture. This was the first time that she wasn’t lifting her hand to threaten to hit me or make fun of me. Instead, she was showing a gesture of gratitude.

Belinda continued. “You’ve saved the city. You even saved my life twice. It shouldn’t have taken me a second time to see just how wonderful of a young woman you truly are.”

“I’ve done nothing but mistreat you all because of the prejudice and hatred I had inside of me for the Wisdom family. I shouldn’t have allowed such hatred to extend to you when you’ve clearly done nothing to deserve it.” She added.

I was at a loss for words and couldn’t respond right away. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“I hope that you will forgive me, Eloise. I would like to have another chance at getting to know you and for us to be a proper family.”

I couldn’t help the tears that formed in my eyes. “Yes, of course, Mrs. Leonard. I would love nothing more than to have a proper relationship with you.”

I honestly thought nothing of Belinda coming to her senses about how she had been treating me. As far as I was concerned, she was going to be cold to me no matter what I did.

Hearing her apologize and wanting to be on good terms with me truly moved my heart.

I wiped away the tears that fell and laughed. “Now I’m glad Lord Xavier won’t have to stress over us. All I ever wanted was for Xavier to be happy and to do my best as a wife to be accepted by the Leonard family.”

Despite how right those words felt to me now, I still can’t help but wonder if these are my true feelings or I’ve just gotten so good at lying that now things like this come naturally…

Belinda smiled. “Well, consider yourself a part of the family, daughter. Just don’t forget now that I’m your mom, I’ll still be hard on you from time to time—but only because I want what’s best for you.”

Belinda leans over and gives me another hug. “I’ll do everything I can to be better to you from here on out. Your heart is truly wonderful if you’ve forgiven me so quickly.”

“I can’t hold on to grudges like that, Mrs. Leonard. I knew that your prejudice towards the actions of the previous president of the Witches Council has hardened your heart towards us. Now, I’m glad that we can work towards a brighter future together.” I smiled.

“But if I may ask…” I added in quickly before I got ahead of myself.

“Anything,” Belinda responded.

“After everything that’s happened, I would like to go home to my family in Witches Land. Just for a week or so at most. I miss them a lot and they deserve to know that I’m okay.”

Belinda nodded her head. “Of course. Consider it done. I’ll have a guard ready a carriage for you, Eloise. Take care of yourself and have a good rest while you’re there—you deserve it.”

As soon as she left the room, I got the rest of my belongings and immediately headed for the stables. There, I hugged Belinda once more and loaded into the carriage.

The ride was quiet and I was glad that it was. So many thoughts clouded my mind but I just wanted some peace.

As I was drifting off to sleep, Mona had floated out of the mirror and sat next to me. Her gaze looked concerning.

“I thought you were way too forgiving and kind to a woman who had treated you so cruelly to the point where you couldn’t use your hands for a whole week…” Mona started to rant.

“Belinda doesn’t deserve the kindness you show her time and time again. I don’t realize why you went through all of the trouble to save her… AGAIN.” Mona huffed.

I sighed. “People deserve second chances, Mona. I’ve always believed that. Despite how she treated me in the past, I couldn’t just sit idly by while she was in trouble.”

“Had she fallen into Douglas’s hands, I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself. Let’s not forget that Lord Xavier also saved our homeland from the evil king, too.” I told her.

Mona was quiet after my response and so we sat in silence until we arrived at Witches Land. When the carriage came up to a certain house, I asked the driver to make a quick stop so I could pick up something.

It was my grandmother’s house and upon inspecting it, I saw that she wasn’t home. But it was fine because I always carried a spare key to her house with me. It served me well during the days I needed somewhere to escape to.

When I got inside, I made my way down to the basement where I first came across the ancient mirror. Tucked away in the corner of the room was a small treasure chest. After blowing off the dust, I opened it to see the silver dagger inside hadn’t been touched.

“With that plus the power you’ve gained, you’ll have more than enough means to finally kill Xavier. Now it’s just a matter of time.” Mona stated.

“I… I don’t know, Mona. It wouldn’t be fair of me as a judge to kill Lord Xavier for a crime he hasn’t committed.” I told her.

And maybe won’t commit. What if the prophecy she showed me was wrong? Could that even be possible?

I shook my head. “Does Xavier truly need to be punished for something he hasn’t done? His actions have shown that he isn’t such a bad man.”

I went on without thinking. “Sure, his temper can get out of control but he could’ve easily let my family be captured by Douglas when he attacked… He’s also really sweet when he tries and not ”

Mona tilted her head at me. “Are you in love with him?”

My eyes widened. “No!”

Mona let out a sigh. “Hatred is too strong of an emotion to eliminate just because someone does something good. You’re starting to get too comfortable with the ‘good’ Xavier has done and not thinking about it long term.”

“Remember that the Leonards have true disdain and motive to have the Wisdoms eliminated—especially Belinda and Xavier. They could easily be taking advantage of your kind and forgiving nature just to get your guard down.”

I simply nod my head at her words and make my way back to the carriage.

A part of me just can’t believe that Xavier would do anything so heinous after everything he’s done to protect me and reconcile.

There’s no way that all that he’s done and the things we’ve shared were just so everything could end in bloodshed. Right?

—––––

Xavier’s POV

After a few days of helping surviving citizens get their things packed and tending to the wounds of the more severe, we were finally making our way back to the city of Noah.

I couldn’t deny that I hadn’t thought much of Eloise since trying to get things at Caspian in order but now that we were coming back, the feelings of missing her were starting to stir.

Captain Oliver stirred me from my thoughts. “The people of Caspian are expressing gratitude for your generosity and swift aid. Many of them are just too terrified to approach you,” he chuckled.

I smiled. “We have a bright future ahead of us, friend. It makes me happy to know that you all are safe.”

“Plus,” I looked back at the men we rescued. A few of them waved at me. “Many of them look relatively healthy and fit. My army could always use good men like them.”

“They’re already willing to lay down their lives for you, Lord Xavier. Whatever it takes to secure your throne, we’ll be at the ready.”

The thought of taking the throne from Douglas made my heart happy.

Instead of taking the main road back to Noah, I opted for us to take the back roads. We needed to lay low with all of the people we rescued. Plus, I wanted to make a pit-stop at Lavender for some flowers for Eloise.

That’s right… Mother should be home by now. I wonder how the two are doing…

As we came upon Lavender, the hairs on the back of my neck immediately stood up. Those that were out on the streets were busy cleaning up debris like a storm had just passed through the place.

They were also moving bodies.