The Monster's Apprentice: Chapter 93 - Time to Say Goodbye | Part 2
“Miracles are rare things, fleeting as a whisper in the wind. In the life of a monster hunter, they are not just rare, they are nearly nonexistent. When one does occur, it is something to be cherished, never taken for granted. A lucky strike, an unexpected ally, a narrow escape, each could be called a miracle in its own right. But let no hunter grow complacent in believing such blessings will come again. Miracles are gifts, not guarantees. And in our line of work, they are far and few between.”
— Abraham Grimveil, “Facing the Darkness: A Hunter’s Manual,” page 30
Emily listened to the sounds of her parents rushing upstairs, bracing herself for the confrontation.
Clara was the first to hurry in, with Arthur following close behind. Before Emily could process the moment, Clara was at her bedside, pulling her into a hug. “Oh, my sweet girl...” Clara’s voice cracked as she wrapped her arms around Emily, holding her as if she might vanish if she let go.
Emily was overwhelmed by the rush of sensations. There was pain from sitting up, but also the warmth of her mother’s embrace. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been held like this. The last time she’d even seen her mother was. The night it all happened, she didn’t even have time to mourn. She had to run to hide. Only a few weeks after the incident did the weight of everything really settle onto her. It was hard. For three long years, she had been on the move, fleeing from town to town until she finally reached the city, where she could disappear into the streets. She was always looking over her shoulder, never staying anywhere too long. Now, her mother’s arms were around her again. It wasn’t a dream. It was real. Her tears came fast, and she didn’t try to stop them. She buried her face into her mother’s shoulder.
“I thought you were dead,” Emily choked out.
Arthur knelt beside the bed and wrapped his arms around both of them. For a while, they stayed like that, neither one wanting to let go. All the shared years of fear, pain, and loss poured out with their tears.
Arthur’s hand gently stroked Emily’s hair. “I’m so sorry… for everything.”
Mina had been standing in the doorway, silent, watching. Then she quietly stepped back, leaving them to their moment.
When enough time had passed, Emily pulled her head back and let out a long, weary sigh. “It’s… okay. Can’t really change what happened, right?”
Arthur and Clara shared a look. She could see it in their eyes, the way they could see her. Nervous. They knew exactly what she was thinking about.
“Emily,” Clara said. “About what we were talking about back in the asylum. We feel like you deserve a better answer than the one we gave you at the time.”
“I think I get the gist of it,” Emily muttered.
Clara rested her hand on Emily’s. “Sweetie, we never wanted this. You have to understand, when we thought we lost you at Pillio’s Watch, it broke us. We didn’t even know what we were, what was happening to our bodies. We woke up different. Hungry. Terrified. We went to that asylum because we were told to, because that vampire threatened us. He had told us to inform Draven of his efforts in tracking you down. But Draven saw through us. He knew that vampire had us lie to cover his ass. He didn’t kill us, though. He offered us a choice: serve him, or die.”
“So you just… went along with it? Helped him run that place? Watched people suffer?”
“We didn’t want to,” Arthur whispered. “Every day, it tore at us. The things we saw, the things we had to do to survive… I’d look at those people, the patients, and see you in their faces. I’d imagine you in those cells, screaming, and it killed me. But Draven’s power is not just physical. He gets inside your head, twists your thoughts. He made us believe there was no way out.”
“We weren’t running the asylum, not like you think,” Clara explained. “We were cogs, Emily. Glorified errand runners. We carried messages, kept records, but above all, we served his every need. We hated it. Every second. But if we refused, he’d have killed us, or worse, given us to the succubi.”
Arthur’s jaw clenched. “We stayed because we had to. Because we hoped. When we heard rumors you were alive, that you were the conduit, it changed everything. We clung to that. We told ourselves you’d come, that you’d be strong enough to end him. And we swore we’d be there to help you, no matter what it took.”
Emily’s chest tightened as their tones rang in her ear. She thought of her own life since Pillio’s Watch, how she was on the run, living day by day scavenging for scraps. How Mina had found her, trained her, turned her into a hunter of the very creatures her parents had become. That life hadn’t been her choice either. She’d been forced into it, shaped by circumstance, just as they had. “You could’ve looked for me,” she said. “You could’ve tried. I mean… that whole time I was so close to you.”
“We couldn’t have known,” Arthur said. “But we thought you were dead. By the time you were found, you had been whisked away to somewhere safe, and we would rather you stayed hidden than be found by Draven. I’d imagine you out there, fighting, growing stronger. I told myself we were doing our part by staying alive, by being there when you needed us. But I know it wasn’t enough. I know we failed you.”
