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You cut her free of her thorny prison.
You grab your beloved's hand in your own, gently taking it and pulling her to her feet. She stumbles, her legs weak and weary from being trapped, unable to move from the strong and leeching vines that snake around her body. They tighten and pull and pierce and dig with each attempt at freedom she so desperately tried with every moment she was beneath the beckoning starlight that shined through her cage above her.
You catch her in your arms, quickly and tightly holding her, dropping the blade that you once held in your scarred hands down to the vine-covered down below, it easily slicing through and embedding itself in the floorboards below with a loud thunk. You ignore the sound as you stabilize yourself, the frail but strong and hardy weight before you now pressing into you. As gently as you can, you hold one arm around her waist and another on her back, keeping her from falling once more, the thorns still wrapped around her poking into you as you do.
You look down at her beautiful hair, a large wave of luscious locks, speckled with small swaths of vines like dolphins breaching from beneath the ocean's surface, frozen in place forever in time. She gently raises her head, looking up to meet your gaze. Her eyes are beautiful, like glistening gems of pure love, like two opals reflecting the starlight that wearily shines down upon you two. You could easily get lost in those eyes, oceans of starlight peering up and into you.
She offers a small, tender smile to you before pushing herself off of you. Before she stands completely up and separates from you, you grab one of her hands without thinking, swiftly interlocking your fingers with her own. Her body offers a light jerk as it is suddenly stopped, and she looks up at you, a slight blush rising to her face.
You can feel her hand in your own, her fingers and palm soft but speckled with rough streaks of scars and scratches, scarred from the many attempts at freedom and various regrets she has accumulated over her wary existence. You gently unlock your fingers from hers and press your palms together before grasping her hand, feeling each and every groove, every scar and cut. You can feel her flinch as you touch a particular scar, her stained hand wriggling slightly. You quickly let go. You hurt her. Be more careful.
You look towards her, offering wordless apologies from your eyes to hers. Her face looks hurt for a moment, then melancholic before she offers a forgiving smile towards you, telling you without a single breath needed that she knows you didn't mean it.
Her smile is so beautiful, her eyes as well. You can feel your body getting hotter, your face feeling more flush as you look at her, admiring the beauty of this hurt and betrayed but hopeful and happy of this figure before you.
You gently cup her chin with one hand, placing your other on her shoulder. She looks up at you, her face full of confusion and hesitation as your face moves closer to hers. Just before you close your eyes, you see a blush rise to her face once more as she realizes what you mean to do, her eyes shutting just before yours do. And you both kiss.
It feels like fireworks, like the very world itself is delighted at this momentous event, like the love you two are exerting, showing off into the world in this moment is flooding the very air like heavy perfume. You wrap your one arm around her waist, pulling her closer to you, one of your hands still holding her cheek and chin tenderly.
You both continue to kiss, taking only momentary breaks to take quick breathes here and there as you profess your love to each other more and more. Your bodies feel warm, like a raging fire has blossomed within them both, like the first day of spring when all the flowers begin to bloom and grow. You feel like you're dancing through a field of roses, your hands intertwined as the sun sets on you both and the stars greet you, shining their own lights down like spotlights for you to dance through, with each swift motion of your bodies causing the flames of passion and love inside you both to grow evermore.
You stop once more to catch your breath and, instead of continuing, hold her face in both of your hands, her looking deep into your eyes, studying every part of your face as you study hers, appreciating and loving her with every fiber of your being. She raises her arms and places her hands behind your neck, causing your body to twitch from the sudden touch. She then pulls your face down to hers, giving you one final, momentous kiss.
It feels like so much more than the others. Like seeing a star be born, like seeing the first flower bloom on a sunny day, like seeing a new life be brought into this world, seeing the joy on a new mother's face, the love she feels towards the new life she bore and the one who helped her bear it. Like seeing two lovers finally touch after being separated by a wall of glass for years, like seeing a first kiss being shared with another, experiencing and feeling this enormous ocean, raging wildfire, giant tower of love course into you and through you, your body feeling invigorated, a second wind flowing into your lungs, heart, and soul.
You then unlock your lips once more. A beautiful blush has grown on her face, snaking across it like a python through tall grass, giving color to her dainty, fragile body. You both breathe heavily. You forgot to breathe during that final one. You grab her hands and pull her close to you, hugging her once more before letting go and taking one of her hands in yours, quickly rushing to the basement stairs with renewed hope and vigor and a newly blossomed love between you two.
But the way to freedom, to a new beginning between you two, is blocked by a thick wall of vines and thorns, their pain and seeming hatred towards your actions pointing towards you with venomous intent. You can't even see the stairway entrance anymore, the stairs before you packed full of pain and scratches and terror in the form of these evil tendrils of grass and root.
