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Claire… struggles with sleep, after she finds out all the truths,
Well, the ones that Catharine and Gabrielle— Gabby were willing to tell.
(Gabrielle, of course, had been part of the lie. The lie that she was pregnant with the Chosen One, not the reincarnation of her.)
But that’s okay, she knows it was bad.
(She knows it was terrible from lessons in school of the Horned One, so different from the Bright One the people around her all but worship. The Bright One was good, she healed Shards, she created a haven for witches against their persecution…
The Horned One was destruction.
and in flashes, flashes of fire and pain and trying to heal them and too much and horns too big too full too heavy finally cracking.
Everyone will tell you that the fall of Eden, the fall of a safe and happy place for witches, was a tragedy.)
She’s angry at both Gabby and Catharine, still, but… truly, she can understands why it would be hard to tell.
It’s hard to learn, too, when she’d been taught the Horned One, first.
(She wonders who was closer to the truth of Clementine, brightness or broken, thorned horns.)
And, well, usually the sleeplessness is just awakening at night, the echo of someone else closest on her mind when her subconscious had been so close to the surface.
Tonight it’s even hard to fall asleep.
Perhaps because the previous night had just been so… much. And she’d been so exhausted, last night, but now she’s shown herself, and she did find some of the answers she was looking for, if not in the ways she’d expected of it.
But she can at least lie still and quiet so that everyone else can sleep, of course.
…Except that not everyone else is asleep, she realizes as she hears the faint sound of someone getting up. Marie, she thinks?
She immediately closes her eyes and finds herself surprised when there’s a hand on her shoulder.
“It’s been, like, a lot, these past few days,” a voice says, and, yes, it’s definitely Marie. “Especially for you. I’m amazed that you can even sleep. You didn’t have to reveal yourself, but you did, and that’s, like, really brave… and good…”
Marie trails off and moves her hand away.
“I don’t know if it’s my job anymore, but… I’m still going to guard you, Claire, protect you, I…” her voice goes down to a whisper.
“…I think I love you.”
…what? Wow. Okay, that’s…
Wow.
Marie sighs, pulling away.
“I don’t know, I just…”
Marie goes silent, and Claire can faintly feel her crossing the room.
She doesn’t know what to think.
(Except that she does. She feels the same.)