Arthur's Point of View

Depths of the Hollow Forest

Alwin was holding Lucia carefully as Rock towered behind the group. All of them looked at Marina with stunned expressions. I have no doubt they were confused. My attention turned to Marina as she eyed me. A chunk of my energy had been returned, but it was like comparing a lake to an ocean. Still, my mind was clear, and I knew who was responsible for all this.

“Might as well make it even.” I whispered to myself as my eyes found Aydalia’s. “Lady Farro,” My call made her flinch in surprise as I motioned her to come forward. “Stand by my side for a moment.”

“Certainly.” The oldest Elf present replied. Slowly, she stepped beside me. “Did you nee-“

“Marina,” I cut Aydalia off as I grabbed her shoulder and threw her into the water. “Would you kindly?”

“Arthur!” Alwin shouted at me as he glared at me. “Stop!” His magic activated, but Lucia in his arms hampered him.

My watery daughter waited for Aydalia to surface before she answered. “As you wish.” Without warning, Marina started to drag the Elven mother into the depths of her lake.

Part of me was curious about if the bends were a thing here as I watched them disappear into the blue. Decompression sickness was a serious issue when going that deep, and Marina’s Lake was definitely deep. Another part of me was curious to see what would happen. Elves were magic, so I was confident she would be fine. Typhon was when we went exploring in the ocean. Plus, I doubt Marina would let someone she was healing die. Although, he is technically a Dragon.

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A spell passed my head, and I turned to see Ayda with her hand outstretched. “Bring her back, Arthur!” Ayda demanded.

I stared at her dully. “Calm yourself, Ayda.” There was some splashing behind me a moment later. “Your mother will be fine.” As I said that, Aydalia was flung up onto the land gasping for air. “See?”

Her daughter rushed to her side but stopped in shock. “Mom?” She whispered in disbelief.

“Ayda?” She coughed out in a raspy voice. “Why’re you looking at me like that?”

My attention turned to Alwin. He was struggling to hold in his emotions. His eyes were wide as tears came to his eyes. Although, Ayda wasn’t doing much better. Both their faces were twitching wildly as they watched on. Marina surfaced a moment later.

She quickly spoke. “Done. Skin may be the largest organ of the body, but it is certainly the easiest to fix.”

Aydalia’s scars were gone. I figured if Marina could return Lucia’s fingers, she could likely fix Momma Farro’s scars from her burns. No longer would she be unable to grow hair. In fact, I was willing to bet her hair would start showing tomorrow or the following day. Unless there was a spell that allowed her to grow it out instantly. Magic and all that shit.

“Arthur…” Aydalia let out in a barely restrained sob. “Why?” She ran her hands over her arms in disbelief. “After what I did…” Tears ran down her cheeks that stood out even amongst the lake water. “I don’t understand.”

I eyed her for a moment. “Mmh.” A hum was all I managed for a moment, which made Marina giggle. “Think of it as repaying a favor to an old friend. None of this would’ve been possible without him.” My gaze drifted to Alwin and Ayda after a moment. “Your family may irritate me to no end, but so did he. I owed it to him to set things straight.” Moving over to Alwin, I put my hand on Lucia’s forehead. “Besides, without you, I would’ve lost her.”

The Elf’s lips trembled as her daughter hugged her. “Thank you, Arthur.” Aydalia said softly.

Alwin eyed me as I stared at Lucia. “I should be the one saying that.” Removing my hand, I turned to her. “This isn’t forgiveness, Aydalia.” I told her as her eyes met mine as she and her daughter looked at me. “I’m not sure I can forgive you for taking advantage of me in my moment of weakness, but I recognize that you’re trying to make up for it.” She nodded at that. “Besides, part of me thinks you would’ve protected her without seeing my memories.”

“It’s what we parents do.” Was her response.

“Mmh. It is indeed. Thank you…” I told her.

Tears streamed down her face as she smiled at me and nodded. “You’re welcome.” Then she turned to Marina. “Thank you, Marina. For healing me.”

The Guardian smiled as she crossed her arms and rested her chin on them on land. “Well, technically speaking, we’re like distant cousins. Or am I her distant aunt from a previous era?” Marina inquired.

A smirk came to my lips for only a moment. “You can think about it later. There’s still a few things I need to do here. Would you mind letting them rest here for a bit?”

“Not at all, Father.” Marina answered.