You move back, unlocking your and your beloved's hands for a moment to retrieve the pristine blade you have carried with you for so long. It still has a job to do, although different than the one it was molded and made for.
You walk back, blade in your hand, determination in your eyes. You lock your free hand with your beloved once more and thrust the blade forwards, stabbing into the last defence, the last bastion this cage of vine and betrayal and hurt and monstrous deceit has. You cut, again and again, the walls of the stairway, once suffocating, now seeming to grow outwards more and more, like an unseen tension and pressure inside them has now been released, allowing you two to move freely upwards with ease, the vines before you standing no match for your love, hope and will to grow past the pain you have caused each other fueling each stroke and slash of the blade you wield.
As you cut the final, flimsy vine before you, the starlight suddenly graces you both with it's presence, shining down on you like a spotlight, showing the entire world the result of your efforts, of your trust, of your love.
You step forwards onto the broken, charred cabin floor and look back to your love. Her eyes lock with yours as you both move forwards towards the cabin door, to the freedom you have both craved for so, so long. She offers you a happy smile, and you reciprocate with one of your own.
You then turn back charred door, the remnants of it clinging stubbornly to the broken and battered and scarred frame that stands like a candle in an open field before you, the walls around it non-existent, the wind flowing forwards through them.
Thorn stands beside you. You both then place your hands on the frail doorknob before you two, and push.
The door frame itself falls down, crashing to the rough terrain behind it with a solid, hollow crunch, shattering into dust and ash and a million fragments and splinters which are swiftly carried off by a gentle breeze. Thorn lets go of your hand and rushes forwards, twirling around with happiness and hope renewed, a large smile on her face as she does.
As you move to join her, one of her feet catches a snagging branch, which causes her to fall down backwards to a bed of vines and pain that awaits her eagerly.
Without thinking, you dart forwards, throwing the pristine blade into the ground once more as you grab her hand with both of yours and powerfully pull her back to you, away from the pain and hurt that would await her had she fallen. You pull her so hard she seems to fly into you, ramming into your body with a sudden force so hard you can feel your muscles quiver. You wrap your arms around her tightly and swiftly move backwards, slightly carrying your beloved away from the danger.
As soon as you begin moving away, you can feel her push back against your warm arms, meant to keep her safe. You let go, still holding one of her hands in your own as she fully stands up. You can see a tinkle of fear in her eyes as she looks back to the thorn bush and back to you, happiness and gratefulness emerging into her eyes, dancing up from the bottom of her soul as she smiles happily. You've saved her from pain yet again.
Her smile fades slightly, staying as a wide and tender grin that spreads across her face. She takes one of your hands in her own and asks you what you both should do next. You have a whole world before you both now...
First things first? Exploration. You reach down and retrieve your pristine tool, holding her hand in yours once more as you both slowly head down the rugged path, moving past the giant, root-like vines that snake around the top of the hill. The Thorn hesitantly considers each step she takes, as if one wrong move will cause this new-found reality and freedom she now finds herself in to crumble away like dust in the wind.
Just before she takes another step, you move towards her and pick her up in your arms in one swift motion. Her face reddens slightly as you do, and she looks away from you for but a moment before beginning to stare ahead and up at you in swift succession of each movement, her tail brushing against your arms and hair against your face. Holding her, nigh-cradling in her arms, you can't help but stare into her lovely eyes as you make your way down the steep path, your beloved safe in your arms.
As you both finally exit the path, the border between the hill and forest just before you two seeming like in invisible wall, you set your beloved down before you, her feet pressing into the ground as she steadies herself. She looks up at you and then to the ever-stretching path before her, her face, once highlighted with a pink blush, now steady and prepared for the unknown. She reaches for your free hand steadily and grabs it just as you move to grab her own.
Interlocking fingers, your thumb against trailing against the back of her hand, gently feeling her soft skin against yours, you steel yourself and walk into the unknown together.
The forest is dark, save for the shimmers of starlight that pierce through the gaps in the leaves. Your eyes take but a moment to adjust as you both move through the rough, almost overgrown trail that seems to swim forwards across the forest ground, waving in and around and across each bush and tree around it. The world seems eerily quiet, and you tighten your grip on her hand. The quiet seems familiar but dreadful. You don't like it but it welcomes you nonetheless.
You both continue onwards, the trees slowly but surely beginning to grow sparser and sparser, as a new sound slowly fills both of your ears; running water. You look at her and she looks at you, and before you can say anything she lets go of you and rushes forwards into the blinding clearing you can see before you.
You run towards her, not wanting to let her out of your sight lest she get hurt once more, and find her kneeling down at a riverside. The water is something you have never seen before but have always known. You kneel down, placing an open palm into the water. It feels weird and... COLD!
