"...She made sure there would be no more witches with three elements. She split them into a cycle. In that tree, all witches had one element starting from a certain point, but there was none under the oldest witches' names. Now I know why, I think. Perhaps until someone would be strong enough to have all three again... or enough witches could come together against the curse."
A silence follows my words, and as I look over my shoulder, Luna steps back, almost as if she's scared. The truth is probably scary for her, but she needs to hear it. Perhaps she should have heard this long ago.
"Your friend couldn't save you, but she didn't want to lose you either. She just did her best to ensure your curse wouldn't affect too many witches, or be used again. I always wondered why witches were so wary of werewolves, but perhaps she was behind that too. Telling her descendants they should avoid the wolves... avoid falling in love with them, and triggering your curse. She made sure none would have all three elements again, and no witch would fall in love with another wolf, at least not too soon."
I fully turn to her this time and shrug.
"You said it. Children of a witch and a werewolf are scary rare... Both because of you, and Luna's warnings. I think she knew, Luna. She knew that... after a long time had passed, and both your children had grown, things would change. That Royals with your Light Magic would appear, and werewolf witches like me, full of Dark Magic, would come back too. Perhaps everything was written long, long ago, just for you, Luna, to save you."
“No, no,” she whimpers. “I killed her. I killed Luna, she wasn't my friend…”
I let out a long sigh. Try thinking one way for centuries, resenting one person and hating them so much it becomes the fuel that consumes you, and this is how it ends... A huge, bitter lie. The one person she thought had betrayed her turned out to be her savior in the end. This is another side of the tragedy... She thought Luna the Witch had died because of that curse, but Luna the Wolf was the one who disappeared. If I had been that witch, I would have felt twice as sorry for my mistake, and given anything to repair it. The only two friends she had were killed, both because of her... Talk about a novice in befriending wolves. No wonder her loneliness became a family trait...
"Luna, it's okay. She was your friend, and she tried to save you. You were both... desperate, and dealing with something you couldn't handle, there's no one to blame."
“....I can't, Mara. I can't. She will never forgive me. After all these years, after all I've done.”
"Luna... She won't forgive you. She can't. Your friend died a very, very long time ago, and I'm sure she regretted leaving you. I think her forgiveness isn't something that matters anymore. The only one you ought to forgive is... yourself."
I suddenly hear and see her break into tears, literally bursting into loud sobs. It takes me a few seconds to realize she's shape-shifting into her human form. She's not in Ravena's body this time, just... Luna's human self. With her long white hair, and her blue eyes drowned in tears. I never thought she'd be so... tiny. Her body frame is almost as small as a child’s, and she seems frail now. She's curled up in front of me, her arms around her knees and letting it all out. That's right... Only humans cry and despair this much. I don't know how her wolf heart could handle this much. I sigh again, and get down on my knees to hug her. It's... odd, to console my enemy like this, but this Luna isn't the one who killed Liam, possessed by a curse. This one is a truly remorseful person, who regrets it all. I feel her sadness inside as much as I see it outside, and strangely, it puts some... ease in my own heart. As if it was a bit easier to forgive her myself.
"I'm so... so sorry," she cries, with a pretty but broken voice. "I can't believe... Oh, Moon Goddess, what have I done…? All of them... All those people... I... I really..."
She keeps crying. This, I can't do anything about, it's her own burden to carry. I can't erase the wrong she's done to other people and... I can't forget my own, either. After all this, I'll still have to return, and face the painful truth... I take a deep breath before it gets too tight, before I can't get any air in my lungs. It's painful, and it's hard, so hard. As if the echo I had been pushing to the back of my mind was coming back, louder and louder, to haunt me again. Perhaps because Luna is crying her heart out, and I'm not. I don't know. It's... as if I can't process anything right now. I just know I did what I had to, what I should have done, but Moon Goddess, it's hard.
"Mara..."
I'm surprised when she calls out my name, and suddenly raises her head. Even more surprising, she gently puts her hand against my cheek, staring at me with her eyes full of tears.
"Even you... Moon Goddess, I've hurt so many of my children, and Luna's..."
I hadn't realized until now, but... I'm actually a descendant of both of them, aren't I? As a werewolf of Royal blood, and a witch of Sadia's line... If Luna was the first werewolf whose Light Magic awoke with a witch's powers, was she the first Royal? Luna had said she awoke long dormant powers... Hard to tell. It doesn't really matter anymore. Some stories are perhaps better off as legends.
"I'm so sorry to you, Mara. I'm... sorry..."
She keeps crying and apologizing to me, but it just feels odd. Do I want her apology? Do I want to take it, and if I do, will it ease my pain just a little? I take another deep, erratic breath in. No, probably not. Apologies are never enough, they just... put the pain out there. It doesn't take it away, or make it less painful. I can't let it go, just like I can't forgive her like that, but... I can just let go of the hatred. Like forgiveness, it won't help much...
"I'll go," she whispers. "I... I'm so tired now. I don't know how... I did it, but I want to rest. Perhaps... I'll see them on the other side."
I nod faintly. I don't know if there's another side, and if there is, I don't want to know. I just hope... it's a peaceful, quiet place. I hope... No, I don't want to think about it.
"Mara, look at me."
I lift up my eyes, and behind the tears, she suddenly looks very determined.
"I understand what Luna did. She... tried to get rid of necromancy, and the Dark Magic I had made. The three powers should stay separated, Mara. You're strong, but I don't want to risk one of my daughters getting... trapped in a curse again. You need a very pure heart to resist that spell, Mara. Light Magic, Dark Magic... This world needs both, but never necromancy again. This is a world we should leave alone. The cycle of life and death can't be broken."
"I understand..." I mutter.
"Mara."
She forces me to look up again, and gently smiles.
"I... broke that cycle first. So, if you want to make things right again, just... one last time, and... the right way, you can. Do you understand?"
"...W-what?"
No, I don't understand. Make things right again? What does she mean by that? She gently smiles at me, and moves to hold my hands. She's stopped crying, and I realize I'm the one that's been sobbing. I just notice now how blurry my vision is, and the tears rolling down my cheeks, my own erratic breathing and the stupid hiccups in between.