Emily wanted to stay angry, to hold onto the betrayal, but their words chipped away at it. They were her parents, flawed, broken, but still hers. They’d been forced into this nightmare, just as she’d been forced into hers. But there was a chance they wouldn’t become the monsters she swore to fight. If anything, they had proven they weren’t. They had retained their humanity in hell.
“I don’t know how to feel,” Emily admitted. “I want to hate you for what you did. But… I think I get it. You didn’t choose this. Neither did I.”
“We love you all the same,” Clara said, reaching out to hug her again. We’ve always loved you. Everything we did, we did to survive long enough to see you again.”
Emily stiffened at first, then relaxed into her mother’s arms.
“We’re not perfect,” Arthur said. “We’re monsters, maybe. But we’re your monsters. And we’ll fight for you, Emily. We’ll do whatever it takes to help you end this.”
Emily nodded, tears slipping down her cheeks. She pulled back slightly, enough to look at their faces. “Does that mean… you’re staying with us now?”
Clara and Arthur shared a look, a look Emily had seen before, the look her parents had given her before when they were about to deliver hard news.
“We… we spoke with Mina,” Arthur began. “She’s been so kind to us, letting us stay here. But we can’t stay in Cresthill forever.”
Emily’s heart sank. “What do you mean? Why not? We’re safe here…”
Clara shook her head. “Because we’re vampires, Emily. We aren’t like Mina. We’ve drunk human blood for too many years. We need it. Even now, Arthur and I are struggling to get by on the sheep’s blood Mina had been providing us.”
“So, what are you saying? You’re leaving?”
Arthur nodded. “We’ve made a hard decision, one that will not only help us, but help you as well.”
“What is it?”
“We think it’ll be better for us to go to Alnwick Island. The people there… they’re more like us. We won’t have to hide. We’ll have human blood to live off of.”
“W-What? That’s not any safer?”
“For you, maybe. But for us, it’s where our kind goes to hide, to keep away from the mainland.”
Emily’s heart started aching in a way she hadn’t felt in years. After everything, after finally finding them, they were leaving again. And this time, she couldn’t go with them. It was like losing them all over again.
Clara tried to hold it together, but was failing. “I’m so sorry. We don’t want to leave you, but we’re doing it to protect you.”
Arthur sat at the edge of Emily’s bed, and Clara perched beside him, wiping tears from her face. “We aren’t doing it because we don’t want to be here with you, we do,” Arthur explained. “But we’re not finished with our job.”
Emily tilted her head.
“Queen Lockhart is still out there, and as long as she’s alive, you’re in danger. We could stay here, try to protect you, but Mina’s better equipped for that. Our strength lies elsewhere. Alnwick Island is where vampires like us can blend in, hide in plain sight. We can infiltrate the queen’s inner circle, gather information, and find weaknesses to help you defeat her.”
Emily’s stomach twisted at the thought of her parents going back to a hellhole like the one they just crawled out of. She wanted to scream at them, to tell them it wasn’t their job to protect her anymore, that they could just stay, just be her parents. But she held back.
“From what we understand,” Arthur continued, “Draven never sent word about capturing you. He was too proud. He wanted to bring you to the queen himself, to see the look on her face. And Violet, she made sure no vampire or succubus escaped that place after we were freed.”
“But what if something happens on the island? What if you get caught?”
“We’ve done this before,” Clara said. “In the asylum, we played our parts, kept our heads down. No one on the island knows who we are. We’re ghosts to them.”
“And Mina’s been training us,” Arthur added. “She took us to the ruins in the mountains and taught us how to defend ourselves.”
Clara managed a small, tearful laugh. “You should’ve seen your father trying to stay on that pendulum thing.”
Emily chuckled, despite herself. “She made you do that, too?”
Arthur grinned, shaking his head. “I don’t know how you managed it. But I’ll be damned if I didn’t learn a thing or two. We’re prepared, Emily. We’ll pose as loyalists, learn the castle’s layout, its defenses, and Lockhart’s plans. We’ll send word to you and Mina, anything to give you an edge when the time comes.”
Clara’s eyes welled up again. “It’s a disgusting thing to imagine, pretending to be on their side again, but… it’s what we have to do. It’s how we can help, and if we can get close to the queen, it’ll be worth it.”
Emily’s heart pounded in her chest. She looked from her mother to her father. “Are… are you sure about this?”
Arthur took a deep breath, forcing a smile. He reached out and brushed a stray tear from Emily’s cheek. “We’re sure. We know you’re safe here with Mina. And we know you’re capable of more than we ever imagined. You’ve done things... incredible things. Things we never thought possible.”