You quickly jerk your hand back, shaking the water from your hand in a feeble attempt to shake away the cold that bites into your flesh. You hear a giggling to your side and look to see the Princess, your Thorn, your Beloved Rose, smiling wide as she giggles happily and heartily at your sudden expression of shock. A warmth rises to your cheeks as you reach down and splash some water onto her, causing her to jolt and abruptly stop laughing as the cold sets into her. She looks at the river and your cupped palm inside then back at you.
A mischievous grin grows onto her face, her eyes smirking at you as she crawls forwards a foot, cupping water in both of her hands and flinging a large splash of it directly into your face. As you rub your eyes and sputter, you can hear the same giggling as before, although more proud, gleeful and playful.
You stare at her. Then at the river. Then back at her again. She follows your gaze and realizes what you're about to do- You swiftly jump into the deep riverbed, it's cold water climbing up to your knees. You ignore the cold and thrust your arms up to the elbows into the water and look at her, reciprocating her mischievous grin with one of your own.
You see her tail freeze in place as she covers her body with her arms, pitifully bracing for the freezing wave to come...
One second... Nothing happens.
Two seconds... Nothing happens.
Three seconds... Nothing... happens?
Her tail flicks in confusion as she lowers her arms, she was sure she was going to be splashed-
Her thoughts are interrupted as the wave she was bracing for arrives later than expected, ramming into her full force and soaking her completely. Holding your stomach, your joyous laughter booms out across the surroundings, immediately catching your beloved's attention.
The Thorn spits out some water from her mouth before she leaps into the river with you and splashes you with a wave, almost not as big as yours just before, but large enough to make you fall on your butt, your rear ramming into the hard stones below. You look up at her, the pain from the impact adding fuel to your playful fire. You quickly stand up and splash her again, and she swiftly responds in kind with another splash. And so you splash her again, and vice versa.
You both laugh happily, the cold of the water melting away as they play in the river, the water soaking across them, filled with their love and adoration with each other with each splash.
It feels like they go on for hours, both of them starting to breathe heavier as the splashes steadily grow smaller and smaller.
You slowly sit down on the riverside, putting a hand up to block a final splash. You admit defeat. Though she has grown and changed, she still has the mischievous power and endurance that comes with a Witch. Your dangle your legs in the water, letting the flow of it dance and move through your toes, gliding across your rugged skin.
She moves to sit beside you but slips slightly, falling into the ground beside you, causing the thorns that still cling along to her to pierce into her right arm slightly, a new trail of blood flowing down on the dirt below her.
She quickly picks herself up, looking down and examining the new scratch that adorns her many others. She looks up at you and offers a slightly pained but reassuring smile, saying she's simply fine. That cannot stand.
You grab the pristine tool, logged into the riverside behind you, and move towards her, gently grabbing her wrist, holding her arm steady as you move the blade in between one of the thorns and jerk it upwards, slicing the vine in two and revealing deep, red stained skin below.
You can feel her tense up as you begin cutting the remaining vines adorning her, wrapped around her like a boa constrictor, reminders of the pain she once went through. As you cut the last vine, it falls to the ground with the others. You move your foot and kick the cut remnants of pain and betrayal and regret into the river, causing them to flow away into unseen depths and territories better left forgotten.
You slowly look up to her, stretching your hunched over back to it's original position as you do, and look at her face to face, her eyes meeting your neck and trailing along it, across your chin, mouth, nose and all the way up to your eyes. She looks at you, staring deep into you, something unknown in her eyes as she does. It feels like forever before she moves, a single tear forming and falling trailing down her cheek and falling from her face, landing on one of your toes. It's warm and soft.
Her mouth then slowly curls upwards into a grateful and happy grin. You move your hand forwards and gently wipe away the dregs of tears that cling to her eyes and move downwards, planting a quick but ever so loving kiss on her lips.
Her smile seems to widen as you gently sit down, pulling her down with you. As she sits on her legs, you shuffle behind her, leaving behind the pristine tool as you do. Her body tenses suddenly and then relaxes as you begin moving your fingers through and thro her hair, softly plucking the remaining pieces of vine that intertwine with her hair, being careful as to not rip any of her own out with the vines. You fail a couple times until you get it down to a perfect art.
Just before you move onto the biggest piece of vine and thorn stuck in her luscious, silky smooth hair, you notice a dark print on her back. You gently move her hair upwards and see a large scar across it, running from just behind her right shoulder to the middle of her back in a clean, smooth curved arc. A pain shoots through you as you remember. You caused this scar. You gently move your hand onto it, rubbing your thumb up and down the thin but painful memory and scar before you. Suddenly, a hand grabs your own. You look up to Thorn staring at you, a hardness in her eyes as she looks deep into your own, her hand firmly grasping the one that is touching her scar. Her gaze softens as she reads the pain in your eyes, and she offers you a tender and forgiving smile. You've hurt her. She's hurt you. But you've both grown past it, better for each other. Better together. You then let go of the scar, putting her hair back to where it was before you noticed as she looks forwards once more to let you continue your task.
