The next day, Micah and Shadow Weaver continued to struggle on. She'd taken to tapping her spear against the ground to note where it was safe to step, citing that she did not want to be leaning on him the entire way. That was fine with Micah; not only was he also injured, he wasn't exactly fond of how she'd been treating him the past few days.

He frowned. "I'm sorry if I seemed controlling. I never wanted that, y'know."

The masked eyes narrowed. "I'm sure you are."

Micah frowned, clutching the Seraphite relic in his pocket. "Well, suit yourself," he muttered. "I'm guessing you're still mad at Nell, too."

"That's none of your business," she snapped. "You don't...you can't understand."

"Maybe not," Micah said with a shrug. "Just don't go anywhere near him once we get to Bright Moon. Until you're ready to apologize, of course."

"I told you, I'm not sorry."

"Why not?"

"I'm –" She huffed. "I spent my entire life being sorry at the world, simply for existing. I'm tired of it, Micah. This is who I really am, and if you have such a damn issue with it, stop pestering me to come and share in your perfect little life. You have a real family to look after."

"You're right," Micah said. "But you are part of my family. You're like...my aunt, y'know?"

"Your aunt," she replied flatly.

Micah looked off to the side. "You're not happy," he said quietly. "I can see that much – you're lonely, aren't you?"

"I made friends in the Fright Zone."

"But do any of them know who you really are?" Micah asked quietly. "Do they know Alura, or just Shadow Weaver?"

She froze in her tracks, gripping her spear and staring blankly ahead. "The latter is all there is to know," she said. "I'm finished with this discussion."

"But –"

"I said, WE'RE DONE!" she roared, and an icy wind knocked Micah back a few paces; his broken leg screamed in pain as he smacked the ground. Groaning, he pulled himself to his feet again, seeing that Shadow Weaver was panting. Standing in a circular crater, charred and black, the grass having died in her wake.

The Rebellion's horns sounded from around them. Micah limped over to her, the pain in his leg blinding him as he grabbed her hand. "We have to go," he said. "Try to control your temper, or we're not going to make it back alive."

Shadow Weaver said nothing as Micah dragged her along the hill. His eyes pricked with tears. "Please, we have to find a mirror."

"That'll mess with your leg even further," she protested.

"Like you care," he growled, sweating bullets as they continued. "We have to get back..."

Quietly, they continued. Shadow Weaver said nothing as they struggled onward.

✧✧✧

Shadow Weaver had never felt so ashamed in her entire life - except, perhaps, when she'd first been spit out by the Spell of Obtainment. As Micah grabbed her arm so hard it hurt and dragged her on, she thought back to the mushroom cloud she'd unleashed upon him in her anger. That hadn't been her. It had been something else inside her, and she was so exhausted now she could barely walk.

And for the first time, a new voice spoke to her. You know you want to kill him. Just do it already. It's what he deserves after he unleashed ME upon you.

Shadow Weaver gritted her teeth. The Spell had put strange thoughts into her mind for the past eleven years, but never had it truly spoken to her. She was running out of time to save herself. They had to get to Nell...

Micah gasped. "Description, please," Shadow Weaver muttered.

"We're in a small village," Micah said. "I don't know which one, but we might be able to catch a mirror back to Bright Moon."

"They'd recognize me."

"We're in the literal middle of nowhere," Micah said. "Even I wouldn't be noticed here." She heard him fish in his pocket. "Want some food before we go?"

"Whatever," she grumbled.

"I guess that's a yes," Micah said cheerfully. "I'm starving. Come on," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her somewhere – to a tavern, she assumed.

After a moment, he instructed her to sit; she did as he asked, only seeing the milky white film. Once again, Shadow Weaver surveyed her options. She would be able to go to Bright Moon and be taken care of if her blindness was permanent. She couldn't very well go back to the Fright Zone in this condition - she'd be stripped of her rank and sent to Beast Island. And the thought of Nell waiting there with open arms, ready to hold her close again...

Stars, was it tempting. But she was starkly aware of how she'd treated Micah. Did she really believe he was controlling her, simply by wanting her to come and be with him again? She smelled the food in front of her, but somehow, she knew eating it would turn her stomach sour.

All Micah wanted was for her to come home.

And all she wanted to do was leave him behind.

I don't want to be a monster, she thought. But I don't want them to see me lose my mind...

It is inevitable, the sweet whisper responded. You know it is.

"Micah," she said softly. "I...um. I didn't...mean any of what I said. You're sweet, really. But..." She picked at her food. "There's...one thing."

"What?"

"The Spell. It's permanent." Her throat closed. Please, no crying. Anything but crying. Yet she didn't want to go insane. She wanted to be able to love so badly. "I can't come back if I'm going to lose my mind."

A long pause. "We'll love you," he said gently. "No matter what."

The Spell chuckled in Shadow Weaver's mind as she responded. "Love doesn't do anything to stop a demon."

"Says who?"

And all the excuses she'd concocted died on her tongue. She looked down, her cheeks growing warm as she thought of Nell again. Nell, cradling her softly in bed, not caring about her horrid scars or her insanity, casting his spell on her as she drowned in waves of peace and security...

She shook in her spot. "I'm dangerous," she said. "And you're the one who did this to me. Is there any way to change that?"

"We'll find a way."

"So the answer is no," she said, laughing softly. "Of course."

Micah was quiet for a moment. "I guess. But I told you...we'll love you, even if you do lose your mind. You'll have to trust us on that."

Trust.

Trust.

Shadow Weaver said nothing as she cast a light illusion over her face, unmasked, and ate her food. She was becoming sick of fish, but at least these ones were breaded, and the potatoes were soft on her tongue. Soon, she'd finished, and put her mask back on; she wasn't about to stay exposed for long.

"I see a mirror that way," Micah said. "That should take us to Thaymor – then we'll be a three-day's walk from the palace. Ready?"

Thaymor. One of the villages my men destroyed, Shadow Weaver thought sadly.

Trust.

She nodded numbly. "Yes," she said quietly. "Let's go." Micah took her hand and led her to the mirror, enchanting it to take them there. They stepped inside, and as Micah winced at the pressure on his foot, they continued onward, hand-in-hand.

Trust.

Trust.

❂❂❂

Did you know...

- As mentioned in a previous chapter, I changed this one up a bit so it wouldn't seem too much like "The Promise." However, I realized as I was rereading it to post that it now hearkens more to a certain redemption arc from Steven Universe. You'll see what I mean in a few chapters.

- Though I hadn't seen My Hero Academia at the time of writing this chapter, a lot of Shadow Weaver's struggles remind me of Tomura Shigaraki in retrospect.

Tell me what you think...

- Will Shadow Weaver's trust for Micah hold? Why or why not?