Chapter Text
The forest was extremely beautiful. Her mother had told her stories of the forests back in her homeland, but Holly never had the chance to see them. It had been difficult to leave Katolis and journey to Xadia with all the work her parents had to do. But this year, Holly's parents had surprised her, the twins (Lian and Tiadrin), and the triplets (Dameon, Sarai, and Harrow) with a trip to their mother's home village for the Harvest Moon Festival and to visit the siblings' Grandpa Runaan and Papa Ethari. Holly loved spending time with Runaan and Ethari. They were the closest thing she and her siblings had to grandparents and they in turned loved to spoil Holly and her siblings. Every time they visited, they had presents and sweets for them and always claimed grandfathers' rights. Holly couldn't wait and she knew her siblings felt the same way.
"Are we almost there?" Holly asked looking out the carriage window.
"Soon, Holly," Rayla said. "Now sit down before you fall."
Holly did as she was told but she was still excited. Her family didn't visit the Silvergrove often which was something Holly never completely understood. Her mother grew up in the Silvergrove and her two former guardians still lived there. But Holly didn't ask. She figured it had to do with her parents being ambassadors. Runaan and Ethari were waiting for them as the carriage pulled up.
“Grandpa Runaan! Papa Ethari!” Holly and her siblings called happily getting out of the carriage.
“Hi, kids,” Ethari said. “How was the trip?”
“Uneventful,” Callum said helping Rayla out of the carriage.
She hugged her two former guardians. She had missed them since their last visit. They didn’t visit as much as they liked and, despite Ezran’s pardon, there were some people in Katolis that weren’t comfortable around Runaan. And, with Rayla and Callum’s busy schedules, the family couldn’t always visit the Silvergrove.
“It’s good to have you home,” Ethari said.
🍁🍁🍁
From the shadows a figure watched. It had been years since she had last seen Rayla and her guardians. That last time, Rayla had been a little girl with pigtails. She had grown since then; becoming a woman with a husband and six children. The figure smiled. Rayla may have grown up, but now she had much more to lose when she took her revenge.