Chapter Text
Hunter cast a clothing change spell to put on the disguise of a regular coven scout and then began planning ways to escape from his room. He tried to pick the lock Darius had made on his door. No luck. Then, he tried to open his window, and to his shock, the window opened without a sweat. Darius must have forgotten to lock it. Hunter was relieved at this, and then he flew out the window, racing for the conformatorium.
Meanwhile, with his head start, Darius had already gotten there. He entered Warden Wrath's chamber, walking up to him. "Warden Wrath, the Emperor had ordered me to interrogate Willow, so I need her out of her cell."
"Willow, who?" Warden Wrath asked.
"Willow Park," Darius informed.
"Normally, the Emperor doesn't ask anyone outside the conformatorium quarters to interrogate people." Warden Wrath pointed out.
"Well, this time, he has. Remember, I outrank you. Do not question me further. Understand?" Darius said.
Warden Wrath nodded, "Yes, sir."
Meanwhile, Hunter had entered the spiral hallway of the conformatorium, flying everywhere to search for Willow. His heart was racing as every second counted. Titan, Willow would hate him for this, but he still had to save her no matter what. He would've never forgiven himself if he hadn't. Suddenly, he spotted an adorable, chubby figure out of the corner of his eye. He stopped flying and backed up to confirm if it really was her, and indeed it was. Willow Park was trapped in one of the many prison cells and was still under the effects of the sleeping spell, as she was fast asleep in her cell. Hunter landed and began trying to pull the lever up to free her, but just his luck, he wasn't strong enough to open it. Hunter began to panic, forcing himself to use all of his strength to open the cell, but he was only tiring himself out the more he pushed himself.
Suddenly, a loud, deep, familiar voice echoed through the chambers of the conformatorium, causing Hunter to freeze. "It's good that the Emperor wants more information on these wild witches!" Darius shouted, "I really hope we can get all of them branded before the Day of Unity!"
"Yes, I can tell by the tone of your voice, Mr. Deamonne." Warden Wrath replied. Hunter froze. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. Flapjack flew under his cloak to hide as Hunter stood frozen. It was no use…
He had been caught.
Darius and Warden Wrath walked right to Willow's cell, and Hunter could already see Darius' seething anger and disappointment. "What are you doing here, scout?" Warden Wrath asked Hunter.
Hunter knew that if he spoke, he might reveal his identity, so he stood silent, trembling. Thankfully, Darius picked up on this, "Oh, I suppose the Emperor ordered a backup."
Warden Wrath proceeded to lift the lever up with ease, stunning Hunter. Darius cast a spell circle to engulf Willow in abomination goo and then teleported her out of the conformatorium. He turned to Warden Wrath, "Thank you for your cooperation. The Emperor will be pleased." Then, Darius turned himself into abomination goo as he used his teleportation spell on Hunter to get them both outside the conformatorium.
Immediately after that whole mess was over, Darius grabbed Hunter's mask and yanked it off him. "Summon your staff. We're going straight to Willow's house," he hissed. Hunter swallowed a heavy lump that came to his throat and did what he was told as he and Darius began flying away from the conformatorium. There was a deafening, awkward silence for almost the entire flight, but eventually, Darius couldn't hold his tongue anymore, "What were you thinking, Hunter?! You could've gotten yourself caught! I told you to stay behind!"
Hunter winced, guilt rushing through him, "I'm sorry… I just wanted to save her."
"And you could've gotten in deep trouble with your uncle!" Darius retorted.
"I know, I know…" Hunter muttered. He began trembling, his bottom lip quivering. He slowly and hesitantly rolled up his sleeve, "...Go ahead, just… please make it quick,"
"...What?" Darius went. He suddenly realized that Hunter probably thought he would get brutally punished for defying his orders, and the thought that Hunter was expecting to get hit broke his heart. Darius let out a pained sigh, "Hunter, listen, I am not gonna hurt you. I'm mad because I care about you. I would normally support you rebelling a little…but this was far too dangerous. I don't want you getting hurt. Your safety comes first. Okay?"
Hunter slowly nodded, eyeing to the side, "Okay…"
Willow's house was in sight, and they had arrived. Hunter saw Willow asleep in her bed, and he couldn't help but faintly smile. "Go on," Darius said. Hunter nodded and proceeded to teleport inside. Hunter rushed to Willow and desperately shook her awake "Willow! Willow! Wake up! Willow! Wake up! Please!"
The sound of Hunter's voice was enough to wake Willow up. She stirred, opening her wary eyes, "...Hunter?" she tiredly moaned.
"Willow!" Hunter went with a relieved sigh, "Oh, thank Titan, you're okay!"
Willow sat up, rubbing her eyes. "...What happened? Why are we here?"
"You were taken to the conformatorium, but Darius freed you," Hunter explained. His bottom lip quivered, and he forced himself to fight tears, "Willow…Willow, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I failed you. I should've said something before, and I shouldn't have let you over if I knew you'd be in danger."
Willow cupped Hunter's cheek, causing Hunter to calm down, "Hunter, don't be sorry. You didn't fail me. I get it. You were scared. I would've been, too, if I were in your shoes. It wasn't your fault we were stopped by that small woman. None of this is your fault."
"S-So, we're still friends, right?" Hunter asked.
Willow nodded with a welcoming smile, "Of course, Hunnie."
Hunter froze. "H-Hunnie?" he muttered. A warm blush overtook his cheeks as a faint chuckle escaped from him. Titan, that was such a cute nickname. "You're the sweetest." Darius knocked on the window, gesturing that they had to go. This caused Hunter to frown, "Listen, I can't stay," he said as he wiped his tears, "I gotta go back to the castle to start my shift, but I hope I can see you again soon."
"Goodbye, Hunter. I had so much fun with you yesterday." Willow said with a wave.
Hunter smiled ear to ear, the blush expanding to his ears. "...me too," he said as he opened the window.
"See you later," Willow said with a sad smile.
Hunter returned the sorrowful smile, "Yeah… see you soon." As he reboarded Flapjack and they took off to return to the castle.
Hunter frowned. He didn't want to return to his daily castle chores and wished he could've hung out with Willow forever. He also wished today's sleepover hadn't ended like this but was very relieved that Willow was understanding of the situation. As the castle was in sight, he began imagining the next time he would see Willow. It would definitely be another fun time of being goofy, silly, and bonding with each other. There was always next time, but for now, that next time would have to wait.
However, he was definitely looking forward to that next time. Whenever it would be.