"You and me born from the same branch and leaves

Wild and free, living here in harmony

Don't you see this is where you want to be?

But when you leave, the world is never what it seems"

-Willow Tree, Rival & Cadmium

The Helios Stone really is beautiful, Knight thought as Charli packed the woven basket and left. He had convinced the other that he needed just a couple more minutes alone before rejoining Starstruck village. In reality, Knight just wanted to keep spinning on the revered magic stone.

He remembered how everyone in Rook's "misfit group" reacted when he joined them. Rook was silent, Charli was ecstatic, Kin was just tired of looking after everyone, Sol was grateful for new hands, and Dulcamara was skeptical.

But Knight was most concerned about Rook's silence, the others warmed up (or only got warmer) with the passage of time.

And in the passing weeks, he was healed by Sol's magic. He was soothed by Charli's happy-go-lucky attitude, and eventually, Knight realized that being angry was okay. He learned from Rook that he could be angry and hot-headed like he used to be. He undid the habits the government hammered into his head, and it felt tiring but rewarding to finally feel more like himself.

But he still felt guilty for letting Rook leave, or was that something his captors had forced into him? Did he want her to stay, or did he want to go with her? I feel like the latter is more plausible, Knight commented to himself.

He would probably never tell his sister this, but he hated when she left. He wanted to do a lot of terrible things to her for a while after that. He had trained so hard and gotten so strong, all because he was angry that she had left him. But eventually...

Knight let the blindfold drop.

He saw what she saw in their captors, he saw how they had manipulated them into staying. They had told him that it was for their own good, that they were doing them a favor by housing them and giving them powers they never asked for. But one day, he looked at his new assignment and slowly realized; "This is wrong."

He was first sent to chase after Charli and his best friend (Knight doubted that won't change in the future), then Rook was spotted traveling with the pair. He received new orders, and then Knight decided that no matter what, he would drag the fight out for as long as possible. He didn't know what he would do if push came to shove, but he knew he wouldn't cross that line.

And eventually, the two siblings met once again, and they fought. And Knight realized in that one fight, that he would never ever be able to hurt Rook. He would never be able to carry out those fantasies, no matter how furious he was, he didn't have the heart.

And then Charli requested a truce, a week after that first dance. Now Knight's here, sitting on a slow spinning slab of rock that mesmerized him the second he saw it.

It was disorienting how fast his world had changed.

______

Knight walked up to Rook, trying to get her attention away from Kin. She turned around, studying him with an indescribable expression. Knight hesitated, then Kin left after sensing the atmosphere change.

"We... We really need to talk." He started. Rook nodded, gesturing to the lake across the village clearing.

They sat at the dock, the water rippling slowly against the deteriorating wood. It was peaceful, when fireflies dotted the grassland surrounding the body of water. Knight's tail dipped into the water, the sore aches of magic being soothed by its chill. He felt Rook transform, the way magic filled the air and buzzed in your head was unmistakable.

He was surprised to see that Rook's form had somewhat changed. She had replaced her crown of thorns with nervous spindly spider legs that constantly fidgeted, though Rook never seemed to notice.

"That's new," Knight gestured to the legs, Rook turned her head away from him, the spider legs falling somewhat.

"Yeah... When I ripped out my crown, these grew in its place. Turns out I was infused with more magic than I thought." Her words were laced with the pain of remembrance.

Knight immediately dropped the subject, instead using the strained conversation to get straight to the point. "I'm sorry. For a lot."

She turned to him, thinly masked surprise covering her face. "What would you be sorry for? If you're talking about the fighting, it's fine. You had orders, and you didn't want to disobey them."

Rook suddenly produced a stone from her side, tossing it into the lake. "At least you eventually found your way out."

"No I mean-" He sighed. "I mean I'm sorry for not believing in you, and trusting your judgement about them."

Silence from the sister he had lost so long ago.

"Then you have learned, and grown."

"What?" Knight didn't have a clue what that meant, or if it somehow translated to hatred.

"You have regret, and regret shows that you've changed as a person. It shows that you can look back on your past and your actions and say; 'That isn't what I wanted to say there.' It tells me that I've done everything I ever wanted back when I was trapped and scared."

Rook turned to him, a smile creasing her usually worried features. "I got you out, and I got me out. And we both understand that it was wrong. That's all I've ever wanted."

Stunned, he felt a knot rising in his throat that prevented him from speaking. Knight hastily looked back to the water's still surface, trying to keep tears from falling. She put a hand on his shoulder, compassionate beyond words could express.

"Y'know. I never wanted to hurt you. But I thought I did, for the longest time." He looked at Rook, how happy she looked, how they had changed. "Turns out we can be blinded so easily to true feelings."

She opened her arms for a hug, a hug to put everything behind them, to accept the past, and to look forward to the future. Knight dove for the opportunity, finally stepping out of Rook's shadow and becoming his own piece.

They were here, after all.

(A/N)

Thanks for reading! These three pieces were done in my creative writing class a couple months back and I'm proud enough to post them.

Idk when l'll get the next snippet out, but it'll happen eventually.