You pause as your hands fiddle with the large piece of vine, it being a particularly difficult one. You then shift your eyes upwards and forwards to Thorn. Then a glint catches your eye, and you realize she's examining the pristine blade. The weapon, the tool, the implement meant to cause the end of her life and existence, to reduce her to a corpse and discard any and all feelings and emotions she once held inside her as she becomes nothing.
You finish with the hard to free piece of vine, zero strands of hair sticking to it as you throw it into the river with all of the others. As you remove your hands from the large mane of hair she has, a beautiful waterfall of fluffy silk, she stands up, the pristine blade still in her hand. She looks up at you, her thumbs and fingers pressing and caressing the blade itself. She then looks down the river and back to you. She need not say words, what she wishes to do is clear.
You gently grab her hand holding the blade's handle. She moves to let go of it but you use your other hand to keep hers holding the blade with you. You look at her. Then down the river and back to her once more. She nods and you do as well.
You and her move your hands holding the pristine blade over the river and then-
Plop. The pristine blade falls into the flowing water, being swiftly and gently carried away by the current. Her hands are still outstretched and slightly shaking, like all the pain and regret and everything she has harbored and hated inside herself has just let go of her and she can barely withstand the new gap in herself she finds.
You grab her hands in your arm and turn her to face you. You look into her and she looks into you. You love and she loves you. Her hands stop trembling as you stare into each other's eyes.
Then, you both take a breath. How long were you holding it for? It felt like minutes, maybe even hours?
You let the thought drift away like many of the sorrows you both have let go of today and take her hand in yours once again, both of you walking into the river, the current seeming gentle, caressing you both with it's now warm waters as it continues through the forest past you and her. Then, you both step up onto the other side of the river.
Thorn looks back, and you follow her gaze. You can both just barely make out the hill the cabin rests upon. You move your free hand up and gently cup her cheek, turning her face towards you. Regret and sorrow and relief swirl around in her beautiful eyes. The regret and sorrow drift away, being replaced by a powerful readiness to face the world before you two and perseverance to continue living together in happiness, no matter what heartache you both encounter.
You look forwards with her and move through the new, clean and smooth forest path before you with her in tow, hand in hand, love stronger than ever.
The forest path, shorter than the previous once, leads you both to a large clearing full of multiple flowers. Colors you haven't seen before grace your vision. Pink. Blue. Yellow. White. Yet again, something you've never seen before but known all the same.
Thorn rushes forwards, running into the field and standing in the middle of it. She suddenly turns towards you, her hand outstretched and a giant, happy smile plastered on her face, her eyes almost closed with how hard she's smiling.
You quickly move forwards to take her hand. You look at her and she looks at you once more. And then you both dance.
The breeze seems to grow more abundant, causing the flowers and trees to dance in the wind alongside you both. Your hands never separate as you keep dancing your hearts out, once again showing the world your love, something that can never be broken now. You keep dancing and dancing and dancing, to a point where you both never look away from the other, your gazes locked together as your dancing comes to a slow, graceful movement, your bodies only slightly moving as you hold both of your hands in each other's.
You both then stop, still gazing into each other. A blush rises to her cheeks as you both raise and lean down towards each other, locking your lips together and kissing once more.
This time it feels more complete. More special. More found. More beautiful than the greatest sunset rolling over giant hills or the pitter patter of rain on a window meant to lull you asleep.
You then separate again, her arms locked behind your neck and staying there, much to your necks slight disapproval. You then both feel a new warmth spread across your bodies and look forwards. The sun is finally rising, the stars quickly vanishing as it grows and rises above the trees, it's rays washing onto you both.
You then stand upwards, causing your beloved to rise up with you. As soon as she begins to rise you fall backwards onto the flowers behind you, her thudding and laying atop you, her body warmer against yours, more comforting than the softest blanket or comfiest bed.
She unlocks her arms from behind your neck and rolls off of you, laying beside you amongst the beautiful flowers, now seemingly grown taller with the new sun to greet them. You take your gaze away from the sun and look to hers. Your eyes meet and you both smile happily. You grab her hand in yours, pulling her close to you and wrapping your arms around her body, shifting so you're fully facing her, body and all. She wraps her arms around your back, her tired eyes, the bags under them weary from holding up the weight of the world, finally close as she begins to fall asleep from exhaustion, both physical and mental. You quickly follow suit, the sun and the surroundings vanishing into darkness as-
You close your eyes. You love her. and she loves you. You are both complete with the other, and incomplete without the other. Your love will never be extinguished even in the mightiest of storms. You can never live without her by your side, and she feels the same.