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Ella had often wondered if her stepmother would kill her someday. Hell, there were times where she would've preferred that, as opposed to living through another day of torture from her.
So when she fell unconscious after she cut her feet off, and then awoke in a foggy room, she didn't even question what had happened.
What she did question was why she could feel two sets of arms helping her to her feet. Was someone else in the Realm of Death with her?
"Ella? Hey, Earth to Ella!"
"She looks dazed. She must not have been here for long, the poor thing…"
Ella froze, holding her breath. She knew her stepsisters' voices from a mile away. Stepmother must've gotten them, too, the cruel demoness.
She refused to let them see her stir. She hoped they'd get bored after a while and leave her alone.
"Ella? ¿Compadre? Are you alright?"
Wait. That wasn't Rancilda.
It was her voice, but she couldn't have known that word. It was a word in Honeyhold's dominant language — which the trolls would never have cared enough to learn.
Realizing this, Ella finally mastered up the courage to turn her head, and gasped as her suspicions were confirmed. The woman holding her by her left arm didn't have Rancilda's messy, twin-bunned, light-brown hair. Her hair was reddish, slicked back, and styled in twin ponytails.
Before she even allowed herself to process who she was seeing, she found herself wrapping her arms tightly around her, causing the other to stumble back a bit.
"Woah! Missed you, too!" Lucy said with a small giggle, returning the hug.
"Be gentle with her, Luce," said the other voice — the one she'd initially believed to be Putrice's. "You remember how hard it was for us when we first got here."
Ella let go of Lucy, wiped her eyes, and turned to face the other woman. She wore her hair down, straight, and loose, unlike her stepsister, who wore it wavy, with a tight ponytail in the back and two curly strands on her sides.
"Respira, compadre," she instructed her, seemingly taking note of her expression and mistaking her emotion for distress. But hearing her use yet another Honeyhold word only made her breathe even harder.
"I'm okay, Justine. I just…" But Ella couldn't get the rest of the sentence out before wrapping her in another tight embrace, which her friend reciprocated.
She couldn't believe it. They were really here, right in front of her. She was with her two best friends once again.
Once the two finally let go of their hug, Lucy asked, "You should not have joined us this soon! What happened to you?"
"The same thing that happened to you," Ella replied. "Or, rather, the same person."
Justine gasped. "Your wicked stepmother…oh, Ella, I'm so sorry!"
"Don't apologize, Just," said Ella. "I'm the one who should apologize. If I hadn't told you the truth about my stepmother, none of this would have happened!"
"I don't believe that," said Justine. "She was already hiding when we got there. I can't claim to know why, but she already wanted us dead."
"Yeah! I mean, you can't really blame yourself for the actions of…Oh, by the Gods, who's that?!"
Lucy cut herself off with an alarmed yelp, causing her sister and best friend to turn around. They saw a feminine figure in a flowing sliver dress with white-green hair, chalk white skin, clawed hands, and branches coming out of her head.
Ella knew her well.
"It's okay, it's okay. She's my friend," she gently explained to Grizzwalds, attempting to reassure them. "Though she terrified me at first, too, so I cannot say I blame you."
"I am standing before you, child of ash," the Queen cut in with an eye roll.
"Right." Ella bit her lip with embarrassment before continuing on. "Justine, Lucy, this is the Fairy Queen of Sweet Dreams. Fairy Queen, this is…"
"Justine and Lucy Grizzwald," the Queen finished with a smirk. "I know who you are."
"I'm flattered…?" Lucy squeaked out, clearly still confused.
Justine, ever the more direct sister, turned to Ella. "How in the Lands do you know such an…ethereal being?"
"She gave me her gifts, which helped me fight against my stepmother. Or, at least, as much as I could."
"There is still hope that your fight will be a success, dear Ashmore," the Queen said, causing Ella to raise an eyebrow in confusion.
"What are you talking about? She killed me."
"She did. And she gave your slipper to your stepsister, Putrice, so she could pass her off as the mystery girl."
Ella felt a knot tighten in her chest. This meant that Putrice was going to marry the Prince and become the queen. Exactly what she was trying to prevent.
"Wait, what?" Lucy asked, drawing Ella out of her thoughts. "Her stepmother had a child of her own?"
"How is the child of a troll going to pass as a human girl?" Justine wondered.
Ella looked at her and gulped, feeling the blood drain from her cheeks. "Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies, my friend."
Justine grimaced, as if afraid to press further.
"However, your family has made a grave error," the Queen continued. "For they have removed your leg to pass it off as hers, but my magic knows the truth."
"Ew!" Lucy's face scrunched up. "The troll girl is wearing a severed leg?!"
"May I please finish giving the child of ash this news?" The Fairy Queen snapped at Lucy, looking visibly irritated.
Lucy gave her a slight, sheepish bow. "Apologies!"
The Fairy Queen nodded and turned back to Ella. "The spell has been reactivated, since the slipper has returned to your leg. And I believe my magic is powerful enough to return you to the mortal plane. In a sense, daughter of fire, you have been rescued by your enemy."
Ella's mouth fell open. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She could be resurrected? But what about…?
"Wha — why me? Why bring me back over everyone else? Why bring me back over them?" Ella motioned over to the Grizzwald sisters.
"It is not my choice in who to bring back," the Queen explained. "You are the one I gave my gifts to. It must be you."
Ella felt tears begin to sting her eyes. "That's not fair."
"Ella…" said Justine.
"It's not!" Ella cut her off. "If the Fairy Queen can't send you two back, then she shouldn't send me, either! It would just be yet another loss…and I can't handle another…"
Ella trailed off, getting too choked up. Justine approached her and gave her a hug, which she appreciated.
"I can't go back," Ella continued with a sniffle. "If I remain here, Stepmother can't take anything from me ever again."
"But if you give up, does she not win?" Justine asked, letting go of the hug, yet still holding onto her friend's arms. "I know how badly you're hurting, compadre, but would it be so much kinder to allow the woman who caused you this pain to thrive while you remained in the Realm of Death?"
Ella temporarily let go of one arm to wipe her eyes, but quickly returned to her friend's grip. "I suppose not…but it also wouldn't be kind to know I abandoned my dearest friends here."
"Well, look at it this way," said Lucy. "Someday, when it's your proper time, you'll get to come back and see us again. And then it'll truly last forever!"
Justine turned to her sister and raised an eyebrow. "Lucy, we must work on your pep talk skills."
"Oh, Ella knows what I mean," Lucy argued, before turning back to her. "It's not your time yet. But it is ours, and that is our burden to bear. Not yours."
"Your time came way too quickly…" said Ella.
"And that sucks," Lucy agreed. "But we would never wish the same for you."
"You deserve to go back," said Justine. "You deserve to face and defeat your stepmother. And I can promise that, when — not if — you do, we will be feeling your love from afar. Your love has always been fierce."
Ella gave the sisters a teary-eyed smile. "Your love will always be missed."
With that, she wrapped one arm around each of her friends, and they both wrapped an arm around her in return.
The word "goodbye" hung unspoken in the air. None of the girls dared speak it, for fear it would feel too final. But this last embrace felt enough like it to feel like closure, especially for Ella.
If Justine and Lucy truly felt like she should, then she would return to life. And she was determined to show her enemy that she rescued the wrong person — and to make her friends proud of her along the way.