“And I’m so proud of you, Emily,” Clara said with a cracking voice. “So proud. You’ve become so strong. You’ve… you’ve done things I couldn’t even dream of. And I’m so, so sorry, sweetheart, for not believing in you before. After Peccatum University, I was angry and bitter. The debt they threw on us, the way they treated you… I hated the idea of you going back to magic after that. I should’ve been more supportive.”
Emily sniffled, nodding her head. “It’s okay, Mom. I get it.” She wiped at her eyes, trying to hold back more tears. She wanted to stop crying because it was starting to hurt. She didn’t need anything else hurting. “When… when are you leaving?”
Arthur hesitated, glancing at Clara before answering. “We were waiting for you to wake up. But I think we can stay a few more days. We want to hear everything from you, everything you’ve done, everything you’ve learned. Hell, I’d ask you to show me a few things, but I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said with a chuckle.
A small, tired smile crossed Emily’s face. “Probably not.”
Arthur laughed softly. “But I saw enough already. I knew you had it in you. I always knew.”
Clara leaned in, pressing her forehead to Emily’s, and gently grabbed the sides of her head. “We’ll be okay, Emily.”
Emily closed her eyes. She knew deep down, it was for the better. Even if it hurt to know they would be leaving her again, she found some comfort in being able to say goodbye this time.
In the weeks that followed, Emily clung to every second with her parents. Most days, she was stuck in bed, still weak and sore from everything she’d been through. But her parents stayed close. Her mother sat at her bedside, brushing hair from her face, telling stories about what they went through at the hospital. It wasn’t all terrible, there were a few amusing things that happened there. She’d sit with her late into the night, and Emily would eagerly show them her bestiaries and everything she had learned. When Emily was finally able to stand and move around, she insisted on walking with them. Her legs still felt shaky, but her father offered his arm for support as they strolled through the woods that walled in Cresthill Valley. They didn’t talk much on those walks; Emily was content just to be near them. One afternoon, she watched them train with Mina in the yard. For as serious as their training was, that day it was more funny. Her mother clumsily swung a blade, her father struggled to maintain balance during basic maneuvers. Mina had a patience Emily had never seen before. It was like she understood what this meant, not just for Arthur and Clara, but for Emily herself. She gave gentle corrections and showed them how to move without wasting energy, and how to strike quickly and retreat. Emily even found herself stepping in, pointing out small flaws in her mother’s form, and correcting her stance.
“Straighten your back more, Mom,” Emily said with a smile. She couldn’t help but laugh as her mother tried to mimic her movements. It was nowhere near the skill Emily had developed, but it was enough to give them an edge, enough to let Emily believe they might stand a chance.
Then, there were the quiet moments. Sitting together by the fireplace, just listening to the crackle of burning wood, feeling the warmth against their skin. Emily would lay her head on her father’s shoulder, or laugh at one of her mother’s stories from when she was younger.
For the first time in years, Emily felt normal. But the final day came too soon. Emily helped them pack, purposefully slow, just to delay the inevitable. Her father tried to lighten the mood, cracking jokes about Mina’s cooking, but Emily could see the way his hands trembled, the way his eyes lingered on her face. Her mother had the same expression.
When the time came to say goodbye, Emily wasn’t sure if she had the strength to do it.
Mina had driven the stagecoach to a secluded spot in the woods, far from prying eyes, far from anyone who might see them off and wonder where they were headed. Her mother was the first to pull her into a hug, and Emily let herself collapse into it. She wrapped her arms around her mother tightly, as if she just held on long enough, she could keep her from leaving.
“I’m so proud of you, sweetheart,” she whispered into her ear.
When they finally pulled apart, Emily turned to her father. He pulled her into his arms too, squeezing her so tight she could barely breathe, but she didn’t care. She wanted to stay in that moment forever. “We’ll see you again soon, Emily. I promise.”
Emily’s throat was too tight to form words. She didn’t want the hug to end, didn’t want this to be goodbye, but she finally made herself let go. “I love you…” she said to them.
And Emily stood there, rooted to the spot, watching as her parents ventured off into the distance. Mina, standing beside her, placed a hand on her shoulder. Emily didn’t look at her, didn’t want to turn away from the path just yet.
“You okay?” Mina asked.
Emily’s breath hitched, her eyes still wet with tears. “I will be.”
“They’ll be alright.”
“I know… I know… But what about us? What do we do now?”
Mina was quiet for a moment. “Prepare.”
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